Clifton Merchant Magazine - April 2016

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

3

THE

60’s Elizabeth Taylor & other Missing Tales...

By Tom Hawrylko

4 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Getting ready for the Clifton 50th Anniversary Parade in June 1967 are Ukrainian teens Helen Maksymiuk, Marion Hrubec and Mary Polowczak. Lads heading to the pool at the Boys Club.

Elizabeth Taylor. Terry Krinsky burning his CHS activity card on March 30, 1966. Bob Bielsten of the Ray DeBrown Accordion Orchestra.

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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Jill DeVries, Harry Fengya, Severin Palydowycz, Harry Peterson, a girl at a Soda Social at the Boys Club, circa 1961.

The decade which began with Elvis, the crew cut, Let’s look back to post WWII America when parents the bouffant, conservative politics as well as fashion, gave birth to some 70 million children. By time was forever changed with the arrival of four young 1960 rolled around, many of those Baby men from England who called themselves The Boomers would grow to experience the Beatles. decade as teenagers, influencing fashion, fads, This musical British Invasion would mark the music and the politics of their generation. beginning of a cultural shift. Labeled hippies and Consider that perspective as you read the next beatniks by The Establishment, 1960s youth cel70 pages of this month’s magazine.... ebrated their new culture and new found freeIn Clifton in 1960, Miss Plaskin directdoms with long hair on men, leg revealing ed the Boys Club Glee Club as they perminiskirts for women, hot pants, go-go boots, formed for then Vice President Nehru jackets, eastern influenced styles, Richard Nixon at the Waldorf rock n roll music, art and poetry.

Astoria. Many of those same boys boarded buses here in Clifton and perMarching Mustangs & Music formed at the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens.

Much like Vietnam, Clifton made its contriThe new Clifton High School on butions to the worlds of music and art. The Colfax Ave. opened in 1962 and the weekly Battle of the Bands at Pope Paul VI Fighting Mustangs were the talk of New Jersey.

High School helped give lots of hopeful musiCoach Joe Greco led the 1962 undefeated State cians their chops. Many got what they recall as Championship team. Through the decade, guys world class training in the Marching Mustang like Richie Tate and Bob Curley kept the winBand under Saul Kay and Pat Curcio. ning ways under Coach Bill Vander Closter.

Kids of the era still recall bands like Godspeed The headlines of the decade spoke to unrest or head down the Shore to see The Mueller and blared of the assassinations of President Brothers—just to name two of the many groups John F. Kennedy in 1963, his brother Senator and individuals who are still performRobert F. Kennedy in June 1968 and 1963 Drum Major Verna Fox. ing with legends on stages and in the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther disciplines of rock, jazz and classical.

King Jr. two months earlier.

Vietnam Body Count The continuing war in Vietnam, the daily death tolls and casualty reports that dominated evening news programs also had an impact in our hometown. With the US Military Draft fully underway, thousands of Clifton boys got their letters from Uncle Sam. Sadly, some 30 young Clifton men would lose their lives in Vietnam.

6 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Great Summers in Jefferson Township In 1963, with the help of the Clifton Men’s Club, 90 acres of land were purchased by the Boys Club in Jefferson Township and Camp Clifton was born.

Severin Palydowycz was its first director. Like an oasis for Clifton kids, Camp Clifton had wood cabins offering a lodge, mess hall, a lake for canoeing, ball

Don Hetchka, Gary Seitz, Clifton Cutie Wrestler Nick Russo, Father Thomas Suchon and Gene Boyle.

fields, tennis courts, a basketball court, archery range and trails through the woods. The new swimming pool provided hundreds of kids with an opportunity for lessons and lifeguard training. Activities ranging from archery, canoeing, arts and crafts, nature walks, woodshop, chorus, band instruction, to competitive sports programs were offered at the club and at the camp.

Two of these members, Keith Oakley and Russ Triola were teens in the 1960s and are still involved with the Club today. They also know when the Club first opened in Botany Village.

Summer of Love & the Moon Landing In the summer of ‘69, the great gathering at Woodstock for a weekend of peace, love and music happened in August.

Many Clifton kids did go to Upstate for the music but more were at Camp Clifton on July 20 when Neil Armstrong put his footprint on the Moon. “They made quite an event out of the moon landing in ‘69.” recalled Keith Oakley.

“We watched the landing, the moonwalk, the whole thing on a little black and white television set that I had in my cabin. It was Russ and Cliff Triola, Ed Welsh, Rich Dudek, myself, and I think Paul Dooley was there. Maybe Pete Deuben and about 12 other boys all crammed around this little black and white TV trying to get a glimpse of Neil Armstrong. Those summers in the 60s at the Boys Club and Camp Clifton were the best! It was the safe, fun place we could escape to while the world around us at the time seemed to be going nuts.

Oakley went on to describe some of his experiences at Camp Clifton.

“I could tell you so many stories…. I had my first kiss there.” He laughed and refused at first to disclose the name of the young lady who was the object of his affections. After a little coaxing, he finally revealed the identity of his Camp Clifton sweetheart.

“Alright... it was Jodi Comperatore!... I hope she doesn’t get mad at me Charlie Frick, Clifton's First Hippie for telling.” who we profiled in Aug., 2009.

Ahhh the Summer of Love...

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Clifton Merchant • April 2016

7

Superior Court Judge Peter Ciolino, Herald News Sports Editor Joe Lovas, Clifton Journal Editor George Kroll, Council members Joe Vanecek, Tom Cupo, Bill Bate, Anna Lattieri and Ira Schoem at a circa-196os fundraiser.

Feb. 4, 1960: The City Council votes to authorize the issuance of $5,626,000 in School Bonds to finance construction of the 3,000-pupil high school on Colfax Ave. March 23, 1960: Romolo Zangrando is appointed Fire Chief as John Zanet retires.

April 26, 1960: Engineers are appointed by Passaic Valley Water Commission to develop the Pancake Hollow (Point View) Reservoir. A $5 million bond issue is approved.

May 23, 1960: Voters approve a $5.8 million referendum to fund construction of CHS. June 1, 1960: US Census: Clifton’s population is 81,953, ranking it the seventh largest city in NJ. June 14, 1960: Paulison Ave. is extended from Clifton Ave. to Hazel St. and Route 46. It is not until Sept. 22, 1960 that a traffic light is put into operation at Clifton and Paulison Aves.

8 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

June 28, 1960: A nine-acre pure organic farm, owned

by Carl Lanz on Grove St. is sought for park use.

Negotiations begin to purchase the farm.

Sept. 15, 1960: US Senator John F. Kennedy visits Clifton City Hall, then on Main and Harding Aves., on a “whistle-stop” Presidential campaign tour.

Oct. 4, 1960: Vice President Richard M. Nixon passes through Albion on a presidential campaign visit to Paterson.

Fall 1960: A new Master Plan is approved, following a series of hearings with high-rise zoning left undecided.

1960: Richfield Christian Reformed Church is settled on Clifton Ave. following a move from Passaic.

Nov. 10, 1960: The Clifton Water System is sold to the Passaic Valley Water Commission for $5 million. A contract, negotiated for 32 years, is approved on December 6, 1960.

1960: The Reformed Church of Clifton plans a $150,000 addition.

Dec. 30, 1960: Texstyle Corp. on Clifton Blvd., is closed with a loss of 130 jobs and sold for machinery.

Dec. 30, 1960: Eureka Printing Co. on Paulison Ave. is in the process of closing after 80 years of operation.

Some 270 workers were laid off.

Jan. 17, 1961: The City Council appropriates $50,000 for a new park and playground on Washington Ave. adjacent to School 3, about half of what is needed.

Jan. 1961: NJ Bank & Trust Co. builds a Delawanna branch on Main Ave. which opened June 29.

Jan. 1961: E.I. Dupont de Nemours opens on Page Rd. and plans a 54,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution building at 380 Allwood Rd. The latter is completed on June 20, 1962.

Feb. 17, 1960: The Velveray Textile Printing Corp., formerly known as the Passaic Cotton Mills, along with its tenants—Howard Zinc Auto Seat Covers, Bartman and Bixer curtains and Private Brands packaging—was destroyed in what was the US’s costliest fire in 1960. 875 workers lost their jobs due to the $6 million fire. The Walnut St. fire started in a first floor laminating machine of the four story brick and steel building, spreading upwards through void spaces and ductwork. Unprotected steel beams and inoperative sprinklers led to the buildings collapse. The building was engulfed within 90 seconds according to witnesses. Fire departments from five surrounding towns helped extinguish the fire. Engines continued to pumped for over 40 hours after the fire was out to extinguish the smoldering debris. Ten Clifton and Passaic firefighters were injured including firefighter William Jackson who succumbed to his injuries on March 20, 1960.

Today, a single story building housing two different businesses stands on where the fire occurred.

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11

By recovering the wallet of Clifton-raised Basketball Hall of Famer Bennie Borgmann, Cliftonite Stephen Schulz met Baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial. The 5’8,” 160 lb Borgmann scored over 25,000 points during his playing career of 1918 to 1938.

In June 1962, Clifton’s Steve Schulz and his pal Frank Spring, both 14, found ‘Clifton-raised Basketball Hall of Famer’ Bennie Borgmann’s wallet in a phone booth near Grant’s store on Rt. 46, near Van Houten Ave. The wallet was filled with cash, credit cards, and important papers which Borgmann, then a scout with the St. Louis Cardinals, needed about baseball prospects.

When Borgmann realized his wallet was missing, he flagged down a state trooper who took him back to the Clifton phone booth only to discover his wallet gone. “There wasn’t a question of what we should do with the wallet,” said Steve Schulz, now living in Fresno, California.

“We took it to my house and my mother found Borgmann’s phone number inside it. She called his house to let him know we had it.

“Bennie was very appreciative. When he picked up the wallet, he rewarded us with a ball and bat autographed by Stan Musial and invited us to the Polo Grounds to watch the Cardinals play against the Mets.”

Though Spring wasn’t able to go, Schulz and his dad went to the game and met Bennie on the field. “Before the game started,” Schulz remembered recently, “Bennie called Stan Musial over, saying, ‘Hey, Stan, I want you to meet some friends of mine.’ He shook hands, posed for pictures, and wished us good luck. My father couldn’t get over how big Musial’s hand was.” Though the 14-year old Clifton kid was a Brooklyn Dodger fan, meeting Musial was special. “I didn’t root for the Cardinals,” admitted Schulz, who moved from Clifton in 1970, “but everyone respected ‘Stan the Man.’” 12 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Jan. 1961: Wilson Sporting Goods Co. builds a warehouse and sales office building on Page Rd. Feb. 13, 1961: The Gulotta Co., a division of Bright Star Battery Co. and a manufacturer of reflectors, moves its headquarters and manufacturing from Glendale, Queens to Getty Ave. Feb. 24, 1961: Country Club Towers on Hepburn Rd. opens its first hi-rise 12 story building to tenants.

July 17, 1961: Construction begins on the new St. Brendan’s Church on Lakeview Ave. at a cost $300,000.

Sept. 6, 1961: The Mustang Band is invited to compete in the World Music Festival in Kerkrade, Netherlands on Aug. 2, 1962.

Sept. 13, 1961: Rival labor Unions taking control of labor negotiations at Duralite Corp. on Barbour Ave., riot.

Some 5,000 workers are involved in the short-lived uprising.

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Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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Fall 1961—Henry Fette of Fette Ford awarded the Boys Club Boys Club Punt, Pass and Kick Contest Winners John Cordasco, David Chambers, John Rodger, Roy Brunett and Kent Bania. Fette’s grandson John, the current owner of Fette Auto is the third generation of the family to serve on the Club’s Board of Directors.

Oct. 1, 1961: A little league type of baseball field is dedicated on William St. in Delawanna. The residents who built the field named it after local leader, Joe Lowry.

Nov. 2, 1961: Rt. 21 is opened from Highfield Ln. in Nutley to South Pkwy. in Clifton, which includes the Rt. 3 interchange.

1961: Samuel Hird & Sons cease textile operations in Clifton.

1961: Urban renewal is proposed for portions of Allwood and Botany.

May 22, 1962: The high vote recipient in Clifton’s 1962 election, Ira Schoem, is named Mayor.

May 23, 1962: The Clifton Boys Club Trustees purchase a 32-acre camp in Morris County.

In 1962, Camp Ranger in Jefferson Township is acquired and renamed Camp Clifton.

14 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

The Hot Grill opened on Oct. 13, 1961 on Lexington Ave., on the site of Gabe’s Drive Inn, an old ice cream and hot dog stand which the former owner—the colorful Gabe Maroon—hoped to convert into an used car lot.

But Maroon could not secure the proper city permits so he reluctantly opened a hot dog stand. Soon thereafter, he sold it to four partners—two Italians, current owners Carmen La Mendola and Dominic Sportelli, and two Greeks, Nick Doris and Peter Leonidas, both now deceased—who changed the name to Hot Grill and opened on Oct. 13, 1961.

“It was Friday the 13th,” Sportelli said of the opening, over five decades ago, when the landmark eatery was nothing more than a dusty roadside stand with a few stools. “People thought we were crazy but we went on and became an icon in Clifton and home to the best Hot Texas Weiners.”

Those are big words in a competitive weiner market, darn near fighting words considering there are many great hot dog joints—the New Corral and Rutt’s Hutt to name some Clifton favorites. But Sportelli says his claim is backed by the US government.

Over a decade ago, folklorist from The Library of Congress American Memory oral history project came to the region to determine what puts the Texas in the Hot Texas Weiner.

Researchers traced the origins of the all-the-way Hot Texas Weiner back to a Greek hot dog vendor in Paterson in the 1920’s. And then the writers and photographers of the extensive report, entitled Working in Paterson Folklife Project, ended up following their story to Clifton and onto Lexington Ave. They cited the Hot Grill as perhaps the most authentic of the Paterson region’s Hot Texas Weiner restaurants.

So what makes a Hot Grill dog the best? Sportelli said part of the answer is the tube steaks, a custom-blended veal and pork hot dog and deep-fried in vegetable oil. But the signature flavor is the Hot Texas sauce; some say it resembles Greek spaghetti sauce more than anything cooked up in Clifton, Paterson or the Lone Star state.

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Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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June 8-10, 1962: The first $100,000 Thunderbird Golf Classic held in Clifton is played at the Upper Montclair Country Club.

Gene Littler won the tourney.

June 15, 1962: Patterson Brothers, 45 Samworth Rd. in Allwood, build and open a distribution center for educational shop supplies. The company moved from NYC where it had sold hardware since 1848.

June 27, 1962: Construction of the Riedl and Freede building on Rt. 3 and Passaic Ave. begins. The company also has an advertising agency at 424 Lakeview Ave. June 1962: A permit is issued to Spiral Binding Co. at Main Ave. and Bridewell Pl. in Delawanna for a 40,000-square-foot building.

May 18, 1962: Gensinger Motors, Inc. moves from Colfax and Clifton Ave’s. to Valley Rd., in the Notch. Proprietor and founder Stephen Gensigner, standing, is shown in a photo taken with Mayor Stanley Zwier who is seated in a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible.

1962: Polizzi Towing Co. operates from a yard off Svea Ave. before moving to River Rd. in Delawanna.

Nov. 22, 1962: The Fighting Mustangs complete an undefeated season with a victory over Garfield and are awarded the NJ State football championship. Coached

by Joe Grecco, his career ended in 1963 with a lifetime 137-38-3 record. He was selected as the New York News All-Star Coach in 1956, 1957, and 1962, and twice chosen as the UNICO “All-Star High School High School Football Coach in the Nation.” Just before his death on Dec. 18, 2003, the field at Clifton School Stadium was named in Coach Grecco’s honor.

16 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Aug. 2, 1962: The Marching Mustang Band depart for the World Music Festival in Kerkrade, Netherlands. This trip also includes stops and performances in Cologne, Luxembourg, Paris and London.

Sept. 19, 1962: The former CHS at Piaget Ave. is renamed Christopher Columbus Junior High School.

Dec. 1962: The Faith Gospel Church on Hepburn Rd. constructs a basement and a framework and completed the building in 1966.

April 17, 1963: The Board of Education ends the annual football camp at Silver Lake in Sussex Co. due to hazing and pranks. Training would be held in Clifton Schools Stadium with no overnight sessions.

May 4, 1963: Oak Ridge Park on the Clifton Ave. extension at St. James Pl. is dedicated.

May 9, 1963: A fire destroys St. Phillip’s Church. Bids, coming in at $2 million for rebuilding, are submitted by Sept. 1963.

Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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On April 29, 1962, the 3,000 student Clifton High School on Colfax Ave. was officially dedicated. Built on land which for decades was the US Animal Quarantine Station, the structure was designed with three wings, one for each grade attending (grades 10-12). Marveled as state-of-the-art, it proved to be a showcase for the city and opened for students in September.

In the Spring of 1963, George Homcy with Clifton Municipal Court Judge John A. Celentano, and Councilman William E. Sellinger. The purpose of the row boat excursion into Dundee Lake was to prove that the lake section, not the river, was very shallow and would be an appropriate location for Rt. 21.

18 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

June 1, 1963: The regional Aheka Council of the Boy Scouts of America schedules its annual weekend camporee at Nash Park.

July 11, 1963: A 16-ton New Jersey State Museum historymobile commemorating 300 years of New Jersey history I stationed at Gensinger’s Volkswagen in the Notch for the day. It contains maps, documents, dioramas and pictures.

