_opinion_

Jhe Golden Edge A Train Ride To the Shore By DOROTHEA F. COOPER In a recent newspaper article. I read that plentiful coal is again being seriously considered for fueling train engines instead of oil. thereby saving millions of dollars a year < to someone! » What a wealth of memories that stirred ! Those of you who were fortunate to have been born and reared in seashore , cities and towns have probably never known the joys and thrills of a one-day excursion to •'the shore " ( )n a Saturday or Sunday morning, the favorite days, for a one-day each $1.00 round trip ticket <the fare was later raised to $1.25). whole families at the end of a week's sweltering in hot cities could enjoy, enjoy. I. IKK LEMMINGS rushing to the sea. crowds of Philadelphians would pour out of trolley cars or the el < We lived within a few city blocks, so we walked » . down the steep hill of Market Street, cross Delaware Avenue if en route to the Pennsylvania Railroad ticket office, or down the equally steep hill of Chestnut Street for the Reading Railroad tickets, running wildly to the waiting ferryGreat preparations were made the night before — packing sturdy paper bags with bathing suits, hats, shoes, etc.. assorted clothing and cocoa hutter to allay the pains of sunburn. No PH 15 here! Adults and older children of the family toted baskets and bags and sometimes shoe box packed lunches Mothers and fathers looked after infants or small children and took charge of purchasing tickets. Then onto the ferry boat, gently rocking in the giant pilings. aromatic water lapping at its sides, waiting for ferry workers to unleash it from the thick, tarry mooring ropes. As many passengers as possible rushed to the bow to hear it thumping and groaning as the captain backed it out slowly and steered it on its way across the Delaware river to Camden. A MAD. RUNNING crowd then tried to get choice seats , in the long stretch of cars attached to the snorting, puls- ' ing. fire-emitting engine The-uninitiated scrambled and fought for window seats (To their sorrow, they learned later, i After all were seated, conductors gave their piercing toots for the ready and away the engine started, huffing and puffing and gathering steam Those smug ones who had the window seats found that it was an empty triumph. The faster the engine, the sootier the air was. Great granules of black grit rushed through the open windows, sometimes stinging the face and forming dry puddles in the lap. Sad were those who wore while clothing In a very short time, children began their litany of "Howfar is it?." or "Will we be there soon?" The more restless ones ran up and down the aisles There was probably no salmonella contracted among the passengers, as stacks of food were unpacked and consumed before the train was halfway to its destination. Lucullan feasts of peanut butter and jelly, ham. ham and cheese, hard boiled eggs, olives, pickles, cheese, cake and fruit were consumed rapidly, in spite of parents' admonition to save some for the beach When things calmed down a little, enter the candy but chers who walked swiftly through each car. shouting their wares and depositing a candy bar in the lap of every passenger. After they had gone through the entire train, they came back again — for the money Unfortunately for parents, many of their charges had already consumed a great portion of the goodies which had to be paid for. causing protestations and anger p INDIGNATION ALLAYED and greedy chocolatey children properly chastised, after a hundred more Are we there yets" came the final destination Everyone rushed for the exits Then began the barrage (Page 47 Please)

fSSoOTS! BSgsfc'jeBK. Joseph R. Zelnik Editor Bonnie Reina General Manager Gary L. Rudy Advertising Director John Dunwoody Special Promotions Director _ Darrell Kopp Publisher S*o— o<« Co-p 19S6 All »d AH p«op«rty i>gfct, lo' **>• •*•><• com***, ol rti.« gJbWoKe* «AoN b« *• piof»*, <1 Sman Co»p No poo haraol mo, o. r*pro4u<«d " DEADLINES News & Photos. ThursdayAdvertising Friday — 3 P.M. Classified Advertising Friday — 3 P.M. 465-5055 For News or Advertising Information Mail Subscription: Yearly, S40; Six Month, S20 Call 465-5055 For News, Advertising or Subscription Information \onk~ m* aal-n.-r. -- IW p.Ml.fc.r. -I iW MM AID AMI LA>T>J|N ->11 W ra-1—.klr a, lUUr hi aWiafcoMha ouapnala l,p-(Tophnl rftwo. n, km rv. -da— mmo lh- njltvl >.. idM a*, Intra ■" aiurb- —hmdl-l foa I Ope May C»y Edition of the Cape May Conty Herald II num.. ! WW— wUf Bp Xtm 6—WP- Coapo"*— M Vv P.O. te U» Ibv CM ami. N J. wit 0 m I I

Mob Rule in Middle To The Editor: Only twice in my life have I had the misfortune to witness "mob rule." In both cases the subject was Capt. Raymond Saunders of the Middle Township Police Department. On Thursday. Feb. 20. I attend the regular meeting of the township committee. It was pure mob rule! The meeting was stacked with supporters of Saunders, including many outsiders. If they intended to gain support for him, they sure blew their case WITH ALL THE shouted insults and attacks on their integrity. the committee conducted the meeting like the gentlemen they are. All of this only proves that the committee is right in appointing Andrew Vaden as Chief of Police. The sad and amazing part of this unruly display is that these people insulted and reviled one of their own. Think about that! What do they think this intelligent, extremely qualified man doesn't have that Saunders does? Vaden comes highly qualified and is a perfect gentleman, one who desires to serve the entire community. not a chosen few. Congratulations to Mayor Michael J Voll and Committeemen Charles M. Leusner and James E. Alexis, and also to Solicitor Bruce Gorman for his expert advice He also had to listen to a few insults. KATE VAN METER Court House

