Clinton Township Newsletter

3 j a n u a r y 2 0 2 2 Carol Beder's Oriental Rug Specialist Since 1934 Sale & Service of Oriental Rugs & Carpets www.MSIPlumbingAndRemodeling.com 1109 Rte. 31 S. Lebanon, NJ 08833 New Jersey Licensed Master Plumber #8722 Your Remodeling Experts! 908.735.4438 Julie Flynn 2022 marks our 40th Anniversary! When I first started working at the Clinton Township Newsletter in September of 2009, I told the original own- ers, Fred and Ruth Keesing, that I knew they had the Fountain of Youth hidden on their property somewhere, and I was determined to find it. While it eluded me the entire time I worked at their home-office, I figured out that their love of family, strong work-ethic, multitude of friends, volunteerism, and connections with the community had something to do with the Keesing longevity. I can only hope to be so lucky. It's our advertisers who have kept us in business so to them (as always) I want to say THANK YOU – we very much appreciate your loyalty. To our dear readers: please check out our advertisers, purchase their products and use their services, because if they succeed, we all succeed – and we'd like to stay in business for another 40+ years, if possible. And, I hope that you'll feel free to email us with your criticism, comments and questions, because we're here to serve you. For the story of how the Clinton Township Newsletter originally came to be, I think Ruth (b.1928 - d.2020) told it best (below), back in 2014. I hope you and your families all have a very Happy and Healthy 2022! "HIS Story", by the late Ruth Keesing: I remember the day my late husband, Fred (b.1913 - d.2010) suggested we publish a Township Newsletter. Both of us had been journalists, he as Photo Editor of what was then the Plainfield Courier News. I'd done a lot of freelance columns for several area newspapers, but was gainfully employed as an Administrative Manager for Bellcore back in 1982. Fred realized that being retired, for him, was just another opportunity to commence another endeavor. He approached the then Mayor of Clinton Township (Dick Maitland)with his idea and was summarily informed that there was not enough money in the budget to finance such a plan, so Fred decided HE would publish a Township News- letter on his own. He was quite computer-savvy, for a man born in 1913, and soon filled a home office with computers, printers, file cabinets and a sound system that would enhance his days with marching bands and loud tenors. He hired a neighbor to do the "typing" and started pounding the pavements for advertisers to finance the project. Suffice to say, the local businesses were less than enthusiastic about placing ads in what was then a non-existent publication. I remember cruising up and down Routes 31 and 22, knocking on the doors of offices and stores and restaurants, pleading for a chance to run ads for them. Over the years he had three terrific "homemakers"(Meg, Becky and Jan) in charge of inputting enough material to fill 8 pages – then 10, 12, 14… and more. These wonderful women all preceded another wonderful woman – Julie Flynn, current Editor and owner of CTNL.The Township contributed news as did the local Board of Education. Advertisers began lining up to place copy in each issue. At one point several decades ago, Fred lost most of his eyesight to Macular Degeneration. Ever resourceful, he purchased a large screen computer with lots of fancy software to enhance the size of print and recruited Steve Kesselhaut as tutor/technician. It was slow tedious work and he often used a hand-held magnifier to read copy. Never complaining about his visual handicap, he was determined to do the job of Editor and Publisher, although what used to be a ten-minute job now took 30 to 40 minutes. He used guest columnists to fill the left side of the front page. When one wasn't readily available he would say to me: "I can't get a REAL PERSON to do the column this month, so you write one." Apparently "real people" became scarce because, as the years went by (and I had retired by then), I ended up a permanent "guest" columnist. He continued to write the Editor's Column until his 97 years of age took its toll. So that is how the CTNL came to be. Julie still lets me write a monthly col- umn.When I get flakier with age I'm sure she'll come up with Plan B. I'm ever grateful Fred gave birth to this publication over 32 years ago. ~ Ruth

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