Rattle Me This!

The recent release of the latest Batman movie stirred up memories of the 1960's Batman television show where the caped crusader and his loyal sidekick, Robin, fought a series of villains each week to keep Gotham City crime free. The special effects, consisting of comic book action words such as KAPOW!, SPLATT!, and ZOK!, were primitive by today's standards but entertaining and effective in a much simpler era.

The villain of the week provided opportunities for a variety of plots. Each of them had catchy names including the Penguin, the Joker, Mr. Freeze, and Cat Woman. My favorite was the Riddler, played by that ham actor, Frank Gorshen, who should have won an Emmy in the overacting category.

Frank Gorshen as the Riddler

Should you be unfamiliar with the Riddler or doubt my claim that Frank Gorshen tended to overact a bit, click on the short video below.

The Riddler's favorite expression, as he taunted Batman in his attempts to stop the Riddler from carrying out his nefarious escapades, was "Riddle me this!" Batman, of course, always figured out the riddles and thwarted the Riddler's every attempt to exact mayham on Gotham City.

By now, you are probably wondering, "What in blazes does all this have to do with a Bass River History Blog?" Well, I'm getting to that!

Bennie Broome and Russie Adams both lived on North Maple Avenue which was called Allentown Road at the time. 

Ben & Russie's house locations on present day Bing Map
Both have been modernized and enlarged

They had a long standing partnership in running a local saw mill. The other day, I was reading a September 12, 1946 Tuckerton Beacon news item about an encounter that they had with a rattlesnake while riding through the woods with a load of wood for their saw mill. 

As I read the brief new item, the phrase "Rattle me this!" ran through my mind, followed by my Batman memories from the 1960's. I can't explain why. They just did! Sometimes my brain makes weird associations. This was one of those times. 

Ben Broome logging in a local cedar swamp

Russie Adams enjoying his pipe

Well, I hope you found Bennie and Russie's encounter with the rattler family interesting and my memories of Batman and Robin entertaining. Sometimes history makes strange bedfellows!

Pete S

Robbery In Mathistown

There's an old history joke that George Washington couldn't throw a silver dollar across the Delaware River today because money doesn't go as far as it used to. It's funny, partially because inflation has made it true. I even, occasionally, find myself saying "A million dollars ain't what it used to be!"


A few days ago, I stumbled across an interesting web site that calculates the effect of inflation over the years. You type in a dollar amount and two years and the site calculates the increase in the value of the money over that time period. 


You can view the on line inflation calculator by clicking on the calculator below.

I thought I would give you a practical demonstration of the benefits of the on line inflation calculator to the student of history, by relating it to a 1907 newspaper article regarding a robbery in Mathistown. Mathistown is that section of Bass River Township along Rt. 9 from the Ocean-Burlington County line at Balinger's Creek to Job's Creek.

Tuckerton Mayor J.L. Lane

The robbery of $200 from S.E. Osler doesn't seem like much today; however, if I adjust that $200 from 1907 dollars to today's dollars, the amount becomes $4,620.00. That gives you a more accurate idea of the enormity of the theft. You can truly say that it was grand, not penny, theft!

Not only has the value of money changed over time, but so has our vocabulary. The headline "Footpads Well Prepared" probably doesn't make sense to most of you out in the Blog-O-Sphere. The term "footpads" means "A thief who prays upon pedestrians." Something to tuck in the back of your mind for the next time you do a New York Times crossword puzzle!


Pete S


PS- I also find it interesting that the news item appeared in an Elmira, New York newspaper. It must have been a slow news day in the Elmira area!

Mr. Peabody Meets Miss Margaret

The other day John Yates, a history buddy, and I were talking about cartoon shows we enjoyed while growing up in the 1950's when cartoons were a Saturday morning TV staple. One of John and my favorite cartoons was "Rocky and His Friends". Rocky was a flying squirrel who palled around with a somewhat dimwitted moose named Bullwinkle. They would have an adventure each week and introduce a few friends. 


Two of their friends who were highlighted on the show were a boy named Sherman and his dog, Mr. Peabody. Perhaps, some of you out in the Blog-O-Sphere remember these segments called "Peabody's Improbable History".

Mr. Peabody and Sherman at the WayBack machine.

