SUMMER 2014, VOLUME 17, ISSUE 3

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Summer Edition
1970 was a three-time district champion, winning at
148 pounds in 1968 and at 157 pounds in 1969 and
1970. He capped a perfect season and a 63-4 career
in 1970 by winning regional and state titles. Homiak
advanced to the state championships by beating Collingswood's Charles Leary 10-1 in the Region 4 finals. After an 8-3 win in the state semifinals, Homiak won his state title with a 4-0 overtime win over
Joe Bird of Pascack Hills.

Vinelands Own Wrestling Team Pulling the Christman Sleigh

Considering the fact that it is now summer and

warm, it is probably not the best time to thing about
Christmas. But for some reason I started to think
about how many people in Vineland we have now
and had in the past that we should be proud of and
who are basically overlooked. Coming to mind was
the Christmas Parade and the boys wrestling team
that pulled the sleighs that the Friends of Historic
Vineland entered into the Christman Parade. Kevin
Kirchner, whose name is synonymous with Palace
of Depression, got Mr. Homiak, the wrestling coach
to volunteer the boys wrestling team to turn into
reindeer for a night and pull the sleigh (see above)
--which brings me to the Homiak family.
Mr. Homiak, the current coach who graduated in

Homiak's early tutoring came from his father Joseph, a two-time National AAU champion while at
Franklin & Marshall College in 1941-42 and the
founder of the Vineland High School wrestling program.
David's brother Jake also excelled in the sport while
at F&M in the 1960s. A Middle Atlantic AAU runner-up in the 8th and 9th grade, Jake was a South
Jersey AAU champion in 1969. He attended the Naval Academy for a year and placed second in the
Easterner's for freshmen wrestlers. He transferred to
Lehigh University and wrestled for Thad Turner. He also
was director of the Vineland
Junior Wrestling program for
over a decade.
Joseph Homiak, the founder
of the VHS wrestling program. (This picture taken
from the VHS Yearbook of
1949.)

SUMMER 2014, VOLUME 17, ISSUE 3

Many things have been written about Charles K. Landis after he came to the Vineland area, but not too
much has been written about his background. There is
a magazine called Columbus that was published in
New York in 1944 that discusses that subject. The following is taken from that magazine!
Charles K. Landis was born in Philadelphia March 16,
1933. The original name was Landi, last borne in the
sixteenth century by ancestors of his, whom political
troubles caused them to emigrate from Italy to Switzerland. In the course of time, their name was Germanized to Landis. About 1600, John Landis was found
guilty of heresy and beheaded. His three sons then
came to America and arrived around the time of William Penn.
Michael G. Landis, the father of Charles K
Landis was a merchant in Lancaster, and later a railroad contractor in Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Charles K. as a child lived in Philadelphia, Macon, Atlanta and eventually Lancaster. He was educated by private tutors in the profession of law. He organized five or six loan association, and then entered the
real estate field.
Together with Richard Byrnes he founded the
city of Hammonton. His success with Hammonton
fired his enthusiasm to start a new town and in his own
words, to afford the modes and certain scope for individual success, on the account of the markets and of
the opportunities for skilled labor in farming, gardening, and mechanics.
He selected a tract of land that was situated in
the wildest part of New Jersey on a new railroad line
that then was doing very little business. Twenty two
thousand acres were purchased from Mr. Wood, and
additional land from a variety of others. The tract
comprised 48 square miles. To quote his own words,
It was in the center of this place, upon a mile square
of land, that I propose to build a city, which would be
filled with manufactories, shops and stores for mercantile purposes, shop and halls for public recreation and
private residences, and surround this mile square of
city, as far as the boundaries of the land would reach,
with farms, gardens, orchards and vineyards.
On August 8, 1861, he picked the highest part
of the center of the track, cut down a small tree to
make a stake, and they ordered the construction of a
road that was 10.5 miles long and 100 feet wide which
he called Landis Ave. At his own expense, he made
two hundred and twenty miles of roads and 20 miles of

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ditches alongside a railroad that connected this settlement directly with New York City.
In 1870 he started the Italian Colony which
eventually included five thousand acres. This is what
we now call East Vineland. Vineland was advertised
in the New York Newspapers and in Italy as the
Italian Colony.
Around 1880 Landis decided to purchase Sea
Isle, which was then called Ludlam Island. He was
able to purchase all of the land and then set about to
develop it. He named its main street Landis Ave.
And finally, he started out as a Democrat, but
became a Republican (eat your heart our, Obama!).
********************************************

