Moorestown Patch Letter To The Editor: A Poem About Strawbridge Lake

Frances Anne Cooney shared the following poem she wrote about Strawbridge Lake and included in her book "Passionate Venues." She recently held a book signing at the Moorestown Library.

"It was a big success and I was pleased to have included in my book a retrospect of Strawbridge Lake, where I used to spend many icy nights, as a teenager, skating there with my friends and family," she said. "It was an awesome time for us and it inspired me to write the following piece of prose as much of my book is truly nostalgic and memories of growing up in South Jersey. It's funny, many of the people who came to the book signing and read the book liked this piece most of all. It must ring true in people's fond memories as to swell times that were had on Strawbridge Lake."

The poem follows below:

Sixteen Strawbridge Lake(1963)

Six girls crowd into a rambler station wagon
Then they skate until their ankles collapse,
Donning earmuffs to match their outfits.
Grateful that the green flag is up.

Hey, who is that cute guy over there?
I think he goes to college.
Time out for some subtle flirting
And a cup of steamy hot chocolate.

Ah, to do a figure 8 again,
Or be the last one in line in the whip
Under the floodlights, just gliding
Through frozen nights on Strawbridge Lake.

Frances Anne Cooney