Mr. Peabody, an unusually smart dog, invented a WayBack machine which he used to bring Sherman back to various times in history, so Sherman could learn history first hand. They would dial up a year and an event and, PRESTO, would find themselves transported back to view and become part of historic events as they unfolded. It's not unusual that both John and I to enjoyed the show, as we both have always been interested in history.

If you are unfamiliar with the show and would like to view an episode or you were a fan as a child and would like to relive some pleasant memories, click below to take a trip with Sherman and Mr. Peabody back to 1492 to witness Columbus' discovery of America.

I got to thinking about what a Mr. Peabody episode would be like if he and Sherman traveled back to New Gretna a few decades ago. I can picture Sherman dialing the WayBack machine to New Gretna in 1941. Let's go back to that time and see who they might encounter. I can't draw a cartoon, so we will have to settle for a Tuckerton Beacon account and some old photos to spark our imaginations.

Our journey in the WayBack machine brings us to Miss Margaret Adams' retirement dinner on a June 18, 1941 evening. It is a significant event in the history of New Gretna. Miss Margaret taught and was a principal at the New Gretna Scool for 42 years. No one devoted more years to educating New Gretna students than Miss Margaret! I'm sure that some of you out in the Blog-O-Sphere have fond memories of her.

Miss Margaret in 1937.

The New Gretna School where Miss Margaret devoted 42 years of her life.

Franklin A. Gray, 1952

Board of Education Clerk

Alice Mathis sang "School Days"

Gene Sears sang "Love's Old Sweet Song"

Bess Mathis and her husband, Zeb - 1946

Bess led the group singing.

Rev. Ernest C. Enslin spoke about Miss Margaret's contributions to the community.

Leola (Mrs. Gerald) Hickman replaced Miss Margaret as principal.

Gerorgia Lutz presented a testimonial to Miss Margaret.

Kathleen Willets Gray was a teacher at the New Gretna School.

Can anyone tell me which of my Men's Breakfast buddies, whose initials are "R.S.", spent quite some time under Mrs Gray's desk due to questionable classroom behavior? I'd sure like to take a trip in the WayBack Machine just to see that! If anyone out in the Blog-O-Sphere served a similar fate as "R.S.", lets hear from you.

Leah Loveland

Helen (Mrs. Clarence) Mathis

A young Lizzie (Mrs. Benjamin) Broome

Mildred (Mrs. Milton) Kauflin

Minnie (Mrs. Henry) Updike

Almira Cramer, later Mrs. Clarence Steele

Mother of Rickie "White Shoes" Steele

Well, that's our little journey back to the New Gretna of 1941 to meet Miss Margaret and the many citizens of New Gretna who honored her at her retirement dinner. Maybe you met some people that you knew or heard about. If so, let's hear from you. 


Pete S

Who is Harrison Allen?

I love to read old newspapers from the late 1800's into the early 1900's. It's one of my favorite things to do on the net. I really get a hoot out of some of the old ads, especially those hawking patent medicines. Back then they seemed to have a self cure for everything. Who needed doctors or dentists?

I don't know if the Lloyd Manufacturing Company's cocaine toothache drops cured your toothache or got you so high that you didn't notice the pain. Either way, I guess it was a success.

While reading old medicine ads in upstate New York newspapers, I was surprised to find mention of a New Gretna resident in a 1910 Syracuse newspaper. After all, Syracuse is quite a distance from New Gretna, especially in an era when automobiles were in their infancy and most people didn't venture too far from home. In those days, going from New Gretna to Egg Harbor or Atlantic City was considered a major trip.


But, here with have it. It seems that a Harrison H. Allen from New Gretna, N.J. had an acne problem that was cured by Poslam Pimple Cream, and he was not shy in recommending the product.  

I wonder how Harrison's name came to be chosen for the ad and whether he was paid for his testimonial. Or, was Harrison Allen a fictitious name made up by a company whose scruples in selling their product left much to be desired? However, if that's the case, why chose tiny, unknown New Gretna as his residence? Surely, mention of a larger, well known town or city would sell more pimple cream. 


The name, Harrison Allen didn't ring a bell with me. I got to wondering, if the ad was true, just who this Harrison was and how he fit into the New Gretna Allen families. Was he a short Allen or a Tall Allen, who were his parents, and where in New Gretna did he live?

