Ellen Burden Parker:  

I began my high school years in 1970 at Bernards High, Bernardsville, NJ. We moved from Somerset County to Waretown early in my freshman year. My father was originally from South Jersey and had roots going back several generations in the areas of Waretown and West Creek. It wasn't the first time we lived in Waretown, having moved to my grandparents' house next to the Lighthouse Tavern for a bit in 1963, In fact, we moved frequently between NJ and Florida through the early 1960's. It was in Waretown that I spent hours treading clams with my dad and roaming the Dogtown woods in search of pine snakes and teaberry bushes. My dad played guitar and had a beautiful voice. I loved to hear him sing with other local musicians like Gladys Eayres and Carrie Johnson. As much as I loved the piney woods, beaches and bay, I also was sad to leave our home in the hills of Bedminster but leave we did. I attended Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, where I met and later married Joseph Parker, cl...Expand for more