The Stores of Groveville

During our childhood in Groveville there was not an Acme or Wal-Mart, but there was not shortage of stores as far as we knew.

At one time there was a General Store, The Company Store, a bakery, shoe repair, Pool Hall, barbershop, and these were the ones I heard about.

For serious food shopping we used to go to, I believe it was, Giant Tiger, a grocery store on Chambers Street, just past Trenton High School on the same side of the street, but for meats Dad always went to Public Meat Market at Clinton and Olden Ave. Sometimes we would go to the A & P at Park and Broad, now R&S Strauss Auto Parts.

For a town with only three streets, Church, Main and Allen, we had three stores, we thought that was plenty. These three stores were totally different,

Then - 1930

Now - 2007

The corner store was more like the General Store; they sold fresh butchered meat, luncheon meats and cheese, wheels of cheese fresh cut, canned goods, produce, bakery items, paper products, dairy products & packaged ice cream, soaps, and household goods. In the very early years, when Mr. Hartmann owned it, it had a gas pump out front. This is visible in the “Then” picture (by the tree). Wonder if it was removed by and approved Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Remediation Co. – I doubt it.

This store had a variety of owners and names, Lester “Les” Johnson, Len’s, Ben & Sadie’s, Manny’s, Hartmann’s, and Isaac “Ike” Bowers. These are the names that Mom and I remember.

The other store was more of a candy store, our kind of place; it was owned by Josephine “Jo” and Harley Hepburn. Before Jo and Harley owned the store it was know as Diamond’s.

This was before my time and I have no idea who Diamond was, but this was an advertisement from the Trenton Times for Diamond’s. My mother remembers it being Diamond’s but could not tell me much more than that.

Jo and Harley sold hand dipped ice cream (Abbott’s), bottled soda (E.L. Kerns), penny candy, bread (Bond), Hostess and Tasty Cakes. They sold Cigarettes, cigars, pipes & pipe tobacco, Chewing Tobacco, shredded dry and plug style. Don’t forget Triple Cola, 16 oz for twelve cents, two cents bottle deposit.

There was very little liter back then, there was no soda in cans, only bottles, and if you returned an empty bottle to the store you got .02 for a small bottle and .05 for large, big bucks in those days.

They sold lots of odds and ends; guess they were called “Notions” like corn-cob pipes on a card, combs, marbles, fish hooks & sinkers, even cheap fishing poles. I remember she used to have Punch-Cards. This was a card about a foot square with a series of about 50 covered small holes. You paid a dime or a quarter and picked a hole and punched it through, which pushed out a small piece of paper with a prize listed on it, not every hole was a winner.

The screen door was pulled shut with a big spring, it always squeaked as it closed and slammed when it shut, some things you always remember.

To the right of the front door was a wooden phone booth. The phone in the booth had three coin slots, Nickel, Dime, and Quarter. The mouthpiece was fastened to the phone and the ear piece was on a cord.

On the left side of the door, behind the shelves of bread, rolls, donuts and Tasty-Cakes was a pinball machine.

Claire Dwier Zarr reminded me that as a child she used to help Jo Hepburn out in the store, dispensing Penny Candy. She remembers Danny Mozer, who's father George, owned Crosswicks Sand and Gravel Co., on Church Street in Groveville, later owned Yardville Supply, riding his horse, Patches to Jo's store and buying two Ice Cream cones, one for him and one for the horse. Everybody wanted to ride Patches, but Danny would not let us, neither would Patches.

I wish I had pictures of the store; it was a one room, one story building with a large concrete porch.

Sometime in the late fifties, Jo closed her store. It was soon after that Groveville went modern; we got home delivery of mail, good news for the mailbox salesman. This meant the Post Office Boxes were removed from the Post Office, freeing up room in the building for Jim and Betty Stackhouse to add hand dipped ice cream, penny candy, greeting cards, and soda.

Then - Post Office 1930

Now - Post Office Building (Beauty Shop) - 2007

Betty’s, as it was known, continued until the post office consolidated and closed the Groveville Post Office and the Yardville Post office (Brick building, South Broad, across from The Yardville Bank) and opened the present Post office on Route 130 and Klockner Road.

It was not long after that Jim and Betty closed their store, leaving one store, on the corner.

Its no longer the General Store, now it called the Family Place Deli, They sell packaged ice cream, candy, cigarettes, soda, lottery tickets, and small items. It is mostly a deli, coffee and sandwich shop.