‘The Boro Boys’: Bill Deck Shauger, Asa Smith, John Rousset, John Williams, George Doyle and Lester Doyle in June 1911. (Photo courtesy of Bill Truran)
There’s a very old organization in Sussex County that is still active and serves its members well.
It has been in existence and had a continual presence for at least 110 years or so. It is the Revolver & Rifle Association in Franklin.
Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the town of Franklin grew quickly, with the various zinc-mining operations being combined into one company.
There were calls for many miners, and they were answered by locals, miners from Michigan and out West, and also a great influx of European immigrants.
The town of Franklin Furnace, as it was then known, seemed like a rough-and-tumble collection of hard workers and hard players with rowdiness a key aspect.
There had been “constables” in the town, but a call went out for a stern policeman with leadership skills. This was fulfilled with the hiring of Chief Herbert Irons from the Canal Zone, but that is another very colorful story.
Albeit to say, one had to fend for himself to a large degree.
With this setting, let’s get into the beginnings of the Franklin Revolver & Rifle Association (FR&R).
About 1911, a group of men known as the Boro Boys made a shooting range near the northeast end of the Franklin Pond. The shooting range consisted of a minimal layout for practice and an occasional match.
By 1929, the Boro Boys moved to a new location in an abandoned calcite quarry, where Buckwheat Road meets Franklin Avenue today. This was still near the pond but in a sheltered location for safety and seclusion.
The FR&R has remained here to this day. At the beginning, there were posts in the ground to show shooting positions. About 1937, a clubhouse was built, and the group had been reorganized into the Franklin Revolver & Rifle Association.
Regular shooting positions were put into place. Target matches began to take place on a regular basis. Local sheriff’s officers and oeace officers began to use the range for their periodic training needs. Groups held clambakes during this time.
There was little activity at the range during World War II because many of the members had joined the armed forces in support of our country.
From the end of the war until 1955, the range was used mainly by older members and by local hunters so they could sight in their rifles at the range and for pistol plinking.
In the 1950s the FR&R purchased the quarry from the New Jersey Zinc Co.
Many improvements have been made over the years and today the association has a comfortable clubhouse, a snack bar with full kitchen facilities, a 25-yard range that is heated for wintertime events with 24 covered firing positions, and another area with a movable 75-yard range.
Pistol matches and matches to benefit local charitable organizations are held at various times during the year.
Through the years, Franklin R&R has maintained close ties with the Borough of Franklin and the Franklin Police Department.
FR&R is dedicated to educating the public about firearm safety and offers free programs, such as “Girls, Guys & Guns” events, which are for adults interested in learning basic handgun safety.
FR&R offers similar programs to bank employees, school teachers, students from a local high school forensic class, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Local youth partake in the Junior Rifle Program, which is held on a Tuesday evening during the summer months.
In the past, county search and rescue teams have used the cliffs around the range to practice climbing and rappelling to evacuate simulated victims.
An interesting sidelight is that the range is one of only two places in the world where purple fluoride is found.
It’s been a long time since the era of the Boro Boys - a lot has changed and also stayed the same.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the FR&R, contact Helen Swingle at hswingle@hotmail.com or go online to franklinrr.org
Bill Truran, Sussex County’s historian, may be contacted at billt1425@gmail.com