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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Rt. 9 Barbershop Info From Clif Brown

Donald Maxwell provided a wealth of information regarding Alice Adams Weber's photo of the old barbershop near the corner of South Maple Avenue which was featured on last Tuesday's Blog. Donald's memory is unbelievable; however, he couldn't recall the name of the couple who lived in the old barbershop building after WWII, only that the husband was a heavy smoker.

The old barbershop on Rt. 9


Well, Clif Brown, who also has a remarkable memory was able to fill in the name of the couple and provided an interesting story that etched the couple's name in Clif's memory some 64 years ago. You could say that it's literally no accident that Clif recalls the couple's names. Read on in Clif's email message below and you will see why.

Pete S

Dear Pete:

Hope I can provide some additional information regarding the New Gretna Barber Shop (NGBS). Without Don Maxwell’s story my mind would have been a complete blank. The Model/year of that Pontiac Joyce is sitting on would have also helped. I had to go into the old shoebox to locate a clipping from which I was able to “ID” s folks who lived there, I think, a little better than remembering his cough. Looking back to that time it proves that New Gretna could not support a bank and two barber shops.

For starters, John and Alice Jarvis were the non-sociable couple who occupied the New Gretna Barber Shop around 1948 plus or minus 3 years. John had that cough, probably caused from working as a wheelwright in a foundry located in Philadelphia. 

I met them by accident, September 18,1948. It was a bright, cloudless moonlit night. The attached Tuckerton Beacon clipping explains it all. Norman Cramer was also a passenger in my vehicle. Neither he nor I or John Jarvis were injured.



Clif Brown (l) and Bob Dawson at the Tuckerton Race Track in  1951.
(Photo courtesy of Clif Brown)

In the late 50’s the old barbershop building was occupied by Bert and Doris who were from Absecon. Doris worked as a bartender in the Rustic Inn when it was operated by Frieda (Loveland) Shedaker. Bert was a brother to Irene Loveland's husband. Doris later worked as a bartender for “Pollock Ann’s” tavern located on the White Horse Pike, Absecon.

Regards – Clif Brown

5 comments:

  1. Pete,

    You have to hand it to Cliff. He has one heck of a memory. How about him having all the clippings of that particular incident. Now that I know something about the people who lived there I can fill in some blanks. The Bert that Cliff mentions was Bert Lampe, originally from Absecaon Highlands in Galloway Township. I knew him well as he worked for my father and i for a number of years on our oyster boat out of Oyster Creek. He was, by profession, first a farmer then worked as an operating engineer and member of their union. Whenever work became scarce or between jobs, he would look us up and hire on for an indefinate time until he was called back to his union job. I really didn't know when he lived there or known him that well. Besides, I was going to school in Philadelphia in 48, 49, and 1950 and only came home weekends. Its amazing how Cliff has all the memories stored up in his mind.

    Don Maxwell

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  2. Pete -

    The Tuckerton High School 1952 year book has a group picture of the sophmore class. Sanford Jarvis is in it. He was from New Gretna. S.W.

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  3. As I posted several days ago: the car in the picture is a 1953 Pontiac. Didn't anyone see my post?
    Beverly Mathis Robinson

    ReplyDelete