By JORDAN WOMPIERSKI
Staff Writer
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – At over 300 years old, Egg Harbor Township has a lot of history, and the Greate Egg Harbour Township Historical Society is more than willing to share it.
The Historical Society recently kicked off a campaign to increase community awareness about the organization and its museum and library on West Jersey Avenue, and a key aspect of that mission is the group’s new website, www.gehthsmuseum.org.
“We never had a website before,” explained Tamara Lamb, the Historical Society’s publicity chairperson. “We had a link on the township site, but there was never an official website showing what the museum has to offer. It’s something that people wanted to check out.”
With that goal in mind, the GEHTHS enlisted the help of 2011 Egg Harbor Township High School graduate Joshua Davidson, 18. When he’s not busy with schoolwork at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Davidson runs Chop Dawg Studios, LLC – a web design company he founded at age 16.
Davidson’s business is now thriving and his list of local clients is constantly growing, but he particularly appreciated the Historical Society’s plight and wanted to help them out.
“We gave them a huge discount for this project,” Davidson revealed. “Seventy percent off. They were looking to build an online presence for their organization, to share some information and give the public a look at some of the artifacts they have. We built them a website and helped establish an online interactive gallery of their museum.”
Davidson said the visuals are one of the best parts about the website, along with an easy-to-use contact form. That was exactly what the GEHTHS had in mind.
“A lot of people don’t even know we have an official building and museum,” Lamb said. “Once you tell people about the exhibits, they think it’s really cool, and now you can find out about them online.”
Being able to check out the museum on the internet is a benefit for more than just those in Egg Harbor Township.
“It’s important for people nationally to have access,” Lamb said. “If you live in the middle of the county and you Google Egg Harbor Township because you knew you had ancestors here, now there’s an official site for the Historical Society. That’s very important.”
Lamb said the GEHTHS has more information available to the public than most people realize.
“There’s just so much stuff there,” Lamb said, noting that the museum is undergoing a computer upgrade so it can store even more information such as marriage license records.
The Historical Society is happy to help provide information like that to inquiring minds, but that can’t happen without a connection between the public and the Historical Society.
“Now that the museum is open, having this website is the definite first step into making the Historical Society more known, to reaching out and taking our next step,” Lamb said. “If someone has a question, they can email us directly from the site. We would be happy to email them what we have or invite them here to show them what we have.”
Lamb said she is excited about the new website, and she believes it will increase interest in the Historical Society and lead to a rise in membership.
“Our membership is so reasonable,” Lamb said. “It’s a great thing for people to get involved with. You’ll learn a lot.”
She said learning about the past is important, but often times people seem to overlook their local history.
“I’m just very passionate about history,” she said. “Kids just need to know about our history, but sometimes that all gets lost in this whole crazy world.”
Luckily for Lamb and the GEHTHS, Davidson – practically a kid himself – understands the importance of the past.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Lamb said. “Working with Josh was like working with somebody that’s been in business for 20 years. He was so professional and so great.”
Check out the Greate Egg Harbour Township Historical Society online at www.gehthsmuseum.org, or stop by the museum at 6647 West Jersey Ave. The museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-3 p.m., or by appointment.
More information on Davidson and Chop Dawg Studios is available at www.chopdawgstudios.com.
