Mickle Street

Mickle Street was named after John W. Mickle, a prominent figure in both local and State affairs in the 1840s and 1850s. He was one of the organizers and a shareholder for many years in the Federal Street Ferry, and had a large stake in the Camden and Amboy Railroad.

One of the major east-west roads in Camden, Mickle Street runs from the Delaware River west past Haddon Avenue toward the Cooper River. The famous poet, Walt Whitman, made his home for many years in the 300 block of Mickle Street; his home is still standing, and has been converted into a museum in his honor. During the ferry and railroad era, the trains that served South Jersey ran east parallel to Mickle Street. The tracks were elevated so that street traffic to South Camden would not be interrupted. This was known as the “Chinese Wall.” It was eliminated in the 1960s.

Mickle Boulevard runs parallel to Federal Street in East Camden. One section of Mickle Street runs from 15th to 17th Street. A second section runs from Marlton Avenue to South 26th Street. A third section of Mickle Street begins at Eutaw Street, in front of the Joseph Hatch House, and continues east to Woodrow Wilson High School at South 31st Street. Mickle picks back up for four blocks, between South 33rd and South 36th Streets. St. George Methodist Episcopal Church was located here from the 1890s until it burned down sometime after 1980. The William McKinley Elementary School was also located here, from the 1990s until it closed in the 1950s. It also fell victim to fire.

In the late 1990s the City Council of the City of Camden renamed many streets. Most of these names have failed to gain popular acceptance over the years. Mickle Street in Central Camden, which had been renamed Mickle Boulevard when the railroad tracks were taken out and the street was widened to six lanes, was again renamed, this time as Martin Luther King Boulevard. While Dr. King’s deeds are beyond doubt deserving of some recognition, John Mickle did much for Camden, and the decision to rename, like several others made during this period, showed an acute lack of knowledge and sensitivity on the part of City Council and the Mayor’s Office. Tourists, scholars and students from out of town and foreign lands now have a difficult time finding the Walt Whitman House, as every literary and biographical text written concerning him refers to Mickle Street. Fortunately, most Camden residents have to date ignored the assorted name changes. Mickle Street in East Camden was not made part of the renaming campaign.

Besides the Walt Whitman House, the Joseph Hatch House, Woodrow Wilson High School, and St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, several other significant business and buildings have stood or presently stand on Mickle Street, including the Alfred Cramer Elementary School, Mickle and Riverview Towers, apartment homes for senior citizens, the Garden Hotel, Broadway Eddie’s record store, the Water Rand Transportation Center, and the Camden County Jail. Wiggins Park is at Mickle Boulevard’s eastern end, as is the Tweeter Center and the New Jersey State Aquarium; Cooper Hospital, the Camden Police Administration Building, and Camden’s Civil War Soldier’s Monument are just a few steps from Mickle. The Holl Block stood on Broadway between Stevens and Mickle Street for over 50 years. The New Jersey National Guard Armory (the home of the Camden Public Works Department for many years) is on Wright Avenue at Mickle Street. Camden’s City Hall stood on Haddon Avenue near Mickle prior to the opening in 1931 of the building presently in use.

Dominic Caccase, 52, of 217 Mickle Street, was ordered held in $500 bail for hearing in Police Court on a non-support charge yesterday. His wife, Grace, charges Caccase failed to provide for her and their five children since December 20, 1931. He was arraigned before Justice or the Peace Albert A. Mungioli, of 314 Stevens Street following his arrest by Constable Jack O’Grady.

A baby carriage filled with clothing in the rear yard of the home of Peter Marini, 208 Mickle Street, was destroyed by fire of undetermined origin at 3 p.m. yesterday.

Mrs. Marini had taken the youngest of her two children, Albert, 17 months, who is ill, upstairs to bed before the carriage caught fire. Firemen, who extinguished the blaze, said they were unable to determine the cause.

Three people were hospitalized and 11 left homeless after an early morning fire today in Camden, officials reported.

Camden police responded to the blaze at 312 Mickle Blvd. about 12:53 a.m. Upon arrival, police discovered that three of four residents were inside and the structure was engulfed in flames, police spokeswoman Teresa Sicard Archambeault said.

