Clifton Merchant Magazine • Volume 13 • Issue 5 • May 2, 2008
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This Memorial Day...
We Salute America’s Veterans East Ridgelawn Cemetery invites you to visit our Mausoleum on Main Avenue to pause, reflect and remember the lives of those who have passed. Visits are unlimited and unaffected by the weather. Crypts are located in the building and convenient for elderly and handicapped. Mausoleum entombment provides greater Peace of Mind & Security.
East Ridgelawn Cemetery 255 Main Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07014 for more information with no obligation call:
973-777-1920
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
MAY 2008
Photo taken in 2001 by Al Zwiazek. 16,000 MAGAZINES are distributed to hundreds of Clifton Merchants the first Friday of every month. SUBSCRIPTIONS $16/year in Clifton $27/year out of town CALL 973-253-4400 entire contents copyright 2008 © tomahawk promotions
More than 300 Cliftonites have died in service to our country since World War I. Men like Louis Ablezer, Joseph Sperling, James Strangeway, Jr. and Michael Tarlavsky have made the ultimate sacrifice while defending freedom. Every May, Clifton Merchant Magazine remembers the Honored Dead by publishing a roll call of each man killed during war time. But as has been our tradition, we also salute those who were fortunate enough to return home from service. This May, the magazine includes stories about veterans such as Andy Polick from World War II, Patsy Salerno who served in Korea, Bill Eakins from the Vietnam War, and Clifton Police Officers Wayne Stine and David Pereda who are about to serve in Iraq.
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Tom Hawrylko BUSINESS MANAGER Cheryl Hawrylko STAFF WRITERS: Joe Hawrylko, Jordan Schwartz GRAPHIC ARTIST: Tomahawk Promotions Rich McCoy 1288 Main Avenue CONTRIBUTORS: Downtown Clifton, NJ 07011 Gary Anolik, Rich DeLotto 973-253-4400 • tomhawrylko@optonline.net May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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May 2008 • A Salute to Veterans
Every Memorial Day at 2 pm, the Athenia Veterans Post on Huron Ave. holds a solemn ceremony to commemorate the fallen.
Specialist William Eakins
Heroism and Horror 58 PAGE
Table of Contents Victory in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 World War II Veterans . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Four Years at Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 The Forgotten War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 The Vietnam War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 A Second Tour of Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 James Rohaley Always Delivers . . . . . .75 CHS Art Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 Hike For Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 Officer Down: Robert Strone . . . . . . .91 Bygone News
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Birthdays and Celebrations . . . . . . .100 6
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
2008
Clifton Merchant Magazine,1288 Main Ave. Clifton 07011 tomhawrylko@optonline.net
Letters to the Editor I enjoyed reading your story about Dr. Ricky Doerr in the March edition of your magazine. I just wanted to give you some more information about his father, the elder Dr. Alphonsus Doerr. I think he was a wonderful doctor. I remember in the ’70s, he attempted to establish a clinic on Brighton Rd. He tried so hard to make it happen, but the powers that be said he was wasting Ernest C. Fodor his time. We should have done it. Clifton
Clifton Lender Among Nation’s Best: Guess what? Federal Mortgage and Investment Corp. is one of the top 100 home equity conversion (reverse) mortgage lenders in the country, according a recent listing from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Not bad for a small Clifton lender—with some monthly help from Clifton Merchant Magazine. Anthony A. Accavallo, President Federal Mortgage and Investment Corp.
Tigers Growl Thanks: Thank you so much for the tour of your office for the Tiger Den of Pack 74. The boys were so excited to see their pictures in the March edition. Den Mother Karen Harris
Correction: On page 60 of our April edition, we incorrectly noted CHS baseball catcher Anthony DeSomma as Anthony DeSilva. We apologize for the error.
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In a controversial 2004 photo by Tami Silicio, an Army Ranger salutes the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at Dover Air Force Base. On the following pages, Clifton Merchant Magazine remembers our sons who died while in service to our nation.
This Memorial Day & Every Day of the Year...
Honor Our Veterans! God Bless America! On May 26, pause and reflect on the sacrifices and service of our Veterans.
Surrogate Bill Bate 8
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
World War One Louis Ablezer Andrew Blahut Timothy Condon John Crozier Orrie De Groot Olivo De Luca Italo De Mattia August De Rose
Jurgen Dykstra Seraphin Fiori Ralph Gallasso Otto Geipel Mayo Giustina Peter Horoschak Emilio Lazzerin Joseph Liechty Jacob Morf, Jr. William Morf
Edwin C. Peterson Robert H. Roat Alfred Sifferlen James R. Stone Carmelo Uricchio Angelo Varetoni Michael Vernarec Cornelius Visbeck Ignatius Wusching Bertie Zanetti Otto B. Zanetti
Because the memory will live forever. Over the past year, we have had the privilege of serving the families of many veterans. In recognition of the service these veterans rendered to their country, we would like to show our appreciation this Memorial Day. In memory of their lives and their service, we recall... Angelo Agnoli Emil J. Berta Salvatore Caravella Richard W. Catanzaro Rudolph Dall’Ava Sandy De Vito Steven L. Duchnowski Joseph M. Keegan Edward G. Kollar
Frank J. Konopka John T. Lazor Lewis Lenkowsky Frieda W. Martin Anthony P. Orlando Joseph Paccioretti Albert Rosolen Jereen Rugis Louis L. Salerno, MD
Jason M. Smith Raymond Van Blarcom Joseph Wright
MARROCCO MEMORIAL CHAPEL POWELL-MARROCCO FUNERAL HOME 470 Colfax Avenue (corner of Broad St.) • Clifton
973-249-6111 JAMES J. MARROCCO Manager, NJ Lic No. 3320
Army Sgt. David C. Van Dillen served for 16 months in France during World War I and returned home to Clifton safely.
CHARLES M. LABASH Director
HENRY G. SCARPA Director
MICHAEL A. WALLER Director
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World War Two Joseph Sperling Charles Peterson Thomas Donnellan Jerry Toth Frank Lennon Joseph Carboy Julius Weisfeld Edward Ladwik Israel Rabkin Peter Pagnillo Harold Weeks William Weeks Salvatore Favata Herman Adams Edward Kostecki Charles Hooyman, Jr. Salvatore Michelli Richard Novak James Potter Adam Liptak
John Van Kirk Carlyle Malmstrom Francis Gormley Charles Stanchak Joseph Ladwik Karl Germelmann Robert Stevens Albert Tau William Scott Benjamin Puzio James Van Ness Gregory Jahn Nicholas Stanchak Frank Smith, Jr Carl Bredahl Donald Yahn Joseph Belli Edwin Kalinka Stanley Swift Charles Lotz Joseph Prebol Walter Nazar
Benedict Vital Thaddeus Bukowski Leo Grossman Michael Kashey Stephen Messineo John Janek John Yanick Herbert Gibb William Nalesnik Joseph Sowma Bronislaus Pitak Harry Tamboer John Olear Johhn Koropchak Joseph Nugent Steven Gombocs Thomas Gula Raymond Curley Harry Earnshaw James Henry John Layton Charles Messineo
Founder Joseph T. Bizub who in 1923 established Bizub's Funeral Home at 205 Third St. in Passaic. For three generations, our family has proudly served our community.
Tim and Toby with their dad Tom. 10
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
1313 Van Houten Avenue Clifton, NJ 07013 Phone 973 546-2000 Fax 973 779-3749 Timothy J. Bizub, Mgr.
515 Lexington Avenue Clifton, NJ 07011 Phone 973 777-4332 Fax 973 772-0108 Thomas J. Bizub, Mgr.
NJ Lic. No. 4022
NJ Lic. No. 2732
w w w. b i z u b . c o m
Joseph Petruska Bogert Terpstra John Kotulick Peter Vroeginday Michael Sobol Donald Sang Andew Sanko George Zeim, Jr. Robert Van Liere Vernon Broseman Harold O’Keefe Edward Palffy Dennis Szabaday Lewis Cosmano Stanley Scott, Jr. Charles Hulyo, Jr. Arnold Hutton Frank Barth John Kanyo Bryce Leighty Joseph Bertneskie
Thomas Commiciotto Stephen Surgent Albert Bertneskie Charles Gash Peter Jacklin Peter Shraga,Jr. John Aspesi Micheal Ladyczka Edward Marchese Robert Stephan Roelof Holster, Jr. Alex Hossack Siber Speer Frank Klimock Salvatore Procopio Harry Breen Gordon Tomea, Jr. Douglas Gleeson Fred Hazekamp Harold Roy Andrew Servas, Jr. Francis Alesso
Samuel Bychek Louis Netto David Ward Edward Rembisz Lawrence Zanetti Alfred Jones Stephen Blondek John Bulyn Gerhard Kaden William Lawrence Robert Doherty Samuel Guglielmo Robert Parker Joseph Molson Stephen Kucha James De Biase Dominick Gianni Manuel Marcos Nicholas Palko William Slyboom Herman Teubner
ore y is much m Memorial Da at y weekend th a -d e re th a than mmer. ginning of su e b e th s rk a m lly ople, especia To many pe bat sands of com u o th ’s n o ti a the n as a day, which h is th s, n ra te ve ll the hing back a history stretc n ivil War, is a way to the C ose who minder of th re t n a rt o y. p im f their countr o e ic rv se e died in th the al Day, take This Memori e of on the servic t c e fl re to n e tim ed our natio rv se e v a h o those wh honor. flag in their and raise a r Veterans! God Bless Ou mily The Shook Fa
Over 50 Years of Service, Still Proudly Family Owned & Operated
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Nancy Shook Garretson President, NJ Lic.#3657
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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World War Two Walter Bobzin Vincent Lazzaro John Op’t Hof Joseph Sondey John Zier Peter Hellrigel Steve Luka Arthur Vanden Bree Harold Baker Hans Fester Patrick Conklin John Thompson Thomas Dutton, Jr. Harold Ferris, Jr. Donald Freda Joseph Guerra Edward Hornbeck William Hromniak Stephen Petrilak Wayne Wells Vincent Montalbano
James Miles Louis Kloss Andrew Kacmarcik John Hallam Anthony Leanza William Sieper Sylvester Cancellieri George Worschak Frank Urrichio Andrew Marchincak Carl Anderson George Holmes Edward Stadtmauer Kermit Goss George Huemmer Alexander Yewko Emil Chaplin John Hushler Edgar Coury Robert Hubinger Wilbur Lee Vito Venezia
Joseph Russin Ernest Yedlick Charles Cannizzo Michael Barbero Joseph Palagano William Hadrys Joseph Hoffer, Jr. Joseph Piccolo John Robinson Frank Torkos Arthur Mayer Edward Jaskot George Russell Frank Groseibl Richard Van Vliet Benjamin Boyko Harry Carline Paul Domino John Fusiak Louis Ritz William Niader Alfred Aiple Mario Taverna
God Bless Our Veterans • God Bless America
Clifton Memorial Post 347
American Legion Commander Lou Poles • Vice Commander Mike Gimon
We Recall the Post Members who Died this past year... • Emily Dudas • John Bognar • Sam DeMarco • Edward Honai 12
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
• Stephan Hubay • Joseph Stern • Morris Tatz • Edward Kollar
Sebastian De Lotto Matthew Bartnowski John Bogert Joseph Collura Matthew Daniels James Doland, Jr. Walter Dolginko Peter Konapaka Alfred Masseroni Charles Merlo Stephen Miskevich John Ptasienski Leo Schmidt Robert Teichman Louis Vuoncino Richard Vecellio Robert Hegmann Ernest Triemer John Peterson Richard Vander Laan, Jr. Stephan Kucha ‘Gigito’ Netto
Memorial Day Weekend Ceremonies Sunday, May 25 • 7 pm - Volunteers decorate the area around the War Monument in Main Memorial Park with an American Flag for each of the 301 Cliftonites killed while on active duty. Monday, May 26 • 6 am - Avenue of Flags Set-up at City Hall • 8:15 am - Fire Dept. Memorial at the Brighton Rd. Firehouse • 9 am - Memorial Day Parade from Hepburn Rd. to Chelsea Park • 9:30 am - Allwood Memorial at Chelsea Park • 11 am - City Wide Memorial Day Service at Main Memorial Park with Guest Speaker Colonel Jorge J. Martinez, NJ National Guard Operations Officer • 12 pm - Military Order of Purple Hearts at the Clifton Library • 12:30 pm - Post 347 Memorial at the Clifton Rec Center • 2 pm - Athenia Veterans Memorial on Huron Ave. • 6 pm - Avenue of Flags Take Down at City Hall
The officers & members of the Athenia Veterans Post invite you to attend our Memorial Day Services at 2 pm on May 26 at our Post, 147 Huron Ave. Refreshments follow the Ceremony.
2008-2009 Officers: Commander Mike LaCorte • 1st Vice Cmdr John Kish • 2nd Vice Cmdr Sy Pagani Adjutant Helene Lenkowec • Finance Officer Pauline Trella • Asst. Finance Officer Richard Ashton Judge Advocate Tom Joyce • Provost Marshall Joe Hilla Trustees Tony Saffioti, John Kish, Joe Grenci, Andy Polick, Pat Salerno, Ted Kalinka May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Our goal is to list each name accurately and without omission. If you feel there is an error, please write to us with the correction. See page 5 for our address. Thank you.
Korean War Donald Frost Ernest Haussler William Kuller Joseph Amato Herbert Demarest George Fornelius Edward Luisser Reynold Campbell Louis Le Ster Dennis Dyt Raymond Halendwany John Crawbuck Ernest Hagbery
William Snyder
Clifford Jones, Jr.
Allen Hiller
George McClelland
Arthur Grundman
Richard Corcoran
Donald Brannon
John Bilenski Donald Campbell
Vietnam War
William Gould Edward Flanagan
Alfred Pino Thomas Dando William Sipos Bohdan Kowal Robert Kruger, Jr. Bruce McFadyen Carrol Wilke Keith Perrelli William Zalewski Louis Grove
The Iraq War US Army/Special Forces Captain Michael Tarlavsky was killed in Najaf, Iraq on Aug. 12, 2004 and buried with honors in Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 24. Tarlavsky, CHS Class of ‘92, was captain of the Swim Team and enlisted in the Army in 1996. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star. He is survived by his wife Tricia, their son Joseph, his parents Yury and Rimma and a sister, Elina. The Veterans Alliance engraved his name on the Main Avenue War Memorial in 2004— the first name added in 34 years.
