who remembers when rotondo's on lake avenue was just a small stone building w/ a tiny parking lot?...as kids we would walk there and buy sandwiches and put them on our parents' running tab!

very good article...brought back fond memories...

I have fond memories of roller skating at Brewer School and walking to Tito's afterwards along the school fence, hanging in the parking lot of the Burger King and working at W.T. Grants and eating in its restaurant.

I can remember playing Little League baseball at the old little league field behind police headquarters, going to the Soda Barn off of Brant Ave. and returning used bottles for their great pretzels and who could forget that great smell and taste of the pizza at Tito's and meeting your "special" friends in one of their booths. Those are only a few of my fond memories growing up in Clark.

Clark Historical Society has a 2011 calendar for sale with some of the old sites in it for $5.00 they are available in the Town Clerks office or visit www.drrobinsonmuseum.org for more information on them.

Excellent article...so many memories. You mentioned the public elementary schools but there were those of us who went to St John's. It was a real shocker for some of us to go to ALJ from a parochial school. I was also from the "Riverside" section of Clark. The playground was where we spent our entire summer, making laynards, pot holders, plaster molds of various things then painting them (my favorite was the peacock with all the different colors), pie eating contests, field trips, tetherball, etc.

Who remembers Old Mike's Shack? It was back there behind New York Ave and the playground. I never saw him but did go in the "shack" after he had died.

We Sunset Drive & Poplar Terrace kids, spent a lot of time on the "Island" as we called it playing "Catch 'em one, catch 'em all" and "5-10, 5-10 Your in My Den" . The Island was the area by the GSP that is now blocked off by the NJDT. When not on the Island playing, we were in the street playing SPUD or flag football, or there was always some kind of a baseball game going on behind Sunset Dr in "The Field". Ah, the good old days....

Tito's pizza...I really miss having a good pizza since there is nothing that compares to a good East Coast pizza here in Central Ohio. It's sad the things we take for granted. Nowadays, I only get back there once or twice a year. :-(

Don't forget about us kids that came from St. Agnes! AT least St. Johns was a bigger school. Try graduating 8th grade with about 16 kids and going to Regional with about 1800 kids. That was a real shock.

But I do remember Girls softball and every game at the PIT!

Great articles.I grew up right by the "PIT" ,even before we called it the PIT.
We would build tree forts in the woods,catch polywogs(tadpoles) by the "WALL", collect old mattresses during clean-up week(remember them)then drag them to the woods,pile them up and jump out of the trees onto them.
Remember going to Shiefferstein's(not sure of spelling) on madison hill rd. to get a pumpkin on Halloween.You had Jack Ruddy's sport store,Merit supermarket,next to Town Hardware on Westfield Ave.Augies' Bar across the street (now Knights of Columbus?) Merchant's of Venice next door.The original Rice Bowl before moving to Clarkton Shopping Center.
Also hanging out at Burger King, going to Gino's after our wrestling matches to get a few Gino Giants to put the weight back on.Saturday morningbowling at Clark Lanes,gettingice cream from Dairy Queen when it was at the corner of Raratin Rd.&Central Ave.Going down the path by the north bound side of GSP after school when someone challenged someone else to a fight.
I also was a ST. John's grad.Spent lot's of time by the "Falls" fishing and in the winter skating up the back part by Winfield.

Just the tip of the iceberg of Clark memories.

Pete Anderson

Great article Cindy! This spurred SO many memories. I've been telling growing up in Clark stories forever. Pete, we collected the mattresses and jumped off my 20 foot house roof. Great mind think alike. I can't think of one short enough to post here. Thanks again!

My old blog has some Clark-centric ramblings.
http://bukworx.blogspot.com/

I have too many great memories to count. It was the perfect place to grow up. I agree with Larry Chesal that it was a lot like the movie Stand By Me. To put it simply, I just felt like I belonged there. I loved Johnson so much that I stayed there for an additional 20 years (as a teacher-coach.) The de-regionalization was the only reason I left. I live in a beautiful place now on the Jersey Shore, but as wonderful as it is, it will never match the deep feelings that I have for my hometown. It's a common past that we all share that still somehow keeps us connected. Thanks for the memories.

