Local Shore Conference High School Basketball

In local high school basketball action, the Matawan Regional High School (MRHS) boys are 6-2 and the girls are 2-6. The boys nearly lost a recent game after a last minute upset bid by Red Bank took the Huskies by surprise but turned it around in the final minutes with a number of clutch free throws, according to an APP blog. The Huskies boys program has been steadily improving over the past five years, according to Freehold InJersey. The Freehold blogger, who asks if the Huskies are for real, points out that they were 0-24 in 2007; 3-21 in 2008; 6-19 in 2009; and at the time of publication were 3-0. The Huskies girls team led Middletown North through the third quarter in their most recent game but lost by 3 at the buzzer, per APP.

St John Vianney's girls are ranked 2nd in the state, per APP. They beat 3rd-ranked Fair Haven on Thursday in a squeaker and remain undefeated (7-0). The SJV boys were 2-1 in late December, but I couldn't immediately find their current stats.

Clifton Begins Third Term; Chosen to Head Board of Chosen Freeholders

Soon after being sworn in Thursday for his third term as Monmouth County Freeholder, Robert Clifton was chosen by his peers to direct the board, according to APP. He replaces Lillian Burry at the helm. Both Clifton and Burry served on the Matawan Borough Council earlier in their political careers.

Son of Cliffwood Brickyard Worker Dies at 79 in Hudson Valley

Earl I Van Ginhoven died Tuesday in the Sullivan County, New York hamlet of Mileses at the age of 79, according to the Times Herald Record. A native of Matawan Township (Aberdeen), his parents moved to Queens, New York by the time Earl was 11. He served in the Korean War in the early 1950s and subsequently settled in the Hudson Valley area. He worked as a plumber for a coal company until he retired. His parents both died in nearby Long Eddy. (Both Mileses and Long Eddy are hamlets in Fremont, New York.

Mr Van Ginhoven was born 5 April 1931 to Jack and Louise Ginhoven. Jack came to America from Holland in 1914 and settled in New York, where he married and had two daughters - Miriam and Cornelia. They moved to Cliffwood, where he worked as a laborer at a Matawan area brickyard and had at least four sons - Frank, David, Earl, and Robert. Earl's wife Louise was born in Maryland to German parents.

The 1930 Federal Census shows John Vanginhoven (38 born in Holland to Dutch parents) living on Locust Avenue in Cliffwood with his wife Louise (38 yrs old, born in Maryland to a German father and Virginia mother) with daughters Cornalie (6 NY) and Mariam (3 8/12 NY) and sons Frank (2 NJ) and David (8/12 NJ). The census shows him as a laborer at one of the local brickyards. He was a naturalized citizen who entered the US in 1914. He spoke Dutch.

Jack Van Ginhoven registered for the draft in World War I circa 1917-1918 at age 26. He reported that he was born 12 Feb 1891 in Leimuiden, Holland. He was living at 12 Stone St in downtown New York City. (The block has been mostly rebuilt since that time. New York Night: The Mystique and Its History, by Mark Caldwell, pp 349-350, mentions the block.) He was employed as a salesman at Vanderveer & Knuff (?) at 14 Stone Street. (14 Stone Street was the home of Thomas A Edison Chemical Co. In 1904, the son of the famous inventor was charged with mail fraud  for selling a bogus electronic healing device by mail from that address.) Jack was single and a Dutch citizen at the time. He claimed no previous military service.

Jack registered for the draft in World War II as well. It was 1942 and he was 51 years old. He was living at 23002 141st Avenue, Laurelton, Queens, New York. He reported the same birth data, only changing Holland to the Netherlands. He was working for the Board of Water Supply, 354 Broadway, New York, NY. He was still married to Louise. Earl would have been about 11 years old.

I couldn't find Jack in the 1920 Federal Census. He died in Long Eddy, Sullivan County, New York in September 1973, per Social Security Death Index.

Louise Vanginhoven was born 18 June 1891 and died in Long Eddy in Aug 1983, per Social Security Death Index.

It is interesting to see how many German and Dutch immigrants lived in Cliffwood in the early 20th century.

Snow Again Friday

AccuWeather forecasts 1-2" of snow for daytime Friday, followed by 1-3" overnight. Their confidence in the forecast seems a bit iffy, so keep an eye on the forecasts as the week proceeds.

Christie Abruptly Dismisses One-Third of County School Execs

The media need to set up a new antenna array if they want to detect incoming barrages from Trenton's executive. With no warning, Gorvernor Christie has let lapse the appointments of one-third of the state's county executive school superintendents, including our own Carole Morris of Monmouth County, according to APP. The Governor's spokesman says Thursday's emails not to come to work in 2011 should have been no surprise because the county executive superintendents are all Gov Corzine appointees and their three-year terms are up. Patrick Diegnan, Jr, chairman of the NJ Assembly education committee, said the actions came "out of the blue." Richard O'Malley joined other local school superintendents in Monmouth County in submitting a letter to the Governor protesting Morris' replacement. (The NJSBA is only concerned that the vacancies are filled quickly to avoid any disruptions. Ho hum.)

The Newark Star-Ledger says Christie had this brainstorm while vacationing in Florida. Maybe he came up with the idea on the Dumbo ride at Disney World? Isn't it wonderful for Ms Morris and company to be notified on New Year's eve that they're losing their jobs immediately? Isn't it great that the local school districts now must rely on county executive superintendents from neighboring counties to assist them with the pending budget process? Christie's contempt for education shows no bounds.

2011 Aberdeen Township Planning Board Gets New Member

Aberdeen Township is filling one new At-large slot on its Planning Board this year, according to Res 2011-1 of the Council agenda for 4 January 2011. The Public Works Department representative and the Council representative are to be reappointed to one year terms.

