MARLTON, IN EVESHAM TOWNSHIP

                                             The last 45 years by Pat Dooling

In 1964 my husband Tom and I and our two boys, Mike and Steve moved from a townhouse in Northeast Philadelphia to a new single family home in the Woodstream developement in Marlton.

One of my first memories was the first day I saw Main Street. There was a sign saying the population was "2,500. The Municipal building and library were in old houses. There was a general store where you could buy "penny candy". It was a quaint small town and so very different from the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia.. Well, that was what we were looking for- a safe place with grass and trees and a slower pace to raise our boys.

At last count the census of Marlton was 41,000. When we moved here there were two new developments being built and two others were completed. The area had dairy farms and apple and peach farms. Although I’m sure the farmers didn’t like it, soon the neighborhood kids were playing in the farms.

My family grew to to include Tommy and Lynn while many housing developments sprung up on the apple, peach and dairy farms. There are facilities to suit every household from condominiums, townhouses, single family homes and rentals to senior housing.

The great thing then and now is the location. Marlton is on each side of Route 70 & 73 and close to inter-state 295. It is 11 miles to Philadelphia and 90 miles to New York City, NY and Ocean City, NJ. The Pennsylvania mountains are a 2 hour drive. The Delaware and Maryland shores are about a 3 hour drive.

So if you like the Arts, the shore or skiing, you’ve come to the right area. A 30 minute drive to center city Philadelphia , a quick trip to the shore on a nice day to a three hour drive to Baltimore Harbor should satisfy your exploring appetite.

In 1964 one ventured to the next town, Cherry Hill, for a Saturday night out. They had what were called "Roadside" restaurants. You might find a piano player there ,who knew the names of all the regulars. You usually hired a babysitter because restaurants did not cater to children and you definitely dressed for the occasion. Today you can go out with the children "dressed down" and enjoy ice cream, donuts, pizza, chicken ,burgers, Italian, Chinese or fine food.

Shopping was limited in Marlton in 1964 but it is prolific today. The Promenade has shops such as Ann Taylor, Coldwater Creek and Eddie Bauer. It’s not necessary to go out of town to satisfy your shopping or recreational needs. Located on Route 73 is a movie theater with 8 showing rooms.

Forty-five years ago there was one elementary school and no high school. Today there are nine elementary schools and our own high school, Cherokee.

There are many houses of worship of various denominations, a hospital, recreation programs, and a Senior Center. In 1964 there was one part-time policeman now there is a Chief of Police, many officers and detectives.

I wonder what the founding fathers of Welsh and English descent would think of their farm community now if they traveled back from 1866?