Fourth of July 2023 Issue

INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING THE LAKE REGION
ake Hopatcong News
FOURTH OF JULY 2023 VOL. 15 NO. 3
All Their Children
Over 2 Decades, A Landing Couple Welcomed 39 Foster Children To their Home
THRIFT SHOP BARGAINS
STAR GAZING
CARVING OUT A NICHE
DESIGNING STUDENTS

Landscape Supply • Dumpster Rentals • Recycling Facility • Pavers & Outdoor Living
Landscape Supply • Dumpster Rentals • Recycling Facility • Pavers & Outdoor Living
Happy 4 th of July!
Happy 4 th of July!
LOCATED UNDER
THE FLAG ON RT. 15
LOCATED UNDER
THE FLAG ON RT. 15

2023 Wade Martin
2023 Wade Martin
2023 2023 Forbes Best-In-State
Wealth Advisors
Forbes
Forbes
Best-In-State
Best-In-State
Wealth Advisors
Wealth Advisors
Wealth Advisors
RBC Wealth Management is proud to recognize Wade Martin of the Martin Wealth
RBC Wealth Management is proud to recognize Wade Martin of the Martin Wealth
Management Group as a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor in 2023.
Management Group as a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor in 2023.
We are proud of our commitment to the clients we serve and to the areas where we live
We are and proud work. of In our the community, commitment Wade to the Martin clients is involved we serve in clean and water to the initiatives. areas where At work, we live
and work. Wade In takes the a community, distinctive approach Wade Martin to wealth is involved planning to in help clean clients water achieve initiatives. their At work,
Wade dreams takes a through distinctive various approach wealth strategies, to wealth including planning investments, to help clients cash management,
achieve their
dreams estate through planning various services, wealth land strategies, preservation, including philanthropic investments, efforts and cash more. management,
estate Please planning join us services, in congratulating land preservation, Wade for philanthropic serving his community efforts and more. on his
noteworthy Forbes honor.
Please join us in congratulating Wade for serving his community and on his
noteworthy Forbes honor.
Martin Wealth Management Group
Wade Martin
Martin Managing Wealth Director Management – Financial Advisor Group
Wade Martin
(609) 936-6411 | wade.martin@rbc.com
Managing Director – Financial Advisor
www.martinwmg.com
(609) 936-6411 | wade.martin@rbc.com
www.martinwmg.com
Zach Martin, Maria Gaspari, Wade Martin, Noah Wiegand,
Leah Zikoski, Brett Scharf, Arthur Martin, Allison Delay
Investment and insurance products offered through RBC Wealth Management are not insured by the FDIC or
Zach any Martin, other Maria federal Gaspari, government Wade Martin, agency, Noah Wiegand, are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank or any
Leah bank Zikoski, affiliate, Brett Scharf, and Arthur are subject Martin, to Allison investment Delay risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.
The 2023 Forbes “Best-In-State Wealth Advisors” award was announced April 2023. Data as of 6/30/2022. The award was developed by SHOOK Research and is based
on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client retention,
nvestment industry experience, and insurance review of compliance products records, offered firm nominations; through and quantitative RBC Wealth criteria, including: Management assets under management are not and insured revenue generated by the for their FDIC firms. or
ny other Investment federal performance government is not a criterion agency, because client are objectives not deposits and risk tolerances or other vary, and obligations advisors rarely have of, audited or performance guaranteed reports. by, Rankings a bank are based or any
on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research
ank affiliate, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.
receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. The financial advisor does not pay a fee to be considered for or to receive this award. This award does not
he 2023 evaluate Forbes “Best-In-State the quality of services Wealth provided Advisors” to clients. award This was is announced not indicative April of this 2023. financial Data advisor’s as of 6/30/2022. future performance. The award For was more developed information: by www.SHOOKresearch.com.
Research and is bas
n in-person RBC and Wealth telephone Management due does diligence not provide meetings tax or legal to evaluate advice. All each decisions advisor regarding qualitatively, the tax or legal a major implications component of your of investments a ranking should algorithm be made that in connection includes: with client your retentio
ndustry experience, independent review tax or legal of compliance advisor. No information, records, firm including nominations; but not limited and quantitative to written materials, criteria, provided including: by RBC assets WM should under management be construed as and legal, revenue accounting generated or tax advice. for their firm
nvestment © performance 2023 RBC Wealth is not Management, a criterion a because division of client RBC Capital objectives Markets, and LLC, risk registered tolerances investment vary, and adviser advisors and rarely Member have NYSE/FINRA/SIPC. audited performance reports. 23-PI-01425 Rankings (06/23) are bas
n the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Resear
eceive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. The financial advisor does not pay a fee to be considered for or to receive this award. This award does n

4
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
From the Editor
Quite often I am invited to attend and asked to write about all sorts of events from a variety
of organizations. It’s hard to say no—I don’t want anyone to feel their function isn’t worthy of
space in this magazine. Most are.
Deciding which event to cover is simple, though.
I have two main criteria when it comes to choosing to cover an event for the magazine.
Timing, of course, is important. I want to make sure what I put in print is as up to date as possible.
Sometimes, I come across something that I’d really like to see in the magazine, but the timing of the
event just doesn’t work with the publication schedule. Maybe next year, I say to myself.
The other criterion is the event itself. It can’t be a private function. If it’s not open to the public,
whether it’s free admission or not, then I generally stay away.
But sometimes—just sometimes—I’m talked into something I’m not quite sure makes sense for me
to publish.
This was the case with a cigar and bourbon cruise held in June on Miss Lotta, the dinner boat on Lake
Hopatcong. (See page 30.)
On the face of it, it’s not something I would usually consider for the magazine—and I’d been asked
a few times if I would consider a story. I always balked, never really seeing a story beyond cigars and
booze.
But an exception was made once I found out this particular cruise would also be a fundraising event
for the Lake Hopatcong Elks Lodge. Now I could see a story that had some meaning behind it, and I
agreed that this cruise would be the social event page for the Fourth of July issue.
For clarity, I share an office with Lake Hopatcong Cruises in Nolan’s Point and pretty much know all
there is to know about how Miss Lotta operates. I also know the crew.
One of those crew members is Capt. Lee Moreau. He’s how this all got started, making little mentions
of the fundraising cruise whenever he was in the office. Never pushy, just persistent.
If you know Lee from Miss Lotta or his role with the Lake Hopatcong Foundation—a lot of you know
him—you know the type of guy he is.
He’s an ideas man, always thinking of how best to bring the community together. The annual Veteran’s
Cruise around Lake Hopatcong? His idea. The Live from the Lake interactive cruise? Also, his idea.
The Lake Hopatcong Foundation’s annual Block Party? Not his idea, but he and his crew execute the
event with such precision, he’s become synonymous with it.
The cigar and bourbon cruises on the boat? His idea, and on this night, he was a very willing
participant, I might add. No worries though, he was off duty.
(For the record, while I do enjoy the aroma of most cigars, I did not smoke one during the event. Not
my thing. I did try some of the bourbons, though. They all had a terrific, sweet, smooth scent, which
is what I expected to taste on my tongue. How could my nose be so wrong? The flavor is never as
smooth as your nose would lead you to believe.)
The photo? My homage to Lee. Fun, yes, but also so much respect.
Speaking of respect, please read the cover story for this issue. (See page 22.)
Writer Melissa Summers profiles Carla Suitt, who, along with her husband James, matter-of-factly
fostered 39 children in their Landing home over the course of a
couple of decades. Many of these children—now adults—have
stayed in touch with the Suitts all these years later.
Melissa has known Carla for about a decade since Carla helped
with child care for one of Melissa’s three children. She speaks the
world of her.
“She has a knack for kids. She respects them, they in turn
respect her,” said Melissa.
—Karen
ake Hopatcong News
THRIFT SHOP BARGINS
STAR GAZING
INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING THE LAKE REGION
All Their Children
FOURTH OF JULY 2023 VOL. 15 NO. 3
For Decades, A Landing Couple Welcomed 39 Foster Children to their Home
CARVING OUT A NICHE
DESIGNING STUDENTS
ON THE COVER
Main photo: Carla and James Suitt in
their home.
Collage: A collection of family photos
courtesy of the Suitt family.
—Top photo by Karen Fucito
KAREN FUCITO
Editor
editor@lakehopatcongnews.com
973-663-2800
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Michael Stephen Daigle
Melissa Summers
Maria Vogel-Short
Ellen Wilkowe
COLUMNISTS
Marty Kane
Heather Shirley
Barbara Simmons
EDITING AND LAYOUT
Maria DaSilva-Gordon
Randi Cirelli
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RE/MAX Town and Valley II
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Lakefront with Inground Pool
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3 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms
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4 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms
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3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms
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3 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms
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3 Bedrooms 1.2 Bathrooms
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3 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms
Chris sold all of these homes featured in this
NEW YORK TIMES article, one of them twice!
Hopatcong, N.J.: ‘We Call It Lake Life’
lakehopatcongnews.com 5

Something for Everyone at New Hope Thrift Shop
Story by ELLEN WILKOWE
Photos by Karen Fucito
The parking lot of the Milton United
Methodist Church on the corner of
Milton and Dover Milton Roads was jampacked,
except there was no service, unless
you count the customer service inside the New
Hope Thrift Shop.
It was barely noon on a summer-like
Wednesday in May and a steady stream of
customers filtered in and out of the store,
donating and purchasing—there was lots of
purchasing.
“You can’t come here and not buy something,”
said longtime volunteer Rose Lang, who was
working the register alongside volunteer Joan
DeYoung.
Founded by Jefferson residents Jim
Wildermuth, Dottie Leonard and Carol Robins,
New Hope opened its historic doors to the
public in 2014, six years after the church
decommissioned the 1824 chapel and after the
construction of its new church was completed
at the other end of the parking lot.
“The thrift shop had been in people’s
thoughts for some time, but we had no place
to put it,” said Leonard.
Lang and DeYoung are just two in a pool
of about 20 dedicated volunteers who pour
their hearts into keeping the New Hope Thrift
Shop and its customers humming along. Many
volunteers are members of the Milton United
Methodist Church or represent other churches
in town.
The “build it and they will come” adage
applies here, as the customers keep on coming
and coming back for more, particularly the
hard-core thrifters.
“We’ll have people come several times a day,”
said Wildermuth.
According to Leonard, Wildermuth was
instrumental in transforming the vacated church
building into a thriving thrift store—and in the
record time of about a week, to boot. “All of
the shelving that looks like new wood—that’s
all Jim,” she said. “As we needed more room, he
would come up with it.”
That includes the overflow outside: A large
tent on the lawn houses everything from
kitchenware to furniture to sporting goods. A
row of tables is covered with piles of clothes
and large framed artwork is displayed at the
base of two storage sheds.
Inside, the store takes on a micro department
store-like setup as items are categorized and
placed accordingly into sections that include
clothing, accessories, housewares, toys and
games. There’s even a mixed media section
complete with old-school CDs and DVDs and,
of course, books.
Customers with their hands full but who still
want to continue shopping can stash their finds
into individual cubbies mounted on a wall next
to the checkout area.
Adjacent to the toy section and behind
the scenes, several volunteers serve as quality
control monitors, tackling bags and boxes full
of new donations and pricing them accordingly.
“Prices are set to move [items],” said board
member Barbara Horacek. “So, they’re priced a
little less.”
Exhibit A: a woven picnic basket in perfect
condition ticketed for a mere $3.
“You never know what you’re going to find.
It’s always different,” said Wildermuth. “Where
else can you go buy a pair of pants for $2—
brand new ones with tags still on them.”
The proceeds from sales directly benefit
the church—while the store itself benefits
the entire community. This is exactly what the
founders had in mind during the planning phase.
“We wanted to donate to the community
and help local people,” Wildermuth said.
The volunteers have built mutually beneficial
relationships with organizations including the
Jefferson Township Historical Society, which
serves as instant beneficiaries of historical
items that have made their way into the store
as donations.
“We have three women volunteers who
belong to the historical society, so we put things
aside for them,” Leonard said. Those items are
used in the Jefferson Township Museum or sold
in the museum’s shop.
Exhibit B: on this recent Wednesday, the
historical society was about to inherit a glass
keepsake dated July 1863 and etched with
“Made in Gettysburg” to drive the authenticity
home.
Also of historical interest was the
donation of a 100-year-old Lake
Hopatcong Yacht Club trophy. “We
gave it to the commodore, and he
was very happy,” Leonard said.
The reciprocal relationship with
the community also fans out to
Jefferson Township High School,
specifically special needs students
who pitch in weekly to straighten up.
New Hope is also the go-to
destination for costumes and props
for school plays.
From top to bottom, left
to right: Shoppers browse
through shelves and racks
looking for treasures. Mary
Parr, Lynda MacDonald
and Barbara Motchan
sort through new arrivals.
Founding members Dottie
Leonard and Jim Wildermuth
with board member Barbara
Horacek. Antonia Pavlova
contemplates purchasing a
set of chimes.
6
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

