Actress Tells Story Of Self-Made Millionaire Job Creators Committee Formed To Help Downtown

By Bob Vosseller PLUMSTED

– With a renewed focus on invigorating its downtown business district, two officials proposed the formation of a new sub-committee during the latest Township Committee meeting.

Committeeman Michael Hammerstone, a business owner himself, announced plans with fellow Committeeman Dominick

Cuozzo to create an advisory board. This volunteer group would look at the issues that cause downtown New Egypt to have empty storefronts.

Hammerstone said

By Bob Vosseller JACKSON – Dr. Daisy

She recently brought her talent to the township library where she told the story of America’s self-made millionaire, Madame CJ Walker.

Her portrayal of the historic figure who sought equality for African Americans was part of the library system’s celebration of Black History Month and the American Historical Theatre Reen - actors.

Century, of Philadelphia, was trained as a teacher and earned a BA in biology. She received her master’s degree in sciences at (Actress - See Page 4)

Students Lauded For Essays On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By

Bob

Vosseller

JACKSON – Township students were recognized for their writing ability recently for winning an essay contest about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Crawford-Rodriguez Elementary School 5th grade students Brandon Togans and Rose Amato joined Howard C. Johnson Elementary School 5th graders (Essays - See Page 18) the panel would consist of multiple business owners, himself and Committeeman Cuozzo. “Persons that will all work to make Main Street better.” They would meet on a quarterly basis to exchange ideas.

“I have visited with multiple business owners over the last couple of weeks and everybody has seemed to be very positive to it,” Hammerstone added.

Cuozzo said “with the business climate of the downtown area it needs improvement

(Downtown -

By Bob Vosseller

OCEAN COUNTY –

Just say “hello.” It seems simple enough. It is part of the Ocean County Human Relations Com- mission’s suggestion to help bring unity within a very diverse county. As part of their overall goal, members meet (Unity - See Page 5)

Actress: Continued From Page 1

South Carolina University and a PhD. from Temple University. The actor utilized various props to represent historic items. She has been involved with very thoroughly researched dramatic portrayals of various historic figures.

Wearing period attire, she presented the life of Madame Walker beginning with her early life as she spoke in character and described the ordeals, dreams and life of the woman who would build a million dollar business and who would support black colleges.

Walker’s life included being orphaned at an early age. Her name was Sarah and her older sister was Lavinia and they had two brothers who had moved away to find work. They lost their father to an unknown illness and a year later their mother also died of the same illness.

“I was about 7 and Lavinia about 9 and here we were, orphans. Now what we going to do?” Century said in the voice of Walker.

“My momma had said I was lucky because I was born free. My mother said to get smart in book learning. Learn to read, write and count and mind no one else’s business except your own,” she added. The two sisters were on their own with only a few people who would periodically check up on them. Their mother had taught them how to gather up firewood and how to cook beans, potatoes and corn “whatever we could dig up for from the garden.”

A neighbor provided them some squirrels and rabbits and asked if they knew how to cook them which they replied “yes,” even though they didn’t. “We put a big fire in the chimney and we put the squirrel in there and watched all the fur burn off and pretty soon that squirrel started to swell.”

Century added, “we said that squirrel is going to explode and it got bigger and bigger and we pulled that squirrel out and we brushed off all the smoke and tore off one of the legs. Oh, nice and crispy. From that day on we knew how to cook a squirrel.”

Years would pass as she and her sister moved in to a neighbor’s home and were paid to do laundry and later they would start their own business and pay rent to that neighbor. Lavinia would go off to be married. Walker “caught the eye” of Moses Mac Williams. They would marry and have a daughter Lelia. Williams would vanish however. “He went to work and he never did come back home. Back then it wasn’t safe for a colored man to be out by himself. They were lynching them left and right. We don’t know. I never talked about it for the rest of my life. He was a nice man,” she said.

That left Walker a widow and a mother at the age of 20. She continued to wash clothes but vowed to make sure her daughter learned how to read and write. They moved to Saint Louis and they found a place to stay at Saint James Baptist Church.

“That church had a school down in the basement so I could send Lelia to school. She would bring home her little tablet and I would sit right next to her,” she said. Walker would learn her alphabet and vocabulary from daughter stating it was house rule that she repeat her lessons at home.

Another gentleman would catch Walker’s eye, John Davis, and they would get married. “He was working at the sawmill bringing in $2.50 a week and I was bringing in $2.50 a week as a washer woman.”

