As 2024 comes to an end, the Mullica Hill Sun takes a look back at the year’s news.
Main Street wants shoppers back
The township announced in September that it would launch a branding effort focused on Main Street.
The aim of the Main Street Brings You Back initiative is to spotlight Mullica Hill’s small-town roots – which date back to the 18th century – and promote local businesses on the street.
“This new branding is a critical step in supporting our local businesses and attracting new ventures to Main Street,” said Harrison Township Mayor Louis Manzo. “We have always been a place where history comes to life, but it’s also a vibrant community where something exciting is always happening.”
A website, mainstmh.com, was launched alongside the initiative that features a “Meet the merchants” page and an events page. Among this year’s events noted on the site were the annual Lights on Main, the asparagus festival and a chocolate walk.
“The goal is to solidify Main Street as a destination where visitors can experience the best of both worlds: a walk-through history and a taste of what’s happening now,” Manzo explained. “This initiative will help us share that story more effectively with a broader audience, strengthening our community and helping our local economy thrive.”
Support for library employee
Sofran McBride holds up pictures of crafts created thanks to support from Mullica Hill library employee Jim O’Connor. McBride was one of dozens who protested O’Connor’s sudden transfer, one they deemed unwarranted.
A meeting of the Gloucester County Library System Commission at the Mullica Hill library on July 24 saw dozens of people protest the transfer of library employee Jim O’Connor to the Logan Township branch.
The news broke a month prior without a statement and without cause. The protesters felt the commission was removing a major asset to the library for no reason.
“Jim is the employee that every library is hoping for,” said Jennifer Brenner, a former Mullica Hill library employee. “He came in as a volunteer, then a part-timer, up to full time, and is now working towards his MLS (master’s in library and information science). Employees that invest that much time and energy in their placement are few and far between.”
O’Connor oversaw the library’s garden and was a guiding force in its Maker Studio. Volunteers within both of those efforts quit in protest of the decision to transfer him.
“My heart was sick,” noted former garden volunteer Carol Sibley. “My first thoughts were, ‘Who was going to take over for Jim?’ How will the garden go on without his quiet leadership?’ Not only that, but we had just finished planting over 400 native plants just a few weeks prior to start a native plant garden. We had great plans to use that garden to teach the community the benefits of planting garden.”
An artist from the Maker Studio, Sofran McBride, brought photos to the protest meeting that showcased creations made with help and guidance from O’Connor.
“He was an amazing force,” McBride insisted. “It was so helpful, and it created this beautiful community project that brought a lot of artists and non-artists together.”
As of deadline, O’Connor is still at the Mullica Hill library.
“The passion that you are hearing tonight from this group of people is not only inspiring, it’s a force,” said O’Connor’s sister Leah of the meeting. “This may seem like a small group of people here in this room, but to have that kind of expertise, to lose it, to try and recruit that expertise is nearly impossible. And in my experience, volunteers only respond to kind and strong leadership.”
Swamp Road collapse
The aftermath of the collapse caused massive flooding in the area in March. It was estimated that about half a million gallons of water spilled into the woods and headed to Raccoon Creek.
Residents living on and near Swamp Road received a rude awakening at around 7:30 a.m. on March 15, when the thoroughfare suddenly collapsed, leaving a sinkhole and massive flooding.
Gloucester County Emergency Management estimated that around half a million gallons of water spilled into the nearby woods and headed to Raccoon Creek. Clogged pipes that ran underneath the street were found to be the cause of the collapse.
Three homes sit on the road. Its residents lost power and had access cut off that prevented them from leaving the area, but they were safely evacuated. One resident, Jeff Clayton, described the scent.
“My wife just heard a tree collapse and water running” he recalled. “The road coming in is gone. There’s no access to houses due to bridges being compromised and roads being blocked off.”
“There’s an enormous amount (of debris) just in the area by the breach when I walked it today,” said Township Administrator Dennis Chambers the day of the collapse. “There’s an enormous amount of glass, bottles, trash, car parts – you name it.”
Clayton claimed that the township was warned years before the collapse that the clogged pipes could cause a problem.
““We’ve been complaining about this for years,” Clayton noted. “We said this could happen and access in and out would be blocked off. I outlined in a letter to the township what could happen if it doesn’t get addressed. I told them that the best way to avoid a catastrophe is to get down there and just clear the pipes. We were told that the township couldn’t get down to the pipes.”
The recovery effort was led by the township and Emergency Management and officials were on scene the day of the incident to inspect the damage and determine how best to deal with the situation.
““I just can’t say enough for the support for the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management,” Manzo noted. “They were there all day and set up a command post, as is the protocol in that situation. The director of the Office of Emergency Management, Jack DiAngelo, at the county level, took over the leadership role and coordinated things as the rest of our crew, public works, the police department, the fire department, were there dealing with the situation.”
Power and utilities access were restored at 6:30 p.m. that day and access has since been restored, with more routes being added. Full restoration has not yet occurred.