On July 15, the historymobile is visited by 1,100 at Garret Mountain.

Aug. 1963: Ground is broken for a several room addition to School 16.

Aug. 1963: Attempts to erect highrise apartments in Richfield are ended by neighborhood protests.

Among these are the development on Benkendorf’s Farm off Conklin Dr. and on Grove St. where the builder substituted homes.

Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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It was the end of an era at 11:30 am, on April 1, 1963, as the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad had its first section of track lifted out of the roadbed in downtown Passaic, ending 131 years of service which linked Clifton, Passaic and Paterson and others in the region.

Rail executives and guests such as US Senator Harrison Williams, Clifton Mayor Ira Schoem and City Manager William Holster rode the last train to the downtown Passaic station for the event. They and others then attended a luncheon at Gene Boyle’s Restaurant in Clifton.

Thousands of citizens—from all walks of life— came to see the last train leave the station, pictured here, many with a tear in their eye.

With the advent of inexpensive fuel and large automobiles, trains were growing obsolete and the tracks had been likened to a giant scar running down the center of Passaic. Once the rails were removed and acres of parking were offered to shoppers, merchants envisioned a new and thriving downtown shopping district.

Within a year, the land which once held the tracks on Main Ave. was replaced with parking lots, as officials began preparing for a new chapter in economic prosperity for downtown Passaic.

Thanks to the new parking offered on the old rail beds, prosperity did come to downtown Passaic but it lasted just a few years. Times were changing and fickle shoppers wanted to stroll indoors, and instead they

20 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

began to drive to nearby enclosed malls. One by one, long-established Passaic merchants either closed or relocated and soon the shopping district evolved.

While the passenger rail beds were removed in 1963, the Erie-Lackawanna line would continue to offer freight service from Paterson through Clifton and into Passaic.

The rail spur ran parallel to Main Ave., and up until the late 1970’s, crossed over Clifton Ave. at Getty Ave., where TD Bank is currently located.

But when the rail bridge was removed and the old train beds were sold to adjacent businesses, the era of rail service essentially ended for Clifton.

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Aug. 19, 1963: Construction for a $250,000 firehouse on Main Ave. in Delawanna is approved.

1963: Interchemical Corp. moves into its new multi-million dollar research center at Rt. 3 and Garden State Parkway. It manufactures industrial finishes with products for packaging, publishing, textiles and lithographing.

Dec. 3, 1963: The BOE votes $9,000 for the demolition of School 10.

Dec. 30, 1963: Joseph M. Gondola is sworn in as Clifton Postmaster, succeeding Frank Gersie who retired after 50 years; 500 friends attended a testimonial dinner.

Jan. 2, 1964: A Tercentenary flag raising is held at City Hall with the CHS Concert Choir and Mustang Band.

Timeline continues on pg. 28

The 1963 Clifton Little League Junior Development team sponsored by Kirk Pharmacy which was on Van Houten Ave.

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The 1962-1966 City Council seen standing from left Vernon Morrman, Stanley Zwier, Joe Grecco, William E. Sellinger and Arthur Sullivan.

Seated from left: Joe Vanecek and Mayor Ira Schoem. Also pictured are City Manager Bill Holster and City Clerk Edith Marrion.

March 18, 1964: William Vander Closter is named football coach to replace Joseph Grecco. From 19641979, Vandy led the Fighting Mustangs to five state championships with a 108-28-7 record.

Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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The

Wonderful

By Phillip Read

years

The year was 1964. The place: Harrington and Woods End Rds. in the Allwood section, a true post–war tract development of Cape Cods and the occasional ranch.

And it was the height of the Baby Boom. How else could you get 15 kids in a picture without throwing a party?

There’s Bill Read, with a stray cat dubbed “Snowball” and younger brother Phil, to his right. Also there is Debbie Daves, who lived a few doors down. Then there’s Dorian Flint and her brother Ross, whose house next door (noticeable for its truly Colonial appearance) had the most incredibly big (though rocky) three-level back yard.

Among the other neighborhood kids, though not necessarily pictured, were Laurie Springle, Debbie’s next store neighbor, and the Meffins, two boys and a girl.

Music was important, as it is with every youthful generation. The “band” was make-believe, seen through a picture window, “playing” early Beatles songs, the record player off to the side. It was a gig that would be re–pro24 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

duced for “talent shows” then held at Mt. Prospect Park down the street, along with best pet parades, always a bring–em–out affair.

Entrepreneurs, we were. I sold flower and vegetable seeds door–to–door and I fondly remember that Mr. Peterson, whose home was across the street, was my best customer. Money could be earned in other ways too, from shoveling snow to collecting bottles for scrap.

Our “Man From U.N.C.L.E” clubhouse was in the back yard, soon filled with newspapers collected for the few quarters a recycler would pay for them.

There was the movie house run out of the garage, admission 25 cents. Popcorn was sold too. There, we’d run my Dad’s old 16 millimeter projector, showing silent films of Our Gang, Buck Rogers, and the cartoons of his day, even though it was the 1960s.

I remember later trekking down Harrington to try to find a light bulb for the old projector, reaching an electronics repair shop that was once near the Allwood Theater and a gift shop. It was cold, the dead of winter, with much snow on the ground. Frozen, and perhaps 20 more houses to pass en route to home, I desperately turned

Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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into the walkway of the Spences, seeking help. Mrs. Spence ushered me in, quickly seeing my plight (It was Mr. Spence, the real–estate agent, who helped my family buy this, our first home, in 1962). They called my folks, who found me well taken care of, a blanket over my shoulders and a cup of hot cocoa in my hand. I’ll never forget that kindness.

We even held Haunted Houses (same charge, same garage), in which we’d pull the kids through in a red wagon, with “monsters” jumping out at them.

One money-making job I wish I could forget: shoveling heavy, deep snow from a neighbor’s sidewalk, a burdensome experience for which I was rewarded with 50 cents. And this from the people we shared a party line with! I expected at least a dollar. I never shoveled that walkway again. The Spence house was not too far from the corner house where I attended Den meetings of Cub Pack 22.

It was on that corner, in 1963, when I learned that President Kennedy had been shot and killed. Two older boys yelled the news to me when I turned that corner, on my way home from School 9, the 9 that still shines in that unforgettable school song.

26 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

“I don’t believe you,” I said, only to run into the corner house and sink in a big, padded chair. I remember watching the TV recant the darkness and tears of that day, a day when government was viewed as an instrument of good, a hand put forth to aid others in need–not the reputation it has today at the endless verbal beatings by those who’d attack “big government” at very turn. Sad. Harrington Rd. will always share a special place in Clifton’s History. The new ‘63 Chevy Impala, white with red interior, would be parked there, a testament to America’s growing affluence.

The old Hillman, acquired by my Dad under the cover of night, sat in need of repair long enough that a dutiful neighbor alerted police to its unwanted presence. No more memories of the long smoke trail it left on a fun–filled ride past that shiny School 9.

Journalist Philip M. Read, CHS ‘73, has authored several books, including two about Clifton and his latest, ‘Memories from the Meadowbrook, From big bands to dinner-theater to rock ‘n’ roll.’ He now publishes 27587 MAGAZINE, taking its name from a zip code that’s home to 54,000 people in the state of his birth, North Carolina. Read it at 27587magazine.com.

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March 22, 1964: Clifton observes “Clifton Day” at the New York World’s Fair as part of New Jersey’s tercentennial.

June 14, 1964: Joseph Sperling Park in Athenia is dedicated. It is named for the first Clifton serviceman killed in World War II. He died at Pearl Harbor on the USS Curtis.

June 14, 1964: Betty Lutz is named Clifton City Clerk.

Summer 1964: Clifton offers to lease School 7 in the Botany to Passaic County for use as a Vo-Tech high school. Passaic County makes other plans and School 7 is razed.

1964: Clifton Elks Lodge 1569 burns, is destroyed and built anew.

Aug. 4, 1964: Village Bakery at 386 Piaget Ave. reopens after renovations with a ribbon cutting.

When Clifton podiatrist Tom Granziano was 14 in 1964, he and his band mates The Surftones were in the Clifton Boys Club Teen Center making music for the ages. “We jammed to hits like Wipe Out,” he recalled recently. Other band members were Lenny Daidone on drums and Steve Giovenco and another fellow on guitar. While Graziano went into the medical field, he said he enjoyed his time as a rock and roller. “That was a Kay guitar from Sears,” he said of his instrument. “That was the first guitar Eric Clapton had. His second was a 335 Gibson, just like me. I guess great musical minds were thinking along the same lines.”

August 20, 1964. Kim Trainor of Clifton, in a photo from the archives of the Paterson News, showing paintings of the Beatles she created at an art show.

Sept. 22, 1964: Plans for a seven story Senior Citizens facility at Daughters of Miriam are approved.

Oct. 5, 13 and 23, 1964: The all purpose rooms at Schools 5, 8 and 16 are formally dedicated.

Nov. 1, 1964: Gov. Richard J. Hughes is the featured speaker at the dedication of the Clifton Jewish Center, 18 Delaware St. Nov. 9, 1964: The Clifton Democratic Club is said to be New Jersey’s largest with over 1,000 members.

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Latteri Park, at Hampton Rd. and Allwood Pl. in Rosemawr, was named for Anna Latteri, Clifton’s first female mayor.

Her career in public life began in 1960 when she was appointed to the Library Board where her strong opinions put her at odds with Supt.

William Shershin and some board members. In 1962 she was named to the Board of Education in a term press reports described as turbulent.

Her passionate views and strong presence appealed to the voting public. In 1966, she became the first woman elected to Clifton’s City Council. Latteri’s campaign and time in office focused a war on drugs and opposition to sex education programs. She was also a booster of beautification programs and an advocate for urban renewal projects in Botany and Allwood.

In the 1970 election, she earned 13,021 votes, topping 27 candidates to become mayor. She continued to take an interest in the affairs of the library and school boards. Her battles to keep some novels off library shelves catapulted her into the national news.

In 1971, she underwent cancer surgery but returned to her post and others a year later. In 1972, she was named to the human resources committee of the US Conference of Mayors which she used as a pulpit to lobby against the income tax sought by Gov. William T. Cahill.

Anna Latteri died July 8, 1973.

30 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

IT&T strikers in Clifton September 10, 1964.

1965: The Northside Christian Reformed congregation sells its church on Myrtle Ave. and Burgess Pl. in Passaic and relocates to Grove St. near Conklin Dr. in Richfield.

1965: Peter Iuliani purchases J.O. Grand Variety Store on Main Ave. between Clifton and Madison Aves.

Feb. 19, 1965: The Werksman Library of the Clifton Jewish Center on Delaware St. is dedicated.

March 8, 1965: Clifton Fire Chief, Romolo Zangrando, commences a terminal leave prior to his June 18, 1965 retirement. Steven Lendl is named Acting Clifton Fire Chief.

May 4, 1965: After some controversy and many years of delays, the Brighton Rd - Allwood Urban Development project for a 7.5-acre redevelopment is approved. Four frame buildings housing 32 garden apartments are razed in favor of a firehouse, library and a park.

May 16, 1965: Ground is broken for the growing First Evangelical Lutheran congregation at Van Houten Ave. and Grove St. to include a school and church. The group’s former church on Washington Ave. in downtown Clifton is sold to the St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox congregation.

July 1, 1965: Ground breaking for the new St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Clifton Ave. is held.

Sept. 21, 27, 1965: Passaic County Citizens’ Planning Commission presents an urban renewal plan for a 29-acre section of the Botany. The Clifton City Council approves it.

Oct. 1, 1965: Williamsburg East and West on Grove Street near Route 3, are nearly completed.

Nov. 14, 1965: A badly needed main US Post Office for Clifton is planned for the Paulison and DeMott Ave. intersection.

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Frankie

Randall Aug. 17, 1965: Singer Frankie Randall, born Frank Joseph Lisbona and a 1955 CHS grad, performs at the Central Theater in Passaic after his movie, Wild on the Beach in which he stars with, among others, Sonny & Cher, is premiered. Randall, then 27 and soaring, was already known as a “Rat Pack singer and Frank Sinatra’s house pianist.”

Above in 2009, that’s Frankie on the piano at a Frank Sinatra Foundation Fundraiser. From left, Dennis Farina, Deana Martin, John Griffeth, Jerry Vale, Ken Venturi, Pat Boone, Tony Lo Bianco, Vince Ferragamo. At left, that’s Frankie in Clifton with his old pals Terry La Corte, Al Mardirossian, jr. and Tom Cupo. The former Mustang died in 2014 at the age of 76.

32 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

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was athe rls ew uprst ial ly, old Mt. erhe for

Spring 1965â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Perhaps this was a case of equal rights? In 1965, 663 young women signed and presented a petition to the city with the goal of creating a Girls Club. After being considered by the Board of Rec, the Girls Club of Clifton was officially founded in 1966 by Donna Aiello. Charles Manella, pictured right, helped support it by offering his East First St. address as the first home of the club. The club eventually purchased the former post office at Van Houten and Mt. Prospect Aves. but decades later merged the two organizations to create the Boys & Girls Club of Clifton.

Fall 1965: The Passaic Valley United Givers Fund for the support of the 43 health, welfare and youth agencies is formed. It replaces local United Fund drives in Passaic County. Through 1966, $672,037 is raised, and a goal of $800,000 is sought for 1966 to 1967.

Dec. 7, 1965: The Delawanna firehouse site is selected by the City Council on lower Main Ave. at the Allwood Rd. intersection.

March 6, 1966: The First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Clifton dedicates a new sanctuary on Van Houten Ave. and Grove St. 1966: Stephen Gaal Paint Co. is sold to Michael Brandl.

Timeline continues on pg. 50

Adeline DeVries who was the Nurse at Camp Clifton, the Boys Club camp in Jefferson Township, during the summers of 1969 through 1976.

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Bill Bate and his wife Clara on the campaign trail in 1966 when he was top vote getter but was denied the job of Clifton Mayor. And below a photo before his passing in Jan. 2011.

Five decades ago, Bill Bate burst on Clifton’s political scene and kicked everyone’s tail. Incumbents, challengers, or the “Big Three,” Bate blitzed them all on May 19, 1966. He totaled 16,035 votes—61 percent of the 26,000 cast and the most ever tallied by a Clifton City Council candidate.

Bate, then a 32-year-old lawyer, represented needed change. Politically ambitious since he was a boy, Bate worked in Washington DC as a legislative assistant to Congressman (later Superior Court Judge) Charles S. Joelson prior to Bate’s 1966 council run and enjoyed the ardent support of the Democratic Party.

A lifelong city resident, he was married, ambitious and ready to take on the world.

There were whispers during the election Bate someday would become New Jersey’s first governor from Clifton. And, after trouncing the field of 45 candidates, the whispers didn’t seem far-fetched.

A key to Bate’s victory was his strong showing in the Botany section, where he placed third behind two candidates of Slavic ancestry, Joseph Vanecek and Doc Surgent. When the election results were announced, Bate and his happy supporters, including campaign manager Louie Wasserstrum, marched from his Main Ave. office to Clifton City Hall, then at the corner of Main and Harding Aves., to celebrate.

36 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

“After I won the election,” Bate remembered, “I called City Manager Bill Holster, a republican, and pledged my full cooperation.

I think he was shocked. Then I called a meeting of the winning council members to decide who would be mayor.”

Despite his mandate from Clifton’s citizens and the city’s 25-year tradition of awarding the top finisher the mayor’s job, the council had a different agenda. Vanecek, Thomas Cupo, and Ira Schoem, Clifton’s “Big Three,” were against Bate. Surgent and Merv Montgomery took turns voting against him, switching their allegiance during the two council votes.

“They knew what they were doing,” Bate said. “They kept the vote 4-3 against me each time. Only (councilwoman) Anna Latteri was loyal to me.”

Despite polling 1,200 fewer votes than Bate, Vanecek was chosen as mayor by the council. Bate challenged the ruling in court, but was unsuccessful in overturning the decision. Clifton’s rising political star had suffered a bitter defeat. But if you think his first election’s outcome would have soured Bate on public service, think again.

“It wasn’t personal,” Bate said in a 2006 interview with this magazine, “it was politics. I was the lone Democrat. And since the Board of Education members were appointed by the mayor rather than elected by the people, they weren’t handing me the job.”

Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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TH E

N BA

PS M BU

By J ack

De Vries

CHS Students Protest on Decision to add Speed Bumps

It was the Age of Aquarius, the time of the Beatles, and an era of social upheaval. Women burned bras, students burned draft cards, and the establishment burned with anger as hippies, yippies, and assorted radicals challenged the status quo.

Adults were confused and angry. The kids grew their hair long, communicated in a new groovy language, and listened to ear-splitting, root-of-all-evil noise called rock and roll.

And it seemed kids during the sixties were upset about everything. They rallied against discrimination, screamed for equal rights…and demanded the government ban the bumps!

That’s right, bumps—as in speed bumps.

38 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

At least Clifton High School students did back in 1966 when they focused their youthful rage on the macadam mounds.

The problem started when kids began drag racing in the school parking lot. The Clifton Board of Education decided to erect a fence to keep the hot rods out. The fence worked…until a befuddled milkman plowed his truck through it.

With the fence a mess, a new solution was needed.

