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wow I totally forgot about the harvest house and the balloons!! Great memory!
The funny thing is, my memory is only good for those way-back times. I can't remember last week, but 35 years ago, I'm good!
My brother's memory is of a slot car racing place in Mt. Holly (I didn't even know they had those). He said you brought your own tools, tires, etc and raced against a bunch of kids you didn't know...sounds like the precursor to online games!
Any south Jerseyans remember the Penalty Box, and the Galaxy in Somerdale, (where the bands were so loud you had to practically crawl over the bar to order a drink). Ahhh, the good old days when it didn't matter if you were 5'4" and the license you were using said you were 5'9"...."Is this you? What's your zodiac sign.....close enough, go ahead in"
Tepper's department store (main store in Plainfield, branch store at Short Hills Mall)
Goerke's department store (main store in Elizabeth, branch store in Plainfield), which became Steinbach
the Strand theater
the New Liberty theater
the Surprise Store
Lazaar's
Plainfield Trust State National Bank
Forever Changes head shop
Frontier Diner
and elsewhere...
the Holly Park section of South Plainfield: Lou's Market, Herm's restaurant, the Coral Lounge restaurant, Stewart's root beer.
Snuffy's Steak House before it became Pantagis.
I think Bowcraft is still around; how about the Scotchwood Diner?
Anyone remember Robert Hall stores for boy's & men's suits?
Ahhh...Plainfield before the riots. Not a bad place to grow up.
I remember all of the places above, maybe a little earlier. Goerke's replaced Rosenbaum's, and I think they got replaced, too. I did most of my clothes shopping at Tepper's (Alan Paine sweaters, Hathaway and Gant shirts) and later Bam's (hippie garb), plus the Surprise Store (CPO shirts, Henley shirts) and Park Gentry (khakis, dress clothes, incl. my first pair of bell-bottoms, which were glen plaid; it was 1967-68).
I do not remember Forever Changes. It must have sprung up after I left. I'd remember it, because I was--still am--a big fan of the Love album from which it took its name.
Whenever I think of the way places like Staples and Office Depot have replaced the mom-and-pop stationery stores, I picture Lazaar's in my mind.
My favorite places of all to shop were Brooks Record Shop, on E. Front St. next to the Frontier Diner, and that other coffee shop right between the two. I would hang out on the Frontier Diner retaining wall, smoking cigarettes after eating there. The more druggy kids would hang out on the steps of the YWCA, across the street (Church St)?
God, I haven't thought of these places in years. Something made me google Gruning's, and I've been on this "google Plainfield" jag for an hour now.
Jay, it sounds like you're a little older than I am - I was Plainfield High Class of 1974.
Forever Changes was a narrow little store on Somerset St. just north of Front - across the street from Tepper's. There was another head shop a little closer to Front; it was in the basement of the building and was called "Come On Down". I bought some of my first underground comix at those two stores.
Check out the Google Street View of downtown Plainfield - they finally built something in the Madison-Park block!
When we were kids I remember on Saturdays in the summer my family used to go to the small lakes on Rt.23. Lets see- one was Mcdonalds Lake, another Suntan Lake. It was great, I wonder whatever happened to them.
Riding around the square in Morristown 100 times a nite in the 70's
The drive-ins, one in Morris Plains and one in East Hanover
Admiral's Daughter in Lake Parsippany
Muldoon's tavern in Whippany
Bertrand's island in Lake Hopatcong
Aunt Kate's in Stanhope
The train tracks in Chester looking for the hooker man
It also reminds me of the Mosquito Man, although he wasn't considered scary (he probably should have been)..any one remember the truck spewing toxic fumes that would ride through the neighborhood in the evening? We got all excited like it was the ice cream man or something...."The Mosquito Man is here!!!!" We rode our bikes back and forth through that stuff!!
Used to be fairly prevalent around my area in the 90's. Now it's almost impossible to find one, which is bizarre, as I just checked some online resources and they are still in NJ.
Roy Rogers.. the only fast food joint my father would go to. Us kids were members of the Buckaroo club or something like that, and got free burgers on your birthday LOL.
I also remember in the Cherry Hill Mall, next to Woolworths.?? There was this little hole in the wall place that sold bratwursts and hot dogs and stuff like that. (Mr Dudnenbakers??) Anyhow whenever my family went to the mall, my mom and sister would be off shopping and my father and I would sneak to that place and grab a dog.
I think Two Guys started up in Harrison NJ..was called Two Guys from Harrison in the 60's.
I vaguely remember their being a Two Guys store at Rt 130 and Chester ave in Delran (where the Sams Club used to be)
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