Mr. Raylman using a template to drill holes for a plaque.

Last Friday our multi-talented Assistant Principal Kevin Raylman put a piece of history into the Mariner Media Center--the 1969 dedication plaque from the original High School North media center, before it was relocated into the new F wing in 2002.

Who was Frank W. Sutton Jr., and why would a school library be dedicated to him?  I'd never heard of him, so I emailed the Reference Department of the Ocean County Library (question@theoceancountylibrary.org) to see if they had any information on file for him in their Wheeler Historical Room.  Within days, they scanned and sent me several articles as well as the program booklet for the 1969 Toms River High School North Library Dedication Ceremony.

Frank W. Sutton was the President of First National bank for 34 years and a pillar of the community; his many accomplishments include the organization of the Toms River Student Loan fund, his service on the Ocean County Planning Board, his service as a trustee of Paul Kimball Hospital and his time as a director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.  These achievements are all the more remarkable in light of the fact that Mr. Sutton did not even possess a high school diploma; at the behest of his father, Mr. Sutton dropped out of school in 1904 to begin working as a clerk at First National Bank.

Here's an excerpt from the August 12th, 1969 library dedication:

Many thanks to Mr. Raylman for getting this dedication plaque up in the Mariner Media Center as well as to the top notch Reference Department of the Ocean County Library for all of the files they have on record for Mr. Frank W. Sutton Jr.