Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 19

I Courier-Post Tuesday, August 13, 1996 Rosemary Parrillo Features Editor 485-2434 5 0 -3 5 1 TODAY 11:23 a.m. Living Jazz joints and nightclubs flourished in the 1920s and '30s, and 'you couldn 't hardly drive through Evesham fliy scoops-''r l.rHCxen.xtwKn 1 WL-N Adding to the list of mom's fears Stay safe, beloved. Stay safe. It is the silent message sent out through every mother's heart as she watches her child go out the door. Mothers fret about car accidents and drugs, pedophiles and kids getting mixed up with the wrong crowd.

Until recently, we have had the blessing of not worrying about our young ones being gunned down at a shopping malL The shootout last week at Deptford Mall, in which two teen-age bystanders were killed, reminds us of what we've known all along. There is no such thing as a safe place. As a mother, I mourn these kids, nice kids who might have led magnificent lives if not for a thug with a gun. TuiiyLaoj Corn-on-Cob mm i 1 Nicholas Morris, football star and singer, died performing an act of uncommon valor, tie pushed his sister to safety before he was felled by four bullets. He was 17.

Maureen Lavin, a gymnastically gifted girl who taught back bends to other kids, was 'I .1. Counsr-Post library Cookin': In the 1970s, Lawnside's barbecue restaurants continued to operate. The nightclubs had mostly closed by the late 1940s. Personally eileen smith When Lctwnside shopping for school clothes. She might have chosen an outfit in blue, her favorite color.

But Maureen was struck in the head by a ricocheting bullet. She was 14. I think of their families and friends and the terrible pain they bear. My heart goes out to them. I love a teen-ager, too.

My 15-year-old daughter, Rebecca, doesn't want to go to the mall. She wants to hop a bus to Philadelphia with a group of friends. I don't want Rebecca to go. The city is big and bruising. Rebecca is small and innocent "You don't trust me," Rebecca says.

She is sullen. "I trust you," I say. "I don't trust robbers and muggers." Because I am a newswoman and meet people from all walks of life, I know there are a lot of dangerous beings out there. Rebecca points out that she will be accompanied by several friends. They are headed to a safer part of the city.

They are going in broad daylight. Because I an a newswoman and meet people from all walks of life, I know that crowds, good neigh horhoods and sunlight offer little protection from random violence. Rebecca tells me that bad things can happen anywhere at any time. She reminds me that she and her friends are taking sensible precautions. "Not everybody walking down the street is an ax murderer, both sides of the street were very, very busy with barbecue pits and all kinds of novelties," said Still, who remem-tters a roadside vendor (Middling snake oil in the "You couldn't hardly drive through Evesham Avenue.

But conditions changed with the demise of Lawnside Park across the Itorough's lrder with Somerdale. The amusement park, originally a picnic area, included two small lakes created by damming a nearby creek. In the 1930s, owners added a pool that helped draw crowds to the area. "They also had a rowboat concession," recalled Moore, who worked at Lawnside Park as a youngster. "You could take your lady out on the lake and pick water lilies." "Lawnside still is a pretty nice town," said Still, "but all the nightlife has disappeared." The jazz and blues tunes still play on in the memory, however, recalling a special time for Lawnside and for Still.

"When I was in the service," he said, "I traveled halfway around the world, and I was always glad when I came home." years after World War II, he added. "Lawn-side was the entertainment center of that time," said Still, recalling that people also flocked to Remember When By JIM WALSH Courier-Post Staff They're gone now, the nightclubs full of hot music and cool crowds that once lined the streets of Lawnside. Jazzy joints, with names that evoke another era the Cotton Club, the High Hat Club, Dreamland and Club Harlem. "They were the names you don't find anymore," recalled Clarence Still, the official historian of this largely black borough. "Oh, that was the nightlife." The clubs, which began growing in popularity early in this century, peaked during the Jazz Age of the 1920s, said Still.

"During Prohibition, the clubs flourished more so," observed Still. Many nightspots continued until the black audiences, he said. "It was very special le-cause Lawnside was a black town," said Still. "It was where black folk would come and relax. You didn't have to worrv about any trouble." That was the place for eople of African descent" added Siencer Moore, 74, of Magnolia.

