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‘Grumpy Claus’ makes author happy
Mayor set for second term
Scorer of the century
By Joe Emanski
New children’s book has holiday theme By Thomas KeLLy
After 25 years in the classroom, retirement brought another avenue and mission in getting youngsters to read for educator Tracy Conti Potash. Just in time for the holiday season the third book from the Hamilton author has been released. The children’s book is titled Grumpy Claus and is intended for readers ages 4 to 10. Potash retired from teaching in 2022 and pressed ahead with another passion: writing books for children. For 25 years, Potash taught reading skills within the Hopewell Valley school system. “I started as a classroom teacher, but finished as a reading specialist, in the elementary and middle schools,” she says. “It was so rewarding, but also kept me up at night worrying about See GRuMPy, Page 18
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The Pennington School’s girls’ soccer team celebrate 100 career goals for Hamilton’s Morgan Kotch (holding sign) on Oct. 19, 2023. Story, page 26. (Photo by Jim Inverso.)
Christmas tree farms: a tradition born in Hamilton? By Sue Ferrara
Last year, during the holiday season, a reporter called the Hamilton Township School District, the municipal offices, and the Hamilton Township Public Library with two questions: was McGalliard Elementary school named after William McGalliard? Did William McGalliard start the first Christmas Tree
farm in America? The questions kicked off an historical scavenger hunt. In the end, the answer to both questions was: Yes and Yes. A bronze plaque adorns the entry to McGalliard Elementary school; it easily answered the first question. McGalliard School, on Arena Drive, is named after two McGalliard brothers—William and Edward.
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Edward McGalliard, the younger brother, lived on South Broad Street, and served on the Hamilton Township School Board for 12 years. Born in 1861, Edward died in 1940, at the age of 79, and is buried in Ewing Cemetery. William, the elder brother, was born in 1857 and lived on White Horse Ave. He died See CHRISTMAS, Page 10
Mayor Jeff Martin won a second term as mayor of Hamilton by a decisive margin in November. An unofficial tally as of Nov. 20 had the Democrat with 12,784 votes, a margin of 3,492 votes over Republican challenger Marty Flynn, who received 9,292 votes. The 58-42 margin is generally considered landslide territory, but Martin told the Hamilton Post that he will be anything but complacent come January and the start of his second term. “My message to my staff when I have my first cabinet meeting will be that (the result) means that what we’ve done over the past four years resonated, was appreciated, but we get right back to work with the same mindset, the same humbleness, the same commitment right away,” he said. “That’s what we’ve tried to do: put people before politics. When you call or email come in with a project, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, it See MARTIN, Page 12
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