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"NONE BETTER" Camden Beer The Camden County
Beverage Co.
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"NONE BETTER" Camden Beer The Camden County
Beverage Co.
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From 1948 to 1951 when I worked at the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, after work we the people that worked there went to the Greenwich Bar on Greenwich Street, downtown New York for a few beers. They had Camden Beer and to this day that was the best beer that I had ever had. I was thinking tonight of the beer I had then and wondered where and if there is any place that I could get that kind of beer again. I have never heard of Camden Beer any place before or after. I wonder now if it is still being made and where it can be purchased. I am now 75 years old and I am very glad to tell you what a good beer that was and how much we all enjoyed it. It sure was a good beer, good foam and a great taste, the foam was just as good as the taste. Thank you, |
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Camden's brewery at Fillmore and Bulson Streets was built in 1904 by Joseph Baumgartner. The firm was known as the Camden City Brewery Incorporated until it was acquired by Frederick A. Poth, and operated by F.A. Poth & Sons Inc., a Philadelphia based brewery, in 1910. The plant was then modernized to current standards of the time. The firm was operated F.A. Poth & Sons Incorporated of New Jersey before Prohibition. During the 1920s the brewery came under the control of Philadelphia based bootlegger Mickey Duffy, and was a major source of revenue for him until his murder in 1931. Another crime figure, Edgar "Blondy" Wallace, had an interest in the brewery but apparently was out of the picture by the fall of 1934. |
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Philadelphia Inquirer March 27, 1904 |
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Camden City Brewery Bottle |
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Trenton Evening Times March 7, 1910 |
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1912 Camden City Directory Advertisement |
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Camden Courier-Post Advertisement September 1929 |
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Philadelphia Inquirer - March 17, 1918 |
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Chriatian Heitman - Fillmore Street |
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Camden Courier-Post - June 4, 1933 |
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BREWERY OFFlCE RAN SACKED IN MYSTERY THEFT
Burglars ransacked the offices of the Camden County Beverage Company early yesterday but what they took, if anything, had not been disclosed late last night. In a mystery "robbery" that has police puzzled, the thieves broke through a glass window on the rear loading platform, climbed inside and proceeded to turn three different offices of the brewery "inside out" in their quest. The handle off the huge safe in the wall of the first-floor office, was broken, but the safe had not been opened according to Detectives Benjamin Simon and Clifford Del Rossi. But it, appeared to have been the only thing not opened by the intruders. Waste Baskets Searched Filing cabinets and desk drawers were pulled out and their contents littered the floor. Even a wastebasket had been searched and its contents strewn about. Apparently finding nothing of value on the first floor, the thieves, or thief made their way to the second floor where another office of the concern was ransacked from top to bottom. Entrance to the brewery was made between 6 a. m. and 7 a. m. A watchman, Richard McKinley, who lives at 550 Chelton Avenue left the building at 6 o'clock and Olaf J. Hall, a bookkeeper arrived there at 7. a.m. Hall went immediately to a second floor office where he saw several of the filing cabinets and desks had been gone through, but he failed to report it to his, superiors. According to Frank R. Allison, secretary and treasurer of the brewery, Hall believed someone connected with the brewery had been searching for something, and being in a hurry had forgotten to replace things as he found them. The "robbery" was not noticed until Nicholas Enderle, brewmaster, entered the building shortly before noon. He saw the offices on the first. floor in disorder and notified Allison. The latter notified police, who could not learn whether anything of value had been stolen. Were Seeking Papers Detective Simon advanced a theory that the thieves had, been in search of valuable papers, rather than cash. McKinley was questioned at the plant and declared that everything was "in order" when he left. He said two police dogs were left on the rear platform to guard against thieves. Later it was learned the dogs followed McKinley to his home. The Camden County Beverage Company has been cited by the government on a rule to show cause why its 3.2 beer permit should not be revoked. The hearing on the citation was, scheduled for May 22, but, has been postponed indefinitely to await the conclusion of other citation hearings. Allison said he did not know of any valuable papers that would interest thieves. He expressed belief the robbers sought collections made by drivers on Saturday and kept in the brewery office until the banks open on Monday.
