Parkertown's Gormley Twins - Who's Who?

Anyone driving through Parkertown can't help spotting "My Three Sons", a garden center-produce business, on Route 9 owned by the Gormley family for 46 years.

How many of you can name the three sons? Well there's Ray, John, and Tom. John and Tom are twins who were born in 1966, the same year that "My Three Sons" was started.

As it is with many twins, sometimes it's difficult to tell them apart. Who can tell who's who below? I still have difficulty when I see John and Tom in person today.

Pete S

PS- A special thank you to Shirley Whealton for clipping out the Gormley twins photos 46 years ago and sharing them with us today.

Mark Ford - 2011 Carver of the Year

From time to time a New Gretna resident receives some special recognition for an outstanding accomplishment. Such is the case with Mark Ford who was chosen as 2011 Carver of the Year by the New Jersey Decoy Collectors Association.

The following article appeared in the March 2, 2011 editions of The Leader and The Sandpaper. I thought I would share it with those of you who do not get those local newspapers. We are all proud of Mark and his carving talent.

Pete S

Carver of the Year from New Gretna

COOPED-UP: Carver Mark Ford is content to work on his carved birds its a converted chicken coop behind his New Gretna home. Ford will receive his prize as New Jersey Decoy Collectors 'Carver of the Year' at the annual Best Old Decoy Show in New Jersey March 26 at the Parkertown Firehouse, Railroad Avenue in Little Egg Harbor.

New Jersey Decoy Collectors Say:

This Decoy Carver Is a Cut Above

The New Jersey Decoy Col­lectors Association has selected Mark Ford as its 2011 "Carver of the Year." Ford, a native of the Parkertown section of Little Egg Harbor Township, is the 19th recipient of the yearly award given by the collectors.

Ford is a craftsman-carpenter by trade, and several nights a week you can find kiln carving b^y the wood-stove in a converted chicken coop behind his carefully restored New Gretna home. A high school decoy class taught by world-class maker John Holloway (a previous award winner) started Ford on a 30-year hobby that has resulted in two "Best in Show" ribbons and last year's first place in the Ocean County Decoy and Gunning Show for his working black-duck hunting rig.

Influenced by the old school baymen/decoy makers - Lloyd Parker, Bradford Salmons, Harry Shourds and his Great-Uncle - Ben Maxwell - he makes ducks, brant and song birds from Jersey cedar in the classic Barnegat style. A friend of Ford's, the late Rob Daley from West Creek sparked Ford's collecting interest. "Rob taught me to appreciate decoys from all regions," Ford said. "'And I am as interested in collecting as I am in making decoys for family and friends."

His other passions, in reverse order. are restoring old sneakboxes, his Labrador dog Abby and his wife, Frances. Frances, a recent college grad, artisan gardener and fine cook, shares her husband's love of the bay shore and can be seen on most breezy summer days sailing as crew on their catboat.

Ford will receive his award on March 26 during the NJDCA annual "Best Old Decoy Show in New Jersey." The show will be held at the Parkertown Firehouse and will feature more than 60 decoy exhibitors, gunning boat displays, a contemporary carving competition and an old-bird contest for an admis­sion of $3. Show hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NJDCA is entering its 40^th year as an organization dedicated to col­lecting antique and contemporary decoys and promoting decoys as "America's Finest Folk Art" The Organization has more than 200 members and enjoys a diverse group of duck people and storytellers nationwide.

For more information, contact Rich Pemberton, show chairman, at 609-652-8752, or Grove Conrad at grove@,sail2k.com.

The Sandpaper - 3/2/2011

Tuckerton High School 1948 Baseball Team

I noticed that a few New Gretna boys were on the Tuckerton High School baseball team when I was posting photos for Bob Sutton's New Gretna baseball list on the March 2, 2011 Blog and thought baseball fans out in the Blog-O-Sphere might enjoy seeing a vintage photo of a Tuckerton High School baseball team.

Any comments about a player in the photo would be appreciated.

Here's the 1950 Tuckerton High School baseball team. Unfortunately, I don't have the names of the team mates. I could use some help there.

Tuckerton High School Baseball Team - 1950

Row 1 (Front, l-r): Bill Sooy, Bob Haas, Joe Marshall (from Parkertown) Jim Mascola, Howard Rossell, Ernie Thompson, William Kidd. Row 2: Bob Sutton, Walt Peer?, Bob Walton, Jimmy Hand, Mason Price, George Irons, Harvard Allen, Bob Suralik, Coach William Hendricks. Row 3: Coach Henry Boney Sr., Sonny Kunen, Nelson 'Squak' Cramer, Mike Bailey, Allie 'Inkie' Goldberger, Charlie Hartley. Row 4: Chuck Schellenberger, Bob Bourguignon, Harold Sprague?. Names from Shirley W comment below with some minor corrections from Bob Sutton.

Well, I hope that these photos have gotten you in the spirit of this year's spring training. I can't wait for the regular season to start. Go Yankees!

