Interviews with Local Residents

March 9, 2010

Sam Leifried had a lot to share with us as we conducted our Our Community, Our History interview. He knows the history of the area up, down and sideways because he lived through it. Sammy wrote a book about the times before him, titled Remembering the People and Businesses of Tuckerton’s Past, which goes into detail about the title, including pictures, letters and was written so that generations to come will always know how the heyday of Tuckerton came to be and how it blossomed into the hustling, bustling town it is today.
Sammy was born, raised and still resides in Tuckerton NJ. As we talked with him, he explained how vastly the town has changed in the last few decades. When Sam was in high school, life as a local teenager was completely different from that of your life or mine. Tuckerton Elementary was the original school for grades Kindergarten through 12. While we spend our leisure time texting, listening to iPods or on MySpace, Sam and his pals worked and did daily chores before walking to the Sugar Bowl to listen to the jukebox, taking a refreshing swim in Lake Pohatcong or going to the roller skating rink in Manahawkin.
Whole businesses and industries have since been extinguished as the town’s population grew. Tuckerton Seaport was a safe haven for those who lived and boated on LBI before it was a museum. A railroad once ran through the town, hence Railroad Avenue. Tuckerton was a large seafood industrial area where many of the businesses were family owned and most people lived off what they caught or brought home from hunting.
Sam really loves living in Tuckerton. He has watched it grow from a small seafood town where everyone knew each other to a busy town that has new families moving in every year. When asked why Tuckerton is a good place to live, he answered, “Well, if you stop and think about it, it depends on where you were born. Tuckerton, when I was young was very laid back, very peaceful, and like I said, everybody knew everybody else. It was a very friendly place to be during hard times; I think [people in] Tuckerton had a big advantage over people who lived up in the cities.”
Brittany L, Nikki N, Shawn O, Olivia O

Interviews with Local Residents

March 9, 2010

Horner Brothers Sunoco truck
We interviewed Joe Marshall, who was accompanied by his wife Laverne. Joe was born in 1933 in Tuckerton, so he is now 76 years old. Typically, Joe would help crew on his uncle’s party boat. He would help people hook bait, take the fish off the hooks, etc. During the summer, all of the children would swim in Lake Pohatcong, as it was not polluted. During the winter, they would ice skate on the lake. Joe also mentioned that his father had told Joe that he once rode his bike on the ice from Tuckerton all the way across the bay to Long Beach Island.
Joe joined the Coast Guard for four years. He then worked for IBM for about 35 years. After that, Joe retired; Joe and Laverne came back to Tuckerton. By then, there were approximately, 3000 people who inhabited Tuckerton. Many buildings have burned down since then but when they were still in existence, the center of town consisted of a movie house, a hotel by the lake, butcher shops, a barber shop, shoe repair shops, an Acme, a drug store, gas stations, a bank and two department stores. Joe mentioned that Tuckerton used to be much friendlier and there were many more trees in the area.
Liz B and Evan Z

Interviews with Local Residents

March 11, 2010

For the Our Community, Our History interview project, we interviewed Patricia Anne Richmond. We began our interview by asking her full name and her occupation. Patricia is retired from Pinelands Regional School District. She was born in the 1940s on August 12th in Pleasantville NJ and has lived in the Tuckerton area for 30 years. We asked her what it was like growing up in town in the 1950s and, from what we understand from her words, the town was very small, had a lot of local appliance stores and was a nice, regular town. Tuckerton has changed in many ways and we asked her if she thought the town has changed for better or worse. Patty thinks that Tuckerton has grown too vast for you to enjoy it. Patty remembers ice skating, horseback riding, roller skating and attending dance class.
When Patty was younger, there were fewer lights and schools were much smaller than today. Patty considers the roads were safer because there was less traffic but that our cars are much safer. The school systems were basically the same, with gym class and sports. High school sports were taken as seriously as today if not more. Patty was in Girl Scouts, dance and the girls’ softball team. The living conditions were very nice when she was growing up; her family owned a store that everyone went to during lunch. The music selections were rock-n-roll with Elvis and Bobby Garrett. The crime rate was zero and there were no games or acts against the law. The most dramatic change is the population explosion in the last couple of decades. If Patty could change one thing back to the way it was, the center of town was more built up than today.
Growing up Patty didn’t have the luxuries of microwave ovens, stereos and color TV. She didn’t have a cell phone but she had a telephone in her house. It was exciting watching all the new technology grow as she grew. The community Patty lived in was very mixed. Everyone knew everyone’s family and everyone’s business. She remembers buying penny candy at her family’s store and using a dime to get a whole bag of candy. Gas was also 25 cents a gallon. Patty earned 50 cents an hour for babysitting.
Patty always went to the Manahawkin skating rink every Friday. She also went to school dances. In the winter, she and her friends would ice skate on Tip Seaman Lake.
Patty got her first job at an insurance company in Manahawkin in 1970. Women married around the age of 18; men around the age of 21. The town had everything her family needed so they rarely had to travel out of Tuckerton. All the laws were the same back then as they are now. Tuckerton even had a taxi service. If she could live in the past, Patty would like to visit for a week and then return home.
When it comes to the environment, Patty feels that it’s a shame that the world is going through such turmoil. She thinks it’s sad to see trees being knocked down and highways built in their place. She knows the world, and Tuckerton, is expanding, so she understands.
Overall, Patty loved growing up in the era that she did. She often misses the simple, easy life of her old, little town. Patty still finds that the twenty first century is much easier to live in rather than the fifties. Patty Richmond loves the town she grew up to know and will always remember it. Our group also will remember our interview with Mrs. Patty Richmond. Her words struck us and made us fall in love with Tuckerton, the old town and people who inhabited this area.
Elyssa D, Nikki V, Jeffrey C

Interviews with Local Residents

March 11, 2010

Pohatcong Lake 1912

Russell and Mary Lou Mathis were both raised in Tuckerton NJ. Mary was born in Tuckerton in her home. Russell was born in a hospital in Atlantic City. They both graduated from Tuckerton High School. As children, they often shopped at small grocery stores. Mary played basketball and ran track; Russell played basketball, baseball, track and football. Mary’s dad was a carpenter and plumber; her mother worked in Gerber’s store. Russell’s dad was in the Coast Guard and his mom was a homemaker.
Mary believes that the biggest change over the years has been buildings burning down and new ones built. Russell believes that the biggest change over the years has been the development of new homes and an influx of people from different areas, especially to Tuckerton Beach and Mystic Island.
Hunter L and Vinnie R