It was the black path along the GSP. I also remember Osceola Presbyterian Church worrying about the noise of the Sunday morning GSP traffic drowning out the services. Also, our ALJRHS68 Class President Armando Orsisni's parents owned a great pizzeria on Raritan Road. Remember the night the Franks burned down? Bowled at Clark Lanes; I was the team captain as I was the only one who knew how to figure out the scores. Sledding down the Alice Lane hill.

My brother was in the first ALJRHS class - 1957.

I missed the day-after-Thanksgiving all-class reunion this year. Darn!

My best friend passed this article for me to read and it's great!!! I agree with Shof, too many memories to count. I also lived at "Riverside" and went to the playground and remember all the potholders and lanyards. I walked that black path so many times to get home from school if I missed the bus or walked home with a friend, even from my grammer school days at Valley Road, then Brewer and even into high school at Regional before I drove. I remember sitting at O'Johnnies at the counter and getting a soda and I think even a hamburger. And going back and forth from Gino's to Burger King is all we did in high school. You would get kicked out of one place and then go to the other for a while. When we couldn't go to either anymore we would sit at Bonanza and wait for someone to pick us up, or just walk home. I live at the shore now but some of my family is still up north and once in a while I will get off at Exit 136 (cause 135 is still a mess, even after all these years!), I will go over the bridge by Osceola church, turn on Coldevin Rd and think how lucky I was to grow up in a great "little" town.

Those of us who grew up on the "Westside" of town learned to ice skate on the "Rezzi" when it froze over enough to do so. I can remember skaking down from the Raritan Road bridge to the GSP bridge and back and not being concerned of the ice cracking open. Just try doing that now!
Rotondo's used to be called "Martin's". We also used to buy comic books at "The Lake" which was a small card store across the street from Wa-Wa's on Lake Avenue. Even Wa-Wa's used to be a gas station back then.

Dave

I agreed with and enjoyed everyone's comments. What a great piece of nostalgia. Born and raised in Clark but left in 1981. Originally planned on returning within a year but never made it back. Whenever I do come home for a visit all the memories left in these comments come flying back. A few others would be.... St. Agnes dances... crashing picnics at the Deucher Club... Country Squire where I bought my 1st suit. A real beauty with a checkered vest to boot... Summer playground at Hehnlys (or whatever school was nearest to you)... Polio shot at Valley Road... Fishing at Tussels... Clark Library (oops I never actually made it inside of there) and certainly not in the same ballpark as Tito's but Mimms had their own taste. It's funny, I lived right on the border of Colonia and besides walking to my Aunts house there, never really ventured out of Clark . Didn't have to.

Dells pharmacy was a great place for model railroading supplies and playing classic video games after school. Also I remember a little sandwich shop on Madison Hill Road called Porkys. HoJos was a place that on birthdays a white coconut cake with two balloons was a treat. Let's not forget Stewarts Root Beer where Clark BBQ is now and prior to that CARVEL ice cream.
Of course Shop Rite was where Barnes & Noble is now. The annual Mother Seton carnival was the largest event in town in the huge parking lot and the 50/50 caller can be heard amplified on summer nights all over town.
Melody Records was a favorite stop now Cosmos Deli is located in Clark-ton Shopping Center. My mom worked at WT Grants for 12 years i remember the garden center which yearly became the Christmas center and the restaurant so vividly. I hear stories of The Log Cabin but i was too young to get in there.

Valley Road School always had summer rec which included arts and crafts out on the blacktop and grassy fields. The top of Valley road also had a farm called THE CIRCLE R RANCH and on summer nights the horses would be walked up and down Valley Road right past my house.

Of course playing at the PITT was a regular thing and sleigh rides down that hill are fond memories of my father and I.

And talking about Clark we must mention Jimmy Laker always being ref for baseball and basketball games which I grew up playing on Deli King and Ramada Inn teams.

Those were the days for sure !

