The column that asks where are all the workers at Cumberland County Courthouse going to get lunch now?
The column that asks where are all the workers at Cumberland County Courthouse going to get lunch now?
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Good morning!
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We are all going to miss the Hillcrest Tavern and Coach Room in Bridgeton. It's stood dependable on Broad Street since 1782 and we all thought it would still be there for many more years.
A lot of history (and a nice mural) was lost in the fire Monday morning.
Local historian Arthur Cox was able to supply a photo of the place from the early 1900s -- back when it was known as the City Hotel.
We met at the Burton Gallery in the Frank Burton and Sons building on Broad Street. There are a lot of cool old photos there for anyone who is interested in local history.
Cox told me some of the history of the Hillcrest, including when Fredrick W. Parkhurst visited the Ferracute Machine Company in 1913 to make it more efficient and stayed in the City Hotel while he wrote "Applied Methods of Scientific Management."
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Over on the Bridgeton Memory Lane Facebook page, there was an outpouring of sympathy to those connected to Hillcrest Tavern.
Here are some memories that people were nice enough to share.
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"My favorite Hillcrest story ... We lived right around the corner on Vine Street. My dad was on the dayshift at O-I. It got to be around 6 p.m. and my mom sent me to the Hillcrest to see if my dad had stopped on his way home. I walked in and found my dad with his arm around the shoulders of Jim O'Brien! So I said, how's the weather Jim? He says, "The hell if I know how it is outside, but it's warm and sunny in here!"
- Eric Pancoast
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"I met my husband in the Hillcrest in 1971."
- Zan Coia
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"Here's a funny memory: I was there with all my cousins having dinner late in the evening. We went up to the dessert bar and saw little bowls of ice cream set out on the nearby table. Oh boy, something new, ice cream! We scooped them up, took them back to our table, dug in, and discovered we were eating bowls of butter the staff had prepared for the next day."
- Penny Watson
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"Many wonderful memories of great meals eaten there with family and friends over the years! My aunt, Winnie Garrison, local artist, painted the mural and several oils that hung on the walls there. Heartbroken by the loss of her artwork. She passed away January 2015 and it was nice to know a part of her was there in he work and her love of Bridgeton!"
- D. Marie Everingham
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"Both my parents have died, but one tradition my wife and i have not let go, something my mother started years ago, we go to the Coach Room for lunch every Christmas Eve. Something we did to celebrate my dad's birthday. Those are just a few of the many great memories I have stored in my heart from Hillcrest and Coach Room. My last time there was Christmas Eve."
- Sam Wheaton
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There's a special Hillcrest Coach Room Memory Lane Facebook page for anyone interested in sharing more stories. There is also a Hillcrest - Coach Room Fundraiser Facebook page.
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MY KIND OF TOWN: Where the Hillcrest is still standing in our memories.
Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
