A group of local men met with a representative from Kiwanis
International at the office of Assemblyman Ralph T. Stevens on December
16, 1923 with the purpose of organizing a Cape May Kiwanis Club. They
formed a temporary organization and elected a slate of officers: Dr.
V.M.D. Marcy, President; George P. Wentzell, Vice President; Ralph T.
Stevens, Secretary; and Jay E. Mecray, Treasurer.
The fledgling group held its first luncheon meeting with 57 members
at the Focer & Mecray Building January 17, 1924. Kiwanis District
Governor Robert Rendall of Jersey City presented the Charter to the
Club. The new service club had a splendid first year. They provided their
first Kiwanis Scholarship, $100, to the most valuable member of the
graduating class of Cape May High School. In the Fall they sponsored a
movement to acquire land and develop an eighteen hole golf course in
Lower Township. The Cape May Kiwanis Club continues to be the most active service
club in Cape May, and is the only Club in the country that owns its
Clubhouse, the old Cold Spring Lifesaving Station #136.
The U.S. Lifesaving Service (USLS) set up lifesaving stations manned
by Keepers and surfmen to stem the loss of life from shipwrecks along
the coast. The Cold Spring Lifesaving Station, established 1868, is one
of 20 in New Jersey. This existing building, built in 1891 on Beach
Avenue at Philadelphia Avenue, is an example of the Bibb No. 2 style,
named after architect, Albert Bibb, with nine stations of this style
built between 1886 and 1891. The U.S. Lifesaving Service operated the
Station until 1915 when the Treasury Department moved the USLS into the
Revenue Cutter Service which eventually became the U.S. Coast Guard; it
operated as an active Coast Guard station until 1935.
Notice the life
saving boat ramp at the right front of the building and the number 136
painted on a large deck behind the building. The number identifies the
station for airplanes. The Cold Spring Lifesaving Station 136 is now the
Cape May Kiwanis Clubhouse.
In 1939 Charles “Nick” A. Swain of the Cape May Kiwanis Club bought
the abandoned building from the USCG, at auction, for $120 with the idea
of using it as a Boy Scout Headquarters. Nick had been tipped off by a
Coast Guard officer, with a Boy Scout son, that the only other bidder
was a junk man who planned to demolish the building for its materials,
and had bid $100, so Nick bid $120. The Club membership jokingly chided
him for paying too much when $101 would have won the auction. A
condition of the auction was that the winner had to move the building
off the government’s property in 30 days. The Kiwanis paid $1000 to a
Wildwood House Moving Co to move the station and put it up on a good
concrete block foundation. Being solidly built, the weight of the
station, actually broke the mover’s equipment during the short
half-block move; but he prevailed and eventually seated the old building
on its new foundation. Today it serves as the Cape May Kiwanis
Clubhouse. (1041 Beach Ave.)
He was one of our past presidents and a great friend to all that knew him at the Kiwanis Club.
John E. “Jack” Killeen, age 79, son of John J. & Frances (Germon)
Killeen passed away peacefully among loving family members on Friday,
May 27th, 2022 at the U. of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
Born in Atlantic City, NJ and raised in West Cape May, Jack became a
“Man of All Seasons”, hunting, fishing, trapping, laboring on the docks,
working at both the Taylor Farm & Rae’s Farm and working for Steger’s
Beach Service run by Coach Steve Steger of Cape May.
He attended the original West Cape May Elementary School, and the
original Cape May High School on Washington Street and was a member of
the first Senior Class to graduate from the new Lower Cape May Regional
High School, being President of his Senior Class and being one of the
two Co-Captains of their football team. He went on to attend Rutgers U.
in New Brunswick, NJ receiving a BA degree in Criminal Justice. During
this time, he was a member of the Air Commandos of Air Force R.O.T.C.,
which he commanded as a Cadet Lt. Col. during his senior year, and was
President of the Fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. Jack earned three
fellowships, choosing Colgate U. in Hamilton, NY for which he received a
Master’s Degree in Personnel Administration graduating cum laude. He
earned a second Master’s Degree at Catholic U. in Washington, DC, this
one being in Psychology while working full-time for the USAF.
