In her new capacity, Mother Deborah will perform not only traditional clerical duties, but also guide the parish and serve as a resource in its search for a permanent rector.

The appointment follows the official approval of The Rt. Rev. George E. Councell, Episcopal Bishop for the New Jersey Diocese.

\”I\’m delighted to be part of the Church of Ascension family as it begins a period of transition,\” Mother Deborah noted. \”The Church has a proud tradition serving the residents of Gloucester City and surrounding communities, and there are countless opportunities to expand the Church\’s mission of being a welcoming, diverse parish meeting the spiritual needs of its members.

\”Ascension is a wonderful Church serving a hard-working community, and my hope is that the parish will continue to be a strong resource and source of support for its neighbors,\” she added.

Located at Ridgeway and Sussex streets, the Church celebrated its 160^th year of incorporation in 2006.

Harris Steals Show As Mates Take City Title

Scores Twice and Gains 177 Yards as Paisleymen Take Laurels for 1949

Source: Renewal of Friendship published in 1993.

Catholic won the toss and elected to kick. Gloucester was nailed with a clipping penalty and were in trouble deep in their own territory on the 8. On the next play a bad pass from center sailed into the end zone with halfback Tom Neillio covering the pigskin and co-captain Joe Dorris being credited with a safety and the Sheridanmen led 2 to 0.

Following the kickoff by the Blue, the Maroon fumbled and Bobby Eppleman recovered for the Blue. After a series of plays Gloucester punted. At this point they racked up three first downs (their only three) before the Blue dug in and held on its own 32.

On the second half kickoff the \”Raiders\” put on a sustained march of 64 yards before running out of gas on the Catholic 19. The hard charging Blue line was starting to take its toll and the \”Irish\” were forced to boot. The Blue was only able to penetrate as far as the 21 when the Sheridanmen took over but were unable to advance and punted again with Harris returning the kick to the 39. After a couple of plays put the ball on the 27 Harris again tallied on a wide end sweep and Hagan again converted.

In the fourth quarter Harris took a pitch out from Hagan on his own 45 and raced down to the Maroon 25. At this point the game\’s hero left for the day amid a great ovation from the students and rooters. The drive ended when the Maroon line held on Hagan\’s fourth attempted sneak for a first. The final touchdown drive was under way wjth Hagan combining with Bob Wright to put the ball on the 10. At this point Ray Taylor, sophomore back skirted his own left end for the score. Hagan added the final point on his specialist route.

A look at the statistics will show the Paisleymen running up 14 first downs while gaining 283 yards on the ground and losing 16 for a net gain of 267 while the Sheridanmen showed a pick up of 75 yards on the ground while losing 62 for a net gain of 13 yards through the Blue line. In the air it was 10 out of 21 for the winners which was good for 127 yards while an \”0\” for 7 was the record for the losers.

Summarizing the game, it was Leon Harris who put on one of the finest displays of all around play ever witnessed around these parts that stole the show of the Paisleymen. Bob Eppleman was the chief blocker on the Harris runs. Hagan also chipped in with his timely play calling and passing along with his 3 perfect dropkicks. On the line it was again the play of Jim Thomson, Ed Walens, and George Wilson that featured.

For the Maroon in the backfield it was the ball carrying of Bill Gibison and Jim Dougherty that featured the spurt in the first quarter that led to the three first downs that were picked up by the \”Irish\”. On the forward wall \”Bongo\” DiSantis played a bang up game. He was especially adept in getting down under punts to prevent any returns. Joe Dorris and Whitey Porch, co-captains for the Maroon, played exceptionally fine games.

Between the halves a brilliant display was put on by the Gloucester Catholic Majorettes aided by the Gloucester High School Band. While the lights were entirely blacked out the Majorettes whirled their batons in the air. The batons were illuminated and the proceedings were something to see. The Majorettes are under the capable direction of Father Hayden while the GHS band is under the direction of its veteran leader, Eugene Engle.

Also in closing we would like to add that the trophies that went to the victors include the Mayors trophy, the Businessmen\’s Association trophy, and a cup donated by the Greenets and Greenets Jewelry Store.

The Mustang trophies to the outstanding players of their respective teams went to Leon Harris and Constanzo DiSantis. The former was an unanimous choice by the committee of seven in charge of the balloting while DiSantis had competition from Porch and Dorris.

General Hines \’70 received the Thomas G. Stewart III Award for Service to the Community; Mrs. Walsh, Assistant Principal for Academics at GCHS, was honored as the recipient of the Dr. Frank and Mrs. Catherine Kelly Award for Service to the Gloucester Catholic Family; and Bill Popjoy was honored with the John and Jackie O\’Donnell Award for a Distinguished Alumnus.

~ Bill Cleary