I can't remember how many times I rode this ferry. The abandoned road is still there leaving the no longer existing ferry dock on the New Jersey side, last time I looked. It was in very poor shape. A good place to get a flat tire. For me as a kid, it was always about having a good time, at the beginning of and at the end. It was always about a good time. I miss those days. The shore and lakes.
I lived in Chester from 1966 through the spring of 1975. Rode the ferry countless times. Some on here mention food for sale on the ferry. I don't remember that at all, but I'm not saying it didn't exist. Unless the weather was bad, I spent the ferry ride leaning on the railing checking out the water. The Delaware River had a very distinct *smell* in those days. Not a bad smell, just a smell. I can recall in my mind exactly what it smelled like. These days, when I take the ferry from Delaware City to Fort Delaware, I also enjoy the ride in the open, but the aroma of the water is gone now. Nothing lasts forever!
thank you so much for the memories - loved the water smells and the banging of the ferry on the boards...my dad's favorite way to go to the beach and lakes of NJ.
Very nice movie, I was 10 in 1973 and I remembered my mom taking by sister and I for a ferry ride to Chester and back. I lived in Brideport, NJ. Also our grade school class walked across the bridge when it opened to pedestrians.
Thanks for this. I was just remembering how my then-girlfriend and I would take the ferry over to New Jersey, drive around a while, and take the ferry back. Just to ride the ferry. That would have been the late 1960's.
I even remember the bumpy start off the ferry when my father used to take trips in his truck. Great memories... 50's. Thanks for such a thoughtful post.
There were 2 separate ship lines. One was called a ferry because it ferried people back and forth between Chester, Pa., and Bridgeport, NJ. The other was several ships owned by the Wilson Line which cruised from Phila. I believe down to Riverview beach park. The park still exists in Pennsville, NJ. Obviously all the rides and things are gone but it is a beautiful park. Also the original sign at the front of the park is still there. Ahh, what memories.
As a youngster, I had always felt as if the land was moving away from us rather than the other way around. Optical delusion in the words of Archie Bunker. I rode the Ferry one last time in 1971.
Does anyone remember going top deck and buying a knockwurst and a soda? My brother says he remembers it as sausage. Any opinions. It was a treat to go over from Chester to NJ on the way to the shore. Great memory!
I used some of this footage for a documentary type video I made about the ferry on TH-cam. I hope you don't mind. It's amazing footage. Thank you for sharing!
I'm sorry for your loss, my dad had a chance to paint the bridge in the early 70's and he declined the offer. HE worked for Laugheads painting and paperhanging in Chester back then. That bridge actually opened the year I was born.
Memories of going to the Jersey shore.
I used to take this until the Walt Whitman Bridge opened in 1957. Thanks!
I helped to build the bridge in 1971 and 1972. I did enjoy the ferry ride, but not the long lines to cross on weekends.
thanks for posting this! first step in our jaunts to Wildwood when we were kids!
I can't remember how many times I rode this ferry. The abandoned road is still there leaving the no longer existing ferry dock on the New Jersey side, last time I looked. It was in very poor shape. A good place to get a flat tire. For me as a kid, it was always about having a good time, at the beginning of and at the end. It was always about a good time. I miss those days. The shore and lakes.
I lived in Chester from 1966 through the spring of 1975. Rode the ferry countless times. Some on here mention food for sale on the ferry. I don't remember that at all, but I'm not saying it didn't exist. Unless the weather was bad, I spent the ferry ride leaning on the railing checking out the water. The Delaware River had a very distinct *smell* in those days. Not a bad smell, just a smell. I can recall in my mind exactly what it smelled like. These days, when I take the ferry from Delaware City to Fort Delaware, I also enjoy the ride in the open, but the aroma of the water is gone now. Nothing lasts forever!
thank you so much for the memories - loved the water smells and the banging of the ferry on the boards...my dad's favorite way to go to the beach and lakes of NJ.
Very nice movie, I was 10 in 1973 and I remembered my mom taking by sister and I for a ferry ride to Chester and back. I lived in Brideport, NJ. Also our grade school class walked across the bridge when it opened to pedestrians.
Thanks for this. I was just remembering how my then-girlfriend and I would take the ferry over to New Jersey, drive around a while, and take the ferry back. Just to ride the ferry. That would have been the late 1960's.
I even remember the bumpy start off the ferry when my father used to take trips in his truck. Great memories... 50's.
Thanks for such a thoughtful post.
Brings back good memories of trips to Wildwood and Garrison Lake.
Garrison Lake was so much fun in the 60's
I didn't realize the bridge was that old. My first and only trip across it was in 1998 when we attended a church centennial reunion in Paulsboro.
There were 2 separate ship lines. One was called a ferry because it ferried people back and forth between Chester, Pa., and Bridgeport, NJ. The other was several ships owned by the Wilson Line which cruised from Phila. I believe down to Riverview beach park. The park still exists in Pennsville, NJ. Obviously all the rides and things are gone but it is a beautiful park. Also the original sign at the front of the park is still there. Ahh, what memories.
Great memories! Road it as a kid in the 60s!
As a youngster, I had always felt as if the land was moving away from us rather than the other way around. Optical delusion in the words of Archie Bunker. I rode the Ferry one last time in 1971.
Does anyone remember going top deck and buying a knockwurst and a soda? My brother says he remembers it as sausage. Any opinions. It was a treat to go over from Chester to NJ on the way to the shore. Great memory!
I remember those good old days
I used some of this footage for a documentary type video I made about the ferry on TH-cam. I hope you don't mind. It's amazing footage. Thank you for sharing!
My Dad Worked For the Owner Louis Kapelski
Yes, the bridge where my husband died while doing iron work construction on. He died Aug 16, 1972.
I'm sorry for your loss, my dad had a chance to paint the bridge in the early 70's and he declined the offer. HE worked for Laugheads painting and paperhanging in Chester back then. That bridge actually opened the year I was born.
Took the ferry to and back from Senior Week. Sigh.
Anybody remember ferry trips to Riverview beach Park in Pennsville, NJ?
It was the Wilson Line ship --not a ferry.
Anyone remember the Wilson Line?