Since I've been working on a genealogy of the New Gretna Allen families with my history buddy, Shirley Whealton, I figured that it wouldn't take long to track down Harrison Allen's pedigree. After all, I've got family records of hundreds of New Gretna Allens from Robert Allen, who was the first Allen to settle in Bass River in the early 1700's, to the present. Finding Harrison should be a piece of cake.

How wrong I was! I couldn't find mention of a Harrison Allen anywhere in my notes. I turned to the 1910 census. Since the ad appeared in November, 1910, surely Harrison would be listed. Wrong, again! There were 57 Allen's listed as living in Bass River in the 1910 census, but nary a Harrison. There were; however, two Harry Allens. Perhaps, one was our Harrison whose name had been shortened by the census taker to the more familiar Harry. 

The first Harry Allen was single, 20 years old, and lived with his parents, John L. and Sarah F. Allen on West Greenbush Road.

The second Harry Allen was also single, 21 years old, a head of a household with no family listed, and resided on East Main Road which would have been the present day Route 9.

There was no information in the 1910 census to a conclude that one of the two Harrys might be our Harrison, so my next step was to go to the 1920 census to look for a Harrison. If not one of the Harrys, he may have been missed in the 1910 census and perhaps appeared in the next census 10 years later.


Finally, I hit pay dirt! The 1920 Bass River census lists a Harrison Allen with his wife, Rose, and Virginia, a 4 year old daughter. It's not enough information to tie the family in with a New Gretna branch of the Allen family, but it does confirm that Harrison did live in New Gretna as stated in the ad.

The census doesn't list the street or neighborhood in which the Harrison family resided; however, a review of Harrison's neighbors listed on the same census page gives us a clue. Five Corlis households are also listed. There is only one place in Bass River Township where you would find a concentration of Corlis homes. That would be Sym Place in the far western area of Bass River where a small, isolated community grew up around a cranberry plantation.

Postcard from Sym Place

A visit to Ancestry.com provided more evidence that Harrison was indeed a New Gretna resident as stated in the medicine ad. I was able to find a 1917 World War I Draft Registration Card for a Harrison Allen from New Gretna. It lists him as a Bayman with a wife and 2 year old child, information that agrees with the 1920 census data. Unfortunately, it doesn't list his parents which would be valuable information in connecting him to a New Gretna Allen family.

So, after our serendipitous journey from a Syracuse, New York newspaper ad, through the 1910 and 1920 Bass River Township census, and ending with a World War I Draft Registration Card, we have verified that Harrison Allen was, indeed, a resident of New Gretna as the pimple cream ad stated. My faith in truth in advertising has been restored!


However, while I now know that the Harrison Allen family resided in New Gretna, I still don't know how they fit into the New Gretna Allen families. There are still some outstanding questions to be answered. Was Harrison a short Allen or a tall Allen? Who were his parents? Was he one of the Harrys listed in the 1910 census? 


Perhaps, there is an Allen out in the Blog-O-Sphere who remembers hearing about an ancestor with an acne problem and can answer some of these questions. I sure could use some help!

Pete S


PS- For information concerning the short and tall Allens of New Gretna, please CLICK HERE.

LaRue Mizelle - Where are you?

Last week two ladies were walking through Miller Cemetery looking for the grave site of LaRue Mizelle. My history buddy, Steve Eichinger, happened to be in the cemetery, and they asked him if he knew where LaRue was buried. Seems they were working on a genealogy project for a friend with a family connection to LaRue.

LaRue Mizelle was a likable, easy going guy.

Steve was able to take the ladies to LaRue's wife Vola's grave in the West section of Miller Cemetery. Hers is the only gravestone on the four grave plot which caused the two ladies to ask, "Where is her husband, LaRue, buried?"

Not knowing the answer to their question, Steve called me from the cemetery and asked me to look up the location of LaRue's burial on my computer database of New Gretna burials. Unfortunately, I had to tell him that LaRue was not listed. 

There are no official burial records for Miller Cemetery. They either were not kept or were lost many years ago. The database we presently have was constructed by reading information on the existing grave stones, so if someone was buried in Miller Cemetery without a tombstone we would have no record of their burial.

