4 Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 16 April '86

M'Ellen and Jerry Leaving the Island ^

By GREGG LAWSON STONE HARBOR - Read the Seven Mile Beach column today very carefully, it's correspondent M'Ellen < MaryEllen) Rowland's last effort for this newspaper Rowland and her hus- ' band. Jerry, will be leaving Stone Harbor for the Homestead Retirement/ Village in Columbus at the end of May. Her replacement. Skip Gladue. will take over the column beginning next Wednesday i see related story ». Rowland has written her popular column for the past six years, after asking former editor John Andrus II for a job. •I TOLD HIM. I don't know how to write and I don't know how to type, but I'm willing to try," " Rowland said. "He told me there was >a meeting in Avalon and said probably only four people will show up." When she went, however, the meeting hall was overflowing with people. "I told him (Andrus > he must have taught his kids to swim by tossing them in the North Atlantic." Rowland said. "They were passing a $3-million bond ordinance and a dog ordinance. "It turned out all the people weren't interested in the bond ordinance, they came for the one about the dogs." she added. ANDRUS. IMPRESSED by her first effort and a short story she had publish-

ed in Maryland Waterways. Aweigh we Go." offered her a job as either a reporter or a columnist. "I told him 'I could never be a columnist.' but he said i think you can do it.' " she said. "So I took a shot at it and I liked it." Although she never wrote professionally. Rowland did hold several newsrelated jobs over the years. After graduating from the Agnes Irwin School in Philadelphia in 1938 and working at Children's Hospital and Wanamaker's there, she got a job as a news analyst in the Pentagon during World War II. THE FORMER MaryEllen Deacon, in 1941 married Richard Clement, who was stationed in Washington. D.C. during the conflict. To avoid boredom. Rowland toiled in the Secretary of War's office. "I read about 12 of the top papers in the country and picked out stories about the army or the war." Rowland said. "I prepared a daily bulletin of clips for the Chief of Army Ground Forces (Gen Joseph Stilwell) and alerted him to any trend in news reporting, any criticism of his particular branch.of the army " She had three workers under her; together, they read 50-80 papers daily, she said. She cites "running messages between the radio room and Gen. George Marshall's office in the Pentagon the night we invaded Normandy and

Seven Mile Beach ^ M'Ellen Rowland ^ 368-2294

Avalon/Stone Harbor Lions are co-sponsoring a golf tournament with Wildwood Country Club on the latter's links April 25. according to Jim lludanich. It'll get off to a shotgun start at 12:30. Proceeds will go to Burdette Tomlin Hospital and the Helen Diller Vacation Home for the blind. Price of a reservation includes: greens fees, carts, door prizes, snacks and hors d'oevres. a one-hour open bar and 11 trophies! Tickets may be picked up at Hudanich Realty, 24th and Dune Drive THE CAPE MAY Branch of the American Association of University Women will hold its annual benefit and fashion show noon Saturday. April 26 at the 1 Whitebrier Inn, Avalon. Proceeds support AAUW Educational-Foundations program. Branch members are elated this year because the program has established a new mature woman's scholarship to be awarded to a local woman who wishes to resume her education. The amount awarded may be used to defray related expenses like books, transportation, etc. PRINCIPAL speaker will be Diane Lennon. an Atlantic County resident who received a projects grant for selected study. The public is invited to this get-chic gathering, so

reservations are required They may be obtained from Gayle Daniel ( 368-5790* or Debbie Dobson ( 886-6538' Member models will be wearing outfits from Cross Country; the younger set will be dressed by Rattles to Ribbons on the wharf St. Mary's Episcopal Churchwomen of Stone Harbor will stage its seasonal bazaar-luncheon 10 a.m. -3 p.m. Saturday, April 26. in the Parish House at 95th and Third Ave. Light luncheon will be prepared under direction of Mary Basford (prexy). Addie Young. Thelma Yeager and Lu Haarde. AVALON GARDEN Club is planning a bus trip to Philadelphia's bustling Italian M^ket, lunch on your own of its charming adjacent restaurants and a following tour of celebrated Bartram Gardens. It leaves Community Hall 8 a.m., Wednesday, April 30. Jane Reddie is taking reservations at 967-4305. Charles Sanches of Avalon tells us the Annual Senior Jamboree sponsored by the County Department of Aging, County Freeholders and the Senior Citizens Coordinating Cbuncil will be held in Avalon's Community Hall, 30th and Avalon Avenue, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, May 8. These (Page 28 Please)

