It was a time of relative prosperity. It was also an era that saw groundswell changes in the character of Hamilton Township. The township we old timers remember was a very rural area surrounded by the villages of Bromley, Mercerville, Hamilton Square Yardville, Groveville, White Horse, and Deutzville. As a "Bromleyite" for well over 60 years, I recall former Mayor Jack Rafferty improving the area with attractive sidewalks and old fashioned street lights. During his administration Mayor Rafferty changed former Mayor Maurice Perilli's "Hamilton Park" into Veterans' Park; a local community treasure. It was during Jack's years that today's Kuser Farm was acquired. Prior to the acquisition, Edna Kuser, who was a registered Democrat, asked former Democratic Mayor Maurice Perilli for advice on how to go about transferring the land to the township for a public park. She agreed with Maury that developers would love to clear the land and develop the 70 acres into a neighborhood of homes. According to Maury, he assured Mrs. Kuser that then Mayor Jack Rafferty was very history minded and an ardent supporter of the Green Acres program. The rest is history. Jack Rafferty will go down in history as the mayor who changed rural Hamilton into the growing megalopolis we have today. The graphic illustrated and describes the Rafferty years quite completely. As a final note, were it not for former Mayor Jack Rafferty, along with then Mayoral Aide "Mo" Rossi and Business Administrator Joe Bellina, there would be no Hamilton Township Local History program. Thanks, Jack; the success of our efforts here at the Hamilton Library in bringing local history to the fore, has been a smashing and ongoing success!
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