So, the obvious questions concerning LaRue's where-a-abouts are "Is LaRue buried in Miller Cemetery without a stone or is he buried somewhere else?" and "If he is buried in Miller Cemetery without a stone, in what plot is he buried?" As Sherlock Holmes was fond of saying at the beginning of each case, "The game is a foot!"

The first place to begin our investigation into the life of LaRue Mizelle is Ancestry.com on the internet. Here we find information from the Social Security deaths records that tell us that LaRue was born December 24, 1898 and died in February, 1970 while living in New Gretna. It's not a lot of information , but it's a start!


Census records give us additional information.

The June 9, 1900 census tells us that LaRue was one year old and living in Columbia County, Florida with his parents, William and Carrie.


LaRue's 1917 World War I draft registration card gives us more information. It confirms his birthdate listed in the Social Security records; tells us that he was living on Cleveland Street in Riverside, New Jersey in Burlington County; was employed as a jointer's helper at the Traylor Shipyard in Bucks County, Pa.;  and his middle name was Deleon. His closest relative is listed as his father, William, which indicates that he was not yet married.

I was unable to find 1910 census records on LaRue, so we pick up the Mizelle family in the 1920 census where they are living in Riverside Townhip, New Jersey. LaRue, now 21 years old, has two brothers, Ercel and Percy, and a sister, Coletta.

The 1930 census shows us that LaRue has moved out of his parents house, is married to Vola B., has a daughter, Lois, and is living with his father-in-law, William Loveland, on Greenbush Road in Bass River Township.

A young Vola Loveland before her marriage to LaRue

The 1940 census shows that LaRue and Vola are still living in Bass River Township but have moved out of the William Loveland house to a home on North Maple Avenue. They now have two daughters, Lois (age 13) and Fay (age 8). Tolbert Loveland, Vola's younger brother, is living with them. LaRue's occupation is listed as "Bayman". Note that Vola's name is mispelled as "Viola".

Fay (left) and Lois Mizelle

In 1940, the Mizelle family lived in an old house on North Maple Avenue which was across the street from the present Municipal Building. It was known as the "Owl's Roost" by the old timers. The house was torn down sometime in the late 1960's. The property is now a gravel parking lot.

The "Owl's Roost" just before being torn down

Location of the Owl's Roost
(Photo courtesy of Bing Maps)

LaRue, in addition to working the bay, also ran a charter fishing boat as evidenced by the following undated clipping from a local directory. The last boat he owned was called the Evelyn which he kept at Allen's Dock which is just a stone's throw from the Bass River Bridge..

(Right to left) LaRue, Tom Newell, and Lib Shutte.

We've been fleshing out LaRue's life but still haven't solved the problem of where he is buried. A review of records from the Woods Funeral Home narrows down this mystery with a notation that LaRue born December 24, 1898 in Jacksonville, Florida, died on February 17, 1970 and was buried in Miller Cemetery in New Gretna. This is not surprising, as his wife, Vola, is buried in the West section of Miller Cemetery with a headstone.  The funeral records also tell us that his daughter, Lois, married name is "Ready" and Fay's married name is "Venti".

There is no head stone for LaRue in Miller Cemetery, but one might assume that he is buried next to Vola without a stone. This assumption; however, would be incorrect. A probing of the three empty grave sites on the plot where Vola is buried shows that they are unoccupied. LaRue is not buried with his wife. So the mystery deepens!


Realizing that I likely would find no documentation as to where in Miller Cemetery LaRue is buried, I turned to another source - oral testimony. Howard Ware, now 91 years old, remembers LaRue's death and burial next to Orville Hickman in the West section of Miller Cemetery, not far from Vola's grave site.


LaRue spent the last few years of his life with Lib Schutte in the old Hickman house on Hickman's Hill on North Maple Avenue, then called Allentown Road. Lib's brother was Orville Hickman who is buried in the Hickman plot in the West section of Miller Cemetery. LaRue was buried in an unmarked grave next to Orville. This information supports Howard's recollection.

Well, as Sherlock Holmes would say at the end of a successful case . . . "Case solved, my dear Watson!" And so it is with the where-a-abouts of LaRue Mizelle. May he rest in peace!


Pete S