MILLSTONE – An historic structure that dates back to the 1800s has been given new life in Millstone Township.

Restoration work has been completed at the Clarksburg Methodist Episcopal Church on Stagecoach Road in the Clarksburg section of the municipality. The church was established in 1844 and is the second oldest Methodist church building in Monmouth County. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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The building, which no longer functions as a church, was purchased by the township in the late 1990s and had been used as a location for municipal events and programs. Activities there were suspended after structural issues surfaced several years ago.

According to Township Committeewoman Nancy Grbelja and Pat Butch, the president of the Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties, issues with the former church have been known since 2010.

Butch cited a leaking roof and a sagging foundation that was caused by rotting wood as the primary issues with the building.

As reported by the Examiner in 2016, the roof was damaged by tropical storm Irene in 2011 and the foundation issues were the result of water leaking into the structure after the roof was damaged.

In December 2015, a $250,000 grant for development and structural repairs to the building was approved by the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders.

Butch thanked Doreen Polhemus, the former township historian and current church caretaker, for keeping and maintaining items from the church that had to be removed during the restoration work.

Grbelja cited Butch, Polhemus and Township Historian Joann Kelty for their work in preserving history and providing a historical education to Millstone’s children. She also praised the volunteers who make up the Friends.

“The volunteers who are part of the Friends have been invaluable,” Grbelja said. “They serve as a model to all other groups on how to get things done and their dedication and selflessness is unmatched.”

To celebrate the completion of the restoration work, the Friends of Millstone Township Historic Registered Properties and the Historic Preservation Committee hosted an open house at the building on June 3.

During the open house, guests had the opportunity to place messages into a time capsule which will be opened in 2069 on the 225th anniversary of the church and Millstone Township.

“I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the team restoring this historic building,” Polhemus said. “This building stands as a testimony to our township’s history and will continue to serve the community well. Many volunteers stepped up to make this project a great success and because of all who stepped up, we are under budget.”

By Thomas K. Robbins

President Abraham Lincoln did not know his ancestors and dismissed questions about his ancestry saying, “I don’t know who my grandfather was, and am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.”

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Although he was not interested in learning about his forefathers, Miss Ida Tarbell certainly was.

Ida Tarbell was a famous investigative journalist in the early 1900s who wrote best-selling books on various topics including Standard Oil, Napoleon Bonaparte and Abraham Lincoln.

It was while working on her book “In the Footsteps of the Lincolns” that she began her journey to discover the Lincolns of New Jersey.

Her research led her to Freehold in August 1922, searching for Richard Saltar, the President’s third great-grandfather whose daughter, Hannah, married Mordecai Lincoln. She had the notion the Saltars lived in Freehold, but was mistaken.

Tarbell checks the courthouse for any records on the Lincolns, but comes up empty. She proceeds to the library and that is a dead end, too.

However, the librarian directs her to the local newspaper offices which Tarbell visits and where she finds Maxim Applegate at the Inquirer offices, who tells Ida something she did not know – Mordecai and Hannah Lincoln had a child, a little girl buried at Covell’s Hill. This is news to Tarbell.

The next day she uses a taxi to drive out to Clarksburg (Millstone Township) looking for a church and graveyard Applegate described as being the site of Covell Hill.

At the top of a hill outside town, she spots white gravestones, but no church. With rain drizzling down and not dressed for tramping around in the bush, she makes her way up to the top of the hill.

There she finds graves that “… are grown up with high grass, poison ivy, huckleberries and all sorts of low stuff.”

From her notes it seems she is looking for Mordecai’s tombstone as well since she writes, “… Here are many old grave stones such as I never saw before, the natural red sand stones, as flat as they could get them but quite unworked, jagged and rough, no initials that I could find. If there is a M.L. anywhere, I did not find it or anything else that Applegate had promised, such as many tomb stones of Jemisons(sp).”

She leaves the cemetery and ends up at Mrs. Rue’s, sister to Mr. Joseph Holmes who claimed he was related to the Lincolns.

Mrs. Rue shows her a manuscript of the family genealogy where the inscription of Deborah Lincoln’s tombstone was documented. It read: Deborah Lincon, 3 years 4 months, 1720.

Tarbell returns to New Jersey on Aug. 14, traveling to Trenton to conduct research at the courthouse for land transfers related to the Lincolns.

Later that night back at the hotel, she reviewed her copy of J. Henry Lea’s “The Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln” and found a passage where Lea writes that Deborah Lincoln is buried in Allentown.

