WRITER'S BLOCK

I'm having a case of Writer's Block. I'm running out of things to write about, so things might be slow for a while.

Pete S.

Remembering Hornberger's Bakery

Jackie and I moved to New Gretna in the mid 1970's. One of my fondest memories of the town back then was Hornberger's Bakery, located in the old Knights of Pythias Hall on Route 9 in the middle of town. Unfortunately, both Hornberger's and the old building are long gone.

Hornberger's Bakery

Armin's Pizza Time Cellar in basement

It was one of the best bakeries I have ever been in. I can close my eyes and still smell the aroma of freshly baked bread, donuts, pies, and other scrumptious baked goods conjured up by Mr. Hornberger, himself.

South Jersey Advisor - October 14, 1970

I still worked in Toms River when we moved to New Gretna. It was a long commute, but there was little traffic back then. Sometimes, I wouldn't see a car on the Parkway until I got to Barnegat.

Occasionally, on my way to work, I would stop by Hornberger's to buy sticky buns for my collegues. They were my all time favorite goodie from Hornberger's. Needless to say, my co-workers always scoffed them up, licking their fingers to savor every bit of that sticky flavor.

Usually, the buns were just out of the oven when I stopped by and were still warm. Mr. Hornberger would wrap then up in a white paper wrapper tied from a big ball of string sitting on the counter. No fancy boxes for him. The old fashioned way worked just fine!

I'm sure many of our Blog readers have fond memories of Hornberger's. If so, I'd like to hear from you about you favoite goodie and/or a story you may remember.

Pete S

PS- I notice a 50 cents off coupon on the above ad for the purchase of a birthday cake. If it's anyone's birthday this week, I'll spring for a birthday cake. Just meet me at Hornberger's. The free coffee is on me, too.

Murder She Wrote - Tuckerton Style

Everybody loves a good mystery as evidenced by the long running TV show, "Murder She Wrote", that ran from 1984 to 1996. Jessica Fletcher, played by Angela Landsbury, was a retired English teacher in Cabot Cove, a small village in Maine who had a knack for solving murders. I don't know which was more remarkable, Jessica's ability to solve a murder a week or that there was a murder a week in such a small town.

The show ended after 264 episodes. I guess they finally ran out of murders. It left a lot of disappointed fans.

Well, "Murder She Wrote" fans, I have good news for you. The other day I was surfing the net for sites about Ocean County history when I came across an interesting site that could provide Jessica with addition murder mystery plots to revive the old T.V. series. Jessica would just have to move from Cabot Cove to Tuckerton.

By now, you're probably wondering "Where is he going with this, history-wise?" Read on, and you'll find out.

The web site that I stumbled upon is the "The Ocean County Compendium of History". A subsite, "Murders and Strange Deaths", deals with Ocean County towns including Tuckerton and neighboring communities. Sounds right up Jessica Fletcher's alley! I can see her driving through Ocean County in search of the elusive killers.

Some of the story titles include: The Strangulation of the Belle of Tuckerton (1902), A Murder In West Creek (1905), and The Murder of Caleb Fithian (1901 at Parkertown Cove).

Interested in taking a peek? Just click on the Ocean County Seal below and you'll be on your way. If you happen to bump into Jessica Fletcher, say hello to her for me.

Pete S

Civil War Info Needed

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. I am currently in the process of researching and collecting information on Civil War Veterans from Bass River, Washington Township, and Little Egg Harbor and would appreciate receiving general information, documents, letters, photos, etc. from anyone out in the Blog-O-Sphere who can help with my project. Some of you may even have ancestors from these areas who served in the war. Hearing about them would be especially interesting.

Following is a video clip that may be of interest to Civil War buffs. It's from a February 9, 1956 "WHAT'S MY LINE" T.V. show. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Pete S

Rube Corlies Meets Babe Ruth

Last Wednesday's Blog entry featured Rube Corlies spotting a sea serpent off the coast of Surf City in 1906. Needless to say, Rube appears to have been quite a character with an infinity of being around where the action is. Today's Blog entry continues that tradition, as we see Rube meeting the biggest baseball legend of all time - Babe Ruth.

Click on the photo of the Babe (below) to read about Rube and the Babe hunting together at the Carvel's Island Gun Club on Long Beach Island. Rube certainly is a celebrity magnate - first "Nessie" in the Atlantic Ocean off Surf City and then the Babe on a duck hunting trip on Long Beach Island. I wonder who else we may find popping up with Rube? Stay tuned!

Pete S