On Saturday, September 29th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the strut returns. It's been a couple of years since the last Mutt Strut, but several volunteers are working with Merchantville Task Force and Pennsauken-Merchantville Area Chamber Of Commerce PMAC to bring this wonderful event back to town. We would love to see your pups dressed up in their favorite costumes, shirts, or collars! Awards for best dressed, biggest dog, best pack, and more! Support local shelters by donating new toys and dog food to receive a free ticket for some awesome give-aways. Looking for a new best friend? Adoptable dogs will be participating in the Strut so come check them out! Mutt Strut will be paired with Merchantville Market Off Centre and all proceeds from registration, sponsors and vendor fees will go toward local groups supporting animal welfare! We'll have many pet-related vendors as well as our regular market vendors. Marys Mobile Diner will be serving breakfast and lunch throughout the event!

On September 22nd a lazy void of course Moon period impacts early risers. By mid-morning the Moon enters sensitive Pisces. Midday lunar alignments with Uranus and Saturn gracefully boost ambitions. A sense of possibility can be entrancing. Creative individuals find their muses close at hand. If a get together with pals is among the options, by all means, make it happen. The more the merrier, especially if a shared purpose is served. For partygoers and romantics, the evening is enchanting. The Sun enters Libra tonight, marking the autumnal equinox and the beginning of the new season. Once again the forces of darkness and light are balanced. To welcome fall, a late night trine between the Moon and Venus fosters loving vibes and gives many folks reasons to laugh, love, and be thankful. By Eric D. Linter Moon in Aquarius v/c 12:00AM-8:27AM Moon enters Pisces, Sun enters Libra.

Please be advised that beginning Tuesday, May 29th, Borough Hall will be on the follow summer hours schedule: Monday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Tuesday, 8:00 am - 6:00 pm; Wednesday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Thursday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; and Friday, 8:00 am - 12:30 pm

Congratulations to fellow P.M.A.C. Member and Chairman, Matt Gaskill of Gaskill-Brown Funeral Home for receiving a well deserved award. The award for community service was presented to Gaskill on September 17th by the Camden County Freeholder Board and the Mayor and Borough of Merchantville.  

On September 6, 1886, John S. Collins acquired land in Merchantville from Senator Alexander G. Cattell. Collins was a founder and developer of Miami Beach and Collins Avenue, there, bears his name. In 1887, carpenters built a lumber yard complex on this site. Fire, in 1892, destroyed the existing main structure. This large hall building with a Queen Anne façade and overtones of Germanic Victorian brickwork was erected in 1893. It was in a prominent location, where Centre Street was crossed by the tracks of the railroad. The first floor housed the building supply company owned by John S. Collins, coal and lumber merchant, Quaker developer and visionary, and his son-in-law, Thomas J. Pancoast. There was a railroad siding, south of the Hall, with auxiliary shops in the rear. On the Chestnut Avenue side, the Post Office (1900 to 1909) served residents. The developers designed the building to provide spaces for the growing cultural and social undertakings, including the handsome first public auditorium on the second floor and a third floor Masonic meeting room that served that organization from 1893 until 1965. St. Agnes Guild of Grace Episcopal Church gave the premier performance. In 1912, Collins and Pancoast became J. S. Collins & Sons and offered a complete line of lumber, hardware, paints and garden supplies. The Merchantville-Pennsauken Water Commission had its beginnings when a group of citizens met here to discuss the water famine of 1909. The Playcrafters found a home in the building in 1937 and remained there until 1976. Dancing classes for young girls and boys were conducted in the auditorium. The public has enjoyed eateries such as Craig’s Ice Cream Parlor (late 1970s), Tavern on the Square (opened March 1998), The Collins House (2004) and The Blue Monkey (2008). Thus, this building was an architecturally imposing commercial structure that caps the most active generation of Merchantville's growth, representing the maturing of the community as it evolved towards one that sustained the arts and was unified by various social and fraternal organizations. On February 16, 1984, it was entered onto the National Register of Historic Places.

Merchantville School has an open seat on the Board of Education. This is an immediate opening until December 2018. Interested Merchantville Borough residents who meet the following requirements should send a letter of interest by Tuesday, June 19, 2018 to Greg Gontowski, Board Secretary, Merchantville Board of Education, 130 S. Centre Street, Merchantville, NJ 08109. Requirements: To become a member of a local board of education in New Jersey, you must: Be able to read and write; Hold U.S. citizenship; Prove/document one year’s residency in the Merchantville School District; Have no interest in any contract with, or claim against, the board; Not hold office as mayor or member of the municipal governing body; Be registered to vote in Merchantville and not be disqualified as a voter under N.J.S.A. 19:4-1. The Board of Education will review the letters of all interested Merchantville residents meeting the qualification for Board membership. The Merchantville Board of Education selects the person to fill any vacated seats. Greg Gontowski Business Administrator/Board Secretary