The next day, Tarbell takes a taxi to Allentown and visits a graveyard in the back of a house on Church Street.

Coming up empty, she asks if there is anyone in town who may know about the tombstone. The owner of the house says an old man down the street may know something.

Tarbell knocks on his door and describes the feeling of meeting him as “… same kind of feeling I have when looking for china I come upon a Loewstof (Lowestof) or see a real Windsor or find a factory that I know is a labor factory or an employer that I know realizes what human beings are … real things. I had found one, Charles Hutchinson, 25 years a store keeper in Freehold (Allentown), 29 years insurance and land office work.

“Through all this time he had been gathering information about Monmouth – its history and its settlers, putting it down in ledgers in a hand so precise and neat that it was like copper-plate – not an erasure, not a blot, not a crooked or hasty letter. Almost perfect type.”

Did Mr. Hutchinson know about Deborah Lincoln? Of course, and he informed Tarbell she was not buried in Allentown, but at Covell Hill about “… four or five miles from here … at the place in which I started.”

Hutchinson pulls out one of his books and shows Tarbell the same tombstone inscription Mrs. Rue had.

A month later they begin corresponding with each other and Hutchinson sends Tarbell a photograph of the tombstone she ended up using in her book.

Thomas K. Robbins is a resident of Havre de Grace, Md., and a descendant of the Robbins family of the Allentown-Upper Freehold Township area.

New Jersey beekeepers reap the glorious bounty of sweet honey, and many sell a variety of products made from honey that attract quite a buzz among shoppers.

Products include honey — of course — as well as cosmetics, lotions, candles, soaps, flavored honey spreads and more. It’s a sticky business — pun intended — that has New Jersey products being sold near and far. The state’s beekeepers sell their honey products on site, in stores or farmer’s markets, online or a combination of all. For many, it’s a family operation, and some go back several generations.

For a list of members of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association who sell products from their apiaries, visit njbeekeepers.org and click on Honey & Hive Products. Here are some highlights of sweet items made and sold by local beekeepers:

Bee Flower and Sun Honey in Pittstown

beeflowernsunhoney.com or 908-735-6946

For four decades, this raw honey has been sold unfiltered for more taste, and to preserve its naturally occurring antioxidants, pollen, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Honey varieties include blueberry blossom, clover blossom, star thistle blossom, wild flower, buckwheat blossom and Ceylon cinnamon infused, as well as comb honey.

The beeswax candles from E&M Gold Beekeepers are best-sellers. Photo courtesy of E&M Gold Beekeepers

E&M Gold Beekeepers in Tinton Falls

emgoldbeekeepers.com or 732-542-6528

E&M Gold owners Mary and Edmund Kosenski work diligently to protect their bees from diseases. Their beeswax candles are popular, and in recent years, about half of their sales have been 2- and 6-ounce honey favor jars for weddings and baby or bridal showers.

Frank’s Honey in Ridgewood

frankthebeeman.com/franks-honey/

Frank’s Honey is 100% pure, raw, all-natural, local honey that is hand-harvested and hand-extracted from Bergen County hives, then poured fresh into bottles to preserve its high-quality, sweet goodness. His honey jars, honey hand lotion and honey lip balm are available at several shops in Bergen County.

Gooserock Farm harvests beeswax to make a variety of products, including soaps. Photo courtesy of Gooserock Farm

Gooserock Farm in Montville

gooserockfarm.com or 973-263-0674

For 20 years, Landi Simone has produced raw, minimally filtered honey from hives in Morris and Sussex counties. She also harvests beeswax to make creams, soaps, lip balms and candles. Gooserock Farm has taken hundreds of prizes for its honey, candles and cosmetics in local, state and regional shows.

HarBee Beekeeping in Dumont

harbeebeekeeping.com or 201-543-3549

Pat Harrison’s suburban beekeeping business produces honey, natural bar soaps in several scents, aromatherapy candles and pure beeswax candles. He maintains 200 honeybee colonies throughout New Jersey, and offers The Good Beekeeper Plan, a hands-off beekeeping service for homeowners.

Neshanic Station Apiaries in Neshanic Station

njlocalhoney.com or 908-377-1681

This small, family-owned business sells its wildflower honey raw to preserve its antibacterial and antifungal properties, packed with enzymes, minerals and pollen. Popular products include Beekeepers Bar soaps and spreadable creamed honey.