James Strangeway, Jr. Donald Scott Howard Van Vliet Frank Moorman Robert Prete Guyler Tulp Nicholas Cornato Edward Deitman Richard Cyran Leszek Kulaczkowski William Malcolm Leonard Bird John France Stephen Stefaniak Jr.
Nov. 8, 1961 Plane Crash Robert De Vogel Vernon Griggs Robert Marositz Robert Rinaldi Raymond Shamberger Harold Skoglund Willis Van Ess, Jr.
We Salute Our Veterans! Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin State of New Jersey 1333 Broad St., Clifton, NJ 07013 office: 973-779-3125
www.assemblymangiblin.com 14
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Federal Mortgage Offers Senior Citizens A Reverse Mortgage
F
or some 34 years now, Anthony A. Accavallo, shown here, has been helping make the American Dream become a reality, right here in Clifton. As President of Federal Mortgage & Investment Corp. at 1111 Clifton Ave., Clifton, he and his firm have written millions of dollars worth of mortgages which have allowed people to purchase homes. And while that work has been fulfilling, Accavallo said he is getting his greatest satisfaction these days by helping senior citizens with reverse mortgages. A reverse mortgage is a special kind of mortgage loan for seniors. “It is a safe, easy way to turn your home equity into tax-free cash,” he continued. “Unlike a home equity loan, you do not have to make
monthly payments. Instead, a reverse mortgage pays you. More importantly, you do not have to repay the loan for as long as you live in the house. It’s a great way to keep your home and get money from it at the same time.” The name “reverse mortgage” describes exactly what the mortgage is — it is the exact opposite of a conventional mortgage. That is, with a conventional mortgage the borrower pays the lender but with a reverse mortgage, the lender pays the borrower. In the past, a senior citizen in need of money would have to take out a loan against their house and immediately start making monthly payments again or sell their home. But a reverse mortgage allows seniors to borrow against the equity
How do I qualify for a Reverse Mortgage? It’s simple. You and your co-borrower must be at least 62 years old. You must own your home free and clear or have just a small balance on your existing mortgage. Best of all, there are no income or credit requirements to satisfy. How can I receive my money? You can receive it in several ways: • Equal monthly payments as long as you live in your home • Equal monthly payments for a certain period of time • As a line of credit you can draw upon as needed, for whatever reasons • As a lump sum draw at closing • A combination of the above, to meet your requirements. When must I repay the loan? You must repay the loan if you no longer live in your home. In the event of your death, your heirs can choose to repay the loan and keep the house or sell the house and repay the loan, What are interest rate charges & fees? • An adjustable rate of interest is charged on reverse mortgages • Closing costs are typical for any mortgage closing and all may be financed • No out-of-pocket expenses at closing Are Reverse Mortgages safe? • Yes, FHA and FannieMae guarantee the payments you receive • FHA and FannieMae also guarantee you will never owe more than your house is worth — no debt left on estate
they already have in their home... and they never have to make a monthly payment. Each reverse mortgage candidate is required to attend a free counseling session with a local independent housing agency approved by FHA (Federal Housing Administration). Candidates are encouraged to bring other family members with them to help in the decision-making process. “This process ensures that the borrower understands the program fully and aides them in determining whether or not a reverse mortgage is for them,” said Accavallo.
Federal Mortgage & Investment Corp. (Not a Government Agency) Licensed Mortgage Banker, State of NJ Dept of Banking and Insurance, Dept. of Banking NY, CT, and MA..
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Victory in Europe!
The sale of $760,000 in war bonds in Clifton through the Buy a Bomber campaign helped build the Spirit of Clifton, a B-17 Flying Fortress.
Introduction by Clifton Historian Don Lotz • Veteran Stories by Joe Hawrylko & Jordan Schwartz Many World War II veterans and citizens include in their Memorial Day observances a memory of Victory in Europe or V-E Day, May 8, 1945. Clifton greeted Victory in Europe with both gratitude and sorrow; but also with an attitude of looking forward to the future. The newspapers of May 7 to May 10, 1945 contained articles about Clifton’s citizens involved in the fighting in Europe and Asia and community efforts to assist their fighting brethren. Gunner S/Sgt. Charles Librizzi’s harrowing experience aboard a Flying Fortress B-17 bomber stated the target of their bombing raid was Leipzig, Germany but Leipzig returned the favor with antiaircraft shells. The Clifton veteran, recipient of the Air Medal with five Oak Leaf clusters and son of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Librizzi of Ackerman Ave. said: “They began by knocking out our Nos. 1 and 2 engines right after ‘bombs away.’ That cost us 4,000 feet of altitude right away. A burst in the nose about that time wounded the pilot and co-pilot, another in the rear hit the tail gunner. The distance between us and the ground continued 16
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
slipping away too fast for comfort, and we were tossing out everything that wasn’t bolted down, and some stuff that was. Flak was still coming up fast and fancy. A close one ripped the No. 4 engine and it wouldn’t give full power, leaving us with just an engine and a half to fly on. And we did. It took some mighty sharp maneuvering, but the pilot pushed that wreck over the lines to an emergency landing field in Brussels.” Julia DeNike, of Fenner Ave., received word that her son Pvt. Joseph Bush was liberated from a Nazi Prison Camp by the 83rd Infantry Division at Altengrabow, Germany. Pvt. Bush was captured in March by the Germans and was moved from camp to camp, with his family not hearing from him since December. Pauline Chaplin, of Alyea Terr; however, received news that her son paratrooper Lt. Emil Chaplin had been killed March 24, 1945 during “Operation Varsity” in Germany. Chaplin had two other sons in service at the time she received word of Emil’s death. Lt. Emil Chaplin was an honor graduate of CHS, a winner of the Rensselaer Institute of
Technology award in math and a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. At the time of his going into service on Feb. 13, 1942, he was teaching school and preparing for a master’s degree. The May 3 Kiwanis meeting at the Robin Hood Inn featured the ambassador to Czecho-Slovakia William Kelgard’s topic “The International Peace Conference at San Francisco.” Kelgard told the gathering that although democracy was not perfect, “it still represented the only form of government under which free enterprise can exist and thrive.” Victory in Europe seemed imminent, yet certain war measures remained in affect. Rationing prospects appeared even bleaker for the balance of 1945 than for the previous year. District OPA Director Richard J. Tarrant explained that “we will still have a hard war ahead in the Pacific and on the inflation and scarcity front…” and emphasized the importance of rationing and price controls “so long as there is scarcity.” The gas, tire, shoe, and automobile situation seemed gloomy enough, but food and fuel oil appeared even bleaker.
On May 8, news announced that Admiral Karl Doenitz, Hitler’s successor, had addressed the German people “saying he ordered the High Command to surrender unconditionally the night of May 6 on all fronts,” and concluded that “on May 8 at 11 pm the arms will be silent.” The news of the end of fighting in Europe was greeted by President Harry S. Truman with his radio address and proclamation: “This is a solemn but glorious hour. Gen. Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have surrendered to the U.N. The flags of freedom fly over all of Europe.” Mill whistles blared, church bells tolled, but no crowds appeared in the streets of Clifton on V-E Day. Mayor William E. Dewey and City Manager William A. Miller ordered all offices at the City Hall closed for the day. Flags remained at halfstaff, as they had been since the death of President Roosevelt. Mayor Dewey next proclaimed “I
Despite the end of conflict in Europe, war still raged on in the Pacific against Emperor Hirohito’s Japanese military until V-J Day on Aug. 15, 1945.
Am American Day” in Clifton and called upon all of its citizens to join in the observance on May 20 to honor foreign born men and women who have been naturalized as well as great numbers of native-born citizens who have become of age in the last year. He said, “these citizens are giving strength to our Democracy in
its struggle against tyranny and it’s striving to make secure through international organization the rights and opportunities in our own and other sovereign nations.” Mayor Dewey asked patriotic, civic and educational groups to hold appropriate exercises in celebration of the event.
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Richardson Scale and Dumont Laboratory closed, while Curtiss Propeller and Bright Star Battery Company remained opened, but several departments at Bright Star were shut down when joyous workers left their posts. At the direction of Supt. George J. Smith, public schools opened and held assemblies, where teachers impressed upon students the importance of the effort in Japan and urged them to continue to buy war bonds and stamps. The children were sent home after the assemblies. The police and fire department had off duty officers report in case of emergency, but all remained calm. Clifton’s calm response to VE Day was in fact no indication of its continuing response to support the effort and those returning home. Maj. George Mount Richmond’s family, received word that the air commander of B-17 Flying Fortress group formations was located in a hospital in France recuperating from
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Joe Hilla was a seagoing Marine during World War II deployed to the Marshall Islands aboard the USS Randolph.
burns received after being shot down during a mission against Nazi installations in Germany. His wife had previously received word that Richmond and his crew had to bail out and that his crew was picked up by the Americans, while Richmond was listed as MIA. He was previous-
ly awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in Feb. and also holds the Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters. Staff Sgt. William D. Pavlik, of the Engineer Combat Battalion, had been awarded the Silver Star Medal for heroic action in France. The citation read… During an air raid in France, on June 11, 1944, a truck loaded with high explosives and ammunition was hit by a bomb, wounding and killing several men. Pavlik, disregarding the intense heat from the burning truck and constant threat of further explosions, remained at the scene of the fire to help remove the wounded men to safety and administer first aid. The courage, coolness and disregard for personal safety displayed by this enlisted man reflect the highest credit upon himself and the armed forces. Pavlick had been overseas 22 months, in India, Africa, and France, before going to Germany. He was a CHS grad and and athlete.
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Victory in Europe did not stop the news of death; Pvt. John Robinson was killed April 19 in Italy. He had been there since last July and had entered the service Oct. 17, 1942. His wife Jeannie Robinson and daughter Elizabeth Jean resided on Kenyon St. Members of the Clifton Defense Council called upon its thousands of volunteers in police, fire, radio, nursing and other community services to “stay on the job” until final victory in the Pacific. Echoing the pleas of Gov. Edge and State OCD Director William Wachenfeld that there is still important work to be done in War Bond Drives, Salvage Collections and other public service, the OCD asked its forces to “stand by.”
City Engineer John L. Fitzgerald, who has been the commander-inchief of the OCD in Clifton since it was organized in 1941, said he hoped that the thousands of publicspirited citizens who have been doing “such a marvelous job on the home front,” would continue their services. He suggested the major services of the OCD could be concentrated in Community War Services, of which City Treasurer John Franz had been chairman, and Loretta Schleich, secretary. State OCD Director Wachenfeld urged that the OCD forces be kept intact, until final victory. Wachenfeld also expressed the hope that the OCD in Clifton would again play an important part in the Seventh War Loan drive.
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Cliftonite Sy Pagani drove tanks on Okinawa towards the end of the war.
The FCC had renewed the license of WKKQ, the Civilian Defense short wave station in Clifton. Frank Takacs, radio aide, and Emil Ploenes, assistant aide, will remain in charge, under the direction of Crine Hellegers, chairman of OCD communications. Other efforts in Clifton included a “canning demonstration… planned by the nutrition committee of Community War Services Division of the Clifton Defense Council. Mrs. R. R. Hill, chairman of the nutrition committee, invited all Clifton women to attend the demonstration on May 23.” The demonstration was presented by Fontilla Johnson, Passaic County
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Charles Lotz, the author’s father, before his death in April 2007 and at right, Don’s fatherin-law Walter Mijal in a recent photo.
At left, Don Lotz’s father Charles in Belgium in 1944 where he worked as a mechanic aboard the P-47 Thunderbolt. Above, Don’s father-inlaw Walter Mijal in the Polish cavalry in which he served prior to when the Russians invaded Poland.
Home Demonstration Agent. Hill said, “This year, as never before, it is imperative that housewives make plans for their summer and fall canning early and put up as many foods as possible. We are being warned that there will be a good shortage in the months to come.” For returning veterans, Clifton’s Quentin Roosevelt Post No. 8, American Legion, invited CHS Principal Harold J. Adams to discuss, “the various programs through which the high school authorities cooperate in the education of men in service, to assist them in completing their high school courses and obtain their diplomas, and gave an outline of the facilities for furthering the education of returning veterans.” Continuing, Adams “stressed the importance of high school training for the post-war world, predicting that the high school diploma will be the ‘big filter in the future,’ in seeking jobs.” He also said, “Clifton will have a well rounded program,
probably with adult evening classes and vocational guidance.” School children contributed to the effort to support Clifton’s citizens in service. The Clifton Junior Red Cross packed for shipping 25 overseas boxes of games at the Clifton Red Cross. The Seventh War Loan Drive brought the students of School 13 to the forefront with their weeks of planning. Conrad O. Schweitzer, School 13 Principal, “announced at a special assembly that although the campaign starts officially May 14, the school will fire the opening gun tomorrow May 11.” Clifton’s post V-E Day economic well being was discussed at a merchant’s forum of the Commerce Council of the Chamber of Commerce. Arthur Rigolo, chairman of the Clifton Committee for Economic Development, told businessmen “of the need for making immediate post war plans to take care of increased
consumer demand as soon as restrictions are lifted.” Rigolo continued his presentation by saying, “each firm and business man should analyze his problems because competitors throughout the country and everywhere are making similar plans.” John Meszaros of the First National Bank led a forum discussion on bank credit. Ford dealer Henry Fette, chairman of the commercial division, summarized the activities of the division since the first of the year and Peter R. Barns, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, concluded the meeting by informing businessmen on future trends in retailing and post war markets. Clifton was an active community during World War II as evidenced by the news of the few days between May 7th and May 10th that included V-E Day and had begun planning for the post war era. May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Raymond Chitko “We supported the men who fought and so we were very close to them,” he recalled. “They respected us.” -Raymond Chitko An Engineering Draftsman for the Seabees during World War II.