The Milton Rescue Squad also benefits
from donations, specifically clothing that has
overstayed its welcome on the racks.
“Any clothing we do not sell or have been
on the racks for a while, we give to the rescue
squad,” said Leonard.
With the thrift shop as the middleman, a
partnership between the rescue squad and
Turnkey Enterprises helps provide funding to
the volunteer organization.
Turnkey is a New Jersey-based business
that purchases clothing from nonprofits and
repurposes the items for distribution to needy
locations. The rescue squad is paid about 9
cents per pound of clothing, said Leonard.
Even donations that have sustained damage
are assured a home, even if that home is
unconventional.
“Any glassware or plates that we can’t sell
here, we give to the Rage Room in Pompton
Lakes,” said Horacek of Jefferson. (In adhering
to its name, the Rage Room is an entertainment
venue that allows clients to release their anger
by breaking items otherwise deemed fragile in
a past life.)
Damaged goods aside, the volunteers have
seen their fair share of unusual finds discovered
by customers that were paid forward—and
back. This included a vintage cash register
complete with a $100 bill that was donated
right back to the store. And the purse with a
bonus $20—the customer kept the purse but
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not the money, said Leonard.
On this recent Wednesday, Wildermuth was
on-site, managing the overflow tent and making
conversation with customers.
He attests to the diehards who return several
times a day and have become attuned to the
inventory’s fast turnaround. Wildermuth is just
as accustomed to the early birds, perched onsite
before the store opens.
Just ask Sandy Fumai of Milton, a thrift shop
regular for a little over five years. It was wordof-mouth
that sent her here, and she has had
many happy returns.
“There are so many good finds in here,” she
said, clutching a beer stein emblazoned with
a Redcoat soldier. “And the people are really
nice.”
In addition to the beer stein, Fumai stocked
up on a few CDs and DVDs. “Whatever catches
my eye,” she said.
Oak Ridge resident Barry Chanofsky has been
a regular since the beginning, collecting china
and crystal and scoring a Waterford bowl for
$1, he said.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s not a well-kept secret
anymore,” he said half-jokingly.
In addition to drawing regulars from the
community, New Hope also attracts shoppers
from surrounding areas, such as Kathleen and
Fallon Pace from Stockholm.
The mother-daughter thrift team were on
the hunt for gifts and scored a few serving
Become a part of
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Join our membership today at
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plates in the process.
The deep discounts or “steals” play an
essential role in the store’s success, further
cemented by location and word-of-mouth.
“If it wasn’t for the community, we couldn’t
do this year-round,” added volunteer Barbara
Motchan of Jefferson. “One hand washes the
other.”
As for the future, Leonard has just one wish:
“That somebody will eventually take over.”
Perhaps they have some time to buy because
the store also sells clocks.
For more information about shop hours and
donating, visit miltonumc.net/communityoutreach/new-hope-thrift-shop.
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lakehopatcongnews.com 7

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$848,888 MT ARLINGTON • Lakeview custom home built 2023. Spectacular rooftop 30x40 entertainment deck with incredible lake views. Stylish open floor plan
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8
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

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lakehopatcongnews.com 9

Left to right: Glenn Burke adjusts
a telescope at the first star party at
Hopatcong High School. Christine
Munoz peers through a telescope
to get a glimpse of Venus as
Kristin Ransiear looks on.
The Sky’s the Limit for New Club
10
Story by MICHAEL DAIGLE
Photos by Karen Fucito
Venus teased, dancing against infinite
darkness as silver light from the rising,
yet unseen moon feathered the edges of the
clouds shifting across the opening sky.
Some of the 20 or so astronomy fans
gathered in the courtyard at Hopatcong High
School on a chilly June Saturday night and
peered into telescopes to frame the fluttering
Venus crescent in the tiny circles of their lenses;
others held one hand above their eyes to block
the glare of security lights that illuminated the
building. The bark of a fox broke the silence.
The group gathered to celebrate the first
star party of the Hopatcong Observatory
Astronomy Club, the dream of Hopatcong
resident Justin McCarthy, 23.
McCarthy graduated from Stevens Institute
of Technology in 2022 and works as a structural
engineer for Titan Engineering.
The party was also a celebration of the
observatory that McCarthy built in 2018 for an
Eagle Scout project while he was still in high
school.
The wooden shell, painted in Kelly green, the
school’s colors, has a roof that rolls open, walls
filled with charts, an array of technology and
a telescope trained on Polaris, the North Star.
“The telescope tracks the movement of
Polaris,” McCarthy said, while on a smartphone
he displayed the crescent image of Venus as
seen through the telescope.
Venus shows a crescent face when the sun is
between the Earth and Venus, he said.
The club is a registered 501(c)(3) and was
established to support the observatory’s
operation, upgrade the facility and fund a
scholarship program for the high school.
For McCarthy, the observatory melds two
key interests: science and engineering and
giving back to the community.
Excited by the Apollo moon landings of the
1960s, McCarthy, along with his father, Daniel
McCarthy, and his uncle, Glenn Burke, attended
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
the Stellafane Convention in Vermont in 2014.
He returned from the long-running
astronomy event and gathering of amateur
telescope makers inspired to create his own
observatory. He also donated an 8-inch
telescope, which was the first telescope used
in the Hopatcong facility.
“I thought it would be a neat idea,” McCarthy
said.
It also filled a need for a new observatory, he
said, since Lenape Valley Regional High School
had shuttered its facility. The next closest is
the Greenwood Observatory at Jenny Jump
State Forest in Hope, which is open April to
November. The site is operated by the United
Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey.
The availability of a local observatory was
what brought Dan Duran of Lake Hopatcong to
the star party.
Duran, an information technology engineer,
said he got hooked on astronomy in 2015 and
bought his own telescope. But between the
distance to his job out of the lake region and
the distance and part-time stature of the Jenny
Jump observatory, he was frustrated by the
lack of dark spaces to observe the universe.
The Hopatcong observatory fits that need,
he said, and he became a member of the club.
Duran’s observation is central to McCarthy’s
intent: It is not enough to just build something,
but that something should have a purpose
beyond the thing itself.
The observatory is not a project about him,
but fills a need he perceived
as a lake region kid.
“I was always interested
in astronomy,” he said, “but
growing up I realized there
was a lack of places for kids
like to me to explore.”
Thus, the club’s mission:
foster an interest in
astronomy for the local
public; host age-appropriate
events for local students; host
star parties for the general
public; minimize light pollution
in the surrounding area; and
equip the observatory with
new astronomy equipment.
And the most far-reaching
goal: establish an observatory
scholarship for Hopatcong High
School students.
The lake region saw
McCarthy’s combination of community
spirit and engineering skills in 2021 when, as
a member of a team of Stevens students, he
worked to define the conditions that were
needed to return the functionality of the
historic fountain at Hopatcong State Park.
The century-old fountain was designed as
both a public display and water-leveling device
but had deteriorated.
His comments at that time reflect his
approach to the observatory: It’s personal.
“I used to work at the park and saw how
dirty and broken the fountain was,” he said as
he took part in the project. “It’s a part of the
history here. I’ve seen the old photographs
of families enjoying the fountain. It was built
along Lakeside Boulevard so the public could
enjoy it.”
The fountain is expected to be ready for
display at its 100th anniversary in 2024, he said.
Like they did during the Stellafane
Convention years earlier, McCarthy’s father
and uncle also attended the June star party.
Burke, his uncle, brought a homemade
telescope, a lightweight spindly framed model
that was ready to assemble.
Burke and McCarthy’s father offered proud
support and admiration, as they had done
when the project was in its infancy.
The elder McCarthy, a longtime member
of the Lake Hopatcong Commission, sees
Justin McCarthy leads an astronomy lesson
for those in attendance at the first star party at
Hopatcong High School.

that spirit of community activism in his son’s
observatory.
But it’s more.
“We see the photos taken by the large
telescopes from space and they are astounding,”
he said. “But with this observatory, we can
stand here on this tiny spot in the universe and
see those stars and planets for our self.”
Christine Munoz, a Hopatcong Middle School
science teacher, taught Justin McCarthy.
Grinning, she couldn’t contain her sense of
pride and joy at his accomplishment.
She said the observatory and events such
as the star party will open up the possibility
for local students to connect with science and
astronomy in more concrete ways.
Munoz said she was looking forward to the
day when the observatory and its technology
are better integrated into the school’s science
classes.
On that June night, while the clouds
overhead flittered in and out, McCarthy, ever
the task-focused engineer, offered a litany of
space objects that might be viewed if the sky
opened up, especially the bright moon and
satellites.
“Communication and weather satellites
travel east to west,” he said. “Spy satellites fly
north to south to better observe more of the
planet.”
While waiting for clear skies, McCarthy
conducted the night’s astronomy lesson on
the terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth
and Mars.
“Venus is one of the brightest objects in the
sky, but is actually a dull brown when viewed,”
he said. “That’s because of the dense cloud
cover.”
Mercury can be seen crossing the sun, an
event called a transit. Mars is red because
of iron. And Earth has weather and well, “it’s
home,” he said.
For information about the Hopatcong
Observatory Astronomy Club, visit
hopatcongobservatory.org.
Follow the observatory at facebook.com/
hopatcongobservatory.
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lakehopatcongnews.com 11

Student Artists Paint
Library Windows
Story and photos by KAREN FUCITO
The Jefferson Arts Committee hosted
its first Window Painting Contest on
a Saturday in June at the Jefferson Township
Library.
The competition was open to all schoolage
children in the township, said Linda
Santangelo, event chair. Three teams of
middle- and high school-age children
participated. One team was made up of
five members from Girl Scout Troop 96725
and another team was comprised of four
members from Girl Scout Troop 96406. The
third team was made up of three Jefferson
Township Middle School students from
special education teacher Theresa Fogel’s
class.
According to Santangelo, teams were
required to submit a sketch of their artwork
prior to the June 10 competition.
“We wanted the artwork to be summery,”
said Santangelo.
Each team painted the outside of two
side-by-side 41-by-44-inch library windows.
All supplies were furnished by the arts
committee. There was no entry fee.
“We only asked the kids to bring their own
snacks,” said Santangelo.
Painting kicked off just after 9 a.m. and
Left to right: Representing the Curious Canvas
team are Isabella Bavosa, Rachel Breen, Jaelyn
Edore and Amanda Buccieri. Ashley Rosado
working for team Pickles. Tegan Petretti, from
team It’s Giving..Summer team, dabs on a cloud.
teams finished by noon. Voting by the public
was done on-site at the library the following
week. Winners were announced at an awards
ceremony on June 21, also at the library. Teams
were judged on use of color and how well
they executed the theme of their sketch,
said Santangelo.
Team Curious Canvas, Brushes, Books and
Brains won first place with the likeness of
Curious George next to a stack of books and
a field of bird houses.
Team It’s Giving … Summer received second
place for their version of a day at the beach.
And team Pickles won third place for
their colorful version of a library filled with
bookshelves, kids and puppies.
For freshman Jaelyn Edore, a member of
team Curious Canvas, the day was enjoyable.
“It’s a good way to bring the community
together,” she said.
Kathy Buccieri, mom of Curious Canvas
member Amanda Buccieri and co-leader of
Troop 96406, was more to the point.
“They’re being creative, they’re off their
technology and they’re outside in the fresh
air,” she said.
Santangelo was pleased with the turnout.
“The mission of the arts committee is to
promote the arts,” she said.
“And involve youth,” added Carol Punturieri,
arts committee president. “We’re hoping that
the kids involved in today’s event will bring
more to the event next year.”
Santangelo is certain the contest will
become annual and is already thinking of
ways to expand the competition.
“Next year will be open to adult teams as
well,” she said, adding that the committee
will also look into inviting local professional
artists to join as special guests.
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lakehopatcongnews.com 13

