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The Bass River Gazette is a local historical newsletter jointly published by the Bass River Library History Committee and The Great John Mathis Foundation. It's contributing members are Harry DeVerter, Stephen Eichinger, Jean Harris, Murray T. Harris, Elaine Mathis, Peter H. Stemmer, and the Herrintown Poet. We lost our friend and colleague, Almira Steele, on July 11, 2006.
We welcome the submission of material for consideration. Please email us if you have any suggestions or if you would like to submit material for inclusion in future editions. Your contributions will effect the number of Gazettes that we publish. The more articles, photos, etc. that we receive, the more editions we will publish. CLICK HERE TO EMAIL US ABOUT THE GAZETTE
The original staff of the Bass River Gazette in 1998. (left to right) BACK ROW: Murray Harris, Steve Eichinger, Harry DeVerter, and Pete Stemmer. FRONT ROW: Elaine Mathis, Jean Harris, and Almira Cramer Steele (1922-2006).
Issue # 22, the September 2008 edition, of the Gazette is now available (Friday, August 29th) below and at the New Gretna Post Office. It also has been mailed out to all our subscribers. Hope you all enjoy it!
We were considering publishing a Limited Edition book of all the back editions of the "Bass River Gazette" to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. That project is now on hold due to limited feedback.
Click on the Underlined Gazette Issue you want to view. Use your Browser's Back Arrow to return to this Web Page.
Gazette Issue #1, July, 1998
Old Stores of New Gretna by Gladys Wilson p1+
The Bass River Gazette Committee- Who We Are p1
The Old Swimming Hole (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele- p2
Woody Allen's Clam Hurrier (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p2
Wading River Bridges (Then & Now) by Steve Eichinger p4
Gazette Issue #2, October 1998
Bass River and It's Neighborhoods by Peter H. Stemmer- p1+
Mother Daughter Fall Recipes Alberta Cramer & Peg Cramer McAnney (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis- p2
How Herrintown Got It's Name a poem by the Herrintown Poet p4
Bass River Nicknames (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele- p5+
A Place Called Goldecker by Steve Eichinger p6
News From the Past News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p6
Gazette Issue #3, January 1999
Great John Mathis and Mathistown by Peter H. Stemmer- p1+
A Man Called Joe (Another Thing I Remember) a story about Joe Cramer by Almira Cramer Steele- p2+
Hen Updike and the Marsh Rabbit, a story and poem by the Herrintown Poet p3
Recipes From Carrie Cramer (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p4
This Old House - the Caleb & Alma Cramer House p5
A Place Called Chips Folly by Steve Eichinger p6
Sources For Genealogical Research (Bass River Genealogy highlighting the Sears family) by Jean & Murray Harris p7
Bass River Ice Houses (Another Thing I Remember) by Walter Mathis p8
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald and the New Jersey Mirror by Harry DeVerter p8
Gazette Issue #4, May 1999
The Short and Tall Allens of Bass River by Peter H. Stemmer- p1+
Memories of New Gretna School (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele- p2+
Joe B and the Runaway Car A story by the Herrintown Poet p3+
Joe B's Car (Another Thing I Remember . . . Revisited) by Walter Mathis p3
Recipes From Helen Mathis (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p4
This Old House - the Joseph Hickman House and Betty Shutte p5
A Place Called Tub Mill Run by Steve Eichinger p6
Isaac Cramer- Revolutionary War Veteran by John Milton Adams p7
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald related to the tragedy at sea of Burrows and Winfield French by Harry DeVerter p8+
Gazette Issue #5, December 1999
Bass River Cemeteries: Mirrors of the Past by Peter H. Stemmer- p1+
Sunday School Picnics (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele- p2+
Recipes of Mabel Sooy (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p3
A Place Called Bodine's Field by Steve Eichinger p4
On Finding A Tarnished Button At Bodine's Field A story by John Milton Adams p5
By The Sea Photos taken on the Atlantic City Board Walk: Danny Loveland and Ella Johnson on a rolling chair and Ann Gaskill [nee Mathis] with Pete the Our Gang dog on the Steel Peer p7
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p8
Gazette Issue #6, April, 2000
Bass River's Two Largest Cemeteries: Hillside Cemetery & Miller Cemetery by Peter H. Stemmer- p1+
Huckster, Peddlers And Local Vendors (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele- p2+
