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Streets Cooper
Street |
| Unit, 100 & 200 Blocks | 300 Block |
| 400 Block | 500 Block |
| 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, & 1200 Blocks | |
| 1900 & 2000 Block | |
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Streets Cooper
Street |
| Unit, 100 & 200 Blocks | 300 Block |
| 400 Block | 500 Block |
| 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, & 1200 Blocks | |
| 1900 & 2000 Block | |
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COOPER STREET is one of the oldest streets in Camden, and is named after the Cooper family. William Cooper was one of the first settlers in this part of New Jersey. Camden was known as Cooper's Ferries for many years prior to the city being incorporated in 1828. The curb line of Cooper Street, from Front Street to the tracks of the Camden & Atlantic Railroad Company, were moved twelve feet towards the center, and the street paved with Belgian blocks in 1881. In 1927 the curb lines were moved back twelve feet from 4th Street to 9th Street. This improvement was completed in September of 1927. Cooper Street runs from the waterfront east to 9th Street, with a short block of homes and business still standing above 11th Street. Prior to the construction of Interstate Route I-676, Cooper Street ran all the way to 12th Street. Cooper Street was for many years one of the most prestigious addresses in Camden, and many homes of historic significance, due to both the residents and the architects of said homes, were and still are on Cooper Street. The "beginning of the end" for Cooper Street came in the early 1920s, when three mansions were torn down to make room for the Walt Whitman Hotel. On June 30, 1940 all the homes on the south side of the 900 block were destroyed when the R.M. Hollingshead chemical factory, which occupied most of the block, fronting on 9th and on Market Streets, exploded and burned to the ground. Little known outside of East Camden is the "other" Cooper Street, which runs between North 19th and East State Street. This short street only has one single family home and a block of 13 row homes. |
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Do you have an Cooper Street memory or picture. Let me know by e-mail so it can be included here. |
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Journalist Will Paul wrote an article around 1940 about growing up on Cooper Street in the 1880s. Be sure to read his Memories of Old Cooper Street. |
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600 Block of Cooper Street Looking West from 626 Cooper Street - About 1907 |
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Left side of street: The building with the conical roof is 538 Cooper Street. The building at far left is 604 Cooper Street. Also visible is 544, 542, 540, 538, 534, and 532 Cooper. Right: The first building at far right is 605 Cooper Street |
| 600 Block of Cooper Street | |
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601 Cooper Street Meisel Tire Company Camden
Courier-Post Click on Images to Enlarge |
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605 Cooper Street The Click on Images to Enlarge |
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605 1880s-1900s Philadelphia Inquirer Click on Image for PDF
File |
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608 Cooper Street December 2002 Click on Images to Enlarge |
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608 Cooper Street December 2002 Click on Images to Enlarge |
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611 Cooper Street George Genge Browning The roof of this building is visible behind the trees, between 605 Cooper and the Hotel Walt Whitman |
| 613 Cooper Street |
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| 618 Cooper Street Malcolm MacDonald |
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| Northwest
Corner of Broadway & Cooper Street The Terminal Block - 1947-2000 Built on land that had been occupied in part by 605 and 611 Cooper Street |
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Camden Courier-Post December 1947 Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Prior to the early 1920s Broadway stopped at Market Street, and Cooper Street was uninterupted between North 6th and North 7th Streets. 617 Cooper Street was acquired by the Community Hotel Corporation and then sold to the City of Camden so the North Broadway could be completed through to the bridge plaza. Construction of the Hotel Walt Whitman, the First Camden National Bank & Trust Building, the Wilson Building soon followed. The Terminal Block on the northwest corner came later, after World War II. |
| 600
Block of Cooper Street Southeast of Broadway & Cooper Street |
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The Wilson Building Broadway & Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge |
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The
Wilson Building
Broadway 2003 Click on Images to Enlarge |
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Weitzman
Liquors in The Wilson Building, & 622 Cooper Street 2003 Click on Images to Enlarge |
| 600 Block of Cooper Street - Before 1925 | |
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601
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
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603
