History photo contest winners are chosen

Photos will be on the township’s 2007 calendar

By John Tredrea
   An image of a wood-frame passenger train station that was turned into a utility building for a local business long ago and a picture of The Mine Road Bridge over Stony Brook are among the grand prize winners of Hopewell Township’s "Honoring Hopewell’s History" photo contest.
   The winning photographs were all taken by township residents, who were honored at the Dec. 11 Township Committee meeting. The photos will be on the township’s 2007 calendar.
   The contest had four divisions: color and black and white for adults, and color and black and white for juniors.
   First prize in the adult color category went to Bear Tavern Road resident Lesa Aldridge for her photo of the former Mercer & Somerset Railroad passenger station. The structure is now used as a utility building by Weidel Realty behind its office on Route 31. Ms. Aldridge also took second place in the adult black and white division for her photo of an abandoned stone crusher, off Route 29 near the Mercer County Correction Center.
   A photo of that same stone crusher garnered a second place in the adult color division for Anthony Dolhon, who lives on Amberleigh Drive. Mr. Dolhon also took first place in adult black and white for a photo taken along The Province Line, which separated portions of New Jersey in Colonial times.
   Third place in the adult color division went to Mary Ellen DeMarco of Lambertville-Hopewell Road, for her photo of the grave of Rebecca Creed in the Pennington Methodist Cemetery. The cemetery is just off Pennington-Titusville Road near Scotch Road. A photo of Ms. Creed’s grave landed a third-place black and white award for Robert O’Boyle, who lives on Pennington-Titusville Road.
   First place in the junior color division went to Gregory Mitchell of Pine Tavern Court, for his image of the Mine Road Bridge, an all-iron structure built in the late 19th century. Along with the Jacobs Creek Bridge in the western section of the township, which dates to the same era, it is one of fewer than 10 bridges of its type left in the state.
   Gregory also won first place in the junior black and white division for his photo of the one-room Woosamonsa Schoolhouse, out of use for many years but maintained by an association of local residents. Gregory also took third place in the junior black and white division with his image of an old road sign at the intersection of county Routes 518 and 612, in what is known as the Woodsville section of the township.
   Second place in the junior color division went to East Curlis Avenue resident Colin Ogren, for his photo of the Ice House at Howell Living History Farm. Ice is made there as it was in the days before electricity was available to farmers. Another photo of the ice house garnered a second place award in the junior black and white division for Melissa Kolano of Woodens Lane.
   The third place award in the junior color division went to Kyle Wert of Fox Run Road, for his photograph of the Woosamonsa Schoolhouse.
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   The contest, which began in March and ended in November, was sponsored by the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District and the Hopewell Valley News.
   Local residents had to identify the landmarks they eventually photographed via clues published in the HVN. There were four separate contests, each with winners. Top winners, noted above, were chosen after the completion of Contest No. 4.
   The contests were: Roads & Rails, Signs & Lines, Cut & Crush and Young & Old.