The Reagan Rock on Ronald Reagan Drive
My father grew up in the town of Hammonton, which is the self-declared “Blueberry Capital of the World.” I don’t like blueberries, but Hammonton is a town that is charming in the ways of many small New Jersey communities. One of my aunts still lives there, and another lives in the neighboring township of Folsom.
Hammonton has a quaint downtown area that is home to the Reagan Rock, which today I realized is at the intersection of a street re-dedicated to him.
The plaque reads:
Ronald Reagan
40th President of
The United States of AmericaHonored the town of Hammonton
by addressing the residents of this community
and southern New Jersey from this site on
September 19, 1984
PS: Reagan Rock is the proper name for this momunent, I checked.
PPS: During the winter of ‘96-97 I took a job in the western Philadelphia suburbs and decided to stay with one of my aunts in the old family house in Hammonton. There were several times that the Yehl family name garnered preferrential treatment for me (Grandfather Yehl was a well-liked teacher). Growing up my father hated being from a “known” family because he couldn’t get away with anything, but as an adult I got a real kick out of that facet of small town life. I never knew my Yehl grandparents, but those experiences somehow made the family ties seem more real…
PPPS: Yes, Hammonton thru Philadelphia was the commute from hell, 55 miles each way. Getting fired from that job wasn’t entirely unintentional.