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone Click on Images to Enlarge |
| 610
Cooper Street
1910s Charles Stockham |
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617
Cooper Street
Click on Images to Enlarge |
| 618
Cooper Street
1900s-1920s Belford G. Royal |
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| 620 Cooper Street | |
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622
Cooper Street April 17, 2004 Click on Images to Enlarge |
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622
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
| 625
Cooper Street
1946-1947 |
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625
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
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626
Cooper Street
Cyrus
H.K. Curtis |
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626 Cooper Street 1894 Philadelphia Inquirer Click on Image for PDF
File |
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627 Cooper Street Click on Images to Enlarge |
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627
& 633 Cooper Street 627 Cooper, designed
by Arthur
Truscott, |
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627
& 633 Cooper Street
Howard M. Cooper |
| 631 Cooper Street 1955 |
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634-640 Cooper Street 1955 1955
New Jersey Bell Telephone Click on Image to Enlarge |
| 638 Cooper Street George K. Johnson |
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639 Cooper Street Benjamin C. Reeve Click on Images to Enlarge |
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639 Cooper Street Camden
Lodge 293 |
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639 Cooper Street Camden
Lodge 293 The LEAP Academy
2002-2006 |
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639 Cooper Street Camden
Lodge 293 |
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639 Cooper Street Camden
Lodge 293 |
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611-633 Cooper Street |
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| Left:
The Hotel Walt Whitman - 1933 Right: The Hotel Walt Whitman - 1950s Elks Home, now The LEAP Academy, at far right |
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Click on Images to Enlarge |
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Northeast Corner Camden
County College Click on Images to Enlarge |
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| 700
Block of Cooper Street 701 to 721 Cooper Street - 1967 Click on Image to Enlarge |
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| 700 Block of Cooper Street | |
| 700 Cooper Street Benjamin Starr |
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| 701 Cooper Street Gerard R. Vogels 1870s-1888 |
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| 702 Cooper Street |
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| 703 Cooper Street Benjamin C. Reeve 1870s-1880s |
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708,
702 & 700 Cooper Street and the intersection of North 7th Street & Cooper Street This photograph was
taken before 1926, shown by the fact that the Wilson
Building 708 Cooper Street
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708 Cooper Street |
| 711 Cooper Street Samuel H. Grey |
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| 712 Cooper Street Samuel H. Grey |
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712 Cooper Street Furnished Rooms Camden Courier-Post |
| 714 Cooper Street | |
| 715
Cooper Street
John Cooper
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715
Cooper Street
1920s-1960s |
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715
Cooper Street
1920s-1960s 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
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715
Cooper Street
1920s-1960s Camden Courier-Post Ad |
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715,
717, 719 & 721 Cooper Street July 1965 |
| 717 Cooper Street Frank B. Middleton |
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| No Houses in 700 Block after 717 before 1880 census | |
| 719 Cooper Street Alexander Boardman |
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| 721 Cooper Street George Genge Browning |
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721 Cooper Street July 7, 1965 |
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726
Cooper Street 726 is the building at far right 1887-1889 1955 Photo from the 1970s Click on Image to Enlarge |
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728 Cooper Street John
F. Harned
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728 Cooper Street 726 is the building at center and left Photo from the 1970s Click on Image to Enlarge |
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728 Cooper Street Photo from the 1970s Click on Image to Enlarge |
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| Cooper
Street, looking west from 8th Street Postcard mailed October 10, 1906 The house on left is 804 Cooper Street |
| 800 Block of Cooper Street | |
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804 Cooper Street This home, at left, was built by real estate developer and builder Edward N. Cohn. Photo from 1893. David Baird Sr. had acquired the house by 1900, and lived there until his death. David Baird Jr. lived there until October of 1936. |
| 805 Cooper Street Dr.
