Shore Town Ponders Name Change

By David Madden

NORTH WILDWOOD, NJ (CBS) -- What's in a name? History, for one thing, as one North Wildwood resident seeks to change the name of the town back to what it used to be more than a century ago.

Ed Wheaton's great-grandfather was a councilman in 1906 when Anglesea was renamed North Wildwood. After a couple recent festivals to remember the bygone days, he got to thinking.

"Why don't we go back to our roots?" He told KYW Newsradio. "There's no real reason to call ourselves North Wildwood. Anglesea seems like a much better name."

He spent more than a month gathering more than 100 signatures on a petition. City officials are now looking at the idea. Mayor Pat Rosenello.

"It's a name that has a lot of historic significance," said North Wildwood mayor Pat Rosenello, "and a lot of people are really connected to that name."

The city solicitor is looking into what to do next. The town could hold a non binding referendum this fall. A binding vote would require a second, larger petition effort.

City Council meets early next month to consider it's next step.