“Fire personnel arrived immediately to suppress the fire and evacuated the trapped occupants,” she said.

Three residents were transported to Cooper Medical Center for treatment. A fourth resident was provided with temporary housing with assistance from the American Red Cross.

A neighbor reported hearing someone throw a fire bomb through a window, Archambeault said, but police, fire and arson officials are investigating the cause of the fire.

Residents in the adjacent unit at 310 Mickle Blvd. were displaced due to smoke damage and temporarily relocated to a family residence.

The American Red Cross in Camden reports it is housing 11 people because of the fire, including five children.

A fire early Wednesday left three people hospitalized and 11 people homeless, including five children, authorities said.

The blaze broke out around 12:50 a.m. in the 300 block of Mickle Boulevard.

When police arrived, they found the structure engulfed in flames and learned that three or four residents of the unit were still inside, police spokeswoman Teresa Sicard Archambeault said.

Firefighters arrived moments later and got the occupants to safety, Archambeault said.

Three of the residents were taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Their conditions were not available late Wednesday.

A fourth was provided temporary housing through the American Red Cross.

Residents of the unit next door also were displaced because of smoke damage. They were temporarily relocated to a relative’s residence.

A neighbor reported hearing someone throw a firebomb through a window, Archambeault said, but police, fire and arson officials are still investigating what caused the blaze.

I grew up at 422 Mickle Street and left in March 1953 to join the Air Force. At that time there was very little crime in the neighborhood. Jersey Joe Walcott lived at 331 Mickle Street, when he became World Heavy Weight Champion. Yes, the numbers was played and law enforcement looked the other way. Mayor Brunner was in office for many years and was a big time poker player. When I was 12 years old, he played at 3rd and Berkley in a place called 3rd Ward Social Club. Big time players came there from far away places to play in this game. Mayor Brunner was always escorted by policeman to and from. I earned very big tips from the players, by riding up on my bicycle to the White Tower to pick up food and drinks, in the wee hours of the morning.

I remember Camden when it was the place to live. Broadway was the place to shop or go to any one of the theaters. The Grand, Stanley, Savar, Lyric, Princess, Star or Roxy. Not many had a car and really did not need one. Most people worked at Campbell Soup, Esterbrook Pen, NY Shipyard, RCA or Magnetic Metals. We walked to school and never heard of school buses.

— Ted Cannon, November 2008

The funeral of Mrs. Rebecca Patterson, 78, of 410 Mickle Street, who died yesterday, will be held at the Schroeder funeral chapel, Broadway and Royden Street. Burial will be in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Gloucester. Mrs. Patterson lived in the Mickle Street house 35 years. She was the widow of Daniel Patterson and is survived by two sons, John and Frank; four daughters, Mrs. B. E. Smith, California; Mrs. Rebecca McNamara, Camden; and Mrs. William Hernissey, Camden; 19 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She is also survived by a sister, Mrs. Sarah C. Powell, and two brothers, Thomas and Simeon Treadway.

To the Editor:

Sir — I am more than surprised in reading that former Governor Hoffman has accepted the position as executive director of the State Unemployment Compensation Commission.

If I remember correctly it was this same governor who wanted to raise a fund of $25,000 to defeat the formation of this commission, and also was the governor who said that the unemployed of New Jersey were a bunch of bums. Now that this same ex-governor has decided to accept the job as chief executive of the unemployed, I believe, that his title should be changed. Instead of being called executive director, he should now be addressed as king, for now he is “King of the Bums.”

I am also wondering if politics has anything to do with his accepting this position at a salary of $12,000 per year. When he could have had another with an insurance company at $25,000 per year. By the looks of things, I believe that the unemployed are going to make up the difference in salary by getting less relief. If the relief clients of New Jersey expect a fair deal they will have to get rid of Hoffman. He once called you bums; and bums you will be as far as he is concerned.

While you are struggling on $600 to $700 per year and maybe less, the poor ex-governor will have to try and live on a measly $12,000.

What a hard time he will have!

R. B. Tomlinson
577 Mickle Street

Miss Yvonne Miller’s marriage to Herbert R. Welch, of Westfield, will take place on Wednesday next, in the Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge, Pa. Miss Miller is the daughter of William G. Miller, of 570 Mickle Street, this city.

