Born on the Fourth of July, just like my dad
Real Estate Matters
By Elisa Jo Eagan
As Independence Day, the birthday of our country, approaches, it also marks my 62nd birthday, and would have been the 94th birthday of my dear father, William Joseph Eagan, III.
My thoughts and mind drift daily, reminiscing when about when my dad introduced my family to living in Northfield, spanning more than 55 years of life experiences and memories.
My hometown journey began on May 7, 1967, when my father, mother, and I moved “offshore” from Margate to “the mainland,” settling into our beautiful new home on Henry Drive in the Birch Grove Park section of Northfield.
Our family’s offshore roots and house-hunting journey began when my grandparents lived in Linwood from 1954 to 1966.
My father served in the United States Air Force overseas in the Korean War, and also in Okinawa, Enewetak, Bikini Atoll, and the Marshall Islands as part of the H-bomb testing program, returning to his parents’s new Linwood home.
Upon his return, my dad secured a position at the Naval Air Station, working for Lockheed as a federal aircraft maintenance technician. In 1958, this became NAFEC.
My father, William Joseph Eagan III, was part of the original National Aviation Facilities Experimental Testing Center team, working in research and development, and implementing experimental modifications for the what became the FAA. My dad wanted to plant roots for himself, my mother Grace, and me, to be closer to his work.
In the 1960s, a building boom saw local builders offering new construction homes to veterans and working families. Before and during the 1960s, much of the area surrounding Birch Grove Park was wooded, with horseback riding trails, farmland, and nature-filled adventures.
When I look back on my childhood in Northfield, it was, and still is, “The Great American Hometown.”
As you drive, walk, jog, or bike through town, whether on the beautifully maintained bike path, (originally a railroad transporting lumber), or meandering through Birch Grove Park’s trails – a 271-acre site that was once a lumberyard and then a brick manufacturing company before Northfield made it a park in the early 1950s – you can enjoy activities like fishing, barbecues, family picnics, evening concerts at the gazebo, and cheering on our youth playing sports on the Northfield Cardinal team fields. These activities continue to be enjoyed by families today.
I have cherished memories with family, neighbors, and friends, attending school, church, and activities, creating and maintaining lifelong relationships that span four generations in Northfield, especially at Birch Grove Park.
The Girl Scouting, Arbor Day tree plantings, garden club, the Northfield Library, the Historical Society and Museum, and our grand bicentennial celebration in 1976, with the dedication of the time capsule, and the grandstand music gazebo, are just a few of the many treasured moments.
Northfield is a community that honors its hometown heroes and veterans with celebrations like the 4th of July Parade and Memorial and Veterans Day ceremonies.
As this July 4, 2024 – the 248th birthday of America – approaches, I thank my father for choosing to make Northfield our family home.
My dad, now in heaven, would have also celebrated his 94th birthday on this day (July 4, 1930 – Dec. 17, 2006). I am grateful that I was my father’s 32nd birthday present.
On the day I was born, my dad joyfully celebrated, carrying his “Wee Willy” ice-cream box on his back, selling “fudgy wudgy” and “firecracker red, white and blue” ice-cream pops on the Atlantic City Beach, giving out cigars to his lifelong friends.
We shared and celebrated every Fourth of July birthday together for 44 years, filled with festive fireworks, parades, barbecues, and most of all, love.
I treasure all my hometown memories and the house, home, neighborhood, and community that shaped me. I love Northfield and the city of Atlantic City, the place of my birth, Atlantic County, and this Shore Local area where I live, work, and continue to serve daily.
God bless America and the great American hometown – our own “Mayberry” – Northfield, New Jersey, USA. Make sure to get out and celebrate this July 4 weekend and every day with those you love and care about.
For More Real Estate Questions, Information and Advice Contact Elisa Jo Eagan “The Real Estate Godmother” (609)703-0432 and Remember…”There’s No Place Like Owning Your Own Home!”
