Cape May County Historical Society Presents Awards

RIO GRANDE — Cape May County Historical and Genealogical Society awarded winners of the Heritage Awards Program for 2009 during its second Annual Winter Reception Dec. 3 at Menz’s Restaurant.
Nominations were received from the public and members of the society during the past year for recipients who contribute to the preservation or promotion of the county’s history.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Michael Zuckerman of the Mid At-lantic Center for the Arts (MAC) in Cape May for his leadership in restoring and preserving the Emlen Physick Estate, Cape May Lighthouse and World War II lookout tower in Lower Township.
Zuckerman has been the director of MAC since 1982 and recently worked to restore gar-dens at the Physick Estate to how they looked in the late 1800s. He is the president of the New Jersey History Advocates and has lobbied in Trenton to restore funding to preserve state historical communities.
Zuckerman was unable to attend so Norris Clark accepted the award on his behalf.
Trustee Robert McCullion presented the Heritage Award for Preservation to Stephen Murray for his work on the restoration and preservation of Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and gardens. Murray is chair of the Friends of Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, wrote the script and helped produce an educational video about the lighthouse, and authored a book about the lighthouse gardens.
“It’s been a labor of love. I intend to take care of the lighthouse as long as I can,” Murray said.
County Clerk Rita Marie Fulginiti presented Robert Elwell with the Friend of History Award for his continued efforts to educate the community about county history and for co-chairing Cape May’s 400th Anniversary celebration with society member Carol Boyd.
“Bob Elwell is a conduit between people and organizations and was a conduit in naming the Cape May County Veteran’s Memorial Bridge,” Fulginiti said.
Elwell thanked his supporters and said he looks forward to further participation.
The Young Historian Award was presented to Alex Duryee for dedication to researching, documenting and preserving Cape May County history. Duryee is a senior history major at New Jersey College in Trenton and has worked at the museum for five years. He has worked to inventory and archive items into a digital record.
“Once given an assignment, he can be relied on to go beyond expectations,” Director and Museum Curator Pary Woehlcke said. Duryee was unable to attend and Library Director Sonia Forry accepted it on his behalf.
President James P. Hand presented the Legacy Award, given to a governmental entity, to the Cape May County Freeholders and Department of Facilities and Services for ongoing support and dedication to the preservation of historic structures under their jurisdiction.
Budd Springer, head of Cape May County Department of Facilities and Services, accepted the award on behalf of Freeholder Len Desiderio.
Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblyman Matthew Milam (both D-1st) congratulated winners and presented them with proclamations from the state legislature.