DECEMBER 2022
Hamilton Post COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG
Switlik expanding into Hamilton
Victor’s Meat Market a family affair By JOe EMANsKi
It wasn’t that long ago that American families counted on local butcher shops to provide them with quality, affordable meat. But over the past half century, most of those shops have closed. Many families now rely on supermarkets and wholesale markets like Costco and BJ’s for their beef. Victor Cruz has seen this transformation happen from the provider side. First as a worker in a meat processing plant, then for many years as a supermarket butcher. Now he is a part of what he will hope is a renaissance for the neighborhood butcher shop. Recently retired from his job with Stop and Shop, Cruz has opened Victor’s Meat Market on Klockner Road in Hamilton with his son, Alex. Cruz butchers and preps the meat right on premises. Cuts of Certified Angus ribeye, filet and strip steak look tasty in refrigerated cases out front. There’s also oxtail, short rib, skirt steak and even impressive slabs of tomahawk steak on display. Beef is the main attraction, but See VICTOR’S, Page 16
FREE
By JOe EMANsKi
Township employees often make whimsical — and seasonal — decorations to the entrance of the Harry Bonacci Ecological Facility in Hamilton. (Photo by E.M. Hume.)
From trash to treasure By SUe FerrArA
Trust me — Chuck Thomas, Hamilton Township’s Director of Public Works, and Jim Wyrough, Hamilton Township’s Clean Communities Coordinator and Municipal Recycling Coordinator aren’t green and furry; they don’t live in trash cans. But, like Oscar the Grouch, they love to talk trash. Well, let’s say for this story, they love to talk
about recycling trash. Thomas has been employed in the Department of Public Works since 1981, when he was hired for summer help. A graduate of Hamilton High West, Thomas became the Interim Director of Public Works in 2021, leading to his permanent appointment in January of 2022. Residents reading the township’s website quickly discover Thomas has a lot to oversee for a
town of nearly 92,000 residents: “The DPW consists of the Division of Roads, which is responsible for the maintenance and improvement of approximately 625 lane-miles of roadway and the Division of Public Properties, which is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of all public buildings and parks.” All of that work is done with a staff of about 140 people. See RECYCLING, Page 12
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One of the area’s oldest manufacturing companies still in business is expanding — across the border from Trenton into Hamilton. Switlik Survival Products — previously known as the Switlik Parachute Company — has broken ground on a 20,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 1325 E. State St. The new building will span the Trenton-Hamilton border, which required cooperation between the two municipalities in the planning stages. The company credited Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin, and Trenton City Councilman Joe Harrison with making the expansion possible in spite of the unusual location. “I would like to express my gratitude to both municipalities for coming together and aiding us in this project which will ultimately provide the residents of Trenton and Hamilton with new job opportunities and help those employed continue succeeding. For 102 years, Switlik’s saving See SWITLIK, Page 10
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