John W. Donges |
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MAN JAILED 3 MONTHS IN THEFT OF WATCH Charged, with the larceny of a watch belonging to Albert L. Hawkins, of Collingswood; John H. Evans, 64, of 2117 Sherman Avenue, was sentenced to three months in jail Saturday by Police Judge Garfield Pancoast. Hawkins, who is a painter, said he was at work Thursday on the second floor of a vacant house at 805 Cooper Street, when he saw a man come in and take the watch from his trousers, which he had left downstairs. Hawkins recognized Evans' picture in the rogues gallery and police arrested the man. Detective Clifford Carr testified Evans has been arrested a number of times on larceny charges. |
805 Cooper Street Camden Courier-Post |
| Addresses below reported in the 1947 City Directory | |
| 801 Cooper Street 1947 |
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| 805 Cooper Street 1947 |
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807
Cooper Street
1919 Philadelphia Inquirer Razed in early
1920s. |
| 807
Cooper Street
1926-1947 |
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810
Cooper Street
1910 |
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811
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone e |
| 813 Cooper Street | |
| 814 Cooper Street Esso Servicemaster |
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| 815 Cooper Street | |
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817 Cooper Street 1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
| 817 Cooper Street Electrolux Vacuum Cleaners |
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| 819 Cooper Street Harry A. Louderbach |
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| 821 Cooper Street Mrs. Edna Knehr |
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| 823 Cooper Street | |
| 825 Cooper Street | |
| 827 Cooper Street | |
| 829 Cooper Street | |
| 831 Cooper Street | |
| 833 Cooper Street | |
| 835 Cooper Street | |
| Addresses below reported in the 1947 City Directory | |
| 840
Cooper Street
1920s-1955 |
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| 900
Block of Cooper Street Built by 1887 |
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900
Cooper Street
All the even-numbered homes in the 900 block of Cooper Street were destroyed on July 30, 1940 when the R.M. Hollingshead factory was destroyed by an explosion and fire on July 30, 1940. Click on Image to Enlarge |
| 901
Cooper Street
Dr.
William Moslander |
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| 902
Cooper Street
Murray L. Serotikin |
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| 909
Cooper Street
George
W. Whyte |
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914
Cooper Street 1940 John
"Pete" Brecker Picture taken in the aftermath of the Hollingshead fire. Camden Police Detectives Vernon Jones (Left) and George Weber (center) return jewelry and cash recovered from home to Miss Simon, sister of Mrs. Brecker. Click on Image to enlarge |
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1955-1957 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone
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Camden Courier-Post |
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921
Cooper Street
Joseph
E. Nowrey Sr. |
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Mrs. Chester D. VanDuyn, of 924 Cooper Street, is spending some time with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lane, of this city, at their cottage in Pitman. Mrs. VanDuyn's daughter, Miss Catharine S. VanDuyn, is spending this weekend in Washington, D. C . |
924
Cooper Street
1930 Mrs. Chester D. Van Duyn Camden Courier-Post |
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WILLIAM DICKINSON William Dickinson, 68, of 931 Cooper Street died today in Cooper Hospital. A lifelong resident of Camden, he had operated a garage and automobile repair business for the past 50 years. Surviving are his wife, Lena H.; two daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Heller, of Clementon; Miss Mary Dickinson, of Camden; a sister, Miss Marie Dickinson, of Philadelphia, and two grandchildren. Services will be held at 11 a. m. Saturday in the Murray Funeral Home, 408 Cooper Street. Burial will be in Harleigh Cemetery. There will be no viewing. |
931
Cooper Street
1924-1958 William Dickinson William & Mgdalene Dickinson Camden Courier-Post
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| Students Return To Spend Summer Vacation Home
Leon F. Rittenhouse of 1557 Bradley Avenue, is leaving today for California, where he will continue his study of medicine. Mr. Rittenhouse was a graduate from Washington Missionary College, in the national capital on Monday. Two of the Wilfred W. Frys' children were graduated at schools in New York and Massachusetts, this past weekend and today. Tonight Miss Eleanor Fry will be graduated from the Emma Willard School at Troy, New York Last week Wilfred W. Fry, II, was graduated from Mt. Hermon School, Mt. Hermon, Massachusetts. Henry J. Bowes Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Bowes of Merchantville, spent last week in Annapolis, Maryland, where he took entrance examinations for the United States Naval Academy. He was graduated last week from Valley Forge Military Academy, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Miss Helen Pratt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Byron Pratt of 213 North Fourth Street, has returned from Bucknell University for the Summer. Miss Eleanor Holman of 108 North Fourth Street and Miss Betty Dickinson of 931 Cooper Street, have returned to their respective homes for the Summer. They are attending Syracuse University. Miss Frances Snyder of 331 North Forty-first street, was graduated at Syracuse this month. |
931
Cooper Street
1933 Elizabeth "Betty" Dickinson Camden Courier-Post |
| Miss
Dickinson, Leighton Heller In Engagement
Mr. and Mrs. William Dickinson, of 931 Cooper Street, announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss M. Elizabeth Dickinson, to Mr. Leighton J. Heller, son of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Heller, of 50 Fulton Avenue, Clementon. Miss Dickinson was graduated from Syracuse University and is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She was formerly a member of the faculty at Camden High School. Mr. Heller is a graduate of Dickinson College and Law School and is a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He recently received an honorable discharge from the U. S. Army after serving for two and one-half years in India. |
931
Cooper Street
1945 Betty Dickinson Camden Courier-Post |
| 932
Cooper Street 1933 Alfred Shaefer |
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933
Cooper Street
1910 |
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HARRY A. WILLE Funeral services will be held at 11 a. m. Monday for Harry A. Wille, 55, of 933 Cooper Street, who died yesterday after a short illness. Burial will be in Harleigh Cemetery. Mr. Wille, who was born here, was employed in the upholstery department of the J. B. Van Sciver Co.. He is survived by his widow, Ida, and a son, Henry C. Wille, 3rd, of Camden.. |
933
Cooper Street
1920s-1933 Harry Wille Camden Courier-Post |
| 934
Cooper Street
J.