High School Architecture
Students Help Design New
American Legion
Story by MELISSA SUMMERS
Photos by Karen Fucito
From the charred remains of the longtime
home of American Legion Post 245 of
Lake Hopatcong will rise a new and improved
version of a hall that hosted dozens of fish
fries, weddings, memorials and other social
gatherings before it was destroyed by fire
almost a year ago.
While many will have a hand in rebuilding the
structure lost on August 26, 2022, the veteran
members determined to make it happen
will have help from some young talent from
Jefferson Township High School.
Jason Nicholas, who teaches architecture
and computer-aided design, or CAD, classes
at the high school, recruited 16 students, some
from his classes, to form the JT Design Studio.
Under his guidance and in cooperation with
the members of Post 245, the group is drawing
up designs for the new building,
Nicholas, a registered architect who began
teaching at Jefferson four years ago, said when
he saw the news about the fire, he immediately
wanted to get involved.
“I believe in something called ‘design for
community’ so I wanted to pay back with my
skills,” he said. “I thought it would be a really
cool project to bring to one of my classes or a
group of students—to bring them the real-life
experience of what an architect does.”
After speaking with his department
supervisor and the district superintendent,
Nicholas was put in contact with Jefferson
Township Mayor Eric Wilsusen who reached
out to Post 245 Commander Donald Doty.
Doty is one third of the Rebuild the Legion
committee that includes Eric Sudak, committee
chair, and Russ Felter, former township mayor.
It wasn’t long before meetings were set and
the students got to work.
While Legion members are looking forward
to the new structure, the trauma of the fire still
lingers.
The fire was especially tough on Carl Gross,
90, of Jefferson Township, who has been a
Legion member for over 55 years. Gross had a
front-row seat to the event that August day.
The morning of the fire, his brother, Tony
Gross, and his wife were preparing for a fish
fry dinner when a grease fire broke out in
the corner of the kitchen. Despite their best
efforts, the couple could not get it under
control.
“My brother’s wife came running over to my
house because my brother wouldn’t leave, so
she figured she would get me and
I’d get him out of there,” Gross
said. “And I did, I came running
over.”
As Gross pulled into the parking
lot, his brother, the prior post
commander, had just come out.
“We just stood there and watched
the thing go. What a sight,” he said
of the fire that quickly consumed
the decades-old building.
“When you are involved in
someplace for 50, 60 years, it’s a
lot of work, a lot of time,”
Gross added. “And to lose
everything … the pictures. It’s too bad.”
Tony Gross passed away just months after
the fire. “I think what did him in was this fire. He
put his whole life into [the Legion],” his brother
said.
Doty, who has been a member of the
American Legion for over 50 years, wasn’t
able to get to the site right away on the day
of the fire because the roads were blocked
off. “Everyone was calling, texting, so I knew
about it right away,” he said. “We recovered
very little—some ceremonial guns that we are
trying to get refurbished and a few pictures—
but nothing else.”
Nicholas introduced the project to his
students in October. “The first thing we did
was come out to the site, and the students
took measurements,” he said. “After we
documented and photographed it, we put
together a layout of the existing floor plan and
then came up with the design concepts for the
project.”
Those working on the project are a mixture of
students enrolled in his classes, former students
and a few with other interests. Savannah
Peters, assisted by fellow videography student
Kiley Shatzel, is filming the progress as part
of a project for the Multimedia Broadcasting
and Journalism Academy at the high school.
Another classmate, Kyle Peters, contributed
drone footage of the site.
The group drew up floor plans, exterior views
and met multiple times with Legion members.
“They [Legion members] were very heavily
involved in the initial drawings and the concept
designs,” Nicholas said.
The current plans are considered conceptual
for preliminary cost estimates and could
be adjusted as the project progresses, said
Nicholas.
Senior Ainesh Gobind, 18, a CAD student,
didn’t know what he was getting into when he
joined the team. “Architecture is not my thing,
but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone
a little bit,” said Gobind, who lives in the Lake
Hopatcong side of town. “I thought, why not
just go for it.”
He’s glad he did, and he’s glad to have a
professional on his side during this project. “As
long as we have Mr. Nick here, we are going to
be OK. If he’s not here, we’re not OK,” he added
with a laugh.
Jacob Black, a 17-yearold
senior from Milton,
has always been interested
14
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
Top, left to right: Fire
burns through the roof of
American Legion Post 245
in August 2022. Jacob
Black walks through
the rubble with a set of
architectural plans. Nick
Roberts makes changes to
the design.

in CAD and architecture and
was thrilled to take on the
project. “I get to experience
what actual architecture is
like,” he said. “Instead of just
designing things on my own,
I’ll get to actually design
something for someone, for
the community.”
The students are finding
out firsthand that with a reallife
project comes real-life
stress.
“You have to make everything perfect and
correct. You have to fit into the lines of what
they need, their budget. There’s a lot of things
I didn’t know that I know now, like all the
building codes and things we have to follow,”
said Jacob, who will be taking this experience
directly to Iowa State University, where he’ll
pursue a bachelor’s degree in architecture.
Sophomore Cole Havriliak, 15, of Oak Ridge,
played a big part in the exterior design of
the new building. He takes pride in giving the
veterans what they need—and more. “They
wanted that old building back,” he said. “We
were able to make the building a lot more
modern, with a newer look and not outdated.
And they were open to that, which I was happy
about.”
Cole suggested a cupola. “It will add more
character to the building. We wanted to go
modern farmhouse. It’s going to be blue. I’m
really excited. It’s just going to look good.”
Not all the students have architectural
aspirations. Senior Paytan Grevesen, 18, is an
Environment Science Academy student from
Montville. She has become involved in order
to study the effect of modern construction
on the environment. “We had a class about
ecological design,” she explained. “I think it’s
important to think about things like that and
how we can have a more environmentally
friendly impact on the world.”
Grevesen is taking a look at
how environmental science
can tie into the construction
of the American Legion
building. One way, she said, is
to bring the outdoors in. “In
the main hall, we are going
to have more windows. The
cupola could be opened for
more natural lighting.”
The group is nearing the end of the design
phase, but Nicholas still insists that his
students—like Nick Roberts and Joe Sporer,
who both offered creative alternatives to
the existing plan at a May meeting—explore
revisions and think about the cost analysis
of each design they present to the American
Legion. The process is ongoing, said Nicholas,
who hopes a decision will be made soon.
According to Nicholas, the work the
students are doing is saving the American
Legion approximately $15,000 to $20,000 in
architectural fees.
Doty and the committee are thankful for
the support from the town and hope to
restore Post 245 to its former luster in time
for Memorial Day 2024. He’s also hoping the
attention being paid to the Legion will prove
fruitful in other ways, like membership and
involvement.
Left to right: With video camera in hand, Savannah Peters walks
through the rubble after filming. Ainesh Gobind and Jason Nicholas
discuss design elements as Kiley Shatzel looks on.
“Members are getting older; we’re not
getting new members. I’m hoping, with the
new building, we get new, younger members to
help out, take over stuff. It’s going to be nice.”
According to Felter, an Adopt a Table, Adopt
a Chair program will be offered soon to help
raise funds for furnishing the new building.
Anyone will be able to purchase as little as a
single chair or table or as many as they want.
“It’s a way to contribute to the project and
be able to say, ‘I helped rebuild the Legion,’”
he said.
“It’s a great project that gets us involved with
our community,” added Grevesen. “And give
back to these great guys who gave so much for
us. It’s our way to give back to them.”
To donate services or to help with the
rebuild email Don Doty at donandarlene@
yahoo.com or call Russ Felter at 973-224-3827.
To donate money for the rebuild, send a
check to American Legion Post 245, PO Box
187, Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey 07849.
lakehopatcongnews.com 15

NOW OPEN
453 River Styx Road, Hopatcong, NJ 07843 thebeaconlh.com
16
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

KATELYNN PETERSON
LOCAL
VOICES
An admitted adrenaline junkie—she said she loves being in “the midst of the crazy”—Katelynn Peterson, is on track to chase
thrills for a long time. At just 18 years old, the Lake Hopatcong resident volunteers for both the Jefferson Township Rescue Squad
(an active member for two years) and Jefferson Township Fire Department Co. 2 (sworn in on March 1) and has already been
on more calls than she can count. And if that doesn’t seem like enough, her summer jobs—part time at Jefferson Dairy and
sometime dog walker—keep her more than busy. Having just graduated from Jefferson Township High School, Peterson has her
sights set on being a trauma nurse and a paramedic and will be attending Moravian University in the fall.
WHERE ARE YOU ORIGINALLY FROM? WHAT MADE IT SPECIAL?
I was born in Illinois and adopted into an amazing family. They lived in Edgewater, New Jersey.
They then moved to the house we live in now in Lake Hopatcong and that’s when they got
me! I have lived here for all 18 years of my life.
WHO MAKES UP YOUR FAMILY?
I have a 21-year-old special needs brother, Christopher; my mom and dad, Pam
and Gerard; my grandma and grandpa, Louis and Verne Kiel; and my German
Shepherd, Nikki, who I raised for The Seeing Eye when she was a puppy. I have
her because she failed out for stomach problems.
DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF PERSON YOU ARE.
I am a very outgoing and courageous person. I try to do anything in my
power to reach my goals—even if it scares me.
WHAT’S THE CRAZIEST/MOST EXCITING THING YOU’VE DONE?
I saved a dog from Lake Hopatcong when I was on duty recently. I ran over to
the dock that she was stuck under and laid on my stomach and tried my best
to get her out. I first tried to grab her front legs, but she kept going back far under
the dock, on the rocks. Then she came close but fell into the water, and I scooped
her out by the butt. Before I could process what was going on, I had the over
100-pound pit bull in my arms, licking my face and alligator rolling over me
on the dock.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE IN LIFE AND WHY?
I would have to say my grandpa because he is just like me. He used
to be a cop and has been super supportive with all of my first
responder decisions and my career path. He has given me very
helpful tips and always makes sure to text me to be careful
whenever I’m on duty or I get a fire call.
DO YOU VOLUNTEER?
I volunteer with the Jefferson Township Rescue Squad and fire
department near me. I am a buddy in the Unified Sports program
offered by the Special Olympics. I also volunteer as a puppy raiser
for The Seeing Eye. We get them when they are about 6 weeks old
and keep and train them until they are around a year old. Then
they return to The Seeing Eye for their formal training. I have
raised three so far. I also volunteer at a horse stable where my
brother participates in special needs therapy riding classes. I
take care of the horses during the classes, or I am a walker. I
lead the horse around the pathway or in the arena while the
kids are using weights or doing other exercises.
ANY HOBBIES?
I love to sing and act and have been in all my school’s shows. I
play my guitar in my free time.
IS THERE SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE
SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU?
I never truly liked ice cream until I started working at Jefferson
Dairy. It definitely made me like it more!
original creative strong
I AM I AM I AM
lakehopatcongnews.com 17

