Happy Saint Patricks Day

Happy Saint Patricks Day

Yes the booze..and the wearing green...but to me its
sorta about family too and thanking God for watching
over my ancestors over the centuries:)

Mom in the 1950s

Mom in the 1950s

Love you and miss you every day Mom:)
Mom and Dad both from Trenton. Both lived near the Burg
back in may of their days and they came to the Burg on
824 Liberty Street in the middle 1960s (or I would not
be doing this blog). My early memories of then are
Dragon Electronic where Tammaro's Produce later was at
Franklin & Liberty, and Mrs Molnar having the Deli
across the street and Max and Margie Garret having the
Deli on Woodland & Liberty.

MacNicoll Agency, 824 Liberty Street, The Burg

MacNicoll Agency, 824 Liberty Street, The Burg

My Pop had his office at our house for a few years
back in the days of the 70s. We had a middle wall
put in so the front room could be a nice office.
Before that, like many Burg homes it was one big
living room-dining room area with book cases on
the sides that separated it:)

Liberty Street 1941, The Burg

Liberty Street 1941, The Burg

Part of the block we lived on in my Burg days is in this
picture but we didnt arrive until the 1960s:)

My Mom Julianne (Zorichak) MacNicoll

My Mom Julianne (Zorichak) MacNicoll
May 25 1940 - November 29 2011
This picture is my Mom and my Grandmom in the 1980s.

SJ Bill Remembers Picnics at Washington's Crossing Park

SJ Bill Remembers Picnics at Washington's Crossing Park

SJBill wrote:

Washington's Crossing State Park, indeed! It was an awesome
place with the pavillions and the baseball fields across
the drive. So was Bowman's Hill, over in Pennsy.
These picnic groves were great places to get away from
the city. The only real sounds we heard were the kids and
folks having fun and games. You could hear the sound of
quoits slamming into each other or rolling around the pins,
or the cheers following a softball or hardball being hit
to the outfield. The only wildlife I recall was
yellow-jackets. We were always fending them off because
they were attracted to Kerns orange soda more than anything.
How about the charcoal grills charcoal grills that started
real slow and smelled/tasted of kerosene for hours. They
never really got going until after all your food was eaten.
Hot dogs cracked and hamburgers shrunk and had to be covered
with mustard and/or ketchup and chopped onions. The taste of
kerosene was a normal part of picnics. Wasn't there an old
fashioned charcoal roaster in Trenton before briquets came
onto the market?
One more thing I remember from church picnics at Washington's
Crossing was the dry ice for the ice cream. Just shove a piece
of the stuff into an empty soda bottle (without getting your
fingers frozen) and fill the bottle with some water from the
drinking water faucets. Fog bubbled out of the bottles as we
ran around with them. And there was the spring water place
down by the River at McKonkey's Ferry House - it closed
following the big flood during the 50s. Boy was that water
tasty! We filled gallon glass bleach bottles before picnics
and brought water home afterwards.
Great times for kids

This is great SJ, Thanks for the memories:)

My Dad Ed MacNicoll adds...
Bill, I was born here. I lived on the hill just across from
the "Tally Ho Bar" near the bridge. Right where Old George
was reported to have crossed. However that was a few weeks
ago..Ha! Ha!

October 13, 1962, Saint Francis Hospital, A Blogger is Born

October 13, 1962, Saint Francis Hospital, A Blogger is Born.
This is me next to my sister Shari who is wearing a bonnet
back in the 1960s at Holy Cross Church.

Century 21 MacNicoll Agency 1980

Century 21 MacNicoll Agency 1980
I think this is when my Dad had his biggest groups of
people working for him:)

My Dad Ed MacNicoll's Real Estate Ad From 30 Years Ago

My Dad Ed MacNicoll's Real Estate Ad From 30 Years Ago in
1980. My Dad had an office at our home at 824 Liberty
Street at this time I think. For many years Dad had the
Appraisal Office where me and my brother Dave and Mom
Julianne worked for many years on 1095 South Broad Street.
Look at the home prices in the ad:)

The 50th Anneversary of Edwin MacNicoll Sr and Emma Mae Cole MacNicoll

The 50th Anneversary of Edwin MacNicoll Sr and Emma Mae
Cole MacNicoll. This was in the late 1970s and this
picture may be the greatest number of my family
members ever in one snap:)

My Dad Ed MacNicoll Remembers Sam Naples

My Dad Ed MacNicoll Remembers Sam Naples


I knew Sammy Naples and he was loved in Chambersburg, he was
always at one of the Burgs restaurants. He was into politics
and would hold meetings with folks. If I remember right, he
would nightly be at Lou Greco's or Roman Hall or at Candy
Muccioli's place Cent'Anni. I forget, it's been so long ago.
It was told to me that if you wanted to run in politics you
needed Sammy's blessing. Sammy had a finished basement,
with a full bar. He lived on Hollywood Avenue., behind the
Penn Station. On his basement walls were autographed
pictures of Sammy with Senators, Governors and Presidents.
Also Badges and credentials from the many Democratic
National Conventions, I believe he was a delegate from
Mercer County. His family has a treasure with those
pictures. Also, sometime is the 1960's the first house I
sold was on Tyler Street and the owners were members of
the Naples Family.
........................................................
Notes:

The house my Dad sold was 536 Tyler (Angelo&Jean Naples)
Sam Naples address was 29 Hollywood Avenue.

