Binder Family Memory of Arlington Street

The following recollection of life at 2030 Arlington Street was submitted by John "Chick" Binder in August 2013.

I was born in a small brick row home, at 550 Chelton Avenue. My grandmother and her friend, Mrs. Blizzard, delivered me without the help of a doctor. They were women who often delivered babies back then, mid-wives, I think they were called. Shortly thereafter, we moved to 2030 Arlington Street, where we remained until 1946. My maternal grandparents, William and Mabel Blackiston, lived next door to Stella's (Rosemont Bar). They were there many years before I was born. They were good friends with Stella and both her husbands.

We lived across the street from the Rohde's, both Herman (Buddy Rogers), and his brother John were good friends with my parents and grandparents through the years. A few doors from the Rohde's was a photographer, Harry Candera, he took many pictures of the residents over the years. The street was a wonderful place to live, at least for a child. Everyone was friendly toward one-another, and during World War II neighbor helped neighbor when times were tough.

I remember some of the men who went off to war and didn't come back, those neighbors had a small flag hanging in their window, with a star, designating the loss of a loved one. I remember Stella's husband, Rusty, I think, was the air-raid warden for our street. Every night we had to have the drapes pulled tight over our windows, sometimes the light would seep through and Rusty would tap on our front window with his flashlight and we would correctly close our drapes. The air-raid box, containing shovels, and other stuff, was right outside our front windows, so I saw Rusty a lot in those days, checking the box and walking the street when we had the drills. For me, it was exciting, but when I got older, I realized it was serious. The day Japan surrendered in 1945, all the whistles in all the factories blew for quite a while. People were in the street cheering and hugging each other, it was finally over, but for those on our street, that had lost their loved ones, it wasn't over soon enough, happiness and sadness at the same time.

At the end of 1946, we moved to Gloucester City, where we lived until moving back to Camden in 1951, where we stayed until 1971.

In between those years, I enlisted in the US Navy, was honorably discharged, got married, had two children, worked, retired, and am now living in a small section of Egg Harbor Township, called Scullville.

Your article brought back many wonderful memories along with a few sad ones. My grandfather William Blackiston died in 1944, they had the wake in my grandmother's house. She moved to Cramer Hill in 1950, and passed away in 1966, at the age of 87.

Our family was good friends with Mr. Bodine, the owner of Camden brewery, my aunt Mildred had a restaurant on the corner of 4th and Ferry Avenue. My uncle Jack Ingersoll (Mildred's husband) drove a beer truck for Camden Beer for 25 years.

It would take another four pages to describe my early years on Arlington Street, so I have tried to briefly outline that legendary street, that is gone forever, but still lives in our memories. I have to stop now because I have enough memory and information about those days, to fill a book!

—John "Chick" Binder, August 25, 2013