How many people do you know who have lived in Summit for 97 years since 1909? One choice is G. Morisson Hubbard, Jr. The G. is for George, but Mr. Hubbard is know to most people as simply "Morry"

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Born in Middlesex, England on November 9,1840, John N. May, Sr. could not have envisioned in his early life the influence he would ultimately have in his chosen horticultural industry, nor the fact that he would fulfill his destiny in Summit, New Jersey. The child of an English gardener, he became interested in the art of raising and grafting roses at an early age. His reputation was such that the owner of a large Madison, New Jersey estate hired him from England in 1874 as head gardener. By 1880, Mr. May had entered horticulture on his own, purchasing an eleven acre property on Pine Grove Avenue in Summit, where he established the largest nursery in the city, invented the rose green- house and propagated many new varieties of roses. He became one of the foremost growers of ornamental flowers in the United States and founded a number of industry trade groups still in existence today.

Back in the 1930's, Summit High School athletics enjoyed a period of almost unlimited success, winning championships in football, basketball, and baseball year after year. Throughout this period, two names that were constantly in the newspapers were Arthur "Lefty' Vivian and Robert "Bull" Brydon, as they led the teams to championships every year that they were in high school. Both were all-state baseball players. Both were stars as they played in college. And both were good enough to be signed by major league teams, Vivian by the Yankees, Brydon by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Both went into the Marine Corps in the early stages of World War II and, sadly, both had their careers cut short by the war, Vivian being killed in the South Pacific in 1944, and Brydon suffering serious wounds, also in the Pacific, which kept him from continuing on to Ebbets Field after the war.

If you happen to drop by the Carter House (home of the Summit Historical Society) some Tuesday morning between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon, you will probably run into one of our long time dedicated volunteers and former board members - Shirley Wight Keeney. She is "Miss Knowledgeable" when it comes to the history of Summit, and her volunteer service to the entire community has been outstanding over the years.

On January 21, 1931 Edwin Scott Votey passed away at his home at 64 Prospect Street in Summit. He was 74 years of age and had lived on Prospect since 1910. Before that Votey lived on Tulip Street. Surviving him were his widow Annie, two daughters and a son.
 

As we approach Memorial Day we should take a moment to remember all those from Summit who fought and died for their country. Those who made the ultimate sacrifice numbered a total of 106 in the four major wars that were fought in the twentieth century.

In the summer of 1907, two sisters, Ching-ling Soong (15 years of age) and Mei-ling Soong (9 years of age) were brought by their aunt and uncle to attend and board at the Miss Clara Barton Potwin School in Summit.

Here in Summit we've had championship high school basketball teams several times throughout the 20th century. Many of these championship teams were the boys teams, although in the later years the girls teams had begun to establish a tradition of their own. Many people may think that girls high school varsity teams are a relatively recent innovation which came about as a result of the passage of Title IX in the last quarter of the 20th century (Title IX had mandated equal opportunities for girls and boys in interscholastic sports). However, a recent search of the files at the Carter House reveals that Summit High School had championship teams, girls championship teams, many, many years before Title IX was ever thought of.

During the heyday of prize fighting (back in the 1920s, the 1930s and even in the 1940s) there grew up an internationally known training camp for fighters. It was run by a woman in Chatham Township at 516 River Road and situated on a hilly thirty acres of farmland. The camp was simply known as Madame Bey's.

In the long history of the Summit Post Office there has been only one woman to hold the leadership position of postmistress, Bridget Lane serving two terms in the late 1800's. The Federal government established the post office in Summit on November 20, 1843, thereby unofficially recognizing Summit as a community although it was not to become one until 1869. Up to its establishment as a township, the area had been known informally as "The Summit" from 1810 on. The first postmaster had been William Littell, who operated the post office out of his store on Union Place.