Wiseman Family Recipes (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p3
Genealogy From Stained Glass Windows Part 1 (First Presbyterian Church of New Gretna) by Jean & Murray Harris p4+
A Fish Called Remember A poem about the First Presbyterian Church of New Gretna by the Herrintown Poet p5
Cutting Cedar In Mathistown by Steve Eichinger p6
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p8
Gazette Issue #7, September 2000
The Great Bucto-Harrisville Fire of 1930 by Peter H. Stemmer- p1+
Yesterday along The Bass River (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele- p2+
Jack & Jill by the River in Old Bridgeport A true story written by Alice Adams Weber in 1958 p3+
Alice Weber's White House Snapper Soup (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p4
Catching Snappers on the Wading River by Steve Eichinger p5
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p6
Genealogy From Stained Glass Windows Part 2 (First Presbyterian Church of New Gretna) by Jean & Murray Harris p7+
Gazette Issue #8 - December 2000
Bass River's Churches- Part 1: The Quakers by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
Summertime Fun (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele - p2+
Mischief Night In Herrintown: A True Story by the Herrintown Poet p3+
Lizzie Gerew's Bread Pudding and Hot Milk Cake (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p4
Wading River Landings Part 1 by Steve Eichinger p5
The Evi Adams Family of Bass River (Geneology Corner) by Jean & Murray Harris p7
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p8
Gazette Issue #9, April 2001
Bass River's Churches- Part 2: The Presbyterians by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
Life & Times of the Baymen (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele - p2+
My How Things Have Changed Over The Years A look back at growing up in New Gretna in the 1940's 1960's by Mike Allen p3+
Mother & Daughter Recipes: Monica Walker Kalm and Claire Kalm Allen (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p4
Wading River Landings Part 2: The McKeens by Steve Eichinger p5
News From the Past 1935 news items from the Bass River Log, the newspaper of the Bass River CCC Company #225, featuring Fur Bridge by Harry DeVerter p7
Gazette Issue #10, August 2001
Bass River's Churches- Part 3: The Methodists by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
Restaurants and Other Eatery Places (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele - p2+
In A Strange Land David Altscher tells the story of his family's emigration to New Gretna in 1952 and some memories of his growing up. p3+
Minnie Mathis Shropshire's Fruit Cake (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p4
Wading River Landings Part 3: The McKeens (Continued) by Steve Eichinger p5
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p5
Growing Up in New Gretna by Donald Maxwell p8+
Gazette Issue #11, December 2001
Bass River Garages and Gas Stations by Almira Cramer Steele - p1+
Along the Bass River: Thanks for the Memories Mike Allen's memories of growing up beside the Bass River in the late 1940's through the early 1960's. p2+
Alice Mathis' Clam Recipes (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p3
The Old Tuckerton State Police Station by Pete Dunn p4+
News From the Past - News items from the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p5
Researching Our Quaker Roots (Genealogy Corner) by Jean & Murray Harris p7
Gazette Issue #12, June 2002
Bass River's One Room School Houses Part 1: The Quaker Influence by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
The Ladies Guild Cookbook by Phyllis Briggs p2+
Our Pop (Remembrances of John Wiseman) by Myrtle Wiseman Falkinburg and Rennard Wiseman p3
The Outfit (Budd Wilson, Sr.'s career in the N.J. State Police) by Budd Wislon, Jr. p4+
The Stage Road by Steve Eichinger p7+
My New Gretna Ancestors and the French Connection (the Allen and Gerew families) by John Allen p8+
Gazette Issue #13, December 2002
Bass River's One Room School Houses Part 2: The Little Egg Harbor Years by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
Early Memories of the New Gretna Presbyterian Church (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele - p2+
Betty Lamson West's Clam Pot Pie (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p3
Memories of Unk and Mim (Henry and Minnie Updike) by Mike Allen p5+
Summer In New Gretna by Brian Detrick p8+
Gazette Issue #14, June 2003
Bass River's One Room School Houses Part 3: The Bass River School System by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
Memories of My Grandmother Cramer (Mary Minnie Mathis Cramer) by Ann Stratton Keklak in Genealogy Corner edited by Jean & Murray Harris p2+