Willard Morgan
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MICHAEL BENSON The funeral of Michael Benson, 52, of' 939 Cooper Street, who died Tuesday, will be held at 8 a. m. Saturday, at 2850 Federal street. Mass will be held at 9 a. m., at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Burial will be in Calvary cemetery. Mr. Benson is survived by a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Sidell, with whom, he lived, and a brother. He was a son of the late Joseph and Elizabeth Benson.. |
939
Cooper Street
1933 Michael Benson Camden Courier-Post |
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941
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell Telephone |
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| 943
Cooper Street
Bethany
Methodist Episcopal
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| 1000
Block of Cooper Street Built by 1887 |
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1014 Cooper Street Furnished Rooms Camden Courier-Post |
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| 1016 Cooper Street Technical
Sergeant |
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Mrs. Thomas P. McConaghy, of Tenth and Cooper Streets, this city, is registered at Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, Atlantic City. |
1017 Cooper Street Dr. Thomas P.
McConaghy Camden Courier-Post |
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| 1027 Cooper Street |
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1028 Cooper Street 1903-1904 Louis DeLisle & Family New York Times |
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| 1029
Cooper Street 1903-1904 Edward Rice |
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1030
Cooper Street 1906 Philadelphia Inquirer |
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| 1033 Cooper Street George
M. Beringer Jr. |
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1035 Cooper Street 1933 Norfleet Saunders Camden Courier-Post |
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| 1045 Cooper Street Charles
J. Ball |
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| 1046 Cooper Street Edmund
Tydeman Family |
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1046 Cooper Street Furnished Rooms Camden Courier-Post |
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| 1046 Cooper Street 1947 |
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My Father, Harry Molotsky, had a grocery store called Harry's Red Front Market at 1048 Cooper Street. I am not sure what year he purchased the property, but it was in the 1940s. I was born in 1945 and my brother, Allan, in 1948. We lived behind the store until 1951 when we moved to East Camden at 420 South 30th Street. My father kept the business until the early 1960's when he had cataract surgery and the state took the property. Dad then worked for Two Guys in the deli department for many years before retiring. It was nice that he had normal working hours. My parents started taking vacations which they had not been able to do before. My father had a young man delivering groceries by bicycle. He let people buy groceries on credit. We never had to go grocery shopping as he always took home necessities and treats from the store. Since we kept kosher, we had to get our meat from the kosher butcher even though my father sold meat. He always had a butcher whose name was Warren Peaches. His son taught me how to drive. Father's parents had a grocery store at 6th and Elm Street. My aunt and uncle, Sam and Esther, had a grocery at 9th and Pearl if I remember correctly. A cousin of my dad, Abe Molotsky had a dry goods store, but I can't remember the location (442-444 North 8th Street- PMC). Lois Cohen, October 2007 |
1048 Cooper Street Harry's Red
Front Market |
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| 1100
Block of Cooper Street Built by 1887 |
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1108
Cooper Street
1922 Philadelphia Inquirer |
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1117 Cooper Street Private
Anthony J. Flemming |
| 1124
Cooper Street
1929 Felisher &
Rosa Beasley |
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1124
Cooper Street
1897-1898 |
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1124
Cooper Street
1924 |
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1126 Cooper Street 1947-1957 Robert Booker Camden Courier-Post |
| 1127 Cooper Street John
Sylvester Kellum |
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| 1127 Cooper Street George
R. Serfling Sr. |
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| 1140 Cooper Street George
R. Serfling Sr. |
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1143 Cooper Street Wilson's Daily Express New
Jersey Bell Telephone Directory |
| 1143 Cooper Street 1947 No Listing |
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| 1144 Cooper Street Clinton
Gilchrist |
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1144 Cooper Street 1961 |
| 1145 Cooper Street Ray
R. Adams |
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1152
Cooper Street
1899 Howard Snyder Philadelphia
Inquirer Click on Image to Enlarge |
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'NUMBERS' SUSPECT FREED IN $100 BAIL Suspected by the police of being a "numbers' writer, Clinton Gilchrist, 25, colored, of 1153 Cooper Street, was held in $100 bail by Acting Police Judge James Smith yesterday for a further hearing next Tuesday. Gilchrist who is charged with operating a "numbers" lottery was arrested Thursday in an automobile at Eleventh and Cooper streets by Detective Lieutenant Louis Shaw and Detective Clarence Arthur. In Gilchrist's possession, the detectives say they found some "numbers" slips and "loose coins." |
1153 Cooper Street Clinton Gilchrist Camden Courier-Post |
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1161
Cooper Street 1910s-1930s |
| 1163
Cooper Street 1870s-1906 |
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1163
Cooper Street
1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
| 1169
Cooper Street Edward
Richards |
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1171
Cooper Street
1947-1955 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
| 1900
Block of Cooper Street Built by 1887 |
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| 1987 Cooper Street 1924 Thomas
Fitzpatrick |
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| 1988 Cooper Street 1924 Frank R. Ware |
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| 1989 Cooper Street Razed by April 1930 |
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| 1991 Cooper Street 1924 John J. McGinnis |
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| 1993 Cooper Street 1924 John Koehler |
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| 1995 Cooper Street 1924 Mrs. Sophie Beck |
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| 1997 Cooper Street 1924 Mrs. Lulu Nellett |
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| 1999 Cooper Street 1910s-1920s W.W. Ross |
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1999 Cooper Street 1955-1990s 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone |
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1999 Cooper Street 1955-1990s 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone Click on Image to Enlarge |
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1999 Cooper Street 1955-1990s 1955 New Jersey Bell
Telephone Click on Image to Enlarge |
| 2000
Block of Cooper Street Built by 1887 |
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2000
Cooper Street
1933-1959 1955
New Jersey Bell Telephone |
| 2002 Cooper Street 1933
Sam
& Minnie Wishnaff |
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| 2004 Cooper Street |
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| 2004 Cooper Street 1924 John J. Murtaugh |
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| 2006 Cooper Street |
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| 2006 Cooper Street 1933
Norman
& Agnes Stinger |
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| 2008 Cooper Street 1933 Ray Lentz |
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| 2008 Cooper Street 1947 John J.
& Anna Greenwich Family |
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| 2010 Cooper Street 1894-1895 John
H. Anderson |
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| 2012 Cooper Street 1933-1947 William B. & Pearl C. Read |
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2014 Cooper Street John Lemmons |
| 2014 Cooper Street 1933
Mr.
