Here’s a map of the area where I best recollect working on a bog belonging to Joe Palmer (among others!) in the summer of 1960. My memory, faulty though it may be, says it was on the East bank of Wading River somewhere between charcoal landing and the hwy bridge across the river to the South. Is there any way to determine if any of the other bogs in this map were once owned by Gossler( and. Then inherited by Palmer and his wife (Elisabeth Gossler- niece of Mr Gossler) upon Mr. Gossler’s passing???? I do recall our crew doing some ditch work and spraying in the bogs on the west side of Wading river (as well as some target shooting on a Sunday at those West Bank bogs) and some ditch work in the Ives Branch bogs as well. Who owned them? It could help confirm my memories / or, I suppose, blow them out of the water! It sounds like Palmer allowed much of the bogs he and his wife inherited from her uncle, Gossler, to languish and revert to natural state.Well, it’s amazing how a fresh outlook help a search: here are a couple informative links (and an extract that includes info on Gossler, his niece and her husband (Joe Palmer) and the Pomona Fruit Co. they inherited from Gossler.
I’d still love to pin down for certain where the bogs owned by Joe Palmer in 1960 were.
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A History of Stockton’s Lake Fred - Shore Local Newsmagazine
By Steffen Klenk Lakes are on the list of the most magnificent and treasured of earth’s resources. These pristine bodies of water offer beautiful scenery with walking trails, providing a perfect place to cool off, or just relax. Atlantic and Cape May County each have roughly a dozen lakes. There...www.shorelocalnews.com
https://stockton.edu/stories/cranberry-bog-years.html
“The cranberry industry was losing its popularity by the 1920s, and after some 20 years of harvesting, the Lingelbachs sold their farm. After Rider’s death in 1929, his son-in-law inherited the land, but soon after, Gossler purchased it. He built up several other bogs in the Port Republic area, including the 50 acres at Pomona, 70 at Wading River, and 30 at Ives Branch. After Gossler’s death in 1940, Joseph H. Palmer, whose wife was Gossler’s niece, inherited these 150 acres. However, they could not afford to care for all of the land, and so the bogs that the Lingelbachs once carefully tended to, were forgotten”
I hope this is of interest.
Dave Graham
Any definitive input from anyone more knowledgeable than I would be very much appreciated.
(I’m now in my 9th decade and hoping to make some sense out of some memories of my youth working on the bogs in 1960.)
Any and all help appreciated!
Best t’y’all
Dave Graham
