Boys & Girls Clubs in Trenton

Born in the 1930s, a Trenton tradition still young at heart
Times, The (Trenton, NJ) - Friday, January 13, 1995
Author: JOHN MOLNAR JR. , Special to The Times

Born in the 1930s, a Trenton tradition still young at heart

TRENTON _ Ed Stanton, a 64-year-old printer, was a Boys Club
of Trenton member for three years. It was back in a time when
crowds would gather to watch the electronic wonder, television.
''Tuesday nights, Milton Berle was on,'' Stanton said. ''Thirty,
40, 50 kids would gather around and watch the TV.''
Today children at the Boys & Girls Club of the Delaware Valley
are able to play razzle-dazzle interactive video games. But they
still participate in the age-old sports and traditional activities
that were around when Stanton was a member. The club is sharing
this year's Times Charities Inc. Christmas Appeal with the
Greater Trenton Community Mental Health Center. The appeal seeks
to raise $50,000 to support the work of the two organizations.
It was 1937 when seven businessmen led the effort to provide a
place where young boys could get involved with constructive
activities instead of spending time on the streets.
Fredric E. Schluter, Joseph Roebling, Charles E. Stokes Jr.,
John L. Williamson, J. Stuart Hill, James Kerney and C.B. Gilbert
Sr. leased a building on Reservoir Street, and the Boys Club of
Trenton was born. Stanton joined the club the first year the
Skelton School was leased from the city of Trenton to become
the Centre Street club. He recalls waiting in line with some
friends to sign up for the new club. ''I was card No. 6 or 7,''
he said. ''My brother was before me. About 12 or 13 boys joined
that day.''THE SCHOOL, originally the first free public school
in the state, contained three game rooms, a wood shop, library,
club room, gym, craft rooms and a yard. It served more than
1,000 boys. The 11th Ward Boys Club was set up in 1952 in the
old Roebling School. The school contained two classrooms for gym,
two game rooms, a wood shop, a library, a craft room and a yard.
But in 1964 the 11th Ward Boys Club was closed.
Because of a lack of funds and activities, the Reservoir Street
Club was closed in 1954. But a year later, the Centre Street Club
received a 25-foot by 50-foot pool donated by the Junior League
of Trenton at a cost of $6,500. This was the club's first
facility built just for it.
In 1960, a fund-raising effort by the board of trustees and the
Junior League of Trenton raised $80,000 to buy property north of
the Centre Street Club. The property was used for the first
full-size gymnasium _ 10,000 square feet. Once the new gymnasium
was built, a new program started to help raise money for the
club _ Saturday night bingo. It was run by staff, board members
and mothers of the members. And with the legalization of Sunday
night bingo in Trenton in 1967, the club held the program
both nights. Over the years, as much as some things have changed,
activities like basketball, arts and crafts and playing a game
of pool have stayed the same. ''We had games like they have
today,'' Stanton said. He notes some classes _ like mechanical
drawing _ are no longer taught in the computer age. But the
mission of the youth club remains unchanged for 57 years.

John Molnar Jr. is a senior at Rider University majoring in journalism