Richard Heimlich

The Heimlich Family, my parents John and Ruth and my siblings, John, Diane and Barbara, lived at 2631 Carman Street from 1939 to 1967 (28 years). To the immediate left of the 4 row houses together with 2631 sat the bank (still there), to our immediate right were the Westfield Apartment Garages (gone) and at one time an Acme Market. We sat right behind Federal Street. On Federal Street, to our back door was a bar (Mike Love's Tavern at one time, bar still there), the original M&M Tailor Shop, before Marty and Jim moved it across the street to the Westfield Avenue side, next to the old Sugar Bowl and two other stores.

Directly in front of our home, facing towards Baird Boulevard, were the double garages that had bays on both Carman and Bank Streets. If you walked out our front door and made a left, in one short block you were on Baird Boulevard right where it hits the island across from the old Dentists office (Dr. Saul's I think) and joins 27th Street.

We remember the days of street hucksters, ice deliveries for the real "ice box," the milk man the bread man, Horn and Hardardt's right around the corner. The Camden Police Station had a branch right out our back door where Federal and Westfield Avenues split. The building is still there today.

We have nothing but fond memories of a great childhood in East Camden on Carman Street. It seemed to us that there was very little crime, we rarely locked our doors. We walked to all our schools including Garfield, Cramer and Woodrow Wilson, where I graduated in 1960.

Among our childhood friends and all living in a 3 or 4 block area were the Molineaux's from 24th street, the Devenney's also on Carman, the DePasquale's on 26th Street, the Catlings, on 26th, the Auletto's on 24th, the Griffith's on 24th, the Shipman's on 26th, etc.

— Richard Heimlich, June 2006