“We were afraid a kid was going to get killed,” says Fred Lombardo, a retired industrial arts teacher. “The kids would drive in to the parking lot with their soupedup cars and start racing. Either someone was going to get run over or a driver was going to lose control and

n e

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s e o d

Looking over a partially installed bump leading to the entrance of CHS are Walter Senko (right) and Emil Mihalik, two high school custodians. The car is stopped at a board, which will later be covered by macadam.

crash. One of the teachers came up with the idea for the speed bumps because he’d seen it used somewhere else.”

The Clifton Department of Public Works (DPW) got to work, determined to create a hassle for GTOs and little deuce coups. But no one in the high school or over at city hall would realize what a commotion this action would cause.

To create the new speed bumps, workers took 2-by-8 boards, placed 2-by-6 boards on top of them, and covered the boards with macadam. They installed six bumps and planned to build 29 more. That’s when the trouble began. First, school janitor Charles Bruin was hurt after crashing his car on a bump. Three Public Service busses also had nasty bump encounters.

Students scraped their cars’ oil pans on the speed

bumps, and industrial arts teacher William Borowski’s little foreign car got stranded on a macadam mountain.

Even parents dropping off underclassmen began freaking out when the bottom of their station wagons scraped on the bumps.

What a drag! It was time to question authority, and CHS began to rise up and protest.

“Like any change, there’s always a reaction,” recalls Lombardo. “But the teachers were surprised how the kids reacted.” On a March morning before school, 20 students staged a sit-in on one of the 6-inch high, 49-foot wide bumps. Herald-News reporter Gordon Bishop wrote: “The 20 card-carrying demonstrators were supported by almost 200 pupils, crowding about them on the sidewalks.”

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THE

BAN BUMPS Who are the radicals that took over CHS that cool March day back in 1966? Are some of the protest organizers pictured here? And whatever happened to that card-burning Terry Krinsky? We’re not sure but here are some of the potential protestors...

Nancy Maurer Muddell, Jackie Sussman Schein, Bennett Wasserstrum, Michael Ressetar, Nancy Demattia Ressetar, Nicholas Telep, Norma Smith, Robert Castronovo, Robert Morgan, Ralph Caprio, Murem Sakas Sharpe, Michael Telofski, Dan Goodell, Stephen Morici.

Students carried signs and chanted, “Ban the Bumps!” and “What’s next? Bars on windows?”

Other students voiced their support by hanging banners from classroom windows. But before the protest could escalate, the Clifton Police were called and herded the students back into school.

The next day, the students staged a demonstration that would make Abbie Hoffman proud.

“I can’t even remember who started the protest,” claims Nancy Muddell, a student at the time and today a Clifton school teacher.

“But it became the thing to do,” she admits. “Most of us were coming into school when it started and we stayed outside and took part.”

Cars with beige masking tape spelling out “Ban the Bump” drove around the school. Marchers sang, “Old MacDonald Had a Bump.” Nearly the entire student population of 2,500 united behind removing the speed bumps. “Most kids were just protesting for the sake of protesting,” Lombardo believes.

Nonetheless, things did get heated. Newspapers reported students grappled with police. Four protesters were taken away, including a 17-year-old senior who struck a police officer trying to disperse the crowd.

Cries of “police brutality” rang out. Sergeant Frank Strawz had to wrestle with one 6-foot 2-inch senior to subdue him, and Patrolman Gerald Wirt injured an ankle while struggling with another protester.

The demonstration continued inside the school. After classes started at 8:05 am, some students continued to 40 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

march in the hallways, chanting against the bumps.

Student Terry Krinsky tried to burn his student activity card but it wouldn’t ignite because of the plastic coating.

Poor Aaron Halpern.

The principal of Clifton High returned from a business trip to find his school in an uproar. He called a special session of the student council to allow student president John Clark to speak with his fellow students.

At the end of the school day, Halpern met with student representatives and agreed the bumps were too high and would be “trimmed down.”

Like many sixties protests, the great “Ban the Bumps!” demonstration led to positive change. With lower speed bumps, Clifton High returned to normal.

The students of CHS from that era had lived their own civics lesson, using their voices to defeat the establishment—much to the chagrin of city’s auto mechanics.

“We got over it pretty quickly,” says Muddell, who helps coordinate reunions for the Class of 1966.

“Today, when we ask our classmates to write down their memories, the most frequently mentioned is the ‘ban the bumps’ protest.”

The speed bumps that now guard the CHS parking lot are a testament to Muddell’s class —a time when courageous students showed what the phase “Power to the People!” really meant.

Yeah, right, a student of today might say... “a protest over speed bumps? Get real—that’s not even worth pushing pause on my iPod.”

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973-340-3400 • Ext. 7223 Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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By Tom Hawrylko At the age of 11 Larry Packer would board a Public Service bus at Passaic and Lenox Aves. and head to Washington Pl. in downtown Passaic, to the second floor of the old Elks building. There, under the tutelage of Anthony Sinigalliano, Packer would rosin up his bow and learn the finer techniques of the instrument which took him from Clifton to stages across the world, playing fiddle, guitar and mandolin with legendary performers.

Asked to name his favorites, he immediately cites David Amram, who has composed over 100 orchestral and chamber works, two operas, and scores for theater and film, including Splendor in the Grass and The Manchurian Candidate. And then of course, when he was 19, there was guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

Five decades later, Packer modestly shares tales of his musical life and recollections of Clifton in a series of telephone interviews. He is talking from his home in a Catskills Mountain village, an hour from Bethel, where the original Woodstock Festival took place on a rainy weekend on Aug. 15, 16 and 17, 1969.

As the opening act for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Packer recalled that his band, Cat Mother and The All Night Newsboys, were scheduled to perform at the Woodstock Festival.

42 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

On performing with Jimi Hendrix

“He had a certain amount of respect for me because he knew the violin wasn’t an easy instrument to play.”

’’

’

The 1966 CHS Literary Staff. First row, from left, Susan Lukavich, Joanne Zak, advisor Judy Cohen, Jason Kanter, Susan Irwin and Pat Piermatti.

Second row: Kenneth Wieder, John Hayes, Kathy Raschka, Cathy Lee and Karen Leibowitz. Third row: Joan Lafer, Doug Miller, Phoebe Pollinger, Joan Bornstein, and Grace Mickelsen. Fourth row: Karen Tietjen, Larry Packer, Joyce Zankel and Carol Cohen.

By that Summer of Love, Packer was just 20 but already a seasoned performer. For the past year, he was on the road with Cat Mother promoting their new album, which was produced by Hendrix and distributed on his Polydor label. They were riding the wave of their hit single, “Good Old Rock ’n’ Roll”.

“We were doing all the big outdoor festivals and stadiums,” recalled Packer. “We’d go on just before Jimi.”

That August, Cat Mother performed at the Detroit Pop Festival in Mt. Clemens, Mich. The next stop on the tour was Woodstock.

“At about 2 in the morning, I wanted to arrange my wake-up call so I asked our road manager if we were flying into New York and then driving up to Woodstock,” said Packer.

“He said Bethel (where the concert was held) was rainy, the grounds were a sea of mud and the NY State Thruway was closed,” Packer laughed at the memory of his manager’s decision.

“Wait. It gets better,” he continued. “Then he said—the only way we could get the band in was

by helicopter and that was ridiculous. Besides, it wouldn’t do your career any good anyway—meaning this was a nothing event. The real story was that he had a date that night with the clerk behind the counter at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Clemens.”

So while the world watched the legendary Three Days of Peace & Music of Woodstock unfold to be forever etched in our memories, Packer and Cat Mother were grounded in the Motor City when they should have been working their way through the mud and going on that wet stage, right before Jimi Hendrix.

A year later, Packer was wearing tight jeans

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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On not appearing at Woodstock

In a 1968 publicity still from Cat Mother and The All Night Newsboys, that’s Clifton’s Larry Packer, at center, carrying a violin and guitar. Their rock and roll medley ‘Good Old Rock ’n’ Roll” debuted on June 28, 1969 and peaked at 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The single and the band’s first album, ‘The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away’, were produced by Jimi Hendrix.

and a leather jacket, greasing his long hair into a pompadour; he was touring Canada, playing guitar with Sha Na Na, one of the groups that springboarded into the national spotlight as a result of their performance at Woodstock. “Everyone wanted to hear my stories about being at Woodstock,” Packer said, looking back to his 1970 tour. “I kind of paraphrase a quote from Satchell Paige... it’s okay to look back, just don’t stare.

You can’t dwell on that kind of stuff.”

You never know what you are spared from,” continued Packer, noting that adage may be from a Moroccan proverb, but he’s not sure.

“It’s okay,” he said of missing Woodstock, “it seemed as if there was plenty to do anyway.” Talent, fate, luck and hard work have taken Packer to stages across the globe and allowed him to explore music in so many different ways. Looking back, Packer said there are few if any regrets.

He has shared the stage, performed and recorded with Levon Helm, Maria Muldaur, Lou Reed, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, David Bromberg and Harry Belafonte, among others. He’s played as the house band on Saturday Night Live, backed up Johnny Cash and “toured Japan twice in a cowboy hat playing four 15minute gigs a day in the RIHGA Royal Hotels.”

While he could still be touring the world like others in his musical league, Packer’s main gig these days is 44 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

“Then (his manager) said the only way we could get the band in was by helicopter and that was ridiculous.

Besides, it wouldn’t do your career any good anyway.”

’’

with the Hudson Valley based Hair Of The Dog, a Celtic folk/rock band that Billboard Magazine noted as one of the biggest sellers of Irish Music.

The group includes Rick Bedrosian on bass and vocals, Mike DeAngelis on acoustic guitar and vocals, John Haggerty on banjo, acoustic guitar and vocals, Eric Finn on electric guitar, mandolin and vocals, Scott Apicelli on drums and Packer on fiddle.

A conversation with Packer is filled with anecdotes and sidebars related to legendary names and places from the good old days of rock and roll.

“I really loved Levon Helm. Playing with The Band was an honor and a great learning experience, for sure,” Packer said when asked to name his favorite musicians.

“I’m proud to play violin in David Amram’s quartet. I also loved being the first fiddle player for Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s tours of America and Europe and being in their London debut in 1976.”

His credits also include performances on The Band’s The Last Waltz rockumentary (1978) and on Saturday Night Live in skits with John Belushi. He appeared in another rockumentary, Festival Express (2004) based on the 1970 Canadian tour with Sha Na Na that followed their performance at Woodstock. Over the years, he has been in the company of The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and The Band, to name just a few.

Growing up at 41 Lenox Ave. as the oldest of

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45

four children—sister Linda (Berman) graduated CHS 1968, Sharon in 1972 and David in 1980—to his parents Sidney and Toni, Packer first picked up a violin after finding one in his home.

“My dad’s uncle, the actor Paul Muni, visited my father’s home in Passaic and bought a fiddle off a pushcart in the city and gave it to my dad as a gift. It was in our attic on Lenox Ave. and I think you had to play an instrument in school,” guessed Packer who attended Schools 9 and 2 before graduating CHS in 1966. “I took it to school and got started.”

He took a liking to the sound and it seemed natural; soon young Larry Packer was practicing hours a week.

Instruction in a classical method with Sinigalliano followed and Packer’s lifelong love affair with stringed

On performing with Jeff Seitz

“...he couldn’t rehearse with us so my job was to talk him through the show... He’d catch the sound and just knew what to do. Jeff was quite more of a professional than we were.”

’’

instruments blossomed.

Exploring new and old genres of music, Packer went beyond the traditional methods of training. “By high school, I was listening to old folk and blues guitar players on the radio and on records and I started teaching myself the roots of the music,” Packer said.

Citing legends such as John Lee Hooker, Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi John Hurt as influences, Packer was a young teen hitting the East Village club scene to hear live music. “I’d go into New York and catch a show and get a chance to shake their hands.”

In 1963 or 1964, Packer was in his first band, Back Door Men, which included fellow Cliftonites Steve Sher and Packer on guitar, Paul Henry on bass (“maybe we even had three guitars and one of us played the bass line 46 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

I’m not sure,” Packer said) and lead singer Russell Ulics.

“We did Rolling Stones kind of music. Russell was a great front man. He used to go into the city on Delancey St. and find shark skinny vests to match his gray suit. He’d wear a tie—the whole bit—and he’d get the crowd going and take his jacket off, unbutton the vest and throw it in the audience. Imagine the pandemonium that ensued. It was a slick show.”

Packer continued, “We didn’t have a regular drummer but we used to meet up with Jeff Seitz. I remember he couldn’t rehearse with us so my job was to talk him through the show, sing a few bars, before we went on stage. He’d catch the sound and just knew what to do.

Jeff was quite more of a professional than we were. I think we paid him about $10 a show.”

Motivated by peers like Seitz and inspired by the blues legends, Packer set his goals on being a guitar player and that’s where he invested his time and money.

“Me and Paul Henry were parking cars at Gene Boyle’s and I worked at Charm Cleaners for three years so I was able to buy my first Gibson J-200,” Packer said, noting the J meant a jumbo body and the good looking guitar produced a great big sound. “I should have never sold that guitar,” he lamented.

Back Door Men performed at Battle of the Bands and other local stages but Packer had another group with Paul Henry that gained some attention in 1965.

“We formed a Peter, Paul and Mary kind of band with our neighbor Khristine Bacha. She didn’t sing that well but she was blond and looked like Mary and we were out and I remember we ended up on the front page of the Herald News. I think the writer was Tom Sullivan.”

That fall of 1966, Packer attended Drew University.

While he remembers the Madison campus as having a good music scene, he spent more time in Greenwich Village performing or listening to music than in class.

One night in particular Packer recounted going with a friend to the Cafe au Go-Go to see John Hammond Jr. “I had sat-in with him when I was 17 but that night we just wanted to see the show. And there was this guy with an afro playing left hand guitar. Turns out it was Jimi Hendrix—Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.

Jimi led the electric band behind John Hammond Jr. and within a couple of months he was famous.”

Hendrix formed the Blue Flames in the summer

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of 1966 and played six nights a week at the Café Wha? on MacDougal St. before Hendrix went to England in Sept. to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Meanwhile, Packer finished that first semester at Drew and decided if he were to attend school it would be to study music. He spent a few more months living in Madison, working in the student cafeteria before being accepted at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

He moved to Boston in 1967 and

In 1990, dad Sidney who died in 1991, sister Sharon, sister Linda (Berman), brother David, mom Sidonie, who now lives in Florida, and Larry.

started attending classes only to be disappointed. He had an English professor who didn’t like music students and a violin teacher that never showed up for class.

In the Boston music scene, Packer was playing guitar country blues and met up with Paul Geremia, noted as “one of the best white acoustic bluesmen working, for his expressive singing as well as his dexterous playing.”

Thanks to that friendship, Larry Packer’s career was about to take off. “I went with Paul down to New York City to The Bitter End on Bleecker St. in a showcase there.

After the show Roy Michaels from Cat Mother came up to me and asked do you know anybody from Boston that could play guitar, violin and mandolin? and I said, nah, nobody but me, and that was it. In one night, Cat Mother moved me out of Boston.”

The group sent a bass player by the name of Barnaby to Boston to fetch the 19-year-old musician.

“Barnaby was big, 6-foot-7 easily.

He carried all my furniture down 48 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

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two flights and put it in his Econoline van and drove me to 7th St. and Avenue E,” recalled Packer.

That next morning, he was practicing with Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys. The lineup included guitarist Charlie Chin, bassist Roy Michaels, Bob Smith on keyboard, and Michael Equine on drums and Packer handling guitar, fiddle and mandolin.

By the end of 1967, Cat Mother was regularly headlining the Café Wha? and soon were ensconced as the house band at Electric Circus, a wild and famous nightclub on St. Marks Pl. between Second and Third Aves. That year, Cat Mother created a sound and built a reputa- Larry at his Bar Mitzvah from Temple Emanuel on Lafayette Ave., Passaic in 1961 with tion. They were on bills with his violin teacher, Anthony Sinigalliano and his mom Sidonie and a sister. groups like Blues Magoos, Sly & the Family Stone and the Chambers sizeable amount of royalties from ‘Marie,’” said Packer.

Brothers.

“It has a nice old-fashioned French sound to it and the “I saw Ike and Tina Turner together,” he said. “The mandolin is featured. It is very popular in the old eastGrateful Dead... There was (Woodstock MC) Wavy ern block countries—Estonia, Ukraine, the Czech Gravy, Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey all in the same Republic, Latvia. We also get sales from Germany, place... it was wild.”

Denmark, England, France and Western Europe.”

In 1970, Packer would record another album with Cat In 1969 the group signed to Polydor Records, with Mother, Albion Doo-Wah, before going on tour with Sha Jimi Hendrix producing their debut LP The Street Giveth Na Na. But looking back on the Cat Mother days and and the Street Taketh Away—supported by a series of being part of the opening act for Jimi Hendrix was a appearances as Hendrix’s opener. magical time. “Jimi off stage, one-to-one was low-key, They had a Top 25 hit in the Summer of 1969 with soft spoken, easy to be around,” Packer said, recalling “Good Old Rock’n’Roll” which included cover versions his days when he was not yet 20 and performing with the of “Sweet Little Sixteen” by Chuck Berry, “Long Tall legendary guitarist. “He had a certain amount of respect Sally” by Little Richard, “Chantilly Lace” by The Big for me because he knew the violin wasn’t an easy instruBopper, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Jerry Lee ment to play.”

