Hall of Fame members seek to set record straight

This letter is in response to Dr. John Whiting and his Aug. 6, 2009 article in the Straus Newspapers entitled “A First: Father and Daughter Nominated for Hall of Fame.” Although Dr. John Whiting’s article was cleverly and mostly well written, we at the Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame (SCSHOF) think it was very unfair to 10 other nominees who were up for voting and either election or rejection to the SCSHOF on Tuesday, Aug. 11. This article gave unfair, but very timely publicity and possible advantage to two candidates out of 12 who were on the ballot. With very clever wording, Dr. Whiting “infers” that ski racing has been “overlooked” and “ignored” by the SCSHOF. The fact is, that until recent years, there were only four high schools in Sussex County. These were Newton, Franklin, Hamburg and Sussex and these schools only carried four sports total. Newton High had football, baseball, basketball and wrestling; Franklin had football, basketball and baseball; Hamburg had basketball and baseball only and Sussex High had soccer, basketball and baseball. Yes, there happens to be fewer ski area members in the SCSHOF as well as a shortage of weight lifters, bicyclers, swimmers, golfers, soccer, field hockey, softball tennis and lacrosse players. We at SCSHOF congratulate Jamie Kurlander Peters on her recent induction and her athletic abilities, which made her eligible. We also congratulate Pat Shea, George Morville, Tim Sweeney, Doug Frey and Bill Labance. It was very unsettling to us to notice that Dr. Whiting’s article was anonymously written. We at SCSHOF would also like the public to know that we are a group of mostly 12 “old timers” who regularly attend meetings and do all of the month to month work needed to keep “the Hall” alive. We solicit ads, garner membership, arrange the induction banquet and program, create scholarship athlete recognition, put up and remove plaques from the Skylands, process nomination forms and documentations and send out ballots, etc. We welcome responsible and industrious newcomers. Our address is: SCSHOF, Box 911, Newton, NJ 07860 James Ronald Earl, Sparta Founding and Charter Member since 1975 Richard Earl McKeeby, Newton SCSHOF since 1986 and 2nd VP ‘09 Editor’s note: The article ran with no byline due to an editing decision.