20 Facebook Pages Middletown Residents Should 'Like'

Keep track of small businesses in Middletown through these Facebook pages.

Update: Here are additional reader recommendations: (Please post links in the comments section below.) ___________ Small Business Saturday is right around the corner. While Black Friday comes with some great deals by the bigger chains, Small Business Saturday is an opportunity to patronize the unique local businesses in the area for your holiday shopping needs. Offer a public show of support with a Facebook 'like' and keep track of news and deals from Middletown businesses. Here are some places to start: Know a really great Middletown Facebook page for a small business missing from the list? Tell us in the comments section!

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Hurricane Sandy

Homegrown Effort To Help Bayshore Families In Crisis Gets Organized

The bustling humanitarian effort at a formerly vacant storefront to clothe, feed and fortify the unluckiest victims of Hurricane Sandy just keeps growing stronger.

Shortly after the winds and floods of Hurricane Sandy died down and the full gloomy picture of the devastation became known, local firehouses and churches and even a liquor store sprang up to collect donated goods for the storm victims.  But as word spread and the mountains of clothes grew, organizers began brainstorming a better, longer term solution. An offer was made to lend the empty Childrens Wear and Foodtown stores for 30-days, and the army of people volunteers moved in. Its been dubbed "The Beacon of Hope" by the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce members whose members are behind it.  The auto dealers Keyport Nissan and Hazlet Buhler have joined the Raine organization as major sponsors. A dozen restaurants, mostly from Hazlet …

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Hurricane Sandy

Seventh Annual Matawan Turkey Trot Canceled

Runners who preregistered will receive a refund, recreation director says.

The seventh annual Matawan Turkey Trot is canceled due to the ongoing recovery efforts in the wake of Sandy, according to Recreation Director Deirdre Ring. The 5K race was scheduled for Nov. 24, 2012. Any runners who preregistered will receive a refund. Anyone with questions may contact Ring at recreation@matawanborough.com.

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Lawn Doctor Maintains Local Roots With A National Reach

The national landscaping company began in Monmouth County in 1966, and has never left.

It began in 1966, when Tony Giordano owned Harris Hardware in Matawan. Giordano was the go-to guy, and eventually he became so well-known, residents began to call him The Lawn Doctor. Giordano decided to take his knowledge and expand, partnering with a local engineer named Bob Magda. They began a company called Auto Lawn in 1967, creating unique landscaping equipment and a unique franchise opportunity that today has made its way around the county. Giordano and Magda combined their business and engineering knowledge to create what is now a national change, creating proprietor equipment and a support system for franchisees around the country. And it's all done from a warehouse in Marlboro. The equipment began with the Tractor Combine in 1966…

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