Historic Objects Help Tell Her Story
18
Story by MARIA VOGEL-SHORT
Photos by Karen Fucito
Ever since Amy Elizabeth Curry was a kid
in Stoneham, Massachusetts, listening to
her beloved grandpa talk about the 1920s, she
has loved history. It was a wonderful childhood
spent with her large family visiting museums
and exploring the countryside.
She was especially drawn to the tools, gadgets
and objects that survived over the years.
“It wasn’t just what you learned in school
about history,” said Curry, who today serves
as executive director of the Morris County
Historical Society in Morristown and is a
resident of Roxbury Township. “It is the
historical objects. These objects tell stories, and
they are a gateway to learning more about our
culture and what life was like back then.”
Curry explained how antiquated objects
illustrate history in a way historical data cannot.
“These objects interpret history,” said Curry, 47.
“[Having them] is a way to preserve the integrity
of a historical building or dwelling and a way to
understand the past.”
From Stoneham, Curry made her way to
Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, thanks to a four-year
swimming scholarship to Penn State University,
where she earned her undergraduate degree in
cultural and natural resource management.
Her bachelor’s degree led her to the
Saugus Iron Works, a National Historic Site in
Massachusetts, where she worked as a park
ranger for seven years. “I worked my way up the
ladder from a park ranger to lead interpretive
park ranger and education team leader,”
explained Curry. “I managed educational
programming for two national historic sites and
researched and executed a Teaching American
History grant.”
Looking for a new challenge, Curry left
Massachusetts and returned to Pennsylvania,
this time landing in Lancaster at Millersville
University, where she obtained a Master of
Arts in history, focusing on Civil War and
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
Reconstruction.
Her goal was to marry her park
ranger experience with her newly
obtained advanced history degree.
That led her to quickly be hired at
the Morris County Historical Society
in 2012.
Curry sees her trek from Lancaster
County to Morris County as an
interesting contrast from rural life
to a more cosmopolitan life. But
metropolitan or not, history is a
study of how people live, she said.
“The study of history is local,” said
Curry. “In Morris County, it is about
Washington’s headquarters and Washington’s
winter encampment. But in Boston, it is about
the Tea Party and the Mayflower.”
With a new job secured in a different state
than where she was living, Curry realized she
had a short window of time to find a place
to live. The search brought her to the Lake
Hopatcong region, where she found houses to
be somewhat affordable. The only caveat, she
said, was the number of homes still dealing with
damage caused by flooding from Hurricane
Irene in 2011. She chose the Landing house she
now calls home because she loved the fact
that it had no back door neighbors and that
the house could never get damaged by floods,
being so high in the hills.
“My mom and I came up [to the house] here
by car, and the drive was so long that we felt
like we were traveling to the moon because of
the high hills and side roads along the lake,” she
said of finding her home off the lake. “Most of
the houses in my price range had water damage
and this house was high and dry,” she laughed,
emphasizing the “high.”
But taking the high road requires hard work.
Curry said her mother calls her driven. Curry,
who is in a long-distance relationship with
a national park employee in Massachusetts,
said she could describe herself in one word:
passionate. The combination is realized in a
From top, clockwise: Amy Curry outside Acorn
Hall in Morristown. Curry stands among a group
of clothed mannequins. Curry in one of the
storage rooms at Acorn Hall. One of the original
windows from Curry’s childhood bedroom
adorned with family photos, including her with
her grandpa.
disciplined woman who sets goals and meets
them. The results are palpable.
The historical society is headquartered at
Acorn Hall in Morristown, the group’s only
structural entity. The building is a modest
country home built in 1853 as a foursquare
Georgian and modified in 1860 to the Italianatestyle,
with a decorative trimmed portico and
gray gables. There is also a carriage house onsite.
From her office on the second floor of Acorn
Hall, Curry has led the charge to preserve the
three-story, mid-19th century building and the
property’s carriage house and has helped secure
a 25,000-object collection used to tell the
history of Morris County.
“The three most significant collections
objects we own are Acorn Hall, the carriage
house and the St. Cecilia 1886 stained glass
window that is attributed to John Johnston, a
rival and contemporary of Tiffany,” said Curry.
With single-minded direction, she streamlined
operations without adding expenses, which

helped correct previous shortfalls, including
increasing the skeleton staff from three to seven,
adding a research assistant, collections assistant,
facilities manager and a membership and
volunteer coordinator. She has implemented
a long-term strategic plan that has forged
partnerships with history-centered nonprofits.
“When I started here, there were days that
I was here by myself,” recalled Curry. “Every
Tuesday I would be alone and have to stop what
I was doing to run a tour. I learned a lot from
that. But now we have people to handle tours
and day-to-day non-management issues.”
She has also secured partnerships with the
roughly 40 local historical societies within the
county and integrated technology and social
media into the collection to ensure that Acorn
Hall maintains a prominent place in Morris
County history.
Since her start in 2012, Curry has spearheaded
the acquisition of 80 grants, worth over $3
million, to preserve Morris County maps,
artifacts, objects and Acorn Hall itself. The grants
also increased funding for historic preservation
and cultural history initiatives. Acorn Hall hosts
between one and three unique exhibits a year
and is internationally known for its historic
textiles and historical clothing collection, dating
from as early as 1790 through to the 1970s.
“I did not do this alone,” emphasized Curry,
waving to the pictures and commendations
of other people involved in the restoration. “I
stand on the shoulders of some great people.”
Curry said the work she does for the historical
society can be time consuming.
“This is a big part of my life. In 2012, we
were reinstalling the original slate roof. We
started construction then and have been in
construction every year since. It’s been an uphill
climb. My whole life is about this job,” she said.
The care and preservation of an old, ornate
wooden structure, she said, is constant.
Interestingly, when her mother renovated
Curry’s childhood home with new replacement
windows, Curry asked for the original windows
from her old bedroom. “It was a little room
only big enough for a twin bed, but I grew up
there. I am not a junk collector, but I wanted
to preserve the memory of that room,” she
said. Her mother obliged and Curry is now in
possession of both windows from her former
bedroom.
“One hangs in my bedroom, and the other
hangs over my desk [at home],” she said.
For Curry, the ultimate goal is to get back to
Massachusetts to where her family is, to where
her history began, but not before realizing the
work still needed to be done in Morris County.
“I give this work 100 per cent of my attention
and I want to leave it better than I found it,”
she said, adding, “I just want to pass it along to
someone who is as passionate as I have been.”
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lakehopatcongnews.com 19

Father-Son Duo Keeps Digging Away
20
Story by MICHAEL DAIGLE
Photos by Karen Fucito
The beginning of the Jefferson-based
business Al Hutchins Excavating was no
more complicated than this: “Got a machine,
started digging.”
That was in 1979, Al Hutchins Sr. said. He
had been working for another contractor and
decided to put his experience to work for
himself.
“I had been doing septics since I was 17,” he
said, “so I got some equipment and went out
on my own.”
In 1981, he was joined in the business by his
son, Al Hutchins Jr., who runs the company
today.
For the younger Hutchins, it was an easy
choice to join the business right after
graduating from Jefferson High School.
“I graduated and went right to work,” the
64-year-old said. “I just got to it.”
Their plain-spoken approach allowed the
business to succeed during a time when
Jefferson, like the rest of the Lake Hopatcong
region, was growing as part of a population
shift in North Jersey that filled up towns along
Route 80.
In 1980, Jefferson’s population was 16,413,
according to the U.S. Census. In 2022, the
township had 20,517 residents and a median
Top to bottom: Al Hutchins Jr. and Al Hutchins Sr. with some
of the company equipment. The younger Hutchins at a job
site on Raccoon Island.
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
home value of $358,400.
What the township also had was septic
systems.
What their business had, the son said, was
the machine: a backhoe tractor and front-end
loader. Perfect for digging septic systems.
Thanks to a steep-sloping terrain and
a state law banning the installation of
sewer systems across Jefferson’s extensive
preserved landscape—the township alone has
preserved 12,000 acres—Jefferson’s solid waste
management system relies on individual septic
systems.
The younger Hutchins estimates the
company has installed 50 septic systems a
year since the beginning—more than 2,000
systems—nearly all within a 5-mile radius of the
company’s headquarters on Northwood Road
in the Lake Hopatcong section of Jefferson.
The limited range of the company’s territory
is both a reflection on the type of work needed
in Jefferson to keep up with demand and the
source of sarcastic humor.
“We had a job in Dover, and a worker joked,
‘Oh, we’re traveling today,’” said the younger
Hutchins. Dover is about 12 miles from
Jefferson.
His father had the same comment about a
job in Hackettstown, some 15 miles away in the
other direction from Jefferson.
“That was a big travel day,” he said.
Still, he admitted, sometimes the range
from Jefferson stretches to 10 miles.
Today, the younger Hutchins said, travel
to a job could entail using a barge to ferry
workers and equipment to an island three
times a day, as they recently did for a
homeowner on Raccoon Island.
The lake region and Jefferson are home,
the men said.
The elder Hutchins, 84, and his ex-wife,
Ann, raised two children: their son and a
daughter, Donna, who lives in Florida. The
younger Hutchins and his wife, Rebecca,
are Jefferson natives. They have no
children and Rebecca manages the
paperwork for the business.
One of the reasons the company
has such a narrow service area is that
it does not have to look far for work.
“It’s all word of mouth. Our
customers are local people,” the
younger Hutchins said.
The company does little
advertising (Lake Hopatcong News is
the exception) and word-of-mouth
goes a long way in a close-knit
community like Lake Hopatcong.
“We always try to execute
sensible solutions,” he said.
He takes nothing for granted.
“There is no shortage of work,” he said, but
success depends on the company’s ability to
complete a quality project. “We want to work
well with the customer.”
There is a reflective quality in his voice as
he makes that statement: It is a measure of a
man who knows his business with the ability
to deliver a job and an appreciation that the
reputation of the company his father started—
and he now leads—is seen in the near-constant
number of calls they get.
“We rarely turn down a job,” he said.
While both men said septic systems are
a large part of the company’s work, the
company also builds driveways, rock walls and
foundations, and does site work, among other
services.
During the recent pandemic, which brought
a burst of home sales and subsequent septic
inspections and other business activity, the
younger Hutchins said the company performed
numerous demolitions.
Notable projects undertaken by the
company, the elder Hutchins said, are site
work at Nolan’s Point, including the Windlass
restaurant, the Lake Hopatcong Golf Club and
an adjoining parking lot, which are all owned by
Bela Szigethy.
Hutchins said that work followed site work
done for Szigethy when he built his lakefront
house more than 20 years ago. (Szigethy also
owns Lake Hopatcong News.)
And the work rarely slows. In the middle of
May, the younger Hutchins said, the company
was performing five jobs at once, including an
installation on Raccoon Island.
A constant in all the jobs the company
performs, father and son said, is rock—granite,
gneiss, marble and other hard stuff.
“Rock is always part of the problem,” the
younger Hutchins said with appreciation. “But
we work with it.”
Digging foundations in hard, rocky soil is as
challenging as it sounds, he said.
Rocky land, steep slopes and smaller spaces
upon which to work, thanks to continued
housing development, are all part of the
challenges of working the lake region, he
said. Each project requires more detailed
engineering and careful planning.
The presence of the rock influences the
design of septic systems, Hutchins said.
Septic systems are not just holes in the
ground; they are engineered systems designed
to capture and filter wastewater.
What has changed over time, Hutchins said,
is the engineering required to meet modern
septic regulations. The standards have changed
since the company was founded. The goal today
is to produce more efficient septic systems and
cleaner outflows that reduce pollutants that
could enter the lake and aquifers.
“The regulations are always changing,” the
younger Hutchins said. “I understand it. It’s

important to protect the lake.”
Those regulations, especially in Jefferson,
have been responsible for continued work, he
said.
Each house sale now requires a septic
inspection, and the inspection can lead to
replacement of the septic tank or a new
system, he said.
It can also lead to high, sometimes
frightening costs for a homeowner trying to
sell the property.
Replacement costs for any part of the
system can range between $10,000 to $15,000,
data shows, and new system installation can
cost up to $60,000, depending on conditions.
Old septic systems can still function
properly, the younger Hutchins said, if they are
well maintained.
An important change in the industry, he said,
is the new equipment.
The old backhoe front-end loader has
been superseded by smaller, more efficient
machines, designed for specific types of work
on a job site.
“They are more agile, better designed for
smaller worksites,” which are a growing part of
the company’s work, he said.
The company has always had one goal, the
elder Hutchins said.
Whether it’s a septic system, a driveway or
a decorative rock wall, “We want to leave the
site better than it was.”
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lakehopatcongnews.com 21