& Mrs. Owens |
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| 2014 Cooper Street |
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| 2014 Cooper Street 1947 Antonio
& Margaret Derago |
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| 2016 Cooper Street 1933-1947 Albert S. & Viola A. Ruebeck |
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| 2018 Cooper Street 1933
Anna
Miller & her mother |
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| 2020 Cooper Street 1933 Herb & Molly MacIntosh |
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| 2020 Cooper Street 1947 John & Helen Lemayski Family Mr. & Mrs. Lemayski had three sons, John, Robert, and Stan. Robert & Stan Lemayski both were career Camden Police officers, as was a cousin, Richard Pierznik. Son John Lemayski retired from Riverview Towers on Mickle Boulevard. |
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| 2022 Cooper Street 1933-1947George
& Bertha Hanley |
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2024 Cooper Street 1906-1910s Melvin
& Nettie Gleason 1930s
Tom
& Dorothy Agin Family 1947 Theo T. & Margaret Stone |
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Journalist Will Paul wrote an article around 1940 about growing up on Cooper Street in the 1880s. Be sure to read his Memories of Old Cooper Street. |
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Tom Agin and his sister Harriet Lynne Agin Stuhltrager have shared some East Camden Cooper Street memories and photos with me. Click here for a few notes about the "other" Cooper Street. |
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2000
Block of Cooper Street |
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| The
grocery store at 53 East State Street Known as Handleton's 1930s-1960s 2024 Cooper Street is at right, in the background |
2000
Block Cooper Street as seen from East State Street |
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| 2024 and 2022 Cooper Street | 2000
Block Cooper Street as seen from North 20th Street |
| Click on Images to Enlarge | |
RETURN TO STREETS OF CAMDEN, NJ
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Tom Agin and his sister, Harriet Lynne Agin Stuhltrager e-mailed me a few memories of growing up on Cooper Street in East Camden, a street that most people aren't even aware of. If you have any comments, corrections, or photographs that you would like me to add, PLEASE e-mail me. Like everything else on www.dvrbs.com, this page is a work in progress. Phil
Cohen |
| Cooper
Street Looking West from East State Street - October 1, 2003 The first house on left is 2024 Cooper Street - the home of the Agin family during the 1930s |
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Tom Agin's Cooper Street Memories |
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When I first lived on Cooper Street it was 2 blocks long and unpaved. It was covered with black slag. At the end of the street there began a huge empty lot of many acres that had pure yellow sand just like an ocean beach . Nowhere else in the area was there anything like it. It was bounded by 19th Street, Federal Street the railroad and the Haddon Bindery. The Haddon Bindery is memorable for two reasons. One is that it supplied me with broken wooden skids which we used for heat and cooking. And the linotypists would give us kids lead slugs which we converted into lead soldiers. Just beyond the Haddon Bindery was the Mumsey Candy Factory which was always good for a handout. I enjoyed reading [on www.dvrbs.com] about Warren Buck. For years I thought perhaps he was a figment of my imagination since no one else seems to have heard of him. I grew up on little Cooper Street just a few blocks from Buck's menagerie. I never heard of Stockton Park. We merely crossed Federal Street at 19th to what was referred to in my neighborhood as Hell's Half Acre, namely Carman Street and environs. Then about a half mile up a dirt road to where only two large houses stood. One was the Fitzpatrick house and the other was Warren Buck's. Like most people I thought he was Frank Buck's brother. It was great to see the animals- gorillas, pythons, and everything in between. Spreading rumors to the women of the neighborhood that this or that animal had escaped was great sport. A little further up the road was the swamp and city dump. Beyond that was the world's first Drive-In Movie. We would stop at the swamp and cut cattails to take to the movie where we would light them to keep the mosquitoes away. Since we kids couldn't afford to go in we would sit out on a small rise that gave us a perfect view of the screen. Sound was no problem since they had large loud speakers mounted on poles around the periphery, in-car speakers had yet to be invented. Also, I remember a Dog Race Track at Airport Circle that no one else seems to recall. Thinking back to the 30's there were horses in the neighborhood every day. The milkman, breadman, iceman, the ragmen collecting junk, even at times coal was delivered this way. There was even a miniature circus wagon pulled by a pony from which the guy sold waffles made on a gasoline stove on board. I can't remember ever having a nickel to buy one but we kids enjoyed seeing them all the same. As each horse drove through we kids would run all over and pull grass to feed them. I don't know anyone who grew up in East Camden that doesn't have fond memories of those times. |