If the Seabees were the backbone of the military, Raymond Chitko was one of the vertebrae. The Seabees are the Construction Battalions (or CBs) of the U.S. Navy. They construct bases, pave roads and airstrips, and monitor drinking water, like Chitko did during World War II. Chitko enlisted in December 1942 and on Jan. 12 of the following year, he received a call from the Navy telling him to report for duty. In the early part of 1943, the Shipfitter First Class and his crew sailed from California to the Fiji Islands in the Pacific Ocean. “My job was to make construction plans,” said Chitko. “We supported the men who fought and so we were very close to them. They respected us.” After more than a year in Fiji, the Seabees left for a new destination. “We loaded up our bulldozers and cranes and we were on the water for 85 days, stopping on former battle stations,” recalled Chitko. The crew finally arrived in the waters around Palau in September 1944, just as the Battle of Peleliu was beginning. When the ship landed on the island of Peleliu, Chitko developed a bad case of dysentery. 22
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Raymond Chitko with the Navy Seabees in 1943 and today.
“They took me off the ship and stuck me in a medical jeep and drove me through the battle area to the hospital,” Chitko remembered. “But being sick was pretty good for me because I didn’t have to work.” While he was in the hospital, Chitko came across many guys who were in a lot worse shape than he was. “You couldn’t help but feel sorry for them,” he said. “They were so alone.” Chitko was sick for two weeks before returning to work filling potholes on the airfield and building shelters for the soldiers to live in. “We were like the servants on the island,” said Chitko, adding that at one point, the men weren’t getting enough food. “We were tired of eating mutton so we threw grenades into the water and waited for the fish to float to the surface.” The Battle of Peleliu ended with an American victory on Nov. 25,
1944, six weeks after it began. United States Commander William Rupertus had predicted that the battle would be won within four days, but because of Japan’s stiff opposition, the confrontation lasted far longer. The battle has been called controversial because of its questionable strategic value and high number of fatalities (12,155). When considering the number of men involved (less than 39,000), Peleliu had the highest death toll rate of any battle in the Pacific Theater. Chitko left the island in August 1945 and returned to the Seabees base in Rhode Island. It wasn’t until he got to the States that he even heard about the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chitko was discharged from the Navy in 1946. Now 85 years old, he lives on Jascott Ln. in Clifton.
Robert Wilcox “Guys were scared to leave the ship,” he sobbed. “They were screaming, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’” -Robert Wilcox Army Air Force Staff Sergeant who served in Guam
Robert Wilcox comes from a family of soldiers. His great grandfather fought in the Civil War, his grandfather George Wagner saw action in the Spanish American War, and his father Forrest Wilcox would have fought in World War I if not for the arm he lost in a saw mill accident when he was just a teenager. Robert’s brother Forrest saw action in Korea, while he and his other two siblings fought in World War II. Walter was a PT boat hero, Edgar stormed the beaches of Normandy and Robert was a staff sergeant in the Army Air Force.
While in the Army Air Force, Robert Wilcox picked up one of these warning pamphlets dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki before atomic bombs obliterated the Japanese cities. The message on the back translated to say, “Read this carefully as it may save your life or the life of a relative or friend. In the next few days, the military installations in four or more of the cities named on the reverse side of this leaflet will be destroyed by American bombs.”
Robert Wilcox was drafted in January 1943 at the age of 20, but it would be a while before the Pennsylvania dairy farmer went overseas.
The first stop on Wilcox’s whirlwind tour of the United States was Fort Dix for basic training. “There was no system in World War II,” he said. “I was in a
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Navy vet Walter Wilcox (left) and his brother Army Air Force veteran Robert Wilcox both served in WWII. At right, Robert today.
tent with a cot that didn’t have blankets or a mattress. I couldn’t find newspaper to lie down on, so I slept with my clothes on to keep warm.” Wilcox said the Army didn’t know what to do with him, so he found his own way out of boot camp. “I was listening to some guys by a building one day and I heard they were leaving, so I stuck to them like [crap] on underwear.” That decision took Wilcox to Florida, Michigan, California, Ohio, Oklahoma and Kansas. “We’d spend a few weeks in each place just sitting around. They didn’t know where they wanted to put us.” Finally, Wilcox made it to Seattle, where he was shipped out to the Mariana Islands in the West Pacific, two months before the Battle of Saipan. But the Staff Sergeant never touched foot on Saipan. Instead, on the night of their arrival in April 1944, the troops were ordered to load into Landing Ship, Tanks (LSTs) and sail another 125 miles southwest, under the cover of darkness, to Japanese occupied Guam. 24
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Wilcox, 85, cried as he recounted that night. “Guys were scared to leave the ship,” he sobbed. “They were screaming, ‘Mommy! Mommy!’” When they got to the beaches, Wilcox and the other men were forced to shoot at the enemy. The Staff Sergeant made it ashore safely but soon developed malaria and had to be hospitalized for a week. “I was shaking, wringing wet with the sun beating down on,” Wilcox recalled. “I couldn’t keep warm.” When he regained his health, Wilcox returned to base where he loaded bombs on B-29 bombers in preparation for the Battle of Guam, which took place between July 21 and Aug. 8, 1944. Wilcox was on the island for about a year and a half, finally returning home in 1946 to New Jersey, where he lived with his brother Walter before he got drafted. Robert Wilcox, who now resides on Sundown Ln. across from City Hall, loves telling his brother’s war stories more than his own and it’s easy to see why. Walter served on PT boats with John F. Kennedy during World War
II, earning the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. The citation explains that one night, Wilcox was serving as machine gunner when his boat encountered heavy fire from larger caliber coastal batteries. Despite the opposition, the PT was able to destroy three enemy landing craft. Early in the battle, Walter was wounded in the thigh, but he stayed at his post and continued firing until his magazines were empty. The sailor then went below decks, got another canister of ammunition and began firing again. During the action, Wilcox saw that another member of his crew was wounded and lying on the deck in danger of rolling overboard, so he brought him to safety. “My brother was also in hand to hand combat with the Japanese,” said Robert. “He went down in the caves with a flashlight and a handgun.” Walter passed away on June 19, 1993 at the age of 73, but the military tradition lives on in the Wilcox family. Robert’s daughter Nudia Baker served in the Air Force like her father.
Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Pauline Trella “I was offered a lot of benefits (to stay in the Navy),” explained Trella. “But who wants to stay when all the guys leave? Why stay when your friends all go home?” -Pauline Trella US Navy WAVES, Yeoman 2nd class
Although Pauline Trella couldn’t serve on the front lines, getting involved with the war came naturally to her. “I worked in the Curtis Wright defense plant in Caldwell,” recalled the 1940 CHS graduate. “I was a precision inspector.” Clifton’s version of Rosie the Riveter was more than happy to help out on the home front. However, after conversing with a friend, Trella felt there was more she could do for her country. “My friend, Ann Bajor, joined the WAVES,” she said. “I wrote her letters and she eventually encouraged me to join.” WAVES, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, was founded in 1942. Prior to that, there was no way for females to enlist in the military.
Pauline Trella, at left, as a US Navy WAVES in 1945. She is now the financial officer of the Athenia Veterans Post on Huron Ave.
“She was in (Washington) D.C.,” recalled Trella, who registered in May 1945. “That’s where I thought I’d go.” However, the young Cliftonite soon learned that the priorities of the military come before your personal preferences. You don't have much of a choice in where you go. After completing her training in New York, Trella was shipped out to Corpus Christi, TX. “I relieved the men. We opened the field for flying on teletype and also closed the field for flying,” said Trella “We also kept the officer’s logs.”
However, Trella’s stay there was short. Japan and Germany had surrendered and the Navy was releasing a lot of extra personnel. “I was offered a lot of benefits (to stay in the Navy),” explained Trella. “But who wants to stay when all the guys leave? Why stay when your friends all go home?” Trella returned home and was among one of the early members of the Athenia Veterans Post, which was founded in 1946. She is now the financial officer of the Post, which features a bar, gym and health room.
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David J. Eagler “We were allowed on the beach and the whole town was burnt, as far as the eye can see, even the dirt,” Eagler said. “There were kids scrounging for food, so I fed them.” -David J. Eagler M3C, Metal Smith Third Class Petty Officer on the U.S.S. Tyrrell
While many servicemen waited for Uncle Sam to draft them, David Eagler was one of the men who knew that his blood ran red white and blue. “I enlisted in November of 1943. I got my father to sign as soon as I turned 17,” recalled the Navy veteran. “It was what it was at the time.” When Eagler’s training was completed in the summer of 1945, he was assigned to the U.S.S. Tyrrell, an AKA-80 cargo ship.
David Eagler while he was in the Navy back in 1945 and today.
The vessel was utilized for military cargo and landing craft, supporting amphibious operations by sending in Marines and supplies. After departing on Jan. 5, 1945 from Hampton Roads, Virginia, the attack cargo ship went through the Panama Canal to Hawaii.
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“We made a couple runs to Pearl Harbor and then went to mop up everything in Leyte,” said Eagler. After a few minor missions, the Tyrrell was attached to the Southern Attack Force for the Battle of Okinawa. It was the last major campaign in the Pacific Theater.
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park A total of about 1,300 ships— including battleships, destroyers, carriers and support vessels like the Tyrrell—steamed towards the Japanese island. The Allies attacked with full force at 0550 hours on L-Day, April 1. “It was both Easter Sunday and April Fool’s Day,” recalled Eagler. As the battleships and cruisers laid waste to fortified defenses with their artillery strikes, Eagler and the crew of the Tyrrell ferried over Marines and supplies. After the last of the Tyrrell’s ships hit the water, the vessel stuck around to support the mission. However, the extended stay to provide assistance to the attack force nearly doomed the ship. “We got hit by a Japanese suicide plane,” recalled Eagler. “We had to come back to San Francisco for repairs.”
On the second day of battle, an enemy bomber dove through the anti-air fire, heading straight for the Tyrrell’s bridge. The attack missed its main target, but hit the main radio and also damaged the starboard side of the ship. Eagler and the rest of the ship’s crew was fortunate. Around 1,900 planes were used in Kamikaze attacks over the duration of the battle, resulting in the loss of 79 Allied ships and over 12,500 troops. The battle marked the Navy’s biggest single loss during the war. Following repairs, the Tyrrell spent the last weeks of the war ferrying goods across the Pacific. When word of the Japanese surrender had reached the ship on Aug. 13, the Tyrrell altered course for Saipan, and ultimately, Nagasaki.
“We were allowed on the beach and the whole town was burnt, as far as the eye can see, even the dirt. That’s how hot it was,” Eagler said. “There were kids scrounging for food, so I fed them.” While the aftermath of the Fat Man bomb left a lasting impression on the young sailor, Eagler said that the condition of the American POWs was just as disturbing. “Some of the American prisoners of war couldn’t even walk on board,” he recalled vividly. “Some guys, who used to be 200 pounds, were now about 70. We had to pick them up on the side on a stretcher and lift them up.” Eagler would serve until July 1946, shortly after the Navy decommissioned the Tyrrell and sold it to the Merchant Marines.
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Hank Gola “My uncle sent me on a cruise, then to Italy, then to school. I had a very good uncle.” -Hank Gola Army Corporal who served in Italy and North Africa
Hank Gola lives on the street behind the elementary school he graduated from 73 years ago. In fact, he’s spent his entire life in Clifton. But from 1942 to 1945, Uncle Sam helped Gola travel the world. After graduating Clifton High School in 1939, the youngest of 10 children went to work for the Frost Meat Market and the Manhattan Rubber Company, but what he really wanted to do was join the military. “The Marines wouldn’t take me and the Navy wouldn’t take me, but the Army took me in Nov. 1942,” he explained. Gola attended basic training in Mississippi and Arkansas before shipping out to North Africa in May 1943. The corporal, who worked in administrations at an Army hospice, first traveled to Tunisia,
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Hank Gola was an Army Corporal serving in Italy and North Africa during World War II. Today, he helps students at Key Skills Learning.
where the German-Italian Army had just surrendered. Gola also spent time in Algeria before being relocated to North Italy in May 1944. In December of that year, the Corporal had an opportunity to take a liberty trip down to Rome to attend a mass led by Pope Pius XII at St. Peter’s Basilica. The following year, in Aug. 1945, Gola returned to the States to begin his college education paid for by the federal government. “My uncle sent me on a cruise, then to
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Italy, then to school. I had a very good uncle,” he joked. Gola attended Pace University and Fairleigh Dickinson University before beginning his 45 year career in management and information systems. The veteran retired in 1994 but continues to work part-time at Key Skills Learning, assisting the students there. Gola lives with his wife of 58 years, Edna, in their home on Sergeant Ave, right behind School 13, where a much younger Hank attended classes in the 1930s.
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Joseph Sperling & Richard Leschynski “We’d jump out of the plane and it would look like the Fourth of July, bullets flying all over the place.” -Richard Leschynski Private, US Army Paratrooper
Chief Petty Officer Joseph Sperling was Clifton’s first casualty during WWII. The career sailor had already served 17 years when he was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. “My uncle joined the Navy when he was 17 and made a career out of it,” said Richard Leschynski, a former Cliftonite from Athenia. “The gunners shot the Jap plane down and it crashed into the side near a crane on the ship. My uncle happened to be in the ship where the plane hit.” After 30 years, the military finally supplied him with the ship’s logs, detailing the events that took place on that day. Following the initial attack, the USS Curtis began to engage the Japanese bombers that were laying waste to the American fleet. The ship had just sunk an enemy mini-sub that managed to get into the harbor, when a diving plane was spotted on the starboard side.
Above, from left is Richard Leschynski in an undated photo from Europe and his uncle Chief Petty Officer Joseph Sperling, the first Clifton service man to die in WWII. Sperling will be honored on May 4 at 1 pm at the CHS auditorium.