Lewis, “Blue Suede Shoes” by Carl Perkins and “Party That’s a fact Larry Packer knows well. “I just put in Doll” by Buddy Knox. two-and-a-half hours doing the classical stuff,” Packer “It had a hook that was original,” explained Packer. said on a recent Saturday afternoon. “I’m still having a “Then it went into the medley and then back to the hook: ball playing mandolin, fiddle, writing music. Then Just a little boy, my one and only joy, was listening to there’s fishing and gardening. There’s no letting up.” that good old rock and roll. I just turned 23, if you Looking forward to his 68tht birthday on Sept. 26, wanna get a message to me, all you gotta do is play that Larry Packer says music keeps him youthful and he good old rock and roll...” expects to be fiddling and enjoying life with his wife That first album also had another successful track, Cheri and their son Jesse for many birthdays to come.

“Marie,” that had an anti-war theme to it. “I still get a Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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By Joe Hawrylko

“One of the parents said to me that these Mustangs went away as little boys,” recalled assistant coach Ray Promin, “and they came back as little men.”

Imagine the excitement of being an 11 year old on a plane headed to The staff for 1966: Coach Frank Pecci, assistant coaches Jack Boetcher, Florida in the middle of November Ray Promin, club president Gene Ross, and treasurer John Dee. for a football game. Now imagine The players: Ken Pami, James Spillane, Frank La Ceese, Joseph Calise, doing it in 1966. At that time, air Carmen Alotta, Dennis Ryby, Dennis and Douglas Kleber, Robert Perugino, transportation was not as common as Robert Andriknich, Kenneth Moore, John Van Dorn, Jay Russo, Patrick it is today. But for 33 lucky Clifton Gully, William Campbell, Robert Bania, James Turano, Robert Coates, Junior Mustangs, it’s a football story Robert Walker, Thomas Carleo, Robert Siljee, Thomas De Stefano, David they still tell.

Chambers, Richard Waller, Anthony Pollizi, Stephen Augustine, Thomas In an era when most youth teams Biro, James Carrigan, Edward Chaky, Richard DeLotto, Earl White, Roy played nearby communities, the 1966 McTeeran and Robert Pressner.

Mustangs were in a league of their All-Stars. The catch was that the Clifton’s kids raise the own as they became the first Clifton junior team to be funds to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and find a place invited to an out of state game. Their selection wasn’t to stay there. Luckily, their hometown came out to supby chance, either. port the Junior Fighting Mustangs.

“Our team was so good that we had trouble finding Local businesses, from large corporations like games in our weight class,” explained head coach Hoffman La Roche and Givaudan, to small mom and Frank Pecci, a football star at CHS from 1948-51. “It pop stores, lent their support to the boys. got so bad that we started playing Bantam weight Some gave money, others donated supplies for the teams, which were 15, 20 pounds heavier then us.” three day trip, such as toothbrushes, towels and other Led by Pecci, a former CHS football assistant coach goods which were bagged by Pecci, his wife and his for 13 years, the Junior ‘Stangs stepped out of the shadstaff and given to the boys. ows of the big boys at the high school and began their These gifts, combined with the funds raised by the own legacy as a powerhouse team by routinely domibooster drive, proved to be enough to send the nating teams statewide.

Mustangs to Fort Lauderdale, where they would spend Their play caught the attention of the Pop Warner their Thanksgiving in 1966. “Pop Warner told us we International Football League, who invited them to the just had to raise the money. Whatever wasn’t raised, Millard Cain Bowl in Florida, to play the Gill Hotel

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parents would pay,” said Pecci, who was then in his first of 12 years with the Junior Mustangs. “In the end, not one parent paid.”

Pecci knew that his boys would be under intense scrutiny once in Florida. Emulating the legendary Joe Grecco’s coaching style, Pecci stressed the importance of the public’s perception of the team.

Complete with suits, hair cuts and team bags, the Junior ‘Stangs could be mistaken for a pro team if it wasn’t for their size. Once the bus arrived at LaGuardia Airport on the morning of Nov. 23, all eyes were on the 33 kids from Clifton.

“For most of us, it was our first time on a plane,” recalled Rich DeLotto, a member of the ‘66 team and retired Clifton Firefighter.

“When we left, it was cold out, but down there, it was about 40 degrees warmer than here.”

Florida would also expose the boys to the southern lifestyle.

Players would spend their three days living with the family of an opposing player.

“That was an experience. We were in Florida and these were true southerners,” explained DeLotto.

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Jersey, our schools and other stuff. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the players.”

However, once the turkey was gone, these new friends would soon be turned into foes, with game day less than 24 hours away.

Nothing could prepare the Junior Mustangs for the huge game before them, as they had never played in an event of this magnitude.

“It was real impressive, like around 8,500 people at the game,” said DeLotto, recalling the 40 year old event like it happened recently. “It was like the old championship games at CHS. Plus, it was televised.”

But due to a scheduling error, the ‘Stangs would be playing their game with the odds stacked against them.

Pecci learned that they would be playing an all-star team some 15 pounds heavier then the Mustangs. But the kids didn’t travel 1,000 miles just for turkey.

However, pitted against much larger opponents, the Junior ‘Stangs didn’t fare well, getting shut out in the first half.

With nothing to lose, Pecci decided to start improvising and began drawing up plays on a board that many would deem too complex for kids. But the

Mustangs soaked it right up and scored 28 points in the second half, losing 52-28. It was a moral victory.

“It was more points against the all-stars that had been scored by any other team in their weight class all season,” reported Pecci in a post game interview.

The kids from Clifton even managed to win over their hosts with their gritty performance, and the Junior Mustangs were invited back for a game in 1968.

It was a new era for the Junior Mustangs.

Seeing how well the plays worked in the second half of the bowl game, Pecci borrowed plays from friend and former CHS teammate Ray ‘Ditch’ Malavasi, who would later go on to coach the LA Rams to the 1979 Super Bowl. Combined with Pecci’s stern coaching style, the Mustangs dominated, earning out-of-state bowl games in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, Maryland and Connecticut in eight out of 12 years under Pecci. The Millard Cain Bowl was the catalyst in starting this tradition. Assistant coach Ray Promin best summed up that experience.

“One of the parents said to me that these Mustangs went away as little boys,” he said, recalling the team’s first bowl game. “And they came back as little men.”

On Thanksgiving weekend in 1968, these Junior Mustangs had a come from behind victory at Auburndale Fla. before 1,000 fans under the lights. It was their ninth straight win with a score of 14-6. The team included Kyle Huziarski, Alan Lisowski, Dennis Kleber, Todd Kulich, Chris Conrad, Paul Lichtenberger; Gerry Andrew Lavage, Mike Duda, Pat Donohue, Greg Zipf, Steve Cusano, Ron Haraka, Jim Cannata, Al Asbaty, Dennis Perugino, Robert Gregg, Dave Sondey, Joe Musciotto, Robert Pasquale, Rick Forlenza, Charles Banghardt, Tom Juranich, Denis Kelly, Paul Galinak, James Radcliffe and Jim Shea.

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May 26, 1966: Mayor Joseph Vanecek takes the Oath of Office as Mayor of Clifton.

May 27, 1966: The New Jersey Bank & Trust Co. (Midlantic Bank) opens an Athenia branch in the refurbished Erie, Newark Branch, and railroad depot. A Cloverdale drive-in bank branch is also opened on Clifton Ave. at Cloverdale Rd. July 29, 1966: The CHS Mustang Band departs for Kerkrade, Netherlands to compete for the second time in the World Music Festival. They return with top prizes for concert, marching and overall.

Aug. 2, 1966: A $193,000 bond issue is approved by Clifton’s City Council to finance new public works equipment, municipal parking near Randolph Ave. and a new park at the School 7 site.

Aug. 6, 1966: The Second Thunderbird Golf Tournament returns to Clifton and opens at the Upper Montclair Country Club on Hepburn Rd. Summer 1966: The Red Chimney Restaurant opens on Rt. 3.

Sept. 28, 1966: Frank E. Gersie is named General Chairman for the Clifton 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee.

Nov. 1, 1966: The Clifton City Council votes to authorize the spending of $530,000 toward the purchase of the remaining 26 acres of the US Quarantine property. A $100,000 down payment is made.

Jan. 22, 1966: Fire completely destroys the Athenia Veterans’ Post Headquarters. It is rebuilt in less than one year.

In anticipation of Clifton’s Golden Jubilee, Mayor Joseph Vanacek celebrates the receipt of the bookmobile which bought books to the homes, essentially providing the city “Literacy on Demand.”

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April 22, 1967: Allwood Boy Scouts plant flowering Red Bud trees and Creeping Junipers on the center island of Allwood Rd. April 24, 1967: Clifton begins its 50th Anniversary observance.

April 28, 1967: Regina Mundi Chapter, Knights of Columbus, formally dedicated its new home at 1114 Main Ave., at Madison Ave. June 4, 1967: The 50th Anniversary parade sets off with 55 floats, 30 bands, 100 animals and many vintage autos. It is three hours in duration and is seen by over 200,000 people.

June 29, 1967: Clifton Blvd. and Fornelius Ave. residents form a human chain to protest heavy trucking to the Canny Truck Terminal.

Forty adults and 26 children protest.

June 30-July 4, 1967: The Golden Anniversary picnic, the city’s first citywide picnic, was held with much success in Main Memorial Park.

Sept. 18, 1967: Dr. Lester Meloney, the former Acquackanonk Township Commissioner, Clifton Health Officer and prominent Clifton Center physician (now Downtown Clifton) passes.

1967: The Federal Sweets & Water Co. on Clifton Blvd. closes.

1967: US Census counts 91,000 people occupying 26,500 dwelling units.

1968: Clifton Public School 7 on Parker Ave. in Botany is razed.

1968: Clifton Firemen become Public Safety Officers as they are now armed and pull Police Duty.

1968: The Clifton Girl Scout Council, founded in 1951, merges into northern New Jersey’s Lenni Lenape Girl Scout Council.

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The King & Queen of the Clifton Youth Week Talent Show, Paul Capaccio, 15 and Juanita Werst, 16, are shown in 1967 after winning their titles.

Paul Capaccio was the King of Clifton in 1967, and he still remembers that year as if it were yesterday. “It was a talent show,” said Capaccio, who was a CHS sophomore at the time. “I was a classical pianist so I played a work by Chopin.” The Chopin Polonaise in A Flat earned the 15-year-old the title of King of the Clifton Youth Week Talent Show. “It was good to get recognition for my hard work,” said Capaccio, who began playing at age 7. “I was practicing three hours ever day.”

He defeated Art Chiara and Gerald Chandler. The King was joined by Juanita Werst, 16 at the time, who won Queen after performing a monologue excerpt from “Joan of Arc.” The King and Queen and their court got to ride on a float at the Jubilee Parade. He also got the opportunity to play an outside concert one night at Nash Park.

“That was part of the King duties. We had to go to various clubs and functions as a court,” Capaccio said. In 1969, the one time King of Clifton performed at Carnegie Recital Hall a month before graduating CHS. Capaccio earned a bachelor’s degree in 1974 and a master’s in music the next year from the Juilliard School in New York City. Today, he is a concert pianist and teacher who still lives in Clifton near City Hall.

1968: The Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Ascension Church opens on Broad St. near Colfax Ave. intersection.

1968: A new Fire Station opens in Delawanna at 144 Main Ave. June 2, 1968: The Henry Garritse House on Lexington Ave., which may have been visited by Gen. George Washington, is razed.

Nov. 29, 1968: A dedication for Botany Village is held, though urban renewal activities there continued.

March 4, 1969: As part of the urban renewal in Allwood, ground is broken for the construction of a Public Library in Allwood. It is dedicated May 3, 1969, as the Allwood Branch of the Clifton Public Library.

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Susan Sisco, at right and above, as Miss Clifton Golden Jubilee Queen, stands atop a two-story high float depicting 50 years of Clifton progress, ‘from Agriculture to the Space Age’. Facing page, the Marching Mustangs pass Mogul Ski Shop and George Homcy and Henry Fette on their steeds.

Reports vary as to exactly how many people watched Clifton’s Golden Jubilee Parade on June 4, 1967, but one thing is clear, no one had ever seen anything like it before. The parade, wrote Herald-News reporter Gordon Bishop, thrilled about 150,000 spectators jammed along Clifton and Main Aves. that Sunday afternoon, .

He went on to report that “$3 million worth of festive equipment—including a breathtaking sail boat float with 5,000 fresh carnations, 50 antique autos, Civil War muskets, canons and locomotives, many national championship marching bands and a variety of animals—wound up in Clifton Schools Stadium after a two-and-a-half-hour long spectacle never before seen in the city’s history.”

The huge procession was the pinnacle of Clifton’s 50th anniversary celebration.

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Spectators Stricken The warm weather took its toll on a number of spectators as well as marchers, Bishop reported.

Some young musicians fainted along Clifton Ave. but quickly recovered with the help of a few residents who were watching from their front lawns.

The Herald-News continued its report: “One fellow made it all the way to the Stadium before he keeled over. He was rushed to a tent to cool off.

“Perspiration streamed down the neck of Clifton Mayor Joseph J. Vanecek, who stood throughout almost all of the proceedings, leaving only once or twice for a sip of fountain water.”

Police reported that at least two spectators suffered heart attacks and were taken to nearby hospitals.

Some parade participants were no more than six years old and yet they were able to march the four-mile route without a problem.

Float Competition There were more than 50 floats and so the judges were forced to review Polaroid pictures before making a final decision on the winners. A few crowd favorites were the New Jersey Bank & Trust Co. Cloverdale Station, featuring an old locomotive and two cars going over a bridge, The Shulton Inc. sailboat containing 5,000 fresh pink and white carnations flown in from California, The Pub’s “Gay 90’s” barmen and maids listening to organ music, and the lavishly done Clifton float depicting 50 years of progress, topped off with The Herald-News’ Miss Golden Jubilee Beauty Queen, Susan Sisco, standing on a two-story high textile swirl, wrote Gordon Bishop.

Vietnam Hero And there was Clifton’s own war hero, Russell Ball, who was wounded 11 times in Vietnam combat. He received a standing ovation from the Stadium crowd, according to Bishop.

The Caballeros, from Hawthorne, again marched off

with honors for another great performance. The famous CHS Marching Mustang Band kicked off the parade on Clifton Ave., near Van Houten Ave., smartly at 2 pm The newspaper said they were led by Henry Fette, chair of the extravaganza, who rode a silver-gray Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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horse, accompanied by four out-riders. One of the four horsemen was George J. Homcy, the Clifton reporter for The Herald-News, who was riding a gold stallion.

Fette, the Clifton Ford dealer whose son Larry and grandson John still run the dealership, now located at the intersection of Routes 3 and 46, claimed it was the biggest parade ever assembled in America. Fette’s parade expert, John McCallum, who also directed Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, agreed. Bishop described the event as “an unforgettable day for both participants and observers, Fette could not even guess how many people were in the parade.” He went on to report that one jubilee committee member estimated there were “at least 2,000.”

Mr. Blackwell Take a Bow Two celebrities were among them—Mr. Jiggs and Mr. Blackwell. Mr. Jiggs was billed as the “world’s smartest chimp” with a response vocabulary of more than 200 words. His trainer, Ron Winters of New York City, shouted out some humorous words and Mr. Jiggs began his routine. “Dressed in a space suit, Jiggs roller skated for the small fry and smoked a cigarette for an encore,” Bishop reported.

Mr. Blackwell was, (he died in 2008) the controversial California dress designer who criticized the wardrobes of such famous ladies as Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson in the ‘60s and the same to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears until his passing. Blackwell appeared on a fashionable float with some of his elegant models, all through the cour58 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

On his way to Clifton Stadium where he would stand at the reviewing stand for hours, are Mayor and Mrs. Joe Vanecek and their children, Debra, Jo Ann and Patricia. Below a Fette Mustang pulls a Finkle truck carrying US Mail.

tesy of La Faye’s Fashions, a bridal shop on Main Ave. It was a day of reflection and thought, too, wrote Bishop. A

Human Relations Commission float drew praise, as did the one from the Reformed Church of Clifton, The Living Rosary, presented by

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the Knights of Columbus. “It featured a cross and a Bible, with rosary beads so large,” Bishop noted, “that it required eight men to carry it as it summoned everyone’s undivided attention.”

Miniature Car The parade also featured a tiny Mustang electric toy car pulling a giant tractor trailer from Finkle Trucking. The paper explained that both vehicles were under their own power, however, a few onlookers were fooled.

“It sounded like the world was coming to an end when the Tramontin Harley-Davidson motorcycle float with a rock n’ roll combo blared into the Stadium, followed by a roaring 1880 train,” Bishop’s story continued.

Also on hand was a team of huskies pulling a wagon and world champion horses pulling a caged live cougar. “One of the huskies called it quits in front of the reviewing stands and laid down for a heavy panting session.” He continued, “The cougar was so tame that scores of youngsters darted out onto the field to pet it, while it lay calmly in front of the announcer’s platform. The cougar was leashed so it wouldn’t run away in fright.

“An eye-stopper was the horsedrawn hearse used until 1917 by the Quinlan Funeral Home. ‘What a way to go,’ quipped one of the two emcees, Garry McHugh, a partner in The Meadowbrook.