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Harriet Lynne Agin Stuhltrager's Cooper Street Memories |
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I attended St. Joseph's. My brothers attended Dudley School, as did my playmates. They often spoke of their teachers. One in particular was a Miss Little. If I am correct Miss Little taught 6th grade at the time. She taught them a song called, "When I Grow Too Old To Dream, (I'll have you to remember)". My friend sang the song to me so much. I loved it. The reason I mention it is; she is the one who learned it but I was the one who loved and always remembered it, along with Miss Little whom I never knew. I guess one of my earliest recollections is walking to school and crossing 21st and Federal Street. Right on the corner we kids would stop and look in as the Blacksmith worked on the horse's shoes. I can still see the man's helmet which came down over his eyes to protect them from the flying sparks as he worked on the horses' shoes. I never knew the name of the place I walked past The Black Cat Diner, Bill Grahams Tap Room, then a little candy store came next which sat on the corner. This is 21st. Across the small street on the corner sat the blacksmith. 21st did not run on the south side of Federal Street. On the other side of Federal Street across from the blacksmith sat Penn Jersey Auto Store, later a Pep Boys, which sat on the point, as Marlton Pike came in there. I went to school with and lived next door to Cass Hanley. If two little girls were to roam today the way Cass and I did then-------we would not be here to tell about it and I might add we love most of our memories. Next door to Cass lived Mr. and Mrs. MacIntosh. Cass & I went to Mr. MacIntosh's funeral. We always remembered it as it was a military honor. They gave him a 21 gun salute I would be remiss to share the pictures of the corner house which is 2024 Cooper Street without paying tribute to the "one person" who left its memory a shrine within the hearts of her children. Our beloved mother, Dorothy Agin. During the Depression, most of the homes on the "other" Cooper Street were owned by a Mrs. Brock. She was a very kind and compassionate lady. My father, Tom Agin, was a "Jack-of-all-trades". Mrs. Brock engaged him to attend to the maintenance of her properties. In time she sold them to Mrs. Yost. Of course tenants changed frequently. More than likely everyone rented. A few houses had inside bathrooms. Most had outhouses. Also there were no furnaces in the cellars. Most had electric. We, along with a few others, did not. In the winter time the stove was on which made cooking ready to prepare. In the summer the fire had to be made. First the paper--then the wood . Wow! The "world came to an end" for us , when in 1940 we were evicted. We then moved to 624 Carman Street, right off of Broadway, not far from the City Hall. My mothers failing health and difficult life ended in May, 1941. Our life as a family had come to a close. |
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Camden
Courier-Post
February 16, 1928
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| Camden Courier-Post - August 1, 1936 | ||
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More of Tom Agin's Cooper Street Memories |
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Little Cooper Street : Hard to believe anyone could be nostalgic about a place like that But it was a helluva lot cleaner and in better repair at the height of the depression, this in spite of the fact that 90% of the residents were on relief. And there were only about two old cars in the whole neighborhood. One was an old Packard, the other a Willys-Overland. The corner house with the bay windows is 2024.That was my abode from about 1932 to 1940. 2022 housed the Hanley family`` Then came the MacIntosh's. All the houses on Cooper Street had outdoor privies and no central heating. Heat usually came from pot bellied stoves. Although a few people had gas ranges most did their cooking on wood stoves. These were not fun for the boys who had to find and chop the wood nor the women who did the cooking on 100 degree days in July and August. Not all the houses had electricity including mine. Light was by oil lamp. These were known as the good old days. The triangular lot across the street was the site of a large two story house that housed the Ryan family until it was condemned and torn down about 1945. The other end of the street ,on the one side had a large vacant lot and a large frame house. That lot was always vacant. At times during the summer groups from the WPA used to set up a screen and projector and show films, mostly cartoons and short subjects. The other side of the street at that point had about 12 row houses, only two of which I remember being occupied, the first was the Wallace house and the third housed the Finch boys, a couple of middle aged bachelors with nothing to do but sit on the front step and drink. The remaining ten houses were vacant. About 1936 they all were condemned and razed. |
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East Camden's Cooper Street about 1933
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East Camden's Cooper Street in 1947
Only George Ware was still on the block in 1959, according to the 1959 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory. Of course it must me noted that not everyone may have had a telephone.
