Some 20 years ago I was having coffee with a young lawyer named Joe Wenzel. He was a candidate for the Board of Education and had visited my worldwide headquarters—then on the second floor in a circa-1960s office complex of the Styertowne Shopping Center. This magazine was then five years in the making, and just beginning to get noticed thanks to good writing. Jack DeVries was already part of the team. Thanks to our Aunt Sarah Lombardo who introduced us, Jack chased down Mustangs sports legends and helped make them part of our history. Features on George Telesh, Billy DeGraaf, Dutch Hoogstraten and Coaches Grecco and Vander Closter graced our covers. As a US Navy veteran, and a relative newcomer to Clifton, I wrote about our city’s “Greatest Generation” and how those who saw action in Viet Nam went to serve our nation. Then we focused on their kids as that next generation of Cliftonites attended our schools, became Mustangs and went to work in our community. Joe Wenzel gave me a gift that day in 1999, special words and an unofficial title that has guided me since. He said, “You’re’ Clifton’s Storyteller.’”
As we profile jobs this issue, I proudly say that I love mine. I get to tell stories about our hometown and profile the people who live here—the passionate, opinionated, hardworking, patriotic, eccentric and salt-of-theearth individuals who call themselves Cliftonites. This is our city. In these pages are our stories. I’ve been lucky enough to tell them for two-and-a-half decades and hopefully many more years to come. As editor & publisher, my job is not always sunshine and rainbows. Like all Cliftonites, I deal with challenges on the job, personal issues and constant deadlines. But like all Cliftonites, I get through it. Every month, we make it to press, telling your stories again and again. Clifton’s Storyteller: I’ll take that job.
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Some people go to work and make a pitch in a large conference room. The 9-to-5 for Charles Nouhan Jr. is a little different. Like many of us, he too is a “salesperson.” However, when he makes his pitch, it is at the U.N. and to representatives from around the world who, like Nouhan, have a vested interest in local and global environmental issues. While Nouhan grew up and attended public schools in Clifton, he lived in the United Kingdom for 20 years, returning to the U.S. in 2018. He currently serves as the New York representative to the United Nations for Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future. The Stakeholder Forum works alongside the U.N. in support of their work. But Nouhan’s work at the U.N. is not his first time as a representative within the world body. He has represented various causes and attended meetings at the U.N. for at least two decades, including the years he lived in the U.K. Yet the novelty still hasn’t worn off. “I still pinch myself every time I go into that building,” Nouhan, 64, said of his work at the landmark on Turtle Bay, “and consider how fortunate I am to be part of something as meaningful as that.”
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Early Passion “As a kid, the idea of doing right by the natural environment... appealed to me,” said Nouhan. “So, to now think that I now have the opportunity to do work that could provide a benefit [gets me up in the morning].” “That, and a strong cup of coffee,” he added, dryly. As Nouhan discusses that long-time passion, he sits at his dining room table of his Clifton home with a NASA mug in front of him. Several inches away sits another mug with the words ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ and the U.N. symbol above it.
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“Sustainability is about equality, it’s about access to safe places to live... it’s about fresh water, sanitation... it’s about economic development that doesn’t harm the environment.” Small items like that are a constant reminder of where he is today, but also how his later work was shaped by his early years and core values. He recalled seeing an anti-littering TV commercial during his childhood in the 1970s. The public service announcement was a famous one—“Keep America Beautiful” where Iron Eyes Cody portrays a Native American man shedding a tear about litter and the country’s pollution. That really inspired me as a kid to think about keeping the planet clean and the value of the environment,” said Nouhan. “That’s my earliest memory of getting connected to having an interest in environmental matters.” The interest has stayed with the CHS Class of 1974 and Columbia University grad throughout his life, even while he pursued other careers, first as a social worker and later as a real estate broker. It was during that time that environmental work got his attention as a profession. At the time, he said, New Jersey required that real estate buyers and sellers look at the implications of lead paint, asbestos, underground oil tanks, and overhead power lines, and how these things could potentially affect the value of property. “The issue, of course, was not just the value of the real estate, but how did it affect the well-being of the people who live nearby,” Nouhan said. Then, when the opportunity came for him to move to London, he took that as a time to make a career change.
He received a second master’s degree in environmental management at Montclair State University and after a period of planning with his then wife, the couple moved to the U.K. with their sons Sebastian and Benjamin in January 1998. During his 20-year career in the U.K., he worked briefly on projects for the Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum and then as a Recycling and Commercial manager for Sevenoaks, Kent. One project he is now a part of with the Stakeholder Forum is the Global Partnership for Ocean Wave Energy Technology. The Stakeholder Forum is partnered with Martin & Ottaway, a New Jersey based company, on the project and Nouhan is required to implement some of
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his favorite skills—stratedrink the water,” said Nougic thinking, creativity, and han. Whether we are here “Whether we are here in science. in New Jersey or anywhere And, of course, one else in the world, we’re all New Jersey or anywhere else would think a little bit of in the same fragile rock.” salesmanship. “We inhabit the earth in the world, we’re all in The work he does with with so many other species. the same fragile rock.” the Stakeholder Forum is It’s their planet as well as remote, which also impleours,” he added. ments certain values. “The organization has chosen to not have an office so Whole of Society that we have no carbon footprint,” Nouhan explained. Nouhan is not disillusioned—he is aware of the mis“We each have our own carbon footprint of our home, conceptions around sustainability. One of those misbut we don’t have another carbon footprint where we conceptions, he said, is the belief that it is only about go to work.” the environment. However, there are days when he travels into the city “It’s about the whole of society,” he said. “Sustainto attend U.N. meetings. ability is about equality, it’s about access to safe placRecently, he spent two days at a preparatory meeting es to live... it’s about fresh water, sanitation, it’s about regarding the 2020 United Nations Ocean Conference, food security, it’s about resources security. which will be convene in Lisbon, Portugal, in June. “It’s about economic development that doesn’t harm Governments and other representatives spent the two the environment.” days determining the topics of the conference, who will The work he does with the Stakeholder Forum takes be involved, and trying to decide what actions might be these ideas into consideration, particularly with their taken after the conference. project to capture ocean wave energy. When it comes It is a lot of preparatory work, but all with the intento island states, he said, if the technology is deployed, tion of making life on earth sustainable for all people, it “would create high-tech manufacturing jobs in those as well as all other species. communities.” “We all share the earth, we all breathe the same air, Extra electricity, in turn, could be used to desalinate sea water in a “completely non-emissions way because... most sea water is desalinated by using methane or other forms of fossil fuels,” Nouhan explained. It is a complex job, but it is one he is more than prepared for since he enjoys a challenge. Still, he said he keeps in mind what the boy who saw the “Keep America Beautiful” PSA would say if he could see his future. “My [younger] self would say, ‘Don’t forget to have some fun!’”
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Cliftonmagazine.com • March 2020
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When Edward MacDonald sees a smile on newlyweds’ faces, it brings him a special kind of joy. What makes the occasion even more special is when he officiates their wedding ceremony and oftentimes, knows at least one of the newlyweds. “I do it for the smiles on their faces,” said MacDonald, 63. “It’s a rewarding experience.” Although his day job is a recruiter for R+L Carriers, MacDonald became a wedding officiant in 2011. By the end of the year, he “will be up to 29 people” and most often weds those he knows. Two weddings in particular that were special were those of his sons Jeremy (CHS ’00) and Rory (CHS ’04). MacDonald (CHS ’74) officiated Rory’s wedding to his bride Brigita in November 2014 and then Jeremy’s wedding to his bride Tamra in July 2015. “As I’m talking to them, I block out the crowd and I speak to the groom and to the bride,” said MacDonald, “and I’m telling them the words that I’m feeling, and it chokes me up… only for them did I get choked up. “How many ministers go to the bachelor’s party?” MacDonald added humorously, before turning reflective. “I’m spending their last single time with them before they’re wed, and it was just wonderful. That’s the best word I can say—wonderful to be able to marry your own family.” His desire to become ordained was inspired in part by Father Richard Rento but also the broader community of St. Brendan’s Church. One of MacDonald’s neighbors asked if he ever considered becoming ordained because she wanted him to marry her and her fiancé in the church.
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Given his curiosity of the process, he did his research and received his minister certification. Today, his ceremonies generally take about 19-26 minutes and it is customized to each couple’s wishes. There are options for the types of ceremonies he will perform, but MacDonald’s favorite is one he referred to as “the hand ceremony” because there are no additional items. “The couple’s first gift to each other is themselves,” said MacDonald. “Hands that are going to hold a newborn child, hands that they are going to hold when they’re young and old and aged, hands that are going to hold them and protect them during the stormiest night... [and] while they’re walking down the beach on the most beautiful day they’ve ever seen. “As I explain it to them, there’s so many different reasons for your hands to be held during your married life that mean so much more than [simply] holding hands.” What makes officiating special, though, is finding a couple that is in love and talking to them. He recalled the apparent hesitance of two neighbors, who were a samesex couple, when they asked if he would marry them. His response was simple: “Love is love. When you fall in love and find the right person, no matter who they may be, I’m your man.”