Coal and fuel distributor John Fairclough drove a red English Hunt Break carriage, while jubilee chairman Roy J. Schleich rode a Lillian Russell carriage.

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Clifton PBA 36’s entry: a police car pulls a float of a jail cell with a prisoner in it. Below, Along Main Ave., the Clifton Irish American Assoc. heads to the stadium. The window sign notes ‘New Home of Dundee Linoleum and Carpet.” The firm relocated to Broad St. before closing a few years back.

During that Golden Jubilee year, city boosters also sponsored a beard growing contest won by Bill Peters. Ken Blum came in second, third place went to George Kauppert and an award for the bushiest beard went to Ray Farley. Below, Councilman Joe Grecco with a contestant that did not make the final cut. At bottom, contest winner Ray Farley in the mirror after getting a shave by Ralph Eodice of Alexander Barber Shop, while Golden Jubilee Chair Roy Schleich looks on.

“A parade just isn’t a parade without fire engines,” read the Herald-News. Equipment from the mid 19th century, as well as the most modern trucks of the time, “rolled down” the parade route, the sun glaring off the bright red finish and the polished brass and steel.”

Despite its many components, the parade went off without a hitch. The more than 100 units began assembling at Clifton Ave. and Allwood Rd. shortly after noon and Allwood was literally covered with parade paraphernalia, Bishop reported.

After spectators saw the parade go by, they got in their cars and drove to Clifton Stadium, where the procession would end by 6 pm. As the parade stepped off at 2 pm, smoke signals went up at the Stadium and the air raid siren sounded. The Order of Arrows from Aheka Council, Boy Scouts of America, created the smoke signals at second base on the baseball field.

Bishop summed it all up when he wrote: “It was truly a golden day, one the city shall never forget.”

In addition to Clifton officials, the parade was viewed

by Congressman Charles S. Joelson, former Garfield Mayor Gotthold Rose, West Paterson Mayor Alfred Baumann and Thomas McGuire, honorary commander of McGuire Air Force Base. It was for his World War II hero son that the base was named. Spectators began filling the Stadium before noon. Parishioners on their way home from church services said they saw people already “set up” on sidewalks along Clifton Ave. with sandwiches and soda.

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By Tom Hawrylko

Wounded on the battlefield of South Vietnam in January 1969, Guy Tulp wrote to his brother Gary on March 8: “Well, all good things must end, and they did. I came back to my unit, but now realize I should have stayed in Cam-Rhan Bay... I was kind of nervous and lonely... I had too much time to think about being home and Tracie and ya’ll. So when I talked to the doc he finally let me go back to Da Nang.

“Like anybody else that has been hit once, you really begin to get jumpy as you worry about getting hit again. Plus, this post Tet Offensive makes everything a little hairier.

“Captain mentioned M.P. Duty in Da Nang, so I’m thinking about trying to get that, or maybe after calming down out here, I’ll stay with the CAP (Combined Action Group). I really do not know what I want to do, but just know I want to make it home alive and in one piece to get married and see ya’ll again.

“I see you’re getting your plans together about a new Camaro. I’m glad you know what you want, and you’re working hard at getting it; as nothing good comes easy.

“So keep that in mind about anything you do. By the time I get home I hope to see that you have that new car, and also passed school for the year.”

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In 1967, Guyler Tulp just wanted to get on with his life. He and his high school sweetheart Tracie Dudinyak already had talked about marriage—in fact, that Christmas they became engaged. But the draft was underway and that meant uncertainty as many as 40,000 men were called for induction each month, most to the US Army.

“He didn’t want to stand around waiting to be drafted,” his older brother Gary, now 65, recalled of Guy’s decision to enlist in the US Marines. “He wanted to get it over with, to get on with his life.”

“If I go,” said Guy, then a 18 year old senior at CHS, “I want to join the best, I want to go first class.”

Telling this story nearly 50 years later stirs laughter, pride and sorrow. Guy Tulp did indeed go serve his country first class. In February 1967, he went to US Marine Corps boot camp in Parris Island. He came home to Clifton that spring, sharp and squared away.

Like thousands of other 18 or 19 year old men in 1967, he was soon shipped out to Vietnam.

About a year later, some 30 days short of returning home to Clifton, USMC Cpl. Guyler N. Tulp was killed by a missile shell on April 30, 1969, when his Marine unit, the Second Combined Action Group, was ambushed 15 miles outside of Dang Nam. Sadly, Guy Tulp and 28 other Cliftonites who died in service to our nation during the Vietnam War remain forever young, as their names are etched in granite on the monument in Main Memorial Park. Their youthful, strong and brave images are preserved in photos or paintings found in the homes of those who survive them.

Their lives are retold on the pages of books and their heroism relived in stories. Every Memorial Day, the bells are rung as their memories are honored in our American tradition.

Some five decades later, going through a four inch high bundle of letters—perhaps 50 in total—and reading his thoughts, opening boxes of memorabilia and sharing memories, Clifton’s Guy Tulp is still 20 and forever in the hearts of his family. Sitting in the living room of the youngest sibling Bob’s home (he’s now 52), is his mom Josephine (Fiorentino), now 93 and one of Gary’s sons, also named Guyler, who shared this story.

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On the previous page, in front of an oil painting of Guy done in 1979 by Sharon (Rist) Tahan, are brother Bob, mom Josephine nephew and namesake Guyler Tulp who is the son of Gary. After boot camp in Parris Island, Guy Tulp with his dad also named Guy, at their Thanksgiving Lane home around Easter, 1967.

“That blows my mind,” said the namesake, a twin who is 35 and a Spanish teacher in the West Windsor School District. He’s amazed at his late uncle’s bravery.

“When I was 17... my friends and I couldn’t imagine it.

We’d talk about going away to college... but to sign up for the Marines to go to war?”

Seventeen and seasoned For many American boys in 1967, that’s the decision they faced—get a deferment, get drafted or enlist. Guy Tulp and his Clifton buddies—Charlie Szabanos, Bobby Kolnut, Joe Fede and Tommy Straccamore—wanted to go first class so they signed up for two years with the Marines.

They went to Parris Island boot camp and then to Vietnam. The other boys returned home to Clifton and have since moved on. But Guy’s fate was found on a combat field in Nam. His letters, which mix concerns about his family and fiance along with his own future and a matter-of-fact reports of heroism on the battlefield, are telling. Here is what he had to say to his brother Gary on August 3, 1968: “I don’t want you to show Mom or Dad, but I have to tell you because if anything ever happens to me,

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“But Gary, I want you to do me a big favor, stay in school and pass. And don’t go into the service. Now I realize how good home was, and how everyone worries, and Mom and Dad don’t deserve to have to worry about two of us.”

In most every letter, Guy, who some still remember as the mature youth with black curly hair who worked part time at Parkway Service Center on Van Houten Ave. and Broad St., is positive.

“He sounds like a grown man,” Bob commented of the letters he has read over the decades. The youngest brother was just five and still in knickers for the funeral at St. Philip the Apostle Church on Valley Rd., which was on May 16, 1969.

Two incidents Bob remembers January 14, 1969 vividly. The first is when Guy came Hi Gary, I mailed pictures of the A.K. 47 automatic rifle I got when home from boot camp around Easter I killed one V.C. last night. I wounded two others, but all we could and gave Robbie a bottle of Jade find were their blood trails.

East cologne. The second was in But the dude I killed was carrying papers and gave the names of Sept., 1969, his first day at School 2 two V.C. We picked them up and took them to headquarters where they on Van Houten Ave. “Guy promised were questioned and proved to be part of the V.C. infrastructure and he would take me to Kindergarten,” said Bob. “I guess that’s when the are now on their way to Saigon for questioning and punishment. reality set in.”

I may get promoted to Corporal, being the Skipper was pretty On the day the news of Guy’s impressed by my doings. death arrived in Clifton, mom Josephine recalled looking out her Take Care, kitchen window on Thanksgiving Your Brother Guy Lane, just off Van Houten. you will know and can tell them that all the time I wrote and said it was peaceful... I was only trying to keep them from worrying. And that I wasn’t stupid about what’s happening around me.”

“So here’s the facts. Right now, we’re keeping the Cong from over-running Da Nang and there’s 39,000 Cong trying to get through, and only about 5,000 of us.”

“We’re building bunkers and bringing in more men and supplies and getting ready for them to try and get through us. But if we win, I’ll probably be home by February, because if we beat the gooks here, Russia won’t supply them anymore. And if I’m lucky I might be transferred to Da Nang before this big fight starts.”

Right, Guy at Gary’s First Holy Communion at St. Philip’s Church. At left, Guy and Tracie Dudinyak who were engaged on Christmas 1967. They planned to marry on Sept. 27, 1969.

66 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

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Kevin V. White, Director NJ Lic. No. 4964 Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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At the Kelly home she noticed a Marine officer at the door. “He went from there to Sophie’s (her sister’s) home on the same block. “I said to Mrs. Kelly ‘Is that for me?’ And she said no. I said: ‘Don’t lie to me!’”

A neighbor went to get Mr. Tulp who worked at the Garden State Farms milk store on Main Ave. in Passaic Park. The neighbor told him it was a problem at home but no details. Since he was the only one in the store, Mr. Tulp would not leave. The neighbor called the main office and arranged for coverage before Mr. Tulp, who still did not know Guy was dead, would leave.

Gary was getting into his 1964 Chevy Super Sport in the CHS senior parking lot that day. He was amazed when he heard his name on the loudspeaker with a command to report to the office—he figured he got caught cutting class.

“They told me my mom was sick, to get home and take care of her,” he said. “I get there and dad was at uncle Jack’s house. He said ‘your brother’s dead.’

Forty-seven years... it’s like yesterday,” he shook his head, shuffling letters before he paused. “You just don’t lose that.”

Repercussions to Guy’s death, Gary stated, were “tremendous... and they still are not over till this day.”

While the family celebrates Guy’s life, there are lingering, bothersome facts.

For instance, when Guy was wounded and escaped death in Jan. 1968, his father wanted his son out of Vietnam. “My dad was very patriotic. But he felt my brother had done enough. He wanted him out of there.

He tried calling a lot of people. In fact he had a cousin who was a two star general in the Army. We didn’t even know that. He came over our house and at dinner I remember him saying there was nothing he could do.

His son was in Vietnam too and they needed every kid over there...”

Revenge was part of the equation.

“After Guy died I wanted my pound of flesh,” said Gary. Shortly after the funeral, Gary announced that he wanted to join, and like his brother, he didn’t want to wait for his draft number to come. He wanted revenge.

“I needed my dad to sign the papers. But he said he wouldn’t do it a second time. We had a helluva fight.”

68 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

April 28, 1969 Hi everybody.

I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do when I get back to the world for a living. So keep your eyes open for me and let me know any ideas you may have.

I’m really beginning to wonder how I’ll ever support a wife and myself. There’s rent, insurance, chow, clothing, medical, dental, hospitalization, transportation, electric, gas, ninety-nine thousand other things, savings, eventually (within probably two years) kids.

So please, if you come up with any answers, clue me in! By the way, I took the test for high school, and I will get my Equivalency Diploma in about five more weeks.

See ya’ll soon.

Love Guy

Next day Gary comes home and the Marine casualty officer who stayed close to the family after Guy’s death was sitting at the kitchen table.

“I come in, dad tells me to sit down and he leaves the room,” Gary recalled. “Leave your old man alone!” the Marine shouted. “You’re not going anywhere. Give me your draft card.” Gary showed the Marine his 1-A (eligible for military service) card. He gave the 18 year old kid a card which classified him as ‘only surviving son.”

On May 1, 1969, a day after Guy’s death, this upbeat letter, dated April 26, which appears on the following page, arrived at the Tulp home.

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May 1, 1969 “Hi Everyone. I see Cindy receives Confirmation tomorrow. Tell her I’m sorry I didn’t get a gift off to her, but when I come home I’ll make it up to her. By the way, tell her not to go off and get married. She should at least wait until the school years are over.” “(Ha Ha! I saw in the letter about her I.D. and her boyfriend.) I’ll be going for now, so take care and don’t worry about me as I’ll be home before you know it.”

“See you soon, Love Guy” “P.S. If you send me a package, make it a lot of spaghetti and sauce, as we all loved it the last time you sent it.”

“Thanks! Guy” “Dad, By the way, I took my high school test and won’t have the results back until next month.

But no sweat. The kid’s got his stuff together.”

Your son, “the Graduate,” Guy “P.S. By the way, I see Gary’s doing okay with Garden State Farms. Tell him I think for now the best thing he can do is stay working for you or G.S.F., as it’s a start. Tell him if he’s smart and sticks with it, eventually it will help him get a good job with G.S. or some other company.”

“See you soon, Guy.”

70 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

On Thanksgiving Lane in 1965, that’s Bobby being held by mom Sophie, their late sister Cindi (Mann), who died in 2010, at left is Guy and Gary is on the right.

And that is how we conclude our look back at the 1960s in Clifton... with a letter marked undeliverable to a son who died on a battlefield in Vietnam and who remains Forever 20 in the history of our hometown.

Whether it’s an elegant fruit tart, a luscious chocolate cake for a festive birthday celebration or a bagel tray for a business meeting, Manager Joaquin Diaz, Luz and Stefhania are ready to help at ShopRite’s Fresh Bake Shop... and we are open 7 days a weeks!

From canned items to other packaged goods, the grocery aisles here are always well organized, clean and filled with great value. Keeping things that way and offering so many options are Manager Roberto Andreas and his team which includes Celestino (at left) and David.

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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Baseball • Softball • Track • Lacrosse • Volleyball • Tennis • Golf

MUSTANG SPORTS

CHS

Baseball April 1 Passaic April 4 @PCTI

From left to right kneeling: Mike Lesler, Jason Rivera, Danny McLaughlin, Ryan Breen, Ivan Martinez, and Sean Lieshman. From left to right standing: Ermis Liriano, Darwin Matos, Janthony Hernandez, Mike McLaughlin, Ryan Murphy, Edwin Barba, Miguel Del Los Santos, Jose Severino, Jack Garruto, Christian Adamez, and Yafred Benjamin. Not pictured is Pietro Maccarone and Giovanny Pena.

April 6 John F. Kennedy April 7 @ Teaneck April 8 Bergen Tech April 9 @North Bergen April 11 @ Eastside April 13 @ St. Joseph

Mustang Sports by Tom Szieber

A year ago, a very young Mustang baseball team posted an 8-16 record, and failed to qualify for the postseason. But Clifton was young, and head coach Joe Rivera knew his team would take its lumps. Even then, he was high on his team’s ability, and knew that with the proper seasoning, the next two seasons could be special ones. Now, Rivera is hoping that talent can begin to translate into more team success, and the Clifton can make some serious noise in the Passaic County and North I, Group IV tournaments.

“I am probably going to start eight juniors this year, but they are very talented,” Rivera said. “This team has been playing together since Little League. Right now, in three scrimmages, we are a 100% better hitting team.

I think we can do a lot. It all depends on who shows up.”

72 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

4pm 4pm 4:15pm 4pm 4:30pm 12pm 4pm 4pm

April 14 Lakeland

4:15pm

April 16 @Kearny

11am

April 18 Passaic Valley April 20 @Fair Lawn April 22 Wayne Valley

4pm 4:15pm 4pm

April 25 @Passaic

4pm

April 27 PCTI

4pm

April 29 @ John F. Kennedy

4pm

May 2 Bergen Catholic

4pm

May 4 @ Bergen Tech May 6 Eastside Paterson

4pm 4:30pm

May 11 @ Wayne Hills

4pm

May 13 @West Milford

4pm

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MUSTANG SPORTS Baseball Clifton’s pitching staff is still being worked out, but without a doubt, junior right-handed pitcher Jason Rivera will be its ace. The team’s number three last year, Rivera had the group’s lowest ERA in 2015.

His 2-5 record was deceptive, as several of his losses came due to poor hitting. The rest of the rotation will likely consist of junior lefty Darwin Matos, senior righty Ryan

Murphy and junior righty pitcher Jack Garruto.

The Mustangs’ top star will be junior catcher Miguel De Los Santos. A returning starter, he will bat cleanup in the Clifton lineup and does just about everything well. He has already attracted attention from both college and Major League scouts.

“Miguel has a super strong arm and he blocks extremely well,”

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74 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Rivera said. “All I get is compliments about how great our catcher is. He works very hard and leads by example. This team is all a bunch of leaders, though.”

Clifton’s depth is easy to see when one looks at the Mustang infield. At first, juniors Daniel McLaughlin and Christian Adamez are both capable players that can make plays in the field.

Rivera will see time at second when not on the mound, and senior Jose Severino will man second during Rivera’s starts. At shortstop, juniors Michael Lesler and Ivan Martinez will split time, while Carlos Pineda returns at third.

When Pineda pitches, junior Edwin Barba will occupy third base.

When not on the mound, Matos will play left field, while Garruto will play center. Junior Michael McLaughlin will start in right.

Senior Sean Leishman will be featured in the Mustang manning the outfield, as well.

With so much talent on this team, it is easy to understand the optimism Rivera exudes every time he talks about his team. It is also why Clifton baseball fans should buckle up for what could be a very exciting two years.

“We still have some inexperience, but the talent is there,” Rivera said. “We lost [junior pitcher] Kage Lord to a broken ankle. We are going to score runs, though.

If we can get our pitching where I want them to be, I think we can go far. This group, from what I’ve seen, has guys that can hit with two strikes and drive in runs with two outs. I am expecting big things from the 2016 Mustangs.”