hearing gunfire on the radio" as one of the most exciting moments of her life. AFTER THE WAR. she worked as a Gray Lady purses aide) at Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia for more than 10 years and was leader of the Ecumenical Committee of St. Mary's Episcopal church there. She and Richard had two children, Richard Jr.. 40. a Spanish teacher, and Maris. 36, a stage actress, who once appeared in the play "Twentieth Century" with Rock Hudson and Inv agene Coca. Maris also appeared in a New York City Opera. Seeing her daughter on stage in the opera, Rowland said, "was the biggest thrill of my life." M'Ellen and Richard divorced in 1961. and she took her second newsrelated job. as proofreader for the Main Line Times. She was hired, she said, on the basis of a letter to the editor she wrote five years previously. "I ALMOST KILLED someone. almost ran them over, while driving down Shortridge Drive in Wynnewood and a baseball broke a window of my car." she said. "I rushed a petition and got the park there banned for baseball playing "The editor wrote a nice editorial about me and called the letter "the quintessence of an editorial.' " she said. "He wrote. "I hope Mary E. Clement never wants my job' and things like that " After her divorce she met an old friend. Jerry Rowland, and they began dating They married in 1961 «and celebrated their 25th anniversary last summer Rowland left the Times to become head of the pro ofreading department for the Philadelphia law firm of Schnadar. Harrison, Segal and Lewis and then became executive secretary of the Philadelphia branch of the English Speaking Union SHE TRAVELED nation wide and to London in that capacity and got a chance to shake hands with one of her heroes. Lord Louis Montbatten She also organized a reception for Princess Margaret, at the Barclay hotel in Philadelphia, which drew a mob of Irish Republican Army protestors "The most horrible moment of my life, without question, was when I had 300 people from all over the country booked for the Bellevue Stratford the day after if (unexpectedly) closed," she said In 1980 the Rowlands moved to Stone Harbor Jerry, a retired Blue Cross representative, worked for Seashore Home Supply and was president of the Stone Harbor Seniors, a group M'Ellen also belonged to. He is a former Commodore of the Northeast River I Yacht Club. The move to Columbus. M'Ellen said, will bring her in touch with her ancestry. I 'COLUMBUS IS WHERE my family ! originally settled around 1650 or so," she said. "So i I'm going back to the elephants' graveyard." i Her new neighborhood, she said, offers plenty of

opportunities for fun and recreation: a country club, ^ gym. swimming pools, billiards, and frequent bus trips to Philadelphia. NewYork and Trenton for cultural events. And. she said, two of the couple's closest friends bought a house nearby. Although excited about her new home. Rowland said she will miss the area "I deeply regret leaving the people." she said. "We've met wonderful people, dear friends, down here. "And, of course. I'll miss my job." she added. "It's been my life for six years." Although she isn't sure if she'll try to write for a newspaper there, she said she may attempt to write a book. And. she said, there will be frequent visits to this county to see her friends. "We've already planned our first visit." she said.

