If you’re interested in families and businesses from a century ago, then check out this December 1924 program for the annual Hopewell High School senior class play. The program lists some 23 names of student performers – plus has 59 small ads for local businesses in Hopewell, Pennington, and Ringoes.
== View the full 1924 Hopewell High School Program (PDF) ==
The play was “A Full House,” a madcap comedy of misdirections and mix-ups that Wikipedia reports was made into a silent film in 1920 but then apparently has been lost.
The program lists some 14 cast members for the performance. Plus there are seven more for the “Yama, Yama, Song and Dance,” plus two for the “Dutch Dance.” (See Wikipedia for more on Yama Yama – including video of a 1939 Ginger Rogers performance.)
But even more interesting for historians are the 59 businesses ads from around our area. Some of the listings have street addresses, while most assume that everyone just knows where they are located. A couple even include phone numbers.
You’ll find a wide range of businesses – manufacturers and contractors, restaurants and general stores, barbers and farm supplies, auto garages and funeral parlors, and more.
Some of the businesses listed in the program that were discussed in previous History Project posts include:
- Gebhart’s luncheonette before it became the Hopewell Inn
- Smith Mfg. Co. in Hopewell before it became Rockwell and then Kooltronic
- Woolsey & Cadwallader Coal & Lumber near the Pennington train station, where some of the buildings and railroad trestle still remain
- Reid’s septic tanks and stonecutting on Mercer Street in Hopewell, later the site of the Legion Hall
- J. B. Hill and Son that lasted over a century on Railroad Place in Hopewell
- Cox & Cray as one in a series of barber shops that still continue on Seminary Avenue
We welcome additional information on the other businesses – including their locations in the towns.
See also the additional Hopewell High School pamphlets in the Pamphlet Collection, including the June 1924 Commencement program (for the previous class), and the Class of 1926 Commencement program.
== View the full 1924 Hopewell High School Program (PDF) ==
About the Hopewell High School
In 1924, the Hopewell Valley High School was located on the corner of Columbia and South Greenwood avenues in Hopewell Borough – the same building that is currently the firehouse and was previously also Borough Hall.
The Hopewell High School building was constructed in 1910, and was used until the high school moved to a larger facility in Pennington in 1929.
See earlier post on the confusing Hopewell high school building
About Columbia Hall
The play was performed in Columbia Hall, located across the street from the High School. This was the predecessor building to today’s Hopewell Theater at 5 South Greenwood Avenue.
Columbia Hall was built in 1897 for the Hopewell Hook and Ladder Company, which was Hopewell’s first fire department. The fire company occupied the first floor, and the second floor had a large hall used for public events including shows and movies. The building was replaced by the current theater around 1939, and the fire department then moved into the former High School building.