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MUSTANG SPORTS Softball

Front from left: Jaclyn Hanrahan, Gianna Casillas, Devyn Pitak, Madison Vellis, Ava Genardi. Middle: Amaya Pelletier, Alexandra Espinosa, Ryley White, Lexi Camp, Lauren Brown, Jazmyn Pareja. Top: Isabel Ayala, Celine Bennion, Olivia Hirst, Hannah Hirst, Kristen Rosado, Kayla Vance. Missing are Erika Shyroky and Sam Wilk.

Hired well into the off-season last year, Clifton softball coach Ish Falcon had a lot of familiarizing to accomplish in a short period of time. It was a tough task, especially with a team that was very young in some areas. The result was an 816 season—something foreign to the proud Mustang softball program.

Falcon believes 2016 will be much different, as the lead-up to his second goaround has featured more focus on building a roster, and less on simply learning the lay of the land.

“Now, I have gotten to see them play,” Falcon said. “I saw plenty of freshman games, JV games, summer games, fall games in the past year. This time, the difference is that I know every player. I think that definitely is a positive.”

Another positive is the fact that the Mustangs have multiple starter-quality pitchers, including senior Jaclyn Hanrahan and juniors Kayla Vance and Madison Vellis (the latter being a transfer from DePaul). Each brings her own twist to the circle, and will provide Falcon the luxury of a reliable bullpen and the ability to choose his starter based on matchups.

“Our defense was weak last year, and we have worked on that since day one,” Falcon said. “As that improves, our pitchers’ numbers will improve.

Madison is a power pitcher, while Jaclyn and Kayla work more on movement.

76 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

CHS

Softball April 1 @ Passaic

4pm

April 4 PCTI

4pm

April 6 @John F. Kennedy

4pm

April 8 @ Bergen Tech

4pm

April 9 @ Passaic Valley

2:30pm

April 11 Eastside

4:30pm

April 13 Kearny April 15 @Lakeland April 18 @ Passaic Valley April 20 Fair Lawn

4pm 4:15pm 4pm 4:15pm

April 22 @Wayne Valley

4pm

April 25 Passaic

4pm

Apr 27 @PCTI Apr 29 John F. Kennedy

4pm 4:15pm

May 2 Immaculate Heart

4 pm

May 4 Bergen Co. Tech

4:30pm

May 6 @Eastside

4pm

May 9 @ DePaul Catholic

4pm

May 10 @ Lyndhurst

4pm

May 11 Wayne Hills

4pm

May 13 West Milford

4:15pm

MUSTANG SPORTS Softball It allows us to give different looks.”

Three players—senior Riley White, junior Erika Shyroky and sophomore Isabel Ayala—will compete for time behind the plate, while first base will be the responsibility of senior Hannah Hirst, a tall lefty that is strong defensively. Senior Ava Genardi and junior Devyn Pitak (who both saw time last year) will play second, while third base will be occupied by senior Jazmyn Pareja or Kayla Vance (when the latter is not pitching). Freshman Gianna Casillas will be Clifton’s shortstop, and will give Falcon the rare opportunity to develop a four-year player at the position.

“Gianna has a good glove and knows the game,” he said. “She is a good base runner, and she is athletic.”

There is some young talent in the outfield, though Alexandra Espinosa—a standout last season—will provide senior leadership in center. Meanwhile, sophomores Lexi Camp and Lauren Brown will work in left and right field, respectively. When not in the circle, Hanrahan will likely see time in the outfield.

For a number of reasons, the 2016 Mustangs certainly look ready to make major improvements this spring.

They possess strong pitching, veteran leadership and ath-

leticism. But the biggest difference still figures to be the strength of the bond between Falcon and the program. He knows his players, and they know him. Together, they seem ready for a redemption year.

“I think they felt embarrassed last year,” Falcon said of his players. “They knew they were better than our record.

We didn’t get blown out of too many games. One catch here, one dropped ball there made a big difference. I think you will see a different outlook this year and you will see different results.”

973-772-8451

Roofing • Siding • Gutters Ventilation • Chimneys

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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MUSTANG SPORTS Track

Front from left: Vanessa Acevedo, Kristen Wong, Samantha Wong, Emily Ibarra. Middle: Joanna Szewczyk, Allison Proszowski, Née-Yah Corbin, Kamila Ivashka, Monica Dlugosz, Chelsea Robinson. Top: Megan Davey, Deena Khandakar, Chinue Thompson, Vanessa Vasquez, Aarian Weeks.

For Clifton’s track teams, it’s another year and another set of high expectations. The girls look more ready to win now, but the boys—despite being a bit younger—are a talented group, as well. With veteran coaches and a tradition of success, there is no reason to think the Mustangs won’t be right in the hunt for Big North Liberty Division and Passaic County titles.

The girls, led by head coach Mike Rogers, will be spearheaded by a host of three-sport athletes, including senior Monika Dlugosz. The discus champion in North I, Group IV last spring, she is one of the top throwers in North Jersey. She qualified for the State Meet of Champions during this past indoor season, as well. Senior pole vaulter Kristen Wong was an indoor Meet of Champions qualifier, as well, and also hurdles and jumps.

It typically doesn’t make sense to call a previous county champion a “sleeper,” though junior Meghan Jozefczyk may fit the bill. She emerged at the top of Passaic County as a sophomore, but several injuries and illnesses have hindered her ability to build on that performance. She’ll represent the Mustangs in the 1600m and 3200m.

“Meghan had a strong indoor season this year but her big comeback is coming,” said Rogers. “I expect her to have a great spring.”

78 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

CHS

Track April 1 Passaic

4pm

April 5 Eastside Paterson

4pm

April 9 @Passaic Valley

9am

April 12 @PCTI

4pm

April 16 @ Ramsey

9am

April 20 @ John F. Kennedy

4pm

April 27 Big North Divisional

TBD

April 29 @ Wayne Valley

3:30pm

May 2 Big North Frosh Meet

4pm

May 10 @ Wayne Hills

4pm

May 11 @ Wayne Hills

4pm

May 21 @ Indian Hills

9am

May 27 @ Randolph

3:30pm

May 28 @ Randolph

3:30pm

June 3 @ Egg Harbor Twp

2:30pm

June 4 @ Egg Harbor Twp June 8 @ S. Plainfield

10am 2:30pm

MUSTANG SPORTS Track

From left front: Alex Zapata, Ken Herreram Suraj Patel, Michael Louie. Second row: Jon Colon, Matt Walicki, Julio Moreno. Rear: Mehul Mistry, Jamie Garcia, Anthony Marino, Sherif Habib, Dan Martinez, Joshua Elliot

Clifton’s strength though, is undoubtedly its senior class, which also includes tennis standout Kamila Ivashka. An all-around athlete, Ivashka jumps, hurdles and runs the 800m and 400m. Similarly, Chelsea Robinson—a standout on the CHS girls soccer team— runs the 100m, 200m and 400m, and is one the squad’s most consistent performers.

“Kamila has improved so much,” Rogers said. “When she first came out of the team she had plenty of ups and downs, but she has worked her way to being what I believe can be a college-level athlete. And Chelsea is outstanding on the soccer field, and then comes over to us for two seasons and does a great job.”

On the boys side, there is much more youth. The boys may be a year away from making a big bang, but there is certainly enough talent to do perform well this spring.

“We have some athletes that will perform and score points on the varsity level,” said head boys coach John Pontes. “We will definitely be competitive. We also have

younger people who will do well in the pole vault, hurdles and sprints.”

Sophomore Kevin Heredia is a top-flight talent who excels in the 400m and 800m, and will likely assume a leadership role for a squad that is still coming together. A standout in cross country and indoor track, Pontes believes the ceiling is high for the youngster.

Senior Ken Herrera—another cross country and indoor athlete—will compete in the 1600m and 3200m while junior Carlos Polanco is one of the most versatile members of the roster, running anything from the 400m to the 3200m.

Two sophomores, Luis Zorrilla and Sonny Ruiz, will shoulder the load in throwing events.

“From what I’ve seen, we have a nice mix,” said Pontes. “We have some very, very good seniors. We also have a really stellar sophomore and freshman group. The guidance of the seniors and their leadership is important.

We’ll be alright.”

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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MUSTANG SPORTS Boys Lacrosse

CHS Boys

The excitement in George Cowan’s voice tells the whole story. He is optimistic. He is enthusiastic. He believes he has a team that can make great strides from the 8-9 playoff season posted just a year ago.

“We have been looking good in practice,” said the Clifton head coach, whose team qualified for the North, Group IV tourney last season before bowing out against Hunterdon Central. “I am excited to see not only what we can do during the regular season, but in the county tournament, as well. This is a great group of guys that like to work. I’m very excited to see what this team can achieve.”

The Mustangs’ go-to offensive threat will be junior Kevin Buttel. Good enough to take over a game on his own, he can play both attack and midfield, and is the biggest playmaker on Clifton’s roster. He will share most of the scoring responsibilities with classmates Tyler Gibson and Sean Meneghin.

Kevin is a phenomenal player, and it says a lot about how much his teammates respect him that they elected him a captain without being a senior,” Cowan said. “He was one of our top guys in points last year, and he understands the game. Tyler’s experience as a goalie in hockey helps, because he knows how a goalie would react when he is playing offense. And Sean is going to be our main face-off guy.”

Seniors Anthony Rodriguez and Patrick DePasque will provide leadership in the midfield. The former is an accurate shooter, as well as an effective passer. Rodriguez figures to get off to a quicker start than he did as a junior, when 80 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Lacrosse April 2 Newark Academy

1:30pm

April 5 @Morris Hills

4:30pm

April 7 Demarest

4:30pm

April 9 Verona April 16 @Wayne Valley April 18 Old Tappan

10 am 10 am 4:30 pm

April 20 @Morris Knolls

4:30pm

April 25 Lakeland

4:15pm

April 27 Gov. Livingston

4:30pm

April 30 @St. Joseph Regional May 3 Pascack Hills May 10 @PCTI

10am 4:30pm 4pm

May 13 @ Bergen Tech

4pm

May 17 @ R iver Dell

5pm

May 19 Nutley

5pm

Kneeling from left Mustafa Alsaidi, Patrick DePasque, Anthony Rodriguez, Alex Wertz. Standing Nicholas Bigica, Joseph Gebbia, Steel Leon, Isreal Diaz, Jorge De La Cruz, Nicholas Barbour.

MUSTANG SPORTS Boys Lacrosse he was on the mend from a concussion he sustained early in the season.

Similarly, DePasque was plagued by injuries last season, playing in only six games. His only full game, against Morris Hills, saw him score eight goals. A prototypical north-to-south middy, he can play either a strength or finesse-style game.

Seniors Isreal Diaz, Nick Bigica, Jorge DeLaCruz and Argenys Garcia, and sophomores Matthew DePasque and Nick Petriella will round out the midfield rotation.

Defensively, the Mustangs will be bolstered by the strong, aggressive trio of seniors Steele Leon and Joseph Gebbia in addition to juniors Jake Cupoli and Christopher Rapuano. “[Steele, Joseph and Jake] all started last year,” noted Cowan. “They have a lot of chemistry. Jake is very fundamentally sound, and understands the dynamics of a good team defense. Steele and Gebbia are just all over the place. Christopher is a big guy (6’3”, 185 lbs), and he does a good job in the cage. We have a good group of players all across the lineup, and I like our chances to do some good things.”

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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MUSTANG SPORTS Girls Lacrosse

Kneeling: Candace Mapp, Olivia DeMuro. Center from left: Valeria Lozano, Amanda Richards, Amanda Ale, Shania Vergara, Jenn Wheeler, Camila Fermin, Victoria Petriella. Top: Madison Surgent, Jillian Urban, Krystal Vera-Tudela.

Clifton girls lacrosse won just five games in 2015, and still finds itself a youthful team that is looking for consistent playmakers. Still, what it lacks in experience this spring, it hopes to make up for in athleticism and enthusiasm.

“I think we will take our lumps just due to our inexperience,” said head coach Amanda Gryzkin. “But there is more overall skill on this team than there was last year. These girls want to be here and they want to get better.”

Leading the way is Olivia DeMuro, a versatile and athletic senior that played midfield last season. She will likely fill that role again, and has shown that her ability to drive to the cage and score and can lead the Mustangs in games.

“She scored 71 goals last year,” recalled Gryzkin. “She has a drive for the game and wants to be better all the time. She is tall and she takes advantage of that by beating people to the goal.”

There is some other senior presence as well, beginning with Camilla Fermin, who Gryzkin lauds for her quickness and strong sense for the game. In addition, Shania Vergara will likely bolster the defense, while fellow twelfth-graders Victoria Petriella and Candace Mapp will fill other needs in the lineup. The rest of the squad will consist primarily of a talented sophomore group, which includes players like Jillian Urban, Amanda Ale, Madison Surgent, Krystal 82 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

CHS Girls

Lacrosse April 2 Paramus

10 am

April 4 Passaic Valley

4pm

April 6 @Glen Rock

4pm

April 9 @ Waldwick

10am

April 11 Ramsey April 14 @DePaul

4:30pm 4pm

April 16 Bergen Tech

10am

April 18 @Morris Hills

4:30pm

April 19 @River Dell

7 pm

April 21 @Fair Lawn

4pm

April 26 Dwight Englewood 4:30pm May 6 Holy Angels

4pm

May 9 @Demarest

4pm

May 10 PCTI

4pm

May 12 Eastern Christian

6pm

May 17 Paramus Catholic

4pm

MUSTANG SPORTS Girls Lacrosse Rivera-Tudela, Angy Calixto and Maggie Szewczyk that saw varsity burn a year ago. Newcomers include Amanda Stetz and Ambar Garcia.

“I like our sophomore class a lot,” Gryzkin said. “I had 55 girls try out this year and kept 47. This is by far the biggest group I’ve had.”

“Last year, we were low in the talent pool, and a lot of them were thrown in based on their athleticism. It’s scary to think about how much they have improved. They have worked hard and I am confident that this group of Mustangs is ready.”

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Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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MUSTANG SPORTS Golf

Last spring was a difficult one for Clifton golf, as a young and inexperienced group struggled to a 9-16 record. The Mustangs showed steady progress throughout last season and return a battle-hardened, senior-laden group to the links in 2016.

“I certainly expect us to be better,” said Mustangs head coach Chad Cole.

“Each of our golfers played a lot over the summer. They are really into it.

They are hitting the ball better.”

Among those representing Clifton as it looks to achieve a redemption season is senior Jordan Dunleavy. A cog of the Mustang lineup a year ago, Dunleavy is a burly presence and student of the game that consistently gets distance on his drives. He will be joined by classmate Jim Louer, who has put in significant time on the links during the off-season.

“Jim is getting better,” said Cole. “He was pretty strong for us last year.

These kids, including Jim, played a lot all of last summer.”

Brian Kommer, also a senior, is the other varsity full-timer that will again be part of the Mustangs’ efforts in 2016. Two other 12th-graders, Bryan Cammerino and Nick Belfondo will contribute as well, each having seen their share of time last year.

Rounding out the lineup will be junior A.J. Tudda. Tudda is an accomplished wrestler for CHS and an experienced golfer, but is entering just his first year of organized high school play. Still, he will be relied upon to make a difference for a team that has high hopes.

“I’m not sure why A.J. hadn’t come out for the team sooner,” said Cole.

“He is going to help us out quite a bit. We have a good group and I would like to see us do some good things.”

84 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

From left: Brian Kommer, Andonios Stathopaulos, Edward Castillo, Bryan Cammerino, Nick Belfondo, James Di Pinto, Jordan Dunleavy and David Mosciszko.

CHS

Golf April 1 Lakeland

4pm

April 4 PCTI

4pm

April 6 Eastside Paterson

4pm

April 7 West Milford

4pm

April 8 River Dell

4pm

April 11 Ridgefield Park

4pm

April 13 Bergen Tech

4pm

April 15 Wayne Hills

4pm

April 18 Passaic Valley

4pm

April 19 Eastside Paterson

4pm

April 25 Hackensack

4pm

April 27 Wayne Valley

4pm

April 28 Passaic Valley

4pm

April 29 Fort Lee

4pm

May 2 @West Milford

4pm

May 3 PCTI

4pm

May 4 @ Westwood

4pm

May 9 Big North Divisional

TBD

May 11 West Milford

4pm

May 12 Big North Champs

8 am

May 18 County Tournament

8 am

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MUSTANG SPORTS Boys Volleyball

Top from top left: Michael Guzman, Orlando Gordon, Fredy Talavera, Oliver Quizon, Jerome Aiello, Dan Loukachouk, Xiao Li. Bottom from left: Yazn Ghaliah, Steven West, Matt Miller, Patrick Kowalczyk, Cole Wojdyla, Oscar Oyola

A year ago, Clifton boys volleyball put together a solid 18-11 playoff season. But as successful as the Mustangs were, they seemed to falter in big moments. Take, for example, the Passaic County final, where they were flat all day in a loss to a Wayne Valley squad they had beaten earlier in the year.

Despite the losses of some major pieces like Nabil Jamhour and Kamil Garbowski, this spring’s Clifton team is stocked with senior leadership that head coach Nick Romanak believes can help his Mustangs succeed in highpressure situations.

