Remembering a family history in So. Jersey

By CAROL KINSLEY

Now a Philadelphia-based publicist, Anthony DiMeo III is one of four grandchildren who comprise the fourth generation in the DiMeo family. All of them intend to continue the family legacy of farming in Hammonton, N.J. His cousins are Kenneth Ryan Crawford, Kaitlin Crawford and Johnna Tratta.
DiMeo provided this newspaper with photographs of his grandfather, Anthony, and news clippings from past years on the farm as a way of tribute to his family. He also provided us with the following tales of his family history.
The DiMeo family farm originated around the turn of the century, Anthony DiMeo III said. Michael DiMeo came over from Sulmona, Italy, in 1895, originally settling in Providence, R.I. He later moved to Hammonton, N.J., because the soil was too “rocky” and he wanted a much better quality soil to work with.
Michael DiMeo purchased about 35 acres of acres of farmland, to start with. The farm began as a raspberry and black diamond farm and eventually evolved into a full fruit and vegetable farm. The farm originally sold raspberries, black diamonds, sweet potatoes, strawberries, tomatoes, apples, peaches, butternut squash and pumpkins.
Michael DiMeo eventually passed the farm along to his son, Anthony DiMeo Sr., now 89.
Anthony DiMeo Sr. was always active in charity auctions, and donating to the needy. At one time the DiMeos had many acres of “pick your own” strawberry fields along Route 206. Each year, they auctioned off many crates of strawberries to raise money for charity.
Anthony DiMeo Sr. started planting “Weymouth” blueberries around the year 1940. He started out with about 500 blueberry plants that he purchased from the president of Pemberton Bank, who resided in Chatsworth. The farm land now totals more than 600 acres, of which about 450 acres are blueberries. However, DiMeo always maintains a raspberry/blackdiamond crop in his field to remind him of his father.
One piece of property DiMeo purchased was from an old English man. According to his grandson, Anthony III, DiMeo recalled that many years later, after Quinley died, he saw a man with a shovel digging up the flower bed around the Quinley house. The man was a young man in his 40s.
DiMeo approached him and asked, “Hey, why are you here digging up my property?” The man replied that he was the son of the old Englishman and said, “I am digging to get my inheritance.”
DiMeo responded, “What? Your inheritance, what are you talking about?”
The man then explained that he had just come out of the military and he was going through his mother’s old papers when he found a sealed envelope which said “Son, I don’t leave you much, but what I leave you, you will find under the daisies in the front yard.”
So, DiMeo said, “Okay, you may continue digging.”
After an hour or so passed, the tip of his shovel hit a little trash can. They pulled up the can and there, wrapped and sealed in plastic, was $25,000 in $10 and $20 bills.
DiMeo was astonished, but he allowed the man to take the money. The man leaped into his truck and left, never to be seen again.
The next day DiMeo dug up the entire yard, around the entire house with the front end loader, but found nothing but flower bulbs.
DiMeo has served as president and chief of operations of the fruit and vegetable farm for the past 60 years.
He is past president of Hammonton Cooperative Fruit Auction Association.
He and his wife of 62 years have three children, Dorothy Crawford, Nancy Tratta and Anthony DiMeo Jr.