As the plane came in, it was shot down and slammed into the number one crane, damaging the Curtis. According to Leschynski, Joseph Sperling was standing in the vicinity of where the plane went down and was killed in the ensuing blaze. “He’s buried in Punchbowl (National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific),” said Leschynski. “He’s right by Ernie Pyle (a famous WWII correspondent).” Leschynski is also connected to WWII, having been a veteran of the European Theater himself. The Clifton native spent his days during the war jumping out of airplanes behind enemy lines. “Right by the door, there’s a red light and a
green light,” he reminisced. “The green light comes on and I jump and go. You’ve never seen 20 guys leave an airplane in about three seconds.” As a part of the 508th Parachute Infantry, Leschynski participated in three major campaigns: Normandy, Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. “We’d jump out of the plane and it would look like the Fourth of July; bullets flying all over the place,” recalled Leschynski. Following the conclusion of the war, the Athenia native served three months in Berlin as a part of the occupation force before returning home. He now lives in Garfield with his wife Mary.
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John Jay Grace “We drove the Burma Road,” he said. “That was an experience we were lucky to get through.” -John Jay Grace Army Signal Corps Technical Sergeant
If it wasn’t for guys like John Jay Grace, one Army battalion would not have been able to radio another battalion to notify the men of an impending air raid. Grace was a Technical Sergeant in the Army Signal Corps, a branch of the military responsible for developing communications and information systems support for the command of combined arms forces. The Wyckoff native enlisted at the age of 19 after graduating Ramsey High School in 1942. Grace attended basic training at Fort Dix before moving to Ft. Monmouth where he learned pole line construction. The enlisted man then took classes in teletype and telephone repair while he spent a year in Missouri. The Technical Sergeant finally shipped out for the Oran Province in Algeria in 1943. He was there for just a month before sailing to India. But the journey wasn’t easy.
John Jay Grace during training in Missouri in 1943 and Grace today.
During the first day at sea, Grace’s convoy got bombed off the island of Crete. “Two ships got hit,” he remembered. “We were lucky.” Eventually, Grace and the men he was with made it through the Suez Canal to Bombay, where they took two trains and a ferry to North India. There, the 96th Signal Battalion was responsible for doing pole line construction for telephones. Grace did cable slicing and helped build radio antenna. He then spent all of 1944 in Burma completing supply and repair missions. “We drove the Burma Road. That was an experi-
ence we were lucky to get through,” said Grace about the 717 mile long winding road that runs through the mountains between Burma and China. “The first part was paved but then it was strictly dirt and the natives were putting stones around the curbs so we wouldn’t go flying off the cliff.” The Sergeant spent another six to seven months in China before being discharged from the Army in 1945. He’s been in Clifton ever since, taking jobs with Western Electric and Dumont. Today, Grace, 85, lives with his wife of 60 years Marion on Lincoln Ave.
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
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“We went to go look at this plane with a red flare under it. Then it goes over us and drops a bomb straight in the middle of the ship.” -Anthony Furino US Army Sgt. 977th Field Artillery
When Anthony Furino was drafted in May 1941, he figured it would be for the standard one year duty. America had not entered the war yet, so there was no need for the extended service. “I was glad to get in. I was going to get in for a year only,” said Furino. “But the one year ended up lasting four and a half.” The 23 year old was already a few months into his training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi when word of the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor had reached him. Furino knew that his stay had just become a bit longer. The United States of America had just been pulled into World War II. “It was Sunday, around dinner time, when they had bombed us,” he recalled vividly. “We were all gung ho, saying how we were going to end the war in 12 months, maybe 18 months.”
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park After completing his training in the early part of 1942, Furino was shipped off to Africa. “I wound up in the heavy artillery,” explained Furino, who was a part of the 977th Field Artillery, Battalion 8. “I was with the 155 mm Long Toms. I was a Sergeant; the chief of our gun section.” His battalion was scheduled to support the invasion of Sicily—code name Operation Husky—in June of 1943. However, at the last second, commanders withheld the 977th from the initial attack. On Aug. 15, the 977th Field Artillery boarded a transport headed for southern France. It would be a voyage that Furino wouldn’t soon forget. While crossing the Mediterranean, troops aboard the transport vessel spotted a lone plane flying in overhead. “We went to look at this plane with a red flare under it,” recalled Furino. “Then it goes over us and drops a bomb straight in the middle of the ship.” According to him, it was a radio controlled bomb, one of only two utilized during WWII. The device had struck the ship with deadly accuracy. “We were hit around 9 pm,” said Furino. “In my battery alone, we lost
about four men. There was 22 men killed and about 85 percent of the ship received Purple Hearts.” Furino was among those that received the award for being wounded, narrowly escaping death in the process. When the bomb hit, it knocked loose a large, metal pulley that fell directly on his head. However, with the adrenaline pumping from the bombing, Furino didn’t even notice that he was hurt. “A Navy boy gave me a coffee and I couldn’t even lift my arm,” he said, adding that’s when he realized his shirt was ripped near his shoulder and covered with blood. He also had a large dent in his helmet as a souvenir. After getting patched up by medics, Furino was back in southern France, en route to Germany. “I was told my gun was the first gun to fire into Germany territory,” he added proudly. Furino was in Germany the Nazi’s were defeated. “I left May 16, 1945, my birthday,” added the soon to be 90 year old. Furino returned to France, where he waited until November of that year to get discharged. Upon return, Furino joined American Legion Post 347 on Main Ave., where he was the Commander in 1961 and ‘62. He currently lives in East Rutherford.
Mario Talamini I had to carry my buddy, who was all shot up. He was 202 pounds and I had to carry him the whole way.” -Mario Talamini Army Buck Sgt. 9th Division, 60th Infantry
If it wasn’t for his quick thinking back on an early Autumn morning in 1943, Army Buck Sgt. Mario Talamini might not be around today. On that day, Talamini and other soldiers were hot on the trail of a band of Nazis, who were retreating towards Belgium. “We were chasing the Germans and came to the Meuse River,” recalled the 85 year old, who was fresh off of liberating Paris just a month before. “Our orders were not to cross, but our commander told us to cross anyway.” The troops boarded rubber rafts and crossed the river, guns ready. “They were smart. They knew English,” said Talamini, adding that the Nazis would sometimes dress as Allied soldiers. After scouting the river bank for enemies, the squad headed back for the other side to report back to their awaiting superiors.
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However, when they hopped in their boats, the Americans realized that they had been flanked by the Germans. The enemy had their guns trained on them and were ready to fire. With the Nazis holding superior ground, Talamini knew he was in dire straits and had to act. Do you hold your ground, return fire and face certain death, or dive into the water, knowing that you have 100 lbs of gear on you and you can’t swim? “They started shooting and it was just instinct to jump in,” said Talamini, who survived by holding onto the raft. Out gunned and within grenade range, the G.I.’s were at the mercy of the Nazi forces. The Germans ceased fire and took Talamini and seven other American soldiers as prisoners. As a captive, you faced a different set of dangers than those on the
As a part of the 9th Division of the 60th Infantry, Mario Talamini stormed Utah Beach on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and helped liberate Paris in August of 1944.
front lines. Getting shot wasn’t so much of a concern. The real perils were malnourishment and disease. The Americans were then rounded up, and sent to Aachen, Germany. For two days, they walked at gunpoint without food or water.
“I had to carry my buddy, who was all shot up,” recalled Talamini. “He was 202 pounds and I had to carry him the whole way.” The G.I.s were jeered by locals, who stoned and chastised the prisoners for being U.S. gangsters.
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Soon after, the prisoners were stuffed into boxcars. When the doors finally opened again two weeks later, Talamini had arrived at Camp 7A in Mooseberg, Germany. It would be almost eight months before he would be free again. While there, Talamini was forced to do labor. His workload included a variety of tasks, ranging from helping local farmers to working in the rail yards. He said the Germans could tell he wasn’t born in the US. “They could tell I was born in Europe because of how I worked,” laughed Talamini, an Italy native. Still, that doesn’t mean that the Athenia Veterans member didn’t try to escape. “I ran away three times,” he said. “They took my shoes and made me work in the ice and snow barefoot.” But Talamini said that his captors weren’t all too bad. “They’d just put you in confinement,” he said. “Not like the Japs. They’d put you in a cage.” However, hope was on the horizon. With the Allies surging towards Berlin, troops came in and finally liberated the camp on April 29, 1944. “We were liberated by the 99th division and General (George) Patton,” said Talamini, who settled in Clifton once he finally returned to America. “They took us away in planes to Camp Lucky Strike in France. It was the first time I took a shower since I got there,” he added. “I never thought I’d get out of there.” However, despite his experience as a P.O.W., Talamini still wanted to reenlist when he returned to the States. “I wanted to make an Army career; I loved that stuff,” laughed the Athenia Veterans Post member. “But my parents wanted me out.”
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
35
Four Years at Sea Everyone knows about the thousands of Allied troops that stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, but less is known about how they got there. That’s where Navy men like Andy Polick come in. The 36-year Clifton resident was just a teenager when the Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) ship he served on sailed toward the shores of Northern France. He watched from the deck as the 150 Army soldiers aboard jumped into the water and swam to battle. But some of them never even touched the sand. “The beach sloped upward so we couldn’t drop our ramps,” remembered Polick while sitting on the living room couch of the Long Hill Dr. home in which he’s lived since 1972. “We had
Story by Jordan Schwartz
Cliftonite Andy Polick served in the Navy on a Landing Craft Infantry ship, such as this one, that transported Army troops to the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
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Polick (second from left) with Passaic High School classmate and current Clifton resident Steve Pinchak (at left) and two shipmates in Shanghai, China on Dec. 9, 1945.
to let the men off about 30 feet from shore and a few of them drowned because the cartridge belts they were wearing weighed them down. “The rest of the guys saw this and they got scared so we had to tell them to get off the ship because we had to get the hell out of there.” Polick’s LCI-555 was at Normandy for about a half hour before returning to England. From there, it was back to the States and then on to another theater. Polick left from the west coast en route to Japan in 1945. “There was a lot of water and very few liberties,” he explained.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
The ship did make one stop in Hawaii, where Polick got a tattoo of two hearts with the words ‘Love Mom and Dad’ on his right arm. “Everyone else was getting them, so I got one. That was stupid,” he said, pointing to the faded green ink etched into his wrinkled skin. Once in the waters around Okinawa, the LCI’s job was to act as the first line of defense, intercepting and attempting to shoot down Japanese suicide planes before they reached the larger ships in the fleet. The LCI on which Polick served was a small, flat-bottomed
amphibious ship, only 155 feet long with just 80 men aboard. Polick worked in communications, passing along orders from officers to the crew. But if enemy aircraft were in the area, he’d run to the gunnery and fire away. The sailor said he was fortunate during World War II. “The ships that replaced us at Okinawa got wiped out. I was very lucky.” From Japan, Polick sailed to the Huangpu River, which bisects Shanghai, China. There, it was the crew’s job to destroy the mines floating in the water. Polick was stationed in China from 1946 until his release from the Navy in April 1947. While on the mainland, he went sightseeing and dancing at clubs. During one night out, he ran into one of his old classmates from Passaic High School, 7,369 miles from home. As it turned out, Steve Pinchak was also serving in China at the time. Polick, who was born in Pennsylvania on Sept. 16, 1926, grew up in Passaic but left for the Navy in 1943 before graduating high school. “All my friends were joining up, so I thought I might as well too,” he recalled. “When you’re 17, you’re not scared. It was more of a challenge.”
Surgery for Tailor’s Bunion is 96 Percent Successful as reported in Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery
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Surgical treatment for that painful bony protrusion behind the little toe—Tailor’s Bunion— has proven to be 96 percent successful in correcting the deformity. Also known as bunionettes, Tailor’s Bunions develop from an enlargement of the joint behind the little toe and they occur mainly in women. The enlarged joint can worsen from pre-existing arthritic joint inflammation, bone structure abnormalities that cause joint instability, and wearing high heels or other narrow-fitting shoes. Common symptoms are pain and inflammation in the little-toe area, gait abnormalities, discomfort from wearing dress shoes, lesions on the little toe, ulceration and infection. Those with persistent symptoms that can’t be relieved by taking anti-inflammatory drugs or wearing wider shoes are best treated with surgery. In the JFAS study, the outcome for 96 percent of feet operated on to correct a Tailor’s Bunion was rated as excellent or good. “It’s a highly effective but simple outpatient procedure using local anesthesia, with a short recuperative time in a surgical shoe,” said foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Thomas A. Graziano. “Given the outstanding success of surgical treatment, there’s no reason anyone should endure persistent pain from a Tailor’s Bunion.”
There are several surgical procedures to correct tailor ’s bunion, which include shaving excess bone to remove the bunionette and procedures to realign the joint behind the little
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Polick trained for eight weeks at boot camp in Sampson, NY before being shipped to Seattle to begin his tour. Upon his release in 1947, the 20-year-old returned home to bartend for two decades at his brother’s tavern, the Shamrock Bar and Grill, on Hoover Ave. in Passaic. “That was a waste,” said Polick, who left in 1967 to work in the shipping department at Garden State Paper on River Rd. in Garfield. After a quarter century there, the veteran retired in 1992, and in the 16 years since, he has kept himself busy by bowling and playing golf. In fact, just last month, he took a trip to Myrtle Beach with a bunch of his fellow duffers. Polick’s wife of 53 years, Marian, passed away two years ago at the age of 76. But the Polick, today at his home on Long Hill Dr., shows off the tattoo he got while on liberty in Hawaii in 1945. It has two hearts and says ‘Love Mom and Dad.’
Long Hill Dr. resident still has family in the area. His daughter Susan Gamba, 50, resides on Grove St. and his son David, 48, lives in Kinnelon. They each have two children of their own. But when Polick is not spending time with his grandchildren or hitting the ball around on the golf course, you can find him over at the VFW in Garfield or the Athenia Veterans Post in Clifton, sharing stories about his four years at sea.
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The Forgotten War
The Korean War, which took place between June 25, 1950 and July 27, 1953, is sometimes referred to as The Forgotten War because it got far less attention than World War II, which came before it, and the Vietnam War, which followed.
