‘Go while you can; live it up while you are young’

GUEST COLUMN

By Betty Jane Hunt
   On Jan. 30, a West Amwell Township icon became 90 years old.
   When we think of Mildred Lambert so many images come to mind. Her winning smile, caring manner, positive attitude, and passion for her family, her church, the fire company auxiliary, the township, 4-H, and as an active Democratic Party leader, are just some of the things that come to mind. Millie’s life is one to be followed by example.
   Ms. Lambert was born at Larison’s Corner, the daughter of George and Harrietta Bateman. They moved to Ringoes in 1924 when Millie was 5. She was the eldest of the three Bateman sisters. Her younger sisters are Ruth Melborn and Grace Cronce, both still of Ringoes. The girls went to the local two-room-schoolhouse where they walked to and from school and home for lunch.
   When Ms. Lambert was 11, she was hit by a car. She went flying across the road and her shoes were knocked off. Her biggest concern at the time was that they were Ruth’s shoes she had borrowed to wear. Another of her childhood memories was the day she couldn’t be found until her mother finally located her crawling out of the hole in the chicken house where the chickens went in and out. As a young girl, she remembers playing games — Shove-Up and Red Rover — with her sisters and the neighbors. They had no bikes, only scooters. They went sled-riding down cemetery hill (now Boss Road) and from Rocktown Hill to the East Amwell Firehouse — on what is now Route 31! They loved roller skating on the roads in Ringoes.
   Ms. Lambert graduated from Flemington High School where she was a cheerleader. She remembers going to a lot of dances at the old Harbourton Schoolhouse and in various barns. They also danced in the morgue that Charles Fisher owned in Ringoes. She worked at Nevius-Voorhees in Trenton for a few years. Her family owned a gas station and lunchroom in Ringoes. She also worked there making sandwiches and sundaes. It was the local hangout for the Ringoes boys. One of those boys was Jim Lambert.
   Millie and Jim Lambert were married on Nov. 14, 1942. They moved into the farmhouse on Route 179 with Jim’s grandparents. This is where Ms. Lambert still lives and where she and Jim farmed and raised their daughters Janice and Sue. It was at this location that she first collected taxes when Jim’s grandfather became ill and could no longer do the job. She kept at the job for 30 years. As the township’s tax collector, she made many house calls to collect taxes from the elderly when they could not get out. She also served some of those years as deputy clerk to Bill Lauderdale and then as township clerk. After retiring from the township, she served on the Hunterdon County Tax Board. She is quoted in 1984 saying, “I like politics! Everyone should be involved, it’s important.”
   Ms. Lambert joined the Kirkpatrick Memorial Presbyterian Church in Ringoes on March 31, 1929. This year will make her a member of that church for 80 years. Over the years she has served in many capacities, most notably as a Sunday School teacher for 20 years and the first woman elder. The most important aspect of her church membership, however, was how she showed her faith in everything else she did. People often came into the Township Hall and shared their problems with her. They always left feeling better and assured she would be praying for them.
   As a 4-H sewing club leader for 15 years, she taught both of her daughters and girls in the community to sew. Janice and Sue were also members of the Mt. Airy 4-H Dairy Club, but Ms. Lambert says she got too nervous when the girls showed their cows, so husband Jim helped them more with that.
   The West Amwell Fire Company was also a big part of the Lamberts’ life. Ms. Lambert was a founding member of the auxiliary and remained active baking and serving or working behind the scenes at the suppers until just a couple years ago.
   She also always loved keeping house and cooking for all the family gatherings, farm help, and hunters. She never forgot a friend or a neighbor who was alone. On holidays, especially, she fixed up platters and delivered the food to each and every one. She is reported to have made 80 quarts of soup in 1984 from the vegetables in Jim’s garden. She and Jim also grew smiling sunflowers and sweet corn. Many people throughout the years enjoyed them as well as the rest of Jim’s vegetables.
   Her daughters say she was always a positive thinker and always made everything exciting. She loved to have picnics, parties, sleigh rides, and hay rides. Christmas was always a time with lots of food and a house full of people. She and Jim made the farm a special place for gathering for Janice and her husband Kip (Paul) Jarrett, and Sue and her husband Porter Little, her six grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
   Even cold snowy days of winter didn’t dampen Ms. Lambert’s spirit. It meant she could be out zooming around the farm on her snowmobile. Her advice is “to always go while you can and live it up while you are young.” Along with her faith and positive attitude, she has certainly lived out that advice during her first 90 years.
   A celebration of her 90th was held in January at the West Amwell Firehouse.