History of Black Friday: 5 Things You Need to Know

You might be surprised of the modern use of the term.

1. The modern use of the term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in 1966, according to several published reports, including Time Magazine. It was a term Philadelphia Police used to describe mobs of shoppers and gridlocked downtown traffic the day after Thanksgiving. 2. Around 1980, Black Friday came to be known as the day retailers ended the red ink of sales losses and moved into the black ink of profit, according to Mother Jones Magazine. 3. The original use of the term dates back to the Sept. 24, 1864 stock-market panic triggered by plunging gold prices. 4. Black Friday has only recently become the busiest shopping day of the year. Between 1991 to 2001 it didn't rank in the top five. The Saturday before Christmas ranked as No. 1, …

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5 Things About Veterans Day

A day to mark the end of World War I hostilities has become a day to honor veterans of all wars.

While some in the country celebrate Veterans Day as an extra day off, shopping the malls or taking in a movie, it's good to remember just what the commemoration is truly about. Here's a brief history on the holiday and its significance, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs: The holiday began as Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918, the date when the end of the fighting between Germany and the Allied nations took effect. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day as national Armistice Day in 1919 and declared it a time of "solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory..." Congress passed an act in 1938 turning Armistice Day into a legal holiday dedicated to world peace and …

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Lost Haddonfield: 1903 and Beyond

The past comes alive in pictures.

Historical Society of Haddonfield librarian Katherine Mansfield Tassini compiled this week's photos after sitting in traffic this summer entering town during construction on Ellis and Potter streets. She put together a vignette of a "simpler entrance to Haddonfield." Other photos are from 1910 and beyond.

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Haddonfield's Go-To Guy on Architecture

Joe Haro, a Rutgers faculty member, also leads tours in Philadelphia.

Joe Haro can look up or over his shoulder in at least five ZIP codes and find something to talk about with expertise. Having a stash of knowledge about things we all look at almost daily is Haro’s avocation. He earns his living at Rutgers University’s School of Business, where he’s coordinator of the undergraduate school’s internship program. What really drives him is leading tour groups, much of which he does gratis. A Haddonfield resident for more than 40 years, Haro now lives in Haddonfield Commons, which gives him easy access via the PATCO speedline to both Camden, for work, and Philadelphia, for play. While Haro spouts details about Philadelphia landmarks, his heart is in Haddonfield, where he leads two tours: historic Haddonfield and…

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The History of Haddonfield

Haddonfield in Time

Some interesting facts about Haddonfield.

Haddonfield, like its neighboring towns, grew up surrounded by incidents that helped make its mark in history. Here are just a few of those great moments in the borough’s history.     Source: Camden County History by Jeffery M Dorwart and Sketches of the First Emigrant Settlers of Newton Township by John Clement.   Thomas A. Bergbauer is a retired journalis and can be reached at 856-346-0371 or tbergbauer@verizon.net

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The History of Haddonfield

Haddonfield's African-American Community Endures Through the Ages

One of the oldest historically black communities in the nation.

The 2010 Census shows Haddonfield as one of the least diverse towns in America, with 1.1 percent black population and 95 percent white.   Yet this nearly 400-year-old borough has one of the oldest, historically African-American populations in the country.  At one time slavery existed not far from Haddonfield, here in Camden County. According to the 1920 Census, three women and two men were being held in the county. But before 1920, the Gloucester County Abolition Society was able to reduce the number of slaves in the county from 191 in 1790 to 63 in 1800, according to historical records. The tradition of tolerance instilled by the Quaker founders of Haddonfield is still alive today. Quakers donated land in the early 1800s for free blacks …

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The Homes of Haddonfield

Greenfield Hall: A Wedding Gift Beyond Compare

With pieces large and small from donors, the Historical Society of Haddonfield fills a red brick mansion with the necessities and luxuries of bygone eras.

In Greenfield Hall’s family room—an area 19th-century Americans would have referred to as “the keeping room”—a leather fire bucket sits prominently on the mantle. “This belonged to John Gill,” said Jean W. Lawes, administrative coordinator of the Historical Society of Haddonfield, the organization that calls Greenfield Hall home. “It is probably one of our most prized possessions.” The engraved bucket is one of the few items in the home known to belong to John Gill IV, the man who built the mansion, but it is one of many fascinating antiques in this Kings Highway home. The home’s furnishings were provided by generous locals and reflect various periods of the town’s history. The objects and curiosities provide a kind of peek back at how …

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Reliving History: Haddonfield Style

Mary Previte and her daughter Alice make their own old-English gowns and learn the ways of Jane Austen.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that in a town steeped in history there are those who feel compelled to relive it. That’s not exactly how Mary Previte and her daughter Alice describe their fascination with Regency era of British society, the early 1800s setting for the novels written by Jane Austen. But it sure looks that way. Previte, 78, a former state assemblywoman and longtime public servant, and her daughter, Alice, an environmental attorney, sometimes dress from head to toe in the silk gowns, girdles and purses of old-England. Then, for good measure, the Haddonfield natives enjoy taking English country-dance lessons here and showing off their moves at Jane Austen festivals in Bath, England. Mary Previte says it’s all in fun, and it’s a …

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A Window to the Past: Photo Gallery

Haddon Fire Co. No. 1: A garage-sized room in the borough fire station houses history.

The museum, about the size of an average garage, houses antique fire pumps and equipment.  It's a window into the past of the borough fire company, which dates to 1764.  The museum is free and can be visited anytime there are firefighters in the station.  Just knock on the door at 15 N. Haddon Ave.

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