Mount Laurel Mayor Stephen Steglik, holding the proclamation, with Dr. Charles Tweedy to the right and Kate Hutton Tweedy next to him at Tuesday night's meeting.
When Kate Hutton Tweedy and Dr. Charles Tweedy were honored on Tuesday night for their founding of Paws Farm 45 years ago and their efforts to save it in the last few years, the celebration went far beyond the proclamation voted on by the Mount Laurel Township Council.
What many feared would be the death of the animal educational center on the Township-owned preserved Green Acres property has now morphed into a bright future for the facility, which for decades has been the destination of countless school field trips, birthday parties and family outings.
Council members also on Tuesday unanimously adopted an ordinance at the meeting that puts Paws Farm in the hands of the new Rowan University Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine to operate it for veterinarian student education and to "ensure the long-term sustainability and availability of the site to the public."
Under the ordinance, Rowan would lease the property to encourage "kindergarten through high school students to visit and enjoy the facility, be introduced to veterinary services with the goal of inspiring a future generation of veterinary students."
"We are very honored that (Paws) is now in the hands of such a dedicated and accomplished group," said Kate Tweedy. "We are thankful that…under the leadership of the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine of Rowan University it will have teachers, students and animals at the forefront of its future."
The Tweedys began their involvement with the former Darnell Homestead on Hainesport Mount Laurel Road in 1979, literally rolling up their sleeves with a battalion of volunteers to rehabilitate the old farm and turn it into a popular nature center.
In the next 25 years, the Tweedys oversaw and helped fund efforts that increased the site's nature and animal education opportunities. They provided medical care to hundreds of animals and ensured that the site's farmhouse, blacksmith work area, smokehouse and icehouse resembled similar structures from previous centuries.
When Paws Farm's lease on the site expired in 2004, its operations were turned over to the former Garden State Discovery Museum of Cherry Hill, and the Tweedys retired.
In 2020, upon learning the site was closed, had fallen into disrepair and 147,000 people signed an online petition seeking to reopen the site, the Tweedys oversaw and helped pay for a second restoration effort.
"We said, 'We can tackle this. We can do this. We did so in 1979,' " Kate told 70and73.com in an interview.
This time around, the repairs and upgrades included removing old tires from the site, repairing several enclosures, installing new fixtures and electric lines, replacing several leaky roofs, installing air conditioning and providing the site's buildings with a fresh paint. Mount Laurel Township employees have also helped in many ways, including conducting regular site patrols and lawn mowing.
For Kate, the reason for her and Dr. Tweedy's efforts was simple: We loved animals.
Mount Laurel Mayor Stephen Steglik said the recognition of the achievements of the couple, who were longtime residents of Moorestown where Dr. Tweedy had his medical practice, was overdue. The Tweedys now live in Medford.
"This is a long time coming for their dedication to Paws Farm, and it is not just for the hard work and starting it and keeping it and maintaining it,” he said in an interview. "But (also for) when it was shut down, they really came in to rescue it and they worked hand in hand with the Township to find a long-term solution."
Although the Tweedys seemed emotionally moved by the honor, they focused on their gratitude for the many people who have helped them through the years.
"Thank you very much," Kate said. "Thanks to all our board members and volunteers and our two teachers…we are so grateful and thankful to all of you."
Now the Tweedys' legacy is expected to have a long future with the Rowan vet school.
"The general idea is to expand on all the great things that Paws has done for so many years and then update some of that programming to include a little bit more of a focus on science and veterinary-type experiences for youth in the area," Dr. Matthew C. Edson, the founding dean of the veterinary school, told 70and73.com.
Specific programs and ways the buildings at Paws Farm will bring those programs to life are still in the development stage, but they may include camps or field trips for those in kindergarten through 12th grade, said Edson. The veterinarian is no stranger to Mount Laurel: He lives in Burlington County and for years has operated Rancocas Veterinary Associates, the small and large animal veterinary practice based at Marne Highway, a two-mile drive from Paws.
Paws will join other new veterinary school facilities, including laboratories and a small-animal hospital planned for Rowan's West campus in Glassboro.
A name for Paws has not been decided, but, Edson said, it almost certainly will allude to the site's roots. The vet school wants "to preserve all the important history there and incorporate as much of that as (it) can," he said.
Edson remembers time spent at Paws Farm as a youth and said those visits were part of the "collective experience" that led him to become a veterinarian.
"That place has a very long, storied history, and...is really beloved by everybody who's been there as kids," he said. "The facility itself was designed for the purpose that we are looking to do, which is animal-based education."
Mount Laurel Mayor Steglik told 70and73.com that he hoped the ordinance was the beginning of a long-running relationship between the Township and the school.
"This is a win for our community," the mayor said.