22
Landing Family Opens Home, Fosters Dozens o
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
Story by MELISSA SUMMERS
Photos by Karen Fucito
If ever there was a woman destined for
motherhood, it’s Carla Suitt.
This super mom, who celebrated her 70th
birthday in April, has one biological daughter,
two adopted sons with her husband, James,
and has fostered 39 children.
Suitt, of Landing, was born in Trinidad, West
Indies, the fifth of seven children. She said her
upbringing set the stage for her calling
as a foster parent.
Inspired by her mother, Pamella
Rougier, Suitt learned to welcome
anyone who graced their island home.
“I believe my mom used to feed the
neighborhood,” she said, with a bit
of her island accent still showing
through. “Any time you come to my
house, my mother would ask you, ‘Did
you eat yet?’ Always cook more, you
don’t know who’s going to stop by.”
Life in Trinidad was crazy, according
to Suitt. “I was young, I did a lot of
things,” she said with an eyebrow
raised. “We were teenagers.” At 16,
she gave birth to her daughter,
Alicia Rougier.
“My mom, the whole village
raised my daughter,” she said.
Suitt enjoyed anything
creative. She wanted to bake
cakes and do things with her
hands. “My mom said, ‘You
have a little girl, you should
learn to sew.’” She did, earning
an associate degree in sewing,
drafting and pattern design
at John Donaldson Technical
Institute in Trinidad.
In March 1978, at age 25, Suitt
moved to Brooklyn, New York,
with her mother, two sisters,
and Alicia—who was 7 at the
time and still referred to her
grandmother as Mommy
and her mother as Carla.
“It’s only when Alicia
got to college, I said, ‘Stop
calling me Carla. Start calling
me Mother now,’” said Suitt.
Suitt often visited a
cousin in New Jersey and
soon got a clerical job at
Howmet Castings in Dover,
where turbine blades were manufactured for the
aviation industry. It wasn’t her ideal job choice,
but it had one big benefit.
“I met this guy, James [Suitt], and never went
back to Brooklyn,” she said of the kind and
distinguished man from Dover who caught her
eye.
In 1980, Carla Suitt got an apartment in Dover.
It took two years for her daughter to join her
because her mom and sisters were still holding
a tight rein. “First, they told me, ‘You don’t have
your own place.’ I got my own place. ‘Well, you
don’t have a car.’ I got a car now. ‘Is it a good car,
a running car?’” she said with a shake of her head.
Once she and James Suitt were serious, they
started looking for homes together and chose
one in Landing, moving there in May 1984.
Suitt waited until they were married that June
before he moved in. “He always went back over
to his parents’ house,” said Alicia Rougier-Walker,
now 53. Suitt told her daughter she was setting an
example by not allowing James to move in before
they were married.
The Suitts attended Mount Zion Baptist Church
in Boonton, where in 1995 they met a 12-year-old
girl named Shandora. She had been living with her
grandmother but found herself needing a home
and began staying with the Suitts.
Rougier-Walker, who had been away at Army
boot camp, came home to the surprise sibling.
“She was going to spend the summer, my parents
said. Just someone from church, that’s it, but then
the grandmother just transferred everything to
the Department of Children and Families [DCF].”
DCF told the Suitts they’d cover medical
expenses but didn’t discuss a foster payment. “I
just wanted to help this child,” said Carla Suitt,
who continued working full-time at Howmet for
11 years. She just figured she’d pick up some parttime
work for extra income to help defray the
cost.
So when a check arrived from DCF, the family
was a bit confused.
“We didn’t know what it was, so I’m like, ‘Ma,
just return to sender,’” Rougier-Walker recalled.
“So, we put it in another envelope and sent it
back. Then, it came a second time.”
And that, said Rougier-Walker, is when the
Suitts found out that foster parents were given a
supplemental income.
Once the house was a certified foster home,
the calls began. Tara and Alexa came in 1996. “The
original girl didn’t like that,” laughed Rougier-
Walker, who lived at home until she was 30.
Some foster children were placed in their
home for a week or two while their parents
Top to bottom, left to right: Alicia Rougier-Walker visits with the Suitt’s first foster
child, Shandora Miller, in December of 2004. William, James and Carla Suitt with
Rougier-Walker. William Suitt, Rougier-Walker and Adam Suitt at Rougier-Walker’s
college graduation in 2015. Rougier-Walker and William at their childhood home.
Carla Suitt in her rose garden.
(Some photos courtesy of the Suitt family.)

f Local Kids
vacationed. Others stayed for up to two years,
which is the time allowed for birth parents to
make the changes necessary to get their kids
back, according to Carla Suitt. The youngest was
18 months, the oldest, 16.
According to the Suitts, foster children in their
home never wanted to leave.
“They aren’t just eating macaroni and cheese,”
Rougier-Walker said. “Mom is cooking for them.”
Never straying too far from her true passions,
over the years, Carla Suitt maintained jobs in
a restaurant, bakery and fabric store and also
provided child care (including for one of this
reporter’s children). A skilled seamstress, she still
takes on occasional work hemming dress pants or
altering wedding gowns.
She made a point of spending time with each
child. “I make bread … I bake cookies … I braid their
hair,” she said. The boys wore suits and the girls
wore dresses for church and Sunday school each
week.
James Suitt, now 67, said children in their home
felt safe and welcomed. “They are getting loved,
they are getting attention, you are taking time
out to listen and to do things with them,” he said.
“The system knew, whoever was coming here was
in good hands.”
The Suitts met once a month with other foster
parents. Often, they’d exchange kids’ clothes but
not Carla Suitt. “They said, ‘Where you get your
clothes?’ I said, ‘The store.’ They said, ‘You have to
go to the thrift shop.’ I said, ‘Would you go to the
thrift shop for your biological child?’ They’re my
children, why wouldn’t I buy things in the store
for them?”
Suitt balked at parents who introduced only
some of their kids as their own and some as
fosters. “When you start separating them, what
stigma are you putting in that child’s head?”
In June of 2000, Suitt got the call about Adam,
a 4-year-old boy from Mine Hill. His 2-year-old
brother, William, was in Jersey City. “I asked, ‘Why
are they separated?’ I’ll make room for both of
them,” she said. “First you take him out of the
house and now he’s separated from his brother.”
Adam Suitt, now 27, recalls never having space
in his previous three homes. “I used to sleep in
the hallway or living room,” he said. “In one home,
they kept a whole space for the cat. Sometimes
I’d go in and sleep with the cat. Here, we had our
own room.”
With three older daughters, Adam and William’s
biological mother struggled to take care of five
children. His dad was in and out of the picture.
“I’m very blessed where I found myself,” he said.
“Not many foster parents are willing to take care
of children beyond their physical needs.”
Two years later, Carla was told Adam and
William’s parents would not be taking them back
and that they were available for adoption.
“They were signing off their parental rights but
only if the Suitts adopted the boys,” Rougier-
Walker recalled.
Carla Suitt was 49 and wrestled with the idea
of permanently taking on two small children.
“I started praying and asked myself why these
kids came here.”
The adoption was official in September
2002.
“Taking on two personalities … two children
I didn’t give birth to … but I didn’t feel that I
didn’t give birth to them,” she said of the boys.
“They are my children.”
Despite obstacles, the Suitts worked hard
to keep William and Adam connected to their
biological family. The boys spoke to their
sisters, and the Suitts would pick their father
up and bring him to birthday parties. “We
would take Adam and William for visits with
their mom at DCF, then find out she didn’t
show up,” said Carla about the scheduled
meetings at the agency’s office.
It was a bit of an adjustment for Rougier-
Walker, who was 32 when the boys were
adopted.
“She said, ‘I’ve been a single child all my life—
now I’ve got to share my inheritance,’” recalled
Carla Suitt with a chuckle. “I told James this is
what we are going to do. We are just going to
spend it. There won’t be anything left to fight
about!”
Soon after the boys were adopted, the
Suitts had seven children living in their home.
James Suitt took money out of his 401k to buy
a van.
In 2007, the Suitts’ Landing home was
expanded with larger bedrooms and an
extra bathroom. Bunk beds in two of the
four bedrooms were consistently filled with
children over the next couple of decades.
For many of those years, Carla said her
husband worked 70-hour weeks, and the
couple was able to pay off the house.
“I would call him at work and say, ‘James,
they called me for another child.’ He’d say,
‘Why did you call me? You know you’re going
to take them anyway.’ I’d say, ‘Okay, love you,
bye!’”
Not every child was easy. Many had special
needs or disabilities, but Carla Suitt would be
there for them.
“I always told DCF not to call me just because
I have the room. I should be the last call they
make. Call me the cleanup woman,” she said.
“I’m not looking for a check. I’m not looking to
babysit nobody’s kids. I’m looking to advocate
for a child. That’s what I do.”
One difficult case involved a 12-year-old
boy named Ryan, who had been sent by DCF
to Florida to live with an aunt, the only family
member willing to take him. He had scoliosis
and needed spinal surgery. The aunt would
only agree to the surgery if she was paid as a
full-time caregiver, so DCF called on the Suitts
to foster him. “I started advocating for him,
taking him to the doctor, the specialist,” said
Carla Suitt. Ryan was able to have the surgery
and stayed with the Suitts for about a year
including recovery time, according to Carla.
Then there was 3-year-old Joey, who was
kicked out of day care because of his behavior.
James Suitt was shocked. Rougier-Walker, not
so much. She laughed at the memory of the
precocious little boy.
He definitely won Carla Suitt over. “Once,
he went to the door and yelled: ‘Jesus, God,
it’s me, Joey. I don’t want to leave this house!’
He closed the door and said, ‘Mama, Jesus said
I could stay.’ And I said, ‘If Jesus said you can
stay, you can stay.’ Who am I to say Jesus didn’t
tell him? He was something else.”
One foster, Tyree, is now a firefighter in
Somerset County. “He wanted some of my
recipes to cook at the firehouse,” boasted
Carla Suitt.
James Suitt said they tried to take in mostly
boys, close in age to their adopted sons. “If
kids come into a home and there are no other
kids, it’s tough, but when they see other kids
it’s a different thing,” he added.
“I would look at it like having another
brother,” said Adam Suitt about his unique,
extended family. “People would ask, ‘Who is
that?’ I wouldn’t say my foster brother, I would
say my brother. I would always see them as
another brother. Some kids just needed that.”
He would encourage the foster kids to share
their feelings in ways they could not in other
homes.
“And my toys were their toys,” he said.
“Sometimes when they’d leave, I’d give them
something.”
Often the children would come with
everything they owned in a garbage bag,
Carla Suitt said. But when they left, they took
everything with them—often in a new suitcase
or backpack.
Once their sons were teens, the couple
knew they were nearing the end of their time
as foster parents. The last foster, Danny, lived
at the home until 2018.
Carla Suitt said she would do it all over again
in a heartbeat. “I enjoy them. I cry when they
leave. I wonder if their mother is giving them
a bath, I wonder if they change their clothes.
I hope she’s not keeping the diaper on too
long.”
Her husband said the couple “took kids that
needed the love” and that their foster journey
has been a joyous adventure with a lasting
impact. “They’ve kept me young. You are part
of them, and they are part of you.”
“People do things for the wrong reasons,” said
Carla Suitt. “I did this because I love children. I
gave birth to one, but I fostered many. They’re
all my children. And I did it because there was a
need. I had the time and that’s what I did. And
this poor man put up with it for me and my
lovely daughter.”
lakehopatcongnews.com 23