Lookin' and Listenin' Whaling Gone, m Erosion Stays By DOROTHY D. FREAS Looking at old records, we find that around 1640 the whales began to swim south from their main feeding area near the Massachusetts coast. This, of course, was of great interest to the men who were whalers There was. at that time, some dissatisfaction among the early settlers in that area because church leaders had imposed very strict rules. These were also the early days of witch-hunting in the colony, leading to the death of a Salem woman who was condemned in 1656. THE CHANCE to leave and still make a living from whale oil and whale bone brought families southward. Many women came by boat while the men drove their live-stock over land. Many stayed on Long Island in Sag Harbor and East Hampton, but a group decided to come further south, following the Jersey coast until they reached Delaware Bay. Here the whales were plentiful, so a site was chosen on the bluffs along the day A few homes and a look-out tower were built. Whalers would man this until some "spouting" was seen. This is the expulsion of moist air after a whale has just surfaced. The word then went out. and the men got into their small boats to hunt and catch them. This was a growing industry, for whale oil was used in lamps, soap making and leather dressing. THE CHEWING in the mouth of "whale-bone whales" was done by rows of so-called "plates" up to twelve feet long. These pliable bones were needed for the stiffening in corsets and stays which all women wore in those days. A side use for these bones was the frames of fans carried by the ladies. The tight corsets often causing fainting and it was good when the lady carried a fan, for rapid fanning was often required to revive her The catching of the whale often killed some men. especially if the animal took off in a frenzy after being harpooned. Their little boats sometimes capsized, tossing the men into the water. The use of other oils increased, whaling lowered the number of whales in this area and the industry lost its demand for whale oil Some families returned to the north, to the New England area. Many others turned to fishing, farming or wood-cutting. FIFTY YEARS LATER, the waters had cut away the high dunes of Portsmouth, or Town Bank, and no original buildings remained Some people in the cemetery there had been moved to inland burial places, and the living chose farmland or safer areas. The early town is believed to be underwater, many feet off the shore of Delaware Bay The whaling industry is long gone from Cape May County. but beach erosion is still a problem to be solved. (ED. NOTE Dorothy D Freas writes from Villas).

-The B-Team in Action

The Freeholders Reconsider '

By JOE ZELNIK I I never see any of you at freeholder meetings. I. on the < other hand, spend as much as 2.7 percent of my waking 3 hours there. You could say I miss the "A-Team" while J watching the B-team. I make this sacrifice in the hope that some of you care i about a five-member board with a $44 5-million budget (your money). It also is the county's largest employer, 1 paying $16 million to 1,025 people — and that doesn't in ' elude some agencies it indirectly controls, like the vo-tech and special service schools. Welfare Department, bridge i and mosquito commissions. MUA. etc Letjne'tell you about last week's session I IT BEGAN WITH a handful of Lower Township I Republicans awarding a beautiful plaque to Freeholder Gerald M. Thornton for his performance as director of the ' board in 1985. The presentation was made by GOP Com- ] mitteewoman Ruth Hart, which seemed only fair since 1 Thornton gave her a certificate at the Dec. 10 freeholder meeting in honor of her achievements as "a dedicated community person" and with the Daughters of America. "Thanks, gang," Thorton said to six Lower Township i Republicans, two of whom hold county jobs: Veterans : Bureau Director John M. Moran and Election Board i Registrar Samuel M. Stubbs Minutes later. Thornton would attack the | "parochialism" of Freeholder James S. Kilpatrick Jr. for fighting to get an MUA appointment for a backer from his | own home town of Ocean City. NEXT ON THE AGENDA was the question of renting j space in the Crest Haven Nursing Home, once it is replac- i ed, to Burdette Tomlin for an alcoholism treatment center. i Thornton, in favor, was being opposed by Freeholder i William E. Sturm Jr.. who three times called it "foolhardy" (but eventually lost, 3-D. 1 Among Thornton's arguments: "This won't cost the ; county anything: this is privatization." I "Privatization" is a big word in Reagan circles: it i f means government spinning off nonessential assets and functions to private industry.

Thornton, of course, practically singlehandedly took Historic Cold Spring Village out of the private tourism industry and brought it into county government where it last year was budgeted at least $132,000. (This year's figure is just under $150,000) BUT THE MOST controversial question of the evening the appointment of two MUA board members Promotion of alternate George Betts, committeeman in Township, which doesn't use the MUA's sewage system, sailed through unopposed. But a weeks-old dispute continued over whether to ignore the other alternate. Thornton-supported Robert Manifold of Cape May. and name Kilpatrick-supported Riley, five-year resident of Ocean City who said he offered "a new pair of eyes." THORNTON MADE a passionate speech about "political intimidation" from Ocean City Republicans and released a letter Ocean City GOP leader John had written each freeholder, urging them to "reconsider." Why "reconsider?" Because at a public meeting five days earlier, in response to media criticism that the board makes its decisions behind closed doors. Sturm made a big point of asking each freeholder how he felt. Kilpatrick pushed for Riley. Thornton advocated Manifold, and then the other three spoke: STURM: "I SUGGEST we proceed on Tuesday to appoint the two existing alternates as voting members." Herbert Frederick said he favored "moving the two alternates into permanent positions, as Mr. Sturm recom mended." Riley, he said, should be named alternate and "would inevitably become a member in just a matter of time. There's no reason we have to have an Ocean City representative immediately." Ralph Evans: "I cannot not go with the alternates. We're not snubbing Ocean City, but we shouldn't step over an alternate." Five days later. Evans was away on a Florida vacation and Sturm and Frederick reversed themselves, voting for Riley. He was appointed, 3-1. So much for decision-making in public.