OLDBRIDGE ALL AROUND
VOL 9, NO 9
DET. PATRICK D’ONOFRIO RECIPIENT OF W. CARY EDWARDS VOLUNTEER AWARD
A Publication for the community of Old Bridge
LAST FEW WEEKS TO DONATE TO TOYS FOR TOTS Now, we are in our Holiday season again, All Around Old Bridge, Old Bridge Chamber of Commerce and Old Bridge Business Alliance wants to give back to our most prized community members, our children, this season with a goal of 2,500 toys to donate, we can reach that goal this year with your help. Just think the smiles we will bring to the children this year. Each year, the residents and businesses of Old Bridge support those in need around the holidays
by participating in our Annual Giving Event “Toys for Tots”, we will begin collecting donations through December 14h to help provide the much-needed joy the children deserve for the holidays. Over the last few years, we have collected 7,000 toys and watched as residents both from and outside Old Bridge lent a helping- hand. With a donation from each of our businesses and residents, we can help provide toys for many children this holiday season, together we can make a difference.
To make your donation, you can drop off a toy at any drop off locations, page 7, or you can scan the QR code to donate and a toy will be purchased.
LOCAL FARMER, MIDGER HAUSER HONORED The Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse has selected Old Bridge Police Detective Patrick D’Onofrio to be the recipient of the W. Cary Edwards State Volunteer of the Year Award for 2023. It was Cary Edwards’ vision to create a network of community-based efforts to address alcoholism and drug abuse, the Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Program. His vision for New Jersey has been replicated throughout the United States and resulted in over 320 Municipal Alliances being currently active in the State, the largest network of anti-drug coalitions in the country. Detective D’Onofrio was honored by the Governor’s Continue on page 22
Midge and John Hauser
Midge with Chair of Womens committee Danielle Wainwright (R) and 1st vice Rachel Sickler(L)
Carolyn “Midge” Hauser of Hauser Hill Farm in Middlesex County is our 2023 New Jersey Farm Bureau Woman of the Year. Midge graduated from Susquehanna University in 1990 with a BA in Spanish and lived and studied in Segovia, Spain. After graduation, she worked for the Manhattan DA’s office in the Witness Aid Services Unit and the Special Projects Bureau, where she used her knowledge of Spanish to translate for victims of crimes. When she left the DA’s office, she decided to teach. She finished her degree in education and later earned a master’s degree from Marygrove College. She has been teaching for 26 years and presently teaches Spanish at Old Bridge High School to 9th grade students. “Teaching has afford-
ed me the opportunity to have summers off to focus on the farm and all the work that needs to b e d on e ,” M i d ge s ay s . Midge and her husband, John, met on a blind date in 2000 and married later that same year. She says, “everything moved very quickly because it didn’t take long for me to figure out that John was one of the absolute best human beings I’d ever met.” This union was her introduction to farm life, which she has taken with incredible stride. Midge has served as President and Secretary of the Middlesex County Board of Agriculture and was named the 2019 Middlesex County Farmer of the Year. Midge has been described as a woman who will do a lot of the behind the scenes work Continue on page 20
DECEMBER 2023