A Lifetime, a Legacy: Arthur P. Anderson
Arthur Anderson in the early 1980s.
Nearly everyone knew Sgt. Arthur P. Anderson. And he knew them.
Some people knew the sergeant in his role as a Stone Harbor Police Department officer for 23 years. Anyone who crossed paths with him recognized the kindness and congenial ways of the longtime Stone Harbor resident who died May 30 at the age of 87.
Anderson was not only a gentleman in the eyes of people posting condolences online to family members, he was a “true,” “kind” and “perfect gentleman.” Officers who served with “Sgt. Art” write of the “the honor” and “the pleasure” of serving with this good man and “mentor.”
In another online remembrance, Seven Mile Island native Jill Salvesen recollects Anderson’s genuine love for Stone Harbor and its residents – especially the town’s children. “We had so much respect for Sgt. Anderson, particularly when he was on patrol, we behaved ourselves,” Salvesen writes. “We never wanted to disappoint him. What a role model!”
That respect was mutual.
“Dad always taught us to show respect for others. ‘Respect others,’ he said. ‘There’s something to learn from all people,’ ” says Sharon Anderson Lewis. Moreover, her father insisted that “No matter what you do in life, you remain humble.”
Arthur Anderson first came to Stone Harbor by way of his loving, industrious and faith-filled family. He was the 10th of Emma Rose Anderson’s and Charles Hunter’s 12 children. Arthur was born on Nov. 5, 1929 in the colonial port town of Urbanna, Va., and baptized there in the Rappahannock River as a youngster. “While happily settled in Stone Harbor, Arthur and his family members told magical, nostalgic stories of Urbanna as ‘home,’ ” Sharon says.
Up north, Arthur’s Aunt Janie Taliafarro, a Philadelphia restaurateur, operated a boarding house at 241 81st St. in Stone Harbor during the early 20th century. This boarding house served as a temporary home to the men then building the island’s infrastructure, Sharon explains. Aunt Janie and Arthur’s mother, Emma Anderson, were sisters. Widowed at an early age, Arthur’s mother taught herself to operate an automobile. This enabled Emma to pack her children into the car every summer and drive to Stone Harbor so that they could be with Janie.
Eighty-one just might have been Arthur Anderson’s lucky number, for it was during those summers spent on 81st Street that Arthur met his bride, Catherine Hall, who grew up on 81st Street.
The couple married one year after Arthur returned to Stone Harbor from Germany. There, he served in the U.S. Army from 1951 through 1953 during the Korean War. The Andersons were married for 48 years, until Catherine’s death in 2002.
Anderson made it known to his family that being a good provider for them was one of his top priorities. Says daughter Audrey Anderson: “He and his brothers were determined to provide a good life for their families.”
The five Anderson brothers – Arthur, Charles, Claudius, Raymond and Hunter – began their young adult working lives at the Stone Harbor Lumber Company. While there, the brothers presented a proposal to the lumber company’s president, Clarence O. Letzkus. (In addition to leading the Stone Harbor Lumber Company, Letzkus was also Stone Harbor’s first borough clerk and second tax collector, according to Stone Harbor Museum Director and Curator Bruce Tell.) The Andersons approached Letzkus about purchasing land on Seven Mile Island. They asked if their employer would co-sign such a sales agreement. Letzkus agreed to do so since the Anderson brothers were such hard-working employees.
That’s how Arthur, Charles and Claudius became property owners on 81st Street during the late 1950s. (Raymond, Hunter, and a sister, Ellen, settled in Cape May Court House.)
This arrangement was beneficial to both the Anderson brothers and Letzkus, Audrey notes. Considering the timing of that land purchase, “it’s a credit to the people of Stone Harbor who were receptive to working with these hard-working young men from Virginia,” she adds.
“Now three generations of Andersons have grown up on 81st Street,” Sharon muses.
Ten to 15 African-American families lived within a three- to four-block radius when Audrey and Sharon were children. Some of these residents, like their mother Catherine who was a Methodist, worshiped at Bethel U.A.M.E. Church on 81st Street. (The family often attended the First Baptist Church of Whitesboro, where Arthur loved listening to his brothers, Raymond and Hunter, sing as original members of the church’s Male Tones gospel group.)
Sharon and Audrey attended Sunday school at Bethel U.A.M.E. The tiny church’s congregation included people who came to Stone Harbor for summertime domestic work, a school principal, Charlotte Harmon, and a teacher, Margaret Lewis. As preschoolers, Audrey and Sharon learned to read from hymnals during Sunday school and vacation Bible school.
Today, Sharon is retired from her career as a professor of English. Audrey continues to practice law as an advocate for the elderly in the Office of the Ombudsman of New Jersey.
The daughters agree that their father passed along the family work ethic to them just as he might have done with sons. “In many ways, Dad was ahead of his time when it came to matters of gender,” says Audrey. “He always stressed the importance of independence and being a mature adult.” Sharon notes some “irony there in that Dad asserted his patriarchy over their mother” in stressing the importance of working for a living to his daughters. “Mom wanted us to be princesses!”
Former councilman and borough administrator Ken Hawk credited Anderson with being ahead of his time in his profession, as well. “Art understood ‘community policing’ before that term was even coined,” Hawk wrote in his online condolence message. “His love and devotion to his home town was an inspiration to his fellow officers.”
While their father would never consider moving from Stone Harbor, he totally enjoyed traveling, Sharon says. Arthur’s passion for reading led to her parents’ world travels. His time as a soldier stationed in Germany led to his keen interest in European history. Arthur’s reading led to his and Catherine’s trips to Germany, Russia, Australia and South America.
Back on 81st Street, Arthur and Catherine were a force for hospitality toward family members and friends, Sharon reminisces. The couple enjoyed entertaining relatives at home, especially those with children. Sharon remembers her parents busily preparing for family visits and the fun had by all at their pool and on the beach when those visitors arrived.
Protecting family was another of her dad’s priorities and life lessons, Sharon says. Plus, Arthur stressed the importance of welcoming others into one’s family, especially folks in need.
Still, it wasn’t just family that benefited from the Anderson’s goodwill.
“Dad and Mom always made time to talk to everyone. They always invited people into their home. Like the entire Anderson family, they met no strangers,” Sharon says. “Dad and Mom were joyful, life-living people!”
“This was their fabric,” Audrey says. “They were good people.”
That fine Anderson fabric enhanced the beauty of Stone Harbor’s historic tapestry.
