After Pete Hill began the meeting in by reviewing old business and hearing Treasurer Jodi Clark's report, borough resident Marshall Hatfield talked about his plans to put together an online list of past borough residents using historical borough directories. Then, Society Vice President Bob Hunter took the floor. While the Society's Newsletter Editor Ken Funkhouser operated the slide machine, Bob used photos old and new to walk us through our town's history, inviting the audience to help with commentary and reminiscences.
Bob started his presentation with a description of what it might have been like for a family to move from Camden or Philadelphia into Haddon Heights in the late 19th century. He then showed a picture of the Haddon Heights Inn, which sat near Second Avenue from 1890 until 1923, and contrasted the image with what the location looks like today--a suburban street little different than anywhere else on the east side of town.
Over the course of more than an hour, accompanied by slides showing "then" and "now," Bob spoke about places that were once Heights establishments but exist no more, including Evaul's store, the Baptist Church on the White Horse Pike, the first town hall, and King's Highway School. He also showed the audience edifices which still exist but which had changed over the course of the last century, such as St. Mary's Episcopal and the First Presbyterian Churches, the building now occupied by Richard S. Sheldon Inc., the Hatcher House in Camden County Park (of which only the stone steps remain) and Station Avenue itself, which has changed greatly from 1904 to 2004.
The audience was also very willing to provide their own stories. From residents of the borough we heard why the old King's Highway School was destroyed ("'cause it was a firetrap"), and that the owner of the Gulf gas station formerly on Station Avenue sometimes hung a gutted deer from the Gulf's sign. We heard that the official reason that the old town hall was torn down was because it "was falling apart" but that it still "took an awful lot to bring it down." We also learned that the cupola on top of the old town hall was not destroyed but hauled off to a place unknown--its current location, should it still exist, remains a mystery.
After Bob Hunter's slide presentation ended, we were treated to a cake celebrating the borough's centennial. We were also left informed and entertained, having participated in an enjoyable meeting filled with fond reminiscences. We were also left with a few questions, and if you have the answers to any of them, we encourage you to contact us or give Bob Hunter a call at the library, 547-7132.
- Why was the Evaul store located near the corner of Station and Atlantic taken down? It was apparently not to make way for the Fastows building.
- What happened to the cupola that was atop the old town hall?
- The parking on Station Avenue was once diagonal, as opposed to parallel. Why did that change--and when?
- Why, exactly, was the old town hall demolished?
- Why was the Lippincott house at the corner of 7th & Green, which had housed four generations of the family, torn down?
- What street did the first St. Rose face?
And we're always looking for historic photos, but especially: The old First Presbyterian Church on 7th Avenue, Lindsey's Market, and the A&P
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