Yesteryear
100 years ago

There was great excitement at the Opera House on Wednesday evening, where Dr. W. M. Hepburn, one of Freehold's theretofore highly respected citizens, was placed on trial before a jury of his peers on a charge of having feloniously and willfully converted to his own use Plymouth Rock rooster, the alleged property of John Barnacle Conover. The Hon. J. Chauncey Conover of this circuit presided, and the session was opened in due form by Court Crier Ought Jobson who wound up his proclamation with the statement that "the hen roosts must be protected." Before the opening of the more important case of session, some minor offenders were disposed of. The case of the State against William Makesway Hepburn for the larceny of the aforementioned rooster was next moved. State's Attorney Lawrence represented the prosecution and Col. A.W. Newton, of Massachusetts, the defendant. The indictment was found to be in due form and the impaneling of the jury followed. Some very distinguished figures were in the jury box as follows: Grover Cleveland (William E. Truex), David B. Hill (Oscar Wolcott), Chauncey M. Depew (John A. Foley), Allon B. Parker (Roland A. Ellis), Thomas C. Platt (John I. DuBois), James Smith Jr. (Andrew S. Lambertson), J. Pierpont Morgan (John T. McChesney), Admiral Dewey (Alex L. Moreau), Senator Brown (Alonzo Brower), Governor Stokes (Daniel F. Smith), Theodore Roosevelt (Charles V. DuBois) and John L. Sullivan (Clarence Wilbur). It proved to be a very close call for Dr. Hepburn, but his counsel "saw" the distinguished jury just in time, in order for him to be acquitted of misusing the rooster in question.

The Monmouth County tickets of both political parties are now submitted to the voters for approval or disapproval. The Democratic convention adopted the idea, which probably is the logical one, inasmuch as the Board of Freeholders had been under control of the members of the party for many years, candidates for the new board should be selected who had experience in county affairs, had proven competent and efficient, and could carry on and conduct county business with greater facility than those who through inexperience and unfamiliarity would be more apt to fall into error, and require considerable time to familiarize themselves with the work.

75 years ago

Education would not be eradicated altogether if all the colleges in the world were wiped out and newspapers were left. This is the dictum of a professor of journalism for be it from your old Uncle Dudley to minimize the value of the newspaper in our modern life. Anyone who writes for a newspaper ought to be "a priori" (committed to the professor's thesis. The professor cautiously qualified his statement, ain't that a sure sign of education?) with the adverb "completely." We could then read it if we were inclined to be skeptical. "Education would be almost eradicated with the colleges wiped out, and the newspapers going strong." I strongly suspect that such an interpretation was not intended by the journalistic savant. He was on much safer ground when he asserted, "If all the newspapers in the world were wiped out, and all the colleges left, there would be very little education." In a fit of depression one might agree off-hand with the disillusioning observation that there is very little education and let it go at that. However, let's be a little more encouraging. The Professor was on the right trail. If he had only followed it up. The colleges and universities do foster education in spite of the apparent aversion of many collegians to an education. The newspapers have the opportunity of distributing some modicum of it and a few of them do very well in acquainting their readers with the best that is being thought and done in the world today. A newspaper is not primarily an institution of learning. It is not its business to enlarge the boundaries of science. It is not its function to teach ancient history. Its function is not to find the solution of the problems of psychology and epistemology. It is not to teach either that acquired characteristics are inheritable or not, although a good newspaper will report a conference of scientists on evolution. The chief task is to tell us the news. It is news of the first importance when a bio-chemist isolates the germ of infantile paralysis. It is news when President Butler is gracious enough to impart his proposals as to the war debts. We may not agree with his solution, but we are grateful to the press for giving us his views. In short, the newspaper is a distributing agency of the latest learning that is available.

50 years ago

A Russian farmer whose long history as a victim of political persecution and arrests goes back to 1937 began a new life in Howell Township after his arrival recently with his wife aboard the U.S. Navy transport Admiral Langfitt. Chartered by the 26-nation Inter-Gov-ernmental Committee for Migration, it carried 1,250 refugee passengers, nearly all of whom are entering this country under the provisions of the U.S. Refugee Relief Act of 1953. Wasily Ivankow, 44, and his wife, Claudia, 31, emigrated through the sponsorship of Nicholas Korolkoff, West Farms Road, Howell, who provided the housing and job assurances required under the act.

25 years ago

Monmouth County and Howell Township health officials met to review the possibility of a county takeover of the Howell Health Department. Mayor Gerald Levine said the meeting was the first in a series designed to examine the comparative costs and services of county and local health departments. In his breakdown of what it would cost for Howell to become part of the county system, Monmouth County Health Officer Lester Jargowsky estimated the township can save about $70,000 by working as part of the county. He made his presentation before the Howell Township Committee and Health Department, and the local Board of Health. Jargowsky said that by either contracting with county health services or becoming a county health member, Howell taxpayers would pay only $87,450 instead of its current cost of $150,000.

- Compiled by Dick Metzgar