_

r After Tourism And Fishing,

The Coast Guard’s #1

And some believe the nation's intercepting a boat laden with Engineering Division, who recent^11 . _• c marijuana? ly won a $1,000 Special AchieveUldeSt beagomg bervice means Indirectly, the Coast Guard ment Award for his abilities. A mr\ra fl-io r-m .nfii'c presence is probably most often 20-year employee with the Guard, mure iridn ine couniy S noticed on the bumpers of motor Mr. Eatroff personifies the numhpr thr'pp inrlitcfrv vehicles. It’s virtually impossible Guard's impact on the community iuci u trc iuu^u y to travel anywhere on the Jersey in other than'economic terms.

Cape without seeing one or more Eatroff serves as chairman of the

by John Andrus The annual food budget at the of the four different stickers signi- Lower Township Planning Board. Picture a totem pole. At the top center serves as a good example fying accessibility to the Traiiting Other public' service is exare some people with funny hats of hdW the military impacts the Cneter. The Coast Guard decals, emplified by both of the former 1 and smiles on their faces. They’re area’s civilian business communi- bearing the service’s familiar in-j TRACEN commanding officers standing on a big fish. The fish in ty. In serving upwards of 900,000 signia and diagonal stripe, are who have made Cape May their turn is on the shoulder of a Coast meals a year at the center, the available to all persons in the home upon retirement from the Guardsman, perhaps standing in Coast Guard spends about 75 per military on active duty, their military: Adm. John L. Steinmetz a 44 ft. patrol boat. cent of its food budget on local dependents, civilian employees of and Cpt. Charles Hathaway. Now That’s a pretty good graphic purchases from such widely the Guard, and retired military as a civilian, Mr. Hathaway is a representation of the impact the known suppliers as Menz, i ’ '

U.S. Coast Guard has on the Seashore, Maggie’s, Axelsson & „• ■ '

Jersey Cape. The Guard is con- Johnson, Siegel’s and Abbotts

sidered the county’s third biggest Dairies. ' "industry,” after fishing and THE TRAINING CENTER is t f \. ■

tourism. undoubtedly the best known Coast Ww I

The actual numbers are dif- Guard facility locally — thru its

ficult to come by, except for the weekly graduation exercises v s'*

Coast Guard (which, like any (each Friday afternoon), Train- ' r

military organization, keeps plen- ing Center Band and Color Guard,

ty of records). For instance, Don which appear in numerous ■ Kelly, (head of the county's parades and other public func- M _ ,-^H

Econom^Development Commis- tions throughout the year, sion, notes that the state doesn’t But there's much more to the have a breakdown by county of Coast Guard than the Recruit state Sales Tax receipts. That Training Center. In fact, the makes it difficult to tell just how Guards’ presence is difficult not much is taken in at the Jersey to notice just about anywhere in Shore over the course of a sum- Cape May County — tho it’s, of mer. However, the County Plann- course, most prevalent in the

ing Board estimated,^ COnser- Greater Cape May-Lower THE NEW CHAPEL is among thr construction project* currrntl.Y underway at thr Const vatively, that during the Township area. Guard facility under the latrst mulli-milllon dollar building program.

mid-1970s the resort economy All the aids to navigation, from

here produced upwards of $300 light ships to inland buoys, are the personnel. The different color member of the Cape May County m iHion. responsibility of Aids to Naviga- tabs on the decals signify Enlisted Municipal Utilities Authority. Mr. SIMILARLY OLD STATISTICS tion Team, which is part of Coast (red); Officer (blue); Civilian Steinmetz is former chairman of placed the value of fisheries pro- Guard Group Cape May, head- (green); and Retired, either the Cape May City Shade Tree ducts sold in-county at over $5 quartered aboard the training enlisted or officer (white). Commission and member of the million in 1970. The value of center property but not part of the Decal-holders (other than Mayor's Advisory Committee for

agriculture products sold in- centerinany way (except that the civilians who aren’t eligible) may Civic Improvement,

county in the mid-70s was center serves as the landlord). be entering the base for non- (Of the 17 men who have served estimated at over $2 million. The cutter Point Franklin, the emergency medical treatment at as center CD’s, the first four are Farmers weren’t represented on cutter Hornbeam, the Air Station, the modern dispensary or to go to deceased. According to our Impact Totem Pole: if they and Coast Guard Station Cape the Training Center Exchange Steinmetz, who was the fifth CO, were, they’d probably be on the May — which oversees the second (which includes grocery and the sixth CO, Adm. William same level, or perhaps just below busiest search and rescue mission retail stores), package goods Shields, left the Cape May center that of county government in the world flows here — are store, snack bar, gas station, to go on to become a vice admiral workers (or others in the govern- other tenants aboard TRACEN laundry, barber shop, and and assistant commodant of the

ment employ, such as teachers). (as the training center is know in tailor/cobbler shop. Savings at Coast Guard.) s

According to the most up to date its military acronym). the exchange are said to be about MRS. STEINMETZ HASTENS statistics from the Coast Guard, WHAT RESIDENT OR 15 per cent. to add the contribution many the annual military and civilian TOURIST hasn’t seen the THE'EXCHANGE AND THE Coast Guard wives have made to payroll at the Coast Guard Train- lighthouse at Cape May Point other Non-Appropriated Fund their adopted community — blood ing Center is $18 million, with an (maintained by the Aids to Branch (ie., non-tax dollars) drives, library service, school operating expense budget of some Navigation Team) ...or seen one facilities are staffed by civilian board, the Crest Haven nursing

$4 million, and a food budget alone of the Air Station’s helicopters employees. There are about 25 home.

of $1 million. More than $7 million underway to an offshore mission such employees aboard the And Wister Dougherty, a native

worth of new construction is cur- or helping a local police authority center, and some 40 other civilian i Page 4 Please > rently under contract or under bid search for a missing child ... or employees who work directly for

at the training center. witnessed a broken down fishing the Coast Guard. on i he cover ■ craft being towed to port... or ac- One is Lionel Eatroff of Lower Ah aerial view o/the main John Andrus Is editor of the tually been rescued by the Coast Township, supervisory general part of TRACEN, taken Cape May County HERALD and Guard ... or read about the Guard engineer at the center’s Facilities recently by Coast Guard

Lower Township LANTERN. ' sman Tom Heflick.

_ Training Center Commanding Officers y Cpt. William Austerman 1948-1950 Cpt. Miles H. Imlay ’ 1950-1952 Cpt. John Tiebes 1952-1954 Cpt. T.Y. Await 1954-1956 RAdm. John L. Steinmetz 1956-1960

£ RAdm. William D. Shields 1960-1962

1 P Cpt. G.l. Lynch 1962-1963 If Cpt. O. C. B. Wev . . . 1963-1964 I it

Cpt. lames C. Walters 1964-1964 Cpt, F.J.Statts 1964-1966 Cpt. R.M. West „ 1966-1969 Cpt. B.R. Henry 1969-1971 Cpt. R.A. Schulz 1971-1973 Cpt. A.B. How 1973-1976 Cpt. C.B. Hathaway 1976-1978 Cpt. Leo V. Donohoe 1978-1980 Cpt. |.R. Kelly 1980Over the past three decades, one or more of these seventeen men has been known as "CO" by countless Servicemen and women living on the Jersey Cape. Many retired

CoastGuardsmennow calling Cape May County home can easily relate to these military Dracant m The First CO iwim. ' ne