L. Manuel Hirshblond: 'A Great Stabilizing Force' For Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Anywhere you look in Toms River, you can find something that L. Manuel Hirshblond impacted.

From Huddy Park downtown and town hall, to the Ortley Beach complex, Bey Lea Golf Course and Winding River Park, Hirshblond had a pivotal role in shepherding Toms River — then known as Dover Township — through one of the most transformative periods of the town's existence.

Hirshblond died Sunday at 93, at Harrogate in Lakewood, according to his obituary on the Anderson & Campbell Funeral Home website.

"Manny was known in our small town as 'Mr. Dover Township' due to his dedication to our township, town and the people that live here," a post on the Toms River Fire Company 1 Facebook page.

A celebration of life is set for 1 p.m. Friday to honor the man who served the township for 36 years as deputy clerk, clerk, and clerk administrator, and also served the community many other ways. The celebration of life, open to the public, will be held at the Toms River Fire Company 1 substation at 39 Cardinal Dr. Hirshblond was a former fire chief and 66-year life member of the Fire Company 1.

"The things we get to enjoy in this town today have his fingerprints all over them," said Toms River Township historian and former clerk J. Mark Mutter, a longtime friend of Hirshblond.

Hirshblond was born in Lakewood in 1927 to the late Isadore and Mary Hirshblond and grew up in Toms River. As a kid, his father, Isadore Hirshblond, was the principal owner of the Traco (Toms River Amusement Company) Theater Company, which was on Washington Street. Manny worked at the theatre as a kid, selling popcorn and scraping gum off the floor, he said in a 2011 Patch interview. (A photo of Hirshblond in front of an ad is on the Cinema Treasures website.)

He graduated from Toms River High School (now Toms River South) in 1944 and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He also earned a degree from Rider College.

Hirshblond went on to manage the Traco Theater and the Community Theater in Toms River, eventually becoming the southern division manager, supervising theaters in the southern part of New Jersey before resigning to become the first deputy clerk of Dover Township in 1962.

In 1967 he was named the township clerk and in 1970 became clerk-administrator, where he served until he retired in 1989.

It was during those 36 years that Toms River went through an incredible period of growth, Mutter said.

"There was an increase through the late 1950s," Mutter said, when the Garden State Parkway extended through Ocean County. But from the 1960s through the 1980s, "there was tremendous residential growth in Toms River and the state of New Jersey."

"He was the one person who was always there through this period of great change, a great stabilizing force for our community," said Mutter, who was in high school when he first met Hirshblond.

He also had the vision to do things like arrange the purchase of the Ortley Beach property with Green Acres funds in the 1960s; the purchase of the area that's now Huddy Park; Winding River Park in 1975, Bey Lea Golf course, and the Richard C.Clement Law Enforcement Center on Oak Avenue.

"He did all the paperwork," Mutter said.

Hirshblond's prime achievement was the opening of Town Hall in 1979. Mutter said the front of the building, with the porch facade, originally was a home. The town purchased it after World War II, and Hirshblond saw to it that it became the municipal offices.

"It was the highlight of his career," Mutter said. "That was his home."

He said it completely surprised Hirshblond when the meeting room was named for him, the honor announced at his final meeting. His commitment to the township never waned, Mutter said.

Mutter, who worked for the township after he graduated law school and later became mayor and then the township clerk in 2005, said Hirshblond came out of retirement to be Mutter's deputy clerk for a time. The two would have breakfast regularly, with Hirshblond offering advice and insights.

"He was like an uncle to me," he said.

Hirshblond wasn't in favor of the name change to Toms River in 2006, Mutter said. "Neither was I, but we had a job to do."

In addition to his service to the township, Hirshblond was a member of Harmony Lodge 18, Free & Accepted Masons of Toms River, a board member of the Ocean County Historical Society in Toms River, and was a charter member of the Toms River Rotary Club since 1951.

Hirshblond also was a faithful member and served on the Board of Trustees of the First United Methodist Church of Toms River.

"The most important part of Manny’s life was his wife and family," his obituary said. "They were the center of his life and he enjoyed the time he spent with them."

His obituary says he was predeceased by his infant son, Kenneth, and his brother, Edgar. Surviving are his beloved wife Janet of 67 years, his sons Steve and Tom, his grandson David and wife Colette, and his great-granddaughter Olina.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in Manny’s name to the First United Methodist Church of Toms River Memorial Fund, 129 Chestnut St., Toms River, NJ 08753.

To leave online tributes please visit www.andersonandcampbell.com.

This article has been updated to correct the name of the Toms River Township Police Department's law enforcement complex.

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