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lakehopatcongnews.com 25

Club Has Carved Out a 40-Year Following
Story by ELLEN WILKOWE
Photos by Karen Fucito
It was a Thursday night, and the halls of
Jefferson Township High School were in
full swing with after-hours activities. There
was the unmistakable sound of music and the
unmistakable scent of … wood?
Yes, wood.
A smell that intensified as passersby followed
it seamlessly to its source: the school’s wood
shop. Except there were no students to be
found, unless you count the small group of
adults trying their hands at wood carving.
The mood was, well, chipper, among the
men and women who were trading tools and
tips across two tables that could very well be
defined as literal carving stations. There were
no chips on any shoulders but plenty in the
hands of members of the Jersey Hills Wood
Carvers club.
Founded by former Jefferson Township
High School biology teacher Earl Post, the
club is celebrating 40 years of bringing the art
and craft of recreational wood carving to the
public.
“It started out as an evening class for
adults to teach recreation wood carving,” said
longtime member Bill Brunner of Hopatcong.
“The course was very popular and many of the
students returned semester after semester.”
Despite its popularity, the course folded in
1983 but the demand of the public prevailed,
laying the groundwork for today’s club.
“Eventually the club name was voted on, and
we officially became the Jersey Hills Wood
Carvers,” said Brunner.
Forty years later, the club sticks to its original
objective as per its website: “To promote
interest in and appreciation of the art of wood
carving to all.” The club further markets itself
as a “small, diverse group of people sharing
their passion, time, knowledge and joy of
wood carving.” There are no membership fees,
just a simple interest in wood carving will do.
As the club gained traction, members took it
on the road, providing interactive wood carving
demonstrations at the New Jersey State Fair in
Augusta, at schools and for area Boy and Girl
Scout troops.
The club will once again be featuring demos
for all 10 days of the state fair this year, which
begins August 4.
Club members range in skill sets from the
carving curious to the carving connoisseur,
such as Brunner who let his curiosity get and
then make the best of him in 1988.
“It was just something I wanted to try, so I
purchased a how-to book, a knife and a block
of wood and went to town,” he said. “I dabbled
with it for a few years until we started having
children, then carving got put aside for some
time.”
Having never lost interest, he stumbled upon
the club at a carving show in Wayne and
slowly made his way back to the carving
board, this time with his 11-year-old son,
Christian, in tow.
“He took to carving pretty quickly, and
it was obvious that he had the eye for it,”
Brunner said.
Besides, what better way to carve out
some quality father-son time? And like
father, like son—Christian is now 25—the
duo work the craft show circuit and sell
their wares online and at shows.
Meanwhile, longtime member and
former club president Henry Hanzo discovered
his inner carver earlier in life when he was a Boy
Scout. He took carving to the next level while
serving as a dental tech in the United States Air
Force, where he had to carve teeth out of blue
wax and cast them on metal.
After more than three decades as a
telephone draftsman and repairman, plus a
stint as a telecommunications instructor at
Passaic County Vocational Technical School,
Hanzo has since returned to his first love
of woodworking, specifically carving and
woodburning.
Over the years, he has attended his fair share
of carving shows, placing first in one of them.
“I like the challenge,” he said. “It’s good
because you get feedback from professionals.
You learn different techniques.”
With a focus on woodburning, Hanzo
remains open-minded to the creative process.
“I like to do anything,” he said. “I like carving
and then woodburning because it highlights
the pieces.”
Hanzo takes particular pride in having carved
a skull out of ash wood and then applying the
woodburning technique to it.
“Everyone has their specialty,” he said.
“We’re not a teaching club, but if you want
to learn how to carve, you saddle up to
someone—we’ll put you alongside a mentor,”
he said.
That mentor just happens to be the club’s
current president and carving connoisseur Al
Santucci of Rockaway.
As a Jefferson Township High School
graduate, he is more than familiar with the
wood shop as well as the late founder Earl Post.
“Earl was a teacher when I was a student,” he
said.
Artistically inclined since childhood, Santucci
signed up for wood shop in eighth grade and
has come back to the classroom as a club
member.
Top to bottom, left to right: Newcomer Michelle
Egan gets instructions from Al Santucci.
Santucci, Bilquis Ansari and Agatha Sheerin
discuss a group project during a May meeting.
Mike Muldoon uses a band saw to cut the shape
of a duck. A carving by Agatha Sheerin of a dog
in motion.
26
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

“I could always draw and make things,” he
said. “I loved working with wood and took
wood shop and drafting until I graduated high
school.”
He applied his hands-on nature in the
workforce, first via drafting and then designing
PC boards before winding down his career as a
production engineer.
Santucci learned of the club about five years
ago through another member and is pleased
with the result.
“Many members have helped me improve
my carving skills,” he said. His latest project is a
wooden chain link.
Now Santucci pays it forward by mentoring
others such as Mike Muldoon of Sparta.
Muldoon is so new to the club that the sawdust
is still settling.
“The first night here I was like, ‘Wow.’ There’s
no messing around here, we just get right to
carving,” said Muldoon, tipping his knife to
Santucci for showing him the ropes.
“Al said, ‘Sit down here and let me show you
the five-minute wizard.’ He drew it on a paper
and then a piece of wood and said, ‘Make a line
here and there ….’”
As a first-timer, Muldoon joked that the fiveminute
wizard was more like a two-hour-andfive-minute
wizard.
“You go to town with a knife, but you can’t
get too crazy too fast,” he said.
A self-proclaimed wood-carving hobbyist,
Muldoon worked in two hands-on careers: one
in construction and the other as a mechanic.
“I’ve done woodworking frequently on and
off and was always intrigued by carving,” he
said.
His intrigue, as well as word of mouth, led
him to the club earlier this year.
Since joining and completing his two-hourand-five-minute
wizard, Muldoon has also
gotten his ducks in a row—wooden ducks, that
is, of which he has carved a few.
“Everybody here is fantastic and very
helpful,” he said.
Michelle Egan, a graphic designer from Oak
Ridge, could attest to that. Like Muldoon,
she found out about the club through the
grapevine and attended her first meeting in
May, the same night Muldoon joined.
“I needed to get away from computers,” she
said. So, she subbed out a keyboard for a wood
board and found Zen in the process. “This is
like meditation,” she said, while detailing a
small wizard.
In terms of materials, club members tote the
tools of the trade, always with the intent of
sharing.
While members bring their own tools and
source their own wood, the school provides a
place to meet and a supply of wood scraps for
the group’s yearly holiday project.
Despite the Jefferson venue, the club has
also attracted members from outside of town.
A member for more than a decade, Agatha
Sheerin of Stillwater took up wood carving
“just for fun.” To date, she still marvels at the
creations of her fellow crafters.
“People make great stuff,” she said. “I am just
amazed at the products.”
On this recent Thursday, Sheerin was putting
the finishing touches on a wooden Santa, part
of a collection of ornaments that she and
other members have been working on. Since
joining the club, she is appreciative of the
tool tutorials provided to her by the more
experienced members she’s met along the way.
Fostering the member-member relationship
is exactly what Santucci hopes for while
envisioning the club’s future. That, and growing
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the membership in the name of what carves
around goes around. Friendship is just an added
perk.
“We are a friendly group of people that
create all kinds of carvings and help and
support our members. I would love the club
to continue to gain members and the current
members mentor and teach this craft to them.”
The Jersey Hills Wood Carvers meets at
Jefferson Township High School’s wood shop
from 7-9 p.m. on the first, third and fifth
Thursday of each month during the school
year.
For more information go to
jerseyhillswoodcarver.com or visit the club on
Facebook.
James J. Leffler
Realtor
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LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

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lakehopatcongnews.com 29

Cigars, Bourbons and Philanthropy
Story and photos by KAREN FUCITO
Billed as a cigar and bourbon cruise on Miss Lotta—Lake Hopatcong’s only
dinner boat—41 guests at the June event not only enjoyed high quality cigars
and uncommon bourbons, they also helped raise $1,000. The event also served as a
way to recruit new members for the Lake Hopatcong Elks Lodge.
Funds raised helped defray the cost of a luncheon honoring veterans that was
held at the Elks lodge on June 24. The luncheon followed two complimentary Salute
to Veterans cruises on Miss Lotta, said Ed Parrillo Jr., Lake Hopatcong Elks Chairman
of Veterans Committee. In the past, the luncheon had been held at American Legion
Post 245 in Lake Hopatcong, but a fire last summer destroyed the building.
“The Elks are pleased to be able to step in and host this year’s luncheon,” said Parrillo.
The cigar and bourbon event was hosted by Miss Lotta’s six captains as a thank you
to members of the community who have partnered with Lake Hopatcong Cruises over
the years.
The invited guests enjoyed a tasting put together by Capt. Lee Moreau, who presented
bourbons produced in distilleries from the area in the south dubbed the Bourbon Trail,
which are not available for purchase locally.
Each guest received a complimentary cigar at boarding time, said Moreau.
The cigars used for the fundraiser were sourced through an anonymous donor and
were considered one of “the highest quality” cigars around, said Elks member Alex Banos.
“This is a real community connection,” said Moreau. “We raised some money and
hopefully we recruited more members for the Elks.”
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30
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

