This Essex County native was a 14-year-old freshman in 1955. Here's what he remembers about his time attending Bloomfield Tech.
Eric Kiefer, Patch Staff
|Updated Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 2:42 pm ET
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — When he heard about the new future being discussed for the former Essex County vocational high school property, Charles Bush Sr. felt some old memories stir about the institution once known as Bloomfield Tech.
The Township of Bloomfield purchased the property at 209 Franklin Street in December 2023 for $10 million. Read more about the history of the property and the purchase via this explainer from The Jersey Bee.
Local officials are now discussing a new future for the former tech school. Read More: Bloomfield BOE Responds To Mayor’s Update On 209 Franklin Street
Bush – now a Forked River resident – was a high school freshman living in Belleville when he attended Bloomfield Tech. The memories are still poignant, he said.
Bush penned a letter about his experience, which he recently shared with Patch:
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“Reading about the closure and demolishing of Bloomfield Tech caused me to remember my high school years. I was a 14-year-old freshman in 1955.
“Living on Garden Avenue in Belleville, I walked to Belleville Avenue, caught the #98 bus, rode to the last stop opposite the Yeast factory on Mill Street. I boarded the #96 bus towards East Orange, rode through Bloomfield Center, then got off and walked up Franklin Street to school. After a few months, learned to get off the #98 bus at Montgomery Street, walk through Wrights field to the old Towpath along the Second River, cross Newark Avenue, walk up So. Junior High driveway then hopped the fence into the Bloomfield Tech parking lot.
“Built in 1929, Bloomfield Tech had an auto shop, tool and dye shop, welding shop, carpenter shop, electrical shop, radio and TV repair shop, a machine shop, aviation engine, aviation body, and a drafting room. Fulfilling normal high school academics, and classes supporting the technical skills study. It was a factory environment with big windows and painted floors.
“Freshman students experienced four different shop classes, then either chose or were guided toward the best fit. Sophomore year, I chose machine shop training, and remember the instructor saying: ‘Learn this business – you'll never stand at a bus stop or be without work.’
“We played intramural sports with other vocational schools, and attended dances at the girls school on No.13th Street in Newark. [I remember] turning 16 in 1957 and discovering girls: a couple boys started walking down Bloomfield Avenue to the corner of Bloomfield and Belmont Avenues, meeting the girls attending No.13th Street Vocational school. Together we caught the PS #37 which traveled through Branch Brook Park, dropping kids off in North Newark, Belleville and Nutley. Turning 17 in 1958, I drove a 1949 Olds to school.
“I graduated in 1959, ready to pursue a career. I married one of those girls from No.13th Street School, whom I met on the corner of Bloomfield and Belmont Avenue. In 1967, we bought a house in Bloomfield and raised our family on Weaver Avenue. My son, Charles Jr., graduated from Bloomfield Tech in 1982. He continued his education graduating college, and became a successful inventor, earning dozens of medical patents. We sold the Bloomfield home in 2013, and moved south to Ocean County. I occasionally visit Bloomfield, and drive past Bloomfield Tech, the old house and through the modern Bloomfield Center. Sadly, we lost Charlie Jr. in 2022, but his patents are utilized worldwide.
“Built 95 years ago, Bloomfield Tech is certainly past its time! But it was a world of wonderment in the 1950's to this teenage boy. The education and training enabled me to succeed and prosper in life. Bloomfield Tech was good to me and my family.”
- Signed, a grateful 1959 graduate
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