Kevin Riordan: Old S. Philly tales fill diner in N.J. (chicken, anyone?)

| Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/11/2010

Their neighborhood, sometimes referred to as the East End, was defined by McKean, Mifflin, Water, and Second (\”Two\”) Streets. It was adjacent to a belt of heavy industry, including the Sinclair oil refinery and the Publicker distillery, that extended north along the waterfront from where the great green arc of the Walt Whitman Bridge now rises toward Gloucester City. \”You worked right in the neighborhood,\” Carney says.

Expressway construction in the 1960s forced longtime residents to South Jersey, Delaware County, or other city neighborhoods. After repeatedly catching up with one another at funerals, the guys decided in 1992 to have monthly lunches. Since then, at least a dozen of the original crew – guys like Cuz, Skinny, and Barfy – have passed away.

Gathered at the most recent lunch are Carney, 79, of Gloucester Township; Winters, 82, of Bellmawr; George \”Baker\” Hayn, 81, and James \”Muscles\” Black, 87, both of Philadelphia; Ray McMullen, 82, of Woodbury; and Jim \”Bimmy\” Sandusky, 82, of Ridley Township.

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