Early fire company members. I'm not sure of the year.

Bloomsbury Hose Company #1 Station 43

To give fair time to the fire company here is there link:http://www.bloomsburyhosecompany.org/history.html

Bloomsbury Rescue Squad

Linda Merwarth McFadden has contacted me about joining our group. Apparently she has not done that yet. She wanted to discuss the beginnings of the Rescue Squad. I did find a webpage on the history and hope she will add what she knows to this information back here after everyone reads the page posted by the squad at:http://www.bloomsburyrescue.com/History.html

Pencil Manufacturing

I presume that most of the Bloomsbury kids got to tour the pencil factory at some time or another. In case you have forgotten what you saw, this may refresh your memories. I have an educational sample box from the Joseph Dixon Company in Jersey City, NJ and I photo'd the samples to show how pencils are made. The first shot shows the cedar slat stages and the 2nd shot shows the stages of the individual pencils after they are cut apart from the slats. There is also a scanned document that I included here that is related to handwriting and pencil and hand sizes, which is interesting.
I know this isn't Koh-I-Noor, but it's the best I can do. ;-)

Timberlines: L&C Hardmuth - Koh-I-Noor: A Diamond in the Rough

Timberlines: L&C Hardmuth - Koh-I-Noor: A Diamond in the Rough

Thanks for that wonderful story, Linda! Spaying and neutering were practically unknown to us back then. How kind your family was to care for them that way. It warms my heart.

My niece in California had taken stray cats off the street and gotten them "fixed" at a local vet clinic that offered a $15 or $20 special for strays. ...I suspect a few were not strays, though:\

Salt mines

I do not know anything about the mines on Bloomsbury Mountain, but my mother used to talk about her brother working in a salt mine somewhere between Oxford and Wharton.

Just curious: is the "Pencil Factory" still operating in Bloomsbury?

Working the mines

I have no idea what these guys are mining, but these 2 shots are from postcards of Bloomsbury that my grandmother collected. Imagine working in those clothes... suit and tie??

CRRNJ Fuel Stop

"Cutting wood for the Central RR of NJ at Bloomsbury." The horse is walking on a treadmill which powers the saw that cuts the wood. I wonder how much these guys got paid? And which unlucky horse got to walk and go nowhere?

Iron Bridge sign

This photo looks from Bloomsbury, Hunterdon County, across the bridge over the Musconetcong River into Warren County. The sign on the bridge reads “CAUTION - $10 fine for traveling over this BRIDGE faster than a WALK.”

I remember running across the bridge and being able to feel it vibrate beneath my feet. They should put a sign like that on the new bridge - for historical sake.

Thanks for the flood pictures!

I think that's my cat! :) Seriously, that looks like a cat we had. Maybe all the B'bury cats looked like that?
Great pictures. Thanks for posting them.

From top left:
Cat looking at water
Floating dock
Picture of dam taken from back of graphite mill
Blackie looking at water
Beginning of the river rising
Flooded river - don't know location
My home in Warrenside looking across to Bloomsbury
Young's dock on the Bloomsbury side collapsing

Musconetcong River Flood Waters

Bloomsbury Elementary School graduates

For those of you on Facebook there is a Bloomsbury Elementary School graduates website if you are interested in joining.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204747323&ref=ts
I hope that link will work for you.

Bloomsbury School Graduation - June 15, 1960

Faye, here is the stage you commented on earlier. Weren't we all so adorable? LOL

1952 Student Photo

Here is a photo of the Beginners and First Grade students from 1952. How many do you recognize?

(I'm on the right end of the 2nd row)

Hurricane Diane 1955, Bloomsbury flooded

Remember when Hurricane Diane caused a flood in downtown Bloomsbury in 1955? I've been looking for a picture I had of me standing in it with boots on and holding our dog down by the swimming pier, but I can't find it... The bridge between Phillipsburg and Easton was washed out and the Army built a temporary Bailey Bridge right next to it. I don't remember if Sheets and Gardner's got flooded, but I would imagine it would have.

