Page 2 • Wednesday , December 29 , 2021 • The Hammonton Gazette
TAB LE OF CONTE NTS
The Hammonton Gazette
OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 NOTICIAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 OUR TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 FAITH FOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 CIVIC NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 HAMMONTON ’ S HISTORY . . . . . . 41 www . hammontongazette . com
The Hammonton Gazette ( USPS 018984 ) is published weekly by Gabriel J . Donio , The Hammonton Gazette , 14 Tilton St ., Hammonton , NJ 08037 . Periodicals Postage Paid at Hammonton , NJ . Subscriptions are available for $ 25.00 per year for New Jersey addresses & $ 30.00 per year for residents for out-of-state addressess . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to The Hammonton Gazette , 14 Tilton St ., P . O . Box 1228 Hammonton , NJ 08037 . Call ( 609 ) 704-1940 for more information .
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT . . . . . . 51 WHAT ’ S HOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 MIND GAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 REAL ESTATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 SCORECARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
OBITUARIES Fred Monzo fred Monzo , 66 , of Somers Point , N . J . ( formerly of Hammonton , N . J .) passed away on thursday , December 16 , 2021 . fred was born in Philadelphia and was raised in Waterford , N . J . attending assumption School and Camden Catholic High School . after graduating high school , he moved to Hammonton , N . J . where he spent most of his life until recently moving to Somers Point , N . J . He worked as a bar tender and most recently at Capoferri asphalt in Hammonton , N . J . and Barrett asphalt in Hammonton , N . J . fred is predeceased by his father , frederick . He is survived by his mother , antoinette ruggieri of egg Harbor twp .,
N . J .; his brothers and sisters , anthony Monzo of florida , Michael Monzo of N . Las Vegas , Mary Monzo of florida , Michelle Dee of San francisco , David Monzo of Waterford , N . J . and Dawn Monzo of Marmora , N . J . fred is also survived by his beloved aunt , rita Monzo of Sicklerville and 11 nieces and nephews .
Services and cremation was private . arrangements were under the direction of the Leroy P . Wooster funeral Home & Crematory .
Bradley M . Brewer
Bradley M . Brewer , 37 , of Hammonton , N . J ., passed away unexpectedly on friday , December 17 , 2021 .
Brad was a devoted father and family man . He enjoyed many wonderful years with erica and their daughters , Lilah and Charlene , whom were the pride and joy of Brad ’ s life . Brad had many interests ; he was fond of cooking for friends and family , collecting antiques and spending time outdoors hunting , fishing and camping . He was a Master Welder by trade , having learned to weld at the young age of 14 . Brad was loved by all who knew him , and had many close , lifelong friends .
He is predeceased by his grandfather and mentor , Girard “ Jerry ” tell ; and his uncle , Brian tell .
He is survived by his former wife , erica Brewer and their daughters , Lilah and Charlene ; loving mother , Susan Henry and father , Bradley Brewer ; sisters , Stephanie Henry , Melissa LaDuke and amanda Brewer ; brothers , John , Will , ed and rD Brewer ; grandmother , ellen tell and grandparents , Charlene and richard Brewer ; aunts and uncles , Girard and regina tell , Lori and tony Grasso , Patricia and Matt Olive , Cindy and Steve Bunn , Heather Brewer , and many cousins all of whom loved and will miss him dearly .
Services and interment were private in Ohio . Please visit www . lpwoosterfuneralhome . com to leave a heartfelt condolence or a fond memory of Bradley . arrangements made by Leroy P . Wooster funeral Home .
OBITUARY PRICES : $ 25 , $ 50 OR $ 75 . CALL FOR DETAILS .
Vehicular homicide charge
POLICE , from Page 1 cle head-on , operated by Michael sisted in the arrest of taquaysha
Luko of Mays Landing , according
Bell , 29 , at her residence in trenton , the release said . Bell was to the release . Luko , 53 , was an officer with the New Jersey charged with Vehicular Homicide
Human Services Police Department and he was traveling home and assault by auto in connection to a motor vehicle crash that occurred on June 19 , 2020 , on the from work , the release said . Luko was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced de-
White Horse Pike in Hammonton , according to the release .
