Allentown's Betsy Ross Died Today
Betsy Ross Poinsett, an extraordinary, red-haired volunteer of Allentown, died today.
All the forces of nature here are quietly weeping. Standing at only 5'-3” tall, Betsy was
a force of nature in and of herself and served as the chairwoman of so many boards,
commissions, and community organizations that she was awarded the highest national honor for public service - The Jefferson Award. This prestigious award tells us very
little though of the thanks that we personally all owe this woman.
If you treasure the view and health of the Allentown Mill Pond and Park, remember
Betsy. She wrote a stack of correspondence as tall as she was to accomplish the
cleaning of the pond at a cost in federal grants of over a million dollars – a fortune in
1983. At the last minute, when union politics threatened the project at the Monmouth
County level, Betsy, in her red-haired mode, had to enlist former Governor Hughes to
break the logjam. Sensi Park was created as a part of that project only about three decades ago. She organized the dedication ceremonies so that all the politicians could
take credit for her accomplishment (as they are wont to do) complete with all the dignitaries arriving by horse and carriage. The contrast between Betsy's petite, ladylike
countenance and her commandeering everyone to ceremonies with the police bullhorn
on the back of a pickup truck, reminds us all of her drive and can-do spirit.
Although Betsy shepherded a team of volunteers which accomplished getting the Allentown Historic District on the State and National Register of Historic Sites (qualifying it
for every kind of grant money); particularly remember Betsy when you stand in front
of the Mill House. Betsy fought a developer who came very close to tearing it down to
accommodate a road into what is now Heritage Park to build there. Ultimately, she had
to endure a million dollar lawsuit against her by the developer to reach her goal – a
lawsuit she eventually won.
If you enjoy taking your children to the Allentown library, remember Betsy. As a member of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, she assisted the Allentown Library
Association in achieving a major grant to restore and rehabilitate the Old Baptist Church
downtown for its adaptive reuse into our library. Later, as Chairwoman of the Historic
Preservation Review Commission, she made sure the library was honored with a New
Jersey Historic Preservation award for its achievement.
When you and your family take a walk through town and notice the oval, dated plaques
on the historic buildings, remember Betsy. When a bank that used to be located where
the Fulton Bank now stands, bulldozed an adjacent historic home at dawn, residents
angrily filled the street. As president of the local historical society, Betsy and several
other volunteers, convinced the bank to fund a dated plaque project to try to prevent
any future repeat performances in Allentown.
When you drive down Main Street, remember that it was Betsy's powerful letters to all
the relevant governing bodies that resulted in the construction of the easterly by-pass.
Then, seeing Allentowners walking their dogs down Main Street, remember the familiar
visage of this small woman walking her enormous Newfoundland dogs.
Remember mostly though, whether she was volunteering to help Allentown or Upper
Freehold, how much fun she was to volunteer with, her smile, and all she taught us all
about our responsibilities as citizens in building community and a sense of place.
Betsy Poinsett as Grand Marshall of the Allentown Memorial Day Parade (and yes, her maiden name really was “Betsy Ross”)