Mondays in Mantua is a gathering of car enthusiasts that was started by Jay Hill, who recently died in a car accident.
Dozens of people gathered in the Toll House shopping plaza on July 28 to honor the life of Mondays in Mantua founder, Jay Hill, who was killed in a car accident a week earlier.
Mondays in Mantua is a weekly gathering of car enthusiasts that began a few years ago and runs from spring to fall. The township has credited the event with helping to revitalize the plaza and businesses in the area. Much like previous gatherings, hot-rod, classic and modern cars lined the parking lot.
Hill himself was an enthusiast with his own custom 1966 Chevrolet Nova. The 51-year-old’s family and friends wore T-shirts with a picture of him in front of his car, and a parking space had a cross with Hill’s picture on it that read, “Though tears may fall, and hearts may ache, your love lives on, in every breath we take.”
“He told me, ‘I’m not telling anybody I’m doing this,’ and look what it’s turned into,” recalled Hill’s father, Nob. “Now he’s getting proclamations, the township loved him, the mayor loved him, the township committee were here on numerous occasions.”
Hill was remembered as a friendly guy who worked hard ensuring that each Mondays in Mantua gathering was family friendly.
“Jay was basically the driving force in keeping it a family friendly force and make it so great,” noted Bill Wilkinson, a regular at the car events. “It’s amazing what it’s done for everyone. It left a lasting legacy all because of a car show.
“He wouldn’t want us to mope around.”
A group of fellow enthusiasts will take over Hill’s role in organizing Mondays in Mantua. Nob Hill gave credit to the brotherhood of car lovers for continuing the event.
“Car lovers are like policemen and like firemen,” he explained. “They bond together all over the world, all over the United States. They hang and do whatever.”
Though Hill was a West Deptford resident, members of the township police department and other officials attended the July 28 gathering. Mayor Robert Zimmerman presented a township proclamation to Hill’s family recognizing his work for the community.
“It’s brought people like yourselves, car enthusiasts, it brought people that come out and just want something to do on Mondays,” the mayor said. “They (participants) patronize Dippy’s, Sal’s and other restaurants, so it helps the economy, too.
“I consider him (Hill) a part of our family from what he’s done for us.”
