“Who was that masked man?” That question was part of the mystique of “The Lone Ranger,” a 1950s TV western that had viewers pondering the answer. The Herald continues the occasional series, “Who Were They?” to enlighten readers on namesakes of local buildings and grounds, bridges and roads whose names are commonplace, but about whom many know little, if anything. It is a tribute to Cape May County residents who laid the groundwork for the place many today call home.
Cape May County Public Health Center, 6 Moore Road, is dedicated to Dr. Leon H. Schuck.
A retired Philadelphia dentist, Schuck resided in Clermont. A Republican, he was elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders in November 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower was reelected. Schuck served from 1957 through 1971. He believed, in the 1950s, that the county needed “social welfare programs” free of federal government entanglements, according to “Cape May County, New Jersey The Making of an American Resort Community” by Jeffery M. Dorwart.
In 1964, Schuck was sworn as president of the N.J. Association of Counties. When the $3.7-million 1964 county budget passed, part of its increase was due to health and welfare improvements. Schuck traveled the state telling how the county’s health department was established, how it hired its first director, and how it functioned.
In the Sunday Star-Ledger, July 12, 1964, Schuck stated the Cape May-Lewes Ferry was expected to boost the county’s growth rate, changing it from a “dead end” to a “front seat” in the link between Florida and New England.
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