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lakehopatcongnews.com 33

HISTORY
Drawn to Lake Hopatcong
Leyendecker, Pyle, Parrish, Flagg, Wyeth,
Gibson, Remington, Rockwell. In an era
when photography was still new, the sketches
and paintings created by these iconic artists
entered millions of American homes in the form
of calendars, magazine and book illustrations,
advertisements and art prints.
Through their bold and original work, which
appeared in popular magazines, American
illustrators of the late 19th and early to mid-
20th century played an important role in the
development of both literature and popular
culture.
Although this commercial art was passed over
by collectors for years, today these works are
highly prized.
American illustrations began to appear in
newspapers in the late 1800s as publishers
discovered that art increased sales and
stimulated interest in a story. By the turn of
the century, magazines began to compete for
mass circulation as editors added fiction to the
mix of articles. These stories usually featured
at least one illustration to set the tone, portray
characters and catch
readers’ attention.
The work of
certain artists
became instantly
recognizable. Charles
Gibson’s Gibson Girl
became the ideal for
millions of young
women—and men.
J.C. Leyendecker’s
renderings of the
34
by MARTY KANE
Photos courtesy of
the
LAKE HOPATCONG
HISTORICAL
MUSEUM
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
Arrow Collar Man attracted fan mail
and even marriage proposals.
Uncle Sam, drawn by James
Montgomery Flagg, became an
American icon. Frederic Remington
helped popularize the adventure and
romance of the West, while Howard
Pyle’s work brought American history
and the chivalry of the Middle Ages to life.
The iconic images created by Norman
Rockwell, perhaps the best-known American
illustrator, captured everyday American life and
became part of the nation’s culture.
One artist considered an unheralded great
among American illustrators had ties to Lake
Hopatcong.
P.J. Monahan was among New York’s most
prolific illustrators during the first three
decades of the 20th century. Monahan created
advertisements, movie posters, magazine covers
and commissioned art but produced most of his
work for the “pulp” magazines of the day. (The
name comes from the cheap wood pulp paper
on which they were printed).
Pulp magazines often featured illustrated
novel-length stories of characters like The
Shadow and the Phantom Detective and were
intended for adult readers while comic books
were aimed at children and adolescents.
Although many respected writers wrote
for pulps, these magazines are perhaps best
remembered for their lurid, sensational stories
and thrilling cover art. Little attention was paid
to the work of pulp illustrators at the time, but
in recent years, due to some of Monahan’s other
work, his art has become better known and more
collectible.
Born in Iowa in 1882, Monahan began life as
Patrick John Sullivan.
At the age of 9, after losing both parents
and a sister to an influenza outbreak, he and a
brother were taken in by neighbors Rose and
Jim Monahan. At 17, Patrick Monahan won an art
scholarship to Drake University in Des Moines.
He began illustrating newspapers in Chicago and
St. Louis after graduating and soon won an art
contest that sent him to study painting in Europe.
Monahan married Louise Averill in 1905
and soon moved to New York City, where he
immediately found employment illustrating
fashion catalogs.
In 1907, he began painting covers for Leslie’s
Weekly, a leading magazine. During the ensuing
From top to bottom, left to right: Cover
illustration from July 1, 1909. Cover illustration
from August 3, 1911. Cover illustration from
December 9, 1922.
Pat and Louise Monahan at Hopatcong’s Pine Tree Point
on Lake Hopatcong, circa 1920.
years he painted for many popular magazines
of the day, including Ladies’ Home Journal,
Cosmopolitan and Hampton’s Magazine.
Monahan earned $125 for a typical painting
in the 1910s when the average annual American
salary was under $750.
In 1912, Monahan’s friendship with author Jack
London led to his illustrating “Smoke Bellew,”
London’s collection of short stories about the
Alaska Gold Rush. Monahan was admitted to the
Society of Illustrators the same year, where he
became friends with James Montgomery Flagg
and Norman Rockwell. During World War I,
Monahan teamed with a committee of artists to
help the war effort by contributing paintings for
Liberty Bonds and recruitment efforts.
Monahan’s work is noted for its composition,
design and use of color. Contemporary art
editors acknowledge his skill in depicting women.
Roger Hill, an expert on American illustrators,
wrote in his book, “The Fantastic Worlds of P.
J. Monahan” that Monahan “brought a quality,
not simply of art and draftsmanship, but of
femininity and romance to the women he so
obviously loved to paint.”
The artist’s best-known illustrations, however,
are of a different subject altogether.
Between 1913 and 1923, after his work caught
the attention of author Edgar Rice Burroughs,
Monahan painted all 13 covers for the Argosy All-
Story pulps featuring Burroughs’ Tarzan stories.
As Burroughs expert Bill Hillman explained in a
feature on the website erbzine.com, Monahan
“created stimulating images full of romance
and adventure,” which perfectly captured the
author’s concept for this character.
An admirer of Leonardo da Vinci, Monahan
was also a self-taught engineer whose inventions
included a compact umbrella.
In 1915, he designed the Monahan Rotary
Tube Engine, an internal combustion engine
that was patented. Shares of stock were sold to
raise money and a workshop was constructed
in Guttenberg, New Jersey, to build the engine.
Although the technology was exciting, the
venture ended in failure, the stock was worthless
and the place of business closed.
Many of Monahan’s close friends and associates
lost money on their investment, which the artist

tried to pay back for the rest of his life. Cranking
out illustrations for the pulp magazines in the
1920s allowed him to maximize his earnings.
During the 1910s, the Monahans lived in Bergen
County, home of the developing motion picture
industry. Working at Fox Studios, Monahan
painted portraits of such early movie stars as
Tom Mix, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
Living in New Jersey also brought Lake
Hopatcong to Monahan’s attention.
The August 30, 1919 issue of the Lake
Hopatcong Breeze noted that “P.J. Monahan and
family, of Woodcliff, NJ, will spend the month of
September at the Point Camp.”
The family soon bought a summer cottage,
known as Noisy Nook, between Pine Tree Point
and Northwood. Over the next decade plus, the
Breeze frequently mentioned the Monahans
entertaining guests and the activities of their
children. Louise Monahan and the children
stayed at the lake all summer while Monahan
commuted. It was said that he kept no art
supplies at the bungalow. One of his favorite
sayings was, “when you work, you work hard and
when you play, you play hard.”
In 1924, the Monahans bought a 32-acre farm
in Mount Fern, Randolph Township. An art studio
was created in the barn. Horses, cows, chickens
and pigs were tended by Louise and the children,
and the youngest Monahan child was born there
in July 1924.
Sadly, a fire in 1928 destroyed the studio along
with Monahan’s supplies, artistic library and 200
of his paintings.
Soon after, the artist suffered an injury in
a traffic accident, which left him with severe
headaches and evidently led to the cerebral
hemorrhage that caused his death in November
of 1931 at the age of 49.
Monahan was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery
in Wharton. Louise raised their eight children
on the farm and never remarried. She became
an inspector at Picatinny Arsenal, operated a
Shamrock Dairy store in Mount Fern and was
an active member of the Rutgers Agriculture
Extension, where she was known for her prizewinning
flowers and poultry.
Louise Monahan died at age 84 in 1968. Several
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of the Monahan children stayed in the area. Son,
Joe, resided at Nolan’s Point until his death in
2002. In fact, I had the pleasure of playing softball
with one of P.J. Monahan’s great-grandsons
during my career at Picatinny.
In 2007, the museum acquired an original
Monahan painting. Depicting a steamship, the
work is now proudly displayed next to a vintage
copy of the September 28, 1912 issue of Leslie’s,
whose cover it graces.
Roger Hill described Monahan’s life as “very
exciting and productive … filled with both a
love for his family and a drive to work hard at
the easel,” adding that, though his life and career
were cut short by a quirk of fate, “he left us with
a legacy of great beauty.”
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15,700 SF, Class A Industrial Office and Warehouse Space $15./SF
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lakehopatcongnews.com 35

COOKING
WITH SCRATCH ©
Story by ERIKA SIMMONS
Recipe by BRITTNEY SIMMONS
Photos by KAREN FUCITO
Editor’s Note: Regular columnist Barbara Simmons
is on an extended vacation in Europe. Filling in
while she is away are daughter Erika and daughterin-law
Brittney.
grew up blessed with a mother who adores
I cooking. (She also adores my brother and
me, but this is not the point at the moment!)
You all know her as Barbara Simmons, the usual
writer of this column. Maybe you have even
tried and saved some of her recipes.
Throughout my childhood, my mom was
always excited to experiment with unique
ingredients and create new dishes on a weekly
basis. This wasn’t just a once a month “new dish
alert.” This was literally every week—something
culturally new and different to try on our plates.
(I will never ever forget the first time I saw an
octopus tentacle sprawled out on a plate, and
she told us it was a freakin’ salad!)
Mom wasn’t just throwing down spiffed up
new renditions of mac n’ cheese; this was full
FAMILY BUSINESS SINCE 1996!
Growing Up in a
Foodie Family
on!
She would get into
homemade focaccia
bread kicks, make gyro
sandwiches with lamb she
sourced from a butcher
in Hackensack or stir-fry
up some walnut chicken
Brittney Simmons and
Erika Simmons
(a Chinese dish she learned how to make in
college from her roommate’s mom).
I’ve got so many memories of every goulash,
carbonara, Thai peanut coconut shrimp, Greek
salad, Turkish kibbeh. It was an adventurous ride!
My point here is that I feel very lucky and am
so grateful for the exposure and teachings in the
world of food that my mom bestowed upon us.
(I’ll speak for my brother and dad here, too!)
She would quiz us to look for different flavors
in our mouths: “Okay, who can guess what’s in
this sauce?” “Mmmmm, garlic? Chipotle chile?
Vinegar? A little sugar?”
I believe my now sister-in-law, Brittney, would
have the same thing to say about this wonderful
woman we call mom. Brittney once referred to
my mom as her “palate expander.”
Brittney came into our family 11 years ago. She
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and my brother, Francis, often cooked
together when they started dating. (I
remember a strong smoothie-era early
on.)
My mom’s natural love of teaching
and Brittney’s love of learning and
perfecting—especially around food—
became quite a delightful match.
And voilà, an extraordinary cooking duo
was formed.
Together, they create some of the most
fantastic—and very difficult to execute—
dinners I’ve ever had in my life. I’m talking
recipes with over 50 directions, which is
a little out of my league but, hey, I am here to
appreciate!
Last summer our family got on this Korean
barbecue kick. I’m not sure who or where it
started, but I am relishing in it all!
The flavor profiles in Korean cooking are vast,
exciting, bright, powerful and succulent. A true
party in your mouth.
The contrast of textures plays off all those
fantastic, unusual flavors, and you’re transported
into another world. Korea, perhaps?
The recipe here is the best summer dish you
could ever show off: Brittney’s own Korean
barbecue tacos. I don’t think I’ve come across a
finer shredded slaw than hers.
Brittney takes home cooking to a new level.
Every aspect of a dish she puts out is so well
executed and truly beautiful.
When she “throws” something together,
expect to be wowed.
Her curiosity for new flavors and the refined
confidence in her skill are just a few of the
things I truly admire about her.
Boy, I’m lucky. I’ve been graced by the cooking
gods with an Oma, a mother and a sister-in-law
who are talented chefs!
Anyway, onto the recipe.
Meat goes into the Crock-Pot, you go out on
the boat, you come back, whip up a quick slaw
and a fancy mayo—bam!—the whole crew is in
awe.
And then you fall asleep kissed by the Lake
Hopatcong sun and live happily ever after.
You’re welcome, from the Simmons.
36
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LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
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Korean Short Rib Tacos
Serves 4-6
This recipe is adaptable and can be served with toppings of your
liking.
Gochujang, a Korean condiment, is a spicy paste used in Korean
cooking and is made from red chili peppers, fermented soybeans, rice
and salt. It has become widely available, and we’ve been able to find it
at our local supermarket. Check your local Korean greengrocers, too.
You can substitute the gochujang in this recipe with 1 tablespoon ketchup mixed with 1
tablespoon light miso paste (your supermarket should have miso paste) and 2 teaspoons of
Sriracha sauce.
The toppings for the tacos listed here are our personal favorites. See variations for more ideas.
Ingredients
For the short ribs:
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons gochujang
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 pounds bone-in short ribs (about 6)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
8 soft corn or flour taco tortillas
kimchi, for serving
For the sunset cabbage slaw:
1 lime, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ small head red cabbage, shredded
½ small head green cabbage,
shredded
2 medium carrots, grated
2 green onions, chopped, salt and pepper
For the gochujang mayo:
¼ cup mayo
½ teaspoon gochujang
juice of ½ lime (about 1 tablespoon or to taste)
Procedure
1. Add the first nine ingredients for the short ribs into the slow cooker. Stir to combine
the brown sugar and gochujang.
2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper on all sides.
3. Heat 1-2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil (canola, vegetable, etc.) on medium-high in a
heavy bottomed pan.
4. When the oil is hot, add short ribs to the pan and brown on all sides. This should take
2-3 minutes per side. You may need to work in batches, so you don’t crowd the pan.
5. Transfer the browned short ribs to the slow cooker, meat side down.
6. Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4-6 hours, or until the meat is fork tender
and falling off the bone.
7. When the meat is done, skim some of the fat off the top and discard.
8. Spoon out approximately 2 tablespoons of the liquid and combine with the cornstarch
in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture back into the slow cooker,
stir and continue cooking uncovered on high for about 20 minutes.
9. Remove the short ribs from the liquid, shred the meat and discard the bone and any
pieces of fat you don’t want.
10. Spoon the desired amount of the cooking liquid over the shredded meat.
11. In a bowl, combine the wet ingredients for the sunset cabbage slaw. Add the shredded
cabbage, carrots and green onions and toss. Season with salt and pepper.
12. In another bowl, combine all ingredients for the gochujang mayo.
13. Heat tortillas in a pan for a few seconds on each
side. Cover to keep warm.
You can serve everything separately and have
guests assemble their own tacos.
Here are some other ideas for taco toppings:
Mango salsa Asian cucumber salad
Lime crema Pickled red onions
Sliced avocado Toasted sesame seeds
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lakehopatcongnews.com 37

