by Gary Marcucci
(cnbnews.net)The first place I hung out was VanStein’s, a little store near the corner of 7th and Market. The following is a list of the fellows that I remember being there:
Harry Wilson
Corky McNutt
Johnny Clifford
Tony McGrath
Jack Ahern
Tim Downey
Howard Dickson
Joe McCullough
Sam and Jim Chew
Joe Heimerl
Tommy Reed
Jan Ferry
Eddie Spolture
John Rowan
We used to play baseball at the lot right behind Hunter Street School. This is before Tee Ball and all other controlled sports. You got to play with guys three or four years older and learned the rules through your peers. It was a great day to play ball there or maybe even go down to Charles Street on the field there and later go to VanStein’s and get a Pepsi and a bag of chips. The VanSteins were great. They used to take a bunch of us down to a lake in Deptford a couple of times a year to go swimming. On really cold nights, we would go down to Foster’s Laundry and stand by the hot vent. Can you believe we were hanging out at ten years old? Some of the guys were older but you learned your place.
The very first dance I remember going to was in the basement of Cissie Everhart’s basement. It cost a dime but you got potato chips, pretzels, and soda.
Early Teens
I then moved to Gladys, a candy store, at Market and Sussex Streets. The guys there were:
Bill Kimmey
Jake Miller
Dick Fitzpatrick
Johnny Cobb
Frank Herman
George Cleary
Bob Bevan
Pete Pitzo
Albie Brandt
Joe and Ed DiGiacomo
Joe Brandt
Joe Battersby
John Ellenbark
We also had some girls that came around regularly.
Marie and Sissy Hagan
Nancy Johnson
Flossie Harris
Alberta Ellenbark
And some others I can’t remember.
The girls used to try and teach us how to dance in the back. I can remember Tutti Fruitti was popular and this was the first time I can remember dancing in public. Some of the guys were really good and then there was me.
About this time, we started going to the dances at Gloucester Catholic High School in their gym, Gloucester City High School and one place I remember in particular were St. Anne’s in Westville. As a matter of fact, a bunch of us used to hang out there at Beverly Hanson’s house. It was neat, their family had a monkey as a pet. Some of the girls we hung out with were:
Beverly Hanson
Terrie Manion
Donna Barton
Lois Grossinger
Bernadette Murphy
Middle Teens were spent at Tucker’s, at the corner of Cumberland and Joy Streets. Some of the regulars were:
Bill Kimmey
Jake Miller
Dick Fitzpatrick
Frank Herman
George Cleary
Bob Bevan
Pete Pitzo
Albie Brandt
Joe and Ed DiGiacomo
Joe Battersby
Jim Fritz
Joe Brandt
Billy Underwood
Denny Stinsman
Larry Pusey
Bill Tourtual
And so many others that would drop by on a semi-regular basis.
These were the times when we thought it was funny to put a lit cigarette in the cuff of somebody’s pants. Played a lot of pinball and football in the street as if your life depended on it. We continued going to the dances at Gloucester High and Gloucester Catholic and once in a while to the Gloucester City Park Dances.
Junior and Senior Year of High School
Finally graduated to Powell’s Luncheonette on Broadway near Cumberland. There was always dancing going on here too. Way too many people to mention who hung out there.
Now we had wheels and were able to go to the Dancette out in Oaklyn and the dances at the Almonesson Ballroom.
It was from about age fifteen to seventeen that we used to crash weddings. I still can’t believe how we got away with it. I remember one time Joe Brandt actually danced with the bride at the Gloucester Heights Fire Hall.
After high school, we started going to some of the local bars, such as the Erin, Capp’s, Twin Bar and the Sand Bar. We would stop at these places before going on to one of the dances. From our twenties on, besides the shore, there was the Erlton Bowl and Al Jo’s.
So, so many stories that we all have that would fill a book. I remember when I was away at college I didn’t tell a lot of the stories for fear of being branded a liar. Some of the stuff we did was absolutely nuts.
Playing Little League Baseball and having your teammate (Dinky Brennan) drive himself to the game. Joe Brandt flushing Walt Sharp’s eye down the toilet and a thousand more.
Related articles
- Marcucci Places First in Achilles Foundation Run/Walk Event -cnbnews.net (gloucestercitynews.net)