ceased , according to the release . following Bell ’ s arrest , she was atlantic County assistant Prosecutor Kathleen robinson repre- turned over to the detectives of the atlantic County Prosecutor ’ s Office Crash investigations Unit and
sents the state in this matter , the release said . the Hammonton Police Department for processing , the release these charges are merely an accusation and not proof of guilt , the said . release said . in all criminal cases ,
On June 19 , 2020 , Bell was a charged defendant is presumed traveling westbound on the White innocent unless and until proven
Horse Pike when she entered the guilty , the release said . oncoming lane and struck a vehi-
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FARMING , from Page 1 bushels per acre , usually commanding $ 1 per bushel . though yields and prices have changed in the ensuing decades , Joe Donio Sr ., of Joe Donio farms — who has been growing sweet potatoes for close to 40 years — said that many of the methods used to grow the crop have changed very little .
“ We used to put the sweet potato hotbeds in . You put the potatoes in the hotbeds and you get the sprouts . Once you got the sprouts , then you planted them out in the field ... We still grow some of our own plants , but some of them we buy from down south . Basically , all the varieties have changed ; there are better varieties now than there were years ago ,” Donio said .
Joseph “ Pepe ” Berenato , coowner of J . a . Berenato farms — which has been growing sweet potatoes since his grandfather , Henry , planted the first crop in the mid-1940s — said that they try to grow half of the plants that they will use .
“ fifty percent we buy and 50 percent we try to grow . if we become too busy and we can ’ t get to harvest our own plants and put them out in the field , we ’ ll just continue to buy the plants — if they ’ re available ... We just raise one variety : Covington . it ’ s an orange potato . So far , it ’ s the standard in the industry , and it ’ s a very good quality sweet potato . People are always trying to change things , and come out with the next best thing , but Covington is pretty much the standard .
Planting , Berenato said , usually begins between May 28 and June 1 .
“ We ’ ll plant while the weather cooperates ; hopefully , we ’ ll get done by July 4 . We ’ ll start harvesting about September 25 every year ,” Berenato said .
Hank rizzotte , who co-owns Glossy fruit farms with his brother , tony , said that , once the sweet potatoes are harvested , they
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THG / Joseph F . Berenato . To purchase photos in The Gazette , call ( 609 ) 704-1940 .
( Left to right ) Councilman Jonathan Oliva presented a plaque to Andrea Effinger on December 20 , who was joined by her husband , Al , and their son , Anthony . Monday , December 20 , 7:09 p . m .
Sweet potatoes longtime local crop
Joseph D . Salvatore
Joseph D . Salvatore of Clayton , age 78 , died on December 25 , 2021 . Son of the late alfred & rita ( nee Nasso ) Salvatore . Husband of 56 years to June Salvatore ( nee Beaver ). father of Greg Salvatore and allison Seagrave , both of Pitman ; grandfather of Joseph Salvatore , Juliana Seagrave , and Jeanne Salvatore ; brother of rita Cupani ( tony ) of Northfield ; uncle of Leslie , ruth , Linda , Maria , and Steven .
Born and raised in Hammonton , Joe has been a resident of Clayton for the past 51 years . He was a 25-year member of the Clayton Historic Society and was a past chairman . Joe loved gardening and enjoyed going to the beach with the 59th Street beach in Ocean City his favorite . His wife described him as “ just a hardworking man ”.
Services are private at the convenience of the family under the direction of the Barclay funeral Home . Sign the guestbook at BarclayfuneralHome . net .
need to be cured .
“ What that does is toughen the skin so that when you run them down the packing line , they don ’ t scar ,” rizzotte said . Berenato explained further . “ We ’ ll cure them for seven to 10 days at 85 to 90 degrees in a curing room with 90 percent humidity . after the week to 10 days of that temperature , we ’ ll cool them off by opening doors , running fans and cool air through the building . What that does is toughen up the skin and turns all the starch in the sweet potatoes to sugar . then , they ’ re pretty much ready to pack and ship ,” Berenato said .
Donio noted that some of the packaging has changed over the years .
“ Years ago , we used to put them in bushels ; now , we put them in bins . then we take them out of the bin and we pack them , and they put them in five-pound boxes now ,” Donio said .
Berenato said that very few — if any — sweet potatoes get thrown away during the packing process .
“ all the culls , the pick-outs , we sell for deer bait ,” he said . rizzotte said that sweet potato packing is a wintertime process .
“ Normally you have the winter to sell them . You ’ re not under the gun like you are with a tomato that ’ s going to be red tomorrow and
See POTATOES , Page 14