Mike Thomsen has kindly contributed some 75 photographs of Pennington from around 1958, up to when he completed high school. These include scenes of the buildings and businesses along Main Street and Delaware Avenue, views of the train station and other area bridges, and fun views of the local schools, Memorial Day parades, family, and Pennington in the snow.
Even better, Thomsen also has contributed a companion book that features descriptions of many of these photos. The 64-page book, “Pop,” Sam and the Chief: Memories of Pennington N.J. at Mid-Twentieth Century, provides a visual tour of Pennington in the 1950s, with the memories of this local kid who went through the schools from 1946 to 1959.
Thomsen describes the book as “a rambling reminiscence about my childhood and youth.
We will visit the home I grew up in. From the center of town, we will take strolls in four directions along the town’s two principal streets, pausing to look at some buildings, and simply remember others, and to think of the people we met in these places. We will visit the schools I attended, and perhaps businesses or scenic spots in other nearby locations.”
The book title refers to local fixtures “Pop” Waldron’s Confectionery on South Main, Sam Auletta’s shoe repair shop on the other side of the street, and Police Chief Clarence Eshelman, who was the crossing guard at Main and Academy.
== Browse the Thomsen photo collection in the Image Gallery ==
== View the 1950s Memories of Pennington Thomsen book (PDF) ==
Memories of Pennington Book
The book is “Pop,” Sam and the Chief: Memories of Pennington N.J. at Mid-Twentieth Century by Michael Thomsen, 2018, 64 pp.
Book contents, with some of the photos discussed:
- 1 – Our Home on Welling Avenue – Behind grammar school building
- 9 – North Main Street – Pharmacy, hardware, market, appliances, gifts, firehouse, bank, cleaners
- 13 – West Delaware Avenue – Confectionery, hardware, railroad bridge
- 17 – South Main Street – Pop’s Confectionery, Sam’s Shoes, butcher, Post Office, grocery, doctor, barber
- 23 – East Delaware Avenue – to Stony Brook and Princeton
- 25 – Schools – Primary school, Grammar School, old and new Central Hish School
- 41 – Here and There – Train station, Jacobs Creek bridge, Washington Crossing bridge
- 47 – Winter in Pennington – Snow and forts
- 51 – Memorial Day Parade – 1958
- 55 – Appendix – Technical notes – Cameras, developing, scanning, editing
Pennington Images
The 75 image files are named with the photo date (year), location (street), and other descriptive information. Images that appear in the book are also cross-indexed in the file names to the corresponding book page number (e.g., B_21).
Example images from the different chapters are shown below.
North Main Street
South Main Street
West Delaware Avenue bridge
Pennington Grammar School (now Toll Gate)
Central High School algebra class
Train Station passenger shelter
East Welling family igloo
Cameras
Besides the year, you can search for images matching other common fields:
- Street (N/SMain, E/WDelaware, EWelling)
- Place (Jacob-Creek, Washington-Crossing, PA)
- Event (Memorial-Day, Snow)
- School (CHS, Grammar)
- Railroad (PnRR)
== Browse the Thomsen photo collection in the Image Gallery ==
== View the 1950s Memories of Pennington Thomsen book (PDF) ==
Thanks to Mike Thomsen for sharing his book and photo collection, and for his kind assistance in organizing this material.
If you are interested in high-resolution copies of these photos, email the Hopewell Valley Historical Society at hvhswebsite@gmail.com for information on purchasing prints.
