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Memories
of Eldridge R. Johnson Park:
A Collection of Stories
Memory...
is the diary that we all carry about with us.
Oscar Wilde |
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If you would like to share
your memories of Johnson Park,
please contact us and your story will be posted here!
Either email
or send your comments (and pictures)
to:
Cathy Donovan,
Communications Office
Rutgers University-
303 Cooper Street
Camden, N.J. 08102
Thank you! |
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Click
here to sing along the " Camden
Song" (50 sec) |
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Jim
Bessing (age 77), a former
Camden resident, recalls playing at "Cooper
Park." |
"In
the heat of summer in the City, Johnson Park (or
actually Cooper Park, as most North Camden kids
called it then) was a place where a lot of kids
gathered to romp in the fountain and climb on all
the statues that surrounded the center area. Peter
was my favorite but my mind played a trick on me
as I seemed to think it was much larger than it
is. I remember a few years ago, when someone stole
the statue, I told my kids about the days when
I romped around the park and cooled off in the
fountain. I wasn't much for using the library but
did go in it a few times. " |
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Dani Annise
(age 79), long-time Camden resident, remembers the
park: |
"Johnson
Park on Cooper Street - o, yes, what a lovely place
it was. As a little girl I went there almost every
day during the summer. We
went swimming in the pool. The water
was pretty low, maybe one foot to three feet deep --
we loved it. On either side of the pool were pavilions
with columns on the side. We used them as bathhouses
to get changed; the one side was for the boys and
the other side for the girls. At the end of the pool
there was a statue and a little bridge to get to
it. And there was a huge building, the magnificent
library, what a beautiful place. They had a special
room for children -with the door open that the parents
could see us- but we were separate, with small chairs
and tables and books for children. Across the street
was the RCA Victor factory. People who worked there
came over to have lunch in the park. What a grand
place Johnson Park used to be. "
Dani Annise (age
79)*
* Ms.
Annise still works for the City of Camden. She
was secretary to two Camden mayors, Mayor Nardi
and Mayor Errichetti and lived
all her life in the city. |
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A life-long
Camden resident's memories of Johnson
Park |
" I didn't -
I wasn't allowed to go to the pool when I was young.
We lived in a different neighborhood - my family
was the first black family on the block. Our Hispanic
neighbors were nice. In other neighborhoods lived
Poles, Italians - I think they worked at Campbell's
Soup or RCA. We didn't go to these neighborhoods
to play. But, when I was a teenager things started
to change, we went to the Public Library at Johnson
Park and we saw plays in the Whitman Center. By then
(around 1966), the pool had been filled in with dirt.
I think they put a fence around the pool, but I'm
not so sure now.
"
James B. (age 54) |
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