Camden’s Next Chapter
In 1994, Larry Miles opened the La’Unique Bookstore and Culture Center in Camden, N.J. “A hungry mind needs to be fed,” Miles said. “The only way we can move forward is to know our past. In order to be a leader, you must be a reader.”
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Interview and photograph by Victoria Thomas
Not What It Used to Be
Russ Fauver of Marlton traces his New Jersey roots back to the first Swedish settlers and the Lenni-Lenape Indian tribe. And he remains nostalgic for the past. “Fifty years ago, New Jersey had less government, had no sales tax, no income tax,” Fauver said.
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Interview and photograph by Jeffrey Smith
When There Was No Central Jersey
Tom O’Donnell remembers a time when there were only two area codes in the state: one for the south and one for the north. Despite the changes he has seen over his lifetime, he still loves the state and its residents. “These are the folks who will cut you off on the highway and flip you the bird, but they are the same people who will take you to their homes and give you the shirt off their backs.”
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Interview and photograph by Sarah Arot
Adjusting to Jersey
Keyshonna Norman, 23, moved from Atlanta, GA to Williamstown, N.J. six years ago, but she is still trying to adjust to the Garden State and its residents. “I’m from a state with a lot of hospitality,” Norman said. “[New Jerseyans] are upfront, say what they have to say…and are direct about their personal opinions.”
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Interview and photograph by James Sanders
A Frustrated Lawyer
For Nanci Craig, a court reporter who takes depositions for civil court cases in New Jersey, the ‘Real New Jersey’ is the freedom to travel throughout the state and “meet different people every day.”
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Interview and photograph by Jeffrey Smith
Horse Country and Cow Farms
For Erin Johnson, the “Real New Jersey” is “horse country and cow farms” in Lumberton. Johnson remembers a time when you could “drive from Route 70 to Route 38 with no traffic lights.”
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Interview and photo by David Zangaro