1950 opened on a note of quiet optimism in our country... and here in Clifton. Veterans had returned from the fighting of World War II, found jobs in local factories and mills, married and raised families in Athenia, Beantown and Botany. Television antennae were sprouting from rooftops and everyone watched Uncle Miltie on small black and white screens. Baseball fans rooted for the Yankees, the Dodgers or the Giants. If you mentioned the term drug dealer, Cliftonites thought you meant a pharmacist. For many, life was good...and getting better. The emotional wounds of the second World War were beginning to heal. The world was at peace and no one was concerned abut political and military activities taking place half a world away. 24Hr Water Damage
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But much of that changed on June 25, 1950 when Communist North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea. What politicians called a police action, but those Americans who served on this foreign soil would call the Korean War, had a profound impact on a number of our neighbors. Air Force Buck Sergeant Matt Morabito repaired weapons and guarded planes along the 38th Parallel. Army Private First Class Richard Kronenberger cared for soldiers suffering from frost bite in Busan. Combat Medic Patsy Salerno ducked enemy fire while tending to the wounded in the Kumwha Valley. And Dominick Di Paolo narrowly escaped death in Hagura, North Korea.
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Matt Morabito “You never want to leave a buddy behind,” he said. “You don’t want to see a guy who was happy this morning, come home and be dead.” -Matt Morabito Air Force Corporal during the Korean War
When most people finish their tour in the military, they thank God they survived and move on with the rest of their lives. When Matt Morabito completed his four years in the Air Force, he reenlisted. Growing up in Union City, Morabito joined the Jersey City National Guard in 1949. “It was the thing to do in those years,” he said. After 10 months with the Guard, Morabito joined the Air Force and went to armor school at Camp
Matt Morabito was an Air Force Corporal in Korea in 1950.
Gordon, Georgia to learn how to repair weapons. Then, he was shipped out to the 38th Parallel in July 1950. During the Korean War, Morabito’s job was to take care of the weapons and pull pilots out of the
cockpit when their planes went down — sometimes a gruesome task. “You never want to leave a buddy behind,” he said. “You don’t want to see a guy who was happy this morning, come home and be dead.”
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Morabito also acted as security, protecting the airplanes at night because he wasn’t a big sleeper. The soldier’s tour in Korea ended in Oct. 1951 when he returned to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. But his time in the military wasn’t up yet. The Air Force sent Morabito to Greenland in 1952, and when he returned a year later, he immediately reenlisted. “I was going all the way,” he said about his military ambitions. In 1954, the Corporal went to Japan before returning to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he made Staff Sgt. In 1957, Morabito was delivering weapons to friendly nations in Turkey when he was stabbed in the back by a communist Turk. The injury cut short Morabito’s career in the Air Force as he was eventually discharged as a Master Sergeant in 1961. Morabito, 75, now lives on Cloverdale Rd. by City Hall, where he has resided for the past 17 years.
Richard Kronenberger “We had a lot of frost bite patients,” he said. “It wasn’t very pleasant.” -Richard Kronenberger Private First Class with the Army Medical Corps
Thousands of soldiers suffered from frost bite during the Korean War, and when they did, they went to see guys like Richard Kronenberger for treatment. The Private First Class was with the Army Medical Corps during the war. “We had a lot of frost bite patients,” he said. “It wasn’t very pleasant.” Kronenberger moved to Clifton in 1934, when he was just six years old. Before that, he and his family moved around from Newark to Nutley to Passaic. Kronenberger graduated the old Clifton High School (now
Kronenberger at a Busan medical depot in 1951.
Christopher Columbus Middle School) in 1946 and went to work as a machinist at Tobin Howe Paper Box on Main Ave. That was until he got drafted into the Army Medical Corps in 1951. Kronenberger attended six weeks of basic training at
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Kronenberger is a member at American Legion Post 8 in Clifton.
Fort Dix in New Jersey and then eight more weeks of specialized training at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
After a four day train ride to California, Kronenberger was shipped out to Korea in 1951. In addition to treating victims of frost bite, he also pulled guard duty in Busan and worked in a medical warehouse. Busan was one of the few areas in the country that remained under South Korean control during the war and at one time, it served as a temporary capital of the Republic of Korea. United Nations troops created a defensive perimeter around the city known as the Pusan Perimeter in the summer and fall of 1950. Following 18 months in Korea, Kronenberger was discharged in 1953 and returned to his job at the Paper Box. He later took advantage of the G.I. Bill and attended St. Peter’s College in Jersey City before transferring to the old Seton Hall cam-
pus in Paterson. The veteran graduated in 1958. Richard Kronenberger, 79, is a member of American Legion Post 8 and currently lives on West First St. with his wife of 50 years, Dorothy Theresa. They have two children.
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Patsy Salerno “We used to fight for the same hill over and over again,” he said. “The Army was crazy.” -Patsy Salerno Army Private First Class Combat Medic
The gruesome scenes of battle were still fresh on the minds of many Cliftonites when America entered the Korean War in 1950. Patsy Salerno, a 1948 CHS grad, was one of those that served on the 38th Parallel. After graduation, Salerno attended the Academy of Aeronautics at LaGuardia Airport for a short time before dropping out to work. When the war initially started, he managed to not have his number called, but in 1951, Uncle Sam came knocking and Salerno answered.
Pat Salerno in Korea in an undated photo. At right is him today.
“They drafted me and I took my BT at Fort Meade, Maryland,” he said. “After that, I went to California and they put me in the 2nd Infantry Division as a combat medic.” For four and a half months, Salerno was in the thick of the bat-
tle in Korea, dodging mortar shells and ducking enemy fire while tending to the wounded. “I had no weapon,” said Salerno. “I just had a .45.” Though his time was short in Korea, it was more than
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park enough for Salerno to experience the horrors of war. “We used to fight for the same hill over and over again,” he said. “The Army was crazy.” But despite his doubts and reservations, Salerno came in knowing that he had a job to do. “You had to do it and you get scared,” he added. “They’d blow them bugles at you. They’d blow them at night and at day and scare the hell out of you.” The sound of the horn was the North Korean soldiers coordinating their attack. A slight delay in getting to your post could mean the difference between a small skirmish and your post being overrun. “They were also good with mortar,” he added. “A lot better than us.” These small, mobile artillery strikes were always a threat in Korea. With the attackers often out of sight range, troops were caught by surprise. By the time you heard the shells coming down, it was usually too late to move out of the way. Salerno was well acquainted with the firepower of the popular infantry support weapon. Wounds from the explosion and shrapnel were some of the most common injuries he dealt with in the field. In fact, a mortar strike is what ultimately ended his tenure on the front lines.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
“We were in the Kumwha Valley in North Korea,” recalled Salerno. “Oh man we got belted that day.” Several rounds of mortar fire had wounded some of his fellow G.I.s and Salerno ran in to give aid. However, while tending to soldier, a shell exploded right next to Salerno, peppering his hip and leg with searing hot shrapnel. “It wasn’t bad,” he said. “I just had a few pieces and they had to take them out.” Though not seriously injured, Salerno ended up in Mobile Army Surgical Hospital 8776 in May 1951. “I didn’t like what I was doing, but they put me there anyway,” he recalled. “The Colonel says to me, ‘You’ll like it. You’ll enjoy it; you’re a soldier.’” In the MASH, Salerno volunteered for a job around the hospital, by pumping water for the autoclave. “They needed someone to run the autoclave,” he explained. “I pumped water from the river into this big vat and sterilized it.” For the next seven months, Salerno worked in the hospital, just a few miles away from the front lines. After a short stint at a different field hospital, Salerno was sent to Japan and brought home in one piece. “I’ve got a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars. I gave everything to my nephew, Frank Caccaro.”
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Memorial Day Services • May 26 at 11am • at the War Monument in Main Memorial Park
Dominick Di Paolo Whether she spoke or not doesn’t matter and what she said doesn’t matter, because her son was standing in the doorway on two feet that were not long ago frost-bitten. Mrs. Joseph Di Paolo went to midnight mass early Christmas Day in 1951 and prayed to God for her son, Marine Pfc. Dominick Di Paolo, who was in the Korean War. Dominick was 21. In November of that year, Di Paolo was trapped by the Chinese north of Hagura, North Korea In the beginning of Dec., his mother received a telegram informing her that he had been wounded. She prayed as she had never prayed before. Then she left St. Anthony’s Church in Passaic, and returned home to 15 Hadley Ave.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Marine Pfc. Dominick Di Paolo is a Korean War Purple Heart Veteran.
It was after 1 am and she was tired. But there was work to be done. She began preparing the food for the Christmas Day dinner. She worked late. And while she worked, she thought of her son. At 4 am, she was still working and everyone had gone to bed and
the night was silent. Then the doorbell rang. She took one unbelieving look at the clock and went down the stairs of her second floor flat and opened the door. Whether she spoke or not doesn’t matter and what she said doesn’t
That’s Dominick Di Paolo at left with his fellow leathernecks packing grenades at a South Korean base during the war.
matter, because her son was standing in the doorway on two feet that were not long ago frost-bitten. In one leg he still carried a hand grenade fragment. But he was there, smiling. She cried. Di Paolo was home on a 30 day convalesance leave. He was flown
out of the “Valley of Death” trap in North Korea to a hospital in Japan after being wounded on Nov. 28. Until he walked into his house, his family didn’t know he had been headed home from Japan. The Clifton marine was wounded when he and another rifleman
were surrounded on a ridge. He had a rifle, some ammunition and one hand grenade. He couldn’t use the rifle because the underbrush was too thick. The grenade was his best weapon. He threw clods of dirt to scatter oncoming Chinese and then when he knew it would do the most good, he threw the grenade, doing enough damage to allow him and his companion to escape. In earlier fighting, Di Paolo had a picture of his mother and sister and sister-in-law cut in half by a bullet that went through the top of his helmet. The bullet destroyed that half of the snapshot that pictured his sister and sister-in-law. His mother was still recognizable when he tucked the remains of the picture into a new helmet. He lost the new helmet later when his convoy was attacked during an evacuation. The Marine private was a former Clifton High School gridiron star. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in Nov. 1948.
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Celebrate our 50th Anniversary with Special Events May 12-17
70 Market Street Allwood • Clifton
973-473-1467
• Mon-Fri 6:30am-6:00pm Sat: 6:30am-5:30pm • Sun: 6:30am-4:30pm
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On May 16th from 6 to 9 pm owner Josef Putz hosts Bike Night with the Bergen County Harley Davidson Club at the Allwood Bakery, Please visit! 54
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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uality ingredients, on-site ownership and generationsold recipes make the Allwood Bakery your destination for German/ European style breads and desserts. Baker and owner Josef Putz and his staff start early every morning so you can bring home those old fashioned breads, pastries and other desserts. A landmark in Clifton since 1958, the Allwood Bakery is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a week of specials and events as a way to say thank you to the community.
Thanks staff for all you do! Marianne, Lindsay, Lilian, Inna, Lynn, Kelly, Alex, Lashaya and to all who worked here over the years Beautiful, Delicious Cakes for Weddings • Graduation • Bar/Bat Mitzvah • Father’s Day
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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The Vietnam War
By April 1969, U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam had overtaken the 33,629 Americans who died in the Korean War. That same month, the number of American forces in Vietnam reached its highest level at 543,000. A gradual troop withdrawal began in the summer. Back home, the “Curse of the Kennedys” continued when Sen. Edward Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Martha’s Vineyard, resulting in the death of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. Two days later, on July 20, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. In October, the New York Mets amazed the baseball world by winning the World Series, nine months after Joe Namath and the Jets achieved a similar feat by winning Super Bowl III. On Nov. 15, anti-war demonstrations reached a peak when 250,000 protesters marched in Washington D.C. The following day, the media broke the story of My Lai, which took place in 1968. The unsettling news caused more questions about the war. In Clifton, telegrams and military personnel continued to arrive in the city to inform families of their loss. Elsewhere in North Jersey, a 21year-old Bill Eakins was returning home from Vietnam, but the events of the previous year would stay with him forever. Our May 2000 edition honored the Cliftonites who died while in service during the Vietnam War. 56
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
On January 8, 1966, soldiers from C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, of which Cliftonite Bill Van Eck was attached. The big gun was the first eight inch Howitzer to fire in Saigon.
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Heroism and Horror
Story by Jordan Schwartz
Then 20 years old, Army Specialist 5th Class William J. Eakins (center) was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism in ground combat on May 6, 1968 at Nhi Ha in the Quang Tri province of Vietnam, three miles from the DMZ.
William J. Eakins breathes heavily as he slowly descends the basement stairs of his Clifton home. He stands sideways, placing both feet on each step before moving to the next. Four decades of smoking and five months of Agent Orange have turned this once virile soldier into a tired old man. Time and chemotherapy have thinned his white hair that now barely covers a head full of heroism and horror. Finally down the 15 stairs, the 60-year-old makes his way over to the section of wall that illustrates his tour in Vietnam. A picture on the mantle shows a uniformed Eakins receiving the Bronze Star. In a frame above the photograph is the accompanying certificate. Further down the mantle sits a slab of metal decorated with a replica Purple Heart and Bronze Star along with other symbolic pins and ribbons that surround another picture. In it, a 20-year-old Eakins sits alone in the jungle of Southeast Asia, cooking dinner on the evening of May 5, 1968, just hours before he would earn those awards. 58
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Battle of Nhi Ha On May 4, 1968, Specialist 5th Class William Eakins received a telegram in Vietnam from his father, informing him that his grandfather had died. “I was pretty upset that I couldn’t go to the funeral so I sat sulking by myself,” recalled Eakins. Self-isolation was nothing new for the only child. In fact, it was intentional. “My father taught me not to make friends because you don’t want to get attached just to see them get killed in front of you,” said Eakins, whose dad William served in Italy and Africa for four years during World War II. “When you sit down to rest, you sit by yourself, you don’t get chummy.” Two days after the letter from home arrived, word came that Eakins’ company was heading into battle. Just a week earlier, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines became fully engaged with the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) at Dai Do, one of five hamlets bunched together on a small peninsula where the Bo Dieu River meets the the Cua Viet River, a large U.S. military aquatic transportation spot during the war. With the Marines outnumbered at Dai Do, the Army’s 3rd Battalion., 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, of which Eakins was a part of, was called upon to prevent the NVA from reinforcement.
