Our People of the Century Dick and Betty Ells: Their Idea for Disabled Resonated in City

In many parts of the greater Cumberland County area, it would not seem like Christmas without the Tiny Tim carolers.

If not for the efforts of Dick and Betty Ells, there would never have been a Tiny Tim fund in the first place.

Originally known as The Patty Myers fund, the carolers were organized in 1946 by Betty Ells of Vineland. Nearly $600 was raised to provide heart surgery for a 6-year-old child whom Ells referred to as “Vineland’s own ‘Tiny Tim’.”

Carolers have been out every year since, including this year. In 1998, about $8,500 was raised for needy families who couldn’t afford medical care.

“Every year it gets bigger and bigger,” said Ells in the late 1970s. “It just snowballed.”

Both Ells and her husband, Dick, managed the event for the first 33 years.

Dick Ells, who died in 1988, was also credited for helping to found Seabrook House, a rehabilitation center for substance addictions.

With a federal grant, hard work and assistance from some area congressmen, Ells helped the facility in the old Seabrook mansion become a reality in 1977.