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David and Karen Smith are continuing in the family business. That business would be education as David’s parents are both teachers, as well as Karen’s mom. David (CHS ’05) is a special education middle school teacher for at-risk students at Essex Valley School in West Caldwell. His students come from school districts around North Jersey (Passaic, Newark, Jersey City, etc.), and most are classified as emotionally disturbed. “I’ve been working at Essex Valley School for nine years,” David said. “I love my job because every day is completely different. I also enjoy the challenge of working with students who have been, for a lack of better words, given up on.” He acknowledges those challenges can be tough. “Some students come from rough neighborhoods,” David said, “and I try to make a difference in their lives and show there is more to this world than the gangs and negative behaviors that they see.”
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Karen (CHS ’06), a project specialist for the New Jersey Center for Quality Ratings (NJCQR) at William Paterson University, also works in the classroom. She visits various programs seeking evaluation through GrowNJKids Star Rating program, looking to improve early and school-age care and education quality. “The NJCQR, she said, “is responsible for documentation review, as well as classroom observations to provide a star-level rating.” Like David, she believes in her work. “I’ve been a project specialist for three years,” Karen said, “and love what I do. The early school years are the most important when shaping the young minds of children, and high quality preschool programs encourage learning for children and families.” While both grew up in Clifton—David on Harrington Rd. and Karen on Clifton Ave.—the couple met at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. They married on Oct. 5, 2018, and now live in an apartment near School 3. As a working couple, housework is split evenly. They also like to cook together during the week as their schedules are the same. In addition, David helps supplement the couple’s income by bartending part-time at the iconic Clifton institution, The Clif. “Weekends are when we can get most of the housework done,” said Karen. “We also like to walk our dog, a black lab named Lou, together and as much as possible.”
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For Chris Opperman, music is an integral part of his life that he loves sharing with his daughter. The CHS ’96 grad is a composer, arranger, and a music professor at Montclair State University, and learned much in Clifton through the band and choir. “I want my daughter to grow up loving music and being interested in music,” said Opperman, 41. “I hope she’ll grow up wanting to be in the Community Band with me.” To his joy, Ursula, 4, is already expressing a keen interest.
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“She writes her own songs on the piano,” he said, “[and] she has a pink drum set and wants to play on that almost every day. “When she would cry, I would show her drumming videos and she would stop crying and get intent.” Opperman’s passion for music started early in life and he characterizes the journey as non-linear. Throughout his years as a musician, he acknowledges that “I’ve been extremely lucky.” He also credits those who inspired him during those early years, including Robert Morgan, the former
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Chris Opperman Mustang Marching Band director and current director of the Clifton Community Band; the CHS Choir’s Barbara Novak, and his piano teacher Gene Favatella. “Mr. Morgan’s work ethic is legendary and... Ms. Novak was always really encouraging about being a composer,” said Opperman. “Gene was an expert in 20th century classical music... [and encouraged] exploring more avant-garde options.” Today, Opperman strives to offer similar encouragement to his own students. He has spent 10 years as a pro-
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fessor and has seen some former MSU students become Clifton music teachers, including Autumn D’Esposito and Michelle Krayer. The most exciting part of the job for him is learning about students’ new projects. “I know what I’m going to say and questions they’re going to ask,” said Opperman. “I don’t know what I’m going to hear that day with their music.” As for his own projects, he is working on a new album that he composed called Chamber Music from Hell, which was inspired by Frank Zappa’s Jazz from Hell. Along with other featured performers, Opperman is on the piano and the album includes realistic-sounding computerized instruments. Meanwhile, he is also working on Undertale LIVE, which is a concert series and album of music from the video game Undertale, and he is involved with the music process behind The Animist, an upcoming Nintendo Switch game, where he will possibly work on music for location themes. Advice he has for someone with similar career goals? “Sticking with it is the most important thing. If you stick with it, you’ll get better opportunities, you’ll get better skills,” said Opperman. “At the end of the day, you want to be appreciative of the audience you have.”
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Father Richie Shackil believes God has put him in the right place. Shackil’s journey to faith began with family. It continued through his time as an altar boy at Sacred Heart Armenian Catholic Church in South Paterson, now located on Long Hill Rd. in Little Falls. And it took shape after he became a lawyer, married his wife and raised six children. It began as a whisper. “About 15 years ago,” said Shackil, speaking in his Dumont Ave. home in Clifton, “I got a calling to go to daily Mass. Where this call came from, I don’t know.”
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“Becoming a priest is a gift, it’s a grace. It’s nothing that I deserve. This grace—I have to give it away. If you’re not giving it away, it’ll die and doesn’t mean anything. And the more you give it away, the more it comes. It’s almost like a fountain. That’s what I’m experiencing.”
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Then working as a Paterson attorney, Shackil found a daily noon Mass near his office at St. Joseph’s Hospital chapel. The whisper grew louder. “Celebrating every day,” he said, “hearing the Scriptures, going through the church’s seasons—Lent, Christmas, Easter, different celebrations year after year—had an impact. I began believing I was being called to do something more than just attend Mass... to take a greater role in the church.” People say God works in mysterious ways. While not exactly mysterious, it seemed events were pushing Shackil in a new direction. In 2011, Bishop Mikael Mouradian became head of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg in the U.S. and Canada, of which Shackil is a member. The eparchy, one of the independent Eastern Catholic Churches, accepts the leadership of the Pope in Rome. “He was dynamic,” Shackil said about Bishop
Mouradian. “He would visit churches regularly, and I got to know him.” Mouradian encouraged the attorney to follow his call. Shackil was soon ordained as a sub-deacon, then a deacon. Much study on nights and weekends fol-
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From left front: Andrew and Laura Shackil with Layla, Jacqueline, Noah, Margueritte and Richard, Michelle, Daniel. At rear are Joseph and Lindsay Shackil, as well as Anthony.
lowed. He spent three years earning a master’s in theolShackil pondered the priest’s words and decided to ogy from Seton Hall University’s Immaculate Concepmove forward. tion Seminary School of Theology. “He was right. I’d always say, ‘Me, a priest? I’m a “It was a study of love,” he said. “I still enjoy reading sinner. I don’t know if I’m qualified.’ But what I found church documents, spiritual was that God qualified me.” writers, books on theoloOn Oct. 29, 2017, Fagy—it’s like a never-ending ther Richard Shackil was education.” ordained a priest at Sacred “The whole world is in Paterson Through this time of inHeart Armenian Catholic tense preparation, Shackil Church in Little Falls and and Clifton. All different backcredited his family for their assigned to work there as grounds, ethnicities and faiths. support, especially wife an assistant pastor under Margueritte. Pastor George Kalosieh, a “She was always encouraging,” he said, “never disdistant cousin of Shackil’s mother. couraging. My kids? Think about it—you’re a teenager “People call me, ‘Father Richie,’” he said. and your dad’s studying to be a priest. They might have had reservations, but never expressed them to me. I was Extended Family a teenager once, so I know how it probably was.” Shackil learned about his church from studying and Shackil also looked deep within himself and to depracticing his faith, but he learned about life from othcide if becoming a priest was truly his path. ers. “I once heard a newly-ordained priest talk about his He grew up in Paterson—the grandson of Syrian journey,” he remembered. “He said: ‘God doesn’t call immigrants who came to the U.S. from Aleppo in the the qualified, God qualifies the called.’” 1920s. While many Syrians came to Paterson to
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work in the silk industry, Shackil’s grandfathers had different jobs—one was a barber, the other a grocer. “Down Grand and Mill Streets where they lived,” Shackil said, “that was like Little Syria.” Shackil’s parents, Joseph and Violet (Kalosieh), met, married and raised five children. Along with Richie, they included brothers Joseph and George, and sisters Barbara and Lorraine. The family lived on Grove St. in Paterson, behind St. George’s Catholic Church. “My father was an insurance salesman with Metropolitan Life Insurance,” said Shackil, adding his dad worked with well-known Cliftonite, the late Jim Haraka. “My mother was a homemaker. She didn’t have a job until she worked in my law office. I called her my administrator.” Shackil attended School 9 and later Kennedy High School. His family was part of Sacred Heart Armenian Catholic Church, then located on Barclay St. in Paterson, where he was an altar boy, then a lector. “I liked wearing the vestments as an altar boy,” he said, “that was an attraction, as was being an important part of the celebration. But what I remember most were the kids who I grew up with... and the elders.” One of those elders was his parish priest for 25 In 1998, we profiled the Shackil family as part of our “Many Facyears, Elias Boustany. es, One Family” project. From top left is Daniel, Andrew, Anthony “He had an impact on me, a very bright guy,” mom Margueritte, Jacqueline, Richard, Michelle and Joseph. said Shackil. “Besides being a priest, he studied Canon law and was open-minded.” Shackil’s church community was also an exfrom store owners Roman and Mina Borden were even tended family, a parade of relatives. more valuable. “We refer to each other as ‘cousin,’” Shackil said. “They were Polish-Jewish and survivors of the Ho“When people come to the church visiting, we start to locaust,” Shackil said. “Roman ran the whole operaintroduce them and say, ‘This is my cousin, he is my tion. He was a warehouse/distributor for local grocery cousin, she is my cousin…’ They’ll stop me and ask, stores.” ‘How many cousins do you have?’” By day, the Bordens and Shackil would fill customer requests; by night, Roman would drive around and take the orders. Life Lessons “He probably worked 13-14 hours each day,” ShackWhile Shackil liked playing sports and participating il remembered. “Later in life, I appreciated what he did in his high school Key Club, much of his time as a teeneven more. Just to see his work ethic—not necessarily ager was spent working after school at Borden Drug, what he said, just the way he was… the discipline, the located on Market St. in Paterson. hard work. He was a self-made man.” While the job provided income, the lessons learned
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Roman or Mina Borden never spoke of their experience during WWII, but there was one time when Shackil learned it was always there, just below the surface. On a snowy night, Mina asked Richie to bring the car around for Roman’s daily order-taking trip as she would be driving. When Shackil asked why, Mina said, “He can’t drive in the snow. When he sees the white blanketing the ground, it reminds him of the camp in Poland.” “To go through that experience,” Shackil said, “from living in a concentration camp in Warsaw to getting a second chance at life—they made the most of it. Roman was a mentor. Both he and Mina made a big impact on me.” Another big influence was
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Father Richie and niece Victoria following his baptizing and confirming the infant while a deacon in 2016.
