Toward the end of 2015, the Medford Town Council was approached by the Still family and members of the Medford Historical Society with a request that they consider naming something in town after Dr. James Still to demonstrate the significance of his contributions to Medford.
It was brought up at several council meetings as a discussion item and was agreed on that they would be renaming Cranberry Hall after it was suggested by Mayor Jeffrey Beenstock.
However, weeks later, Beenstock and Deputy Mayor Charles Watson were approached by the leadership of the senior center who raised some concerns on behalf of their seniors.
Watson met with the Still family to voice those concerns and also discussed some alternatives for the renaming. According to Beenstock, the family was supportive of the renaming of Cranberry Park instead of Cranberry Hall. In fact, the family preferred the township rename the park that is located right next to the hall.
Councilman Christopher Buoni agreed to go with their preferences after he deemed the goal of this project to acknowledge and recognize one of the unique and great Medford residents any way they could.
“Dr. Still is obviously someone who stands tall in history. It’s my pleasure to honor his family and also the family today as they continue to carry on that legacy from generation to generation,” he said.
Janet Jackson Gould, the coordinator of the Dr. Still Oversight Committee and the vice president of programs for the historical society, confirmed her group was delighted to hear council was looking at renaming Cranberry Park in honor of Still. Gould also assured the seniors they did not wish to steal Cranberry Hall from them because they think it is an appropriate name for that building.
Gould found the park to be especially appropriate after the garden club planted a butterfly garden there this past summer, since Dr. Still was an herbalist.
Gould also broke some good news to council when she announced the Still Center has been declared one of the 10 most endangered historic sites in 2016 by Preservation New Jersey.
This will help the deteriorating building get more PR and technical assistance.
“It will definitely boost our fundraising,” Gould said.
Laura Klein from the senior center also thanked council for how it handled this situation by taking the seniors’ interests into consideration when making the final decision.
“With all the families that come to the park, a lot of people will hear Dr. Still’s name and learn a lot about him, and that might not have happened if Cranberry Hall’s name had changed,” Klein said.
Township manager Kathy Berger plans to coordinate with the Still family and the historical society to get the wheels rolling on the adoption of an ordinance that would indicate a day in the spring for the dedication.