SB3 ■21 M'Ellen Rowland, left, and "Skip" Gladue Dor" Ward

'Skip' Gladue to Cover Seven Mile Beach

By GREGG LAWSON STONE HARBOR - Gertrude (Skip) Gladue. a former public relations officer. will be joining this newspaper as our Seven Mile Beach correspondent beginning next Wednesday. April 24 She replaces M'Ellen Rowland, who is moving to CoJumbus. N.J. (see related story). "Skip is the name I write under professionally." Gladue said "I started out writing a bowling column ' for ' Limelight." a General Electric Co. monthly magazine) and I thought a bowling column with the by-line of Gertrude wouldn't go over very well " A NATIVE OF Utica, N Y. she earned a bachelor of science degree in public relations at Utica College of Syracuse University in 1953 Before graduation, she landed a job with a public relations firm in Utica as a secretary and then publicity aid. She left in 1958 to work for General Electric There she edited "LimeHgifH" and wrote a daily news sheet for employes that was sent out each noon She also met her husband. Jerry who she married in 1958 "I got my engagement ring when I was in a •teletype cabinet writing a story," she said AFTER SOME TIME OFF to raise six children. Gladue began freelance work She was press secretary for the LUBO Opera company, a North Jersey troupe that provided opportunities for • American singers, public relations advisor for the American Chemical Society and for "too many (others) to mention. "One of the things you learn when you're involved with the media is that peoi pie will come to you and ask how they should apI proach newspapers and get > publicity," she said » As a reporter for "The Beacon,"" in the Diocese of Paterson, she wrote news f and feature articles, the

Diocese' annual report, and an in-depth study of the organizations under the Diocese. Recently published was a March cover story on Antioch. a weekend get away for teenagers and young adults. Her freelance articles also have appeared in many newspapers, including the Newark StarLedger and the Mornstown Daily Record ALSO RECENTLY published was an article in the premier (March/ April) issue of "A Positive Approach," the magazine for the physically challenged (handicapped) It focused on CILAH ( the Center for Independent Living: Aging/Handicap^ ped) on the campus of Saint Elizabeth A member of the New Jersey Press Women < NJPW ) , Gladue won three first place awards for publicity releases in annual communications contests among her peers She has chaired the NJPW's statewide High School Press Contest for the last three years She designed announcements and invitations, recruited judges, received and logged entries, sent news releases on the contest and wrote invitations for the winners BEFORE MOVING here from Madison, N.J., she was College Information Officer for nearly six years at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station, N.J. There she wrote all the news and features for local, state and national advertising and wrote and edited a bi-weekly internal newsletter. She also served as advisor for special events, such as the college's 80th and 85th anniversary. "I look at this column as being similar to the inhouse publication I did, The Mortarboard,' for the college," Gladue said. "This column will kind of parallel that." Locally, she is a member of the Stone Harbor Garden Club and St. Paul's Church. A eucharistic minister, she was the first woman

elected president of her Parish Council in Madison in the early 1970s. GLADUE WRITES on a home computer with word processing capability, and has been busy programming it for her new job. "I went down to borough *hall this morning and copied the dates of all the meetings," she said. "And I have a list of all the people on the different councils and boards "I'm setting that up and putting it into my computer." The Gladues became year-round residents of Stone Harbor in July, after being summer residents for 25 years. Skip said she met some friends and sources while summering here, but "nowhere near as many as we met this past year." After their first winter, the Gladues are already preparing to sell their condominium in Smithvilie. N.J "We're selling the condominium because it's so nice down here in the winter." she said. "We think it is, anyway " GLADUE SEEMS to be looking forward to her new assignment as a columnist "It'll take a while to get things set up — the procedures," she said. "But once it's set up I think it will be enjoyable. "It will be a big job filling (Rowland's) shoes," she added "She is very wellliked down here." The Gladues' six children include: Marie. 25. an employment counselor in Pleasantville; Peter. 25, a coordinator of student activities at Seton College, Yonkers, N.Y.; Paul. 22. who will work at Pier 96 in Stone Harbor this summer , Ann, 23, in California, who qualified for the Olympic trails in the marathon before being forced out by injury; James. 20, a communications film major at Ithaca College, N.Y., and Tom, 18, a management major at Northeastern University who writes movie reviews for the Northeastern News.