Shackil’s father. After studying history and economics at Rutgers-Newark, upon graduation, Rich planned to become a college professor. His father steered him to law. “My dad asked,” Shackil recalled, “‘How many openings in the history department at a university are there?’” He chose instead to attend law school at Rutgers in Camden. “That first day,” Shackil said, “I remember sitting in the middle of the apartment crying. I was 22 or 23. I’d go back home on weekends—I was very attached to my family. I was probably homesick the first two-three months.” After graduation, Shackil would find much to make him smile.
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Falling in Love After finishing law school and while waiting for his bar exam results, Shackil spotted Margueritte at St. Anne’s Church in West Paterson (now Woodland Park) in October 1983. He kicked himself for not talking to her. At the next St. Anne’s social event, he asked her to dance. “That night,” he said, “I said to myself, ‘I’m going to marry that girl.’” After winning her family’s approval—including visiting them that November in Damascus, Syria—they married in August 1984. The newlyweds moved into the top of the two-family home where Shackil grew up. Three years later, they bought their own house on Dumont Ave. in Clifton. Children arrived during the next 10 years—starting with Joseph in 1985 and followed by Andrew, Anthony, Daniel, Michelle and Jackie. Shackil became an attorney in the City of Paterson’s Legal Department. Two years later, he took over the law office of George Hajjar, whom he knew from church. Ironically, Hajjar had wanted to become a priest in his youth, but instead became a lawyer. After six months, Shackil moved his office to 1113 Main St. in south Paterson, about three blocks from where he grew up. “I enjoyed law,” Shackil said. “I enjoyed advising, counseling people. I didn’t enjoy the conflict. Inevitably, there’s going to be conflict because you’re representing different parties who have conflicting interests. “What I liked about law was teaching people—‘This is the way the law applies to your facts.’ As I got older, I realized litigation is like war, and no one wins a war. It’s also expensive. I always encouraged people to settle. Very rarely is there black and white; most disputes lie in the middle—the gray area.” Shackil described his business as “mom and pop” operation, a high-volume practice that specialized in real estate law. His clients were mostly blue collar people, often immigrants. “If you ask me the highlight of my career,” he said, “it was working with people. No particular case stands out. I also enjoyed the diversity, working with different people of different faiths. “The majority of my clients were Muslim, about 60-70 percent. They knew I was a Christian but we had no problem with one another.”
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Whisper to a Roar After being ordained, Shackil gave his law practice to son Joseph, now an attorney. Today, he works only as a priest, ministering to parishioners and others, and leading his church’s youth group. Sitting in his home near a wood-carved statue of St. Anthony (a gift for helping move the bishop from Brooklyn to New Jersey), Shackil discusses his new life and reflects on his faith. He speaks of the need to nurture young believers, comparing them to helping a young tree grow strong. He also discusses the influence of religion on the music of Bruce Springsteen and his own ministry with the sick. In another room, his grandson sleeps. Father Richie is charged with watching him on Friday mornings. Alvin, his massive but gentle German Shepherd, walks through the room before heading for a nap. Ironically, Shackil’s new ministry has led him back to his old neighborhood. Mornings, he visits patients at St. Joseph’s Healthcare and Rehab Center in Cedar Grove; afternoons, he visits the sick at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, near his boyhood church.
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whisper
IT BEGAN
He was approved as St. Joe’s chaplain by Bishop Arthur Seratelli of the Paterson Diocese. “I’m assigned one of the floors each day,” Shackil said. “I go around to various people and see what their spiritual needs are. I have a chart with their names and ages. You go from room-to-room—almost like cold canvassing. “Most people are very receptive. We anoint the sick and pray with them. You’re catching people at a very vulnerable point in their lives—they’re afraid, they’re in the hospital.” Shackil said his work is all about trust. “Don’t be afraid,” he tells them. “Trust—no matter what happens—just trust. At the end of the day, faith is trust. You trust God, that’s what it comes down to. I emphasize, just trust. “The most often used phrase in the Gospel is ‘Do not be afraid.’ Everything is going to be okay in the end. That’s the Resurrection. When Jesus says, ‘Your faith will save you,’ that’s what he means. “It doesn’t mean you’re not going to suffer; doesn’t mean you’re not going to experience bad times. But if you can walk around with that faith, that trust, it will save you.” Shackil knows his new income will be different. He doesn’t mind—his children are grown and he has important work to do. “Becoming a priest is a gift, it’s a grace,” he said. “It’s nothing that I deserve. This grace—I have to give it away. If you’re not giving it away, it’ll die and doesn’t mean anything. And the more you give it away, the more it comes. It’s almost like a fountain—that’s what I’m experiencing.”
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“
While Shackil had many mentors growing up in South Paterson, the owners of his first job at Borden Drug were memorable. “Both Roman and Mina made a big impact on me.” The neighborhood and people in South Paterson and Clifton will remains special to him. “The whole world is in Paterson and Clifton,” Shackil said, “all different backgrounds, ethnicities and faiths. Here, we can get any type of food, any type of music— all authentic, not corporate commercial.” People of different beliefs have also helped him along in his spiritual journey. “Growing up with and dealing with people of different faiths has strengthened my own faith,” Shackil said. “Being with people—Buddhists, Muslim, Hindu—I see their traditions and what they believe. It made me want to know more about my traditions and what I believe. “I thought, ‘I’m a Catholic. What does it mean to be a Catholic?’ It pushed me.” Referencing Springsteen’s Broadway play shown Netflix, Shackil said, “It all comes down to family, neighborhood and faith. “What does he do at the end of that play? Springsteen says the The Lord’s Prayer.”
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At Evergreen Manor, from left, Nina Pangaro, Jo Ann Bellini, Rosemary Giorgione, Michele Klapper and Carole Stell.
Jo Ann Bellini is used to helping people and, after 39 years in Passaic County law enforcement, the retired sargeant now finds value in volunteering. “Respect your elders and help your elders,” she said. And she means it. For a year and a half, Bellini has been giving rides to the residents of Evergreen Manor Apartments. “There was an elderly lady,” she explained, “who was having a problem bringing her groceries home. I could see that she was having trouble breathing. I gave her a ride, and she said, ‘You should talk to Michele and see if you can help out other people here.’” Michele Klapper, social worker and service coordinator at Evergreen Manor, called Bellini, “Your old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness do-gooder. “One day, Jo Ann showed up at the window and she said, ‘Hi, I’m not working now, and I just brought one of your tenants home from the supermarket. It occurred to me that there might be other people who would need rides.’ “You could’ve knocked me over with a feather. I said, ‘Absolutely, there are.’”
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“It’s something to do to get me out of the house,” Bellini said. But Klapper maintains that it’s more than that since transportation is one of the biggest issues of the elderly who can’t drive anymore. “There are public services,” she said, “but that involves a lot of waiting and scheduling on the phone. A lot of the residents are hard of hearing.” “It’s nothing formal,” said Bellini. “If they need a ride, Michele calls me.” Klapper assures that Bellini’s generosity is not misused. “There are 202 apartments in the building,” she said, “and there’d be someone who would take advantage, forgetting that she’s a volunteer and just call her for rides everywhere everyday.” What Bellini does is important. “The supermarkets deliver,” said Klapper, “but the medical appointments—and the residents have a lot of them—it could be life or death if they miss a bunch of appointments. They can’t afford a cab, and there’s a lot of residents whose kids are far away.”