Bloomsbury School memories

Does anyone remember the steam heat pipes banging away down in the auditorium area where we had assemblies and gym?

Or how about most of us walking home for lunch? Jeez... does anyone do that in any other school today?

Re: Bloomsbury Presbyterian Church

Here is a postcard photo of the church's Rev. J.C. Clyde and (presumably) his family. According to the book, he became pastor on July 1, 1879.

History of The First Presbyterian Church Of Bloomsbury

This is a book of the history of the Bloomsbury Presbyterian Church that was published in 1884.  In the back of the book there is a list of those that purchased the book when it was published.  The following link should take you to the front cover of the book which is the same as the above picture.  Just click on the cover to scroll through the pages of the book.  First Bloomsbury Presbyterian Church Printed in 1884

Horse Drawn Fire Engine

Maybe someone knows more on the history of this?

Waterous fire engine built in 1898 by the Waterous Co., Saint Paul, MN. It is owned by the Bloomsbury Fire Co., Bloomsbury, NJ. Horse-drawn fire engines are always a great attraction in parades today.

Charlie "Red" Cregar - Auto Racer

Charlie "Red" Cregar's racing career in the NASCAR Modified, Sportsman and Grand National divisions was during the dirt track heydays of the 50's and 60's. A Bloomsbury, New Jersey native, he tore up the northeastern tracks, including that of Flemington Fair Speedway. Cregar made an annual trek to Daytona to race on the beach in 1955, 1956, 1957 and to the first race at Daytona International Superspeedway in 1959, where he started a respectable 15th and finished 28th after an engine failure on lap 70 of the 100 lap qualifier. Mechanical failures plagued most of his Grand National appearances as he drove for himself and owners James Gess in '54-'55 and Happy Steigel in 1959. Cregar never finished on the lead lap in any of his GN races, however he led 8 laps at Darlington in the 1954 race, starting 11th and finishing 20th in a James Gess Plymouth. His best GN finish came in 1957 at Concord (started 15th) and Wilson (started 10th) where he finished 8th in each race in his own Plymouth. He competed in sixteen Sprint Cup Series events in his career, racing part time between 1954 and 1959. He earned just three top-tens, all in 1957, bested by a pair of 8ths at Wilson and Concord. Following a career-high 34th place in 1959 standings, Cregar stopped racing in the series and never raced again.

Note:  Though I have found several sources stating that Charlie Cregar resided in Bloomsbury during his racing days, I have not been able to find any information as to where and how long he lived there.  I did find information stating that he moved to Lawrenceville, NJ and opened a used car business under the name of CR Cregar & Son.  Charlie Cregar passed away on October 31, 2003.

Bloomsbury Bank

What happened to the Citizens National Bank that was next to Fuller's Drug Store on Center Street? Did it merge with a larger one? If so, does anyone know which bank took over? Here is a scan of a bill the bank issued, with my grandfather's and Ed Shipman's signatures on it.

(How's this for a post, Linda?)

What's up, folks?

Did I manage to make it here today? Hope so..

Now - can anyone tell me where the railroad tunnel was in Bloomsbury... specifically? I don't remember ever seeing it, but I did have dreams about being in a railroad tunnel.

Our oldest member to this date.

My cousin Marge Laxson. When she figures this out she will post I'm sure.

Google

Ok folks I did get us listed on there. But that's all.

Dave Wilson & Mickey, Penny Candy Store, Russamano's Barber Shop, Emery's Steak Shop

I concur with Jackie that it seems almost impossible to locate this site unless someone actually sends you the link. I don't know how all that works but maybe Linda knows how to remedy that. The site is certainly a welcomed one; it just needs to be easier to find.

If Jimmy Gardner was called Whitey, then Dale should have been called Smiley. I don't think we ever saw him without a big grin on his face. It tickles me to see his pictures.