The Honeybee Venom Rub from New Ark Apiaries provides gentle relief from muscle and joint pain. Photo courtesy of New Ark Apiaries

New Ark Apiaries in Montclair Heights

etsy.com/shop/NewArkApiaries

Joseph Sarbak learned about beekeeping from a local adult education course. He now sells honey and related products. His Honeybee Venom Rub provides gentle relief from muscle and joint pain, and Bee Propolis Extract, a natural tincture that acts as a powerful natural antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal medicine, is effective for healing cuts.

Sweet Cheeks Farm and Apiary in Chester

sweetcheeksfarm.com or 908-809-0202

Sweet Cheeks Farm recently took over Tassot Apiaries, whose owners retired after 20 years. The 16-acre farm sells organic honey and products such as beeswax candles and honey butters in flavors that include cinnamon, chocolate, lemon, peanut butter, vanilla chai and matcha green tea.

Top of the Mountain Honey Bee Farm sells raw honey and honey infused with flavors. Photo courtesy of Top of the Mountain Honey Bee Farm

Top of the Mountain Honey Bee Farm in Wantage

honeyforsale.net or 973-764-1116

What started as a hobby now has 400 hives over five counties. Top of the Mountain sells raw honey — wildflower, buckwheat and locust — and honey infused with flavors, like cinnamon, berries, orange and more — even garlic and hot pepper. They also sell soap and face masks, lip balms and bee rub.

Tanis Apiaries in Pompton Plains

freewebstore.org/Tanis-Apiaries or 973-831-5802

When Craig Tanis discovered that local, raw honey relieved his allergy symptoms and his son’s asthmatic coughing, he started beekeeping with his family as a hobby. Today, the family sells its honey, soap and popular lip balm made from beeswax.

Trapper’s Honey in Clarksburg

Trappershoney.com or 609-259-0051

This third-generation beekeeping family harvests their award-winning honey from hives on their farm, and sells pure bottled honey as well as a Gourmet Honey Spread made from honey and fruit. Their hives in a blueberry patch have a natural blueberry taste.

Joyce Venezia Suss is a freelance writer and native Jersey girl who has worked for the Associated Press, The Star-Ledger and North Jersey Media Group. She was nominated for a James Beard Journalism Award for a 19-part series on ethnic foods in New Jersey.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.

UPDATE: 6/7/2023, 2:15 p.m.

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Air Quality Index in part of West Virginia, including the Morgantown area, is now reading as unhealthy, according to AirNow, a partner website of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

As of Wednesday afternoon, the AirNow map is now showing a large portion of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle as well as cell south of Pittsburgh that includes the northern part of Monongalia County and another over Moundsville and New Martinsville, are all considered “unhealthy.” All of the rest of north central West Virginia and the Northern and Eastern panhandles are considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

The AirNow forecast map for Wednesday also predicts that almost all of north central West Virginia—as far south as Braxton County—and the Northern Panhandle will be considered unhealthy.

Parts of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have an AQI considered “very unhealth” or “hazardous,” but those levels are not expected to reach as south as West Virginia at this point.

To see the most updated AQI for your area, look at the AirNow AQI map here.

ORIGINAL: 6/6/2023

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Smoke from wildfires in Quebec, Canada has been looming over West Virginia for several days.

More than 100 fires currently burning in Quebec, and haze from the smoke can be seen across West Virginia, from Clarksburg, to Charleston, to high elevations like Spruce Knob.

As of Tuesday morning, the smoke across almost all of West Virginia is considered moderate. On Monday, some areas, including Charleston and Huntington, had what was considered thick smoke, but that has since changed to just moderate.

NBC reported on Monday that the air quality in much of the north eastern U.S. was affected by the fires, calling air quality conditions “dangerous” in some areas. Specifically, parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin were under air quality advisories, according to NBC. But even places as far south as the Ohio Valley, which includes West Virginia’s northern panhandle, could be affected by poor air quality from the smoke, reported sister station WTRF.

At this point, no air conditions in any part of West Virginia are considered unhealthy. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Index (AQI) for June 6 says that Charleston and Moundsville had moderate air quality conditions due to “PM2.5” pollution, or tiny particles in the air. The other seven cities on the index, including Clarksburg, all had good air quality.

Google Maps U.S. AQI map says that parts of Marshall, Wetzel, Kanawha, Boone, Fayette and Berkeley counties had an AQI in the moderate range as of 2 p.m. Tuesday. It also said that parts of Morgan, Jefferson and Berkeley counties had AQI in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or “unhealthy” range.

