Charles C Schock, Jr - President of Farmers and Merchants Bank of Matawan (1971)

Charles Christian Schock, Jr (30 Nov 1919 - 15 Jun 1985), President of Farmers & Merchants (F&M) Bank in Matawan, was interviewed on 12 Jan 1971 by two Strathmore Elementary School students -- Andy Barnett and Peter Dickinson -- for their 4th grade class book project: "Matawan Past and Present." 

A native of the borough, the kids asked Charles about the old days in Matawan. He was born in Matawan. When he was young, there were more trees along Main Street, less traffic, and no paved roads. Store fronts were bigger and barny. Local industry included the Hanson Van Winkle Munning Co, the Wickham Piano Plate Co, and some tile companies.

Charles and his friends would swim and play with handmade wooden boats in the local man-made lakes. The kids used to get their bicycle tires at a tire store called Clough's, which was located where the five-and-dime Hostetter's was in 1971. Local bus service ran every half hour or so between downtown Matawan, the rail station and Freneau; it ran about hourly to and from Freehold.

While in college, Charles worked summers at F&M starting in 1938. He became President of the bank on 1 Jan 1964.

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As a newborn, Charles was living with his parents in his maternal grandfather's house at 162 Main Street in Matawan, according to the 1920 Federal Census. His father, Charles C Schock, was born about 1881 and was a dry goods merchant. His mother, Helen Louise (Terhune) Schock was born about 1884. Helen's father, James L Terhune, was a 74 year old widow. Young Charles was one month old when the family was enumerated on 9 January 1920.

Ten year old Charles continued to live with his parents in 1930, according to the 1930 Federal Census. His father was a retail merchant. His maternal grandfather was living with them at 160 Main Street.

Charles attended prep school at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, PA. He followed this up with two years of college, presumably at Rutgers College. His obituary mentioned Rutgers Law School in New Brunswick, NJ and the Stonier School of Banking, also at Rutgers, but those would have been after the war; it made no mention of his bachelor's work.

Twenty year old Charles lived with his parents on Edgemere Drive in Matawan, according to the 1940 Federal Census. His father was a proprietor of a general merchandise store. 

Charles enlisted for military service in World War II on 12 Mar 1942, according to his enlistment papers. He had attended two years of college and was an actor at the time of his enlistment. He would be a warrant officer at the rank of private and serve for the duration of the war.

Charles married Edna Wickham on 28 Dec 1942.

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In Aug 1971, just over six months after the Strathmore Elementary students' interview, F&M was absorbed by Franklin State Bank, according to the 24 Aug 1972 edition of The Independent. Charles became Vice President of Franklin State upon completion of the merger. The article provides some interesting details about land transactions and remodeling of the bank in the wake of the merger.

His obituary in the 16 Jun 1985 edition of The Red Bank Register provided the following details about his community activities:

"He was on the board of directors of Bayshore Community Hospital, the Monmouth County Board of Health and the YMCA's Camp Arrowhead, Red Bank and Marlboro.

Mr. Schock was a member of the Matawan Rotary Club and the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan. He was also on the board of trustees of the Rosehill Cemetery Association of Matawan. He was a member of the Monmouth County Bar Association.

He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and had attained the rank of lieutenant."

His obituary provided details about his family:

"Surviving are his wife, the former Edna Wickham; two daughters, Mrs. Eileen Laspa of San Francisco,
Calif., and Mrs. Linda Laramy of Easton, Md., and four grandchildren."

The Independent reported that Charles died of a heart attack at the wheel of his car. The 19 Jun 1985 edition contained an article "Charles Schock Jr Dies in Auto Crash." The article included the following regarding the circumstances of his death:

Schock "died of a heart attack just before his car struck a utility pole on Route 79 at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday. Schock was southbound on Route 79 when his car veered into the northbound lane and hit the utility pole, police said. No other cars were involved in the accident. He was treated at the scene by the Monmouth County mobile intensive care unit and taken to Bayshore Community by the First Aid Squad. He was dead on arrival at 2:05 p.m., police said."

Mrs Buchen's 4th Grade Class and Matawan Past and Present (1971)

A dear reader provided me with a copy of Matawan Past and Present: A Look at Our Town, prepared by Mrs Dorothy Buchen's 4th grade class (1970 - 1971) at Strathmore Elementary School. The paperback contains 114 pages of local history and then-current information about local businesses, government and society.

Matawan-Aberdeen School Board Approves 2011-2012 District Calendar

The 2011-2012 MARSD calendar has been approved and is now available online.

Here's a few of the major items:

• Students start school next year on the Tuesday after Labor Day (6 September). 
• Winter break begins with a half day on 23 December 2011 and runs through New Year's Day. 
• Spring break begins with a halfday on 5 April and runs through 15 April 2012. 
• The last day of school is a half day scheduled for 20 June 2012.

If you want to receive notices from MARSD, simply click REGISTER in the top right corner of the District's website and follow their instructions. (Be sure the box is checked to receive mail from the district.)