REMEMBRANCE OF ROBBINSVILLE
My name is Steve (Jim) Woosley and I grew up in Robbinsville (1950-1960). The houses were built and owned by Lawrence Robbins who lived about a 1/2 mile south on Rt. 25. Rt. 25 was a national road then and it didn't become Rt. 25A until after I-75 was built. The houses were originally intended to be tourist cabins. Besides Joe's Tavern (know locally as the Bloody Bucket) there were 8 4-room houses and on larger house. Lawrence's son Mick lived in the larger house. The bread winner of most of the families that lived there was an alcoholic, so the Bloody Bucket proved to be a convenient amenity. With characters such as Loud Mouth Charlie, the Georgia Peach and Hog Head Carrie there was seldom a dull moment. Each house had hardly any yard and the street wasn't paved but still there was no squalor. Robbinsville was kept neat with no junk or trash laying about. As a kid, I lived in ignorant bliss. I didn't know that I had less than others and I could play outside from sunup to sunset without fear of predators, animals or otherwise. If I wanted a candy bar or a root beer from the B & K Root Beer Stand, I could collect empty pop bottles along Rt. 25 and then redeem them for 2 cents per bottle. As I grew older and saw Robbinsville through the eyes of others, I became ashamed of it and considered it a social liability. Now I know there are far worse places for a kid to grow up.