Deadly home explosion in Hunterdon: This week in Central Jersey history, Aug. 28-Sept. 3

An explosion leveled a Hampton home at 74 New St. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, trapping and killing a 56-year-old woman in the ensuing fire despite efforts by neighbors who rushed to help her moments before she died.

The woman was later identified as Deborah Smith, known to her close friends as "Jesse" for her personality resembling the outlaw Jesse James. Smith was a bartender at the New Hampton Inn.

Here's a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.

Five years ago

Aug. 29, 2018: It was reported a botanist with the state Department of Environmental Protection discovered stalked woolgrass along the Delaware River in Warren County. The last sighting of the plant in New Jersey was Thursday, July 4, 1918.

Aug. 30: Flemington-Raritan Regional School District Superintendent of Schools Kari McGann announced students would have an extended summer vacation until Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018, as the district completed the remediation of air quality problems at Francis A. Desmares School and Copper Hill School.

Aug. 30: Aaron Ahr's 33-yard field goal with just under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter erased a one-point deficit and lifted the North Brunswick High School football team to a 9-7 victory, snapping St. Joseph's regular-season winning streak at 19 games at Steve Libro Field in North Brunswick.

Aug. 31: Rutgers-New Brunswick would have 7,000 first-year students, the largest class in the university's history at its flagship campus, when classes started on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, it was reported.

Sept. 2: In the wake of a fire earlier in the month, Frenchtown's 15th annual Riverfest, known as an ecologically and sustainably-focused celebration of life along the Raritan River, was held on Bridge Street and in Sunbeam Park.

10 years ago

Aug. 28, 2013: Residents of Agape House in Somerville received teddy bears from Johnson & Johnson employees as part of the workplace's mission to "give back to the community."

Aug. 28: Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano said a grand jury returned an indictment charging Pablo Hernandez-Garcia, 26, and Luis Carreon, 24, both of the Somerset section of Franklin Township, with attempted murder in a Thursday, July 11, 2013, shooting in the township.

Aug. 29: It was reported a possible trial date was on the horizon for Rocky DiTaranto, a Bridgewater murder suspect who had been sitting in jail for four years. A trial date would be set at a pre-trial conference on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013.

Aug. 29: Hip-hop legends Salt-N-Pepa performed at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

Sept. 1: The entire family of Carlo's Bakery, better known as the home of "Cake Boss," the popular TLC television show, was on hand to help open its third location ― Carlo's Bakery Westfield.

Sept. 2: Paul James was named starting running back as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights prepared to host Norfolk State in Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013's home opener.

1998

Aug. 28, 1998: Toms River received its first berth in the Little League World Series final on Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998, when Scott Fisher doubled in a run in the top of the first and Gabe Gardner followed with a two-run home run on the way to a 5-2 victory over Greenville, N.C., it was reported.

Aug. 29-30: The "Alive and Well" hard-core music festival was held on Saturday, Aug. 29, 1998, at the Asbury Park Convention Hall and on Sunday, Aug. 30, 1998, at the Stone Pony, both in Asbury Park.

Aug. 30: It was reported the cost of home heating oil was the lowest it had been in New Jersey in 10 years, and gasoline prices were at a nine-year low, according to industry spokesmen.

Aug. 31: It took firefighters nearly two hours to douse a toxic fire at Atlantic Spring, a spring-manufacturing plant, in Raritan Township.

Sept. 1: According to the Northeast-Midwest Institute, New Jersey had the second-worst return on the money it sends to Washington. N.J. residents paid $64 billion in federal taxes in fiscal year 1997, or $7,944 per person.

1973

Aug. 28, 1973: Nancy Lewis claimed three titles when the Warrenbrook Ladies' 18-hole golf group held its last meeting of the season. She won the President's Cup Tournament with a net 218 for the 54-hole event, and finished as the Class A low gross seasonal leader with an 81. She also combined with Myk Hungerford and Clarissa Beerbower to win the event of the day.

Aug. 29: Police in Pennsylvania revealed John Krasner, 48, owner of the controversial Adult Gift Shoppe in Green Brook, along with his wife and a son, were the targets of a murder plot, it was reported.

Aug. 29: Michigan Gov. William Milliken pulled Carlton Miller and his wife of Jamesburg from Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Michigan, after their boat capsized.

Aug. 29: The Allman Brothers Band canceled its Friday, Aug. 31, 1973, concert in Jersey City after drummer Claude Butch Trucks was injured in a traffic accident over the weekend.

Aug. 31: Sharks were sighted in the Atlantic Ocean off Ocean County and beach officials in Point Pleasant Beach and at other locations were warned of danger to bathers.

Sept. 2: It was reported the lines of the Middlesex County Sewerage Authority, built in the 1950s to handle needs into the next century, were rapidly filling up. The cause was a growth in Middlesex County and neighboring parts of Somerset and Union counties far in excess of that predicted by the authority when it opened the trunk sewer in 1958.

1923

Aug. 28, 1923: Becoming frightened by a passing train while being driven under the Pennsylvania Railroad arch at the intersection of George and Somerset streets in New Brunswick, a horse owned by Joseph Gray of New Brunswick and attached to a light rig, started on a mad dash down George Street and was not brought to a standstill until Throop Avenue was reached.

Aug. 29-30: "All the Brothers Were Valiant," a film version of the story of the same name by Ben Ames Williams, was shown at Reade's Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.

Aug. 30: A night of rioting and disorder grew out of an attempt by the Ku Klux Klan to hold a meeting in Odd Fellows Hall in Perth Amboy.

Aug. 30: In Plainfield, Probasco's horseshoe pitching team continued its winning streak by defeating the First Presbyterian outfit four out of five matches.

Sept. 3: Joseph P. Marren of Dunellen was killed while driving his car along South Street in Dunellen. He noticed several children playing on the thoroughfare and turned his car sharply to avoid hitting them. The vehicle plunged over a small embankment and overturned.

Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: This week in NJ history, Aug. 28-Sept. 3