The Mathistown School Now & Then, A 2002 and circa 1880 photo comparison p4
Unc and Mim Revisited by Ted Briggs, further memories and reflections on Henry and Minnie Updike p5
Quaker Bridge- Then & Now, circa 1940 and a 2002 photo comparison p6
News From the Past The Bass River Bridge, News items from the Little Egg Harbor Minutes and the Mt. Holly Herald regarding the Bass River Bridge by Harry DeVerter p7
Stage Road Revisited: Taverns Along the Way by Steve Eichinger p8+
Gazette Issue #15, December 2003
Oyster Season Opening: An Old New Gretna Tradition by Donald Maxwell - p1+
Bureau of Shell Fisheries Oyster Bed Leases and Tonging Licenses: 1906 p3
Anita Cramer's Coconut Layer Cake (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis p4
News From the Past Oyster news items from the Little Egg Harbor Minutes and the Mt. Holly Herald by Harry DeVerter p5
Old Time Flower Gardens, excerpts from Leah Blackman's writings regarding flower gardens in the 1830's p7
Memories of My Old Allentown Neighborhood (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele p8+
Gazette Issue #16, June 2004
The Chalkley Cramer Family of New Gretna by Ruth Cramer Soles - p1+
The Bass River CCC Camp (Another Thing I Remember) by Almira Cramer Steele p2+
How Tuckerton Got It's Name, an excerpt from Leah Blackman's Old Times And Other Writings p7
This Old House: The White Oak Inn, circa 1929 and a 2004 photo comparison p7
A Memorial to Marian C. Broome p7
The Life And Times of Ebenezer Tucker by E.R. Duke Dupruis p8+
Gazette Issue #17, December 2004
The New Gretna PTA Minstrels by Phyllis Sharp Briggs - p1+
The Allen-Steinhauer Connection (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis p2
Yesteryear's Cooking, an excerpt from Leah Blackman's Old Times And Other Writings p3
The Chalkley Cramer Family of New Gretna Revisited by Ruth Cramer Soles as told be her sister-in-law, Jane Newbury Cramer p6
The New Gretna House Gone, two photos of the ruins of the New Gretna House after the October 31, 2004 fire p6
Letters to the Editor, Donald Maxwell writes a letter about the Chalkley Cramer Family of New Gretna p7
1939 News From New Gretna, an article by Brian Detrick written from August 24, 1939 and October 5, 1939 editions of the Tuckerton Beacon newspaper p8+
Gazette Issue #18, June 2005
Bass River's Old Taverns And Hotels by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
The Bishops of Riverside Drive- Irene Bishop's Recipes (Yesterday's Recipes) by Elaine Mathis - p2
News From the Past The Bass River Hotel's 1888 Liquor License Hearing by Harry DeVerter - p6
The New Gretna House . . . Remembered Photos through the Decades, 1920's through 2004 - p7
The Early History of the New Gretna House by Peter H. Stemmer - p8+
Gazette Issue #19, October 2005 - Special Bass River State Forest Centennial Celebration Edition
Bass River - New Jersey's First State Forest by Kevin Wright p1+
Letters to the Editor the Bass River CCC Camp p3
100th Year Celebration Photo Collage p4
Another Thing I Remember- The Bass River CCC Camp by Almira Cramer Steele p6+
Gazette Issue #20, October 2006 - Special Forest Fire Fighter's Memorial Rededication Edition
Bass River State Forest Fire Fighters' Memorial To Be Rededicated by Peter H. Stemmer p1+
1936 Fire News Article Transcription from the 5/26/36 edition of the Asbury Park Press p2+
Eyewitness Account of 1936 Fire- transcription from 1/31/36 letter of Richard Allen, a Bass River CCC member p3
1936 Fire related articles from the Bass River Log newspaper, Company 225 p4+
Roster of Bass River CCC Company 225 from the Thanksgiving, 1936 Camp Dinner Menu p5
Bass River CCC Company 225 photo p5
1936 Fire News Article Transcription from the 5/27/36 edition of the New Jersey Morror p6
1977 Fire News Article Transcription from the 7/28/77 edition of the Tuckerton Beacon p7
They Die Who Serve an editorial memorial to the four Eagleswood Township fire fighters (Harold Cramer, Marcus Cullen, Herbert Blackwell, and John Baker) who died fighting the July, 1977 forest fire p8
Gazette Issue #21, October 2007
Jesse Johnson - A Legend In His Own Time by Peter H. Stemmer - p1+
Yesterday's Recipes - A New Gretna Thanksgiving by Elaine Weber Mathis - p2+
Genealogy Corner by Jean and Murray Harris - Almira Cramer Steele's Family Tree - p 7
Almira Cramer Steel's "Another Thing I Remember" Revisited - p8+
Gazette Issue #22, September 2008
The Judge William Collins French Family by Genevieve Adeline French Bennet- p1+
Life With Grandpop [Arthur] Loveland by Kenneth M. Mick, Sr. - p2+
News From The Past - New Gretna Social News from the February 19, 1948 "Tuckerton Beacon" with photos added - p7+
Levi's Barbershop And The Would Be Corpse, A True Story by the Herrintown Poet - p8+