FACes
& PlaceS
Around
Town June 2005
 Memories
of New Hope (third of a series)
William (Billy) A. Lewis
[Editor’s
Note: Billy was the first to respond when
I sent out a call for help with Faces & Places
articles.He sent a number of articles for our Faces
& Places column.]
____________________
I
remember walking across the bridge to Lambertville
as a child to see the Sunday Matinees at the Strand
Theatre. They cost 20 cents and you saw a newsreel,
a cartoon and a movie. In those days there was a line
to get in. A small group of blondish teenagers from
Lambertville bullied all the kids from New Hope but
they never stopped us from seeing a flick.
As
time went on the price would rise and some of the
brave would
take dates there to make out. Eventually
Art Carduner bought the place after it had been closed
for a few years and raised the level of enertainment.
Of course this meant the price went up also. I remember
seeing "The Russians are Coming". There
is no movie theatre in Lambertville now, I guess
we could
not support a twenty plex. I know the last time I
went to a flick in Flemington, the only other people
in
the theatre were my sister and kids.
The
Lambertville skating rink was the other main enertainment
in the
area. On Saturday and Sunday
there were skating
matinees. Every Friday nite there was a DJ dance
with guest stars such as Ronnie and the Hi Lites,
The Silouhettes,
Leslie Gore, Diane Renee and many others.
Every
teenager in the area made this a regular spot.
It was where they all got their first kiss
or more.
Occasionly toughs would come and start small
fights but despite the diversity of people that were
attracted
to the rink it was usually a happy and joyous
place.
William A. Lewis
“I
lived in the New Hope-Lambertville Area from age
4 to 32 when I was lured to Louisiana. I had the
misfortune to drink Bayou water and am stuck here forever.”
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