A site for all to see
Today's Sunbeam, Salem NJ
4/20/2008 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Sharron Sparks Boyle
tsnews@sjnewsco.com
Salem, NJ, Sunday, April 20, 2008 - There’s a new “site” in town, a place where one can learn and win prizes too. Those who cross the electronic divide on their way to the “site” can enter a tomato recipe contest; learn how to get a personal identification card; or honor their mother on Mother’s Day. Others might want to locate one of the 30 cemeteries in Salem County, or research information about local Civil War soldiers.
All that and more can be found at www.salemcountyclerk.org, a new Web site introduced by The Salem County Clerk’s office in early February. County Clerk Gilda Gill explained that she wanted the site to not only list services, but to be informative, entertaining, and capture the spirit of Salem County as well.
The Web site makes it easy to get a passport, an absentee ballot, a business trade name, to find or even become a Notary Public. One can learn how to utilize the Archives Room to search historical documents dating from the late 1600s or newspapers dating back to the early 1800s. The Archives house indexes for marriages, naturalization records, Civil War soldiers and more.
The Horse & Plow, the newsletter of the Clerk’s Office can be accessed and even sent via email for those who like history and want to keep up with the events going on in the office. The winter issue told about the blizzard of 1978 and snowfalls of 18 inches in 1922.
In that same issue, according to Gill, the first couple to get a marriage license under the new marriage law that went into effect in 1910 was Salem residents Thadeus Norkus and Mikalina Bickumas. They were married July 4, 1910 by Father Allen at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
If one could list the number of toll gates active in Salem County during the late 19th century that person could have won $50. That answer and more about toll gates can also be found in the winter issue of Horse & Plow.
The Web site’s inaugural event was a Favorite Tomato Recipe Contest. Winners were announced in early April. Gill said that local professional cooks from DiPaulo’s Italian Restorante; Rushes, and the Washington Club judged the entries. Prizes were awarded to the top three entries. A booklet of all recipes will be published and distributed at no cost to the public.
Gill explained that she chose the contest because it focused on the importance that the Jersey tomato played in Salem County history. Numerous farms, packing houses and an industry were generated by this local icon.
“The tomato, a fruit often regarded as a vegetable, is displayed on the Salem County flag,” she said.
Local school children grow up with the tale of how the brave Robert Gibbon Johnson at the “poisonous” tomato in from of a crowd in downtown Salem.
The next event will honor mothers, past and present. For Mother’s Day, the Clerk’s Office will sponsor a special pictorial slideshow tribute to mothers and grandmothers. Anyone who wishes to honor one of those special women can send a picture via e-mail or regular mail to the Salem County Clerk’s Office. The name of the person must be included with the photograph. Photos can be returned to senders.
Beginning in September through Veterans Day, the site will hold a tribute to all of the County’s veterans, past and present. Those who want to learn more about this event can call Gilda Gill at 339-8605.
The Web site explains that the county clerk in the State of New Jersey is a county-wide elected Constitutional Officer. The clerk is responsible for the administration of a broad range of services including the filing and recording of all documents affecting real estate ownership and transfer, the processing of U.S. Passport applications, assisting individuals who wish to become a Notary Public, issuance of county ID cards, filing of business trade names, and the supervision of elections.
The Salem County Clerk also maintains the archival and historic documents of Salem County, including newspapers dating back to the 1800s. In addition, the county clerk provides a speaker program to organizations and schools. The County Clerk’s Office is a major source of funding for the County of Salem’s budget.
Through 2000-2006, a total of nearly $6 million has been transferred to the county budget by the county clerk.
To research family history, play a trivia game, enter a recipe contest, honor your mother, show respect for a veteran or find out how many toll gates where in Salem County in the late 19th century, there is only one “site” to choose; www.salemcountyclerk.org.
A short site visit today might answer questions that have been around for a very long time.
