There are a lot of interesting “facts” about South Jersey that many people who live and work in our region don’t know. Some are marginal. Some are remarkable. But most are really pretty interesting.
   For example, did you know that:
   1. New Jerseyans feel safer—a lot safer—in Atlantic City than in Camden…64% of those responding to a recent poll said they feel somewhat or very safe in AC, but only 13% feel the same way about being in Camden?
   2. There have been more than 200 calls for mammal stranding and other injuries this year along the state’s 1,800 miles of tidal shoreline, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine?
   3. Only two of the state’s 25 largest engineering firms (ranked by number of NJ licenses engineers) are in South Jersey…the Alaimo Group in Mount Holly and Taylor Wiseman Taylor in Mount Laurel?
   4. Visitors to Cape May County spent $2.8 billion on accommodations, $1 billion on food, $454 million on entertainment and $841 million on retail purchases in 2010?
   5. The state’s bald eagle population (113 nesting pairs) continues to rebound—with the Delaware Bay remaining the eagles’ stronghold…the highest concentration occurs along the Maurice and Cohansey Rivers in Cumberland County?
   6. Two thirds of the world’s eggplants are grown here?
   7. The first saltwater taffy in the world was produced at (where else) the Jersey Shore in the 1870s?
   8. Initially purchased by and operated for the Camden and Amboy Railroad, the first railroad in New Jersey, the oldest operating locomotive in the world, the John Bull, was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831. It became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981. The C&A Railroad gave John Bull the number 1 and used the locomotive heavily from 1833 until 1866, when it was removed from active service and placed in storage.
   9. Gary Gilberson, the Mayor of Port Republic in Atlantic County for the last 26 years, is a widely regarded creator of duck decoys. He’s been at it since 1945 when he sold his creations for $3 each. Now a pair sells for $1,400 and purchasers have included actor Jimmy Stewart and actress Ethel Merman?
   10. Two of the top five minority-owned businesses in that state are in this region…#3 Compas Inc. in Pennsuaken and #5 Quality Packaging Specialists International in Burlington?

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By: Michael Willmann (pictured)
http://wmsh.com/
   SJ Facts are compiled from hither and thither by Haddonfield marketing executive Michael Willmann. You can reach Mike at WMSH Marketing Communications at 856-616-2886 or at michaelwillmann@wmsh.com.