The ceremony will take place at four o’clock, standard time, with Rev. Herbert Burk, rector of the church, officiating.

Miss Helen Welch, of Westfield, sister of the bridegroom-elect, will be maid of honor and Miss Marvel Allen, of Medford Lakes, will be bridesmaid. Lawton Taylor, of Westfield, will be best man and Allen Rewalt, of this city, will usher.

A reception will be held following the ceremony for members of the immediate families at Washington Inn, Valley Forge. Mr. Welch and his bride will spend the Summer months touring New England and the middle West. On their return they will live temporarily with the bride’s father.

Miss Miller is a graduate of Camden High School and following attended the Philadelphia School of Industrial Art. Mr. Welch is a graduate of the Westfield High School and Colgate University, where he was elected to the Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Mu Pi Delta, honorary music society, and the Sigma Gamma Epsilon, honorary geological society.

Father of Injured Youth Has Mickle Street Man Arrested

Charged with being a hit-run driver after his automobile had struck and injured Robert Siris, 14, James E. Patterson, 55, of 587 Mickle Street, was arrested last night and later released in $100 cash security for a hearing today.

Charges against Patterson were made by Jacob Siris, of 420 Kaighn Avenue, father of the boy. He told police his son was leaning against his automobile when Patterson’s car struck another machine and skidded across the street, striking the boy, who was cut and bruised.

Patterson, who was arrested two squares from the accident, denied the hit-run charge. He said he stopped his machine following the crash and offered to take the boy to the hospital, and gave his license number to the father. The father, Patterson said, refused his aid.

Cash bail for Patterson was furnished by his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Patterson, 87, of the Mickle Street address.

Defendant at Pennsauken Found Guilty by Jury in 3-Year-Old Robbery

James Brody, 22, of 4341 Forty-third Street, Pennsauken Township, yesterday was sentenced to serve an indefinite term in Rahway Reformatory today in Criminal Court.

A jury found him guilty of participation in a $20 robbery three years ago. The jury deliberated for one hour and a half. The state charged that Brody, in company with Harry Schultz, 2162 Berwick Street, and William Dempsey, 2271 Mickle Street, went to the candy store of Mrs. Celia Schulman, 2902 High Street, threatened her with a pistol and took the money on Oct. 23, 1930.

Schultz and Dempsey were subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced to two years each. Brody was indicted and declared a fugitive.

In court yesterday Brody denied that he had made an attempt to evade arrest and said he had been working as a hand on a dredge in the Delaware River. He said if there was a holdup he knew nothing about it for on the day in question he was intoxicated and merely took a ride with the two convicted bandits.

“I was so drunk I don’t remember anything,” he declared. “If there was a holdup, I had nothing to do with it.”

A fatal automobile accident resulted in Brody’s arrest on the holdup charge. On the 28th of last month William Urban, 60, 109 Allen’s Court, a passenger in Brody’s car, was killed when the machine collided with a bus. During the subsequent investigation of the crash, Detective William Lehman remembered that a fugitive warrant had never been served on Brody and placed him under arrest.

Surround House in East Camden and Prevent Escape of Two

Surrounding a vacant house at 331 Boyd Street which two alleged thieves had entered, a group of unemployed men yesterday cut off every avenue of escape until police arrived.

The men, who were found hiding in a second floor closet, police said, gave their names as Barney Runyon, 26, and William Newcomb, 22, both of 2301 Mickle Street.

A telephone call to the home of Patrolman Earl Stopfer, of 226 Boyd Street, by a resident in the vicinity of the vacant house, informed Mrs. Stopfer that two men were in the house. With her husband on desk duty at city hall, Mrs. Stopfer went to the home of Lieutenant Nathan Petit, 320 Boyd Street, but he was out. She then sent a group of unemployed men working on community gardens in the rear of her home to the scene and telephoned police.

The unemployed men were circled about the house when a patrol crew, under Patrolman George Getley arrived. The two men already had dismantled plumbing fixtures, Getley said. They were committed in default of $500 bail each for a hearing in police court this morning.