I remember Dave Wilson riding his brown and white horse Mickey through town, and us walking down to his farm hoping someone would give us a ride. Occasionally we got lucky in that regard.

I also remember Eddie Henshaw's (sp?) Penny Candy Store that was a few doors up from Wheeler's Market. I would go there to buy red licorice shoe strings -- I think they were about five strings for a penny -- not sure. And Kitts candy that came in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. And Blackjack, Clark's Teaberry and Clove gum -- all things that my dad didn't sell in his store.

In later years, Emery's opened a steak shop in the apartment building between Sheets and Gardner's and Herman Russamano's Barber Shop. Mostly the boys in town would use the fence in front of Russamano's as a gathering place. I guess they couldn't get in too much trouble there because it was a center point of town and everyone could see what they were doing.

Hi friend from Bloomsbury

Hi all! I would never have known about this site if my brother, Dale Gardner, hadn't let me know about it. I was so thrilled to see it. Linda, thank you so much for starting it. Donna, I so enjoyed your precious story about my sweet brothers... we were very poor and I just said to my husband, Bob, I wonder where in the world they got the nickel, and he reminded me that they used to run all over the town selling Dainty potato chips... an old man (he was probably my age now), Mr. Sutton, who lived next to my Grammy and Grampy Gardner, used to buy about eight bags a week to feed his cats... my brothers loved going there... lol... anyway, as I learn how to use this site (I don't even text, I'm an old fashioned fart, although I work on a computer all day at work) I will share some stories and I really enjoy reading all of yours... Love and good health to all of you... Jackie Gardner DeWire... and yes, I'm still married to my fifth grade sweetheart, Bob DeWire...

1983 Bloomsbury Grammar School aka Bloomsbury Elementary School Graduating class.

This was my daughter Kimberlee's graduation class from good ole BGS.

How I Learned I Was Rich

I don't remember Ace Price as being very well off financially but Ace was rich in life enjoying the way he lived. Ace often took the time in the summer to setup tents down along the Musconetcong behind his house for camping out and night fishing with a lot of us kids. We always had a nice campfire going and totally enjoyed just being there and fishing for anything we would catch. What we did catch most often were small Shiners which are a small bony fish and something most wouldn't think of eating. As we would catch the Shiners we would throw them in a bucket of water until we had enough for everyone to cook on the wood fire. We would then clean them and rinse them off in the river. Every one of us would go around and find a stick to poke through our fish so we could hold it in the fire to cook it. As we would all be crouched around the fire cooking our fish I remember Ace often saying, "I wonder what the poor people are doing right now." I honestly believe that Ace meant every word of that statement because we were all rich in life totally enjoying what we were doing. Those fish were probably one of the most disgusting things you could ever eat yet at that time I would say we enjoyed them more then I would enjoy a Filet Mignon today. I got married very young and believe me, I went through some really tough times where I was very poor financially yet was able to find things I enjoyed doing and often said to myself, "I wonder what the poor people are doing right now." Thank You Ace!

This is as good as the late night comedy segments! Between Pat's eyebrows and Joanie's ears, I can't stop chuckling! Talk about PAINFUL childhood memories! OUCH! What a cute picture of Dale -- I remember him perfectly. I have lots of great memories of going with Pat and the kids down to "the crick" during summer vacations. How lucky we were to be so close to a "swimming hole." I remember the rope that was hanging a ways out where "the crick" split and people would swing from it. I remember one time Barbara Feller was doing that and almost drowned because of a strong current.
My mother told me a story of taking me down to swim off the "pier" when I was quite young. Some man with a wooden leg had taken it off, laid it on the bench and jumped in to swim. My mom said she did everything she could to keep me from seeing the leg because she knew I'd make some embarrassing comment (gee, I hope I've changed). I wonder who he was. I never remember anyone like that in later years. Somewhere I have a picture of the Bloomsbury men building that pier. I know my father was one of them.

