Interviews with Local Residents

April 3, 2009

Meet our neighbors!

On April 3rd, we interviewed Harry Disbrow, Sr. He had an important role in the Tuckerton area by hunting and driving deer into places so the hunters could shoot them. He also fished, and clammed. He grew up in many areas: Long Beach Island, Tuckerton, Mystic Island, and Little Egg Harbor. He attended Tuckerton Elementary and Tuckerton High School. Right now he lives by the bay in Little Egg Harbor. He has lived there a while and has lived in this area his whole life.
Harry wants to see people change in this community. Harry said “People in general, helping each other out, working together, getting along, would be a good change in this community.” His family has had an impact on his role in the community. Harry SR smiled “They give you support and help you on the way. They also give you plenty of advice.”
Tara asked, “What do you miss the most about the past?”
Harry replied, “Just the way things were in general back then,” he paused “everything has changed now.”
His favorite things to do as a child were deer hunting, clamming, fishing, and being around his friends. His favorite thing to do now is to spend a lot of time with his kids, grandkids, and his one great-grandchild. He says he is “a family guy.” He has four children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He also likes to ride his bike, go fishing, and clam in his free time. He still enjoys some of the things that he liked as a child!
Harry SR thinks he is in a very good position right now; he has spectacular family, great friends, works for Commerce Bank, and has lived a long, wonderful life.
He said that one thing he would like to tell a child is “be honest.” Harry SR says, “Honesty is the key to everything.”
Growing up Harry SR had no computer, T.V., or a cell phone. Emily and I, Tara, could not imagine life without computers, cell phones, or T.V.’s!
So this is Harry Disbrow SR’s life. He has had a very full and exciting life! From fishing to hanging out with friends, he has had a great experience living in this area and wouldn’t want it to be any different. His experiences are very personal to him and taught him a lot, like to be grateful for everything you have.
Would you have liked to live his life? We learned a lot from Harry Disbrow SR. He taught us to be grateful, loving, caring, inspiring, helpful, thankful, and most of all to have fun! Harry, you have become a very inspiring person in our lives. Thank you!
[Tara O, Emily D, Leonardo R]

On Friday, April 3rd, we interviewed June LeMunion, a historical veteran of the community.
June moved to the community at age five. She attended what is now Tuckerton Elementary School for high school. At that time there were only three people in the graduating class!
June worked at the Tuckerton History Museum for twenty-five years before retiring. She was very interested in the Native Americans that lived here long ago. She even brought in a picture of a scene of the marshy area near Tuckerton Seaport before all of the construction that we see today. She was very excited about a rock that she bought at a flea market that turned out to be a Native American tool for crushing wheat! It was exciting to hold the rock and discuss how these native people must have used it in order to make food and accomplish other tasks. It is certainly different from what we use today.
One of our favorite stories was when June told us about a little boy who found an ancient Native American ax. The young boy was thinking about donating the ax to the museum, and June told him that she wouldn’t be “so hasty” as to give it away. Even with the words of advice from June, the boy still donated it to the museum. She said that if she were that boy that she would “never give up that ax.”
When we asked June what she would like to see change in the community today, she replied, “Well, I would probably like to see people act the way they did a long time ago. Be kind and nice to other people, and show respect.”
The interview with June was very inspiring. The community was very different back then; it sounded like people were more positive and this made the community a better place to live. Maybe our community can pull together and work with one another like people did in the past to overcome these times filled with selfishness and lack of concern for one another. We all can learn an important lesson from June’s words and perhaps use them to motivate us to improve the living conditions today to how they once were many years back. [Noah F, Laura L, Jacob K]