Craters left by the 2,000-pound bombs the Air Force dropped on Nhi Ha on May 5, 1968.
“The captain told us we were going out with no packs, just rifles, out to what I called a suicide mission,” remembered Eakins before stopping to cough and take a swig of water from the bottle sitting on the counter in front of him. “It was the same captain that made those poor people stay low in the village.”
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A month earlier, on the day before Easter, Eakins’ platoon and two others completed their daily eight-hour walk through the jungle. Typically, before the sun set, the soldiers would climb the nearest hill to set up camp for the night. But on this evening, the captain ordered one of the platoons to remain down below in an empty village. That night, the Viet Cong came out of the bushes and slaughtered all 20 men on the low ground. “They had no business sleeping down there,” said Eakins, whose platoon was forced to gather the dead the next morning. Later at Nhi Ha, the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, or ‘Gimlets’ as they were called, were ordered to clear the hamlet, which was located five miles north of Dai Do and just three miles south of the DMZ. The attack began on the morning of May 2. By 1 pm, one of the
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Bill Eakins cooks his K-rations in the jungle of Vietnam on May 5, 1968, the day before he would earn the Bronze Star in the Battle of Nhi Ha.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
“Every day out there you knew you were taking a chance,” said Vietnam veteran Bill Eakins. “We were the bait. In the beginning, you say to yourself, ‘Why am I here waiting to be killed?’” Army companies involved had reached the village and were instantly ambushed by the NVA. At the end of the day, 12 Americans were dead and 14 more were wounded. Despite additional assaults over the next two days, the U.S. troops weren’t able to defeat the NVA until May 5 when Air Force planes dropped 2,000-pound bombs on the enemy. The Gimlets took over Nhi Ha, but the NVA counter-attacked on May 6. In the afternoon, A Company, which included Eakins, entered the village of Xom Phuoung about a half-mile northwest. “The captain called this stupid maneuver to go out in an open rice
paddy and dig up the enemy,” said Eakins. “With no cover whatsoever, the first platoon got about 50 feet in front of them and they opened up. That’s when all hell broke loose.” The Specialist was hit with shrap metal that tore through his lower back and stomach. “I crawled all the way back on my stomach,” he remembered. “I realized we didn’t have any protection on our back or on the side, so that’s when I picked up someone’s rifle. I left my own rifle back on the field because I had to stay low to avoid getting my head blown off. I was scared to death.” Despite the fear, the injured Eakins courageously fired at the
enemy while the dead and wounded were loaded onto a nearby helicopter. He continued to hold off the NVA when the copter came back to pick up more casualties. It wasn’t until the helicopter returned for the third time that Eakins was flown to safety. Back at base camp, the head count was taken. A Company lost 12 men, another 19 were injured and one man was captured as a POW in the fighting that day, but things could have been worse if not for the heroic actions of William Eakins. The Battle of Nhi Ha finally concluded on May 15, when the Marines replaced the Gimlets. In all, 29 Americans were killed and 130 were wounded mostly over two days of combat. But the troops had accomplished their goal of keeping the North Vietnamese reinforcements from reaching Dai Do.
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Dr. Taylor is an Alumni of the Las Vegas Institute of Continuing Education in Cosmetic Dentistry May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Becoming a Man William J. Eakins was born in Paterson on June 15, 1947. He grew up watching Westerns and army movies, not knowing that he would one day live out the action his young eyes witnessed on the screen. Growing up in Prospect Park, Eakins attended Manchester Regional High School in Haledon. He wasn’t the greatest student and often had to attend summer school. That was until Eakins failed English in his senior year. His father William, who passed away in 1988, refused to pay for another year of summer school and so Eakins had to repeat the twelfth grade. He took just two classes, English and gym, and spent the rest of his day working at Great Eastern Mills in West Paterson. Eakins finally graduated in 1966 and went to work with his father at General Motors. But a year later, he got drafted into the United States Army. “I was scared and angry at the same time because we had no business being in Vietnam,” said Eakins. “I had friends a year older who came back telling me it wasn’t worth it to be there.” Eakins’mother Margaret and his father were terrified as well. “My dad told me, ‘Don’t be no John Wayne hero.’” Eakins apparently didn’t listen. The 20-year-old left for boot camp at Fort Dix in July 1967. “That was basically to get you into shape, but they were behind the times in training. Everything we learned was from World War II.”
Rev. Stephen N. Mustos August 10, 1931 - April 20, 2008 The Hungarian community commemorates the life of Rev. Stephen N. Mustos, pastor of St. Stephen’s R.C. Magyar Church in Passaic since October, 1990. 66
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Destroyed structures in the Hamlet of Dai Do in May 1968.
After eight weeks at Fort Dix, Eakins spent another two months at Fort Polk in Louisiana. “They called that Tigerland because once you landed there, you knew you were getting trained for Vietnam,” he said. Eakins arrived in Cameron Bay, Vietnam on Jan. 1, 1968, a month before the Tet Offensive. After some incountry training, the green kid from Jersey was shipped out to the front line. Every day, his unit would walk the jungle for hours waiting for the enemy to start shooting. “We didn’t see no civilization at all, it got pretty frustrating,” Eakins recalled. “Every day out there you knew you were taking a chance. We were the bait. In the beginning, you say to yourself, ‘Why am I here waiting to be killed?’” And eventually, the tension would wear on the men. “We’d be so frustrated, we’d be digging up things to try to destroy or kill, which we did,” Eakins admitted. “We’d shoot at water buffalo. Villages, we burned them down.” And Eakins said they didn’t feel bad about it. “No, we had a lot of hatred. We had no regrets at all, no sorrow.” He said every one was a threat, even the civilians. “They would actually try to kill you. The little kids, they come up to you and they’d have a hand grenade or something.” Eakins said the men would be forced to defend themselves. “That’s when you went from being a boy to a man.”
Coming Home After being wounded on May 6, 1968, Eakins was medivaced to Da Nang, where he spent two weeks recovering. He was then flown to Hawaii for an additional month of recuperation. Then the Army wanted to send him back. The soldier had enough, so he mailed a letter to his
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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father, who had a connection to Paterson Congressman Bob Roe. The politician helped Eakins be sent to Korea instead of Vietnam and in July 1968, the Specialist landed on the 38th Parallel. “They were shooting back and forth across the DMZ out of boredom,” he remembered. “So I wrote another letter home and I got sent down to the maintenance crew where I finished my tour.” The veteran returned to New Jersey in March 1969. “I came back to nothing,” he said. “A bunch of idiots walking around with long hair.” But Eakins was fortunate to have a job waiting for him. He resumed his employment as a water inspector at GM until they put him on the night shift in 1971. That’s Today, Eakins, 60, lives with lung cancer at his Hollywood Ave. home. when Eakins left to deliver milk in Wyckoff The veteran gets enjoyment from spending time at Post for seven years. 6487 in Allwood, where he serves as the Sergeant at Arms. In 1978, the former Army man began a two decade Eakins also loves when his grandchildren come to visit. stint delivering liquor to local taverns. But family hasn’t always been easy for the former Not the best job for an alcoholic. alcoholic. He confesses to hitting his first wife Cathy, “I began drinking in 1975,” said Eakins, who attribwhom he divorced in 1992. She died the week before uted the addiction to his time in Vietnam. “I would stop Christmas last year at the age of 65. And Eakins only and have a drink at every bar I delivered to.” recently patched up his relationship with his son Brian. It took 20 years, but in 1998, Eakins was fired because Vietnam certainly took a toll on the veteran. He of his habit, and so he entered rehab at the VA hospital in attends Posttraumatic Stress Disorder meetings every East Orange. A year later, he was sober, but he also had Monday night in Bloomfield to let his emotions out. prostate cancer. Eakins had the gland removed in 1999, But the memories of war never go away. Especially on but that wasn’t the end of his problems. anniversaries such as the one coming up on May 6. That In 2000, he suffered a heart attack and required triple date marks exactly 40 years since the Battle of Nhi Ha. bypass surgery. Six years later, doctors diagnosed lung “I have nightmares,” Eakins said. “I try to relive the cancer. Eakins can’t exert himself too much these days. battle differently. You visualize the dead you had to Most of the time he just sits watching television in the pick up, you see their faces. Then you get angry in your Hollywood Ave. home he purchased in 1997 with his sleep and you say to yourself, ‘Why?’” second wife Maria Sosa.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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The War in Iraq
Above is the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue in Firdos Square. The inset is a photo, circa 2000, of the disposed leader who was executed on Dec. 30, 2006.
On March 20, 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq signaling the start of the most controversial period in our country’s history since the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. In the more than five years since the conflict began, more than 4,000 American troops have been killed and the questions about the need for our nation’s presence in Iraq have grown. But one thing that can’t be questioned is the bravery of the men and women who have volunteered to fight for their country in a foreign land. This past October, the 3,000-strong 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), New Jersey Army National Guard, headquartered in Lawrenceville with elements across the state, was alerted for a Security Force mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Department of the Army mobilization order was received in March and the troops are scheduled to deploy to the Middle East this fall. The scheduled IBCT mission will focus on detainee operations, with lesser missions in convoy security, force protection and operating an Area Support Group.
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This will be New Jersey’s largest National Guard deployment to a combat zone since World War II and among the personnel going are a number of people from Clifton. They include Clifton Police Officers David Pereda and Wayne Stine. Both cops also served during the first Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm, which began on August 2, 1990 when Iraqi forces overtook Kuwait. It ended on February 28, 1991 when an international coalition from 34 countries authorized by the United Nations, and led primarily by the United States, reclaimed Kuwait to be ruled by the Sabah family and a democratic parliament. Massive air strikes against Iraq began on January 17, 1991 and lasted for nearly a month before ground troops moved in to force the Iraqi military out of Kuwait.
United States soldiers take cover in a trench during a firefight with insurgents in the Al Doura section of Baghdad, Iraq on March 7, 2007.
Thousands of Iraqi soldiers quickly surrendered or deserted their posts as the coalition stormed across the desert. When it was over, Iraq had suffered between 20,000 and 35,000 casualties.
The coalition, on the other hand, sustained far fewer losses with only 240 killed (148 were Americans) and 776 wounded (458 were American, one of which, Rich Musicant, went on to work for the Clifton Fire Department).
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71
A Second Tour of Duty by Jordan Schwartz and Joe Hawrylko
Clifton Police Officers and Army National Guardsmen David Pereda and Wayne Stine both served in the Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm, but are now returning to the Middle East to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Wayne Stine and David Pereda are like brothers. They both joined the Clifton Police Department in January 1998 and were partners for a while before working their way up to the Detective’s Bureau. The officers were both at Ground Zero following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and then traveled to New Orleans together to help out during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But Stine and Pereda had something in common before they even met a decade ago. They were both in the Marine Corps during the first Gulf War in the early ’90s. Stine, 38, is a former Marine Corporal, having served actively from 1988 to 1992.
“I was 19 when I was over there and I served in a Marine Infantry Unit,” he explained. “It happened real quick. We were in and out.” Pereda, 36, was also in the Corps back then, serving in North Africa, Turkey and Israel, but he never saw action in a combat zone. After his time in the military, Pereda, who grew up in South Florida, moved to New Jersey to pursue a career in law enforcement. “Clifton is kind of like the little big city. It’s big, but not too big,” he said. “The police force is professional with a lot of good people and a good reputation. I was drawn to it.”
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Meanwhile, following his discharge in 1992, Stine, a South Jersey native, attended Ocean County College before going to Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, where he once again became involved with the military, first serving with the NJ National Guard from 1994 to 1998. After graduating with a Criminal Justice degree in 1996, Stine applied to the CPD and was hired along with Pereda in ’98. Last year, the fellow cops decided to join the Guard again. “It was an inner call to duty,” said Pereda. “It was because of my desire to do my part with the global war on terror. I believe some people are made for certain roles in life and I believe that Wayne and I are built to be men of service.” Stine echoed his good friend’s comments. “I pretty much just believe in the cause and what’s going on,” he said. “I just wanted to help out as much as I could.”
Pereda and Stine are both members of the Clifton Police Department Honor Guard which marches in various parades such as the one on Veteran’s Day last November.
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• Additions • Alterations • Dormers • Kitchens • Bathrooms • Windows • Decks May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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The men got that opportunity in October 2007, when the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) of which they are members, was alerted for a Security Force mission in Iraq. Pre-Mobilization training and administrative operations took place in February and March. That’s when the men and women were trained on key Infantry tasks. Last month, the unit took part in a three-week training program at Fort Indiantown Cap, Pa. The annual training is used to enhance individual and collective soldier skills and focused on weapons qualification, driver training and Combat Life Saver training. “The tempo has been picking up. Instead of going away for two weeks this year, we went for three,” Stine explained in a recent interview here in Clifton. “We’re
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getting sent to a lot of military schools and we’ll be going to Texas for a couple months.” After the one year mobilization begins at Fort Bliss in June, the unit is scheduled to deploy first to Kuwait for about two weeks acclimatization in September. After this, the scheduled “boots on the ground” time in Iraq lasts for about nine months before the 50th IBCT returns to the States in late spring 2009. Specialist Pereda said the toughest part of his upcoming tour will be the time away from his wife of nine years, Laurie, and their seven-year-old daughter Kayla. “It’s kind of hard to put time into perspective for a child, so I told her I was going to miss her entire second grade,” said Pereda, who lives in Blairstown. “I explained that Daddy’s a police man and I help people in Clifton and a soldier is pretty much the same thing. People in Iraq need help too and I’m going to go over and try to make their lives better. “My wife definitely has a level of concern for me too, but she knows that I’m well trained and it gives her comfort to know that I’ll be there with Wayne.” Now a Sergeant and Squad Leader in the Guard, Stine feels that his experience has prepared him well for what lies ahead. “I’m just going to fall back and rely on my training to get me through it.”
