Atlantic County to Recognize Galloway Resident for Fire Service with Cherry Tree

Galloway Township resident and Atlantic County Fire Marshal Harold J. “Whitey” Swartz will be honored at Atlantic County’s 26th annual Arbor Day ceremony on Friday, April 29.

A Kwanzan cherry tree will be dedicated in Swartz’s honor during a ceremony at the Anthony “Tony” Canale Training Center in Egg Harbor Township next Friday at 11 a.m.

Swartz is a lifelong Atlantic County resident who spent over 50 years in fire service, including 31 years with the Pleasantville Fire Department before becoming fire marshal, a position he has occupied for 22 years.

Swartz also spent 13 years as the Atlantic County Fire Coordinator, and helped design the Tony Canale Training Center, where he will be honored next Friday.

He helped develop a memorial to police officers, firefighters and EMS personnel, located at the training center.

He is also responsible for implementing the annual Valor Awards, as well as the 50-year Service Award Program and the Firefighters Expo, among other programs.

“There are many members of the community whom we could have chosen to honor, but I can think of no one who is more dedicated, hard working and admired by his fellow citizens,” Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said in a statement released Thursday. “It is our privilege to recognize Whitey.”

In 1968, Swartz founded the Firefighters Museum of southern New Jersey by converting a building next to his home in Pleasantville into a firehouse and museum. The museum chronicles the history of fire service in Atlantic County. It continues to expand, and is now located in Galloway Township.

Arbor Day became an official holiday in 1874. It is a day in which members of communities across the country are encouraged to plant trees.

Atlantic County annually uses this day as an opportunity to honor residents for their exemplary service to the community by planting a tree in their honor.