Spring! This iMRc week we’ve all been M. -

' *- J '

This is the week we’ve all been waiting for! The spring equinox. Day and night are nearly equal in length, each just about twelve

hours.

Depending on whom you talk to around Cape May County, there’s some good news and some not so good news for lovers of * springtime. 1 Cape May Point's eminent bird watcher Dr. Ernest Choate, author of the “Dictionary of American Bird Names." is in no way about to call these warmer days •‘springtime”. He warns that the last freeze day is usually around the middle of April. While the calendar officially marks the 21st as the start df spring. Dr. Choate says the height of bird ^ ‘ migrations isyct toemne. "There are- cow birds and v robins in number." he said. "BUI no insecteating birds arc around yet They wail until the vegetation is green." There aren't many plants out yet. Dr. Choate pointed

out.

The height of migration comes in the middle of May. Cape May Point is the best area for bird watching in North America until you reach Florida, according to Dr. Choate. So. dust off the

binoculars.

Springtime is beating warmly in the heart of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce which is already mapping plans for the migration of tourists. "We’-re looking forward to a very large increase in visitors to our information center at Crest Haven Rd. and the Garden State Parkway.” said Robert C. Patterson. Jr.. Executive Director. “The Chamber is deeply concerned about a possible gas crisis and we are contemplating publication of an energy saving travel tips brochure such as the one we published in 1974' during the last

gas crisis."

The brochure would include bus. train and ferry schedules, and a synopsis of the shortest gas saving routes to reach Cape May Codhty. "We are also discussing the startup of a gasoline hotline.

casino gambling is going lomake an impact on Cape May County. "People will be going to the casino up in Atlantic City for a

~ - o week or two. and they’ll be This would be a joint venture of looking around for thinds to do. the Chamber of Commerce. That’s going to mean money for Freeholders, and Civil Defense the borm^h and for the county.” office. We’re pjanning a In spite of the recent erosion telephone line that will be problems. Mayor Armacost said, manned on an Ill-hour basis "Wc have one of the best beaches

where people can call in to And along the shore."

out where they can get gas in\ Larry E. Newbold, County each town. This is not only for Agricultural Agent of Rutger’s people here, but for tourists who Extension Service on DenmsviBe

arc on their way back to their

hometowns."

Mayor Ellsworth Armacost, of Avalon, is looking ahead to the spring season. ‘‘We have facilities to take care of a good crowd,” he dfcid. "Rentals are going really good." Mayor Armacost is convinced

Rd in Cape May Court House, has been getting a lot of phone calks from home owners wondering about lawnscaping and

plants.

"Most calls are about (hainage problems due to recent flood problems." “Those trees and shrubs that were under water for

a long time arc not going to make it." Mr NcwhoM warns. "I hope we get a lot of warm, dry weather in the weeks ahead," he commented. "The ground has got to get dried up. The farmers need this too. We’ve already had 21" to 22“ of rainfall this year. That’s half of the yearly rainfall we usually get.*The farmers are putting potatoes into the ground now. But other vegetable seedlings are still waiting it out withe greenhouses. “The fields must dry out before they’ll support the tractors," Mr. Newbold said At Burdette Tomlin Hospital, plans are underway to handle the springtime influx of patients as more and more people head for the seashore. The hospital will

— Photo by Tim Albrecht

walk-in clinics that wdl be getting of spring events is different from

started this spring.

William. II Waldron. II. Administrator. said he’s delighted with a sound that’s "beautiful to my ears — as pretty a sound as that of rAbtns — the thumping of jackhammers putting in the new footings for the hospital's 3.8 million dollar expansion program. After two and a half years of meeting after meeting after endless meeting - while we made plans for this expansion, those jackhammers sound like music to me." At Hie Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor. Anne.Galli. the young, new Public Education Coordinator, is looking forward to her first spring in Cape May County. *Fm from Northern Jersey." she said, "and I’m anxious to see ho w the timing

what I've known befdre. One thing I keep track ofi$ when the woodcock and the frog first become noticeable. The frdgs have been singing since early March that’s earlier than I

anticipated."

She is looking forward to bird migrations and when flowers begin to blossom. "I'm really excited about seeing the seasons change here through their natural cycles. I love being on the coast. I can't wait until the horseshoe crabs come up on the full moon in May. All the shore birds come in at that time and it's supposed to be quite spectacular down here." she said, echoing Dr. t hoate's sentiments. it's a fascinating world in Cape May County, she said ‘Tm really going to love R! "