Featured Organization: Millville Free Public Library

Photo of Courtenay Reece by Bill Horin/ArtC. Story by Rob Laymon/ArtC.

The recently renovated & expanded Millville Library is so much more than books. Check it out! Libraries are usually quiet places, but maybe they shouldn’t be.

Maybe they should make noise about all the events and programming taking place there.

Walk into the Millville Public Library, for example, on just about any day of the week. You’re likely to see chess clubs in action, Dungeons & Dragons games, Storytime for young people, Play-Doh Play Time, and Yoga for Kids.

You’re likely to see book clubs, poetry workshops, events for seniors, and regular visits by a social worker during the library’s Family Seminar, to help parents manage children who might be on the autism spectrum.

You’ll encounter free internet access, printers, scanners, and all the tools that promote the acquisition of knowledge. This is in addition to the regular library functions like lending books, promoting reading, and assisting with research.

“The library is the most democratic institution in any community,” says Library Director Courtenay Reece. “It welcomes all people regardless of age, race, background, political leaning and any demographic you can name.”

Reece has spent 10 years with Millville library, having started at another library as an assistant at age 14. Clearly, the library has a way of getting into you.

The visually impaired will find a link to the Talking Book and Braille Center, a division of the New Jersey State Library, located in Trenton. They will even find treats for their guide dogs if they have one.

“The library asks you nothing when you come in,” she says. “It’s the only place you can go where you receive services for free.”

So, yes, maybe the library should make more noise. It certainly creates a hubbub.

Millville Public Library

210 Buck Street

856-825-7087

web. millvillepubliclibrary.org

Hours

Monday--Thursday 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m.

Friday 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Featured Center City Business: Manny's Pizzeria

Photo of Manny Kanos by Bill Horin/ArtC.

Millville is fortunate to have a great selection of pizza places to choose from & Manny's is one of the best.

It’s safe to say Manny Kanos has mastered the art of pizza.

This is no small feat. Pizza — beloved, elemental, endlessly adaptable — is an art form as much as a meal. It can reach the sublime. It breeds aficionados. Kanos has worked in pizza since his first shop opened in 1992. He understands the seduction of it.

“You can’t go wrong with a slice of pizza in your hand,” says Kanos, who, with his partner Victor Villar owns a second shop in Vineland. “It’s a universal food.”

Something happens when you bring pizza to a gathering. Suddenly,

it’s no longer a simple meeting but an event to be recalled even years later.

Today, at 426 North High Street in Millville, Kanos serves pizza in as many of its infinite variations as he can, consistent with keeping his approach grounded and practical. His restaurant seats about 20 people.

He makes his own dough every day. Though he himself likes a plain slice, the shop has produced some pretty exotic creations. Thanksgiving pizza? With turkey and stuffing? Of course! He employs four full-timers and about 10 part-timers.

“I went to college for a marketing degree, and when I graduated, nothing enticed me,” he says. So he opened his shop.

His menu also includes wings, subs, cold sandwiches, wraps, burgers, steaks, clubs, desserts, and all the items that make up a restaurant powerhouse.

“I like to keep my customers happy,” Kanos says. “I wouldn’t be around this long if I didn’t care. Money comes with people being happy. If the environment is happy, everyone is happy, and the situation prospers.”

After more than three decades in the business, Kanos knows success isn’t just about recipes. The dough rises each morning, the ovens stay hot, and the regulars keep coming back. For Manny Kanos, that’s the only measure that matters.

Manny’s Pizzeria

426 N High St

Phone: 856-327-5081

Eat-In or Take-Out

Website: mannys-pizza.com

Featured Center City Business: Trinity First Hope Center

Photo by Bill Horin/ArtC. Story by Sal Emma/ArtC.

There will be different opinions on this article I'm sure. But what Donna Stiles does at Trinity First Hope Center takes a lot of hard work & perseverance. She cares. P

When Trinity First Hope Center opened in 2020, a dozen hungry people stopped by for bottled water and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. A lot has changed in six years. “Today, we serve full-course meals for 80, seven days a week,” says Donna Stiles, who runs the Center at 102 South 2nd Street.

The program grew out of COVID. “The poor and unhoused had few options for food, once fast-food restaurants and other businesses closed during the pandemic. We saw a need and decided to do something about it,” Donna says.

And they’re still doing it, with an even more ambitious mission. Today, Donna and her small band of volunteers work with Rutgers, Veterans Affairs, Oaks Integrated Care and other experts, providing clothing, workforce training, counseling, addiction recovery, mail handling and many other services designed to help the underprivileged get back on their feet.

In space donated by First United Methodist Church, they help whoever comes through the door, with no judgment or strings attached. “We do it because it’s the right thing to do. Our guests are human beings, each with a name and a life story. They’re people, worthy of love and respect,” Donna says.

Trinity First Hope Center

Contact Donna Stiles

Phone: 856-506-5371

Web: firstumcmillville.org/trinity-first-hope-center

Facebook: Trinity First Hope Center

Email: Donna.stiles@gmail.com