Klapper added, “She doesn’t just drop them off. She provides companionship, walks them into the building. They might get confused about how to get from the lobby to the doctor’s office.” As if her driving volunteering wasn’t enough, Bellini also gives her time by working at bingo. “I saw that they didn’t have a bingo caller. I said, ‘Show me how to do it, and I’ll call bingo for free,’” she said. Bellini, who formerly lived on Main Ave. near Paterson, and in the Dutch Hill section, has lived in Athenia for close to 10 years. “I know people from one end of town to the other,” she said. Klapper said Bellini always finds a way to help. “She never says no.” But Bellini knows that her volunteering isn’t perfect. “Sometimes the appointments aren’t a good time for me, but I try to help as many of them as I can. “I’m gonna be a senior one day, too, and I’m gonna hope that someone will want to help me.”
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At Sheefa Pharmacy Mohammed Ramadan, Danny Jimenez, Lauren Murphy and Jabeen Ahmed.
A Clifton Merchant Magazine issue profiling great jobs wouldn’t be complete without featuring people who help others get employment. Take Lauren Murphy—current Clifton councilwoman and executive director at the Passaic County One Stop Career Center. “There’s a lot of payback in this field and it feels good,” said Murphy. “I see people get through rough patches, which I can relate to.” Years ago, it was Murphy who needed help. In her early 40s, she was running from an abusive marriage with three kids to raise alone. “I promised God,” she said, “that if He would help me through that situation, I would pay it back the rest of my life.” That promise became the core of who Murphy is today. In her professional role, she leads a staff of 55—12 of whom are responsible for job training. Her organization also offers grants of up to $6,000 to employers who will train and then hire people. Major fields involved are health care, culinary businesses, and transportation and delivery trucking.
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“We get people over hurdles,” she said, “getting them to college or into a trade… getting them a start.” Located in Paterson, Murphy and her staff provide comprehensive employment assistance such as career counseling, vocational evaluation, training referrals, and other job solutions. Through one-on-one sessions with counselors and interviewers—in workshops classrooms or computer labs—individuals explore career choices, upgrade skills, secure training opportunities and search for employment. Murphy has headed the center since 2013, part of a social services career that began in 1979. “For 15 of those years,” she said, “I was in welfare fraud investigation, trying to root out problems.” Today, Murphy helps run “positive recruitment events” in which employers come to her Paterson office to meet, screen and interview applicants. She cited the Crystal Springs resort in Sussex County as an example. “They needed cooks, maids, waiters and others,” she said. “They were not getting the help they needed out there. They contacted us and we arranged for a day of interviews. In total they hired 51 people, and 38
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Lauren Murphy are still working there today. Those people have good jobs with benefits and a path to a career.” To help employment seekers, Murphy maintains a “Career Closet” where people and companies donate attire appropriate for interviews, which she has dry cleaned. “The N.J. Dept. of Labor,” she added, “also provides a grant through its Needs-Based Support Fund for incidentals like haircuts and bus transportation.” One client who came through the program was a haircutter. Murphy was able to get his “tools of his trade,” and it got him employed. Now, he comes back a few times a year to the “shower days”—a program Murphy runs out of Botany Village—and cuts hair for no charge as a way to pay back. Another success story is Danny Jimenez. “He’s a perfect example,” she said, “of how the program works.” Now 18 and employed full time by Sheefa Pharmacy, Jimenez began with the pharmacy in the summer youth employment program, which saw 300 kids gain employment last year. Murphy and team follow program participants for 12 months to measure their growth and stay connected.
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She said Danny was full of ambition when he came aboard but needed structure. A year later, Sheefa owner Jabeen Ahmed said Jimenez has become an excellent and ambitious employee. “When he began part time,” Ahmed said, “it gave us the opportunity to see his strengths and determine if he was a suitable match. We loved his energy and his ambition. That part time period also gave us the opportunity to mold his work habits and train him.” Today, Jimenez excels in customer service, greeting shoppers or can be found stocking shelves. He also learned to follow store procedures. “I’m the front man here,” Jimenez said, “the first person someone will ask for help. I’m proud to be part of Sheefa.” Another area of focus for Murphy is helping high school dropouts. With her team of youth counselors, she prepares these individuals for the HiSET exam to earn a state-issued high school equivalency credential. In addition, Murphy’s organization seeks to assist people in getting off public assistance, such as food stamps and subsidized housing and welfare. “I like to help people,” said Murphy, now serving in her second term on the Clifton City Council. “We’ve all needed support at different times in our lives, and this is how I pay it forward.”
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Things weren’t looking promising. As a new product specialist for the Fette Auto Group in Clifton, Estella Bernales was facing an uphill battle in a male-dominated industry. She felt intimidated and alone. “I didn’t know anybody,” Bernales said about starting at Fette in 2015. “It’s a big dealership—Infiniti, Kia, Ford, and pre-owned. Being the only woman is tough.” In response, Bernales became tough herself. Her manager noticed her personality change. “My first manager Charlie Lamantia told me, ‘I know you’re scared,’” Bernales remembered. “He said, ‘The best way to change people’s opinions of you is with your numbers,’ which means your sales.” Bernales went to work, focusing on selling—something she had always excelled at. Soon, she was winning awards and leading the dealership for many months in selling Kias. “Since that day,” she said of her conversation with Lamantia, “I understand that he’s right.” What’s even a bigger achievement than sales for this Callao, Peru, native is how she cares for her family. “I have a little sister with special needs,” she said. “She came to this county after me and got open heart surgery. We are really grateful for this country. America saved her life.” Bernales’ sister, Stephany Naomi, also suffers from Down syndrome and blindness.
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“She’s the reason I work so hard,” said Bernales, now a U.S. citizen after coming to America in 2010. Bernales first job was at Sears as a merchandise assistant, selling clothes. She moved on to cosmetics and excelled. Sears next transferred her to jewelry to take advantage of her skills. Again she did well and was moved to electronics. Hearing of greater opportunities in car sales, she decided to try the industry. After Bernales got a job an auto dealership in 2014, Stephany had her open-heart surgery. Complications followed. Bernales needed flexibility to be there for her sister at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson. Her former dealership resisted and she left. She was out of work for two months before joining Fette Kia on April 20, 2015. Fette gave Bernales the needed flexibility to attend to her sister and help her mother, who does not drive or speak English. “That is the reason I’m with Fette,” she said. “They really understand family needs—they understand the family is everything.”
Many of her Fette customers are Spanish-speaking. “Some of them see my family photos on my desk and all my awards,” she said. “They say, ‘You help me, please?’ Some say, ‘I need a car, but my credit is not good. If you get me a car, I will be indebted to you.’” Her understanding of tough times helps her empathize with all groups of customers. “They start telling stories—‘My husband left me or my husband lost his job and now I have to work, but I don’t have a car.’ They touch you because you relate to them. “When I came to this country, I didn’t have a car. I had nothing at all. I had to take two or three buses to get to work. I understand what they are going through.” Bernales also takes special interest in helping older retirees. “With retired customers,” she said, “you have to be more patient and kind. You see what their needs are. You find a car that is easy to get in and out, for the hips, for the knees.” Technology is often another challenge for older buyers. “Technology in the car is really crazy,” Bernales said, “and sometimes it’s overwhelming. So I have to be patient.” After a sale, she often gets calls from her retired customers saying their grandchild needs a car.
“Bring them to me,” Bernales will say, “I’ll help.” In the future, the Woodland Park resident said she wants to graduate from college and has already taken courses at Passaic County Community College to that aim. Currently, she enjoys working for her manager, Nicholaos Gouvouniotis, whom she called fair and helpful. “Nicky is one-of-a-kind,” she said. “Since he came to the dealership a year and a half ago, everybody is happy and making money.” She added her dealership’s focus on family comes from the top. “Mr. Fette is always fair, always good,” Bernales said. She related the story of when a mistake was made on her check, shorting her by $30—something Bernales was unaware of. When Fette learned of the mistake, he immediately came to Bernales and said it would be fixed. “For the owner to come and say that—it meant a lot. On Christmas, Mother’s Day, or any big holiday, he comes by and wishes you well, and I give him a hug. And he says ‘Merry Christmas’ to every single employee. I’m really glad to have him as a boss.” When asked if she would like to get into management someday, Bernales replied, “To be honest, I’d rather sell. I really like it.”