“I would hope we could do a better job of that,” Romanak said. “I have told some of our seniors that one thing that we could improve on from last year was someone stepping up when the odds are against us. It is something I hope we can do.”

Leading the senior group will be setter Matt Miller, a returning starter. A soccer player in the fall, Miller has seen plenty of big games in both sports, and has a positive attitude that should keep the Mustangs confident even when the lights are shining the brightest. He appears a bigger and stronger player this spring, as well.

“Matt played in the back of our 6-2 set last year, and his attitude is what I really think we need for a player in that spot,” Romanak said. “He has also put on some significant size I think he will be more of a presence than he has been before.”

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CHS Boys

Volleyball April 1 @ Passaic

4pm

April 2 @ Passaic Valley

TBD

April 4 @PCTI

4PM

April 6 JFK

4:15pm

April 8 Bergen Tech

4:30pm

April 11 @Eastside Paterson

4pm

April 13 @ Bergenfield

4pm

April 15 Lakeland

4:15pm

April 18 Passaic Valley

4pm

April 19 North Bergen

4:30pm

April 20 @ Fair Lawn

4:15pm

April 21 Wayne Valley

4pm

April 25 @Passaic

4pm

April 27 @ PCTI

4pm

April 28 @ Harrison

4pm

April 29 @JFK

4pm

May 2 Bergen Catholic

4pm

May 4 @Bergen Tech

4pm

May 5 St. Peter’s Prep.

4:30pm

May 6 @Eastside

4:30pm

May 9 Ramapo

4pm

May 13 @Don Bosco

4pm

May 16 @Wayne Hills

4pm

May 18 Bridgewater Raritan

4:15pm

CLASS OF 2016 SURVEY! Are you going into the Navy? Headed for college? Working to earn money? We want to know... So answer today!

June’s edition of Clifton Merchant Magazine is about the Class of 2016. to be included, you must be a Clifton resident. Completed surveys with a graduation photo (print your name on back) can be dropped off at your school’s office, or sent to us at 1288 Main ave. email longer responses to tomhawrylko@optonline.net or write on the back of this sheet. Get your friends to fill out a survey by searching and adding Clifton Merchant on Facebook.

paSSaiC County teChniCal inStitute

Saint Mary High School

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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MUSTANG SPORTS Boys Volleyball

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88 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Offensively, the Mustangs will look for a spark from outside hitter Steven West, another returnee. West put in significant club time during the off-season, and has become a more consistent scorer. Romanak and crew are expecting to add a few shots to his repertoire, and believes he can become a dangerous offensive player.

Seniors Patrick Kowalczyk and Oscar Oyola will be part of the Mustangs’ offensive onslaught, as well. A middle hitter, Kowalczyk’s strength will fill some of the power-hitting void left by Jamhour. Meanwhile Oyala is a diverse offensive talent that played the outside last year, but may play opposite this season.

Sophomore Mike Guzman will also be a key member of the Mustang lineup.

This Clifton group will certainly be less dependent on power than its predecessor, and more on its ability to jell. If it can do so, there is no reason to think it can’t accomplish big things.

“We are bringing back a lot of the guys who should be able to click,” Romanak said. “Last year, we had some big guns, and it will just be a different game plan this year. I think we are contenders if we can get all of our guys playing to their full abilities.”

MUSTANG SPORTS Tennis

Clifton head boys tennis coach Andrea Bobby is in some unchartered territory this spring, as she finds her previously-stocked, experienced team smaller and younger than in recent years. Still, with a back-to-basics approach and several players that were on the squad during last season’s 16-5 campaign, Bobby is hopeful that the Mustangs can improve every time they step on the court.

“My singles players, being that they have some experience, can rise to the occasion,” Bobby said. “It doesn’t matter what happens in a match for our doubles guys, I want them to work hard on their shots and strokes and the basics.

I would love to be able to say at the end of the year that these 9th- and 10thgraders are seasoned tennis players.”

Though the Clifton lineup has not been settled, the first singles slot should be filled by senior James Caparaso. Unfortunately, Caparaso has been nursing a shoulder injury in the preseason, but has been working to get back to his normal routine. Clifton will need him to pick up team points as much as possible, and it will be tough for the Mustangs if he misses any significant time.

“James has put a lot of energy and effort into tennis,” said Bobby. “He is a good athlete who originally played freshman basketball. He began playing doubles tennis, then played third singles last year. He has worked has worked hard to get himself into the lineup.”

Sophomore Heath Patel and junior Patrick Bury will fill the other singles roles. Patel is a year-round tennis player who hits the indoor courts at Tiger Racquet Club in Caldwell. Playing since age 7, he is working to improve his strength and power. Bury has great strokes, he works hard and currently is perfecting his footwork.

In doubles, the Mustangs’ youth will be evident, and it remains to be seen who will fill each particular spot. Junior Jay Desai, sophomore Kishan Mehta and freshmen Jonathan Martinez and Damian Dudzik will likely all see time.

Kneeling from left, Omar Abufasha, Jacky Cheng, Heath Patel, Patrick Bury and Jay Desai. Standing from left: Tiffany Cheng, Jonathan Martinez, Damian Dudzik, James Caporaso, Kishan Mehta, Prianka Kunadia and Payal Rana.

CHS

Tennis April 1 @Bergen Co. Tech

4pm

April 4 Passaic

4pm

April 6 @PCTI

4pm

April 7 Lakeland

4pm

April 8 JFK

4pm

April 12 @ Passaic

4pm

April 13 Bergen Catholic

4pm

April 18 @ Wayne Hills

4pm

April 20 West Milford

4pm

April 23 @ West Milford

8:30am

April 25 Bergen Tech

4:30pm

April 26 Passaic Valley

4pm

April 28 @ Wayne Valley

4pm

April 29 PCTI

4pm

May 2 @ JFK

4pm

May 5 @ West Milford May 6 @ DePaul

4m 4pm

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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Dan Patel and Scott Maybaum of Clifton’s Wine Country invite all to the 8th New Jersey Wine & Food Festival at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, now through April 3. Sample food prepared by Michelin-starred chefs, mingle with craft spirits producers, winemakers and sommeliers. The 2016 Festival benefit both the James Beard Foundation and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. If you taste a wine there which you enjoy, visit Wine Country as it is the only place to purchase all of the wines and spirits featured there. For tickets and a list of wines showcased, visit the Wine Country Stores page on Facebook or call Dan Patel at the Clifton store at 973-340-1686.

Network, wine, dine and enjoy desserts at the 16th annual Savor Food & Wine Festival on April 5 from 5 to 8:30 pm at the Forest Hill Field Club, Bloomfield. Presented by the North Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce, sample dishes from area restaurants and enjoy wine, spirits and craft beers from liquor purveyors. Music and entertainment by Michael Roselli, tickets are $40 online at northjerseychamber.org or $50 at the door.

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Business & Commerce

While she was named an influential New York businesswoman by two business journals, the kids Judith Schumacher-Tilton helps raise funds for appreciate all she does with her firm’s Give the Kids Hope Foundation.

Her accomplishments were recently recognized across the Hudson River when she was honored as a 2016 Woman of Influence by the New York Business Journal and Bizwomen, at the second annual Women of Influence luncheon on January 20 at the Harvard Club in New York City.

Founded by she and her son Steven Tilton Jr. in 2010, the Foundation is focusing on efforts to rebuild Camp Hope in West Milford. Schumacher-Tilton is President and Dealer Principal of Schumacher Chevrolet Auto Group, one of the three locations is here in Clifton on Rt. 46.

The camp is in constant need of renovations and repairs to the facility. For decades it has provided underprivileged children the chance to experience nature and sing by a campfire. Children that are given the

opportunity to spend time at the camp will experience a different way of life and gain a new vision of hope.

“It is so important for all business leaders to give back to their communities and support others,” said Schumacher-Tilton. “As women, we also have a special role as models for the next generation of women business owners and professionals, to continue to pave the way for them to become leaders in their industries and fulfill their true potential, professionally and philanthropically.”

On May 16, Give the Kids Hope is having their annual golf outing fundraiser for the children of Camp Hope. NY Jet David Harris is one of the many participants at the event taking place at the Green Brook Country Club, North Caldwell.

Call 973-256-1065 to register, visit givethekidshope.org or email info@givethekidshope.org.

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CAN THESE CLIFTON KIDS WIN THE

Costello Award? top prize in the 2016 pC Film Fest

Some Clifton film makers Izaius Diaz, Eileen Sosa, Christian Prelich, Kimberly Sosa and Renee Nunez.

Lou Costello loved his hometown of Paterson. The native son mentioned the city by name numerous times in his films, on his radio shows. I should have stayed in Paterson was one of his favorite and most memorable lines.

Now in its 12th year, the Passaic County Film Festival will take place April 23, beginning at 10 am, at the Fabian 8 Theater in Paterson’s Center City Mall. Admission is free and viewAmong the judges are from rear left Maureen Wacha, Al Kahwaty, William ers will see dozens of 10 minute shorts DeBlock, Ross Marshall. That’s Deborah Hoffman, Bob Nicholson seated. created by filmmakers who live, work, New this year is an award for a film that highlights or attend school in Passaic County. mental health awareness and offers examples of how to The top team of film makers will receive the reduce the negative image of individuals with mental Costello, the grand prize, named in honor of Paterson’s health issues. Additionally, North Jersey Federal Credit favorite son. Awards also go to first, second and third Union presents a $1,000 prize to produce a video to place winners in all categories. The five categories promote the credit union. Sponsored by the Passaic include general short film; public service announceCounty Board of Chosen Freeholders, films were ment (PSA); documentary; music video; and tourism judged by a panel of professionals earlier this year. eco-tourism and history.

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Winners of the 2015 Passaic County Film Festival with Freeholder Hector Lora. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s screening is April 23.

Among the Clifton film makers in the competition are a group from Passaic County Technical Institute.

PCTI junior Renee Nunez returns this year with two submissions Woody Allen: Behind the Director, a quick look into the famous filmmakers early biography, and Cellphone Obsession, a social commentary about how people are more concerned with technology than they are with the well being of their fellow humans.

Izaius Diaz, a sophomore, has submitted a PSA entry Texting and Driving that shows how quickly texting can

result in a car accident. Also a junior, Christian Prelich offers a first time entry titled The Jacket that follows a man into a meeting where his jacket is stolen and the frantic search to get back his jacket and all the valuables in the pockets inside. Also participating this year, her second time, is Kimberly Lopez, and a first time entrant, Eileen Sosa. More info at: passaiccountynj.org/film.

This program is made possible in part by a grant administered by the Passaic County Cultural & Heritage Council from funds granted by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

s o l t o c e Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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Worship & Sharing In what is fast becoming a popular spring event, St. Andrew the Apostle School will hold sixth annual Awards Dinner-Dance at the Brownstone on May 12. Each year, award recipients are chosen for both their contributions to the Mt. Prospect Ave. chuch and school, as well as to the Clifton community overall.

Among the 2016 Award recipients is Michelle Petrasek, who will receive the St. Andrew’s Parish Service Award.

Raised in Clifton and alumna of the school, Petrasek is now the music teacher at St. Andrew the Apostle School. She also manages three choirs within the parish—one each for children, teens and adults.

Petrasek reflects the changes in Catholic school education, teachers that focus on excellent instruction and spiritual guidance mixed in with a more hip and modern demeanor, making the teachers more accessible to children.

As a first-year youth coordinator for the parish youth ministry, she provides a mentorship program for teens in grades 9-12, organizing events and schedules guest speakers. The program encourages discussion about the complex matters on the minds of youth today, all within a spiritual context.

She encourages the members in the youth ministry to become directly involved with projects in the community to not only gain experience, but to bring them increased awareness.

The Gloria Kolodziej Community Enhancement Award will be awarded to St. Peter’s Haven on Clifton Ave.

Michelle Petrasek will be presented with the 2016 St. Andrew’s Parish Service Award .

Below, the late Councilman Matt Grabowski will also be posthumously honored for his work in his hometown.

which provides food and shelter to families and individuals in need. St. Andrew’s congregation helps St. Peter’s Haven by conducting weekly food drives.

The Mayor James Anzaldi Community Service Award will be presented posthumously to the family of the late Councilman Matthew Grabowski, who died Feb. 25, 2015, at age 53.

Grabowski will be recognized for his support of the school, for his efforts to stimulate economic wellbeing in Clifton, including promotion of small and family-owned business in Athenia and other Clifton business districts, as well as his extensive community service.

Tickets for the Gala are $60. There is also an ad journal and others ways to support the effort. For more information, call 973-773-1371 or 973-473-3711.

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94 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

When Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Dec. 8, the spiritual leader of Catholics worldwide asked for churches throughout the world to be opened to pilgrims.

St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church at 217 President St. in Passaic has been selected as one such site. A Byzantine Catholic church, it is a vividly stunning and unique structure. The ceilings and walls of this house of workship are colorfully painted with illustrations of Jesus, his Mother Mary the Virgin and numerous saints.

Parishioners there celebrate the liturgy seven days a week in the Ukrainian language at 7 am and on Sunday at 10:30 am and in English on Sundays at 830 am. In addition to the church, the parish also offers an elementary school right next door.

It is a welcoming church open to all. For info, call parish secretary Helen Fedoriw at 973-473-7197 or learn more at stnicholasucc.org or email stnicholasucc@gmail.com.

In a celebration on March 19, Father Andriy Dudkevych of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church expalines how the parish was designated a Door of Mercy by Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Stefan Soroka. Faithful are encouraged to visit these sites across the world to receive graces and blessings during the Jubilee Year.

The Clifton Advisory Committee for Individuals with Disabilities’ mission is to educate and advise any person with an interest in matters pertaining to individuals with disabilities, recommend to the Council methods and ideas to aid and assist residents with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of community life and gather and present to the Council facts and information that will help the Council in its deliberations relating to matters concerning residents with disabilities. Standing from left: Lela Barker, Roy Noonberg and Lauren Murphy. Sitting from left: Jeryl Ann Schneider, Dr. Roger Rossi and Faith Webb. To learn more about the service of this group or to connect, call the mayor’s office at 973-470-5757.

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Reunions & Events Paramus Catholic is celebrating five decades of helping to shape the lives of high school kids from our region.

The Paladin’s 50th Anniversary Celebration is April 16, at 6:30 pm, in the gymnasium, just like the old high school dances.

Proceeds will help further the spiritual, academic and social enrichment of future Paladins. The $90 ticket include hors d’oeuvres, buffet, dessert, DJ and the chance to connect with old friends and other alumni. There will be beer, wine, dancing and music from each generation of Paladin history. For info, call 201445-4466 or write to Jason Fortino: jfortino@paramus-catholic.org.

Passaic County Community College Foundation’s 40th Anniversary Celebration: Dream Big. Achieve More. Give Back is on April 28, 6 pm at the Historic Hamilton Club, 32 Church St. in Downtown Paterson. Harvey J. Nutter, Chairman of the PCCC Board of Trustees will he honored.

Email foundation@pccc.edu or call Todd Sorber at 973-684-5656.

June and January 1951 CHS classes will host a reunion on May 9 from 1 to 5 pm at The Brownstone, Paterson. Nearly 40 members have confirmed they will attend. For tickets, call Tom Zaloom 973-471-1231.

St. John’s Lutheran Church Passaic will have a Thrift Shop on April 2 at 9:30 am featuring gently used clothing, household items and toys. 140 Lexington Ave. Call 973779-1166 or 973-777-0322.

St. Philip’s Knights of Columbus is holding a fundraiser at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza on April 5. Enjoy comp appetizers at the bar as 20 percent of the checks will help citizens with special needs and disabilities.

Celebrate the birthday of K of C Knight, Sir John Fillipone, who will be 88 on April 9. His group will hold a fundraiser on April 5 at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza.

Clifton Rec offers so much for everyone. Call 973-470-5956 or visit cliftonrec.com. to attend any event for more info. They will have a Jigsaw Puzzle Contest on April 4 from 6 to 7:30 pm at the Clifton Rec Center on Main Ave. Get a team of problem solvers and register by April 1. Cost is $5 per team which includes soda and juice.

Clifton Family Bowling is on April 8 from 6 to 8 pm at Garden Palace, 42 Lakeview Ave. The $40 per lane fee includes six people, two hours of bowling, shoe rental, pizza, soda and contests. Reserve

by April 7.

The Young at Heart Senior Club met at the Fellowship Hall, First Presbyterian Church on March 3. Members and pre-school students from Wee Care Child Care Center are wearing green for St. Patrick’s Day and were entertained by the Allwood Bagpipers. The Club meets at noon the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Maplewood Ave. church.

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Clifton Skate Day is April 9 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at Floyd Hall, Little Falls. Cost is $5 and includes two hours of skating and skate rental. Must have a coupon from Rec office to attend at the special price. Pick up coupon at the Rec Office, 2nd floor City Hall.

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Rise Up Magyar the Country Calls! a line from the Hungarian National Song. On March 16, Clifton Hungarians raised their nation’s flag at the Clifton Municipal Complex to commemorate the Revolution and the War of Independence against the Austrian-Hapsburg rule (1848-1849). The date is a prominent national holiday throughout Hungary.

