By: Sean Guay
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania – Jimmy Rosen thanked Edward Crow for sharing a photograph of his family’s historic hardware store and Esso Station in the square of Hummelstown. The pair were chatting in a local history group on social media.
During the conversation, it was acknowledged that an apartment in the Esso building was the childhood home of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
Speaking of Gingrich, Edward Crow said, “He was a good friend and we played together until age 13. Newt lived in the apartment above the antique store.”
The antique store was next door to the Esso Station in the same building. An advertisement for Indian Echo Caverns can be seen in the vintage photograph of Esso. In the 1950’s a Methodist Church was directly behind the garage across the alley. The church has been rebuilt at the east end of Hummelstown near the Soda Jerk Diner.
In another conversation, Joanna Killinger said, “I knew Newt Gingrich’s mother and father. We called him “little Newty”. He had a Sister named Susan. We used to have picnics at Swatara Park in the summer. I am 91 years old. Those were the fun days.”
In black and white photographs of the historic Hummelstown square, a street trolley can be seen passing eastbound.
Harrisburg100 