For over 90 years, Hopewell Valley has shopped there, 66 of those years at its current location, and earlier years on Main Street. I remember riding in the shopping cart myself as a child, and then putting my own kids in perhaps the same carts that I rode in. We’ve all wandered the aisles, picking up what we need for dinner, ordered birthday cakes and balloons for joyous occasions, and sometimes ordered catered food for wakes and funerals. But no matter the situation, the market always had us covered.
An institution for the entire Valley, the Pennington Market was originally located on Main Street; it moved to its Rt.31 location in 1960, and in 1981, Larry Rothwell purchased the Market.
I spoke with Robert (Bob) Warznak, who worked at the market during High School and College. One of his earliest memories was working as a bagger. In those days, Bob said that customers never bagged their own groceries Bob also noted that there was a “pecking order” among the baggers, and said that “the only way to escape bagging would be if a cashier closed down, in which case the bagger then had a chance to stock shelves or do other tasks! The other thing Bob remembers is that almost ALL of the cashiers were women, at least until the day that Tony Paglione, who worked a few days a week, started working as a cashier. I can say that Tony was my favorite person at the Market! He put a smile on everyone’s face, every day. Over the last several weeks, the history of Pennington Market has been on display throughout the store, with photos spanning the generations.
I remember getting lost in the market many a time as a child, running down the aisles, and then finally realizing that my mother was nowhere in sight. But the market workers were always keeping a look out, slyly letting my mother know what aisle I was in.
And talk about being generous in donating to the community, McCaffreys will have some pretty big shoes to fill! The Pennington Market has supported local sports, charities, community programs, the YMCA, scouting programs, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Special Olympics, and Fight Cancer Day, to name a few. They were also there for the animals, hosting pet food drives. No matter what was asked for, the Market always seemed to say,”Sure”.
Over the last several weeks, a very large board has been just inside the store, with patrons asked to sign their name or write a line. As you can see here, I don’t think one more name could fit! I hope you all signed it!.
As the store was closing up, I went outside to get one last photo of the Pennington Market sign, lit up at night, and flanked by the American flag.
