Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 26

6B COURIER-POST, Sunday, September 28, zoos wvra.courierpostonline.comourtowns CAMDEN COUNTY OUR TOWNS Newsletter celebrates Bass River's rich history Our great rates come with an added bonus. Peace of mind. courierpostonljne MM WEB EXTRA Thomas Bergbauer Trains I yf S3 jllll I llfl in'' Vj tUiaaudL MOB Select Money Market and CD I II ivj yvui I I I I SELECT MONEY MARKET I 9-MONTH CD 31 IT APY 1 "7rAPY BALANCES OF $1,000 MINIMUM I $50,000 OR HIGHER I CIRCLE GOLD CHECKING Mmm Fac insured FDIC INSURED I To learn more about South Jersey's history, go to our Web site and add sjhlstory. growing up in New Gretna. Stephen Eichinger, another native of the area, also wrote about his early years in Bass River, Stemmer said.

Stemmer said that they have about 500 copies printed. He says people interested in receiving copies of the Gazette should send in two self-addressed, stamped legal-sized (4x9 12 inch) envelopes to: Bass River Gazette Subscriptions, Bass River Community Library, P.O. Box 256, New Gretna, NJ 08224. They are also distributed in the local post office in New Gretna. There is no charge for the paper, but they do seek donations.

"Many people have been very generous for the past 21 issues," he says. "We have always got enough donations to pay for the printing. Hopefully it will continue to come out two issues a year." Thomas A. Bergbauer is a retired Courier-Post copy editor and can be reached at (856) 346-0371 or through Our Towns, Courier-Post, P.O. Box 5300, Cherry Hill, N.J.

08034. newsletter is eight pages and, while it still comes out twice a year, it is not on a regularly scheduled timetable. "We don't have a staff," Stemmer said, "just a few friends who are regular contributors." Stemmer said he edits the articles, searches for pictures to go with the copy and does the layout. "What we try to do is make it interesting to a broader range of people," he explained, "and we are considering putting them all together into a book, something like a coffee-table book." Besides Stemmer, other members of the group include Murray T. Harris and his wife, Jean, who write a column on genealogy, Harry DeVerter, who writes a column about news from the past, and Elaine Mathis, who collected old recipes from families in the area and submitted the recipes with pictures of the families.

Before Almire Steele died in 2006, she wrote a column called "Another Thing I Remember," which recalled her early years Not only will you save more with great rates on CDs and our new Select Money Market account, you can feel confident that your savings are safe and secure with us. So if you've been looking for a safe place to grow your money, looks like you found it. Call 1-888-861-1500, stop by a branch or find your fit at citizensbank.com DAYS 1 3wt DClIliX Member FDIC. All accounts subject to individual approval. See a banker tor details.

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The township was incorporated March 30, 1864, and was named for the Bass River, which is located in the northeastern part of the township. According to the township's Web site, the first settler was Daniel Mathis, who settled on the East Bank of the Bass River in 1713. The settlers were mostly Quakers from England who bought large tracts of land and were skilled in hunting, fishing, blacksmithing, coopering, carpentry, tanning and shoe-making. During the Revolution, privateers used the Bass and Mullica rivers for shelter and to unload contraband. Much of the contraband found its way to Philadelphia via sand routes through the Pine Barrens.

Some of the township's forgotten towns include Martha's Furnace, Harrisville, Bodine's Tavern, Calico Ridge and Sim Place, where the settlers made good use of the land and produced iron, paper, charcoal, lumber and salt hay. This short history shows the value of preserving the township's past and its social history, and keeping residents educated about its family culture. It proves that there is more than meets the eye. The Bass River Gazette, a local historical newsletter jointly published by the Bass River Library History Committee and the Great John Mathis Foundation, has been fulfilling that requirement since July 1998. "We are strictly historical content," said Peter Stemmer, a Gazette writer and editor.

"There really wasn't too much interest in history down here," Stemmer said. "No historical society, no history group." Stemmer explained how the newsletter began. "It was about 12 years ago when Caroline Campbell of the Ocean County Historical Society approached a friend of mine and told her of a book that the historical society was going to produce, a picture book called 'From Manahawkin to he said. "She wanted to know if New Gretna wanted to join in (on the book) and they would call it 'From Manahawkin to New It was agreed, but Stemmer pointed out that there were no photos available. "So we started knocking on doors of mostly the older people in town and asked if they had any old pictures," Stemmer said.

The group originally collected about 200 photographs and made copies of the them before giving the pictures to the historical society. The book eventually was published. After the book was in print, they wondered what they were going to do with all of those pictures. Eventually the photos were scanned into Stemmer's computer and today they have accumulated more than 12,000 pictures of the area. "Some are old and some are current," he said.

People tend to offer pictures of the area for archival purposes. For instance, Stemmer was able to secure pictures of the recent Sweetwater Casino fire from a resident who was able to get some digital shots. It was at that time in 1998 that Stemmer suggested they create a newsletter and use the photos in the publication. A small group got together and began to contribute to the paper. Stemmer says that his research abilities allowed him to pick a topic, research it and write about it for the paper.

The newsletter is geared to Bass River and surrounding communities like Little Egg Harbor, New Gretna and Green Bank. When the first issues came out in July 1998, they consisted of stories like: "Old Stores of New Gretna" by Gladys Wilson, "The Bass River Gazette Committee, Who We Are," "The Old Swimming Hole (Another Thing I Remember)" by Almira Cramer Steele, "Woody Allen's Clam Hurrier (Yesterday's Recipes)" by Elaine Mathis, and "Wading River Bridges (Then Now)" by Steve Eichinger. Since its inception, the Gazette has published 21 issues. The first issue, Stemmer said, was four pages and was published four times a year.The second issue was six pages published twice a year. Now the Flliii Cover Lifter Entry Step On Door Buster Specials AMFMCD Stereo System Fibre Optic Lighting System Choice of Sterling or Blue Pearl Finish, Jet Package, XL Oversized letting, CD Ozone, Compare Wit! tollneli null rettwtv In lira of ftw Dnindtti One Week Spa Blow Out Cool Down Mist System 7 Person Spa, White Pearl Finish, Jet Package, XL Oversized Jetting, LED Light, Big Pumps for Great Jet Action.

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