Here are the questions we emailed.

1. How long have you lived in Somers Point?

2. What was it like when there were not as many stores?

3. What was your favorite store?

4. Have you seen any change in the wildlife?

5. Which did you like best, a larger or smaller population?

6. What was it like here during WW2?

7. Why did you choose to stay in Somers Point?

8. What do you think was the best change to Somers Point?

9. Did you play sports for Somers Point?

10. What do you think is the most important challenge we face for the new millennium?

Monday, November 29, 1999 2:38 PM

Dear Mr Loper,

My name is Meghan G. I am in Mrs. Rydzewski’s Social Studies class at Jordan Road School. We are researching information about Somers Point in the past. Can you please help me with my project just by answering a few questions. Thank you if you can it would help me a lot.

 Hi Meghan- I'll do my best to answer your questions

:1) all my life-51 years

2) Somers Point was a much friendlier city. You knew the names of almost every family within at least 1/2 mile.

3) Bobby's Store on Shore Road at Pennsylvania Avenue-it's now a doctor's office - it was kind of like the 1950s version of Wawa

4) I remember when everything west of Route 9 was all woodland, with lots of wildlife

5) definitely smaller(friendlier)

6) I was born in 1948(after WW2)

7) I love the area, the climate, and the proximity to the ocean

.8) variety of fast food and regular restaurants

9) Yes-Somers Point Chiefs baseball team in the 1960s

10) keep and maintain peace throughout the world

Dear Joey M.: 

1. I have lived in Somers Point 62 years.

2. As a child I did not miss stores as when I came here I was 4 years
old. My parents went to Philadelphia twice a year to buy clothes, household needs.  We
shopped in Atlantic City when I was a teenager.

3. My favorite store was Pharazyn's (an ice cream parlor on Shore Road
across 
from the library}.

4. I have not noticed a change in wildlife. I live on Lehigh Drive and
there are many birds, rabbits and squirrels in my yard.

5. I enjoyed growing up in a small town and everyone knowing each
other.  I am comfortable with a larger community.

6. During WW2 all outside lights were turned off or shielded toward the
shore line. We were sad. The news was so bad, friends being killed or wounded
and the suffering of everyone in the war zones. Gasoline was rationed also
meat, butter, tires and shoes.

7. I have always enjoyed living here.  I enjoyed the water, change of 
seasons, my family has stayed here too. It is easy to get to many
surrounding interesting places from here.

8. I cannot say any one change to Somers Point was the best. It seemed
to all come gradually.

9. I did not play sports except school programs.  There were tennis
courts on Bay Avenue in back of the beach we all enjoyed.

10. Perhaps the most important challenge we face for the new millennium
is to restore values, show more respect for each other.
Doris Ford Baum

Dear Vicky,

I have lived in Somers Point off and on for about half a century. I did live in the Gloucester and Salem County areas for several years while I was in college and working.

You asked about stores. As there were not as many, people would have to go to Ocean City or Atlantic City to buy such items as clothing and furniture. People would sometimes shop by mail order. My favorite store was Hyatts on Shore Road. There you could buy books and also find out what was going on in town.

There have been significant changes in the wildlife. You do not see as many turtles and toads as you used to. There appear to be more birds. This is probably the result of a more controlled cat population.

I don't really remember WWII. My family was living in Atlantic City during that time. My aunt tells me that at that time, there would often be oil and tar in the water at the beach. This was the result of the sea battles off the coast. At the time I was born, my family lived on Dover Ave. near the old ACHS. My mother used to say that you could feel the ground shake when torpedos were fired.

I chose to stay in Somers Point because of family, friends and the location. I do travel abroad and work in England during the summer. About once a year I visit the west coast as I have family there.

I cannot think of any one change in particular that stands out in my mind - perhaps the building of new schools. The building of new homes and stores probably had the largest influence. You also asked about the population. It is now more diverse which is positive. The fact that there are more people has made things less personal. To me it is six of one, half a dozen of the other. Sports were always popular. I really did not play on any teams aside from school.

The most important challenge for the millennium for Somers Point is to provide controlled growth. Too many fine old buildings have been torn down for the sake of a parking lot. I hope this helps you with your project.

Many times I ran the Cricks between Steelman Bay and Scull Bay and also Broad Thorofare and Sod Thorofare, Mostly in the winter cause back them I worked the Bay and when I needed a days pay and it was blowing I could always get out of the wind there.

Looking back on it all now things were tough. I remember one day I had to go out to make enough to have dinner that night. It was so cold that I took wash tubs out and filled them with water so the clams would not freeze, I thought it would be OK. Well it froze from the bottom up and it was a block of ice when I got in. I sold the clams anyway and no one said a word.

I remember trying to race cars at Rainbow Channel. It was a pretty good run and we would parallel the bridge and go at it. I never beat one though. I never had a boat that fast.

And I have watched the sun come up over Longport Bridge and a lot of other places. When you work the bay you have to beat the sun and the wind. I've watched the sun come up and down on all our rivers too. That is the place to be. I remember the duck hunters taken their house boats into the Tuckahoe for the winter, and the clamers' houseboats at Brick Kiln Crick, Ya, I guess I should write a book.

We hulled the river in the winter and caught pirch and catfish, and sometimes stripers, and also set a large fike net at Champion place just above English Crick.

It was a great life and I loved it, But , I had a growing family and I had to get a job to take care of them, So I went to work for the State and stayed there thirty-five years and I now sneak around all them places with a camera.

I remember Chick Conover had a Clam house in the garage behind his house on Third Street and Les had one later at the piers on Bay Ave. Also Lou Talman had a clam house at one time on Shore Rd.