That historic house on Avenue D recently in the news because of a donation being made to the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society also had another era of historic significance in its background, one that is especially important and appreciated by the local volunteer fire department. It was the home of  famed actor Robert Mantell.

According to “From Indian Trail to Electric Rail,” the hose was built by Capt. James H. Leonard and his wife, Emma T. Leonard in the early 1800s, the house was most recently the St. Agnes Thrift Shop, is now closed and part of the property belonging to the Catholic diocese of Trenton which is negotiating the sale of the tract that includes both the closed Mother Teresa School and the Thrift Shop. Other records indicate Robert Mantell built the house in 1856.

Either way,  at the turn of the 20^th century, it was home to Mantell, a famed Shakespearean actor, and his equally talented fourth wife, Genevieve Hamper, who was 35 years his junior. She was also known as a most gracious hostess for parties and gatherings at the Mantell home.

Mantell had an interesting childhood and personal life. Born in Scotland, his family moved to Ireland for business reasons when he was young. Not an enthusiast of either discipline or education, he was dismissed from five schools before finally being educated at a seminary.  His mother was aghast at his desire to be an actor, and only agreed when he changed his last name to avoid her ‘embarrassment.’  He was married four times and had children by three of his four wives.

Mantell, also know as a dramatist, purchased the home from the Leonard family and had a touring company of Shakespearean actors who traveled as much 10,000 miles a year bringing voices of heralded actors and the lines of the Stratford on Avon Bard into theaters both here and in Canada. Summers, the entire troupe…and there were 35 of them, spent at the Mantell home, practicing their lines and rehearsing their roles for their next tour.

While they summered here, the troupe also became a vital part of the community. They were welcomed by the friendly folks who live here year round, people who were rather in awe of the talent around them. But it was Mantell himself who tuned out to be the hero.

The town had organized its first fire company in 1882, and shortly after, the following year, formed a second company. Both were officially declared a department by 1894.

The equipment had the finest equipment of any in the area for a community of its size albeit before all that motorized equipment.

So by 1911, with a need for more modern equipment, the town realized it simply did not have the money to purchase what was needed. It was Mantell who suggested that his troupe while summering here stage a fundraising Shakespearean play as the perfect way to raise funds for a fire truck fund.

At the time, there were two theaters in Atlantic Highlands, both in the center of town. The Majestic was on First Avenue, the other, the Lyric, was an open air entertainment center that backed up to the Majestic Theater, so playgoers had access to culture and entertainment rain or shine.

It was summer, 1911 when the Lyric was filled to capacity, standing room only, and Fritz Leiber and the rest of the Shakespearean troupe brought MacBeth alive to the Atlantic Highlands outdoor stage.  Lieber was recognized as the greatest voice of the day, and had the capability of projecting his voice to the rafters long before the days of microphones and amplifiers.

The entire troupe, all staying at Mantell’s House, which was known as Brucewood, contributed all their talent so the borough could have a motorized fire truck.  Genevieve Hamper, Mantell’s wife, brought down the house with her portrayal of Lady MacBeth and people came from throughout the area to view what then became the full dress rehearsal for the Shakespearean troupe’s winter touring program.  The play was termed “a cultural and financial success.”

That is why, the Grand View Hose Company, which had been formed in 1893, changed its name officially to the Robert Mantell Company on Oct. 16, 1911.

Mantell died in Atlantic Highlands on June 27, 1928.

Rosemary Calandrillo would be 81 years old this month if she had not been murdered some time on or near Aug. 25, 1969.

The family grieved, the town grieved, the students at Henry Hudson grieved.

What made matters even more horrific and difficult for everyone to accept, was that Rosemary Calendriello’s body has never been found. So there was no funeral, no grieving over a young body gone too soon, no burial place to visit, no place to grieve since no one even knows to this very day where she was murdered.

There is one person and one result which gave this borough and the Calandriello family at least a bit of solace in this tragic deed: Samuel Guzzi and the distinction that through his dedication, hard work, and perseverance, this was the first time that a person was found guilty of murder without a body ever being found.

The murderer, Robert Zarinsky, spent  about 33 years of a life sentence in prison before he died there  Nov. 28, 2008 from pulmonary problems.

But this story is not about Zarinsky, it is about the policeman, who later became Chief of Police, the dogged investigator who never gave up.

Sam Guzzi was born in Long Branch and spent all his life in Atlantic Highlands. In 1944, he joined the Army, went to Fort Dix, then Sheppard Field in Texas, then to the Philippine Islands then to Japan. He was discharged more than a year after the end of the war, having attained the rank of Sergeant.

Eight years later, in May 1954, Sam Guzzi became a police officer on the local department. Thirteen years later he was promoted to Sergeant and was assigned to the investigative force as a plainclothesman.

