Monday, 20 February 2023 09:01
Anchor Tax Relief
The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) program has extended their application deadline to February 28th! You can apply today for New Jersey's ANCHOR property tax relief benefit. This program provides property tax relief to New Jersey residents who owned or rented their principal residence (main home) on October 1, 2019, and meet the income limits. Full details and links to important information available here.
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News
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Friday, 17 February 2023 16:31
MPLL 2023 Registration
This deceptive weather is giving us some very early spring fever! We have a busy MPLL weekend coming up. On February 18th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. is the last in-person registration at Bloomfield Park Fire Hall, 5301 Lexington Ave. Pennsauken, NJ and later that evening from 5:30-6:30 p.m. we're having MPLL Nights at Scanzano Sports Center, 5 Carnegie Plaza, Cherry Hill, NJ. On February 19 at 1:00 p.m. we'll have the Mustangs Boys 9U Travel Try-Outs at Batter’s Alley, 527 Morgan Ave. Palmyra, NJ. Please DM us through our Facebook page to sign up or text 609-870-5555. Registrations are still open until February 26th - Have a great weekend!
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Clubs
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Friday, 17 February 2023 15:36
"Skeeter" Schull, 93
Shull, Dr. Elliott C. "Skeeter" Jr. Age 93, of Pittsgrove Township, passed away on Wednesday afternoon, February 8, 2023 at home. He was born in Camden to Elliott C. and Elizabeth E. Shull (nee Edgar). Skeeter was a graduate of Merchantville High School, Pennsylvania Military College, Hahnemann Medical College and Duke University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army at Fort Stewart, GA before returning to New Jersey to join his father's radiology practice, South Jersey Radiology Associates (SJRA). Skeeter was predeceased by his wife M. Jean Shull (nee Reimet), his brother Walter Barrett Shull and sister Elizabeth Bradley. He is survived by his children, Deborah (Craig) Marks of Conifer, CO, Elliott (Irene) Shull of Elmer, Wendy (Bill) Groot of Uxbridge, MA, Brian (Ellen) Shull of Durham, NC, and Gary (Erin) Shull of Loveland, OH. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. Read the complete obituary.
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Milestones
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Friday, 17 February 2023 13:42
TheraSport PT
TheraSport is pleased to offer Direct Access to our clients. Direct Access, or self-referral simply means that you can be seen for Physical Therapy without a Physician prescription. Direct Access empowers you to take control of your health and allows faster access to care. TheraSport Physical Therapy was founded in 2003 on the principles of evidence-based practice. Their mission is to empower our patients to overcome impairment and disability. TheraSport strives to maximize human performance through clinical excellence, collaboration with fellow healthcare providers, and the highest-level research. We are committed to enhancing the lives of the individuals we treat and to the betterment of the communities that we serve.
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Wellness
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Friday, 17 February 2023 13:30
Lamps And Lanterns
Here's a nice primer on oil lamps and lanterns from Merchantville Antiques. A favorite lamp of ours is the hurricane lamp or oil lamp. Indoor lighting devices are generally referred to as lamps while portable outdoor ones are called lanterns. Generally lanterns have a handle of some form to make them easy to carry and are weather proof to some extent as compared to indoor lamps. The chimney is a clear or frosted glass globe designed for safeguarding the flame or lightbulb if electrified. A shade is a glass piece translucent or opaque to diffuse a light source. The tripod: Holds the glass shade in place. The burner is the apparatus of a lamp that "produces" the flame usually consists of a metal enclosure and wick to supply the (liquid) fuel. The wick raiser knob raises and lowers the wick. The burner collar is the neck piece that raises burner away from flame source. The oil font or bowl is the reservoir or tank that holds the fuel in a lamp. And, the boot or pedestal is the base of lamp. After electric lighting became standard people no longer prioritized the use of oil lamps, so they would convert them to electricity by removing some of the inside pieces of the burner to allow for a lightbulb socket to be installed.
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Services
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Thursday, 01 December 2022 07:32
Merchantville's Founding
More than 300 years ago, the first farms and small settlements began to appear in this part of South Jersey. Gradually, more people began moving to this area, and by the mid 19th century the site where present-day Merchantville is located had been incorporated into a large municipality called Waterford Township. In 1859, a piece of land that included the newly settled village of Merchantville broke off from Waterford Township and became Stockton Township. Meanwhile, the Moorestown-Camden Turnpike, which opened in 1851, was making this area increasingly attractive potential residents, and between 1852 and 1860 a group of men who would be among Merchantville’s earliest residents and founding fathers – Patrick Cunningham, Samuel McFadden, Jon Loutey, Frederick Gerker and Matthias Homer – purchased extensive tracts of land along the turnpike. Another major impetus for settlement in this area was completion of the Camden & Burlington Railroad in 1867. This provided good transportation from Philadelphia and Camden, and helped spur growth in the community. Residents of Philadelphia were particularly attracted to the town, where they built both permanent and summer homes.
