Lurline Drive was accepted as a street by Bernards Township in 1962 and is a lasting memorial to Lurline Eberhardt (1925-1948), a young equestrian who tragically lost her life. Lurline was the daughter of Paul W. Eberhardt and Lurline Belk. Her father was a vice president of Walter Kidde & Co., which manufactured fire extinguishers, and was also a trustee of Bonnie Brae Farm. The family owned a summer home called Rippling Brook Farm off Valley Road in Liberty Corner.
On June 26, 1948, Lurline and her fiancé, Frank W. Keebler, Jr., of Bayonne, started off to hunt groundhogs with a .22 rifle. Keebler stopped to load the gun and it went off–the bullet striking Lurline in the head. She died 20 minutes later. The county physician ruled the death accidental, and no charges were filed.
The Rev. George R. Cox, pastor of the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church led a funeral service at the Gallaway Funeral Home in Basking Ridge. Lurline was buried in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains. When the Eberhardt farm was sold for development, Mr. Eberhardt requested that a street be named to honor his daughter.
Lurline’s fiancé, Frank W. Keebler, Jr., went on to graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY; married; and died in 2018 at age 94.
Was Paul Eberhardt related to the Bernardsville Eberhardt family on Olcott Avenue?
Hi Dan, Not sure. Paul W. Eberhardt (c.1896-1974) came from around Pittsburgh. Before moving to Liberty Corner, he lived in Short Hills.
Then he wasn’t directly related.
The Ulrich Eberhardt family (son also named Paul) came from Newark.
They might have been cousins?
Hi Dan, Paul W. Eberhardt (c.1896-1974) was apparently the son of George L. and Ella Eberhardt (see 1900 Census, Blair Twp, Blair Co., PA.). Hope that gets you closer to proving a link?