by Jack \”Bomber\” Bennett

 GCHS Class of \’66

Today, a kid might have to go a couple of miles to find a store, and that’s if they could leave their video games long enough to do it. And I’m not talking about a Wa Wa or 7-Eleven. I’m talking about a place where you could buy real supplies like toilet paper, canned goods, vegetables, dairy products, bakery items, lunch, and butchered meats. Sounds like a lengthy trip to a huge box store would be the only answer these days.

But, when I was a kid growing up in Gloucester during the ’50s and ’60s, it seemed like every neighborhood had a place where you could actually buy the necessities of life. Gloucester had many great little Mom and Pop businesses that helped make up the fabric of the city. These places varied from simple grocery stores, drug stores, and bakeries, down to candy and novelty shops. You never had to walk very far to find one because there was at least one store on every other corner. 

Many of the corner stores were there for generations. Their owners witnessed the progression of entire families being born, growing up, marrying, and dying. They knew everyone in the neighborhood and on a first-name basis. Typically, when you walked into one of these establishments, you were usually greeted with a \”Hello, how’s your Mom and Dad\” or \”How you doin’ in school?\” They really knew you and seemed to care.

Some store owners knew you so well, you could buy stuff \”on the I\” meaning the owner kept an IOU and you paid him at the end of the month. Try doing that at the Ac-a-me or Super Walmart today without a major credit card. Most folks in Gloucester lived paycheck to paycheck and usually ran out of money before they ran out of the week. Store credit to buy food was sometimes the only way folks could make it and feed 4 or 5 kids. 

Now remember, this was back in the days when most families had only one car, if any, and a lot of Moms didn’t even know how to drive (mine didn’t). So, either your Mom made the trek, or she would scribble out a list, hand you a few bucks, and off you went. And Heaven helps you if you didn’t bring back ALL the change. If you were lucky, she might let you have a nickel to buy some penny candy.

Most of the stores were independently owned but were affiliated with a group of food chains like the Unity or Quaker brands. When I was 12, I worked at the Kadlec Quaker Food Market on the corner of Morris and Broadway. Paul Kadlec was the owner. As I recall, Paul was a gentle man, slow to temper, but he didn’t take any crap. And, he was well-liked by everyone who shopped in his small but neat store.

The store was no bigger than your average house, but there was produce, paper products, canned goods, cereals, soda, and a complete butcher area that included a cold case, butcher block, and a walk-in fridge.

My job was as an \”Order Boy\” meaning when I wasn’t bagging onions, potatoes, or groceries, I was out delivering them on a bicycle—one of those clunky types with a huge basket on the front. People would call the Market and make an order, we put it in some paper bags, and I rode to the house and delivered them. And, I can tell you I delivered groceries in weather that would make any mailman proud. Neither rain, nor hail, nor sleet could keep Mrs. Jones from her husband’s scrapple.

I worked mostly for tips and on a good Saturday I could bring home around 20 to 25 dollars. At 50 cents a trip, I had to do a lot of pedaling. You do the math. But, I survived.

I know time marches on and things change, but not always do they change for the better. The small business owner is a dying breed in this country and it is a shame. When I look back on my youth in Gloucester City in the 60s I realize how fortunate I was to be in a place where life was good—not easy, but good. I hope it never ends for those who still live there. 

Now, run downthestore and get me some lunch meat, eggs, and penny candy.

 Surfing the Internet today (Sunday, January 23)I found the following information on the Cherry Hill Fire Department’s blog about an incident involving Gloucester City Firefighters on January 15 at the Holt Cargo complex. Photos were included with the report. 

 Hazmat 13 Operates At Gloucester City Building Collapse

Inside photo of collapse building at Holt Cargo Complex

photo Fire Chief Williams at the scene

Members of Hazmat 13 conducted air monitoring while research on the product was conducted. Once the product was identified and confirmed, private contractors isolated the source from a remote storage vessel. The building was ventilated and air monitoring was continued until meter readings were within permissible range. Hazmat 13 operated for approximately 3 hours at the scene.

 The introduction to the Cherry Hill Fire Department’s web site reads,

It would behoove the Gloucester City Fire Department to take a lesson from Cherry Hill and other fire departments in the area, such as Bellmawr, that post daily/weekly reports on their websites for the public to keep them up-to-date on what their fire department is doing in their communities.

The Gloucester City Police Department is another good example. The GCPD has no problem providing a weekly crime report to be posted on ClearysNoteBook (CNB) and published in the Gloucester City News. They also provide breaking news articles when needed.

Why should Gloucesterites have to read about their fire department’s response to a call on the Cherry Hill Fire Department’s website?

 We heard a lot from the Gloucester City firemen prior to the layoffs. In fact one City fireman was even allowed to answer questions during the time he was on duty from people who posted comments on CNB. The individual provided some useful information during that discussion. But that was weeks ago.

 Communication is so easy today because of the Internet. Keeping the people informed on the daily activities of the City Fire Department should have been one of the main lessons learned from the layoffs of the eight firemen. It was obvious during that turmoil that some residents were not aware of the number of calls the fire department responded to. The year is just starting. Let’s hope that the GCFD has plans in the works to better communicate with the public in 2011.

Doyle will report the results of his inquiries by March 31 to the court.

Bob Ingle, a columnist for the Courier Post, alleged on Sunday that the money is being wasted and \”the kids in those 31 districts are not showing a lot of improvement for the money spent.\”

Ingle continued, \”Like so many other empty-headed government solutions, it is based on throwing money at a problem instead of finding root causes and working on correcting them.\”

According to a teacher he quotes, the problem is with the parents and the home environment – where education is not emphasized.

Yet, here in Gloucester City, many parents do indeed care about the education their children are receiving.

In fact, in the recent High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) tests, 11^th graders at Gloucester City High School improved 8.6 percent in Language Arts and 6.3 percent in Math.

Obviously, this improvement comes from the students studying, the teachers teaching, and the parents caring.

As for the 30 other Abbotts in New Jersey, I cannot say if the court-ordered funding is working.

But, it is working here.

I would ask Mr. Ingle, and the teacher he quoted, to visit the Gloucester City School District and see the difference the state funds have made over the past 25 years.

Hard working parents in this humble town know that education can be the difference between a life of poverty and a successful career.

As this is just for mechanicals (Heating, Air), there is no site plan to indicate how the stores will be positioned in the lot.

Two things grabbed my attention. As noted previously, Bottom Dollar Stores have walk-in produce refrigeration units to keep the produce fresh. A nice feature for a discount grocer.

Second, there is an area indicated for \”Future Beer Cases\”. An interesting idea, but it makes

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