Carol Comegno

@CarolComegno



MARLTON - Gary Dornhoefer, an original member of the Philadelphia Flyers who played during the Broad Street Bullies era, will be one of 23 people to become a U.S. citizen at a local school Wednesday.

Marlton Middle School students will participate in a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony at their school, where longtime South Jersey resident Dornhoefer will take the oath of allegiance to the U.S. Now 73, he was born in Ontario, Canada, and lives in Port Republic in Galloway Township.

The students have been studying immigration as part of their social studies curriculum and will welcome the new citizens from 18 countries by singing a patriotic song after the immigrants take the U.S. Oath of Allegiance. The Cherokee High School color guard will post the colors. Supervisory Immigration Services Officer Keith Dorr will administer the oath.

A former Boston Bruins player claimed in the expansion draft in 1967, Dornhoefer was on both Stanley Cup teams and is a two-time All-Star (1973 and 1977), and Flyers Hall of Famer who also was a broadcaster for the team.

"Number one, I have no intention of going back to Canada, and number two, Dorr told me it was going to take less time to become a citizen than to renew my Green Card, so it was an easy sell," he said.

