Special Thanks
The act of recognition is a precarious road to travel. The upside is the pleasure derived from taking the time to tell someone you appreciated his/her efforts. The downside is omission of any individual who deserves praise and thanks. So let us begin by saying we apologize for any oversight in our list of thanks, but thank we must a number of individuals and their organizations.
We extend a special thank you to the staff of the National Park Service’s New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, Wild and Scenic Rivers and Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.’s officers, trustees and members –– all of whom made this project possible.
The script and video of the Down Jersey film are included in Down Jersey: Celebrating Our Sense of Place. Both include a list of credits. These individuals all played a role in the ultimate creation of the curriculum.
The key participants were the members of the Advisory Group (listed above). We are indebted for their contributions. We must also thank the organizations they represent. In many cases these organizations allowed them the time and resources to make their contributions a more integral part of the process. The Advisory Group even went the extra mile to provide peer review and amend the lesson plans of other participants.
Some individuals attended an initial brainstorming session and made recommendations to the Advisory Group. Teacher Nancy Nosta and naturalists Karen Williams are two such individuals. Thank you.
Beverly McFadden of Atlantic Electric/Connectiv was our hostess at the Brian Parent Center for the Advisory Group meetings. Her hospitality exceeded anyone’s expectations.
Some of our teacher participants who developed lesson plans are not cited here, but rather are credited in the text of their individual lesson or activity. Without their assistance this packet would be nonexistent.
We thank the Millville Public Library reference staff, especially Suzanne Merighi, who was most gracious in helping investigate reference materials. Also our gratitude is extended to the Salem County Historical Society’s Director/Curator, Dr. James Turk, for his suggested reference materials.
As always, historian Jean Jones was kind enough to point us in the right direction. This time it was for information on teaching Native American culture as it relates to the Delaware Bayshore.
Special thanks to Giles Wright of the New Jersey Historical Commission for his patience and time in reviewing the Underground Railroad topics.
We wish to acknowledge John Kraeuter from the Haskins-Rutgers Oyster Research Laboratory, who reviewed several activities on oystering and offered input.
Citizens United Trustee Leslie H. Ficcaglia spent many hours proofreading and improving portions of the text. She did not, however, review the entire document. Let us assure you that what errors still remain are segments that were not reviewed by Leslie. Thank you, Leslie.
The Millville schools have many fine people who donated their time for this project. We are grateful for the creativity of these individuals. Principal Bill Sheridan and Secretary Gladis McGraw are to be thanked for their input and enthusiasm. We should probably also credit the unknown Social Studies teacher at Millville Senior High who told fellow teacher Carole Elliott that Down Jersey (the film) should be a requirement for every student in the building. Of all the letters and compliments we received after the 1997 premier of Down Jersey, this secondhand comment remains the one that had the most impact. It really acted as the motivation to take on Down Jersey: Celebrating Our Sense of Place.
A special thanks to John A. Rossi and Precision Electronic Glass, Inc., for their donation of A Brief History of Glassmaking and Its Impact on Southern NJ. Their generosity allows us to provide an encapsulation of the miracle of glass.
A special thanks to RFC Container Inc. for their packaging expertise.
Many people sent us supplementary materials. The US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, was most helpful. Their Delaware Bay Estuary Project in Bombay Hook sent us Delaware Estuary Issues, An Information and Activity Packet for Students at the Secondary Level. The Environmental Protection Agency sent us America’s Wetlands: Our Vital Link Between Land and Water, an EPA brochure on the importance of wetlands. It offers the most basic understanding of the functions of wetlands. The University of Delaware Sea Grant Program has given us permission to copy bulletins that were out of print. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection provided a number of publications. The NJDEP Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, Office of Information and Education, Nacote Marine Lab, provided a Resource Guide for Marine Education that is an extensive list of resources available for teachers. Fish, Game, and Wildlife Bureau of Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) supplied the leaflet Delaware Bayshore Birds. Eric Stiles, ENSP, supplied natural history information on eagles. NJDEP, Office of Watershed Management provided Beneath the Shell, A Teacher’s Guide to Nonpoint Source Pollution and Its Potential Impact on New Jersey Shellfish.
The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts provided Victorian Architecture of Cape May (Student Handout). Wheaton Village American Museum of Glass provided the materials used in making glass for the lesson plan entitled Location, Location, Location…, and the WADE (Wetland Activities for The Delaware Estuary) brochure was donated by PSE&G Estuary Enhancement Program. We are sure we may have missed someone, considering that we can no longer squeeze into our offices thanks to everyone’s generosity.
The Bayshore Discovery Project has offered to help distribute the packets to teachers who have shown a sustained interest in the natural and cultural resources of the Delaware Bayshore. Babs Bennett, director of the Gifted and Talented Program in Millville, has graciously offered student assistance in the assembly and distribution of the completed teachers’ curriculum guide.
Special thanks to the following corporations and members who provided the additional funding to make Down Jersey: Celebrating Our Sense of Place possible. Corporations: Conectiv Power Delivery, Wecom, Inc. — Laser Cut Parts and Precision Sheet Metal Fabrications, Sun Bank, and Standard Publishing Company. Citizens United Members: Richard Connor, Kathy and Joseph DeMarco, the Galetto Family Foundation — Jane and Peter Galetto, Laura and Robert Johnson, and Carl Sprengle, Sr.
In attempting to thank everyone for contributing to the development of this teachers’ curriculum guide, it is like stepping up to bat in baseball. You cannot hit a home run unless you at least swing at the ball. With so many people helping to create Down Jersey: Celebrating Our Sense of Place, that home run is probably elusive. At least we took a swing at the ball and hope that we did not hit anyone with the bat in the process. Our thanks again to everyone.
Sincerely,
Jane Morton Galetto
President
Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.
Janet C. Wolf
Programs Director
National Park Service
Southern New Jersey Programs
New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route
and
Christine Raabe
Education Consultant |