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Not Fond of Sleet nor Snow After 27 years of walking the streets of Albion, James Rohaley will hang up his mail sack at the end of the year • by Joe Hawrylko They say there’s two things you can bank on in life: taxes and death. But for those off of Broad St. in the Albion section, getting your mail from James Rohaley each morning is just as expected. “He’s been coming here for the last 27 years,” shouted Tom Triolo of Nails For You salon on Livingston Ave., looking up as he washed a customer’s hair. “I can’t remember any other mailmen,” he continued. “Only Jim.” In what has become a daily ritual, Rohaley take a break at 11 am at the salon to enjoy a donut and a cup of joe. After some friendly conversation and an exchange of mail, the postman is back on his way. “He always has a joke and a smile,” said Kathleen Wentink, who bought the store about four years ago from Triolo, who owned the shop previously. Rose for Mom Free Rose!Free on Mother’s Day!
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James Rohaley, who has worked as the mailman in the Albion section for the past 27 years, will hang up his mail sack in Jan. 2009. In total, he was worked more than 40 years for the Postal Service here in Clifton, making him the city’s elder carrier.
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“Every year, we get him a birthday cake on his birthday,” she continued. “He’s the best mailman ever.” That’s how most people describe Rohaley, who has been on the same route since 1981. The residents of this small slice of Albion have come to know and love their dependable and friendly mail carrier. “He’s the best. He has great service, he’s polite and does favors for you, such as mailing something out,” said Ken Meier, a resident of Edison St. “And over the years, he has always been a friend. He always smiles, even when he’s not feeling well.” However, Rohaley, 68, hasn’t always been on this route. In fact, the Cliftonite didn’t even join the U.S. Postal Service until 1967 when he was 28. At that time, Rohaley had just quit his job at Toskcony’s Fabric in Passaic, which he had for six years. It was the only job he ever had in New Jersey, since leaving behind his family in his hometown of Fredericktown, Pa. “The coal mining business was phasing out and I didn’t want to be a miner if it wasn’t full time,” explained Rohaley, who left for New Jersey to live with relatives. His search for new work brought him to the Clifton Post Office at the corner of Main and Washington Aves. “Lexington Chevy was right next door,” he recalled of the old days. “As soon as I saved enough money, I bought my first new car from them.”
A young and dark-haired Jim Rohaley in an undated photo, attending to a mail box on the Clifton Ave. extension.
From there, he bounced around town, landing over at the the Delawanna auxiliary station. Then he worked in Athenia on and around Sebago St. delivering parcels for 12 years before winning a bid for his current route. He offers a unique perspective on the time: “I’ve seen dogs from pups to death—what an eerie feeling that is,” explained Rohaley, a self-professed small dog lover. “You see them through their whole life span.”
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Rohaley has also seen many children become adults and homeowners grow old and pass away. And while he has worked for over 40 years as a carrier, Rohaley still does his job as quickly and efficiently as a new guy. He credits his speed and agility to his pole vaulting days in high school. Despite the positive attributes of working outdoors, there’s always been one thing that Rohaley never enjoyed: cold weather. “Going through 42 winters,” Rohaley reminisced. “Think about that—it’s pretty tough on your body.” And while it is the motto of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver in “rain, sleet or snow,” it’s a work ethic that Rohaley says he inherited from his father, John. “He worked 47 years in the coal mines,” said Rohaley. “Everyday. And I think he never missed a day. Retiring will be a totally different lifestyle,” he said of his last day in January 2009. “I’m used to working.”
Jim Rohaley in a recent photo with the staff of Nails for You salon on Livingston Ave. where Rohaley has taken his daily coffee break for the past 27 years.
He will, however, spend more time at home with his wife, Mary, who is also retired. The two wed on Rohaley’s birthday, Sept. 11, 1981. Back on the route, Tom Triolo said even though their long-standing business relationship will come
to an end over the next few months, he still expects to see his friend. “I’ll still see him. I cut his hair,” laughed the hair stylist. “He’s the type who will swing by once a week. Especially when I ask his wife for kobasy.”
t Magazine... In June, Clifton Merchan
Celebrates the
•
Class of 2008 0 Keepsake edition, over 10 s! rie sto pages of photos &
Students hand in your
ctures surveys & senior pi ace an ad • Advertisers pl ne edition in our keepsake Ju
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The 45th Clifton Association of the Artists Art in the Park art sale and show is on June 1 at Jubilee Park. It is open to all artists, ages 16 and up. Prizes are given in oil, watercolor and mixed. Entry is $30; register by May 15. Call 973-773-9721. The talents of CHS students will be on display at the Clifton Arts Center from May 7 to June 7. Titled From Distant Shores, the show has ocean related and multicultural themes. Students learned the professional skills of putting together a gallery show, while being encouraged to display their creative talents to the public. A reception is on May 8 from 7 to 9 pm; students in the CHS Music Department will perform and exhibiting artists will be there to discuss their work. Gallery hours are 1 to 4 pm from Wednesday to Sunday. Group tours are available by appointment. For more info, call 973-472-5499 or Above, senior Evelyn Mendoza works on a portrait of a friend. Below, senior Kelly Amaniera and junior Sijun Yank stand in front of a poster they made. visit cliftonnj.org.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Above, senior Katie Yelizarov has been working with anatomy, combining people and emotions in the context of circus life. Above right, junior Brian Burak displays a landscape scene, while at right, seniors Camille Szablowski and Lucy Szumilo stand behind their 3D art.
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CHS Student Art on Display at the Clifton Arts Center from May 7 to June 7
Top from left, seniors Cynthia Taylor, Dan Anzalone and Michelle Sahdou. Above, senior Ivana Massa works on one of her paintings. At right, juniors Zaina Ileiwat (top) and Bhavini Prajapati (bottom) with self-portraits.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Cliftonite James D. Gwyn—the bard of Dutch Hill—will be among the readers at the Distinguished Poets Series at PCCC in Paterson on May 10 at 1 pm. The series celebrates the publication of The Poetry of Place: North Jersey in Poetry, an anthology celebrating the poetry of William Carlos Williams. Poets included in the anthology will read their poems capturing places and experiences in North Jersey. The Clifton Community Band performs in its seventh annual Lollipops & Roses Intergenerational Concert on June 8 at 2 pm in the CHS Auditorium. Tickets are $12 and children under 12 are free. Proceeds will benefit the Clifton Education Foundation and Clifton Community Band. Advance tickets are available for purchase through band members, the CHS Main Office, the Rec Dept., by contacting CliftonBand@optonline.net or by calling 973-777-1781.
The Optimist Awards Dinner is on May 4 at at 4 pm in the Boys & Girls Club on Colfax Ave. Those being honored include Ralph Eodice, retired Fire Chief John E. Dubravsky and CHS coaches Ron Anello and Cara Boseski. Tickets are $40. Call club President Mike Gimon at 973-779-5810 or Joe Bionci at 973-472-1707. You can also visit www.cliftonoptimist.org. St. Brendan’s Parish Comedy Night will be held on May 3 at the school gym, 154 East First St. Featured performers include Coach Tom Whiteley, Liz Miele and Rich Carucci. Tickets are $25; doors open at 7 pm. The show starts at 8 pm. Guests can bring their own beverages and snacks. Coffee and dessert will be provided. Call the Rectory Office at 973-772-1115. The Intensive Family Support Services at the Mental Health Association in Passaic County provides a wealth of support for those
dealing with a family member with a mental illness. Programs include individual consultation, telephone support, educational workshops, information, advocacy services, support groups and respite services. All services are free to county residents and are provided in English and Spanish. IFSS will also hold an Evening of Wellness and Relaxation on May 5 at Main Memorial Library, 292 Piaget Ave., from 6 to 8 pm. Admission is free. Call 973478-4444 or visit www.mhapc.com. The Dizzy Dames of Unknown Fame, a Clifton chapter of the Red Hat Society, celebrated the society’s 10th anniversary on April 25. There are currently 70 members in the chapter. Past events include pastry decorating demonstrations, trips to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, a House Tour in Ocean Grove and more. For info, call Queen Mum Chris Liszner at 973-777-7797 or visit www.redhatsociety.com.
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Beer Values Heineken-Amstel 24 12OZ NR . . . . . . . . .23.25 Corona Reg-Light 24 12OZ NR . . . . . . . . .23.25 Becks Reg-Light-Dark 24-12OZ NR . . . . 23.99 Guinness Pub Cans 24 14.9 OZ . . . . . . . .26.99 LaBatts Blue-Ice 12 24OZ CN . . . . . . . . . .10.99 Zywiec 24 12OZ NR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19.99 Lech 20 16.9OZ NR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22.99 Budweiser Reg-Light 30 12OZ CN . . . . . . . .18.99 Coors Reg Light 30 12OZ CN . . . . . . . . . .18.99 Miller Lite-MGD 30 12OZ CN . . . . . . . . . .18.99 Rolling Rock 24 7OZ NR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.99 Budweiser Reg-Light 24 7OZ NR . . . . . . . .9.99 Prices valid through 5/27/08
Liquor Values Ketel One Vodka 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . . . . .$36.09 Johnnie Walker Black 1.75 L . . . . . . . . .$54.09 Tanqueray Gin 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$32.09 Johnnie Walker Red 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . .$28.00 Skyy Vodka 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$23.09 Polmos Luksusowa 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . .$19.00 Svedka Vodka 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$19.00 Tanqueray Steling Vodka 1.75 L . . . . . . .$25.09 Hennessy Cognac VS. 1.75 L . . . . . . . . .$56.09 Dewars White Label 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . .$29.09 Absolut Vodka 80pf 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . . .$31.09 Finlandia Vodka 80pf 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . .$26.09 Chivas Regal 1.75 L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$49.09 Prices valid through 5/27/08
Wine Values Santa Margherita 750ml . . . . . . . . . . . .$18.01 Clos Du Bois Chard 750ml . . . . . . . . . . .$10.29 Jacobs Creek Chard, Shiraz 750ml . . . . .$5.66 Simi Chardonnay 750ml . . . . . . . . . . . .$13.00 Blackstone Merlot 750ml . . . . . . . . . . . .$8.39 J Lohr Chard 750ml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$9.69 Estancia Cab. 750ml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.49 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 750ml . .$9.09 Rosemount Estate Shiraz 750ml . . . . . . .$7.49 Markham Sauvignon Blanc 750ml . . . . .$9.33 Kendall Jackson Merlot 750ml . . . . . . .$14.00 Mondavi Napa Cabernet 750ml . . . . . .$17.99 Clos Du Bois Merlot 750ml . . . . . . . . . . .$12.99 Prices valid through 5/27/08
Prices effective through 5/27/08. Good only at Shoppers Vineyard in Clifton. We reserve the right to limit quantities. Prices do not include sales tax. Not responsible for typographical errors. No rainchecks. Limited to store inventory.
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Hike for Discovery ––– by Jordan Schwartz ––– Running and hiking are all about family for Elisabeth D’Alto. The CHS ‘01 graduate used to run for the Lady Mustangs soccer team; now she pushes herself over miles and mountains to honor her late grandmother’s memory. Anna Maria Pansini lost her battle with NonHodgkin’s Lymphoma on May 8, 2000. A year later, D’Alto took part in Team in Training, a fundraiser run by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient support. As a member of Team in Training, D’Alto participated in two triathlons, one half marathon and a full marathon in order to raise money for cancer research. “It’s fun and it’s definitely a challenge,” she said. “I’m doing this for a good cause and I’m also helping myself. It’s good to be active and do something for your body.” Wanting to do something a little different, D’Alto joined Hike For Discovery, another Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser. “I definitely have not had any hiking training, but I’m learning a lot,” she said. “I fell a few times, but I’d just get back up.” D’Alto has also had some help from her brother Nicolas on her latest venture. The CHS ’07 grad and fellow Mustangs soccer player will be joining his sister on her June 9 hike through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to help find a cure for blood and blood-related cancers. “We’ve always been really close so it’s fun to do the hike with him for our grandmother,” said Elisabeth, a Montclair State University alum and registered dietician.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
CHS grads Nicolas and Elisabeth D’Alto will be hiking the Rockies on June 9 in order to raise money for cancer research.
Both D’Alto’s grandmother and her mother’s cousin Nicholas Leone, who passed away in 2002 from Lymphoma, motivate Elisabeth to keep running and hiking. “My grandmother was a character, she was just a great person,” she said. “Whenever I do these events, I get emotional because I know she’s with me.” D’Alto is looking to raise $4,500 for cancer research by June 9. You can donate by visiting www.active.com/donate/hfdnonj/ElisabethRD or by writing a check out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and mailing it to Elisabeth D’Alto, 98 Highview Dr., Clifton, NJ 07013. On the day of the hike, D’Alto will be attaching ribbons to her backpack with the names of cancer survivors and victims. E-mail her names at ElisabethRD@gmail.com.
Help Wanted Real Estate Construction Office Main Ave. in Downtown Clifton Needs Part Time Office Manager/Secretary Put In Four Hours a Day 10 am to 2 pm or 2 to 6 pm Good Computer and Secretarial Experience
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Even though George Washington last passed through this area more than 200 years ago, his and the legacy of his men live on. The Daughters of the American Revolution are a national organization of women who are descendants of members of the war that won our independence. The Clifton chapter, formed in 1929, has announced the winners of its essay contest. The theme, How I Was Inspired By the American Revolution, was opened to both Clifton middle schools and St. Andrews. The eighth grade honorable mention went to Trina Wijan of Christopher Columbus Middle School and seventh grader Catherine Anne Bradshaw of St. Andrews got third place. Sylwia Polak of Wallington was selected as their Good Citizen. As always, the Daughters of the American Revolution will place a wreath at Main Memorial Park following the ceremonies. For more information, call 973-778-8351.
Members of the Clifton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Standing, from left, is Flora Hand, Chaplin, Stacey Andiorio, Secretary and Treasurer, and Gene Pellegrino, Registrar and former president. Seated is Region President Florence Nibbling.
