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A Patriotic Home Hunt for Fourth of July

The Borough is encouraging residents to celebrate Independence Day by decorating their homes for a Patriotic Home Hunt.

Judges will drive by on Saturday, July 4, and winners will be announced on Sunday, July 5. A list of entrants will be published, so residents can “drive, ride, or walk around town and enjoy.”

Townwide gift certificates will be awarded.

The sign-up deadline is June 30. To sign up, go HERE.

Black Lives Matter speeches

A newly formed coalition of high school student leaders from Haddonfield, Collingswood, Woodlynne, Pennsauken, and Haddon Heights held a stand-in, march, and vigil in Haddonfield on Wednesday, June 24.

The activity, sponsored by SJ Students for Black Lives, had three components:

  • A stand-in (4 to 4:30pm) – with posters, signs, and artwork mourning Black lives lost to police brutality, and demanding justice for Black citizens — along sidewalks on Kings Highway East, from the PATCO line to Haddon Avenue.
  • A unity march (4:30pm to 5pm) along Kings Highway East from Haddon Avenue to the High School.
  • A gathering (5 to 6pm) at the High School, with speakers, poetry, song, and an 8:46 period of silence in honor of George Floyd.

Here are links to speeches given by some of the speakers at the High School:

Two hometown candidates for NJ Hall of Fame


At this time each year, the New Jersey Hall of Fame invites members of the public to vote for deserving New Jerseyans for induction into the Hall of Fame. There are ten candidates in each of five categories: Arts & Letters, Enterprise, Performing Arts, Public Service, and Sports.

This year, two Haddonfield luminaries are candidates, both in the Public Service category: Margaret Bancroft (1854-1912) and Alfred E. Driscoll (1902-1975). 

  • Alfred E. Driscoll graduated from Haddonfield High School in 1921. Among his many distinguished accomplishments, he was New Jersey’s first two-term governor, serving from 1947 to 1954. In Haddonfield he was a member of the Board of Education, the Board of Commissioners, and the Historical Society. He was one of six recipients in the inaugural class for the Haddonfield Alumni Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award, in 1994.
  • It is worth noting, given the times, that it was Governor Driscoll who spearheaded the adoption in 1947 of a new constitution for New Jersey that, among other things, ended racial segregation in the state’s public schools.
  • Margaret Bancroft was a pioneer in special education. She founded the Bancroft Training School in Haddonfield in 1883. Her specialized program for special education students was the first of its kind in the country. Today,based in Mt. Laurel, it provides a wide array of programs throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

To vote, go HERE. 

Voting is open through Tuesday, June 30. Inductees will be chosen by July 15. The individuals receiving the most votes in each category will be automatically inducted. Honorees will be formally inducted in a virtual induction ceremony in October.

Students plan Black lives stand-in, march, vigil

A newly formed coalition of high school student leaders from Haddonfield, Collingswood, Woodlynne, Pennsauken, and Haddon Heights is planning to hold a stand-in, march, and vigil in Haddonfield on Wednesday, June 24 from 4pm to 6pm.

The activity, sponsored by SJ Students for Black Lives, will have three components:

  • A stand-in (4 to 4:30pm) – with posters, signs, and artwork mourning Black lives lost to police brutality, and demanding justice for Black citizens — along sidewalks on Kings Highway East, from the PATCO line to Haddon Avenue.
  • A unity march (4:30pm to 5pm) along Kings Highway East from Haddon Avenue to the High School.
  • A gathering (5 to 6pm) at the High School, with speakers, poetry, song, and an 8:46 period of silence in honor of George Floyd.

Social distancing measures will be followed. Participants should wear masks and bring water.

Those who cannot join in person are encouraged to follow SJ Student for Black Lives on Instagram for ongoing events and education.

The group encourages supporters to donate to The Lucy Outreach Foundation — a youth empowerment program working in Camden. Connect HERE. 

Police statement on racial conflict

The following message, from Police Chief Jason Cutler and Commissioner Colleen Bianco Bezich (Director of Public Safety) was posted on the Police Department’s Facebook page on Saturday, May 31:

This week, the Haddonfield Police Department was deeply saddened and disturbed by the murder of George Floyd. Over the past few months, as we also mourned the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, we have sought to process these horrific crimes and confront the racial injustice that motivates similar actions in communities throughout our country. We do not condone the actions or omissions of the officers involved in these events. Instead, we condemn them.

Our Department encourages open communication between officers & citizens in order to build and sustain community partnerships & trust. In upholding our mission, we strive to interact positively with our entire community, and create lasting relationships that enhance law enforcement, crime prevention & quality of life. This community policing philosophy means that in the coming days, weeks, and months, we will engage in more outreach and an ongoing dialogue about racial injustice, including the ways in which our own law enforcement officers can and will improve our capacity to recognize and respond to incidents of racial bias.