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Camden Courier-Post - August 8, 1933 |
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CAMDEN BREWERY ‘TRIAL’
DATE IS SET Hearing in the revocation of permit proceedings against the Camden County Cereal Beverage Company will be held in the post office building here August 21. That was announced yesterday by Leo A. Crossen, recently appointed supervisor of industrial alcohol permits or this district. Crossen said there is a possibility, however, that the place of the hearing may be changed to the federal building in Philadelphia. Notice of the hearing has been sent to officials of the brewery and counsel, Crossen said. The hearer has not been selected, Crossen said, but Norman J. Morrison, ace prosecutor in Attorney General Homer S. Cummings' staff, will present the case for the government. Meanwhile yesterday it was announced that the Harrison Beverage Company had lost its appeal to have set aside the order revoking its permit. A special federal board of review which last week heard "new evidence" offered by the brewery, and reviewed testimony given at the original citation hearing, recommended that the permit revocation stand. Brewery counsel has 10 days in which to file an appeal with Dr. James T. Doran, commissioner of industrial alcohol. During these 10 days the brewery may operate. If Dr. Doran upholds the board's decision, however, the brewery will be ordered closed. Harold Simandl, former Newark police judge and attorney for the brewery, said he would carry an appeal to the highest courts if Dr. Doran ruled against him. |
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Camden Courier-Post - August 10, 1933 |
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BREWERY HERE FACING CLOSING MAY BE SOLD BEFORE TRIAL Sale of the Camden County Cereal Beverage Company by its present owners is scheduled before August 21, the date of its revocation of permit hearing on charges of operating under "dummy officers”. That was the word yesterday that came out of the offices of the Industrial Alcohol Bureau, in Philadelphia, as the government went ahead with the preparation of its case against the local concern. The local brewery was among five in New Jersey cited by the government as being owned and operated by racketeers, who hid beneath the names of dummy officers. The announcement of the proposed sale came after Edward C. Dougherty, U. S, attorney preparing the license revocation case, had named seven persons, who, among others, are the alleged true owners of the brewery, Mickey’s Brother NamedIn the list were Charles A. Bodine, of Haddonfield, long associated in name with matters concerning beer; Max Hassel, slain gang lord and reputed owner of a string of breweries; Edgar "Blondy" Wallace, reputed ex-beer lord now serving a year in a federal penitentiary for non-payment of income taxes, and John Cusick, also known as John Duffy, brother of the murdered Mickey Duffy. John is alleged by the government to have taken over brother "Mike's bit," following his slaying in an Atlantic City hotel. Also named were Henry "Hank" Collins, close associate of Duffy in the old days; William Neely, an ex-Duffy satellite, and Lou ______, associate of Hassel. The proposed sale was made known to the government by Walter S. Keown attorney for the brewery, it yesterday. According to the Philadelphia office, Keown successfully had postponed the hearing to allow the owners time to complete negotiations. The concern attempting to purchase the brewery is a North Jersey cereal manufacturing company," according to the report. Keown and Norman J. Morrison, U. S. Attorney General, met in Philadelphia concerning the beer operation hearing. Keown is said to have sought Morrison's advice as to what action the brewery could take to satisfy the government Hearing Aug. 21The hearing will be held begin Aug. 21 in the Camden post office building. While no "hearer" has been chosen yet, Norman J. Morrison, special assistant U. S. attorney general, will act as government prosecutor. The citation charges that the brewery concealed its true ownership behind "dummy officers." These men, who applied for the license, were Frank R. Allison, of Oaklyn, as president, and Frank C. ______ who gave an address at North Broad street, Philadelphia, secretary-treasurer. Long reported to have been associated with the Camden brewery before the advent of 3.2 percent beer were the incorporators of the ______ Realty Company, which owns property in which the brewery stands. Police and federal agents frequently have contended that both Collins and Neely were associated with Bodine and Duffy in the beer business A number of beer trucks seized by federal agents were Neely's. Dougherty is head attorney in the Philadelphia. Office of the Industrial Alcohol Bureau and also prepared the citation on which the Harrison brewery permit was ordered revoked. Morrison is the attorney who acted as prosecutor against the Harrison brewery. |
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When Prohibition was repealed, the brewery went back into the production of legal beer. The new ownership still traded as the Camden County Beverage Company, however. Fred A. Martin was the Company's President for many years after the 1933 change in ownership. |
