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Joan Barkman Collection, 1976-2019

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Joan Barkman Collection

Creators:

Joan Barkman

Dates:

1976-2019, with gaps

Extent:

7 linear feet (2 oversized boxes) and 13.1 GB of data

Abstract:

A lifelong Chester resident, Joan Barkman grew up in what previously been known as the Chester Institute building, and her father William Mangels was the town chocolatier. The collection includes video personal history interviews wherein Barkman gives a “tour” through her childhood home and talks about her family’s business, among other topics. Barkman also donated an oil painting of the building, as well as a photograph of the rear of the building. The collection’s value to researchers lies in the documentation of a significant Chester property, a long-term business in town, and the life of a Chester resident.

Language: English

Repository:

Local History Department
Chester Public Library
250 W. Main Street
Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-7612
Fax: (908) 879-8695
Email: LocalHistory@ChesterLib.org
http://www.chesterlib.org/

Table of Contents

Joan Barkman (neé Mangels) (1935- ) was 9 years old when her parents William (1990-1995) and Frieda (1905-1989) moved her and her brother Arnold (1931- ) to Chester, NJ from Brooklyn, NY. Prior to moving west, the Mangels had a luncheonette, and William made candy, specifically chocolates. Besides becoming Chester’s local candy maker, the Mangels bought one of the most notable buildings in town, the Chester Institute.

According to the Chester Historical Society (http://historicchesternj.com/peopleplaces/schools.html), Daniel Budd built the Chester Institute in 1868 as a home for his family and as a private seminary for girls. By 1900, it was no longer a seminary, but a boarding house. The Cox family lived in the house before the Budd family sold it to the Mangels.

The 26 acres of land extended to Fairmount and Seminary Avenues. One acre was in Chester Township, and the remainder were in the Borough. Mangels sold the one acre to Chester Apgar for Apgar’s Garage. The bulk of the property is now the Chester Springs Mall (Shoprite and other stores). The Mangels farmed the land, raising pigs, primarily, but also had horses, chickens, cows, geese, and ducks. Their land also included some pastures and an apple orchard.

Extended family members, such as Barkman’s maternal grandfather, a farmer named Fritz Blume (1882-1956), emigrated from Germany after World War II and lived with the Mangels in their very large home. Her aunt Frieda Blume and cousin, who also lived with them, escaped Germany prior to the war. She worked at the bakery in Chester. After her cousin left to serve in the Korean War, the Mangels rented his room to boarders. The family also hosted friends who visited from Brooklyn in the summers. During those periods, Barkman slept above the third floor in the house, in the cupola.

Mangels’ candy store operated out of the former Chester Institute before moving into a separate building on the land. Mangels would open up one of the big front rooms of the house during the Easter season, but mold the chocolates in the basement. The family ran the chocolate store from 1956-1971. Later, the Mangels sold the home to the Grogan family, and moved to 80 West Main Street. The Grogan family operated a nursing home called the Chester Retreat out of the building. They cleared the wooded area and created Grogan’s pond, a local swimming hole. For a short period of time, the Jerry Grogan had a golf range on the property. The building was demolished in 1974, and currently, the land is owned by Chester Springs Mall (otherwise known as the Shoprite shopping center).

Before selling the land, Mangels gave Barkman an acre of the land, where she and her husband built a house. Her brother also received a parcel of land and lived south of the Barkmans on Fairmount Avenue.

Barkman attended Roxbury High School, where she was active on the softball, field hockey, and basketball teams. She was voted “Most Athletic” during her senior year in 1954. A friend of her brother’s, a Chester farmer named John later became her husband.

John R. Barkman (1931-2006), who worked for Welsh Farms for 36 years, was a volunteer fireman in Chester. After high school, he served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1953-1955. He and Joan were married for 51 years. He is interred at Chester Cemetery.

Barkman joined the Ladies Auxiliary and drove an ambulance for the First Aid Squad for five years during the 1970s. She also was an active member of the Chester Women’s Bowling League. The Barkmans had three children: John R., Jr. (1955-2008), Joy Palmer (neé Barkman) (1957- ), and JoAnn Griffith (neé Barkman) (1968- ).

Barman held many different jobs during her life in Chester prior to becoming a school bus for a local company owned by Bill and Bob Conover. She worked at Larison’s Turkey Farm restaurant after she first married. Barkman also worked at the Chester House for various catered events, including one for the Mennen family. She also worked at Cooperative Industries. She began driving a bus at the age of 25, delivering children to the elementary schools, and later to the West Morris Regional High School. She also delivered the mail, as well as deliver milk and pick up eggs for Welsh Farms.

Table of Contents

The Joan Barkman Collection contains an oil painting, 17 photographs, and 7 video interviews. The painting and the photograph of Chester Institute were collected by Joan Barkman. The video interviews were conducted in the Local History Librarian’s office at Chester Library during one visit on September 16, 2019. The purpose of the interviews was to document Barkman’s “tour” through the home, as she knew it, prior to its destruction, as well as her father’s noted candy store. She goes into detail about the property her father owned in Chester, as well as her experiences growing up and living in Chester over time.  The photographs were lent to the Library for digitization and sharing.

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