Jerry Carino

@njhoopshaven

Howard Crawford heard the story many times. His grandmother, then 16-year-old Mabel Smith, was playing in Matawan Creek on July 12, 1916, when the shark attacked 11-year-old Lester Stillwell.

“She remembered the shark grabbing him by the stomach,” Crawford said. “He came up from the water once, and the screams were horrific.”

The other kids at the creek raced off to get help. Mabel didn’t have to go far. The creek ran behind the sprawling property owned by her father, 51-year-old farmer and carpenter Arthur Smith. Within minutes Arthur Smith plunged into the creek to look for Lester. He was joined by 24-year-old Stanley Fisher and 20-year-old George Burlew.

The creek was deeper back in 1916. Mabel’s brother, Robert Smith, had taken the three-man search party out in a rowboat. Fisher came across Stillwell’s body, but as he went to retrieve it, the shark ripped into his right leg.

"My grandmother said the water was just solid red,” Crawford said. “They dragged (Fisher) onto the shore and you could see the bones in his leg.”

RELATED: Matawan shark attack centennial schedule

Friends tried to bandage the wound, but Fisher would bleed to death later that day. Meanwhile, as Crawford tells it, the shark headed for Arthur Smith. He got into the rowboat just in time, but not before suffering a laceration that required 14 stitches (the injury is corroborated by published reports).

“He had that scar until he passed away,” Crawford said.

That was in 1966. Smith lived until age 101. He seldom spoke of the incident, even as it became known around the globe. Mabel did speak of it, recounting the tale for local newspaper reporters who visited her home each July.

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“When she told it, even as an old lady, it got her worked up,” said Crawford, who lives in Jackson. “It must have been something to behold. It kept me out of the ocean.”

Mabel Smith Maiola declined to see “Jaws” when it came out in 1976, a few years before her death.

“I wanted her to see it, but she didn’t think too much of it,” Crawford recalled. “She never read the book either.”

Millions of people did see Jaws, sparking a widespread renewal of interest in Matawan Creek and the other attacks along the New Jersey coast in July of 1916. There also were fatalities at Beach Haven July 1 and Spring Lake July 6. All three towns are planning some sort of commemoration.

“It’s an amazing story,” said Betty Kauffmann, archivist for the Matawan Historical Society. “It’s a lot of things -- tragic, unusual, fascinating. That’s why people are drawn to it.”

BEACH HAVEN, SPRING LAKE

Charles Broder, a 27-year-old Swiss bell captain at the Essex and Sussex Hotel in Spring Lake, became the second shark fatality in the string of attacks that left four dead and one injured.

"The man was unfortunately flung out of the water and lost both his legs below the knees and had other gashes and lacerations," said Richard G. Fernicola, author of Twelve Days of Terror, a historical account of the events.

Fernicola will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Spring Lake Community House located at Madison and Third avenues. The event is free, but the Borough Library asks guests to reserve a seat by calling 732-449-6654 or email splkib1@gmail.com.

Charles Epting Vansant, 25 of Philadelphia, was the first shark fatality on July 1. He was vacationing in Beach Haven with his family.

To recognize this event in Beach Haven's history, the New Jersey Maritime Museum and the Shark Research Institute have joined to present "12 Days of Terror," a shark awareness wine dinner at Buckalew's Restaurant - Tavern, 101 North Bay Ave. from 5 to 9 p.m. July 6.

Guest speakers are Fernicola and Dean Wilson Fessler, Education Director for the Shark Research Institute. Tickets cost $100 per person — gratuity included — and are available by cash, check or credit card at the New Jersey Maritime Museum, 528 Dock Road. For more information call 609-492-0202.

IN FISHER'S FOOTSTEPS

Matawan is going all-out to mark the centennial. There are activities from July 9-17, including a wreath-laying on the graves of Stillwell and Fisher July 12 in Rose Hill Cemetery and the dedication of a monument at Memorial Park July 17.

One of the events is a July 14 “Hero Walk,” which enables folks to retrace the footsteps of Fisher as he bolted from his tailor shop near the corner of Little and Broad streets to the Wyckoff Dock, where Stillwell and friends were swimming.

Matawan is an ideal centennial host because much of the town remains unchanged. The homes where Stillwell and Fisher lived are still standing. The spot where the attacks occurred, secluded on the private property that used to belong to Smith, looks very much like it did 100 years ago. Remnants of the Wyckoff Dock can be seen poking through the brown water.

A big reason why the Matawan attacks were so shocking is that unlike those in Beach Haven and Spring Lake, they occurred in the townsfolks’ backyard rather than the open ocean.

“You never expect that kind of thing to happen here,” said Kauffmann of the Matawan Historical Society.

With throngs of people expected to visit Matawan for the centennial, Monmouth County Historical Commissioner Peter Van Nortwick said he would like to see the spot commemorated by some kind of marker.

“It’s an important story,” he said. “It really is world-known.”

Contributing Dan Radel, Staff Writer

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.