Pete S

Spring Training - New Gretna Style

Here it is, the beginning of March. Hopefully, the worst part of the winter is behind us. It's a time when a young man's fancy turns to - BASEBALL.

A daily glance at the sports page shows highlights of Spring Training down in sunny Florida and out in the warm desert climate of Arizona. The Philadelphia sports writers are already proclaiming the Phillies' starting four the best pitching staff in the history of the game and this year's World Series Championship practically in the bag.

New Gretna also had it's share of baseball stars. I got an email the other day from Joyce Sutton with an attachment provided by her husband, Bob, containing a list of his favorite New Gretna baseball players from the "good old days."

In the spirit of Spring Training, I decided to share Bob's List, complete and in his own hand writing, with you here at the Blog.

Jack " Jelly Sandwich" Mathis

Wonder why they called him " Jelly Sandwich" ?

(l-r) Sam Carr,Rich Hickman & Jack Mathis

Baseball buddies

Orval Mathis

Lou Bourguignon - 1948

Norman Mathis

Fred Kalm - 1948

Bob Sutton - Senior Year, 1950

Harvard "Hob" Allen, Senior Year, 1951

John Barnes

Well, there you have it ! Are they a match for this year's Phillies? You be the judge.

Pete S

PS- John Yates wrote in a comment below that his grandfather, Elihu Ward Sears (1877-1927), who lived in New Gretna, was said to be an excellent baseball player. This would have been before the time of Bob Sutton's list; however, I think it appropriate to place a photo of Ward below.

More On Dr. Green

I received an email from John Allen up in cold, snowy New Hampshire. John included a death announcement for Dr. John Wynantz Greene from the January 7, 1898 edition of the New York Times obtained from Ancestry.com. Unfortunately, the quality of the reproduction leaves much to be desired, but it is readable.

New York Times - January 7, 1898

The article sheds a bid more light on the circumstances of Dr. Green's death and the subsequent actions of his wife regarding the disposition of the body in a manner against the wishes expressed in his will (See the February 25, 2011 Blog entry).

It seems that the good doctor had married a second time later in life, after the death of his first wife. This was a winter-spring marriage, with the doctor about sixty years old and his bride but twenty at their wedding which occurred twelve years prior to his death along the Wading River. After about six years of marriage, the young Mrs. Greene, unable to cope with the doctors eccentricities, left him and took their young son to live at her mother's home.

I guess their short relationship wasn't sufficient to produce a bond whereby the young Mrs. Greene felt particularly obligated to follow Dr. Greene's last wishes regarding his burial beside the Wading River. On the other hand, perhaps she genuinely was in love with her husband and felt that his eccentricities grew greater over his last few years resulting in his increasingly bizarre behavior during his last days. I guess we will never know what was in her heart.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has other thoughts regarding this unique situation.

Pete S

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out !

One of my favorite movies is Jean Shephard's "A Christmas Story". I can't help laughing every time I see it. A favorite part of the movie is Ralphie's persistent hinting of wanting a Red Rider Air Rifle to whoever will listen to his ultimate desire- his mother, his teacher, and even Santa himself. The response from all the above is "You'll shoot your eye out!"

Well, memories of these scenes of Ralphie's air rifle episode flashed before my eyes when I received an email from my history buddy, John Yates, regarding an air rifle used by Lewis and Clark in their great expedition across our beautiful country, an interesting piece of historical trivia.

I wonder if Lewis and Clark's mothers warned them that they would "Shoot their eye out" before their epic journey. Probably not, as it might have drastically changed an important part of our nation's past. Small, simple incidents often play a role in the unfolding of history. It's the Ralphie principle.

Pete S

Is There A Doctor In The House?

I got the following January 6, 1898 New York Times article emailed to me by my history buddy, John Yates. I found it interesting in that I have never heard of Dr. J.W. Green in my history and genealogy research. I'm hoping someone out in the Blog-O-Sphere can shed some light on him and where he lived in Wading River, as he sounds like an interesting character. Also, what is tobacco heart? That's a new one on me.

My Men's Breakfast buddy, Jim McAnney, sent me the following New York Times article also dealing with Dr. Green's death. Evidently, the good doctor left his wife to avoid stress and went to the tranquil Wading River area for health reasons. Upon his death, a coffin made by Dr. Green for his own burial, was found in the cellar.

His will stipulated that he was to be buried next to his shanty in a pre dug grave; however, the article states that his wife decided that the body should be shipped to New York for a proper burial. It appears that the couple didn't see eye to eye in life, so it is not surprising that Mrs. Green didn't see eye to eye concerning her husband's burial wishes. Evidently, she believed that Wading River was not fit for her husband's final resting place. I wonder what the Wading River folk thought about that.

Also, perhaps there's a lesson here for you husbands out in the Blog-O-Sphere to treat your wives well. After all, they usually do outlive us. Nuff said!

Pete S