Eight longtime residents get ready to be ‘roasted’

By: Stephanie Prokop
   BORDENTOWN CITY—The Bordentown 325th Anniversary Committee is planning a roast for July 14 — only the entrée will be several prominent community members.
   The "roast" gets its name from the kind of ceremony it is; that is, poking fun at area residents while reminiscing and remembering things the way they were in the city several decades ago.
   The event fits into the 325th anniversary festivities, since it commemorates the lives of various community members throughout the years.
   Organizer Stephanie Corbo-Pecht said that all eight nominees are extremely excited about the roast, and that no one was opposed to being put on the spot in a joking manner.
   "Our president (of the 325th Anniversary Committee) Larry Denney thought it would be wonderful to host an event that would honor those people in the community that have a long family history," said Ms. Corbo-Pecht.
   The "roaster" is going to be Ed Koenig, who is a local real estate agent and business man, who has a "very talented way of having fun" said Ms. Corbo-Pecht.
   The eight individuals getting "roasted" will be: Barry Hausser, Quentin Hausser, Vivian Ward, Gloria Scholey, Steve McGowan, John Imlay, Joe Lawrence, and Ellen Wehrman.
   Mr. McGowan, 63, a seventh generation Bordentonian, is credited in the community with many volunteer efforts with school children and the Consolidated Fire Company.
   He has also been the chairman of the annual Halloween Parade for the past 37 years.
   Barry Hausser, who is 61, along with his big brother Quentin Hausser, 65, are the proprietors of App’s Hardware on Farnsworth Avenue.
   Both brothers have many fond memories of growing up in the area, including "watching the center of town being torn down for renewal then watching it being rebuilt better than ever into a viable community."
   The younger Mr. Hausser said that he is "excited and nervous, about the roast, because you’re not exactly sure what’s gonna be said."
   "When you live in town, you never know what kinds of things are going to be brought up from when you where younger," he said. "I’m just going to be keeping an open mind about it."
   John H. Imlay, 75, has family that has been in the Bordentown area since 1670.
   Mr. Imlay moved to Yankton, S.D., in 2000. He’s moving back to Bordentown because, as he states, "I got bored!"
   Mr. Imlay once said that he has "too many good memories to recount," and that some of his favorites include during the Depression years, the dance band music at the ‘Round Towners Club, and just walking down Farnsworth Avenue."
   He added that Bordentown City was a "a wonderful place to grow up in a wonderful era."
   Ellen Wehrman, 73, was born in Glasgow-Bonnie, Scotland, and came to the United States after she received her teaching diploma.
   She worked for the Bordentown Regional School District and also taught in the Prince George’s County Schools in Maryland. She has also received many awards of recognition, including the State Teacher of the Year award in 1989 that commemorated her studies in Japan, Siberia, Turkey, Europe, India, Yale and Princeton.
   Vivian Ward is not a Bordentown City native, although she considers the area to be her home because of the many roots that she has established in the area.
   According to Ms. Ward’s biography, 34 years ago, Ms. Ward began her banking career with the Bank of Mid-Jersey, formerly Bordentown Banking Company. Her career was launched in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights movement and as assistant vice president in 1979 she was the first black officer in the history of the bank.
   She had been active in many local organizations, including the Mt. Zion AME Church, and is president of its trustee board, Senior Choir and she is financial secretary to the Finance Committee.
   Gloria Scholey, 72, said she considers one of her fondest memories in Bordentown of being the grand marshal of the annual Halloween Parade.
   She also was Bordentown City’s first and only female mayor.
   Ms. Scholey also used to know the Burr family, of which Anna T. Burr, 107, a former Bordentown teacher and school administrator, died Sunday. Ms. Scholey’s grandfather worked for Ms. Burr’s father and Ms. Scholey said she often rode on the wagon with him.
   The last honoree, Joseph H. Lawrence, 82, had the late Ms. Burr as principal at the MacFarland High School. According to Mr. Lawrence’s biographical statement in the roast program, Ms. Burr had to sit him down and tell him that he fooled around too much while at school and was in jeopardy of not graduating. He then straightened up, achieved all A’s, and graduated in 1943.
   Mr. Lawrence was self-employed as a farmer from 1943 to 1957, and then served Bordentown Township in a variety of roles, including business administrator, treasurer and deputy municipal clerk.
   He retired from the township in 1987 after 30 years of service.
   
Tickets to the event at the Scottish Rite building on Dunns Mills Road are still available by contacting Larry Denney at (609) 298-1892. Tickets are $35 per person and will feature a grand buffet at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.