Robert Wille: Painter of Belford Mariners

Wille's oil pantings of Middletown's working shore continues through May at the library.

Robert "Bob" Wille of Middletown likes to take his camera down to Belford's fishing docks to snap images of weathered men and their hardy boats.  Then, back in his art studio at his house in Middletown, the former commercial art director tries to reproduce the vibrant seascapes on canvas with oil paint.  "I try to capture things that I think are on their way out, or deteriorating, that Mother Nature's done a number on them, that are not going to be around much longer -- I find that interesting." Wille's work is on exhibit in the Community Room. The paintings are for sale. Other works are exhibited in the Revere Galley in Middletown and on his website, bobwillepaintings.com. 

• Photos (9)

At the Library: Art Show, 'Lincoln', Pink Physician Panel, iPad Station for Toddlers

What's happening at Middletown Township Public Library May 5-11

Library Closes on Summer Sundays, Including June

The library is normally closed on Sundays in July and August, but now it will close on Sundays in June too following a board decision.

In another attempt to cut expenses in a year three branches were closed, the Middletown Township Library Board of Trustees has decided to close the main branch on summer Sundays between Memorial Day through Labor Day.  Normally the library closes Sundays in July and August. But after considering how some recent personnel changes could potentially save money, the trustees decided in April it was still prudent to stay closed from Memorial Day through Labor Day to save about $5,000. At a special meeting held Tuesday night, a motion was made to rescind the decision made at the April meeting, but it failed.  Board members Davic Siwiec, Michael Vitkansas, Lawrence Nelson, Cynthia Wilson and Vivian Breen voted against the motion; Board President …

•  9 Comments
• Photos (1)

At The Library: Nancy Scharff Performs, Book Talks, Special Meeting of Trustees

What's Happening May 5-11, 2013 at Middletown Township Public Library

Sunday: Holocaust Survivor Shares Her Story

Eva Wiener will speak at the Middletown Township Public Library about her personal experience leaving Berlin in 1939 on the SS St. Louis.

When she was a very young girl, Eva Wiener and her parents undertook an epic ocean journey in order to escape Nazi-era Germany and the persecution of Jews like themselves. They and several hundred Jews crowded a cruise ship that took them across the Atlantic Ocean and to Cuba, where they were refused asylum simply because they are Jews. On Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m., Wiener will talk about her experience on that ship, the Holocaust, and her life after in recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day earlier this month.  At a talk in West Orange last year, Wiener told highschool students, "You are the last generation to meet a Holocaust survivor.'"  Her fateful trip began in Berlin in 1939. Wiener's parents managed to get the family on the SS St…

• Photos (1)

Teachers Scoop Up Books From Shuttered Library

The books at the recently-closed Bayshore Branch Library in Port Monmouth will be shared in the Middletown schools.

In recent days, the small parking lot at the recently closed Bayshore Library Branch in Port Monmouth has been full of cars.  At the invitation of the headquarters dozens of teachers have stopped in to pick out more than 3,000 books for permanent use in their classrooms and school libraries, said Library Director Susan O'Neal in a press release. More materials are expected to go to storm-damaged schools and needy libraries in the next few days, she said.  The township's three library branches closed March 1 after the majority of the Library Board of Trustees approved an annual budget that factored in branch closings.  The Bayshore Library Branch building is owned by the Township of Middletown, which will convert the space into offices for …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Abraham Lincoln's Connection to Middletown, NJ

An old book at the Middletown Library tells the story

Abraham Lincoln was a descendant of one of Middletown's first settlers, according to "The Story of Middletown: The Oldest Settlement in New Jersey" by Ernest W. Mandeville, the rector of Christ Church on King's Highway.  The 1927 book is available for perusal from the Middletown Township Public Library with a form of ID.  In celebration of the 16th President's birthday, here is an excerpt from Chapter 18, "Famous Men and Landmarks." Paragraph breaks have been inserted to make it easier to follow the family tree.  ________ Samuel Lincoln, the founder of the family, came to Massachusetts from Norwich, England. He had a son Mordecai, who in turn had a son Mordecai, born on April 24, 1686. Mordecai Lincoln 2nd moved to Middletown and married a…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Middletown Library Trustees Postpone Branch Closure Decision

But the board also gave formal notice the Navesink, Lincroft and Bayshore branches will be closed on March 1 -- unless a better solution can be found.

After hearing from passionate supporters of the township library branches at a public meeting Wednesday night, the 9-member Middletown Township Library Board of Trustees unanimously decided to postpone a vote on the 2013 budget that could have shut the Navesink, Lincroft and Bayshore branches next week. The issue will be discussed at the next public meeting on Feb. 20, after a newly formed committee takes a crack at alternative solutions, such as private fundraising, volunteers, reduced hours, or alliances with the Board of Education. But the very real possibility that a yearly $300,000 shortfall would not be easily raised by other means was reflected in a second motion to close the branches on March 1 "unless some other action is taken by…

•  27 Comments
• Photos (5)
• Videos (1)

Linda Baum

12:27 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013

Board members don't deserve compensation, and it doesn’t matter what public funding source they are paid from, whether it’s TOMSA’s budget or the Township’s. TOMSA is a public entity, so the revenue is public money. Many people are not aware that for each of the last three years, 2010-2012, TOMSA transferred about $370K a year to the Twp for tax relief. Money saved by not paying excessive …   more ›

Middletown Library Tests Mobile Market With App Campaign

The Middletown Township Public Library found the most effective way of advertising their library app was through Facebook and Google Ads costing them $0.001 per view.

The Middletown Township Public Library App has been available for the more than two months but getting the word out about it has not been an easy task. Through a grant with Library LinkOut NJ, the Middletown Township Public Library looked to go viral with their own app, available in iTunes and on the Android Market, which allows library goers to access the latest books, movies, and music, and even put holds on desired materials all from the convenience of a mobile device.    Principal Librarian of Borrower Services Kevin Unrath took to the web, the Middletown train station and library advising the new app using three different methods. With each method, Unrath established an authentic web address for each campaign to track the …

• Photos (4)