In October 1966, Jack entered the U.S. Air Force as a Security Police
Officer with the rank of 2nd Lt. During his 29-year career, he served in
several notable positions that included Chief of the Drug & Alcohol
Abuse Control at Headquarters Pentagon; Director of Deterrence and
Detection for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon in
Washington, DC., developing and executing the programs which
successfully curbed drug and alcohol abuse for all the service branches.
He also served as the DOD liaison officer for drug and alcohol abuse
matters with the White House, Congressional Committees, State
Department, Central Intelligence Agency, Drug Enforcement Agency, Coast
Guard, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism. He was the Executive Agent for DOD Law
Enforcement Task Group, developing policies and worldwide programs to
minimize adverse impact of drug & alcohol abuse on Air Force Mission and
people. These programs, being under intense congressional scrutiny, only
the Air Force Program survived, and Jack was hired by the Secretary of
Defense to develop programs for all the military services.
In North Carolina, he was Chief of Police at Seymour Johnson Air Force
Base, where he commanded 350 policemen and women who protected 18,000
people. Every year that he commanded, the force was chosen the “Best
Large Security Police Force in the Tactical Air Command.” During this
time, Jack also taught classes in the evenings on the subjects of
Criminal Justice, Psychology, and Social Theory for North Carolina
Wesleyan College.
In 1987, while attending Air War College in Alabama, he was awarded the
Commandant’s Award for outstanding contribution to military thought for
the paper, entitled “Coping with Terrorism.”
In the country of Turkey, Jack was the Director of Security Police, US
Forces providing leadership for all US Military security. He worked with
the Turkish Police in the capture of 55 Terrorists sent by Qadhafi to
kill American women and children. The effort was highly successful with
no injuries to Americans. Jack made Colonel below the zone shortly after
this.
He was also the Director of Security Police, US Air Forces Europe,
United Kingdom, and provided leadership for all US forces in England.
For three years, he served as Department of Defense representative to
Her Majesty’s Government for Home Defense of the United Kingdom.
Following England, Jack became the Vice Commander of Ramstein Air Base
in Germany during the time of Desert Storm; the First Iraq War.
His final Air Force position as a Colonel was as the Commander of the
Security Police Agency at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, providing
oversight and guidance to 35,000 security police men and women
worldwide.
In 1996, Jack was one of only three Senior US Air Force Security Police
Force Officers in history to be awarded the “Order of the Sword” by
enlisted members of the Air Force for superior people-centered
leadership.
Following retirement from Military Service, Jack entered the civilian
job realm, employed first as the Director of Operations and then became
the General Manager of the security force operations for the Los Alamos
National Laboratories, with a work force of over 600 men & women.
While in Los Alamos, NM, he joined the Kiwanis Club and eventually
became Vice-President and then President. He also held the position of
Vice-President for the local Art Society.
Jack was a perpetual student, having attended college classes at Texas
Christian U., the U. of Guam and the U. of Nebraska, Lincoln. He was a
voracious reader right up to the end. He had a great respect and love
for the outdoors. In July of 2013, he fulfilled a dream of his, by
bicycling 2,600 miles of the Western Great Divide Trail, on his own
without support, from the northern border of Montana/Canada down to the
southern border of New Mexico/Mexico, taking him two and a half months
to complete. He was a Boy Scout Leader when stationed in Virginia and
was a Leader of the Los Alamos, NM High Adventure Group, consisting of
young men and women of high school age, taking day and week-long trips
with them for white water rafting on the Snake River, the River of No
Return, and the Rio Grande; overnight camping; snow-cave camping; hiking
the high trails in Colorado; and downhill skiing. He did the Grand
Canyon River twice with a group tour and took Boy Scouts and their
parents to the large lakes in Canada for a week-long canoe trip.
He was an avid cross-country and telemark skier, hiker, camper, hunter,
fly fisherman, white-water rafter, kayaker, canoeist and horse-back
rider, having owned three quarter horses in Texas while stationed in Ft.
