Art of Aging: Sharing a city's past

In today's "Art of Aging" report, we meet a man who takes us back to the glory days of Atlantic City.

For much of his life, Ralph Hunter was a successful businessman who collected historic A. C. memorabilia on the side.

Now, in his golden years, that hobby has become his life.

Some of Hunter's collectibles are on display right now at the Atlantic City Art Center.

To walk through that exhibit is to travel back to the 1930s and the days of Nucky Johnson, when Atlantic City's Northside was a thriving African American community.

"They were able to maintain their own businesses," said Hunter. "They were doctors, lawyers, preachers."

Many Northside residents could afford the finer things in life, like family portraits.

Some of these are featured in the exhibit, including several commissioned by a bellman at one of the city's finer hotels.

"Back in those days the head bellman at the hotel would hire his friends to work for him as bellmen, but he would get a percentage of their tips," Hunter explains.

Hunter has been collecting pieces of Atlantic City's African American history for 44 years and has founded three museums to showcase his finds.

Among other things, his exhibition at the art center tells the story of Sara Spencer. One of the city's most successful entrepreneurs, she made millions on her Apex hair care company.

"She was able to employ at one of her warehouses 300 people," said Hunter.

You also can learn all about Club Harlem, the mecca of African American entertainment down at the Shore.

"They had a thing called The Breakfast Show at the Club Harlem," Hunter explained. "The Breakfast Show didn't serve breakfast, but it started at 6 o'clock in the morning when all the other entertainers - from Sammy Davis, Jr. to Frank Sinatra to Dean Martin - would come to the Northside."

"And busloads of people from Ventnor, Margate, and from Downbeach would load on buses and come to Atlantic City Breakfast Show at 6 o'clock in the morning, and they would be entertained," he continued. "Atlantic City was a 24-hour town that never slept."

On a mission to share Atlantic City's rich history, Hunter brings exhibits to schools and opens his doors to students, scholars, and tourists.

For more inspiring stories about older residents making a difference, visit our Art of Aging section.