For those in areas with moderate air quality, the DEP says that the quality is acceptable, but those who are affected by underlying lung conditions like asthma or COPD should limit their time outdoors.

So you've hiked or kayaked through New Jersey's haunting Pine Barrens and captured a perfect picture of twisted tree trunks reflected in the waters of a cedar swamp and thought, "Hey, that's pretty good."

Now, judge yourself against the winners of the second annual juried photo contest hosted by the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. More than 600 photos taken in the Pinelands National Reserve were submitted by 145 amateur and professional photographers. The images were judged by landscape photographer Albert D. Horner, who has also taken many of his own photos in the 1.1 million-acre reserve, some of which appear in his 2015 monograph, "Pinelands: New Jersey's Suburban Wilderness."

Three winners were named Saturday, Nov. 3, as were 10 honorable mentions, three of which were from the Greater Philadelphia Area. An exhibit of the photography will hang in the Pinelands Preservation Alliance's barn in Southampton through Dec. 7.

"The New Jersey Pine Barrens have intrigued me the most of all," said finalist Robert Ferguson II of Bristol. "The habitat, the colors, the smells, the Northern and Southern-affinity flora and fauna colliding together in harmony; the place is mysteriously beautiful."

Robert Ferguson II, of Bristol, Pine Barrens Treefrog on Pitcher Plant and Northern Pine Snake Tongue Flick (executive director's choice for honorable mention). Ferguson considers himself a conservationist, environmentalist, and amateur naturalist, and said he is "addicted to the Pinelands."

Thomas Dolan of Richboro, Sunrise in the Pinelands. Dolan said his interest in photography began in 1962 with the birth of his daughter. He was introduced to the Pinelands by a friend years ago and it has become one of his favorite places.

Christopher Smith, of Lavalette, N.J., Wetlands Fractals. Smith is an Associated Press photographer who grew up wandering the Pinelands, fascinated by its unique beauty. He began documenting it through photos.

Michael Neuhaus of Bordentown, Fog Bow. Neuhaus has been a photographer for more than 35 years with a reverence for the living environment, only discovering the Pinelands more recently, leaving him surprised by its beauty. It is now a primary focus of his work. He also won an honorable mention for Gentian Bud.

Greg Bullough of Doylestown, Sky Bubbles. Bullough started photography as a youth but took a long hiatus from the art form. A friend brought him to the Pinelands a few years ago. He's since hiked and kayaked from the heart of the pines to the coast.

Amy L. Golden of Voorhees, Swamp Pink. Golden, a dentist and veterinary consultant, first used photography for professional illustrations and lectures. She has worked at nature centers and is on the board of the South Jersey Camera Club.

Ellen Bonacarti of Clarksburg, N.J. Bonacarti has always enjoyed photography, but it didn't become a passion until a few years ago. Now, it's entwined with her love for the Pine Barrens and all its moods and seasons.

Gregory Fischer of Marmora, N.J., Bullfrog Eating Leopard Frog. Fischer is an environmental science and geology student at Stockton University who likes to hike and bird, and enjoys wildlife photography.

Lily Smith, 16, of Merchantville, took first place for Mill Lake Reflection. She attends Camden Catholic High School, is an avid photographer of both nature and people, and has been visiting the Pine Barrens since she was very young.

Audrey Seals of Northfield, N.J., took second place for Bass River Forest With Flare. She has assisted her father, David, on photo trips for years and has won first place in a photo contest for the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia.

John Giatropoulos of Somerdale took third place for Pinelands Autumn. He has been photographing since his teens, starting with family events and progressing to nature and landscapes, eventually drawn to the Pinelands. He enjoys finding different ways to portray its uniqueness since the Pine Barrens have no mountains or cliffs or other traditional landscape elements.

Deborah Mix of Wenonah took second place for Cranberry Girl. She is a multimedia artist who began as a textile graduate working in fabric design. She brought nature-inspired themes into her work, eventually going into photography with a lifelong love of South Jersey's rivers, marshes, and Pinelands.

Dennis Abriola of Vineland, N.J., took first place for On a Morning Walk. A retired electrician, he always enjoyed the outdoors and started photographing it with an old box camera. He has been impressed with the natural beauty of Pinelands landscapes, "whether it is the reflections in the lakes and ponds or the flight of a bird sailing through the air."