Revisiting the stories of 2015

My dear mother used to say she loved all six of us kids equally.

I know what Mom meant. All 139 of the columns I wrote in 2015 are equally fabulous!

Unfortunately, I could select only a few favorites for a New Year's update.

Let's start with Sweet Lula's. I wrote about this stylish Pitman dining destination in October after I learned that owners Anthony and Louise "Lula" Asbury were considering a move to Philadelphia.

But in December, the historically "dry" Gloucester County borough set in motion the possibility of granting a single restaurant liquor license, and the Asburys have put off their search. The borough council is expected to consider the measure early in 2016. "I'm so proud of the steps Pitman is taking," Asbury says. "I will do everything in my power to work with them."

I hope it works out; I like writing stories that end better than they began.

Take Cherry Hill Police Detective Paul Hafner's ongoing investigation into the 1979 disappearance of township resident Nicholas Zizzamia.

Hafner has discovered that a man of a similar description was found dead, of an apparent suicide, in an Indiana hotel room within a week of young Zizzamia's disappearance.

Indiana investigators hope to determine the location of the man's burial vault in January; the body could be exhumed and identified. If it turns out to be the missing Cherry Hill man, his family would like to bring him home for burial.

In February, I wrote about Haddon Township resident Mary Alice Curley's decision to retire - at 82 - and close the Book Trader, a fixture in downtown Collingswood for three decades. So I was especially pleased to write about the opening of Inkwood Books in downtown Haddonfield last summer.

"Our first six months in business have been better than we could have anticipated," owner Julie Beddingfield says.

Bricks-and-mortar bookstores are a tradition worth preserving, as are other landmarks.

Alas, the Centerton Road Bridge across the Rancocas Creek, a picturesque, century-old span I wrote about in August, will not be saved; the Burlington County Freeholders voted in December to tear it down.

"I can't imagine it being gone," says Lori Howard, a Willingboro resident who led a passionate grassroots effort to save the bridge. The loss, she adds, "makes me sad."

I'm more mad than sad about the expected destruction this year of the 18th-century Hugg-Harrison-Glover House, which I wrote about in November. The house is owned by the state Department of Transportation and will be razed because of the I-295/Route 55 Direct Connection project.

Why public agencies presumably interested in protecting our collective heritage seem to have overlooked the significance - and then resigned themselves to the destruction - of this precious piece of Revolutionary War-era history is beyond me.

Happily, in Camden, Rutgers University has preserved and transformed an eclectic, long-vacant mansion at 305 Cooper St. into a center for writers and writing.

And there's good news about the Rancocas, too.

A grassroots effort to have the historic and scenic creek designated a national "water trail" - which I wrote about in June - is gaining momentum.

"I don't think anyone anticipated the interest from the public," says John Anderson, a Westampton resident, devoted Rancocas kayaker, and tireless advocate for the designation.

"I think the creek just got away from people," he says. "They forgot we have this wonderful resource in our backyard."

Speaking of resources, after 16 years, folks in Camden are still waiting for Gateway Park along Admiral Wilson Boulevard to be opened to the public.

"We're working hard to get those properties [environmentally] remediated as quickly as possible," says John Hanson, executive director of the Delaware River Port Authority.

That's good news.

So let's end this year in review on a few more high notes.

Restoration of the majestic pipe organ at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, described as the largest musical instrument on earth, is expected to reach a milestone in July.

"For the first time in half a century," says organist Steven Ball, outreach director of the restoration project, "50 percent of the organ will be functional."

And by the end of January, about 5,000 seed packets for the "Rutgers 250" - a reincarnation of the tomato that made New Jersey's reputation - should be available to growers and gardeners (njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu).

Rutgers horticulturist Tom Orton, who knows as much about the classic Jersey tomato as anyone, says test results have been "very convincing."

Sounds as if 2016 is going to be a great year.

kriordan@phillynews.com

856-779-3845 @inqkriordan

www.philly.com/blinq