• Akin Awofolaju is to be appointed to a Class IV (At-large) four year term (2011-2014). This gentleman is very likely identical with the owner of this impressive online profile. It appears that he is replacing Casie Connolly, whose four year tour was to have ended 31 December 2010. Other current at-large board members (and their terms) include Peter Cusumano (2008-2011), Concetta Kelley (2010-2011), Robert Swindel (2009-2012), Pedro Mirabel (2010-2013), and William Shenton (2010-2013).
• Robert Brady is to continue in his Class II status (Head of Public Works Dept) for another one year term (2011). He has been appointed since 2008,, when he replaced James Lauro.
• Councilwoman Margaret Montone is to continue in her Class III status (Council representative) for another one year term (2011). She moved up from Class IV (At-large) in 2010 to replace Fred Tagliarini when he became Mayor. She started as the Board's Alternate No 1 for a two-year term in 2007, then was appointed to fill Mr Tagliarini's unexpired Class IV slot (2009-2011) when he became the Council representative (Class III) in 2009.. Ms Montone became a Councilwoman the following year and was named to the Board's Class III slot, which Mr Tagliarini vacated to claim his ex-officio Class I status as Mayor. Ms Montone was replaced in her At-Large role by Concetta Kelley, who previously served as an Alternate.
• As Mayor, Fred Tagliarini serves as ex-officio head of the Planning Board (Class I). He replaced David Sobel in 2010.

Here is a set of links to most if not all the annual appointment resolutions from the past five years to the Aberdeen Township Planning Board:

• 2011 appointments
• 2010 appointments
• 2009 appointments
• 2008 appointments 
• 2007 appointments 
• 2007 Class IV appointment
• 2007 Class IV appointment

The web page for the Planning Board is needing a serious update. It is always nice to know who is serving in the various positions. It would be nice if the update could include terms.

Also, since the Planning Board is only providing online agendas (no minutes), perhaps a complete roster could be provided at least annually in agendas, at reorganization and any other time the membership changes? It would make historical research a bit easier down the road.

New Year's Day 2011 in Red Bank

The King's Speech is now showing in Red Bank, Freehold, and New Brunswick. We saw it on New Year's Day at Clearview Cinema in Red Bank. The 1:40 pm showing was sold out, so we bought tickets for the 4:20 pm showing and walked over to Wallace Street to have lunch. We had a discount coupon for a New Year's lunch at Gaetano's, where we enjoyed a calamari calabrese appetizer and a margherita pizza with sausage and capers. After lunch we spent some time at Starbucks, enjoying our New York Times and coffees.

We ended up sitting in the front row at the movie because the entire theatre was packed. The lady collecting tickets thought she was my mother. She chided us and the couple in line in front of us for coming so late (15 minutes+ before the showing). She reminded me a bit of the Hazlet Multiplex guy with the megaphone. I could do without that sort of experience. The movie was absolutely wonderful, btw. Both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were superb. I hope you get to see it.

Trenton Doesn't Expect Snowmelt to Cause River Flooding; Blocked Storm Drains Could Be Troublesome

Trenton doesn't expect significant flooding to result from the melting snow this weekend, but local problems are possible if storm drains remain blocked with snow and debris. Check out this NJ DEP press release dated 29 December 2010 for more details.

History: Bell Beef Company (Foodtown)

This ad for the Bell Beef Company appeared in the 1 May 1936 issue of The Matawan Journal

The Foodtown store in downtown Matawan went out of business in September 1993. According to the 22 September 1993 edition pp 1, 6, of The Independent, the Bell Meat Market operated at the same spot on Main Street until 1951, when the Bell family joined the Foodtown grocery store chain. The last managers of the store - Calvin Bell and his son, Scot - found that the store could not compete with the larger supermarkets in the area, especially the big discounters, like Price Club in Hazlet.

The above article said the butchers opened their shop in 1916, but the first sign I could find of the company was in 1920.  The 6 May 1920 edition of The Matawan Journal, page 5, announced the impending opening of a new butcher shop in Matawan called the Bell Beef Company.  Mr Belafsky and son had recently purchased the building from William Arrowsmith.

Abram Belafsky, a 63-year-old Russian Jew, was a butcher living at 79 Main Street in Matawan with his 49-year-old German wife, Rose, according to the 1920 Federal Census, which was enumerated on 3 January 1920.

Samuel Bell, a 37-year-old butcher from New Jersey with Russian parents lived at 115 Main Street in Matawan with his 32-year-old wife Gussie and sons Martin (8) and Calvin (3), according to the 1930 Federal Census, enumerated 25 April 1930. Samuel was a 27-year-old US Marine living in a military barracks on St Thomas, the Virgin Islands for the 1920 Federal Census.

The 7 May 1926 edition of The Matawan Journal, page 5, made the following announcement:
     H A Eigard has signed a four-year lease with the Bell Beef Company, to whom he sold the corner where his butcher shop is located. Mr Eigard expects to continue his market.

This ad for the Bell Beef Company Supermarket appeared in The Matswan Journal on 4 May 1950.

The 17 May 1973 edition of The Matawan Journal, page 1, discussed the latest Borough Council meeting. The article mentioned a controversial liquor license transfer involving "Foodtown, known locally as the Bell Beef Company" and the Cork and Bottle, also located on Main Street. The borough granted the transfer in name but not in place., in part because Matawan Wine & Liquors was right next door to Foodtown.

This ad for Bell's Market appeared in The Matawan Journal on 25 May 1961.

Matawan and Aberdeen: Of Town and Field, by Helen Henderson of the Matawan Historical Society, page 142, published in 2003, provides a brief history of the Foodtown property.