Clifton’s 12th Relay for Life is on June 11 at Clifton Stadium. RFL is an overnight celebration and fundraising event that begins at 3 pm. Teams camp out and take turns walking around a track “relay” style. At nightfall, participants light hundreds of luminara candles to honor cancer survivors those lost. Event continues until 6 am on June 12. Call Ed Ahart at 973-285-8041 or visit relayforlife.org/cliftonnj. Team “Running on Empty” is hosting a fundraiser on April 28 from 5 to 8 pm at Wendy’s on Main Ave. Simply show up and dine and the team will earn 15 percent of the your total bill.

The 9th Boys & Girls Club Tricky Tray is on May 6.

The Ladies Auxiliary committee seeks donations of gift prizes and cash. Cash donations will be used to purchase prizes. Donations can be sent to Boys & Girls Club of Clifton, 822 Clifton Ave. Clifton, NJ 07013, Attn: Ladies Auxiliary. Call 973-773-2697 x143.

Clifton PRAISE is a non-adversarial, non-profit parent support group for parents/families with special needs children. Monthly support group meetings are held at Allwood Library at 7 pm on the 4th Monday of every month during the school year. On April 4 at 7 pm PRAISE will have a workshop on Twice Exceptional Students: Supporting Gifted Students with Disabilities at Allwood Library. From April 2 through April 23 from 5:15 to 6 pm they have a free four week yoga class on Saturdays at Powerflo Yoga, Van Houten Ave. for special needs children. Email cliftonpraise@gmail.com.

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Parents of Autistic Children (POAC) presents Hidden Dangers: Keeping Children and Adults with Developmental Disabilities Safe on April 26 at 6:30 pm at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Register at poac.net.

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The Clifton Health Department’s rabies clinic for dogs is April 6 and 20 from 6 to 8 pm at the DPW Garage, 307 E 7th St. Dog licenses will be available for Clifton residents only. Call 973-470-2239.

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Arts & Music The Clifton Public Library celebrates National Library Week April 10 to 16. This year’s theme is “Libraries Transform.” They have special appreciation for their patrons, including raffling bags of books for Juvenile, young adult and adult. Members can hand in raffles from April 10 to 16, with winners selected on April 18. Look for coupons and giveaways throughout the week at both Main and Allwood locations. This month celebrate the culture of Clifton with displays, and programs which culminates in a celebration on April 30. Call 973-772-5500 or cliftonpl.org.

Students of the CHS Art Department will exhibit and sell their artwork at the Clifton Arts Center from April 6 to 23.

The show is called Altar Ego to celebrate the various sides of the creative self. Gallery hours are 1 pm to 4 pm Wednesday through Saturday. A reception will be open to the public on April 6 from 6 to 8 pm. Cost is $3. Visit cliftonnj.org or like them on Facebook.

The Lambert Castle Concert Series opens on April 10 with a 5 pm performance by acoustic rock band, Blue Valley (From Left: Joan Maso, Tim Holly, Joe McKenna). Their performance will feature original music as well as a few of their favorite covers.

Admission to the concert is $15. Seating is limited, no reservations will be taken. Lambert Castle, 3 Valley Rd. Paterson. Visit lambertcastle.org for more info.

When Clifton turns 100 on April 27, 2017, you’ll have these volunteers of the Clifton Centennial Committee to thank. They are planning the festivities that will make the next 21 months memorable from balls to parades and everything in between.

The celebration begins with a beefsteak on April 17 from 4 to 8 pm at the Boys & Girls Club. Tickets are $35, $15 for children 6 to 12 and kids under 5 are free. Purchase tickets at the City Clerk’s office or call Norma Smith at 973-744-5707.

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The Italian Genealogy Society of NJ is celebrating its 20th year by changing its name and meeting location.

Previously called PIP, for Pointers in Person, it was a chapter in the national organization Pursuing Our Italian Names Together. Recently that organization disbanded but this local group decided to stay together as an independent society. Meetings are held at the Clifton Memorial Library, 292 Piaget Ave., the next quarterly meeting is May 7 at 10 am. Genealogist Rich Venezia will discuss “Using Citizenship and Immigration Records for Genealogy Research.” Free. Membership dues $15 a year. Email Carolyn McNamara at jcmcn43@hotmail.com.

People’s History in New Jersey: Immigrants and Workers is a workshop for teachers presented by the American Labor Museum. On May 11, the day begins with a 9 am visit to the Botto House followed by a bus tour of the labor and immigrant sites of Haledon and Paterson. The bus will return by 1 pm. $65 for members and $75 for others, a brown-bag lunch will be provided. Workshop only fee, $45 for members, $50 nonmembers. Visit labormuseum.net.

The Passaic County Historical Society is hosting their annual Victorian Tea fundraiser at Lambert Castle, located on Valley Rd. at the Clifton and Paterson border from April 15 through April 17. Two sessions are available each day, noon and 3 pm. The cost is $45. For info, call 973-247-0085 ext. 201.

The PCCHC is offering 2017 arts and history regrants. The deadline for arts applications is July 7, and for history applications, July 14. Applicants must be based in Passaic County; be a tax-exempt nonprofit organization or a municipal government entity; have been in existence at least two years; demonstrate that the project has clear artistic or historic merit; match every dollar of the arts re-grant with one dollar of its own and match every dollar of the history re-grant with fifty cents of its own; create programming that culminates in a public presentation to take place in Passaic County during 2017. Contact Nicholas Rodriguez, nrodriguez@pccc.edu or 973-684-6507 to schedule a meeting to assist with the grant writing or application process. For more details and an application, visit pccc.edu/cultural-affairs/pcchc.

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Each month Vice Principals from each wing of Clifton High nominate select students to receive recognition as a Student of the Month. Profiles for this month are featured below.

Mitsushi Maruyama

Failure was Never an Option Failure is a rude awakening. Just ask North Wing senior Mitsushi Maruyama. He lost his academic focus early in life and after nine years was able to put it together and achieved success as a Mustang.

“I wasn’t concerned with getting good grades from my elementary years through my freshman year at CHS. It wasn’t until that year when my academics came to a screeching halt. I failed several classes that year. That was the last time I would ever let that happen—I worked harder for the success which I now achieve.”

Maruyama attended School 3 on Washington Ave. and went on to Classical Academy Charter School on Valley Rd. for grades six through eight.

While it may have taken Maruyama years to put it all together, math is now his passion. His love of giving his brain a good workout by solving math problems has opened new worlds for him. He now utilizes his math and logic skills in the Mustang Robotics Club. He and his teammates builds robots and compete against other robots built by students from different regions. This club along with what he learned from his advisors and peers triggered his goal of working toward becoming a mechanical engineer.

“While I learned invaluable lessons from the teachers I had at CHS, I also learned a lot of intangibles from the students and people around me. The CHS culture is one that never makes anyone feel left out. I learned so much about the cultures, faiths and beliefs of my fellow students. Something that I will forever cherish.”

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Ami Udvari

Building a Foundation for Success Being able to juggle Mustang life, volunteering with a NYC theater company and working with the different teams at the CHS Stage Crew and AV Clubs propels Hungarian-born Ami Udvari toward success.

The Central Wing senior has mapped out her future and it will likely place her behind the stage or in the floodlights of future stage and tv productions.

From her early beginnings at School 13 in Athenia to her life at CCMS, Udvari has found that Clifton Schools and teachers have prepared her well. Her next stop includes pursuing a career in TV and film production in State College, PA. “I am attending Penn State University in the fall and I owe a lot to my English teachers who always showed their contagious enthusiasm for reading and writing. My teachers were always inspiring and always made our education their priority.”

The future Nittany Lion takes advantage of all that CHS has to offer. Udvari’s advice to incoming freshman is simple and is summed up with two words: get involved. “CHS offers an incredible amount of wonderful clubs and extracurricular activities. Students have so many great options to get involved and build themselves a solid foundation to help them achieve their future goals.”

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Students of the Month Wrestling With Numbers History in the Making Whether it’s on the mats for the The relevance of history on today’s culture Mustang wrestling team or in the classmakes this South Wing junior tick. With a room, Mikail Ozbek grapples with numfuture in pediatrics, Brishna Bibi looks forward bers and more times than not, he comes out to the life challenges she’ll face to succeed. on top.

Bibi began studying at School 4 in With his first two academic stops at Lakeview where she picked up her passion Mikail Ozbek School 3 and CCMS, this freshman loves for reading. “Susan Kopko was an inspiramath and science. When he started CHS tional teacher who encouraged the class to this past fall, he earned his way into honors read. I would always be one of the first to tell Biology and Algebra 2 classes, one of his her when I finished a book that she had recomproudest moments. The East Wing student mend.” has set his sights on taking all honors classHer years at CCMS motivated her to push es for his sophomore year. herself to the next academic level. “John “My favorite subject is math. I love the Callaghan taught me history back then and challenge that equations provide and see always offered positive encouragement. the world in numbers.” He uses his knowlBecause of him, History was my favorite subedge at the STEM program where he ject at CCMS.” Brishna Bibi applies science, technology, engineering The CHS junior she still loves English and math. His goal in three years is to study math and and History. She’s taken the passion to a new level with Radiology at Rutgers University.

Christopher Henry’s great AP History class.

Building Martin’s Memorial

Matthew Troller and Martin Minchev.

Martin Minchev was an avid reader. He read hundreds of books in his short life before he passed away in 2015 at age 12 from a rare form of leukemia. His beloved books, at his request, were donated to the library at School 1, the school he attended and when he became ill, through which he was home-schooled. School 1 staff wanted to honor Martin and his love of learning, and felt a memorial reading bench would be a fitting tribute.

102 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Joanne Ross, a reading resource teacher at School 1, and a parent of an Eagle Scout, recognized that this would be a perfect Eagle Scout project.

She contacted Troop 23 (St. Andrew the Apostle Church). Scouting teaches that doing good for others is the essence of a good life, and CHS freshman and Life Scout Matthew Troller chose the completion of a memorial to Martin as his Eagle Scout project.

He met with Principal Luca Puzzo and School 1 staff to learn more about Martin. Troller researched the logistics of installing a memorial bench on school grounds and hopes to complete the project this month. School 1 will hold a ceremony when the memorial is completed.

To raise funds, he is selling commemorative bricks that will be the memorial’s foundation. Bricks vary in price from $50, to $100. To purchase a brick or learn more, call 973-777-7242 or email Matthew at mtroller330@gmail.com. Make checks to BSA Troop 23 and mail to 127 Hummer Terrace, Clifton 07013.

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of attending a Tech School to become an From Out of The Ashes electrician.”

Anthony Cicatello takes the blame for his A solid student at School 13 in Athenia, past academic troubles. “I was lazy when it he credits his teachers there as having a great came to school and I’d barely scrape by.” impact on his academic success as a youth.

Now a Junior in the ASPIRE Program he Cicatello took a bit of a scholastic detour can proudly say that for the first time in his when he started at WWMS. “I didn’t put life, he is passing all of his classes.

Anthony Cicatello much work or effort into my studies and I ASPIRE motivated him to earn the best failed a lot of classes. I always felt I was capable of report card to date as a Mustang. “For the first time in a achieving greatness.” long time, I can say I am proud of what I’ve achieved. I When he began at CHS, he kept the same routine but used to look at my grades and feel disappointed and now was doing worse because the School required more work.

I look at them am proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

He ended up failing his sophomore year and realized he “The teachers at CHS have an amazing passion for needed to make changes. Cicatello was headed down the their jobs and I’ve have had many great ones at CHS. The wrong path and was about to become a statistic.

History teachers have changed my life. Andrea Dennison “My parents had always been very supportive and taught me World History, I had John O’Reilly for always stuck by me through thick and thin - until the American History I and now have Maria Gosnell who night we sat down to discuss my future, where I was, inspires our class every day with her lessons for where I was headed and the importance of improving my American History II. Our teachers are so impactful and grades. It was that night that I started getting my life back get paid to do something they truly love. I hope that one on track.” day I have that same drive and passion in my future career

Clifton Merchant • April 2016

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Birthdays & Celebrations - April 2016

The Hawrylko brothers, Tom Jr. is 29 on April 16 and Joe turns 31 on April 27. Their pal Bob Marley (at right) is 12 on April 4. Peter Chudolij is 21 on April 28.

Happy 10th Birthday to Damian Calvo on April 13.

Happy Birthday to...

Send dates & names... tomhawrylko@optonline.net Karen Goldey.....................

Timothy Hayes ....................

Stephanie L. Magaster.........

Hetal Patel..........................

Karen Schwartz ..................

Raymond DeDios ................

Carl DiGisi .........................

Eric Homsany .....................

JoEllen Kenney-Illenye ..........

Kevin John Lord ..................

Greg Alexander..................

Joey Scotto .........................

Bo Franko ..........................

Sabrina Greco....................

Wafa Othman ....................

Mark Peterson ....................

Bob Tanis ...........................

Joe Franek..........................

Sharon J. Koribanics ...........

Jessica Mondelli..................

Luke Kulesa ........................

Donna Mangone ................

Patricia Colman ..................

Sheryll Franko ....................

4/1 4/1 4/1 4/1 4/1 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/3 4/4 4/4 4/5 4/5 4/5 4/5 4/5 4/6 4/6 4/6 4/7 4/7 4/8 4/8

104 April 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Clifton Merchant

Jackie Henderson................ 4/8 Jeff Murcko......................... 4/8 Emma Gretina .................... 4/9 Kathy Krisinski .................... 4/9 Brian Firstmeyer ................ 4/11 Leila Gasior...................... 4/11 Felipe Rivera .................... 4/11 Erin Smith......................... 4/11 Debbie Tucker .................. 4/11 Alice Shanley Babinski ...... 4/12 Josh Ontell ....................... 4/13 William Parks III................ 4/13 Alexander John Mosciszko. 4/14 Lisa Kulesa ....................... 4/15 Adam Pienciak ................. 4/15 Kurt Irizarry...................... 4/16 Robert Monzo .................. 4/16 Linda Humphrey ............... 4/17 Joseph P. Koribanics.......... 4/17 Peter Fierro....................... 4/18 Jason Dubnoff................... 4/19 Jennifer Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan ............ 4/19 Bryan Rodriguez............... 4/19 John Anderson.................. 4/20

Jeff Camp......................... 4/20 Greg Nysk ....................... 4/21 Alicia Rose Aste................ 4/22 Lori Hart........................... 4/22 Alyssa Tucker.................... 4/22 Bobby Ventimiglia............. 4/22 Danny Gorun ................... 4/23 John Pogorelec, Jr. ............ 4/23 Marc Scancarella ............. 4/23 Katie Michelotti................. 4/25 Brianna A. Pastore............ 4/25 Klondike Tresca ................ 4/25 Buddy Czyzewski ............. 4/26 Stephanie Magaster.......... 4/26 Jillian Mangone ................ 4/26 Annie Pogorelec ............... 4/26 Elise Termyna.................... 4/26 Mike Grimaldi .................. 4/27 Michael Press ................... 4/27 April Graham ................... 4/28 Stephen Camp, Jr.............. 4/29 Paul Colman..................... 4/29 Heather Halasz ................ 4/29 Christine Klein .................. 4/29

th

Kristy Andruch turns 40 on April 14.

Pete & Eileen Fierro celebrate their 40th Anniversary and Peteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 76th Birthday on April 18.

Happy 37th Anniversary to John & Donna Hawrylko on April 28 Clifton Merchant â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016

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Mary Vandenburg

100YEARS OLD ON APRIL 3

The Vandenburg family rear from left: James Vandenburg Jr., Stephen Satmaria, Steve Satmaria, William Satmaria, Janet Mandara, Jen Satmaria, James Vandenburg III, William Mandara. Front: Marylou Vandenburg, Mary Vandenburg, Laurie Satmaria, Nicole Vandenburg, Kathy Vandenburg. The photo at left has Mary on the bottom right with her 1911 Kindergarden class. The photo below is of Mary at left with fellow School Guards Eleanore Heartley and Ann Bauman.

When Mary Vandenburg attended kindergarten 95 years ago in what is now School 8 in Delawanna, the neighborhood was bustling with young families and many children. And as Clifton prepares to celebrate the city’s 100th anniversary, lifelong Clifton resident Mary Vandenburg is a step ahead - celebrating her 100th birthday this April 3.

Vandenburg feels fortunate to have four generations of family members with her to celebrate. Born April 3, 1916, the oldest of two siblings (her brother Elmer Rugg passed away recently at 96), Vandenburg has lived in Clifton for most of those 100 years.

She resides on Peru Rd. in Allwood and is a congregant of Allwood Community Church. She was married to James J. Vandenburg Sr. who passed away in 2004, and the couple were parents of Janet and James.

As one of Clifton’s first crossing guards, Vandenburg was a ‘police lady’ who managed the busy intersection for School 9 children at Chelsea and Brighton Rds. When granddaughter Laurie posted Vanderburg’s photo on School 9’s Facebook page, quite a few of her former school patrols were amazed that she was still alive and came to visit her during the winter holidays.

106 April 2016 • Clifton Merchant

Daughter Janet Mandara attended School 9, graduated CHS in 1957 and taught English at CHS for 40 years.

Son-in-law William Mandara was Science Supervisor in Clifton’s district for 38 years.

Their daughter Laurie also attended School 9 and lives with her husband Steve and their children Jen, William and Stephen in Succasunna. Vandenburg’s son James also attended School 9. He and his wife, the former Mary Lou Yacono, both graduated CHS. Their son, Mustang Band member, Dr. James Vandenburg III and wife Kathy (Suchanek) are also graduates of CHS. They now live with their daughter Nicole in Milford.

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