WORDS OF
A FEATHER
“You’re Gonna Need
a Bigger Boat”
Story and photo by HEATHER SHIRLEY
Ahh, summer in New Jersey. There’s not
much better than it, is there?
Long days full of sunshine lure us out on the
lake and down to the shore. Both are fantastic
destinations. Both present unique, complex
ecosystems that are vibrant and wondrous.
An ecosystem describes “a community of
living and non-living things that work together,”
according to PBS. The size of the community
doesn’t matter; complete ecosystems can be
found in a single tide pool, a lake, a terrarium on
your desk or different zones of the ocean (tidal,
deep water, etc.)
Every aspect of an ecosystem works together,
in balance, to keep the community thriving,
including air, soil, plant matter and a variety of
animals. Among the most important animals are
predators, especially apex predators, which sit at
the top of the food chain.
Studies repeatedly show that when these
predators are removed or depleted, the entire
ecosystem fails. (The Natural Resources Defense
Council offers good information about this
phenomenon. Go to www.nrdc.org/sites/
default/files/predatorimportance.pdf to learn
more.)
If predators are thriving, it means an ecosystem
is also thriving. Given this, I thought it would
be interesting to learn more about the aquatic
predators of our favorite summer destinations.
In the Musconetcong watershed, which
encompasses Lake Hopatcong, the apex aquatic
predator is a fish known as a muskellunge or
“muskie” for short.
Though not good for eating, these amazing
creatures are coveted game fish, therefore, catch
and release practices are encouraged.
Though muskellunge are not native to New
Jersey, they were first reported here in 1900, in
Greenwood Lake, according to the United States
Geological Survey. According to Laurie Murphy,
38
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
owner of Dow’s Boat Rental in Jefferson, the
muskie is fished regularly by a handful of local
fishermen on Lake Hopatcong.
These elusive fish are strikingly beautiful, with
elongated silvery bodies that can be covered on
their sides with stripes, spots or almost leopardlooking
patterns. Muskies average 2 to 4 feet
in length and 15 to 35 pounds, although some
record holders have been twice that size.
They have tremendous, long jaws with large
canine teeth. These fish prefer clear waters and
establish two ranges in summer, one shallower
and warmer, the other deeper and cooler. They
patrol both, regularly searching for food.
Almost anything constitutes their prey; any
fish (including other muskies), muskrats, mice,
rats, frogs, even ducks. They can eat prey that is
two-thirds their body size. Yowza!
Muskies spawn in late spring, and the young
grow to 12 inches long by November of their
first year. As young fish they are vulnerable to
a variety of other predators, but as adults, only
humans and bald eagles pose a threat.
They typically live for 12 to 18 years, and there
are records of 30-year-old muskies. Makes you
want to get out your fishing rod, right?
Or are you instead rethinking a swim in the
lake? Are you tempted to drive to seaside points
south, instead?
Of course, in the ocean, the apex predators
are sharks. New Jersey’s bays and marshes serve
as nurseries for three species of sharks: the
smooth dogfish, the sand tiger shark and the
sandbar shark. Of these, sandbar sharks are the
most common.
Each species gives birth to live young in places
like Little Egg Harbor and Barnegat Bay. The
juveniles, also called pups, are then abandoned
and left to manage on their own.
The pups take refuge hiding in the grasses
of estuaries. There they hunt for fish and
crustaceans, growing until they’re large enough
to try out the open ocean.
Young sharks that survive this initial foray into
the Atlantic usually return to the sanctuary of
their youth. They spend another year there in
relative safety, eating, growing and developing
the skills necessary to survive.
Once they leave their estuary home for good,
they spend their life at sea, only returning to the
bays to birth more pups.
In addition to the breeding species of sharks,
New Jersey waters also host annual visiting shark
species such as the hammerhead, basking, mako,
thresher and the big guy himself, the great white.
Whether lauded by Discovery Channel’s Shark
Week or vilified by Hollywood and uninformed
people, sharks fascinate us. Given that, it would
seem we would want to do more to protect
them.
But like so much of our wildlife and natural
resources, sharks and their ecosystems are under
threat from more frequent storms and sea level
rise. Both affect salinity and stability of fragile
Top to bottom:
The author shot
this photo at an
aquarium.
Lake Hopatcong’s
Bob Neals
caught a muskie
beneath the ice
at Monksville
Reservoir in
January, 1997.
Photo from NJDEP
website.
ecosystems. The Nature Conservancy, thankfully,
is making promising strides to combat this and
hopes to expand its progress to more areas of
New Jersey and beyond.
So, gentle readers, enjoy the lovely summer
days. And as you cool off and swim or dangle
your feet in the lake or ocean, try not to think
about what lurks below.
Dunnn dunn…duuuunnn dunn…duuuunnn
dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun
duuuunnn dun!
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year round!
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72 Eyland Ave, Succasunna NJ 07876
www.RoxburyArtsAlliance.org
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lakehopatcongnews.com 39

directory
CONSTRUCTION/
EXCAVATION
Al Hutchins Excavating
973-663-2142
973-713-8020
Lakeside Construction
151 Sparta-Stanhope Rd., Hopatcong
973-398-4517
Northwest Explosives
PO Box 806, Hopatcong
973-398-6900
info@northwestexplosives.com
ENTERTAINMENT/
RECREATION
Lake Hopatcong Adventure
973-663-1944
lhadventureco.com
Lake Hopatcong Cruises
Miss Lotta (Dinner Boat)
37 Nolan’s Pt. Park Rd., LH
973-663-5000
lhcruises.com
Lake Hopatcong Mini Golf Club
37 Nolan's Pt. Park Rd., LH
973-663-0451
lhgolfclub.com
NJ Electric Boat Rental
NJeBoats.com
Roxbury Arts Alliance
72 Eyland Ave., Succasunna
973-945-0284
roxburyartsalliance.org
HOME SERVICES
Central Comfort
100 Nolan’s Point Rd., LH
973-361-2146
Evening Star
LED Deck/Dock Lights
eveningstarlighting.com
Homestead Lawn Sprinkler
5580 Berkshire Valley Rd., OR
973-208-0967
homesteadlawnsprinkler.com
Happs Kitchen & Bath
Sparta
973-729-4787
happskitchen.com
Jefferson Recycling
710 Route 15 N Jefferson
973-361-1589
jefferson-recycling.com
Martin Design Group
973-584-5111
martinnurserynj.com
The Polite Plumber
973-398-0875
thepoliteplumber.com
Royalty Cleaning Services
973-309-2858
royaltycleaningserv.com
Sacks Paint & Wallpaper
52 N Sussex St., Dover
973-366-0119
sackspaint.net
Sunset Decks & Outdoor Lvg
973-846-3088
sunsetdecksnj.com
Wilson Services
973-383-2112
WilsonServices.com
LAKE SERVICES
AAA Dock & Marine
27 Prospect Point Rd., LH
973-663-4998
docksmarina@hotmail.com
Batten The Hatches
70 Rt. 181, LH
973-663-1910
facebook.com/bthboatcovers
Lake Management Sciences
Branchville
973-948-0107
lakemgtsciences.com
MARINAS
Katz’s Marinas
22 Stonehenge Rd., LH
973-663-0224
katzmarinaatthecove.com
342 Lakeside Ave., Hopatcong
973-663-3214
antiqueboatsales.com
Lake’s End Marina
91 Mt. Arlington Blvd., Landing
973-398-5707
lakesendmarina.net
Morris County Marine
745 US 46W, Kenvil
201-400-6031
South Shore Marine
862-254-2514
southshoremarine180@gmail.com
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATIONS
Lake Hopatcong Commission
260 Lakeside Blvd.,Landing
973-601-7801
commissioner@lakehopatcongcommission.org
Lake Hopatcong Elks Lodge
201 Howard Blvd., MA
973-398-9835
lakehopatcongelks.com
Lake Hopatcong Foundation
125 Landing Rd., Landing
973-663-2500
lakehopatcongfoundation.org
Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum
260 Lakeside Blvd., Landing
973-398-2616
lakehopatconghistory.com
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
Barbara Anne Dillon,,O.D.,P.A.
180 Howard Blvd., Ste. 18 MA
973-770-1380
Fox Architectural Design
546 St. Rt. 10 W, Ledgewood
973-970-9355
foxarch.com
RBC Wealth Management
wade.martin@rbc.com
609-936-6411
www.martinwmg.com
REAL ESTATE
Kathleen Courter
RE/MAX
131 Landing Rd., Roxbury
973-420-0022 Direct
KathySellsNJHomes.com
Robin Dora
Sotheby’s International
670 Main St., Towaco
973-570-6633
thedoragroup.com
Christopher J. Edwards
RE/MAX
211 Rt. 10E, Succasunna
973-598-1008
MrLakeHopatcong.com
Karen Foley
Sotheby’s International
670 Main St., Towaco
973-906-5021
prominentproperties.com
Geba Realty
Century 21
23 Main St., Sparta
973-726-0333
C21GebaRealty.com
Jim Leffler
RE/MAX
131 Landing Rd., Roxbury
201-919-5414
Darla Quaranta
Century 21
23 Main St., Sparta
973-229-0452
livelovelakelife.com
RESTAURANTS & BARS
Alice’s Restaurant
24 Nolan’s Pt. Park Rd., LH
973-663-9600
alicesrestaurantnj.com
Big Fish Lounge At Alice’s
24 Nolan’s Pt. Park Rd., LH
973-663-9600
alicesrestaurantnj.com
The Beacon
453 River Styx Rd., Hopatcong
thebeaconlh.com
The Bagel Place
181 Howard Blvd., MA
973-810-3636
thebagelplace.net
The Windlass Restaurant
45 Nolan’s Point Park Rd., LH
973-663-3190
thewindlass.com
SENIOR CARE
Preferred Care at Home
George & Jill Malanga/Owners
973-512-5131
PreferHome.com/nwjersey
SPECIALTY STORES
Alstede Fresh @ Lindeken
54 NJ Rt 15 N, Wharton
908-879-7189
AlstedeFarms.com
At The Lake Jewelry
atthelakejewelry.com
Four Sisters Winery
783 Rt 519W, Belvidere
908-475-3671
foursisterswinery.com
Hawk Ridge Farm
283 Espanong Rd, LH
hawkridgefarmnj.com
Hearth & Home
1215 Rt. 46, Ledgewood
973-252-0190
hearthandhome.net
Helrick’s Custom Framing
158 W Clinton St., Dover
973-361-1559
helricks.com
Italy Tours with Maria
ItalyTourswithMaria@yahoo.com
Main Lake Market
234 S. NJ Ave., LH
973-663-0544
mainlakemarket.com
Orange Carpet & Wood Gallery
470 Rt. 10W, Ledgewood
973-584-5300
orange-carpet.com
The Fade Barber Shop
181 Howard Blvd., MA
201-874-2657
STORAGE
Woodport Self Storage
17 Rt. 181 & 20 Tierney Rd.
Lake Hopatcong
973-663-4000
40
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023

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