By Bob Bole, January 18, 2017 — 108 University Boulevard was one of the happening places of the Ridge, a hip area of Glassboro which in the 1950s was a suburban area of Glassboro. There were a lot of medium-priced houses and for us kids, it was great because there was a lot where we could run and play sports. 108 University was the Bole residence and the center of great activity.
There were three reasons for all this action. On both sides of my house were the two prettiest girls around. This was a definite turn-on for the boys. In the middle of the triangle was my house where I was the king over the fairer sex. Girls paid me great attention, not because I was the cutest boy on the block, only the second. What I lacked in Elvis’ looks, I made up for in smarts, personality, charm and shyness. One of my two best neighbors knocked my socks off when she said I looked like Ricky Nelson. This doubled the size of my head and made me a huge fan of Ricky Nelson. One time at the end of an adventure of Ozzie and Harriet show, I was staring at Ricky singing “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It.” My dad said, “Boy, you really like him.” I was truly embarrassed and said, “No.”
In the afternoon we boys lifted weights, played softball and basketball. I did well, only raising my position as a “babe magnet.” After our physical activities, we boys would go inside our house and my mom would make popcorn for us. Looking back, we had a lot of fun.