Larry,
You are right about all of those. How could I forget to mention Stewarts? We stopped there regularly on our way home from school (walking!) for a root beer at the stools outside. I remember Circle R Ranch too. We were regulars at Melody Records when I was first married. That was the first place around you could rent VHS movies. I probably still owe some late fines!

WOW, what a trip to rmember. Nancy Cannon Miller here , class of ALJ '74 (anyone remember the "ain't no more like ' 74 ?) I read each and every post and have enjoyed the jog. White Diamond- no such thing here in the sunny south ......parents are gone now and I rarely travel that way (lived off Mildred Terrace, on Dorset Dr.) but in my heart go there frequently. Thanks again, Nancy

No one mentioned Brandy's the luncheonette in the Clarkton shopping center, or hanging at the Acme which was across the street from Tit0's..(where Barnes and Noble is now), or the Pixie shop where Fredericks jewelers is, or when the Clark Library was next to the post office, and next to that a fabric shop where we used to get our fabric to make our home ec projects with Miss McDonough in Brewer. Oh and correction, Armando's aunt and uncle owned Tito's if I remember correctly and I was also class of 68. The ice cream place that was by Jack's tavern (before it became the fishery, then jersey joes, and then Frankies pizza) was Tastee Freeze. I also remember skating on the Resi and lived on Dorset Drive on the other side of town in Drexel Hill. Spent lots of days hanging at Dell's Pharmacy and The Lake myself. Loved going to rec in the summer and will always remember making those reed baskets with Miss Kunak. Enjoyed reading this article, was a nice walk down memory lane even though I still do live in Clark.

Oh, a few more things I just remembered....before Bonanza Steak House that restaurant was called the Rascal House, had the best oil and vinegar health salad you'll ever eat and the path on the other side of town that I waled back and forth to Regional daily for 4 years, was called the bridal path (never heard it called the pony trail) and the reason it was called that was that was where the last of the horses in town were taken daily for walks. There were many a day when we'd have to walk around their deposits on our way back and forth to school. I also worked at Grant City while in High School. It was actually my first job, worked in the credit department and then later in the cash room. Infact I was working the night over the summer between my junion and senior year when the riots were happening and a manager came to stay in the cash room with me with a loaded shot gun. Will never forget that night in August ever. They never actually came to burn the place that night as was feared, but they did burn down half of Plainfield....two days later I had to go for my senior pictures at the photography studio in Plainfield on Front street. We were escorted by a tank and the national guard to the studio, another frightening day....we weren't used to that stuff, after all we grew up in a great little town called Clark...

Just remembered STELLAS BAKERY across from O'Johnnies - I think a car exploded in the parking lot back when I was in 2 or 3 grade ( Valley Road ) I remember the ground shaking and the windows at Abraham Clark School breaking ! - I think the story was some guy left a container of gas in the station wagon - and it heated up and exploded !!!!

I loved Stellas bakery, we would save our lunch money and stop for a treat on the way home. They gave out jelly apples for Halloween. The best I ever had my entire life. Sure wish they had stiff like this still around. We would have a burger and a lemon lime soda from the fountain at O'JOhnnies for lunch when my Mom had extra money. The best I ever had. So many memories so little time. I would go back in a flash

Ciro's Bakery was the one near us on Raritan Rd on the Cranford side. My dad would go there every Sunday morning and get a variety of "buns".

But speaking about explosions, does anyone remember the house that blew up over near St John's? My brother Mark was at a Scout meeting in the cafeteria and he & the other Scouts were thrown out of their seats. This was sometime between 1962-1964. It was awful! I think 2 people died in that one. My dad took us over there after and there was a big hole in the ground where the house had been.