Sam Guzzi, far left, as a patrolman in the 1960s with Atlantic Highlands auxiliary police officers

Five years after that he was a Captain and five years later, headed the department as Chief, following in the footsteps of another outstanding Police Chief and neighbor, James Egidio.

Sam served in that position for ten years, until he retired and immediately went back to serve the public as an agent with the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office. He served another 18 years in that position before retiring in 2008. Five years later, on July 11, 2013, Sam died.

But Sam Guzzi never thought  he did anything spectacular. He always thought he was just doing his job. He didn’t believe in leaving a job until it was finished. And while he always felt a sense of loss he could never return her body to her family, Investigator Sam Guzzi did bring justice and a sense of accomplishment in having Zarinsky pay at least ten years for this crime.

Sam was on duty the night of Aug. 25, 1969, when Rosemary’s mother  Agnes came into police headquarters and told Det . Sgt. Guzzi that Rosemary, her 17 year old daughter, was missing. Rosemary had walked down the street from her home on Center Ave. to the deli a couple of blocks away about 6 in the evening. Unusual in such a small close knit town, for a missing daughter’s report, especially since Rosemary was a quiet girl, obedient to her parents and a great help especially since her dad was ill.

It didn’t take Sam long to investigate and come up with his starting information. By morning, some boys who knew Rosemary from the neighborhood and from school told Sgt. Guzzi they saw Rosemary in a car with a stranger, even a more rare situation for a youngster taught never to go with strangers. The boys were so surprised by what they saw they even followed the car a while, enough to be able to give a description to Sam. The investigation began and many different clues led Sam to Robert Zarinsky, a grocer in Linden, and a man with a less than perfect criminal history. He was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, since Sam also learned he reportedly had offered alcohol to two underage girls he had stopped on another street on another day.

All of this led to further investigations and further hints. Zarinsky was seen washing the trunk of his car, one that resembled the one the boys had said they had seen Rosemary in. That’s when the Police found the window and door handles on the passenger side of the front passenger side door were missing.

One of Rosemary’s hair clips was on the floor, and a piece of lingerie similar to Rosemary’s was on the back floor. There was also a hammer there, with a bloodstained hair stuck to it.

The boys identified Zarinsky as the man in the car with Rosemary.

Zarinsky was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but he beat that charge on appeal later and was released. The hair in the car was not Rosemary’s, but did belong to another teenager whose body was found in the Raritan River. She had been strangled with an electrical card.

Sam learned more, investigated further and was convinced Zarinsky was a serial killer. That strengthened his determination to find him, try him, have him pay for his crimes and prevent  any further crimes. Towards that end, Sam worked day and night, following up on every tip, researching every clue, getting proof of everything he presented to the prosecutor. Once he felt convinced that even though Rosemary’s body was never found, he was positive he could convince a jury Zarinsky was the murderer.

The prosecutor disagreed and now Sam felt he had still another chore; he had to convince the prosecutor the matter should go to court.

It took five years and a new prosecutor was named, John Mullaney was the assistance prosecutor, Malcolm Carton was the first assistant, and Guzzi convinced them all.

Zarinsky went to trial. He was found guilty and convicted of Rosemary’s death on April 24, 1975, and sentenced to life behind bars. It had never happened before,   a murder could be proved, the murderer convicted with no body  ever found.

Even all of that was not enough. Sam Guzzi continued to follow every lead as to where Rosemary’s body may be for the next decade.

Nor did Zarinsky let up on Guzzi.  He was also a suspect in the disappearance and deaths of at least half a dozen other young women.  He sent a letter to the retired Guzzi in 1994 saying he would be of immeasurable value to law enforcement. A few years later, he wrote him again, when he was a suspect in a 1958 murder, this time of a Rahway police officer. And bragged he could solve at least five, probably ten homicides.

Then in 1988, after denying for years he had anything to do with Rosemary, he said he accidentally backed his car up over her and buried her in a shallow gave someplace in north Jersey. He changed that story later, and said he threw her body into the ocean. He was up for parole at the time and hoped admissions could benefit his cause. They did not.

Then there were two more girls murdered in Woodbridge, both strangled with an electrical cord. Insufficient evidence to convict on any of those murders, the prosecutor said.

There was not enough evidence to prosecute in any of the cases.

That police officer shooting? Zarinsky was acquitted of that one as well.  And while in prison in 2008, Zarinsky was accused of yet another murder, this one  of a 13 year girl who had been raped, beaten and strangled back in 1968. But the murderer died while awaiting trial on that charge.

Sam Guzzi worked hard for decades and kept a serial killer from killing even more young girls, police officers or anyone else.

He’s a part of New Jersey investigative history. And in Atlantic Highlands, Police Chief Samuel Guzzi is truly a legend.