In 1857, at the home of Philadelphia merchant John Louty, several citizens had met to decide on a name for their little community. As the story goes, they had almost agreed on “Martinsville, in honor of Ben Martin, the popular owner of a local pub called the Stockton House. But John’s wife, Rebecca, suggested that a more appropriate name would be “Merchantville,” since the founding fathers were all merchants. The group agreed, and so it happened that this community is known as Merchantville, and not Martinsville.
By the early 1870s, many of Merchantville’s approximately 400 residents had grown unhappy about being part of Stockton Township because they felt their taxes were not being spent on improvements to their town. So George Crump, an interested resident who served as England’s vice consul to Philadelphia, drew up a proposed charter for self-rule. In the spring of 1874, he and six other residents took this document to Trenton, where the legislature gave its approval. This led to the Borough of Merchantville’s incorporation on May 18, 1874.
Over the past decades Merchantville has continued to thrive and grow. In April 2024, our town celebrates its 150th birthday. The borough today has 3,800 residents and continues to maintain the same friendly charm it had at its founding. At the same time, it looks forward with great optimism to the progress it expects to make in the years to come.
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150th Birthday
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Friday, 10 February 2023 07:23
Your House, Your Story
We know that many of you have been working hard on your Merchantville home to bring it back into tip top condition and The Merchantville Historical Society would like to acknowledge your efforts and those of your friends and neighbors if you let us know who you are. We are requesting your input in bringing to our attention anyone you know, (including yourself), who has done work over the last few years, interior or exterior, to beautify their home consistent with the original style and character of the house. We would then like to invite the nominees to attend a get together with the theme “Your House and Your Story”. This special evening will be a great time to meet neighbors throughout the community who have also been restoring their homes. Those attending will be asked to share a bit about the projects and challenges as they work on their special home. Feel free to bring a few photos of your project as well. The Society is working on a date and venue for this event, which would likely be in the second half of March, so look for further updates. But for now, please send your nominations to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please include names and addresses, and if possible, email.
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History
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Thursday, 16 February 2023 06:55
150th Celebrations Planned
Merchantville will mark its 150th Birthday in April 2024 and back in February of 2020, the Borough held their first planning and brainstorming meeting intended to create a series of signature events in 2023-2024 celebrating the Borough’s history, success and
future. By their follow-up meeting in December 2022, a 150th Trust Account had been established for fundraising which, along with sponsorships, will help support an event-filled celebratory year. The Borough wants to involve families, local historians, businesses, residents and those connected to the Borough’s history. Merchantville residents and organizations are welcome to complete this SURVEY to indicate their unique talents and knowledge, then the 150th committee will form subcommittees for various events and help with other tasks along the way. To date the Spring 2022 Roaring 20s Gala generated donations for beautification projects including the new holiday pole banners for the downtown! The first event of 2023 is the Borough Beautiful Tea on April 30th at the Community Center and the year-long celebration will culminate with Merchantville's 150th Birthday Celebration Weekend next April. "Once made up of sprawling farmland, Merchantville was developed by a group of merchants and incorporated in 1874 to reflect the town’s evolution into a community of stores and homes folks visited to get away from the bustle of the city and delight in a relaxing country setting while still enjoying amenities that made life easy and enjoyable."Thank you again for your time and we look forward to receiving your feedback!
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150th Birthday
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Thursday, 16 February 2023 06:39
MES Girls Reach Semis
Forget about the Eagles, let's hear it for the Knights! Merchantville School's girls' basketball team soundly beat the Cavaliers form Somerdale Park School, 62-36 on Wednesday, 2/14, and now advance to the finals in their league playoff run against Berlin this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Bishop Eustace gymnasium. Two weeks ago the girls basketball honored 8th graders Madison and Caroline at halftime during the last game of the regular season tonight. Good luck to the team and continue to make us proud uKNIGHTed - they've got the Borough behind them!
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Elementary
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Thursday, 22 December 2022 06:35
New Banners For 150th
Happy holidays, Merchantville! Take a look on your next Downtown Merchantville shopping trip and you’ll find BRIGHT, NEW holiday banners celebrating Merchantville’s upcoming 150th Birthday! THANK YOU to all who donated during the Gala celebration, your generous contributions fund this and many more projects to come as we continue to grow the Borough Beautiful!
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150th Birthday
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