Photos by Gabriel Angemi

The Joseph Hatch House dates back to at least 1875, and was the center of one of several large farms that were a part of what was Stockton Township, present day East Camden. The house was the home for many years of Michael J. Jubanyik, a successful builder in the 1930s and 1940s. Younger members of the Jubanyik family went into the practice of law in New Jersey. This house sits at the north end of Eutaw Street, between Grand Street and South 27th Street.

The owner of an East Camden take-out restaurant was shot and killed yesterday afternoon, even after he gave three armed intruders $150 from the cash register, police said.

Bao Xing Lin, 53, owner of the Happy Dragon Chinese Food restaurant, underwent surgery at Cooper University Hospital, but died just after 6 p.m.

Lin was cleaning the lobby of the restaurant, at 28th and Mickle Streets, when the three men, dressed in black, entered about 12:15 p.m., said Lt. Harry Leon, spokesman for the Camden police.

The men forced Lin and his 23-year-old son to the back of the restaurant at gunpoint and demanded money. Lin handed over about $150 from the restaurant’s cash register.

One of the men then pistol-whipped Lin and shot him five times in the torso, Leon said. The son, Song Di Lin, wasn’t injured.

The men ran from the restaurant.

Happy Dragon, in the first block of South 28th Street, is just across the street from Cramer Elementary School. No children were injured or witnessed the shooting, Leon said.

Neighbors said Lin lived in the two-story brick building that housed the restaurant. The graffiti-covered building was once a popular corner grocery and deli. A couple from China opened a restaurant there about 15 years ago, neighbors said. Lin took over about 10 years ago.

Neighbors said he spoke little English, so his son did most of the interacting with customers.

In January 1996, four state troopers got into a gun battle with a drug suspect in the foyer of the Happy Dragon. Trooper Roy Baker was shot in the neck and chest, but he survived. The suspect, Massie Tyndell Nelson, was shot and killed by the troopers.

Officials Consulted about Slaying

By Tom Lounsberry

Brandon Smith and Omar D. McClarin Held in Murder of Bao Xing Lin

By Renee Winkler

Two Camden men were arraigned on felony murder charges Tuesday, four days after the owner of an East Camden Chinese restaurant was gunned down after turning over $150 in cash to robbers.

The mid-day murder of Bao Xing Lin, 53, who had owned the Happy Dragon for more than a decade, occurred less than 20 yards from Cramer Elementary School.

Superior Court Judge Samuel D. Natal set bail at $400,000 each for Brandon Smith, 19, of the 100 block of North 35th Street and Omar D. McClarin, 25, of the 1300 block of Jackson Street. Neither suspect showed any emotion during their brief court appearances. Both asked to be represented by public defenders.

Assistant Camden County Prosecutor James Conley said Smith had admitted his involvement in the robbery and shooting. He said McClarin told an associate he had shot the victim as well. Conley said investigators did not yet know if two weapons were used in the murder. Two of Lin’s sons attended the court hearing but did not appear to speak English when approached by reporters.

A third son, Song Di, 23, was in the restaurant at the intersection of South 28th and Mickle Streets when three men entered the store shortly after noon. Homicide investigators said the men forced Lin and Song Di to the back of the restaurant at gunpoint and demanded cash. After Lin gave the men $150, he was pistol-whipped and then shot five times, investigators said. His son was not hurt.

At a news conference on Tuesday, acting Camden Police Chief Edwin Figueroa said police are working with Rep. Rob Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, to arrange a visa for Lin’s wife to come from China to attend his funeral.

Conley said the investigation continues. He said police tracked McClarin and Smith on Monday to a home in the 300 block of Washington Street. Initially refusing to leave the house, which was surrounded by teams of heavily armed police, the two were arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants, Conley said. After interrogation about the Lin murder, they were arrested later Monday, he said.

In recognition of 25 years of service as an employee of the Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Rubin A. Wilbraham, of 3311 Mickle Street, was honored last night by officials and employees of the company at a dinner at Wiggle Inn, White Horse Pike, near Berlin.

Wilbraham, foreman of fitters in the gas distribution department, received a gold button from Harry Ellis, general superintendent of distribution, Newark. Harold Rommele, Southern division superintendent of distribution, presented a gold watch in behalf of fellow employees.

James Galt, engineer of distribution for the southern division, was toastmaster. More than 100 persons, including wives of the employees were present.