TIPS AND SNIPPETS: Growing Up In Gcity, Cleanup of Junk Yard? Train Blocks Traffic

By William E. Cleary Sr.

REMEMBERING THE “GOOD OLD DAYS” — Howard “Butch” Shaffer rolled up from Hilton Head, South Carolina, to meet a few of his childhood buddies at the Brooklawn Diner on Thursday, April 2. For a moment, it felt like Gloucester City in the 1940s and ’50s all over again — a town where everyone knew your name, your father’s nickname, and which streetlight you were supposed to be home by.

Back then, our little community ran on corner stores, church bells, and the kind of front‑porch gossip that traveled faster than any newspaper. World War II was winding down, the Korean War was starting up on the other side of the world, and kids like us were more worried about stickball games, jukebox music, and whether we had enough change for a Coke.

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E-Scooters and E-Bikes Turn Public Spaces into Hazard Zones

William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews Editor

Electric scooters and electric bikes have flooded into Gloucester City and surrounding towns, and the results are becoming harder to ignore. What began as a convenient way to get around has quickly turned into a safety problem for anyone who uses our sidewalks, jogging paths, or neighborhood streets responsibly.

The danger isn’t theoretical. On my daily walks with Sweetie, I’ve had kids on these motorized bikes come up behind us without a sound. These machines make no noise, so you can’t hear them approaching until they’re already on top of you. More than once, a rider has blown past us at high speed, leaving no time to react. In one instance, a teenager on an e‑bike came straight at the dog and me, expecting us to move aside. I was forced to step off the path or be hit. That’s not “sharing the road”—that’s intimidation.

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Gloucester Catholic Yearbooks Added to Historical Society Archive

By William E. Cleary Sr.

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 25, 2026)(CNBNews)–Doing research we found a treasurer trove of Gloucester Catholic yearbooks posted on the Gloucester City Historical Society’s website. The first known yearbook begins with 1936. The Historical Society has every yearbook except 1937, 1938 & 1943. The Gloucester City Library may have those which the Historical Society does not have.

(photo property of George F. Cleary Jr., 1959 GCHS graduate)

The very first person in the front row is my brother George F. Cleary Jr., next to him is Vernon “Buddy” Myers. The photo is of members of the typing class that graduated in 1959, which was copied from George’s personal yearbook. Our mother, Mazie, insisted that George and I learn how to type. Those lessons paid off throughout my life, as it was a necessary skill for a reporter. George became a Morse code expert in the Army. He was stationed in Frankfort, Germany, during the time the Berlin Wall was being built by the Communists in East Germany. He and the pilot of a small airplane would fly over the Wall; George’s job was to decipher the Morse code messages being transmitted between the enemy. He would type those conversations and submit the information to his superior officer.

The Historical Society released the following remarks about the use of the data: “Below are links to yearbooks that have been digitized to date. The copyright status of these books is unknown. Access is provided for personal use only. These yearbooks may contain personal messages. Should you find anything that may be too personal or hurtful, please let us know, and we will attempt to edit out or omit those pages.

Click Here for Gloucester Catholic Year Books Online

Gloucester Catholic Years Books Flipbook

PDF versions of the Gloucester Catholic Yearbooks can be found below.

https://drive.google.com/embeddedfolderview?id=1B68uIO3FEq-klo9MLbHeRY0DpdzCBLG6#grid

The Gloucester City Historical Society is located at 34 N. King Street, Gloucester City NJ 08030

A Fond Farewell to Carr’s Hardware

William E. Cleary Sr. | Founder/Editor of Cleary’s Notebook News

Gloucester City News photo, August 29, 1974

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 24, 2026)--All good things come to an end, eventually — or so the saying goes. Gloucester City felt the weight of that truth this month when Jean Carr, owner of Carr’s Hardware, announced she was retiring and closing the family business on March 12. With that decision, a remarkable 58‑year chapter in the city’s history quietly came to a close.

The Carr family’s hardware legacy began in 1968, when the family patriarch, Franklin Carr Sr., opened the original store at 520 Monmouth Street in the heart of the Business District. At the time, Garwood’s Hardware stood directly across the street, and several other shops throughout town sold tools, lumber, and supplies. When the business moved to its new location, Frank Jr., owned the business. And, his brothers, Bill and Richard, worked there.

Among them were: Continue reading →

Cleary’s Notebook News March 2006: Cheers & Jeers

JEER — To the landlord who treated East Thompson Avenue like a dumping ground

A landlord on East Thompson Avenue left an unsightly pile of trash at the curb six days before the scheduled pickup — a heap that sat there blowing around the neighborhood like a slow‑motion insult. Just a few steps away on South Burdsall Avenue, another pile of recyclables was dumped directly in the street instead of being placed in a proper recycling bin.