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Izzy MacDonald works full time in Human Resources for Tenafly Public Schools, but on certain weekends you can find her in her side life as a “Teakeeper.” That is, she caters tea parties. Her tea catering business is “Teacups n Tidbits,” which she created out of necessity in January 2012. When her niece’s sisters tried to arrange a bridal tea for MacDonald’s niece, they quickly realized that the local teahouses were unable to accommodate more than 50 guests. That is when MacDonald pitched her idea of catering tea parties, and her family was behind her.
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“I would say [I plan] maybe four a year, which is perfectly fine because it really burns you out,” said MacDonald (CHS ’70). “It felt really good because people loved seeing the table,” she continued, about how she felt after she planned her first official party. “There is a lot of prep, but it’s worth it to see everybody is happy with what we’ve put before them.” MacDonald prepares the tea party food fresh, but when it comes to scones, she buys them that morning from Shop Rite or Stop & Shop for freshness and because of the tight window. The decorations are also another layer in the process. The decorations include French doors, and MacDonald and her team put up the screens with streamers to make it look like a French or English café. Then, along with music, the ladies all wear black uniforms with pearls, fascinators, and aprons. “To see it all assembled and what the ladies look like with their aprons and with the fascinators on,” said Edward (CHS ’74), “it’s just so elegant and it brings you back to a time in history.” At the end of a party, it is an overall sense of satisfaction that makes it special. What also makes it special is the closeness of her team, which includes her sister, Debbie Agens; her goddaughter and niece, Marisa Szeinberg; and her high school best friend, Janet Ludwig. As for her future tea party plans, MacDonald hopes to spread the happiness even further. “When I retire, I’m hoping maybe to go once a month to [a place like] Daughters of Miriam and maybe do a little tea party for 10 people that don’t get any company,” she said. “[I’d like to] give them a little special treatment.”
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After Brian Hearn retired from advertising, he wondered what he would do next. An only child without children of his own and a widower (his wife Dolores was an English teacher at Glen Ridge High School for over 30 years), Hearn felt his interests in tennis, reading, traveling and calligraphy might not be enough. “I needed to do something more constructive with my time,” the 77-year-old said. “I eventually noticed a small story in the newspaper asking for volunteer shoppers. I called the number listed, and it was HomeCare Options.”
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HomeCare Options is an accredited agency providing services like health aides, maternity care and housekeeping to Passaic County residents. Its volunteer shopping program serves the county’s elderly who are unable to grocery shop for themselves. Julie Ford is the program’s manager and praised Hearn, saying, “He is such a wonderful person. I can’t say enough nice things about him. All the people he has shopped for feel the same.” Last year, Hearn completed 99 such trips, and was named the company’s Volunteer of the Year. “I didn’t specifically choose shopping,” he said. “I read the piece in the paper, and it sounded as interesting as any other volunteer work. Except for being slightly physical, the challenges are likely no different from any other volunteer work: sticking with your commitment and feeling your client’s appreciation.” It was the appreciation that made Hearn take easily to the activity. “Once I began shopping for clients and realized how much they needed and appreciated the simple help that I was providing, it gave me such a great, warm feeling of gratitude that I was hooked.” Like all of HomeCare Options’ shoppers, Hearn works from home, arranging his schedule with clients.
He resides in his Grove St. condo in the Montclair Heights section, where he’s lived since 1980. Now a fifth-year volunteer, Hearn has happy and sad memories of it. “One gentleman,” he said, “was in his nineties and lived alone in his house. A former machinist and a great outdoorsman, he’d tell me about being in the South Pacific during World War II, a machinist with the Army Air Corps. Sadly, he passed away this past October, a member of the ‘Greatest Generation.’ I will always miss him. “I once had a very nice elderly lady as a client for several months before she had to move to Long Island to be near her daughter. On my last delivery before she moved, we realized that she and my late mother-in-law had been good friends at their church.” Though Hearn has always been active—an avid athlete at both Passaic Valley High School and Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, where he was president of the Inter Fraternity Council—he can’t do it alone. “More volunteer shoppers are always needed,” he said. Interested in being a HomeCare Options volunteer? Call Julie Ford at 973-310-9478.
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Rob Stephan has a demanding job as culinary director for the group that runs The Barrow House. He trains staff, tracks inventory and orders provisions for the 214-seat Clifton eatery and three other restaurants owned by Skopos Hospitality in North Jersey. “We’re very creative and everything is made from scratch,” said Stephan, with evident pride. The restaurant group—run by brothers Dean and Tom Maroulakos—advertises a “fresh take on the food and beverage industry in New Jersey,” with its unique décor and menus. Skopos also offers a fresh start to dozens of employees who, like Stephan, have battled back from drug addiction. Stephan started working at The Barrow House as a sous chef in 2016, when he lived in a halfway house in Paterson run by Straight & Narrow after completing long-term residential treatment for a heroin habit that had gripped him from when he was 19 to age 36. He graduated from the culinary program at Atlantic Cape Community College after high school in the late 1990s, but his food-service career was derailed by addiction. That’s all changed since getting clean. “I’m very fortunate to have gone to Straight & Narrow and gotten this job,” said Stephan, who will celebrate four years of sobriety in April.
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He also just purchased a home near Clifton High School. “I got very lucky,” Stephan said. Founded in 1954, Straight & Narrow is the longest-running community-based residential treatment facility for those addicted to drugs and alcohol in the United States. The Barrow House has employed close to 100 men from the halfway house since the restaurant opened nearly four years ago on Van Houten Ave., said Tom Maroulakos. “It’s a social cause and a business need,” he said. “We need help and they build skills.” Most start as dishwashers or general kitchen help, while they reacclimate to sobriety and the work world. The men can get to restaurant via bus from downtown Paterson and some have even walked the three miles from Straight St. Logistics have gotten a bit trickier—a few more buses are involved—after a huge fire destroyed the halfway house in August, forcing its temporary relocation to a former convent on the east side of Passaic. Four-dozen residents were displaced by the blaze, which city officials said was due to an electrical problem.
The adjacent 150-bed inpatient treatment facility was not damaged and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson has committed to rebuilding the halfway house in Paterson. Victor Rivera was waiting for the bus to go to work when he saw the black smoke that Saturday morning of the fire. He started recorded it on his phone, unaware it that it was where he was living. Rivera has since graduated from the halfway house— most men spend about six months there—and is still working at The Barrow House, where he washes dishes, cleans, preps food and does a little bit of cooking. “It’s a good place to start,” he said. “I have my routine at work and I know what to do, what to expect.” He’s got an apartment on the Haledon/Paterson border and is coming up on a year at the job and three years sober. “I’m at that point in my life where my back is against the wall,” Rivera said. “I either straighten up and do the right thing or go back to jails and institutions.” A few of the men from the halfway house, like Stephan, have become integral parts of the restaurant group, said Maroulakos. Stephan has also helped the owners keep growing in Clifton and open Franklin Social in Jersey City, where he served as executive chef before becoming culinary director for the group’s four restaurants. Skopos also owns Cowan’s Public in Nutley and The Vanguard in Harrison. Restaurant kitchens can be a stressful environment and the proximity of liquor can be an extra challenge for some. But the Skopos’ kitchens are sober and there is a built-in support group and awareness that folks are in recovery, said Bill Wesner, a sous chef and manager at The Barrow House. “You have to stay super vigilant, but it’s all about teamwork,” said Wesner, who recently marked two years of sobriety. “I have a role as a leader and a role in my own recovery.”
After more than two chemically dependent decades in the restaurant business, Wesner was working as executive chef at a high-end restaurant in Atlantic City when he was busted and wound up in drug court and was ordered into treatment. “Drug court was the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Wesner. He got clean and began working at The Barrow House while in the halfway house, first helping with brunch prep and then overseeing the restaurant’s busy banquet schedule. “It was a match made in heaven,” he said. “There is a real positive vibe in the kitchen. “It’s a great situation.”
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During one summer night during a five-year stretch, Clifton was the center of the basketball universe—all because a coach, fans and players wanted to help a young boy. In 1969, Willis Reed of the New York Knicks received a call from East Rutherford High School coach Dick Vitale, now a legendary ESPN broadcaster. One of Vitale’s players, basketball prodigy Les Cason, knew Reed and made the introduction. Vitale was calling on behalf of 9 year-old LaVerne “Sammie” Davis, who had suffered a horrible accident. Davis lost his right leg and parts of his right arm and left leg when a slow-moving Erie Lackawanna freight train rolled over him on May 29. The tragedy occurred near Passaic’s Pulaski School No. 8 after Davis slipped through a fence near the trains. The Paterson Morning Call reported, “He was playing with a group of other youngsters during the school lunch period when the accident occurred.” The response to Sammie’s severe injuries was overwhelming. By the end of August, the Herald-News reported nearly $50,000 was raised for Sammie’s care, more than any other appeal in the newspaper’s history. Vietnam veterans who lost limbs visited Sammie at Beth Israel Hospital. Governor Richard J. Hughes called. A message from the boy’s namesake, singer Sammy Davis Jr., arrived. The entertainer, who had lost an eye in a car crash, wrote: “I know that you will win, because you are a special person, and God has given you a special strength and he loves you in a special way.”
