[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MARGE SHORTWAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 15, 2001

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call my colleagues' attention to 
Marge Shortway, a close friend of mine and one of the most prominent 
political and business figures in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Her dedication 
as a notable leader of the business community and the civic community 
has been widely reported throughout the district.
  The former Marge Holmes met her future husband, Harry Shortway, in 
elementary school--she attended the White School House and later 
Franklin Elementary School. The couple married in March 1936, after 
both dropped out of high school to take hard-to-find jobs in the middle 
of the Depression. She went to work in a Hawthorne hosiery mill while 
her husband worked as an inspector at the Curtiss-Wright Corp. in Wood-
Ridge and volunteered as a Hawthorne Borough firefighter. The couple 
eventually raised 11 children--six boys and five girls--in their 
Hawthorne home. Marge is the proud grandmother of 39 and great-
grandmother to 46.
  Marge soon found herself working for her father-in-law, Tunis 
Shortway, who converted his former horse barn into a bar--appropriately 
known as ``Shortway's Barn''--in 1933. The Barn was a true tavern in 
those days, with sawdust on the floor on Friday nights, and turtle 
races and arm wrestling brought in over the years to attract patrons. 
Marge was always there, working to help the family as a waitress, cook, 
bartender and manager.
  Harry Shortway and his brother, Anthony ``Tex'' Shortway, took over 
the business after their father died in 1942. Harry bought out his 
brother in 1952 and continued to run the Barn as a bar until his death 
in 1981. At that pointed, Marge took over, adding more dining tables 
and re-establishing the bar as the family restaurant it is today.
  As tavern or restaurant, Shortway's Barn has long been a Hawthorne 
landmark. Marge, herself, became a landmark and a revered leader in the 
community. Shortway's is such a prominent fixture of local life that it 
was the setting for several scenes in Pride and Loyalty, a criminal 
suspense thriller by local filmmaker Kenneth Del Vecchio.
  Life in the large Shortway family centers around the Barn. The family 
has always held its holiday meals there--there were too many children, 
wives, husbands and grandchildren to fit into one house--and the staff 
has always been primarily family members. The tradition continues today 
with five of Marge's children working at the restaurant.
  While best known as the owner of Shortway's Barn, Marge has been 
active in a variety of roles in the community. She has supported many 
charities and is a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce. As a 
leader of the Hawthorne Republican Club and a member of the Borough 
Council for the past 12 years, Marge is considered by many to be the 
matriarch of the local Republican Party.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives 
to join me in thanking Marge Shortway for her many years of hard work 
and dedication to her community. She has been a leading citizen and a 
role model. We need more like her.

                          ____________________