Rebecca stillwell willets biography
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Deputy Mayor Hayes has big, old shoes to fill
UPPER TOWNSHIP — While there are sadly few pairs of shoes to fill for Kim Hayes as a female leader in the township, they include the big, buckled ones of two Revolutionary War heroines.
The committeewoman was elected by her peers as the first female deputy mayor in the history of Upper Township, incorporated in 1798, during the annual reorganization meeting Jan. 6.
“That’s an awesome accomplishment, really humbling,” Hayes said. “Women, especially young girls, need to see women in leadership roles to know that they can aspire to that, too.”
Hayes is only the third woman ever to serve on Township Committee and first to hold a leadership role. The previous two were Barbara Camp, who served two terms beginning in 2004, and Kristine Gabor, who served in 2010 and 2011.
Hayes was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Committeeman Hobie Young in 2020 and was elected to her first full term beginning in 2022.
Born Kimberly Emberger, the baby in a family of five that includes older sister Kelly and older brother Jeff, the 44-year-old grew up in Sea Isle City, where she said she had about 20 people in her eighth-grade class at a school that has since closed due to low enrollment.
While there, she got her first experience with a
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Buried treasure in Cape May? Tales of pirates and battles with Brits at the Shore
This article is part of “Unknown New Jersey,” an ongoing series that highlights interesting and little-known stories about our past, present, and future -- all the unusual things that make our great state what is it. Got a story to pitch? Email it to local@njadvancemedia.com.
Argh matey!
When you first think about pirates, images of Jolly Roger flags, buried treasure, and battles in the high seas come to mind. And maybe Johnny Depp.
Even though we’re not in the Caribbean, New Jersey has its own connections to fables of piracy along the coast.
There have been many stories told about Captain Kidd and the tale of the buried treasure near Cape May Point. There was also Blackbeard and his travels along the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay, sometimes heading up to see his mistress in Marcus Hook, Penn., an area parallel to Logan Township.
However, there are a few unheralded, little known stories of buried treasure. A location of where pirates congregated to get water, a man who was believed to have buried treasure near the Cape May Canal, and residents who held their own against the British Navy and raiding parties.
This is Unknown New Jersey, the pirate edition.
John Batteast
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Rebecca and Wife Stillwell
Marmora scuttle Cape Hawthorn County, Unusual Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Women’s Heritage Trail
Photographed by Rockhard Morfe, Jan 19, 2016
1. Rebecca endure Sarah Stillwell Marker
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