She told Davis “there was more money out there to be made we just have to figure out a way to make the money.” Talk of money however soured Davis. “‘Woman you are going to drive me to drink’ and that is exactly what he did. He would stop at the saloon on Friday, take out his money, and come home with no money.”

Eventually he would leave. “I said good riddance John. He left and I would continue washing clothes.” Walker would sell hair grease part time but through a dream she had one night would come up with her own mixture that was highly successful and led her to the path of being business owner, entre- preneur and inspiration for not only African Americans but women in general. She met and married Charles James “CJ” Walker who she knew during her time in Saint Louis. They became reacquainted while she was living in Denver. “Everybody called him ‘CJ’ so I said I don’t want to be called Mrs. Charles Walker. I wanted something that sounded important. Something like Madame. I’m going to call myself Madame CJ Walker.” She would go on to start a company and form the Walker Team that included her husband, who handled advertising, her daughter, who would become the spokesperson for the company, two attorneys who would handle legal paperwork and banking, two former teachers - one who would handle the office work and the other who would travel with Walker and write her speeches. “The money started rolling in.” monthly either virtually or in person to discuss what positive change they can work toward.

“What we are working towards is the elimination of violence and racism and we are working with people developing programs that break the silence people have and working towards a dialogue. This committee is through the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office,” Commission Chair Reisa Sweet said.

“What we are focusing on is the elimination of violence because we are experiencing a time of so much division,” Sweet said noting a rise in anti-Semitism incidents in Ocean County as well as incidents of hate crimes throughout the state.

“The Prosecutor (Bradley Billhimer) has been very supportive and it is a program where we try to get everyone to really listen to each other and to talk about issues,” she added.

Sweet noted that the Commission has a fine example with one of its members who served as an inspiration, Reverend William Simmons, the assistant pastor at the Sixth Street Baptist Church in Lakewood.

Simmons has his own mission which is simply to get everyone to say hello to one another. “We have to do what no one else is doing, make a difference in your community and in your state. People on this Earth are living a fast lifestyle to match our fast-paced activities in today’s world. It’s to the point where people can’t take a few seconds out of their time to acknowledge another person.”

He added, “many people don’t understand that saying ‘hello’ can make someone’s day. A small or simple greeting. It’s a simple principle that more people need to take part in. Going out of your way and not saying something to a person should make you feel uncomfortable. Is that the lifestyle or person you want to be? I don’t think so.

“People crave and need attention, and by offering up the simplest greeting by saying ‘hello,’ it could impact a great day for someone and you wouldn’t even know it. It feels good to make others feel like they are important,” the Reverend added.

His observation grew to a full-fledged campaign of the Commission which resulted in the Prosecutor’s Office getting 250 hats made with the directive “Say Hello” printed on their front. Billhimer said, “saying ‘hello’ is the jump point of this and I think it is the beauty of this program. You start off a conversation by saying ‘hello.’ So much of what we do here in this office is trying to break down stigmas. Breaking down stigmas with opioid abuse or bias crimes, I think if we can focus on what we can accomplish together and talk to someone one on one all that other stuff goes away. Just try to build relationships one on one, I try to do that every day.”

Reverend Simmons added, “hello is a powerful word, and it is important to show others they are deserving of this very simple greeting. It has more impact when spoken than many ever realize. It will amaze you with the response you will get.”

He gave two examples. “I was shopping in Howell and as I was reaching for something on the shelf this elderly lady was walking by and I said ‘hello.’ When I turned around she was crying and I asked ‘Are you okay?’”

“She said ‘No one has said hello to me in a long time. I live with my son and his wife. They don’t say hello or good morning. I am still sleeping when they go to work, when they come home all they say is did you feed the dog, did you feed the cat?’” Rev. Simmons said.

The reverend also noted meeting a man while walking and saying ‘hello.’ The man asked him if he knew him.

“I said ‘No, but you do now,’ and we sat down and started talking. He and I started to talk about sports, work, and what was going on in the world today.

After 45 minutes he said he had to go and that he wished he could sit here all day with me. Two simple words could turn this country around,” Rev. Simmons added.

Simmons brought that message to Commission last year. He works security at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township where he meets many people during the course of a single day.

He feels that racial, political, cultural and religious differences have made it harder for people to interface together. That plus a preoccupation with smart phones resulting in people, “not knowing their neighbors anymore.”

To inquire about buying a hat, contact Simmons at simms2optonline.net or call the Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027.