Worth. He was a scuba diver when stationed on the Island of Guam and
became the President of the Club there. While returning from a dive one
day in 1970, Jack ended up delivering a baby in the back seat of a car
and became the Godfather of that baby girl. He loved running, having
completed the Marine Marathon, the New York Marathon, and the John F.
Kennedy 50-miler ultra-marathon, along with several here in Cape May and
Virginia, and having also competed in triathlons. He also became an avid
mountain biker and a road bicyclist. While stationed in England he was
one of the first Americans to pass their written test to hunt deer and
was called upon by English estate owners to hunt deer who were damaging
crops on their property. When stationed in Turkey, Jack hunted with the
Turks in the villages to hunt large wild hogs who also destroyed their
crops. In Germany, he hunted with the Germans.
In 2016, Jack decided it was time to move back home to Cape May after
nearly 22 years of residing in New Mexico, his last military assignment
and place of residence. While here, he rejoined the Cape Island Deer
Club in New Gretna and held the office of Secretary. He also became an
active member of the Kiwanis Club of Cape May, eventually holding the
positions of Vice President and President.
As a family man, he was an exceptional husband, father, grandfather,
brother and uncle. Jack will be missed by his loving family which
includes his wife of 56 years, Sonja (nee Straaten); two children,
Krista (and Jeff) Yuhas and Sean (and Lisa) Killeen; a sister, Judy
Hansen; and 4 grandchildren, Kelsey (and Grant) Smith, Tanner Yuhas,
Megan (and Russell) Flanagan and Kayla Yuhas, and many nieces and
nephews.
He was an active member of Cape May Kiwanis and served in many roles for over 40 years, including Club President in 1979.
Harvey Lewis Williams, a lifetime resident of Cape May, passed away
peacefully at home on May 14, 2022, following a lengthy illness. He was
born in August 26, 1926 to Cape May residents George D. and Wilhelmine
Williams of Washington Street. As a boy and young man, he worked
delivering newspapers and for his father on his party fishing boat, the
Black Gold.
He graduated from Cape May High School in 1944, where he was active in
sports, earning letters in football, baseball, basketball and track.
Following high school, he enlisted in the US Navy, eager to serve his
country during World War II. He served until 1946 as a Radioman in the
Pacific Theatre and had many stories of shipboard life during from that
time.
Harvey returned to Cape May following the war and started work at the
Cape May Post office, beginning as a substitute in many areas. Even
decades after his retirement, he could tell you where anyone in town had
lived and a bit about their family. He advanced throughout his career,
achieving the position of postmaster, first in Cape May Court House,
then returning to his home town of Cape May. He retired as postmaster
after almost 40 years in the post office. His time as a mailman started
him on the road to an encyclopedic knowledge of Cape May.
Never one to be idle, Harvey did many other things over his long,
productive life. He was probably best known as ‘Harvey – the ice cream
man’, for the time he spent during summers running his ice cream truck,
selling popsicles, snow cones, pretzels and bubble gum to people all
over Cape May and West Cape May. Kids and dogs (he always had a box of
dog biscuits on board the truck) all came running as he drove his route
through town.
He spent time after retirement from the post office working as a
salesperson for Sol Needles Real Estate Agency. Harvey enjoyed spending
time with people, a quality that helped him assist clients find the
right home to purchase or property to rent for their vacation.
He also served Cape May City as Emergency Management Director for 22
years, spending many a northeaster or hurricane out all night,
patrolling the streets and making sure people who needed help got to
safety. Harvey was also a long time member of the Cape May Zoning Board,
serving as chairman for many of them.
Harvey was very civic minded, volunteering in many areas. He served as a
Volunteer Firefighter in Cape May for over 65 years, including twenty
years as its treasurer. He was an active member of Cape May Kiwanis and
served in many roles for over 40 years, including Club President in
1979.
Harvey was very youth oriented. He coached a little league team,
refereed midget league football games and worked with Boy Scout Troop
84, serving as treasurer. He attended Cape Island Baptist Church for
many years.