To those who are angry, frustrated, hopeless and in mourning, we hear you — and we are here for you. We encourage everyone in our Borough of Haddonfield to partner with us as we move forward.

Memorial Day — modified

Photo: Dan Colombi (U.S. Air Force, Vietnam) and former mayor Tish Colombi at the Baptist Cemetery.

Memorial Day in Haddonfield typically is marked by a number of events:

  • On the Friday before Memorial Day, an assembly at Memorial High School that includes participation by members of Post 38. With all schools closed in compliance with Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive orders relating to the coronavirus pandemic, that event was canceled. Even so, members of the HMHS Student Council produced a ten-minute video to mark Memorial Day 2020. Link to it HERE.
  • The dressing of graves (i.e. the placing of American flags) of men and women who served in the Armed Forces, in the Baptist and Methodist cemeteries. Usually, this is done on the Friday before Memorial Day. This year, rain forced a postponement to today (Sunday, May 24).
  • A breakfast for Legionnaires and invited guests at the Post 38 headquarters on Veterans Lane. This year, that popular event has been canceled.
  • The raising and lowering of the American flag at Post 38 HQ, and the tolling of a bell — once for each member of the Post who died during the past twelve months. A modified form of this ceremony will take place tomorrow (Monday, May 25) at 9am.
  • A parade on Kings Highway, from the Presbyterian Church to the High School. This year, that event has been canceled.
  • A ceremony at the War Memorial at the front of the High School. Canceled.

Memorial Day this year was to have featured a display of 3,837 poppies, cascading from the wall of the school building behind the war memorial, in tribute to fallen New Jersey service members of World War I. That installation has been postponed to October. Details HERE.

At 3pm, members of the brass section of the Haddonfield Pick-Up Band will join with trumpeters and buglers across the country to play Taps on front porches, in a salute to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who died in America’s wars. Read details of Taps for Veterans HERE.

Pick-Up Band member Tom Reiter plans to play at the corner of West End Avenue and Euclid, in tribute to Tom Patton, founder and longtime director of the Pick-Up Band — and Legionnaire (U.S. Army WWII) — who died in June 2019.

This Haddonfield Today news story sponsored by Jack and Barbara Tarditi, and Conner Strong & Buckelew Insurance & Risk Management.

Farmers Market now taking orders

Eight vendors have signed on for the 2020 version of the Haddonfield Framers Market – Order Online / Drive In / Pick Up.

The market will be held, rain or shine, from 9am to 12n each Saturday through October 10, in the parking lot of Archer Law. Enter off Euclid Avenue.

Orders MUST be placed and paid for in advance HERE. Walk-up service is not available.

The vendors who have signed on, so far, are:

Duffield’s Farm Produce

Free Haven Farms

Muth Flower Farms Other Avenues Skin Care

Sara’s Produce

Sorbello Girls Farm

Stillwell Farms

Whispering Orchards Farm & CSA

Farmers Market to open May 23

After notching their most successful year to date, organizers of the Haddonfield Farmers Market were looking forward to getting the 2020 season off to a fast start in Kings Court on Saturday, May 16. Then along came COVID-19.

Undaunted, the committee has arranged to hold a call-ahead-for-pick-up market each Saturday in the parking lot of Archer Law, off Euclid Avenue, starting on Saturday, May 23.

Since many 2019 vendors have signed up to participate, shoppers can look forward to a wide selection of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and other locally sourced items. 

Visit the Market website HERE for details.

Fourth of July celebrations canceled

In normal times, Haddonfield celebrates the nation’s independence with a celebration downtown and fireworks on July 3 and a parade on July 4.

But these are not normal times.

The Haddonfield Celebrations Association, the not-for-profit community group that plans and raises funds for these and several other annual events, has decided that a public celebration of America’s independence will not be practical in 2020.

“We’re disappointed, of course,” said Ken Tomlinson, the Association’s president, “but we decided it was best to be safe rather than sorry.”

Arrangement for the fireworks and parade are typically made several months in advance. “Each year, we pay deposits to vendors and bands,” Tomlinson said, “but it didn’t make sense to do that this year, since there are many unknowns, and many decisions are out of our hands.”

Tomlinson said the Celebrations Association recognized that its decision will disappoint not just residents, but many others from throughout the region.

“Hundreds of out-of-town folks come to Haddonfield for our spectacular fireworks and one of the best parades in the Delaware Valley,” he said. “We will look forward to welcoming them back in 2021.”