Oakview Teachers Pen West Deptford Book

Think you know your township? As an almost lifelong resident, I certainly did, but in one conversation with April Maska and Noreen Mikulski, I realized just how much I didn’t know.

For example, Soupy Island was originally opened over 135 years ago, when the cholera was epidemic in Philadelphia and city mothers sought sanctuary for their sick children.

Or how about this–Betsy Griscom Ross, better known for producing the first American flag, spent some summers with her family at the Griscom Homestead, which now houses the administrative offices of .

And most of us know about the many refineries that stood on the Eagle Point property. But did you know that the grounds were once home to the largest Ferris wheel in the world at the time?

“It’s in the book,” Maska says after each eye-opening story is revealed.

The book she’s referring to is West Deptford (Images of America), a pictorial history of our township written by the pair of teachers and officially released today (Oct. 31) by Arcadia Publishing. The 128-page history is “a labor of love, dedicated to the residents of West Deptford,” says Maska.

The book is a culmination of the teachers’ work with their “real passion,” the West Deptford Historical Association, which began as a brainstorm session between the two in Oakview’s teachers’ room.  

“That was April’s vision, her dream, to have an association and eventually a historical society in the township,” Mikulski says. “She wanted a building that would be filled with artifacts and history and would be very educational.”

Ironically, both teachers are transplants to the township. Maska moved here from Eastampton, MA, following her marriage to a native West Deptford resident. Mikulski was born and raised in Oak Valley, moving here when she was twelve. She also married a township native.

However, both share a passion for the history of their adopted hometown, and decided to work together to preserve and share that rich heritage.

“Gradually, over lunches, we planned a bit here and a bit there throughout 2000,” she says, adding the West Deptford Historical Association had its first meeting in January 2001, and continues to meet the second Monday of every other month.

The book was a natural offshoot of the research the women did for the historical association. As they uncovered stories and unearthed artifacts, Mikulski announced, “We need to teach West Deptford.”

It may not be on the curriculum–yet!–but the teachers now have the proper textbook.  “We’re educators, we’re always going to be educators, it’s what we do,” Maska says. “This is why our book is just that, a textbook about West Deptford. It’s a little bit of both of us sharing what we’ve learned to educate.”

Of course, it took more than a little bit of time and hard work to make the educators’ dream a reality. In fact, it almost didn’t happen at all. Arcadia Publishing had originally contacted Mikulski and Maska three years ago–and the pair turned down the book offer.

“We weren’t ready. We both had teaching schedules. Noreen had small kids. Mine were older, but I still had family obligations,” Maska explains. The company persisted and in August 2010 the teachers reconsidered and signed a contract.

Once committed to the project, the duo plunged in. “The theme of the Historical Association is Preserving the Past, Celebrating the Present, Enriching the Future. We wanted to bring the theme to book form,” says Mikulski.

“We sat down and we said, all right, what do we want to include?” Maska says.  “Old mom and pop businesses, family farms, the founding of the township. Noreen did tons of research on when the Hessians came through, while I went to DeHarts and Heritages and I started digging through all their material. Between us, we would go in different directions and we’d gather all this stuff. There was such a rich history out there.”

Both women expressed amazement and gratitude at the generosity of people throughout the township. Homes, farms, small businesses, firehouses, police stations and schools alike opened their doors and allowed Maska and Mikulski to read their documentation, borrow their pictures, and learn their history.

“We’re teachers, we’re immersed in our work, so we worked on the book nights and weekends,” Maska points out. “It took eight months to write the book, during which we had the support of some terrific people. They would go out during the day to run and find pictures or make copies or work on something for us, then drop it off so Noreen and I could sit at night and go through everything and put it in some logical order. This was definitely not a two-person effort.”

As a gift to their fellow township residents, the authors are offering a special, one night only pricing of $20 at their book signing on Thursday, Nov. 3, at the from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The book is also available through Barnes & Noble and at amazon.com. All proceeds of the sale will go to the West Deptford Historical Association.