Harvey enjoyed his leisure time too. While he enjoyed building things,
his favorite activity was fishing. He spent countless hours off the
shore of Cape May or in the Delaware Bay in his boat, named the Karojan
after his 3 children, pursuing weakfish, flounder, stripers and more. He
was always willing to share his hobby with family and friends. Post
retirement, he also restored a 1956 Chevrolet - make and model chosen
because it was his wife, Grace’s car when they were married.
Throughout all his professional and personal activities, Harvey brought
an innate, infectious, dry sense of humor that endeared him to all. His
sense of humor matched the generosity of spirit he brought to all the
civic and volunteer activities he participated in.
He was blessed to be married to Grace Williams (nee Krogman) of
Wildwood, NJ since 1957 and the two enjoyed 64 years of life together.
Together, they built a life they both were proud of, raising their
children, supporting them through college and spending their retirement
in the town he loved and traveling the world.
Harvey was predeceased by his brother, Robert George Williams and
sister, Dorothy Dolgos. He is is survived by his wife, Grace, three
children: Karen (Paul Kosten) of Woodbine NJ; Robert (Gita Delsing-Williams)
of Lovettsville, VA; Janet (Trevor Harris) of Leighton Buzzard, England
and niece Diana (John) Patin of Boonton, NJ. He enjoyed spending time
with his grandchildren; Andy (Katie) Patin, Dylan (Hannah) and Ian
Kosten and Colton, Annika and Julia Williams.
He was a proud member of the Cape May Kiwanis, having served in many capacities including President for 2011-2012.
James C. Waldie, of Cape May and formerly of Milmont Park, PA passed
away at his home on February 18, 2022. Jim was a kind, caring man who
would always ask you about you, before talking about himself! He was a
member of the Cape Island Baptist Church and served as a Trustee. He was
a proud member of the Cape May Kiwanis, having served in many capacities
including President for 2011-2012. He especially enjoyed conducting the
flag-lowering ceremony with Linda at The Cove! Jim had a special love of
the outdoors, birding. He openly shared his knowledge with others and
led walks for C.M.B.O. He was a member of the Nature Conservatory,
D.V.O.C. and a founding member of the Birding Club of Delaware County.
Coming from a talented musical family, Jim loved to sing! He sang
with his brothers’ choruses, as well as singing in the church choir. Jim
was also a member of the Angelus community singing group where he served
on the Board and housed the music. Jim loved Jazz, model-railroading,
puzzles, family and friends. Most of all God and his wife, Linda!
Jim is dearly missed and forever loved by his family which includes
his wife of 37 years, Linda; his siblings, Rebecca Waldie Powell
(Wayne), George Waldie (Ruthann), John Waldie (Leanne), Tom Waldie
(Jill), Randy Waldie (Cindy) and Ruth Waldie Potts; sister-in-law, Holly
Steel; 22 nieces and nephews; 10 great nieces and nephews.
He was heavily involved in the Cape May Kiwanis Club, and served as president in 2013-14.
Thomas Hynes, 78, of Cape May, formerly of Staten Island, whose life
was dedicated to service through military, government, nonprofit,
volunteer and family capacities, died December 15, 2021, of
complications from a stroke.
Hynes was born on Staten Island, where he attended Curtis High
School. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Wagner College, and was a
member of Delta Nu fraternity. He served in the American 1st Infantry
Division of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, and was stationed in
Dĩ An from 1967-68.
Hynes earned his master’s degree in business administration from Seton
Hall University, and began working for the U.S. Department of Labor in
1971. He worked in the Office of Labor and Racketeering until 1996, when
he retired. He then began working as a case manager at Lifestyles for
the Disabled on Staten Island, supporting adults with learning
disabilities as they transitioned into employment and residential
settings and experiences. After 10 years at Lifestyles, he retired and
moved full-time to Cape May.
In Cape May, Hynes was heavily involved in the Cape May Kiwanis Club,
where he served as president in 2013-14. He led various campaigns to
support young people, including through high school scholarships and
through a campaign to provide bicycle lights to children. He also served
on the board of the Cape May Housing Authority, supporting residents
living in public housing. In addition, he volunteered for many years
with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and was a life member of the
Society of the 1st Infantry Division.