Every summer, I'd pick blackberries on the Black Path and every summer I got poison ivy. It never occurred to me (hey, I was young!) that I was getting the poison ivy right there in the blackberry patch.

i was from cranford but went to clark a lot. Hitchhiked over from the north side of cranford. Went to grants to buy blue jeans that came with belts. Thought i was getting agood bargain. There was also a little hardware store in the row of stores on Raritan road right near the gas station turned dunkin donuts on walnut. The gentlemen that owned the harware store also had rocks and minerals for sale on his counter. When ever I got enough money from my paperroute i would bicycle there to buy another mineral like cinnabar or tourmaline from him. He was a great spelunker and told many a rock tale from his travels. Later as I grew older I joined the ski club at The Log Cabin, we went up to hunter mt a lot. Also went to Franks wagon wheel on the bend of stiles. Across from that was a large old manufacturing plant, forgot what they made but later it made heating equipment then closed and houses were built, guess middle 70's. Early 70's got take out from Titos a lot and the Rice inn which was out toward the Girl scout house area. White diamond always had the best double cheese burgers. Still go there for them. Also remember those big fuel oil tanks in clark located behind williams pharmaceuticals that made aqua velva and cedar something or other, but that might have been in cranford. The area was great including your clark.

Around '69 got in big trouble with the Clark police for throwing eggs the night before a clark- cranford football game, just to stir up the rivalry. We were in high school and had a 50 chevy driving around. One of the victims called the police and said a real old car is throwing eggs. The squad laid in wait on all the main roads and just waited for the oldest car to come by. Corner of walnut and valley they caught the 5 of us and they made us break all the rest of the eggs on the floor of the car. they also took our names and said if anyone who got egged comes up with a dry cleaning bill we would have to pay. They let us go but blackballed us from the town after that. Lucky no one came with a dry cleaning bill. if anyone reading this got hit by an egg from a passing old car, we're sorry. Young and dumb.

Cindy,
I don't know why I landed on your site today but it brought me down memory lane as well. I lived in Clark from 1956 until I moved to D.C. in 1974. I remember the earlier commentors, Jim Bukowiec and Pete Bongiovanni. Those are two of Clark's anchor families. Jimmy's family made, and probably still does, the best Kielbasa in Jersey. Like many of the folks writing in, there seems to be a consistent thread of food related memories. How about the great Fireman's pick- nics at the old Log cabin site... Shiferstien's farm market always had the sweetest white corn to die for... The Onion-Rye bread at Twin Ovens Bakery and then Vacarro's, where my Mom, Dolores, worked the sunrise shift for 20 years... Rats from the Diamond, Tito's pies and french fries from the Clark Lanes during Saturday morning kid's leagues all make me gain weight just thinking about them.
However, the main reason I'm writing though is to ask Larry Chesal a question. I'm interested in knowing if your Dad owned Martin's originally. My memory tells me the family that owned Martin's had a name that sounded like "Maragni". Over the years I have wanted to track the owner's family down to ask a question about their potato salad and cole slaw recipes. They made the best salads under the sun. The food thread once again. If you can help me there Larry (or anyone else reading this) with some information, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks... and thanks for the memories guys.

Larry,
That would be terrific if you could pass the recipe's on. I'd really appreciate it. I've been on a diet my whole life, but getting some of that potato salad and cole slaw back on the menu would be great. Do you have any idea what became of the Maragni's. They had a son that would be around 68-70 right now, I think.

Hey Denis....I just read your note on about Twin Ovens Bakery. Interesting....I worked there for years after 1963 and I worked with Dolores...We had much fun together during the slow times during the day there. HA HA I remember the police always coming to the bakery when Mr. O got smashed and of course always picking a fight with his son Bobby. My brother Karl and Fred also worked there for a short time. I sure do have my fond memories...but mostly it would be ice skating at the "Resy" and of course fishing and WALKING across the Falls w/o Mom and Dad knowing LOL.. Summers walking to Rahway Park with towels rolled w/clothes inside to go swimming. I remember getting my first allowance and walking to O'Johnnies to get a cherry coke. Oh la la...that was big time. I also remember my Mom going to Linds Pharmacy on Raritan Rd...and would you believe I caught up with his son Richard Lind in Sarasota FL. Yes I remember walking to school along the GSP path. Never had parents to drive us to school. It's nice to read all these notes from others and bringing back those wonderful childhood memories....