Who can ever forget the song "Forever Chasing Skeeters"? It was first sung at the tenth annual New Jersey Mosquito Extermination Association's meeting. The lyrics went something like this: "Doc's forever chasing skeeters/chasing skeeters in the air/They fly so high, up up in the sky/but Headlee will catch 'em bye and bye/He traps them by the millions/night collections here and there/He then predicts the date/when they'll die off in such despair". The Doc Headlee referred to in this classic tune was none other than our own Doctor Thomas J. Headlee, once the leading New Jersey State entomologist. He came from Kansas, where he had been head of the entomology department at the Kansas Agricultural College. He assumed his new duties in New Jersey on October 1, 1912. Headlee actually took over four positions at that time--professor of entomology at Rutgers; chief entomologist at the college's agricultural experiment station; entomologist at the State experiment station; and State entomologist under the State Board of Agriculture. His forte was research on ways to prevent the invasion of dangerous insects at New Jersey's farms and orchards. One of his main goals was to exterminate all mosquitos in New Jersey. He had been victorious against the Hessian fly in Kansas, but battling the Jersey mosquito was another matter. Headlee unveiled a plan to eradicate the pest at a cost of $750,000, on February 7, 1919. He called for "ditching" to be employed throughout the State in order to drain and contain mosquito breeding areas. Dr. Headlee lived for many years in South Brunswick Township where mosquitos thrived in abundance. In case you haven't noticed, the good Doctor was not too successful here against "them skeeters" . . . nor was he successful anywhere in the State. However, he must be given credit for starting a war that still rages on. The date of the end of Headlee's war remains undetermined. But please remember Doc Headlee the next time you fire up that patio bug lite of yours.
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