Hynes served as president of the Wagner College Alumni Association in
the early 1980s. Beginning in 1990, he also was an active participant in
the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. At the time of his death, he had been
sober for 31 years and spent every one of those years giving to his
family and friends.
Hynes is survived by his wife of 53 years, Dawn (Mueller) Hynes; his
youngest son, Eric Hynes of Brooklyn; his eldest son, Warren Hynes,
daughter-in-law Amy (Cumming) Hynes, and granddaughters, Katherine and
Chelsea Hynes, all of North Plainfield, N.J.; and his sister, Carolyn
McAllister of Yorktown, Va. He is predeceased by his parents, Thomas F.
Hynes and Anne (Johnson) Hynes, and his brother, Robert Hynes.
“His family came first, and whenever he was called to help anyone, he
always responded,” said his wife. “He was a humble man with a very big
heart.”
Kiwanian of the Year (2019), Founder of "Cape May Aktion Club"
We are sad to share that, Philip Cronin aged 70, of North
Cape May, passed away Sunday, October 24, 2021, at sunset.
Phil was born in Boston, MA and graduated with his MBA from
Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. He went on to work as a
financial manager in Wayne, NJ while devoting many years of his
life to service in his community.
He was an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Cape May and
was Kiwanian of the Year (2019), founder of Cape May Aktion Club
for adults with special needs, board member of ARC of Cape May,
and was a coach of the Special Olympics bowling team.
He enjoyed photography, playing pool, cooking for family and
friends, and was an avid sports fan of all Boston teams.
Phil is survived by his wife of 40 years, Catherine, sons
John (Jennifer) and Christopher, sister Mary (John Esposito)
Cronin, and many cousins in Boston and Ireland.
Memorial donations can be made to:
Kiwanis Club of Cape May PO Box 124 Cape May, NJ
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Contributors: Norm Olsen, Al Beale, Jack Wichterman and Rich
Townsend, present and former club members.
Tony Williams, a Kiwanian for over fifteen years, passed away
December 18, 2017. Tony was one of the “old guard” made up of a
core of members who served the club with heart and soul during
the last three decades. Tony was quiet, and yet, a person who
sought out challenge and met it with leadership in his service
to the club and the community. In 2007, Tony formed the first
car raffle committee. Over the past ten years, this small step
began the largest fundraiser in the history of the Kiwanis club
organized in 1923 and one of the largest Kiwanis clubs in New
Jersey. Car raffle proceeds are designated to provide
scholarships for our local students going on to college.
The Kiwanis Car Raffle committee and club members have made
their goal every year since its inception. Tony was steadfast
for years in attending Conversation Comrades at the Cape May
Elementary school, the flag lowering ceremony, along
with other duties he took on as needed to keep the club in good
order. Tony served as club President from October 2007 through
September 2008.
In his career Tony worked for over twenty five years at the
[Virginia] National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. For
many of those years, Tony was in charge of the department that
provided retirement and insurance benefits to the employees of
the one thousand rural electric cooperatives located throughout
the country. He was outstanding as a boss, since he gave
employees freedom and encouragement to do their jobs as they saw
fit. It created a productive, positive and creative atmosphere.
Tony would give talks to the entire staff without notes. He
sometimes jotted down a few topics, but would speak at length
extemporaneously weaving in history or light comments to keep
the talk meaningful and consistent.
After retiring and moving to Cape May, it was a joy spending
time sitting on the beach with him. He always brought two things
in addition his beach chair: a book and a conch shell. He was an
avid reader, especially of non-fiction books. Tony could tell
you the entire life story of Winston Churchill, including
amusing quotes. It was a joy listening to him. As for the conch
shell, Tony would always hide it in the sand (with a little
stick to mark its location). He would look for a family with a
young child and tell the Mom or Dad to have the child dig in the
sand near where he buried the shell. He delighted in seeing the
child’s reaction when she or he uncovered the treasure.
Tony loved to follow University of Virginia basketball, his Alma
mater. He knew all the players, the schedule, and was thrilled
when he could catch a game on television in Cape May.
