Ninety Years Ago: The Sesquicentennial Was Turning Point for Pennsauken
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian Sesquicentennial is not a word that comes up in every day conversation. Ninety years ago, however, it was the subject of much discussion and planning, especially in the Philadelphia area. In July,…
April Marks Ninetieth Anniversary Of Nellie Bly Wreck In Pennsauken
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian Ninety years ago, the first of two fatal train wrecks occurred near the same curve of track at Derousse Ave. in Delair. While the toll of this earlier accident was much less…
Skeletal Discoveries At Griffith Morgan House
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian Five years after Pennsauken Township was created, a macabre mystery was literally unearthed at our own historic Griffith Morgan House, situated in the community known then as Morris Station. Evanescent as a…
The Father of Labor Day And His Pennsauken Monument
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian In Arlington Cemetery in Pennsauken, N.J. there stands two monuments to Peter J. McGuire. The older of the two marks the resting place of the man and his family, but includes the…
Reflection On A 20-Year Community Friendship With The Pennsauken Library
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian Unless you are a teenager, or not much past, 20 years doesn’t seem to be a very historic period of time looking back. On the other hand, yesterday’s news is already history….
The Beginning Of 50 Years Of Historical Work In Pennsauken
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian “Where I lie down worn out other men will stand, young and fresh. By the steps that I have cut they will climb; by the stairs that I have built they will…
We Were Where We Ate: Pennsauken Eateries Past
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian Restaurant and hospitality businesses have gone through as many evolutions over time as any other enterprises, suiting the needs of the historic communities they serve. Changes in transportation, communication, household technology and…
New Book On Cooper River Overflows With History
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian A flowing river with its tributaries, turns, widenings, narrowings, its pools and its occasional shallows and rapids, is a frequent and apt metaphor for history. A new volume in the popular “Images…
Celebrating The Welsh Heritage Of Pennsauken’s Griffith Morgan
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian It is often observed that America, settled by immigrants, is a nation composed of many nations. Even in its earliest days, this may have been truer of the colony of New Jersey…
The Wright Brothers’ Airplane at Central Airport
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian The weather was favorable at Central Airport in Pennsauken on December 17, 1934, when an assorted group of men in technicians’ coveralls, civilians in long coats and fedoras, and cameramen with hand-cranked…