Gloucester City’s trash ordinances couldn’t be clearer: household waste and recyclables must be placed at the curb no earlier than 7 PM the night before pickup, and only in secure, watertight containers. The rules also spell out weight limits, container‑cover requirements, and fines that can reach $2,000 for repeat offenders. These aren’t suggestions — they’re laws meant to keep neighborhoods clean, safe, and livable.

WHY IT MATTERS

Community pride begins at home. When someone leaves trash out for nearly a week, it doesn’t just create an eyesore — it chips away at the dignity of the block. It tells your neighbors their street isn’t worth respecting. It invites rodents, scatters debris, and sends the message that Gloucester City is a place where standards don’t matter.

And here’s the real frustration: the City already has ordinances on the books to prevent exactly this kind of behavior. If those laws aren’t going to be enforced, then what’s the point of having them? Residents who follow the rules shouldn’t have to live with the consequences of those who don’t.

Cleary’s Notebook News photos

CHEER-To the Gloucester City Lions Club and the Gloucester Little League organization for replacing the torn American Flag and the POW Flag at the LL field and at the Johnson Blvd Jogging Park. Kudos also to Bruce Parry for his help.

WHY IT MATTERS Continue reading “Cleary’s Notebook News March 2006: Cheers & Jeers” →

BREAKING NEWS: Berkeley Twp Triple Homicide

March 10, 2026

Police: Three Adults Dead, Three Children Found Unharmed on Fairwood Drive

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, NJ (March 10, 2026)(CNBNews) — Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that at approximately 5:00 a.m. Tuesday, Berkeley Township police officers responded to a residence on Fairwood Drive after receiving reports of shots fired.

Upon arrival, officers observed a male entering the home and heard additional gunfire coming from inside. The Ocean County Regional SWAT Team made entry a short time later. Inside the residence, officers located Allan Russell, 61, and Michelle Russell, 60, both deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. Three minor children were also found inside the home unharmed.

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FROM OUR MORGUE: Gloucester Catholic Baseball Wins 1st Game

Bruce Darrow | Cleary’s Notebook Sports

First published April 2016

BROOKLAWN N.J. April 1, 2016 (Cleary’s Notebook News)--Gloucester Catholic Head Coach Adam Tussey (photo labove) notched his 1st win as the new coach by beating Kingsway High School 7 – 1 in the Rams home opener. Tussey who took over for Mike Rucci who departed for Rowan University was left a team needing to fill seven spots. The 2015 team loaded with future college players took not only seven fielding positions but Tussey needed to replace four pitchers.

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FROM OUR DIGITAL MORGUE:

The Story Behind The Story: Daylight Savings Time Forever

First published Friday, March 18, 2022

by Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Contributor

The United States Senate has passed a bill submitted by Sen. Marco Rubio (R, FL) to make Daylight Savings Time permanent. Sen. Rubio made some valid points in his bill. During the standard time when evening comes at 5:00 p.m. crime rate is higher, people become depressed due to Seasonal Affective Disorder and for an unknown reason, people have more heart attacks. There is also the hope, optimistically, that with more daylight kids will spend more time outside getting exercise.

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Medford Village Bakery Grand Opening

Camden Diocese Reaches $180 Million Settlement with Abuse Survivors, More Than Doubling Previous Agreement

Thursday, February 19, 2026

The Diocese of Camden has agreed to pay $180 million to more than 300 survivors of clerical sexual abuse, marking one of the largest such settlements in New Jersey history and representing a significant expansion of compensation for victims who have waited years for justice. The agreement, announced Tuesday in a letter from Bishop Joseph A. Williams to diocesan clergy and faithful, more than doubles the $87.5 million settlement the diocese reached in 2022. The victim support fund will be financed through contributions from the diocese, its parishes, and insurance carriers following a protracted legal dispute. The settlement represents a breakthrough after years of contentious negotiations between the diocese, claimants’ attorneys, and insurance companies that had resisted earlier payment demands. The agreement must still receive approval from the bankruptcy court, as the Camden diocese has operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since 2020.

A Long-Awaited Milestone

In his letter dated February 17, Bishop Williams acknowledged the profound significance of the moment for those who suffered abuse at the hands of clergy members. The bishop offered a direct apology to victims, calling their suffering the result of “grave sin and a devastating betrayal of the trust you placed in the Church that you loved.”

Years of Legal Battles

According to a statement from Lowenstein Sandler, the law firm representing plaintiffs in the case, the new agreement supplements rather than replaces the earlier settlement, bringing total compensation to victims to more than a quarter-billion dollars.

For the more than 300 survivors involved in this case, the settlement offers financial recognition of their suffering, though many advocates note that no amount of money can truly compensate for the trauma of childhood sexual abuse and its lifelong consequences.

Context and Implications

The agreement also reflects the ongoing financial and moral reckoning facing the Catholic Church as it continues to confront the legacy of clergy sexual abuse scandals that have spanned decades.

For more information, visit: https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2026/02/diocese-of-camden-nj-reaches-180-million-abuse-settlement