Finally, during the Vietnam War, Tony had a harrowing and
life threatening incident. He was in the Navy and was serving as
one of four U.S. advisors to the Vietnamese Navy personnel at
one of their bases (Coastal Group 16). On August 7, 1967 the
base was attacked and overrun by a large force of Viet Cong (Read
More).
Tony’s Lieutenant ordered Tony and the two other Americans to
try to escape to the river while he provided cover fire for
them. An explosion went off, which blinded Tony and shot
shrapnel into his chest. Being able just to see dark vs. light,
but no objects, he made it to the river, jumped in and swam,
finally touching an object. It was a fishing boat and after
being pulled into the boat, Tony asked the Vietnamese to take
him out to sea. There an American Navy boat picked him up and he
was taken to a hospital where he spent two months before being
sent back to the United States. There is a small exhibit of this
episode at the “Forgotten Warriors Vietnam Museum” located at
Cape May County Airport. A few years ago, Tony, and our former
Kiwanian, Tony Marinello, took a trip back to Vietnam so Tony
could revisit the country and especially the site of Coastal
Group 16 base. This trip was on Tony’s bucket list and he was
pleased to be able to finally make it.
Tony Williams practiced leadership in his career and into
retirement with the club in a trustworthy, self-aware, humble,
caring, visionary, and empowering style. He was a good steward
of club assets and a community builder. He left us with the
inspiration to continue to strive for excellence in our club. He
is sadly missed by his wife, Sheila who in her own role and
responsibility was an active Kiwanian, a loyal, reliable, and
hardworking supporter of the club. We miss them both.
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Leadership for Education Programs "Bring Up Grades (BUG)" and
"Conversation Comrades"
Ed was born in West Orange, NJ and joined the army after high school
in 1942. He married Eleanor and was sent to Europe soon after the
wedding, where he served in the armored division until 1946. Upon
returning Ed enrolled at Seton Hall University where he received a BS degree and later
a Masters degree from Columbia in school administration. He spent
his education career in the Essex County Vocational school system and
retired as a principal in 1987.
Ed was a highly acclaimed basketball official in high school and
college basketball and often officiated NCAA tournament games at Madison
Square Garden.
When he retired he moved to Cape May and his son Jim brought him in
as a member of the Kiwanis club where he quickly got involved with many
fund raisers and school projects. One of his achievements was starting
the Bring Up Grades "BUG" program in the local schools and running it for many years
before turning the leadership over to Bill Smigo. He also started Conversation Comrades
with Cape May Elementary Assistant Principal Lanetta Hamill.
His other passion was the weekly poker games, golf and babysitting
his 3 grandchildren Chris, Sean and Caitlin. Ed passed away in 2014 at age 89 survived by his wife of 69 years,
Eleanor.
Former and Loyal Member of the Cape May Kiwanis Club
Jerome E. "Jerry" - 83, A former and loyal member of the Cape
May Kiwanis Club since December 28, 1994 and former Mayor of the
City of Cape May (2001 - 2008), passed away on Thursday evening,
October 18, 2018.
Jerry joined the Cape May Volunteer Fire
Company in 1967. He was recently honored for 30 years of service
to the Fire Department. In 1981 he was hired by the City of Cape
May Publics Works Department where he successfully worked his
way up to Superintendent and remained in that position until
retirement in 1998.
Jerry served on Cape May City Council. This
was the first Administration to govern after The City of Cape
May received the designation of a National Historic Landmark. He
is a Past President of the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce.
Obituary & Service Information
By Robert W. Elwell, Sr., as published in the Cape May Gazette-Leader
11/9/2006
Armistice Day, now called Veteran’s Day,
has just passed. Although most adults know why it is celebrated
on November 11th, I have a sad feeling that most of today’s
children do not know. Growing up I learned that Armistice Day
was when the First World War ended and that the armistice was
signed on the 11th month, of the 11th day, and on the 11th hour,
and therefore celebrated at that time. Cape May had several men
who served their country during World War I. In the years right
after the end of World War I the City always made a big
celebration to honor those who had served and to remember those
who had died. Armistice Day of 1921 was carried out in Cape May
with an elaborate celebration considering in the winter months
at that time there were not the tourists and visitors to add to
the festivity. Then again, it was little old Cape May
celebrating its home town boys.
