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Vol. 20 No. 37 1 9U September 1 2, 19S4

News--^ Digest 5L Hearing Today COURT HOUSE - Middle Towrahip officials will solicit public comment at a 4 p.m. bearing today regarding an application for up to $125,000 in Small Cities Community Development funds from the state Department of Community Affairs. A proposed storm drainage project for Whites boro will be explained during the hearing in Township Hall. Look Away, Look Away TUCKAHOE — Sparked by rumors that the state Department of Corrections is still considering Upper Township as the new site for a juvenile detention center, township committee is urging the agency to forget the municipality. The department dropped plans for moving ' juvenile offenders from Estell Manor to the Marine Science Consortium, Route 9, Seaville, last month. But Mayor Daniel Beyel told the committee last week that be beard the department has more recently been eyeing a site near the township- Estell Manor border. Assemblyman Guy F. Muziani has said another location in Belleplain has been considered H2(hced WEST CAPE MAY - Mayor John Vasaar said last week that this borough may be forced to form a public water company to finance repair of local water lines and bill customers for the work. His announcement came in the wake of a state Board of Public Utilities decision (Page 53 Please)

Dorit Word

CHEWY? - Bob Mullock, president of the Cape May Chamber of Commerce and chairman of last weekend's secood annual Seafood Festival, serves fried squid to Irene Skulsky of Wildwood Crest and her daughter, Taisa, 7.

Sea Isle 'Hospital' v Will Be Demolished

By E. J. DUFFY SEA ISLE CITY — As landmarks go, it's neither imposing or impressive. It's just a rambling, white, one-story building between 58th and 59th streets on Landis Avenue. It won't cause anywhere near the dust or rubble that the Traymore or other Atlantic City hotels did when they fell to the wrecking ball as sites for casino hotels. Some of them were world-reknown; their demolitions commanded national TV coverage. The old Mercy Hospital would be 40 years old this decade. It's not as wellknown as The Flanders Hotel in Ocean City, the old county court house, or Congress Hall in Cape May. But, when the building is torn down next week, Sea Isle will kse part of its past and the birthplace of local children. FOR THE PAST SEVERAL weeks, Sister Mary Agnes has been supervising the sale or donation of its contents. Though the building hasn't functioned as a hospital since 1969, many of its furnishings preserved that character even after The Sisters of Mercy converted it to a retreat bouse and summer vacation home for their order. A new commnity home is planned for the site. Some of the white-coated maple furniture from the lobby went (p^-a resort family whose youngster cried nben told the building was coming down. His first visit inside was during the sale. He liked the place; Sister Mary Agnes, the nun in charge, showed him the chapel where an oak altar, cut-glass lighting fixtures and the brass crucifix in a niche of the blue wall were all that remained to be moved elsewhere in the last days of August. It was the end of the tourist season and an unseasonably chill wind blew gray clouds over the hospital. Gusts through

jitility cables whistled mournfully as the nuns finished up dinner dishes in a vintage kitchen. As they chatted cheerfully, Father Francis Duffy, dressed in a brown ball cap, tee shirt and dark trousers, moved quietly along the gray- and black-tiled corridors, collecting ma tresses and wardrobes tagged for 53rd Street at the Boardwalk. A resort woman arrived wjth her baby to pick up something she bought during the closing sale. DOZENS OF MATTRESSES were stacked in the south wing as Sister Mary Agnes, in casual clothes, passed through the graytiled operating and emergency rooms, the institutional green wards, maternity rooms and offices Most of the furnishings and fixtures were "used" when the nuns from Pennsylvania took over the hospital in May 1953, she said. They will find new homes now except, perhaps, for some heavy brown hospital beds that potential buyers seem to find cumbersome. A handsome vestment cabinet, she noted, will go to an eager priest from an impoverished Vineland parish. The safe light in the x-ray room still worts, she assured. Beneath it, a small chalkboard marks when the developing Boiu&n was last "Changed: 08/68." It was then that the Sisters' superior general in Merion, Pa., announced that the hospital would close the following November and serve thereafter as the nun's vacation home and retreat bouse. State officials had told the nuns that the building did not conform to hospital standards and the superior general apparently decided that the facility could not be altered or expanded. Sister Mary Agnes observed. Bishop George H. Guilfoyle, pastor of (Page 53 Please)

Charity's Summer Drive in Low Gear A ' By JOE ZELN'IK

In mid-June, the county United Wsy held a luncheon at Urie's Reef 'n Beef in Wildwood to kick off its "first genuinely organized summer drive to solicit funds." Targeting an estimated 15,000 resort businesses believed to gross a billion dollars from summer tourists, campaign chairman Thomas Byrne said there would be three mailings — in June, July and August. uyrue saiu mere wuuiu ue uirw uu piiiiii^H — ui oufic, o ui« auu nuguoi .