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Rick Barry (top), Julius “Dr J” Erving
But no celebrities would support Sammie more than his new basketball family. To show how much they cared, Vitale, Reed and others began planning a benefit game at an area gym that would hold as many people as possible—the gym at Clifton High School. Ready to Help Vitale learned of Sammie’s accident in the newspapers. “That was 50 years ago,” said Vitale, 80. “It was a long time ago.” The coach had also suffered a childhood accident. The Passaic-born, Garfield-raised Vitale had lost an eye after he poked himself with a pencil at age 3 or 4. “When I lost my eye,” Vitale said, “I thought it was the end of the world. After that, I always felt like the underdog. But I had great parents who raised me. I loved helping others, something I continue to do today.”
In a 1969 story by Clifton’s Jay Horowitz—now a VP with the New York Mets, then a Herald-News columnist—Vitale described how the game came about: “Last November I spoke at the Garfield Civic Club in Lodi and my topic was ‘The Thoughtfulness of the Professional athlete,’ Vitale recalled. “A week after Sammie’s accident, I got an anonymous call from a guy in Passaic who had heard me speak at the dinner.” The caller asked Vitale if he could run a benefit game like one he ran for another boy injured in a swimming pool accident two years before. “That was on a Saturday,” Vitale said, “and by Monday the plans were already in motion.” New York Knicks’ Willis Reed
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With the Passaic High gym too small for such a game, Vitale asked the Clifton Board of Education for the CHS venue. The BOE’s Mike Vanuta and Stuart Weiss said, “The gym is yours.” Along with getting in-touch with Reed, Vitale said he knew many “big name coaches and athletes” from his camps and clinics and asked for their help. He enlisted friend Tom Ramsden, coach of East Paterson High School (now Elmwood Park) to assist, as well as Passaic’s Larry Cirignano, Lodi’s Tony Comeleo and Howard Garfinkel, who ran the legendary Five-Star Basketball Camp. Vitale also asked Clifton’s Ken Kurnath, then a teacher at Passaic’s School 1, to be the game’s ticket chairperson. “Maybe he knew of me from my basketball refereeing,” said Kurnath, 88. “But I didn’t know Dick until that phone call. After that, we became lifelong friends.” CHS’s custodians agreed to give of their time to help with the game, as did the Clifton police. Local businesses donated whatever was needed. Referees Sid Dick Vitale (kneeling) at the University of Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall in 2011 for the dedication of Dick Vitale Court.
Borgia and Len Loran pledged to officiate for free. Clifton’s Danny Dennis, a Montclair State student, would sell 200 tickets at $2.50 each. Vitale and his committee put in marathon days before the game, taking care of details and calling players—and totaling $285 in long distance charges. “Vitale would call the players up,” said Kurnath, “and they’d make commitments and we’d advertise who was coming. And we prayed they would come. Most of the players were very nice, very cordial.” The players agreed to play for free and take no reimbursement for travel or expenses. “But there was one player,” said Kurnath, “who was adamant about being paid when he got there. He gave Vitale a lot of lip and they almost went at it in the locker room. The last thing Dick said was, ‘Go see Willis Reed!’ And that was the end of that.”
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Greats Of The Game From left, Wes Unseld, Dr. J and Rick Barry.
First Game With publicity from local newspapers, as well as those in New York City, and mentions on news broadcasts by Marv Albert, Howard Cosell and others, 2,000 fans packed the CHS gym on July 15, 1969. “We had to beg the doctors to let Sammie go to the game,” said Vitale. “When we introduced the players and Sammie was wheeled out, we were off to a great start. To see Sammie with that great smile come out and get that ovation… it was very emotional.” Coming straight from Beth Israel Hospital, Sammie saw his year old brother Shawn for the first time since the accident. Holding his brother in the wheelchair, Sammie didn’t want to let him go. “No detail was overlooked,” wrote Horowitz. “There was a trainer, an announcer, an official score-keeper, a scoreboard that was brought in from Philadelphia, towels and refreshments for the players…” In addition, Frank Alberta’s Restaurant in Clifton hosted a postgame buffet dinner for 70 players and organizers.
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Notables at the first game included future Basketball Hall of Famers, the 76ers’ Billy Cunningham and the Celtics’ Tom “Satch” Sanders, who flew in from Boston that morning. Reed—who would win the league MVP for his NBA Champion Knicks that upcoming season—led the East squad to a 120-111 victory. The Knicks captain and also a future HOFer, scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half and was named the game’s MVP. “The kid has so much guts and determination,” Reed said about Sammie. “We have to show him that people care.” The Series The CHS gym was again filled for the second Sammie Davis Benefit Game on July, 15, 1970. Players from the 1969-70 NBA champion Knicks led the teams. Reed coached the East team, while his Knicks teammate Dick Barnett guided the West squad to a thrilling 96-95 victory. Knicks coach Red
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Holtzman was also there to show support. The game featured even more talent than the first contest. Playing were NBA and ABA all-stars and more HOFers, like Calvin Murphy, Wes Unseld and Spencer Haywood, who flew in from Colorado and returned immediately after the game. Then a member of the ABA’s Denver Rockets, Haywood was the game’s MVP with 18 points. Other notables included the Baltimore Bullets’ Kevin Loughery and Fred “Mad Dog” Carter, Cincinnati Royals’ Johnny Green and the Knicks’ Dave Stallworth. Also competing were the New York Nets’ Bill Melchionni, Sonny Dove and Walt Simon, and the Portland Trailblazers’ Geoff Petrie, who would win NBA Rookie of the Year honors that season. Before Unseld left the gym, he told Davis, “I want to thank you for having me here.” The third game moved to Paul IV High School in Clifton to take advantage of the gym’s air-conditioning (previous summer games at CHS were sweltering for fans and players). Ticket prices rose to $3.50 to compensate for the smaller venue. Vitale told the New York Daily News: “We raised $8,100 in the first two games. But Sammie’s rehabilitation is a tremendous expense. As he gets older and his body grows, he has to keep getting new artificial limbs and that runs into a vast amount of money.” The July 22, 1971, benefit game was significant for another reason— it was the day Earl “the Pearl” Monroe came to Clifton. Then with Baltimore (he’d be traded to the Knicks in November), Monroe put on a playground show,
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scoring 21 points and leading the to these guys and hoped I could play Reed-coached East squad to a 130pro ball one day. If I make it as big 110 win. as some of these guys have, I hope I Idolized by fans and young playstill have the time to give to this sort ers—especially those at the Clifton of thing.” Boys Club—Monroe told the HerHowever, on Aug. 3, 1972, “the ald-News: Doctor was in” for the fourth game of “These benefit games are for worthe series. thy causes and I get asked to play in The contest pitted the Willis Reed a lot of them. But this one is special. All-Stars vs. the Earl Monroe AllI can only be thankful that I am still Stars, each coached by their respecClifton’s Ken Kurnath able to play. Maybe by my playing tive namesakes. here it makes up for some of what Playing for the Reed contingent, [Sammie] has missed out on.” Erving—now in spectacular “Dr. J” form—wowed Joining Monroe as first-timer players were former the crowd at Paul IV with swooping dunks, scoring Knick Cazzie Russell, the Virginia Squires’ Charlie 32 points and leading his team to a 131-124 win. Scott, the Nets’ Billy Paultz and the Royals’ Nate The Knicks’ Dean “the Dream” Meminger also “Tiny” Archibald. scored 32 for the Reed stars and shared MVP honors The Nets’ Rick Barry attended but was unable with Dr. J. to play due to injury, and a rookie from the Squires For the Monroe team, Barry led with 26 points, made his first appearance in Clifton. and Murphy hit for 24. “It was fun, but I did lousy,” said Julius Erving, In the final Davis Benefit Game on Aug. 16, 1973, who scored just six points. “I’ve always looked up the packed gym of 1,200 at Paul IV watched
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the Willis Reed All-Stars beat the Billy Cunningham All-Stars, 113-99. Cunningham, another future basketball HOFer, appeared in all five benefit games. “As time went on and people’s lives changed,” said Kurnath, “it became harder and harder to put the game together.” Noble Effort For Sammie Davis, the games might have been the happiest times in his post-accident life. In a Feb. 10, 2016, article in The Record that appeared a month after Davis’ death in Florida, his mother Willie L. Glover said her son left New Jersey at 18. He never worked or married. Glover said her son “would travel a lot, going from place to place,” and was rarely in touch with family. “I tried to get him to come back to New Jersey,” she told The Record, “but he didn’t want to, I really don’t know why. He was a good person, a really good person.” While Davis’ story did not end happily, what Vitale, Reed, Ramsden, Kurnath and others accomplished—ably assisted by star NBA, ABA and college
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players—remains an example of generosity and compassion. “It was an exciting time to see those great players come to Clifton, N.J.” said Kurnath. Among many all-stars and college standouts, a total of 12 Basketball Hall of Famers journeyed to the city to support Davis. Giving of their time and resources, the players, benefit organizers and Vitale created five incredible games and made Clifton—for one special night during a five year run—the only place to be for basketball fans. “Those games were wonderful,” said Vitale. “My friends worked so hard—people like Kenny did a great job. Willis was also a tremendous help to me, getting me the players’ phone numbers, and playing and coaching.” “Willis was very pleasant,” added Kurnath, “just a nice human being—a real gentleman.” “We all helped a little bit,” Vitale said, “and did something special for Sammie.” Dick Vitale continues to be a tireless worker in supporting pediatric cancer research through the V Foundation. Go to dickvitaleonline.com for more info.