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I can’t help smiling when I read such tales of woe as “Heating with Coal”. Did everyone but me have central heating back in the 30’s? Although it must have been fun to be able to spy on those downstairs through the ceiling grates, it must have been wonderful to feel the warm air rising into your freezing bedroom on a cold winters night. Most houses with central heating ,which you didn't use in the summer, came equipped with a gas range for cooking and most houses with gas had a water heater. Central heat via a furnace also meant the ability to pay for coal by the ton which few if any on little Cooper Street could even dream of. Life on the other side of the tracks: Coal was a luxury to be bought only when it was absolutely necessary and then only in 50 lb bags. Blue coal or pea or nut or even coke ,it didn't matter on any particular day, except which happened to be cheapest. I would take my little wagon up to the Pavonia Ice and Coal Co. at 23rd and Howell Streets when we had the money and struggle with a bag I could hardly lift then haul it back home and try to carry it into the house. This was our secondary source of coal. At other times, which I hated, I would be ordered to take a bucket and walk the railroad tracks to find coal that had fallen off coal cars. This also meant playing hide and seek with the railroad police, who were not the friendliest people in the world. At that age it didn't dawn on me that they were looking out for my safety as well as protecting railroad property. My route for coal scavenging usually ranged from behind the Haddon Press down to behind Dimedio Lime, Dubell Lumber and Concrete Steel Co. On a bad day I would have to continue all the way beyond Warren Webster's to the Standard Oil place at Federal Street and River Road to fill my bucket after which it was a heavy trip back to Cooper Street. Our heating system at home consisted of a large wood/coal cooking range in the kitchen which was jet black and had shiny nickel plated parts hanging on it. I also had the job of polishing this stove which was done while it was very hot using a liquid consisting of an oil and carbon black dispersion. You rubbed this on with a cloth and it smoked like a volcano and you continued rubbing until it was dry and shiny black, and so were you. This stove was used for cooking and heating water. There was only one faucet in the house and it was ice cold water. This is why in those days there was a Saturday bath, you didn't shower a couple times a day even if you wanted to. There was no hot water and no shower. Bathing was done in the galvanized laundry tub. During the week you washed your face and hands. Picture a woman's life during this period: Throughout the hottest time of the year she always needed a fire. To cook, to have water for the wash and to heat the iron for ironing. The wash was done on a wash board which most women today have seen only in museums. It was backbreaking labor.... and let’s not forget my sister's hair which also required a fire. With no electricity how else do you heat a curling iron? There were two kinds of curling irons I remember my mother using. One was called a Marcelle Iron and this made waves. The other was a curling iron much like those used today, except that they weren't heated with electricity. Then how were they heated?? Glad you asked. The irons were held in the fire until they were hot. Then they were taken out and closed on a piece of paper, preferably a brown paper bag. This would smoke, turn black and sometimes erupt into flame. You would continue testing it until it no longer discolored the paper. At this point you would then proceed to put the hair in and roll it up as you do today. After a few minutes you would unroll it and hope the hair didn't stay with the iron. Sound like fun?? I have a curling iron for you to try, if you are so inclined. Ironing clothes on a 100 degree day was not fun either. Or any other day for that matter. During the summer months we used wood which meant you could allow the fire to go out when it wasn't needed. The wood was usually scavenged by me from old shipping skids. These could be obtained from the Haddon Press and a few other businesses by hook or crook. Usually the latter. Many commodities in those days were shipped in wooden barrels. These were usually made of gum wood which was difficult to chop. The ax jumped back at you as if it had hid a block of rubber. Women today say they are overworked because one day a week that may have to DRIVE Johnny to Little League. That takes care of the kitchen. There was a pot bellied stove in the parlor which was seldom used at all. Parlors were generally used for special visitors or which happened, it seems , all to often in those days, wakes. Next comes the pot bellied stove in the dining room which was where we lived. This room served as living room, dining room and family room. This stove was our primary source of warmth throughout the winter months. This stove was not large but it kept the room comfortable. What about the bedrooms? There was zero heat except what your body generated and the quilts managed to hold next to you. The kitchen stove didn't help because the kitchen was a separate room attached to the rear of the house. As mentioned before the parlor stove wasn't used for general heating. Because of the size and limited utility of the dining room stove there was no ceiling grate to allow heat to rise to the upstairs…which would result in cooling the down stairs. I remember one occasion where I didn't think it was warm enough and being home alone I proceeded to remedy that situation. I filled the dining room stove with coke, which was all we had on hand that day. Then I opened the damper all the way which I had seen my father do. In a short period of time the pot belly was glowing red. Soon after the stove pipe started to get red and the red rose higher and higher and I became more and more scared not knowing what to do about it. The red was within three feet of the ceiling when my father walked in the door. In a short time he had the stove under control. As the stove returned to its normal black my bottom became redder and redder. I had doubts I would ever sit again. This is the way life went on in the good old days.... and they really were the good old days. Ask anyone who grew up during that period. You may get a different answer if you ask those who were unemployed adults during this time. It’s all in your perspective. Regards Tom
Agin |
| 2000
Block of Cooper
Street Side view looking West from across State Street - late 1970s Photos by Floyd Agin |
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grocery store at 53 East State Street Known as Handleton's 1930s-1960s 2024 Cooper Street is at right, in the background |
2000
Block Cooper Street as seen from East State Street |
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| 2024 and 2022 Cooper Street | 2000
Block Cooper Street as seen from North 20th Street |
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