Two South Jersey Post Offices To Be Renamed In Honor Of Local Heroes

In recent years, there has been an ongoing movement to rename different buildings and areas to honor people from the past. The State of New Jersey has endeavored to do this with rest stops along the Garden State Parkway despite resistance from local politicians.

But one local politician has found a way to get bipartisan support to rename two South Jersey Post Offices to honor important people. Two legislative bills have now passed the United States House of Representatives and will be soon voted on by the US Senator before reaching the President's desk.

US Congressman from New Jersey's Second District Jeff Van Drew has gotten support from both Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives to send Bills H.R. 7606 and H.R. 7607 to the Senator for a vote.

These legislative bills would rename two Post Offices in Cape May County after Civil Rights Advocate Dr. George Henry White and World War 2 Hero Carlton H. Hand.

What South Jersey Post Offices Are On Track To Be Renamed?

The Post Office, located at the corner of Route 9 and Main Street in the Whitesboro section of Middle Township, would be named to honor the man whose name was given to the town. Dr. White was a Congressman from North Carolina who later moved to the Philadelphia area to work with Civil Rights Leaders to help African-American Families.

Whitesboro was established in 1901 to give African Americans a town to call their own and escape the Racist Jim Crow Laws that dominated the Southern United States at that time.  Now over 120 years later, the Post Office can be renamed to honor the memory of the late great Dr. White in that town also named after him.

The Post Office located on Route 47 in Rio Grande is the South Jersey Regional Distribution Hub. The Rio Grande building would be named after Carlton H. Hand, who received a Silver Star Medal and a Purple Heart along with other commendations for his valiant service in World War Two.

The Hand Family has a long history of living in South Jersey so this is a great idea to put the World War Two Hero's name on the Post Office Building. There is a street in Cape May Court House also named after the family, Hand Avenue.

There is no literal timetable for when these legislative bills could become law. But we can make the presumption since it took three months for the House of Representatives to vote with bipartisan support officially, it could take another three months to get through the Senate before reaching the President's desk.

Even when these two legislative bills get to the President's Desk, considering this is a Presidential Election year, no guarantee anything will be signed into law until later this year. So we may have to wait until 2025 before we see the names of Dr. White and Infantryman Hand on the South Jersey Post Office Buildings.

The southernmost of New Jersey's 21 counties is also one of the oldest in the state.  Cape May County is more than just a popular vacation destination for people each year.  Here are some of my favorite things about living in Cape May County: