The Hammonton Gazette 04/05/17 Edition | Page 5

Donio, Historic Preservation Commission lead historic walking tour Page 4 • Wednesday, April 5, 2017 • The Hammonton Gazette THG/Stephen Pistone. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940. Historic Preservation Commission Chair Angela Donio (second from left) reads the Sesquicentennial Edition (1866- 2016) Edition of the Hammonton Historic Walking Trail Guide during the first historic walking tour on April 1. The 35- page guide is a revision of one created by the Historical Society of Hammonton in 2010. in 2010 with the assistance of Ben- buildings they walk and drive by in WALK, from Page 1 that began on Vine Street at the jamin Francis, a summer intern for their community each day, which allows them to better respect and Eagle Theatre — a one-story, gable the HSH. Donio said the goal of the tour appreciate their significance to the front building that was built as a movie theatre in 1914 — and con- and its guide is to educate people town, and understand how to go tinued towards South Egg Harbor on the stories of so many of the about restoring them should they Road; down to Bellevue Avenue, all the way to South Packard Street and continued on to Grape Street and parts of Peach Street and Cen- tral Avenue. The trail contained more than 50 of the most historic homes and businesses in downtown Hammon- ton’s commercial and residential districts, many of which are still extant to this day, including a two- story, cross-gabled, Queen Anne- style, Victorian home at 442 Bellevue Ave. that was built by Loami Montfort in the late 19th century and has since been restored by Frank and Lorraine Chappine; a 1873, one-story, gable front, Gothic Revival-style building at 220 Vine St. that was the carpentry shop of J.S. Thayer and is now the office of EB Fence Co. and many more. Thanks to the efforts of Donio and fellow HPC members, Janet Worrell, Christine McCullough, Jack Mazzeo and Barbara Neary- Bachalis, as well as Stockton Uni- versity professor Thomas Kinsella, the self-guided Historic Walking Trail Guide is now updated with biographical information and pho- tos of the various historic proper- ties housed in Hammonton. A digital version of the guide is also available online at www.textscape.stockton.edu/walk- inghammonton. The HSH and the original Walk- ing Trail Guide Committee mem- bers, Donio, Worrell, Pat Caruso and Kristin Keating, were respon- sible for developing the first guide Giovannone shares story LICENSE, from Page 3 Her predicament serves as a valu- able lesson to anyone who isn’t a natural-born United States citizen. A United States passport and a Certificate of Naturalization are two critical documents in proving one’s identity and citizenship. If either of these aren’t available, getting them replaced can be a lengthy and costly process that many may not have the luxury of being able to endure. Giovannone said she has learned a valuable lesson during the past year and is currently working on getting a passport as a back-up plan to ensure she never has to go through this problem again. end up purchasing one to live in or work at one day. “We just want to give informa- tion out to let people know how important these buildings are … to respect them when they buy them and try to find out how they should be fixed,” Donio said. Attending the tour were resi- dents Lindsay Salmon and Daniel Batten, who moved to Hammonton a little more than a year ago from Haddon Heights and Galloway Twp. respectively. Batten said he was impressed with how much in- formation was provided during the tour and that he understands why so many business-owners and homeowners work to preserve the historic properties that make Ham- monton unique. “It was definitely very informa- tive. It was cool to see the history of all the buildings … There are a lot of things that are very unique and it’s good to preserve those things, which makes Hammonton even more unique than just a newer town or city that just sprung up based on its location,” Batten said. Salmon said receiving the op- portunity to learn about so many historical buildings gave her a sense of pride in her new home- town and an awareness of those who worked hard to construct it into what it is today. “I love knowing about how this town grew, where it came from and where it is now. It’s just so interest- ing to learn about all the hard work that people put in here. It just really makes you feel proud to be a part of it and to live in it,” Salmon said. Donio said she was pleased with the way the first tour went and that the