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BLONDY WALLACE LOSES BREWERY CLAIM SUIT Action against four corporate defendants in the suit by Edgar "Blondy" Wallace to recover a 20 percent shareholder's interest in the Camden County Beverage Company from Charles A. Bodine, secretary treasurer of the concern, were dismissed yesterday by Vice-Chancellor Francis B. Davis in chancery court. In his suit, Wallace, who was represented by William Harris, asked for the appointment of a receiver and named as defendants the holding and operating companies of the brewery, the Babocor Realty Co., and No. 12 Hudson Street. Application for dismissal was made by Walter S. Keown and George D. Rothermel, representing the holding and operating companies, on grounds the bill made no complaint against the corporate defendants and that the dispute involved only Wallace and Bodine. The suit will be argued between the two on final hearing, for which no date was set.. |
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A "NEW" Camden Beer Truck ready
to go! |
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The brewery's impact on Camden went beyond its customers and employees. The Camden brewery and other similar factories were a source of business for many businesses, such as hardware companies, office supply houses, and as illustrated here, the nearby Tiedeken auto and truck body works. |
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Camden August 27, 1936 |
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Brewery circa 1950 Click on Image |
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Brewery Photo Courtesy of Bruce Jay Smith |
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Camden Courier-Post |
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Camden Courier-Post August 4, 1933 Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Camden October 1, 1936
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Camden October 21, 1936
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| Camden Courier-Post * July 1, 1941 |
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| South 8th Street - Central Avenue |
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Looking
at the Camden Brewery from South 8th and Bulson Streets November 10, 1942 |
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Camden Courier-Post May 3, 1949 |
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From those days through the 1960, the Camden County Beverage Company brewed and bottled Camden Lager Beer, Lord Camden Ale, Camden Bock Beer, and Cerveza Bohio in Camden. The water used to make these brews came from Camden's own artesian wells. This water was considered to be "among the best in the United States, and certainly in this part of the East," so stated an investigator of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1927. |
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| BOCK BEER as told by Camden Brewery President Fred A. Martin to the Camden Courier-Post on March 18, 1950
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| Beer Tap |  |
| A Camden Beer Church Key |
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| A
Later Camden Beer Church Key |
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| A Camden Beer Key fob / Nickel holder (you DO get a phone call from the Police Station!) Thanks |
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| Camden Courier-Post May 29, 1950 |
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TAX STAMP |
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Camden City |
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Camden Beer Case Click on Images to Enlarge |
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The company used several advertising slogans, but "None Better" became the most familiar and appeared on the majority of the advertisements for Camden Beer. |
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The brewery stood on Fillmore Street between Chelton Avenue and Bulson Street along the railroad tracks, and backed onto 6th Street. It no longer stands. In its place is an industrial site. The only apparent vestige of the once great brewery in Camden is this advertisement on the North wall of American Legion Post 274, Broadway & Jefferson Street in Camden, just a block northwest of where the brewery operated. |
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After the brewery closed, Camden Beer was still sold, brewed and packaged by Esslinger in Philadelphia, and distributed out of Camden and Newark. The can aabove was part of this production. |
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Camden Beer Keychain |
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Camden Courier-Post January 28, 1942 Click on Image to Enlarge
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Charlie Kuski and Alex Bashuck,
January 28, 1942 Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Camden Courier-Post - April 17, 1961 |
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"Fine Beer is no Luxury. Be thrifty, insist on King Size Quart. Take home a few quarts or buy it by the case from your favorite tavern or friendly dealer." |
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CAMDEN SPECIAL |
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Fire at the vacant Brewery July 26, 1964 |
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GUEST BOOK & E-MAIL |
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