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Vol. 2 – No. 48
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July 28, 2018 – August 4, 2018
Newest Queen of Burlco Farm Fair Greeted by First One from 70 Years Ago
By Dominick Staff Writer
Cella
SPRINGFIELD—It’s been a full seven decades between the time that Peggy Borden LeJamber of Cookstown stepped down as the first official Burlington County Farm Fair queen in 1948 and the new one, Danielle Klaus of Burlington Township, assumed her title the night of July 18. But LeJamber, who was anointed “queen” half a dozen years before the coronation of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, is still very much around at 86. She was on hand for the crowning of the new 16-year-old fair monarch due to the efforts of outgoing queen Jamie Specca. According to Farm Fair Manager Rosemary Kay, Specca contacted as many former queens as possible as part of a “flashback” event to honor the previous winners. Specca managed to get 23 former queens to show up, including LeJamber, who was chosen during the fair’s second year when the Farm Fair was incorperated. “I remember when the farm fair stage consisted of two wagons next to each other,” said LeJamber, who like the others in attendance, revealed what year she had won and her favorite memory of her “reign.” Klaus, who Kay noted has aspired to be Farm Fair queen ever since she was a child, will now be representing the Farm Fair at parades and state events, and will be encouraged to speak at schools to educate students on agriculture. “She has a beautiful personality, takes her goals seriously and I am really looking forward to working with her,” Kay said. The new queen emphasized how big an impact the fair has on members of the public in terms of giving them a better understanding of local agriculture and exposing people to new things. “It’s an amazing experience for the attendees,” Klaus said. “It’s about making memories, not just agriculture.” Matching the memories made by her predecessor may prove a challenge, however. Specca was described by Kay as “a shining star for the Farm Fair who has such a bubbly and enthusiastic personality.” Besides working on her family’s Bordentown farm, Specca is the current New Jersey Future Farmers of America vice president and was named first runner-up for state Agricultural Fair ambassador. “It’s a little bittersweet to hand off the crown,” Specca said. “This past year has been filled with opportunities, from being in Burlington County parades to serving as an ambassador of the Farm Fair. It’s been a pleasure, but it’s time to allow someone else to experience it.”
Photo By Indian Mills Volunteer Fire
Uprooted
A 30-inch diameter, 100-foot-high oak tree ravaged a home early Sunday morning in Shamong Township.
Shamong Family Displaced after 100-Foot Oak Tree Topples onto Home During Unusual July Nor’easter
By Douglas D. Melegari Staff Writer
SHAMONG—High winds, part of an unusual July Nor’easter, toppled a tree this past Sunday in Shamong Township, ravaging a two-story home that held a family of three. The family, now homeless, has been put up in a motel with the American Red Cross providing assistance as needed. Additionally, the Nor’easter left thousands of residences in the dark at a time when one utility company, still recuperating from storms earlier this year, has announced a major plan to improve electric reliability. The coastal storm’s periphery moved into the Pine Barrens last Saturday just after 3 p.m. Intermittent showers transitioned to a steadier, heavier rain
by evening as the center of the storm approached the area. Around 11 p.m., the storm ramped up significantly with widespread wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph recorded. Just over an hour later, a weather station in Tuckerton measured a gust of 58 mph at 12:17 a.m. Sunday. By that time, the soil throughout the Pines was saturated after nearly two inches of rain fell, including in the backyard of the Shamong home belonging to Donald and Diane Estlow. At around 1 a.m., the loosened soil at 8 Laurel Vista Court could no longer hold up an estimated 30-inch diameter, 100-foot-high oak tree being buffeted by the wind, causing it to come crashing down on the Estlow home. “The oak tree hit the home’s roof, and came through the roof, all the way down
to the second floor,” said John Smith, fire chief of the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Co. “It took a large part of the home’s roof down and a lot of its walls too.” Smith said the tree, which had root rot as later determined by a tree surgeon, landed in a second-floor bedroom of the home where Donald Estlow was asleep. “He was awakened by sheetrock from the ceiling falling on him,” said the fire chief. “He made his way out of the bedroom, with no roof above him, to a stairwell in the home.” A lt houg h Donald Estlow wa s uninjured, as were his wife Diana and 23-year-old son, who were in another part of the house, a call was placed to 911. Smith said that when he arrived at the Estlow home, its front was “perfect” See UPROOTED Page 17
See QUEEN/ Page 15
INDEX Automotive................ 19 Business Directory.... 12 Community.................. 9 Dental Column........... 17
Gardening Column.... 14 Health........................ 10 Hobbyist.................... 11 Local News.................. 4
Marketplace............... 16 Opinion........................ 8 Scanner....................... 7 Worship Directory........ 9
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