"They'd come down from Rhode Island and New York, from Philadelphia, from Maryland, all over." Adding to their appeal, the clubs routinely attracted black celebrities. Some like jazz great Duke Ellington came to perform. Others just showed up in the crowd. "Any time someone was performing in Philadelphia, they invariably would find their way to Lawnside," said Still. "I saw Joe Louis and Kila Fitzgerald." The crowds were large and lively, but typically well-be haved, he said.

"We're talking about a different time and a different mindset," he recalled. "Everybody had on their suits and ties and secial hats. They were going out to enjoy themselves, to have a nice time." But fierce rivalries existed lietween the clubs, many owned by local residents. "All these places had a kitchen and they were all in competition with each other, seeing who could put out the best meal," said Still. The historian, now "creeping up on 68," had his own favorites.

"The Acorn Inn, man, you could get a meal there." The clubs could be found on all of the borough's main streets Evesham and Gloucester avenues and the White Horse Pike. "On Evesham Avenue, an amusement park there. was really fun. The clubs flourished le-cause they offered good shows, good f(xd and gxd times. But Lawnside's heritage as a black community also contributed to the appeal.

In an era when racism was practiced more openly, Lawnside's clubs were a haven for Tony Bennett's right-hand man Mom, Relecca says. Because I am a newswoman and meet people from all walks of life, 1 know the overwhelming majority of human beings are good and many of The shootout last week at Deptford Mall reminds us of what we've known all along. There is no such thing as a safe place. I If you're going- Tony Bennett performs Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 18.

at Caesars Atlantic City, Boardwalk at Arkansas Avenue. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday. 10 p.m. Friday and 9 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 18. Admission is $50. For information and reservations. caN 800-677-7469.

9 v. I fT them are spectacularly kind and caring. Rebecca wins my permission to go on her outing. A delighted Becky scoops up her purse and heads out the door. She leaves without so much as a backward glance.

But wait Something important has been left unsaid. I dash out onto the porch and call out to Rebecca. "I love you!" Rebecca turns, embarrassed by my public display of affection. "I love you, too," she says. Rebecca turns and trudges away to the bus stop.

My maternal heart will not beat comfortably until she returns. Stay safe, beloved. Stay safe. tUn Smith is senior feature writer. She can be reached at 486-2444 or by lax at 662-2831.

By CHUCK DARROW Courier-Post Staff It's amazing what the right answer to a simple question can sometimes bring. For Ralph Sharon, it led to an exhilarating 42-year run along the upper echelons of show business. The year was 1954. Sharon was a 30-year-old jazz pianist who had recently emigrated from his native London and already established himself on the New York jazz scene as the leader of a trio that backed such singers as Carmen McRae and Sylvia Sims. But the best was yet to come.

"One day," he explains in a soft voice that has just a hint of Britain lea in it, "I got a phone call out of the bluer 'Would you like to play with Tony "I wasn't familiar at all with him. I was strictly in the jazz field, and he was a pop singer. We were a world apart." But since the offer was for a single date the Chase Hotel in St Louis Sharon agreed to join Bennett Despite their different musical philosophies, Sharon found himself admiring Bennett's style during that gig. "I thought, i really like the way this guy sings. This is great' And he seemed to like me, too.

"And on just a handshake, we've leen together ever since." Sharon, now 72, returns to Caesars Atlantic City this week in the same role he has played for more than 40 years, as Tony Bennett's pianist and musical director. Although Sharon has benefited from the crooner's long, successful career, Bennett also has reaped a few rewards from the association. For starters, Sharon claims credit for introducing the crooner to jazz in the late 1950s. Influence: Tony Bennett owes his entry into jazz and his signature song largely to Ralph Sharon. "I told him he should sing with Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

(Jazz) increased his appeal; it proved he can do something else besides sing ballads." But even in the realm of op balladry, Sharon proved to be a good luck charm for his boss. In the late 1950s and early '60s, Sharon palled around with a couple of songwriters named George Corey and Douglas Cross. The composers, both now Ptease in SHARON. Page 2C I I COMICS 6 EDUCATION 3 HOROSCOPE 7 PEOPLE 7 TV 4 Gift Tony Bennett created this illustration of his pianist and music director, Ralph Sharon..