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How many pogo stick hops can you make at the Bunny Bash? The Clifton Recreation Department wants to know! The Bunny Bash will be held April 4 from 9:30 to 11:30 am for kids, ages 3-12, at Nash Park. For early risers, there is Breakfast with Mr. Bunny starting at 7:30 am at the Hot Grill across the street. Later, there will be a visit with Mr. Bunny, Mrs. Bunny’s Playstation, a Bunny Hop and the 14th Annual Easter Bonnet Contest & Parade. Clifton Rec has hundreds more available programs and activities. Visit cliftonrec.com to learn more.
The Rainbow Montessori School’s 22nd annual “Spring Fling Tricky Tray” is at the Boys & Girls Club May 15 from 6-10 pm. Tickets are $20 and includes small category starter tickets, coffee, dessert, prizes and 50/50 raffle. Call Staci at 973-772-2330 for info. The Clifton Rec Dept. has great March events, like Family Bowling, March 8, 6-8 pm at Garden Palace Lanes, and Sundae Bingo, March 24, from 3-5 pm at the Community Rec Center, 1232 Main Ave. Visit cliftonrec.com for info. The Advisory Committee for Individuals with Disabilities’ monthly meetings are open to the public and held March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, Sept. 21, Oct. 19 and Nov. 16 in the Board of Health Conference room at 6:30 pm. For info, call 973-253-9579. Ask questions, discover answers about Cancer Care and Holistic Medicine. A free informative meeting will be held March 21 from 1-3 pm at the Allwood Library. Register by email kim@powerofoneccom.org or call 201-328-2326 for info.
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Jo and Bob Obser will be saluted on March 10 when the Summer Concert Series is renamed in their honor.
Calling all Music Lovers! Be there March 10 from 7-9 pm at Woodrow Wilson Middle School (1400 Van Houten Ave.) for a FREE indoor concert. Joey Arminio and the Family will perform. This special concert will be held in honor of Bob (the Musical Matador and Friend of Recreation) Obser and his late wife Jo. The Obsers were key organizers of the Clifton Recreation Department’s Summer Concert Series for many years and, in their honor, it will officially be renamed the “Obser Concert Series.” A St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, featuring corned beef and cabbage, will be held March 14 from 3-7 pm at the VFW Albion Post 7165. Sponsored by Families of Vets, donation is $20 per person and includes beer, wine and soda. For tickets, give Ken Wasiewicz a call at 973-670-4745 or stop by the Albion Post.
At the Rotary Club of Clifton’s Feb. 20 meeting, held at Mario’s Restaurant on Van Houten Ave., are Club president Patrick DeLora, Rotary member Cyril Yannarelli, Rotary Marketing representative Brooke Gorsica, and Rotary members Andrew Garlick and Ray Kunz.
The Rosary Society of St. Paul’s Church is hosting its annual Fish-N-Chips Dinner/Raffle March 26 in the parish hall. Donation is $15 for adults; $7 for children under 12. Tickets must be purchased in advance, no tickets sold at the door. Take Out orders can be picked up between 5-5:30 pm after which the sit-down dinner begins. To purchase tickets and for info, call Louise Moccia at 973-478-2605.
Cy Yannarelli, CFP®, CLU® Financial Advisor
IRT-4395D-A
The Rotary Club of Clifton cares, and the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) is an example. A program for high school students entering their senior year, RYLA participants are selected by local Rotary Clubs and attend an all-expense paid, five-day workshop focusing on leadership, team building and development. About 150 juniors attend the RYLA program annually from Passaic, Bergen, and Hudson Counties. RYLA will be held the week of June 21, and Rotary Clubs will work with high school guidance counselors to identify and interview potential attendees this month. Interested CHS juniors should speak to their counselors about applying. “RYLA is one the programs we have for students,” said Clifton Rotary Club president Pat DeLora. “We also award two $1,000 scholarships each year, and distribute 950 dictionaries to public school third graders.” In addition, DeLora said Rotarians support charities like the Boys & Girls Club, St. Peter’s Haven, and the Clifton Library, Recreation Dept. and Arts Center. “We meet every other Thursday at Mario’s Restaurant,” said DeLora, “and we’re always looking for new members. We especially want younger members, women and those who represent Clifton’s many diverse communities. We’ll welcome them with open arms.” DeLora, owner of DeLuxe Cleaners, said the Rotary Club is a great way to meet new friends, network, and work and fundraise together to help the community. The Rotary Club of Clifton will meet March 5 and 19 at 12:15 pm. For more information, call DeLora at 973-546-1105 or go to cliftonnjrotary.com.
730 Broad Street Suite 2 Clifton, NJ 07013-1613 973-777-9620
www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC
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On March 2, the City of Clifton held its Meatless Mondays kickoff for employees. Registered Dietitian for Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center Elena Mills provided an interactive presentation on the benefits of options to meat dishes. Twenty-two city employees learned about the importance of cutting out meat once a week, and also enjoyed vegetarian bowls they created with grains, greens and ingredients provided by Mountainside Hospital. A healthy salad and vegetable stir fry were donated by the Allwood Diner. “The city looks forward to working with its community partners to educate the community on the importance of healthy nutrition habits as it looks to become healthier, one Monday at a time,” said Health Educator Layal Helwani.
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Dr. Seuss Day Clifton Merchant Magazine’s Tom Hawrylko joined other Clifton adults on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, in Read Across America. Read Across America is an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association that began in 1997. Parents, friends of schools and community leaders are invited to visit schools and read their favorite books to students. “I read The Lorax, a children’s book written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax is the character, who “speaks for the trees” and confronts the Once-ler, who causes environmental destruction.” Hawrylko noted it is Seuss’s personal favorite of his books.
The Garden Club of Clifton meets March 9 at 7 pm in the Senior Barn, behind city hall. Deb Ellis will present, “Bloodroot, Bluebells, and Butterflies: Spring Beauties for Biodiversity.” The club meets the second Tuesday of each month. Call Donna Fantacone at 973-473-0577.
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School 5 - Mrs. Bender School 5 - Mrs. Stein
The Ladies Auxiliary’s 13th Annual Tricky Tray will be held May 8. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised from the event go directly to the programs and operational costs of the Boys & Girls Club of Clifton. Doors open at 6:30. For info, call 973-773-2697 x 143.
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95 TO
Some of the key roles in 9 to 5 are performed by Angelina Pacosa, Nicole Alexander, Jessica Bracken, Franklin Hart, Jr., Louis Habrahamshon, Olivia Coronel, Max Rubin, Michael Da Silva, Anthony Zawrak, Missy Hart and Jennie Waddell.
CHS will present “9 to 5: The Musical,” March 13-15, in the JFK Auditorium. Based on the hit 1980 movie, the play was adapted for the stage and features music and lyrics by Dolly Parton. Purchase discounted tickets online in advance—$10 for students, $12 for adults, at our.show/cliftonboe/9to5. Tickets at the door are $12 for students, $15 for adults. Show times are 7 pm on March 13-14, and 1 pm on March 15.
CHS Class of 1980 will celebrate its 40th reunion Oct. 3 at Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch. The event is from 6-10 pm and organized by Linda Sorbera-Hopkins, Denise Matarante (Iannascola), Maria Perry (Joyce) and Pam Smith (Capizzi). It features a $70 buffet dinner and cash bar. Send payment via Venmo to CliftonReunion@Classof1980. Married females should include their maiden names. The Mustangs of 1975 are planning their 45th get together. John Gorny said the June 6 event at The Mountainside Inn begins at 7 pm. The price is $50 and includes open bar, buffet and deserts. Reservations are needed by May 15. Respond to visitinghrs@aol.com. CHS Class of 1970 will celebrate its 50-year reunion Oct. 11 at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Fairfield, N.J. Tickets are $100 per person or $110 at the door. Contact Ann Marie Ayers Williams at Cliftion1970reunion@ gmail.com or 973-941-9533 for additional info.