Further Biographical Item I found on the Internet about
Sam Naples:

Samuel (Sam) A. Naples was born on October 23, 1902 in
Trenton. His Parents Rocco and Elizabeth (Radice) Naples
both Immigrants from Italy. He graduated from Trenton High
in 1918. He earned a Diploma from Rider Business College
in 1921. After heading a few city government departments
in 1942 he opened a Tax Consulatant and Insurance
Business. He was active in Democratic Party politics
for many years and attended every Democrat Party
Convention from 1920 to 1980. From 1942 until 1969 when
he retired from the position he was Mercer County
Commissioner and Superintendent of Elections. He was
recognized as an expert on election laws inthe state.
He was also active in supporting Italian-American
causes and was part of the group that started the
Columbus Day Parade in Chambersburg in 1953 and also
was part of the group that built the Statue of
Christopher Columbus in Columbus Park.

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom
Happy Birthday Mom, Love You:))))

My Dad remembers the Police Athletic League

My Dad remembers the Police Athletic League:
"In the early 40s and 50s, one of the kids best friends
was the Trenton Police, The PAL (Police Athletic League).
They took kids to Philly Baseball games and to Wrestling
Matches and they had a show each year at the War Memorial
Building called "Everything Goes" where each would go
on stage, sometimes dressed as ladies, clowns, and monsters.
The neighborhood Cop was a kids friend and we all knew it.
I saw many and all of the heros of baseball...Connie Mack,
Ted Williams, Joe D and his brother Dom, Yogi, the old
Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and
others. I saw at The Arena on Stockton Street: Gorgeous
George and Argentina Rocco. The PAL was all the kids friends"
My Dad rememebers a Bill Starks connected to this.

My Mom my sister and I, Seaside Heights 1963.

My Mom my sister and I, Seaside Heights 1963.
My Mother Julianne (Zorichak) MacNicoll my sister
Shari MacNicoll and your Blogger Himself Mike Mac
Nicoll at Seaside Heights in 1963. I guess my Dad
was not in the picture because its likely he is
the one who took the picture. Burg area folks were
often found down Seaside Heights or Metedeconk or
Point Pleasant or Atlantic City or Wildwood or
Asbury Park in summer back in the day:)

1849 South Clinton Avenue, Franklin Park.

1849 South Clinton Avenue, Franklin Park.
Once upon a time this was The Embassy Bar, owner
Lawrence Coffee. This was also once Snyder's Bar.
Donald and Ethyl Snyder, my Uncle and Aunt, bought
this like 30 years ago and owned it for many years:)

This was Graduation Day at Mercer County Community College

This was Graduation Day at Mercer County Community College
out on the Quad. Many Burg folks had a day like this here.
June. Nice weather, Commencement Speakers.
For fellow Mercer students back in the day: Remember microwave
pizza? Remember when the student center was 2 levels and had its
own in house radio station? Remember the piano rooms in the AV
building? Remember that long walk back to the car in the parking
lot on very cold days? Remember the computers in the library?
There was no internet then it was just floppy disks.
Remember Obscam in the testing center? Instant results:)
Some professors I remember: Mr Chorba, Mr Schwartz, Mr Reynolds,
Mr Collier, Ms Silver, Dr Zucker, Mr Otten, Jodi Fessler for Bio-Labs,
and many others:)
My favorite schools will always be Junior #4 and MCCC:)

My Mom Julianne (Zorichak) MacNicoll

My Mom Julianne (Zorichak) MacNicoll
I love this picture of her. She is in South Trenton
here but destiny had it she would fill a Burg house
with love from the 60s to the noughts:)

Your Blogger At Holy Cross Church in The 1960s

Your Blogger At Holy Cross Church in The 1960s
My Aunt Pat and Uncle Art and Cousin Debbie in the
background. My Mom holding the Baby (Ed or Linda?)
and Me standing next to my Sister Shari at Holy
Cross Church in the late 1960s. Later on our
family Church became Immaculate Conception.

My Mom Julianne MacNicoll and Her Friend Jan Berrien in Front of Immaculate Conception Church, The Burg

My Mom Julianne MacNicoll and Her Friend Jan Berrien in Front
of Immaculate Conception Church, The Burg.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church was our family church
for most of our years in the Burg. We went to public schools
but had religious instruction here. My Mom's friend is the
one wearing glasses. You can see some of the interesting
buildings across Chestnut Avenue in this picture as well:)

824 Liberty Street, The Burg

824 Liberty Street, The Burg
The white house in this picture.
Across from Liberty Deli.
No matter where I live now or will ever live in the
future, no matter how many days and months and years
and seasons pass us by. this will always be Home.

UPDATE:

Ralph Lucarella adds..

HI MAC....I FEEL THE SAME, I'VE TRAVELED OVER MOST OF
THIS PLANET AND LIVED ALL OVER THE PLACE BUT MY
MEMORIES OF THE BURG WILL FOREVER LINGER ALONG WITH
ALL THE NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS AND TEAMMATES THAT HAVE
PUT UP WITH ME. GOD BLESS EVERYONE AND MAY WE ALL
MEET AGAIN. BEST REGARDS.