Thanks, Linda

Thank you for inviting me to post on your blog about our great town! I tell people about life in Bloomsbury and at first they don't believe me! I was happy to see the post from Donna, because I had lost contact with her also.

We're still in NE Pennsylvania, but in another location. I remember when Donna came up to visit when we lived in Wallsville. Since then we moved several more times, and now are living near a little town called Fleetville for the past 20 years.

I look forward to creating a profile and sending in my memories from time to time. I didn't remember about Dale and Bill liking those green peppers, but I do remember sitting in the back room of "Leo's" eating chocolate cookies. That's were I was when I had my eyebrows plucked for the first time.....by Donna.....and it hurt like heck!!

More later....Love to all you Bloomsbury kids! Love, Pat

Reintroducing Myself

Our family lived in a small row home at 33 Willow Avenue. My parents are James W. Gardner (Co-Owner of Sheets & Gardner) and Arlene (Scherer) Gardner. I have six siblings: Pat, Jim (Whitey), Bill, Jackie, Terry and Laurie. I was the fifth child and I was born in 1953. Back then there were three girls and three boys. Our home had two bedrooms, one shared by the girls and one shared by the boys. My parents slept on a sofa bed in the living room. We had coal heat and no bathroom. This might be a bit too much information but I remember keeping a milk bottle under my bed to use at night so I wouldn't have to go outside in the dark to use the outhouse. We had a shower in the basement but the basement had a dirt floor so when taking a shower you had to set newspaper down on the floor before taking your shower and you would pick it up as you worked your way back to the old spiral wooden stairs after your shower. Initially there was no telephone yet it was the greatest thing when we did get one even though it was a party line. Those were the good old days.

Bloomsbury was a unique little town especially since you basically knew everyone in the entire town and I have many fond memories that I will share on here little by little as time permits. I hope you enjoy my memories as they are posted.

OOPS, I wasn't ready to post! First mistake of many, I'm guessing :(
I wanted to add this: one of the main things I remember about Dale was this: when my father Leo would have a special on green peppers for a nickel each, he and his brothers would come to the store with big smiles on their faces (esp Billy) and buy as many as they could and eat them raw. They LOVED them! I remember my dad and mom thought they were so cute.
Now I'm ready to post!

Linda, thanks for inviting me to your blog! This is a new venture for me so I have a lot to learn about it. I will tackle the "profile" section when I have a little more time. I was selfishly delighted to find a section on "cow thumps" because for years I had been asking people if they ever heard of them but all I got was a lot of suspicious looks and offers of therapy. I'm finally vindicated! I never could find any reference to them online but now I know why -- thanks to the blogger who set the record straight by telling us it really was a "callathump."
I was happy to see Dale Gardner on the site. I lost touch with Pat and would like to know if she's still in northern PA. Dale, if you read this, will you please let me know? She was usually the one to come running by the house out of breath announcing the latest "cow thump." What welcome and exciting words those were!

Paul aka Dewey Eichlin

I was talking to my youngest granddaughter when we were in Jersey for Christmas and I happened to recall how Dewey, when it was hot would stop at the little cup, by the current Phillipsburg Diner, and buy us all ice cream. ;) What a great guy he was.
Besides being the coal/oil man and whatever else he had his fingers in. I believe his daughter is still alive and living in town. I remember she married Pete Muehlen. They may still be living on Brunswick Avenue. Anyone know if they are still there?
I thought a school bus driver could never do that today... nor they probably wouldn't want to. Yeah we all loved Dewey. ;)

I haven't forgotten all of you. ;)

I've heard from Donna Fratezi and she is hoping to post some new things to the site.
As for myself I have not been going thru any new newspaper articles lately. My time has been used in other ventures.
Please if you want to say something don't think you have to wait for me. This is an open forum for all the people who grew up or have great memories in the great little town of Bloomsbury.
As I get the time I'll be posting more.
Have a happy and post away.