In the morning at the 11th hour until noon, exercises were
held at the high school. It was reported that everyone enjoyed
the services. The Rev. George T. Hillman, Mayor Melvin and S.C.
Ogden delivered the addresses of the day. The glee club of the
high school rendered several selections which were a great
credit to the school and to the faculty. The school children
took part by giving recitations. Harold Hand recited the
President’s proclamation; Sam Lummis recited Flander’s Field,
and Jean Walters recited “Whose Debtors We Are?” After the
speakers, the flag was lowered to half-mast and a firing squad
fired a salute. The bells then tolled and two minutes were
devoted to silent prayer. Throughout the town all places of
business had closed from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The local
newspaper reported, “Never before was an order obeyed so well as
the one to close for three hours on Armistice Day.” This showed
that not only the ones who had been in the service liked to
remember the day, but even the ones who stayed home showed
respect to the soldiers.
That evening a large parade took place at 7:30 p.m. The
parade was led by Lt. John J. Spencer. Mr. Spencer, during the
war, had been in charge of the Wissahickon Barracks and he led
the parade with military bearing. (Spencer, in later years would
be prominent in the City of Cape May and become the Chief of
Police.)
Also in the parade were 50 night riders who were led by
Walter P. Taylor. Mr. Taylor was known in the community as being
one of the best in the county when it came to horseback riding.
Floats in the parade consisted of the Cape May Light and Power
Company float which represented the Goddess of Liberty
overlooking the grave of the Unknown Soldier. The Red Cross
float received much applause as the parade moved along because
it had three of Cape May’s charming school girls on it. Also in
the parade were units of the American legion and the Veterans of
Foreign Wars who were well received along the line of march.
Glancing back, the one World War I veteran I well remember as
a boy was Al Little. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John C.
Little. Through his letters sent home during the war years there
has become somewhat of a recorded history of his experiences.
His first thrilling experience was when the ship “Henderson” on
which he sailed for Europe caught fire and burned. He and many
of his buddies lost all their possessions as a result. Upon
arriving in France Al was detailed to the paymaster’s quarters.
Some of his duties that he performed while stationed at that
location were to censor letters and after that he ended up
driving a six ton truck for many months. While driving on one
trip he had to drive through a blinding snowstorm from Lille to
Dunkirk by way of Ypres, France. He reported in his letter that
five inches of snow lay on the ground and the road was very
rough and rugged. He left Lille at 10:30 in the morning and
arrived at his destination at 7:30 in the evening. Along the
route of travel he saw many strange things and awful sights
while in the vicinity of the towns. On another trip he drove 75
miles in a blinding snow storm over slippery roads to Lille. He
passed through “No Man’s Land” on the Flander’s front. He ended
up being snow bound many times before reaching his destination.
On another trip he had to stay in Lille overnight where he
reported accommodations were meager. He had to sleep in an attic
along with a number of Belgium and English troops. Their beds
consisted of two blankets only, with the thermometer registering
18 degrees. He also wrote that he would never forget his
experiences in France and that they would always be vivid in his
memory.
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From France Al was transferred to Eastleigh, England where he
was rated Electrician Class I. He told of being on leave and
visiting an English camp where he met an officer of the Imperial
troops who presented him with what was described as a very fine
leather jacket. In his last letter before he came home he
expected to get a 15 day furlough and his intention was to
return to France and hunt up some of the other Cape May boys.
Albert Smith, Frank Shields, and others were still serving at
the time. From France he expected to go into Germany and back to
England by way of Scotland. From England he wrote he was hoping
to sail on one of the German ships that was captured and taken
over by our government to carry troops back to the United
States. These ships were manned by American sailors and Al
Little had been assigned to duty on one of them as First Class
Electrician. Although Al never found any of the Cape May boys in
France, his brother George did meet up with Corporal Albert
Smith.
