Middletown Village: Where the Old Town and Modern Middletown Meet
Bernie Daus – Middletown BOE Candidate
My 26.2-mile run through Middletown Village felt different from some of the other community runs I have completed. This is one of those parts of town where Middletown’s history, government, transportation, schools, neighborhoods, and everyday life all seem to overlap.
I started exploring the area around Dorsett Park and Village Elementary School, then worked my way toward some of the places that give this section of town its historic identity. I passed Marlpit Hall and ran through the historic district along Kings Highway, where the older homes and buildings give you a sense of just how long people have been living, working, traveling, and raising families here. From there, I ran past Town Hall, the Middletown Police Department, Old Village Fire Company, and back toward the Middletown Arts Center and the NJ Transit Middletown train station. Trains are constantly moving people in and out of town, while Route 35 provides an important retail corridor. But once I moved away from the main roads and into the side streets and neighborhoods off Kings Highway and Route 35, the pace changed completely; and that is one of the things I enjoy most about these runs. Driving through on the main roads, you can think you know an area pretty well. Running the side streets gives you a different perspective. You notice the older houses tucked behind busier roads, small neighborhood streets you may have passed hundreds of times… I see people working in their yards, I notice the condition of the sidewalks, and observe the little connections between different parts of the community.
I also made my way past Bicentennial Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Over 26.2 miles, I saw a section of Middletown that manages to be historic, busy with modern retail, while still having quiet residential pockets just a few turns away.
Middletown Village is especially interesting because so much of the township seems to come together here. It contains pieces of our past, some of our most important public institutions, a major transportation hub, busy commercial corridors, schools, parks, and established neighborhoods. By the time I finished my 26.2 miles, I felt like I understood those connections a little better.
That is really the point of this Community Marathon project. I am running a marathon through each section of Middletown because I want to experience the communities I hope to represent beyond what I can see driving through on the main roads. Each run has taught me something different… I have renewed appreciation for Middletown Village.
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