A Memory of 305 Ablett Village

From 1955–1967 I lived at 305 Ablett Village with my mother (Evelyn Pomponio) and my older brother (Harold Funk). Our house was on the last row facing the Camden City Dump. As a result, we had rats living under our outside steps and large roaches that were impossible to eradicate no matter how clean you kept your home. Vietnam was the only place where I saw roaches as large.

Putting the rats and roaches aside, I had a very happy childhood in the "Village." I played endless hours of baseball and basketball behind the AV Community Center. My friends include Bruce Leary, Cliff Leary, Mike Cox, Betty Agigian, Cathy Hearn, John O'Toole, Buddy Woods, Bobby Pierce, Ben Trykowski, George Clarke and Nancy Clarke.

I left the Village in 1967 and enlisted in the Army, but the lessons I learned growing up on "the wrong side of the tracks" has benefited me my entire life.

— John Pomponio, October 2019