Jewish Settlements of South Jersey: The first of these was Alliance founded in
1882. Others were Mizpah, Carmel, and Rosenhayne.
Most immigrants to America would settle in cities, but
these immigrants were sponsored by a group that wanted them to return to the soil. So, despite the trade
they had prior to escaping the deadly pogroms of Russia, they were expected to come to America and form
agricultural colonies. This would break the mold of
considering Jews as money lenders, and of having
them start their new life in the slums of large cities.
This was a new form of colonization which was actually a group colonization and much different from the
individual form that was taking place in nearby Vineland.
The name of this group was Alliance Israelite Universelle, and so the first settlement in America was
called Alliance. The organization was founded in
1860 by a Frenchman and was to safeguard the human
rights of Jews around the world. The motto of the
group was All Jews bear responsibility for one another. So it is no surprise that the early settlements were
communes where the members worked together as a
group and supported each other.
Because of the difficulty of surviving on the sandy
farmland of south Jersey, and because of their heritage
of traders, many of the immigrants migrated to the cities, which included Vineland. In Vineland, many of
the well known stores and businesses that helped make
Vineland the shopping center of this area were started
and run by the descendents of those Jewish immigrants. Many of us still remember Schwartzmans,

SUMMER 2014, VOLUME 17, ISSUE 3

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Bernnies, Morvays, Braininss, and others!!

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Have you ever wondered who the people were that had
schools named after them?? The names are thrown
around quite easily as part of our every day language,
but behind that name is a story. For example, the Dane
Barse school is named
after--guess who!!! Mr.
Barse, course.
The route by which Mr.
Barse came from Italy to
North America when he
was 12 years old is a
fascinating one! He first
lived in Toronto, Canada, then came to Waterloo, New York. He then
moved to Rochester,
then to Syracuse.
Mr. Dane Barse and
He moved to Philadelphia to become the foreman of the Kirschbaum Co. Coming ever closer to
Vineland, he went to Egg Harbor in New Jersey and
then took a job with the Sparagna Brothers of Vineland.
He moved on to work for the Samuel Shapiro Clothing
Co. and then finally went into business on his own.
He started the Model Coat Company in 1925. The company grew from 40 employees to 300.
Because of his wonderful personality, he easily integrated into Vineland life. He became the chairman of the
buildings committee of the Board of Education. This
was followed by becoming President of the Board of
Education, an office that he held for years. He later was
appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the
Vineland Tradesmens Bank and Trust Co.
Italian immigrants to Cumberland County came to know
his generosity and hospitality food, clothes, a place to
stay often personally delivered.
His fund-raising campaigns for Sacred Heart and Our
Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden were a reflection
of his concern for others.
Pope Pius XII bestowed the knighthood of St. Gregory
on him in 1947.

DIppolito School
Next we go to the S. E. DIppolito school. Sal was born
in Vineland on Christmas Day, 1892. He worked with
his father in a bakery and general store. Then, he built a
bigger and better bakery on Quince St. He also began to
deliver bread, which was important in the old days, as
few people had the opportunity to travel and purchase
fresh bread every day. He also improved upon the retail
business and sold food imported from Italy, France and
Spain.
He was active in community life, was a
charter member of the
Reliance Fire Co. of
Vineland, was a member of the Millville
Lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order
of Elks, a member of
Court Pride of Vineland of the Foresters of
America, and the Vineland Chamber of ComMr. Sal DIppolito merce. He was also
the Chairman for the
Elks Crippled Children Committee of South Jersey, a
director of the Fidelity Building and Loan Association
and president of the Sacred Heart Athletic Association,
among other things!!

SUMMER 2014, VOLUME 17, ISSUE 3

Mr. Howard Lawrence Reber

Howard Lawrence Reber

was born in Straudstown,
Pa. in 1861. He had a rather varied life, being a
teacher in a number of
locations and being also a
talented violin player.
After teaching in Pa. for a
number of years, he
Howard Lawrence Reber
moved to Portland Ind.
where he went into the
cigar business for six years. He then returned to
teaching and was advanced to the position of principal at the East Straussberg High School. After four
years, he moved to Millville, N.J. were he was hired
as principal of the High School. After one year, he

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moved to Vineland where he assumed the job of
principal of the Vineland High School. He soon was
moved up to the position of Superintendent of
Schools in Vineland and remained in that position
until his death. The position paid 1,700 dollars a
year.
Mr. Reber was devoted to his position as an educator, but also was involved in community affairs. He
was a member of the Masonic Fraternity of the
Shrines, Sons of the Veterans, Junior Mechanics and
the Odd Fellows.
He died in Washington D.C. in 1926 at age 65 while
attending a session of the National Educational Association.
His devotion to education and community affairs induced Vineland to name their (then) High School
after him. The building is now the administrative
building of the Vineland School System, but his
name remains over the doorway to the entrance, and
his picture hangs in the hall near the entrance.
**************
I need help. The Cunningham school was named
after Dr. George Cunningham. Does anyone have a
picture of him?? Was he related to Dr. Charles
Cunningham??
Frank De Maio, M.D.

Reber School, now the Vineland

School System
Administrative Building
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