The column that says winter is finally coming and the Cumberland County Code Blue Coalition will be ready for it.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The BEN column continues today in the South Jersey Times and online at nj.com/ben and will be written by veteran staff writer Don E. Woods. A South Jersey native, Woods can be reached at ben@njadvancemedia.com and 856-754-7142. Longtime writer Jack Hummel authored BEN for many years. His final column appeared Thursday.
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The column that says winter is finally coming and the Cumberland County Code Blue Coalition will be ready for it.
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Happy New Year!
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Bridgeton's Police Athletic League announced an upcoming spaghetti dinner fundraiser that's scheduled for Jan. 16 at the First United Methodist Church on East Commerce Street. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and the money goes toward covering the cost of field trips, activities, special events and equipment.
Dinner costs $5 for adults, $3 for kids and $15 for the entire family.
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You can't miss the pickup truck that Derick Glenn uses for Celebrating Our Veterans. It's equal parts American flag and camouflage.
Her name is Angel, apparently.
She needed engine work but now she's back.
They say that having a pickup truck just means everyone calls you when they need to move but, with Glenn's plan to find housing for veterans in need, I doubt he will mind it.
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Source: Library of Congress Eric Stephenson has been posting a lot of fantastic pictures on the Bridgeton Memory Lane's Facebook page.
There are photographs of Civil War soldiers from Fairfield Township and cannery workers from Seabrook Farms.
One picture shows 14-year-old George Cartwright, who in 1909 was caught hanging around the Cumberland Works looking for a job.
Cartwright apparently lived on North Laurel Street in Bridgeton.
He claimed to have worked off-and-on since he was 11 years old.
I feel lazy now, waiting until I was 16 for my first job.
The photograph is from a series of photos about child labor laws and the Bridgeton glass industry, according to Stephenson.
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"I can relate to this, remember my grandfather Matthew Estilow telling me he went to work at 9 years old in the glass factory, he later became a glass blower and worked at it until they brought the machines in and he wanted nothing to do with that! The glass industry is what brought him to Bridgeton after the glass house went out in Dowington, Pennsylvania."
- Joy Gardner
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There's a crime watch meeting being held at Laurel Lake Fire Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company. It is scheduled for Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. New Jersey State Police troopers will be in attendance and it's the only meeting until April.
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The Police Chaplain Program of New Jersey is continuing to spread across the state. Local chaplains are going to Montclair this month to train others.
Every scene I go to anymore, I see Pastor Gary Holden or someone else with a chaplain jacket connecting and comforting people.
When I was at the one-year anniversary protest for Jerame Reid's death on Dec. 28, I saw one of the chaplains communicating through sign language to someone.
It was incredible to watch.
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MY KIND OF TOWN: Where you can still reach Jack at jhummel9794@gmail.com.
Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