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Assemblyman Tom Giblin takes action. A bill prohibiting the sale of realistic-looking toy guns was signed into law Jan. 21. Giblin, who represents the 34th Legislative District (which includes Clifton), sponsored the measure. “The lives lost sadly haven’t convinced retailers to stop selling look-alikes in their stores,” said Giblin. “Maybe the notion of having to pay a fine that far exceeds what these imitation guns are worth will deter production of these realistic-looking toys.” Giblin cited several high-profile fatal police shootings involving children playing with toy guns during the last five years. The new law establishes penalties for violations at a maximum of $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for subsequent offenses. “Safety always has to be the top priority,” Giblin said.
“World Travel in Art” is an art exhibit and sale by the Clifton Association of Artists held at the Clifton Arts Center Gallery. The exhibit is open March 4-28. A reception, open to the public, will be held March 7 from 1-4 pm. This year’s theme showcases art media, such as oil, acrylic, pastels, photography and watercolor from amateur and professional artists. The Clifton Association of Artists was established in 1963 by a group of 12 artists. Its mission is to promote the advancement of art and culture in Clifton by creating an environment for the expression of the visual arts. Clifton Arts Center Gallery, behind city hall, opened to the public in January 2000 and more than 40,000 visitors have enjoyed art exhibits and cultural events there.
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What did it take to get 83 Marching Mustangs, five band directors and seven chaperones to San Francisco February 6-10 to perform in the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade? “Great parents, a caring hometown and involved alumni, and hundreds of hours to raise over $22,000 for the trip,” answered CHS Band Parents President Mike Termyna. Band Director Bryan Stepneski said performing under lights in the televised sections was unforgettable for the Marching Mustangs. “We are proud and thankful to have represented Clifton on a national stage,” he said. The trip exposed students to different cultures, taught them about landmarks and unique features of the region, and featured a performance that the Band and our community can be proud of. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our band members and something they will always remember,” Stepneski said. “Thank you, Clifton!” Cliftonmagazine.com • March 2020
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Valentina Leon, Max Rubin, Liam Reilly, Rosalynn Guido.
March has arrived for Mustangs of the Month.
The vice principals from each Clifton High wing have spotlighted four students who have gotten a head start on the latest activities on the campus, one from each grade. Valentina Leon, Senior Entering CHS, Valentina Leon had a quandary: there were many choices about what to learn. “I know that you don’t have to go into college knowing exactly what you want to study,” Leon said, “but I’m the type of person that likes planning ahead so I felt a lot of pressure.” She’s managed the pressure. Her favorite subject now is AP Psychology, and she plans to one become an FBI intelligence analyst. “It’s interesting to learn about human behavior and mental processes,” she said. “It provides us with a better understanding as to how we think, act and feel.” Inspired by her hard-working parents, who “barely have time to rest, but they are always there to support me,” Leon has added to her CHS experience by being part of the Yearbook Club and volunteering at an animal shelter. Her most influential teacher has been Mr. Fackina. “He’s very supportive,” Leon said, “and always makes sure his students are okay. He’s a fun person and inspires me to appreciate life more. He gives good life advice, too.” Max Rubin, Junior Max Rubin wants to be a film producer, writer and director. Don’t bet against him.
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He’s already created the screenplay and storyboard for his film, The Mind of a Worrier. While it’s a fictional piece, Rubin said, “It is basically an exaggerated version of my own life and the struggles that I’ve been through.” In September, he was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which “severely hampered my ability to enjoy life” and made completing schoolwork a lot harder. Thanks to therapy and willpower, Rubin said he has gotten through “the worst patch of my life so far.” The junior said English is his favorite subject, and he “enjoyed creating a satirical piece in Mrs. Miller-Hamilton’s class.” He counts Mr. Pinto as his most influential teacher, and the educator has helped him become a better singer and “more empathetic and sensitive individual.” Rubin is Student Union VP, a Student Council junior representative, Marching Band member, MadCaps tenor section leader and performed in lead roles in the school musical for the past two years. He counts screenwriter Charlie Kaufman as his biggest inspiration and plans to attend film school at either NYU or Rutgers. “I hope to be an inspiration for other children struggling with mental illness,” Rubin said.
Liam Reilly, Sophomore Liam Reilly is focused on his favorite interests, history and music, and plans to study both in college. “I love history,” Reilly said, “because I learn about the past and how our world came to be. Playing music allows me to express myself and gives me enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment when I efficiently play a difficult passage.” Part of the Music Academy and “thrilled to take Music Theory this year,” he looks forward to taking additional AP classes. Reilly said Mr. Onacilla helped his transition from middle school to high school, and increased his love for history. He draws inspiration from his parents for their hard work and constant support, and his music teacher, Mr. Martinez. “Mr. Martinez inspires me to be a better musician, person, and is someone I look up to,” he said, “not only as my music teacher but also as a mentor.” His extracurricular activities include CHS Orchestra, Model U.N., Pit Band, Roman History Club, Boy Scouts, New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra, Tri-M Music Honor Society and a youth group. “I make sure to be conscientious and stay as organized as possible,” said Reilly.
Rosalynn Guido, Freshman Entering high school can be intimidating. Rosalynn Guido imagined it as something she saw in the movies. She was wrong about CHS. “Everyone was kind and helpful,” she said. “My first day was in December because I got injured playing soccer. I managed the transition (from middle school) by making friends and keeping track of my grades. In high school, you are treated more independently.” Guido’s favorite subject is Spanish. Though she knows the language since birth, formal training is helpful. WWMS’s Mrs. Morales is her favorite teacher. “She is one of sweetest teachers I have ever met,” Guido said. “Being in her class made me a better person.” Because her soccer injury (where she tore ankle ligaments) caused her to start school late, Guido could not join the clubs she wanted. However, she is part of the CHS Orchestra and planning more activities next year, as well as taking advantage of CHS’s academic programs. To be successful, Guido looks to her family. “After all the obstacles they have been through,” she said, “they still manage to see the bright side. My parents are the reason why I motivate myself to do better. My family has been there for me at my toughest times. They inspire me to be a change in the world.”
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Birthdays & Celebrations - March 2019
Happy Birthday to.... Send dates & names .... tomhawrylkosr@gmail.com
Note Tom’s new email: tomhawrylkosr@gmail.com
Lynn Grosser’s 18th birthday is March 21 and is pictured with her mother Mercedes. Billy Thomson is all smiles about his 8th birthday on March 8. Ruth Basta daughter of Medhat and Melba Basta celebrates her 19th birthday on March 27 with family and friends. Julie Generalli Dominick........ 3/1 Kathleen Pocoek.................. 3/1 Meaghan Franko................. 3/1 Kenzie Lord......................... 3/3 Amelia Lara......................... 3/3 Amanda Perez..................... 3/3 Amelia Ipenza..................... 3/3 Valerie Godowsky................ 3/5 Alice Paxton........................ 3/5 Patricia Vigh........................ 3/5 Carol Crudele...................... 3/6 Ted Grzybowski................... 3/6
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Pat Smith............................. 3/8 William Thomson................. 3/8 Victoria Crudele................... 3/9 Dana Aref......................... 3/10 Pamela Culque.................. 3/10 Tiffany Sabo...................... 3/10 John Gorny....................... 3/11 Eddie Gasior, Jr................. 3/12 Mike Pesaro...................... 3/12 Victor Berdecia.................. 3/13 Joann Szepietowski............ 3/13 Diego Hernandez.............. 3/15
Tyler Hughes..................... 3/15 Laura Lee.......................... 3/15 Samira Abdelhady............. 3/16 Joanne Szepietowski..........3/13 Suzanne Ciok.................... 3/19 Janette Hughes.................. 3/19 Caitlin Lotorto.................... 3/19 Colleen Murray.................. 3/20 Holly Sorenson.................. 3/20 Nenad Vuckovic................ 3/20 Monica Ahmed.................. 3/21 George Andrikanich........... 3/22
30 was grand for Casey Hawrylko who celebrated her birthday in the Grand Canyon on March 2. Elisabel Reyes.................... 3/24 Carmen Rivera................... 3/24 Kyle Hooyman................... 3/24 Suzanne Wachtler.............. 3/26 Michele Andrikanich.......... 3/27 Jennifer Mondelli................ 3/27 Nicholas Surgent............... 3/27 Aidan Tedesco................... 3/27 Muriel Curtin..................... 3/28 Francis Salonga................. 3/31 Paul McVeigh.................... 3/31 Chris Kolodziej.................. 3/31 Cliftonmagazine.com • March 2020
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Elaine Sassine will be 73 on March 15, the Ides of March. Colleen Murray turns 80 on March 20. Stephany Naomi Bernales is 26 on March 19.
Congratulations to Corey & Michelle Genardi, celebrating their anniversary on March 28. Their daughter Bianca Eda had her 14th birthday on March 2.
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Uncle Teddy Harsaghy will be 91 on March 11 and has his eyes set on the century mark. Dana Aref will be 15 on March 10th.
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