As a young person hanging around the Cape May fire house, I
remember Al Little as being a member of the volunteer fire
company. He was also the City electrician and in charge of the
fire alarm boxes to which he gave loving maintenance to. He also
was a dedicated member of the Cape May Kiwanis Club and served a
year as President. He was always on hand for the Pet Parades and
he helped with many of the other children’s activities. Sadly,
while working at the old Convention Hall he fell from a scaffold
and was killed.
Kiwanian Little was so well liked by the townspeople as well
as the Kiwanians, that in September 1959 they dedicated and
named the Athletic field on Lafayette Street in his memory.
Hundreds of children play around the dedication memorial stone
on the playground at the Kiwanian Little Athletic Field on
Lafayette Street almost daily. It is a shame that they may never
know who the man was and what his accomplishments in life were.
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(* denotes deceased)
* Dr. V. H. D. Marcy 1924
* Floyd C. Hughes 1925
* Dr. J. C. Moon 1926
* T. Millet Hand 1927
* F. Mulford Stevens 1928
* William Spring 1929
* Leslie Tenenbaum 1930
* T. Lee Lemmon 1931
* Charles A. Swain, Jr. 1932
* Lewis T. Stevens 1933
* Daniel J. Ricker 1934
* Albert B. Little 1935
* Steven J. Steger 1936
* William Dwyer 1937
* L. Wallace Douglass 1938
* Clifford Sharp 1939
* Everett A. Cresse 1940
* Edward Griffin 1941
* Clarence Fisher 1942
* John J. Spencer, Jr. 1943
* Herbert Harris 1944
* Mark Frymire 1945
* Harry J. Kunz 1946
* Everett V. Edwall 1947
* Andrew Knopp 1948
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* Raymond A. Adams 1949
* Herman Stansell 1950
* A. Gregory Ogden 1951
* R. Archie Swain 1952
* Harry A. Lehman, Sr. 1953
* William B. Marvin 1954
* Charles A. Swain, Jr. 1955
* R. Archie Swain 1956
* Charles L. Carr 1957
* Boyd W. Lafferty 1958
* Cecil F. McCullough 1959
Charles A. Swain, III. 1960
* Fred Barthelmess 1961
* Fred Barthelmess 1962
* Steven J. Steger 1963
* Max L. Kurland 1964
* W. Harry Reeves 1965
* Richard M. Teitelman 1966
* Byron Jackson 1967
* Charles Tryon 1968
* Harry Gilbert 1969
* Maurice Catarcio 1970
* Anthony Ferrante 1971
Robert Fite 1972
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J. Richard Ogden 1973
Louis C. Dwyer, Jr. 1974
Frank A. Ross 1975
Charles F. Vogdes 1976
* Dallas C. Small 1977
James R. Washington 1978
Harvey L. Williams 1979
Robert Smeltzer 1980
* John Veldhoven 1981
Donald Dodson 1982
David Danaher 1983
W. Edwin Hutchinson 1984
* Arnold Nyblade 1985
James Rochford 1986
E. Richard Keller 1987
* Andrew Andreychak 1988
* George Jarden 1989
Gerald Reeves 1990
Rick Swain 1991
* Irving Geldman 1992
John Koitsch 1993
* Clayton Reid 1994
Paul Lundholm 1995
Thomas M. Hand 1996
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Terrance O’Brien 1997
Lawrence Notch 1998
*
Donald Booth 1999
Jean Davis 2000
Rocco DeNote 2001
Duane Tebo 2002
Ralph Bakley 2003
Neil Fisch 2004
Charlotte Groome 2005
Jack Wichterman 2006
Robert W. Elwell, Sr. 2007
*Anthony Williams 2008
Richard Williams 2009
Robert Morris 2010
Harley Shuler 2011
Jim Waldie 2012
Jennie McCaney 2013
Thomas Hynes 2014
Carol Hackenberg 2015
*
Leonard H. Wilmore 2016
Kim Ford 2017
Kim Ford 2018
Jack Killeen 2019
Charlie Hendricks 2020/Current
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