They would go, be said, to a mailing list of 10,000 firms. . And, pressed to set a goal, he said be hoped to net $15,000. THE MAILING LIST turned out to total about 1,500. The mailing announced for the week of June 25 actually went out the second week in August. The three mailings have been reduced to two. The second, and last, is scheduled to go into the mail this week. It will have maybe 2,000 names. The first got responses from 25 people and totaled about

$2,500. Byrne is still hopeful ' "I have a feeling we'll get a good response from this second mailing," be said. He paused. "I may be overly optimistic," he added. WHAT WENT WRONG? Ibe "campaign" was basically a twoperson operation: Byrne, an owner of J. Byrne Insurance Co. of Wildwood, and Virginia Budd, full-time paid director of the county Social Services' First Call for Help. She manages the United Way from ber Cape May home, part time, with no staff. "I'm searching for a volunteer willing to donate some time with secretarial backup," said Budd. The mailing list was to have been compiled from Chamber of Commerce memberships and from municipal mercantile license lists. "IT TURNED OUT." said Budd, "that some (towns) don't have licenses. Some will only make the names available if you come and copy them, and some didn't choose to supply them. "Even though they are public domain." she said, "some said nothing says they were willing to have their name made (Page 20 Please)

July: Bad Business CREST HAVEN — The county Chamber of Commerce has some bad news and some not-so-bad news.

It reports July was a "bad tourist month" compared to July of 1983. On the other hand, July of 1983 was believed to be "the best year ever," according to Robert C. Patterson Jr., executive director. Statistics for August haven't been compiled yet, but Patterson said it "turned things around for most areas and business THE CHAMBER REPORTED these statistics in support of the "had month" conclusion: The Ocean Drive bridges connecting the comity's island resorts had 85,500 lea cars than a year ago. Of that total, 35,000 were in the middle tborofare bridges connecting Ocean Drive, from Cape May to Wildwood Crest. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry reported passenger traffic down 9,424, which is 4.7 percent, and vehicles down 3,542, which is 6.1 percent. Traffic at the Garden State Parkway Great Egg Toll Plaza connecting Cape May and Atlantic counties was down 53,400 vehicles, or 3.7 percent The Cape May toll plaza at milepost No^ 20 was down 59,048 vehicles, or 4.3 percent THE CHAMBER REPORT added that M) - (Page 53 Please)

W'NC? WJVAT€R reSTIVAL * •

' ) . ' " ' J '' Sodium Pattern Persists

CREST HAVEN — The pattern of high sodium (salt) levels in the drinking water in Cape May, Stone Harbor and Avalon continued in results released by the county Health Department this week. But there also were isolated instances of high sodium in Wildwood, apparently the result of the borough drawing from different wells in a different aquifer to satisfy demand during the tourist season. The samples were taken July 26. Wildwood had well readings of 67.7 and 96.3 mg/1 (milligrams per liter) and a reading of 50.3 from the faucet at a private residence. But another dozen municipal wells tested satisfactorily The state-recommended maximum for persons on salt-restricted diets is 50 mg/1, and the federal recommendation is 20 mg/l.

- CAPE MAY'S sodium count was the higest, as usual. It had well readings of 31.8, 63.1 and 1062 and private residence readings of 50.5, 53, 54.6 and 56.6. Cape May has been negotiating privately either for a new well site or purchase of water from a Mainland supplier for some time. The well with the highest reading reportedly hasn't been used in years. A Cape May Point residence tested at 66.5. It gets its water from Cape May. And two wells at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May tested at 52.2 and 52.7. Stone Harbor's wells tested at 41.1, 52, 54.1 and 61.6. And its private residences tested at 48.4, 56.7, 57.1 and 59.7. the second-highest number coming from the home of Mayor Arden Hand. Only one of Avakm's four wells tested high, with a 57.3. The other three had rMftinoi ri *7 t AO O inH AC ft itwt Uir 32.7, 40.9 482. And its four

private residences sampled had readings of 31 J. 40.4, 42.7 and 44.7. The Health Department has been testing water in Avalon and Stone Harbor for sodium bimonthly since August of 1983, and added the rest of the county and went monthly in February. The results are given to each municipali- ( Page 20 Please)