Clifton Merchant Magazine
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973-778-0013 May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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The St. Philips Knights of Columbus have begun their annual fund drive for children with special needs. Visit a member who is soliciting donations, or write a check, payable to St. Philips Knights of Columbus and mail it to 797 Valley Rd., Clifton, 07013 to the attention of John Filippone. For more info, call 973-772-7959. Support the Troops: Dr. David Moore of On Track Chiropractic: A Creating Wellness Center, 850 Clifton Ave., offers free chiropractic care for one year to military personnel upon completion of their tour of duty. On Track Chiropractic has been serving the community for 10 years and currently sees more than 200 patients per week. Those interested can call 973-253-7005 or visit www.ontrackchiro.com. The 4th Annual Relay For Life of Clifton is from May 16 at 2 pm to May 17 at 7 am at Clifton Stadium. Relay For Life begins by honoring
Members of the St. Philips Knights of Columbus will be around town soliciting donations to benefit citizens of all ages with mental disabilities.
all cancer survivors in attendance. The survivors are invited to kick off the event by participating in the opening ceremonies and taking the first lap around the track. The festivities then continue with games, contests, music and food. For more info or to volunteer, contact Beverly Provido-Sahu at 201-457-3418 x2231, beverly.provido-sahu@cancer.org or visit their website at events.cancer.org/RFLcliftonNJ.
Everyone Knows Norman Erickson as the Downtown Clifton UPS guy. And now, residents will get to know his son, Brian. The younger Erickson will be going cross country on a bicycle this summer, traveling from Providence, RI to San Francisco, CA, to support Bike & Build. The non-profit organization is based in NYC and mobilizes young people to raise money and awareness for affordable
R.F. K NAPP C ONSTRUCTION C OMPLETE E XTERIOR H OME C ONTRACTOR Roofing • Siding • Gutters & Leaders • Windows
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973-777-1699 er of of the found s n so e th re e a family onstruction, a R.F. Knapp C lifton C founded in ss e n si u b d g nin , we owne ce the begin in S . o g a rs ducts 46 yea oa Siding pro lc A g n si u n have bee orning. and Owens-C F A G s a ll e w g, gutters, as roofing, sidin in e liz ia c e sp call and We ws. Give us a o d in w d n a ent to leaders an appointm p u tse ly d la ver a we will g ds and go o e e n b jo r u discuss yo . tten estimate complete wri
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Brothers Don and Rich Knapp
This column was originally started by our founder, the late Murray Blumenfeld. In his spirit, we continue its publication.
T
Brian Erickson and his father, Norman, a UPS delivery man who works in Downtown Clifton. His son is biking across America this summer to raise funds for affordable housing.
housing. To participate, riders must raise $4,000. To donate, visit www.bikeandbuild.org and select his name from the drop down list or call 718-599-5925. To contact Erickson, email bericks2@ithaca.edu. The Annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is months away but Cliftonite Janet Mozolewski is already looking for the help of her fellow residents. This year’s walk—two days over 26.2 miles—is on Oct. 4 and 5 in New York City. Last year, Mozolewski, a breast cancer survivor, raised $13,465, bringing her four year total to $61,073. She hopes to bring her cumulative total above $70,000 this year. Mozolewski will be walking with a team of 15 women, named Loretta’s Ladies, in honor of Loretta Gaffney, diagnosed with cancer on Feb. 14, 2008. To contribute visit www.tunyurl.com/2u4yxo or send a check to 78 Scoles Ave., Clifton, NJ, 07012. The Phenomenal Grandmothers have started a pillow drive to support those at the Passaic County Women’s Domestic Abuse Shelter. Each woman and their child will receive a new pillow. Since they will be taken once the victims leave the shelter, a steady supply is needed. Those interested in helping can donate any type of pillow, a gift certificate or a personal check. For info, call the always phenomenal Colleen Murray at 973-253-9579. The Annual Marching Mustang Band Car Wash is just around the corner, with dates on May 3, 24 and 31 in the east wing lot at CHS. Students will be there from 9 am to 1pm. Cars are $5 and trucks are $8. For more info, call JoAnn LaGala at 973-345-0134.
he month of May is full of happy events and wonderful occasions to look forward to. First and foremost is Mother’s Day. This is the one occasion Mother becomes queen for a Day. We have a variety of gifts for that special lady, which are sure to put a twinkle in her eyes. For all the dads out there, remember the mother of your children deserves a Mother’s day gift. May is a big month for many other special occasions: college graduations, communions, and weddings. We have gifts to celebrate all these special occasion. We have spent the better part of this month buying old gold. As you well know - gold hit an all time high. Now is the time to collect all those half pair of earrings, broken chains and anything you just don’t wear or like anymore. We’re sure you will be pleasantly surprised by what it’s worth in scrap. FYI: our inventory is still priced between $450 - $650 gold. We have not raised our prices, so take advantage of our great buys. The birthstone for May is Emerald. The Greeks associated this stone with the Goddess Venus. It has come to represent - for many people, the security of love. Emerald is said to aid healing diseases of the eye and problems affection eyesight. It was believed that emerald counteracted poisons and cure dysentery. Have a Merry May and we’ll talk to you again next month. RICHFIELD SHOPPING CENTER 1354 CLIFTON AVE • CLIFTON • 973.777.4329
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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The Coalition for Brain Injury Research hosts a beefsteak dinner on June 6 at the Boys & Girls Club. Doors open at 6:30 pm. There is entertainment, auctions and raffles. Tickets are $45; proceeds benefit the search for a brain injury cure. Dennis Benigno, whose son, Dennis John suffered permanent brain damage after being struck by a car in 1984, founded the Coalition in 1996 with his wife, Rosalind. For info, call Benigno at 973-632-2066 or go to www.brainjurycure.org. The Dutch Hill Residents Association’s 26th Annual Flea Market is on June 7, from 9 am to 4 pm at Weasel Brook Park. Vending spaces are available for $40 in advance, or $45 after May 24. Rain date is June 14. To reserve a space, call Terry McMahon at 973-594-9883 or Carol Sadowski at 973-779-0599.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Dennis Benigno and his son Dennis John.
The 62nd Athenia Veterans Post Installation Dinner Dance is May 4 from 3:30 to 8 pm. Entertainment will be provided by the Andy Ray Band and dinner is presented by Geresi Caterers. There will also be an open bar. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at the post lounge. For more information, call 973-778-0931.
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Matt DaVella, the gritty Mustang senior running back and linebacker, has been named this year’s Joe Grecco Scholarship fund. DaVella was instrumental in the 2006 title run, braving a knee injury to score two rushing touchdowns in the championship. The award is annually given out to a football senior in honor of Fighting Mustang coaching legend Joe Grecco. The $3,000 award will be given at the Athletic Awards Dinner on June 10 at 6:30 pm at The Brownstone, Paterson. Call Lou Poles at 973-773-9934.
Fighting Mustang Matt DaVella is this year’s Joe Grecco Scholarship recipient.
Cliftonite Curtis Russell has purchased a hockey team in the EPHL.
Cliftonite Curtis Russell, co-owner of Pro-Hockey, LCC, has purchased a team to play in the Eastern Professional Hockey League. The
yet unnamed team will play its games at Essex County Codey Arena in West Orange, The EPHL is a Class A player development
league in the tri-state area. Fans can go online and help the team. For more information, visit the league’s website at www.ephl.com.
ENTLEMEN F REE T HURSDAYS S UMMER F LING • L ADIES F REE *A DMISSION A LL N IGHT • G UNTILL 11 PM
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Front from left: Dave Insinga, our mom Nancy, Joe. V., Melina Delgado, Judy Lucianin Young. At rear, Gary Young, Bob Welch and Jerry Young. That’s Anthony Hopkins, a former client of Jerry’s.
With culinary skills learned across an ocean and after food service to the Hollywood stars, the Young Brothers bring their skills to a landmark Athenia deli. Gerald Young, a CHS 1981 grad, trained at Johnson & Wales and the NY Restaurant School. His career has taken him from the kitchens of regional restaurants to preparing meals for Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt and others in the entertainment industry. Gary Young, a 1991 CHS grad, honed his culinary skills in Bristol, England. Training at Byzantium, he learned Morroccan and French cuisine before being named Executive Chef at Romeo Browns.
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Police Unity Tour • Riding for Those Who Died
I Shall Pass This Way Through Life But Once Passaic Police Officer Robert D. Strone was ruthlessly murdered by brothers Paul and Eugene Fitzsimmons on May 8, 1958. Story by retired Clifton Detective Edward T. Snack On May 8, 1958, rookie Passaic Police Officer Robert D. Strone seemed to be the happiest man on the force. But by midnight, that would all change. Around 7 pm, Strone got dressed in the police uniform that he had borrowed from a former officer who had joined the fire department. He then checked his service revolver and his personal appearance before kissing his girls, Jean, age two, and Robin, nine months, goodbye. Kissing his wife Gracie, he told her not to worry and assured her that everything was going to be all right. He then left his home at 179 Madison Ave. in Passaic and walked to police headquarters to report for overnight duty. In another part of town, Paul Fitzsimmons, 37, and his brother Eugene, 42, from Lincoln Pl. in Clifton were planning a burglary to get money for their drinking habit. The brothers had long criminal records and were also deserters from the military. Originally from Calais, Maine, the brothers kept the FBI and police authorities from coast to coast busy trying to keep up with them. Back in 1944, they were arrested for burglary and car theft and were sentenced to five to ten years in the Connecticut State Prison. At that time, Paul was in the U.S. Navy
and Eugene was in the U.S. Army; both were AWOL. At about 9 pm on May 8, 1958, the Fitzsimmons brothers broke into Kohler’s confectionary store at 192 Dayton Ave. in Passaic. There, they took cigarettes, money order books, cigars and razor blades. After the burglary, they went to Smithy’s Tavern to celebrate. Being low on cash, they decided to forge names on some of the money orders in order to continue drinking. They drank until 11:30 pm and were planning on cashing in more money orders. Back at Passaic Police Headquarters, Officer Strone, 27, had just left for his assigned post, filling in for officer Joseph Marut who had requested the day off. Strone was assigned to walking patrol and would keep headquarters informed of his whereabouts by using the call boxes in his designated area as there were no police walkie-talkies yet in 1958. The first few hours of the shift were routine. At 11:30, he called his wife, which is something he did every time he worked the night shift. Following the call, Strone came upon a black car on Fourth St. with two white males acting suspiciously and ordered them out of the car. The duo was the Fitzsimmons brothers, who were forging their stolen money orders.
May 8 marks the 50th anniversary of Passaic Police Officer Robert Strone’s murder by two Clifton residents. In Strone’s memory, a team of Passaic officers will join hundreds of others on a 300 mile bicycle fundraising event from May 9 to 12. See page 94 for more info on the Police Unity Tour.
The suspects claimed that they were searching for a wallet. When neither sibling produced their license, Strone ordered them to walk in front of him to the nearest call box. As they started to comply, Eugene asked to return to the car and search one more time for his license. However, there was no ID card in the car—only a stolen and concealed hand gun. May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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As the three returned to the car, Eugene entered the vehicle and came out with the gun. Seeing the weapon, Strone lunged for it and a struggle ensued outside the car. During the melee, Paul reached into the officer’s holster and removed his service revolver. Without hesitation, Fitzsimmons placed the gun to the back of Strone’s head and pulled the trigger—killing the officer instantly. The brothers fled the scene in their car, leaving Strone face down in the street. They stopped at the Dundee Canal off of Hobart St. in Passaic to dispose of the gun. After some misgivings, they strangely returned to the scene of the crime, allegedly to aid the fallen officer. Upon return, Eugene stepped in the blood while inspecting the body. They also took Strone’s hat, nightstick and flashlight to get rid of any fingerprints, which they later threw into the Passaic River. The Fitzsimmons brothers then drove to the nearby Revlon Plant to pick up Alice Winnegar, Paul’s common-law wife. The brothers then considered fleeing to Canada where their mother lived. Back at Passaic Police Headquarters, the desk was concerned—Strone had failed to make his hourly calls at 12:15 and 1:15 am. Capt. Zislen ordered Patrolman Raymond Helvey to check the call boxes Strone was designated to use in the area during his walking tour. The captain also dispatched patrol units to search for the officer. At 1:50 am, Patrolmen Joe Penn and George Zipko swept a searchlight over the Fourth St. area and found Strone lying face up in a pool of blood. 92
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
The Survivors Today...
Cliftonites Jean Strone, Robin Pier and their mom Grace Strone in front of Robert D. Strone’s name at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in D.C.
Jean Strone recently said the impact of her father’s May 8, 1958 murder lasted a lifetime. “I don’t really remember what she (her mother, Gracie) told me,” said Strone, who was just two years old at the time of father’s death. Nor does she have any recollection of her dad. “It’s like you’ve lost a part of yourself. They leave a hole in your heart that you can never fill,” she continued. “I don’t think I really realized what I missed until I had kids of my own.” In 1958, there was no Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) organizations around to lend support to families of a deceased officer. She is pleased that today groups like the Unity Tour and others recall the lives of officers killed in the line of duty, year after year. “The families of fallen officers, they want to know that the person was remembered,” said Strone, who is a member of the Garden State COPS. “We’re so grateful to Passaic, the Unity Tour and for the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C.” For more info, visit www.gardenstatecops.com. Once the crime scene was secured, the area was scoured for evidence. All that could be found were some cigarettes, money orders and a bloody footprint. Over the coming hours, many officers reported for duty without pay to aide in the investigation. Dozens of people were questioned throughout the east side of Passaic.
Five suspects were picked up and brought to headquarters but were later released. A notebook was found on Strone, crammed with license plate numbers of stolen cars and troublemakers he had arrested. There were also personal notes, including his favorite poem, which according to his daughter, Jean read as follows:
“I shall pass this way through life but once. Any good I can do, any happiness I can bestow, let me do it now, for I shall never, never, pass this way again.” For six days, leads turned to dead ends, until Patrolman George Zipko, Jr., broke the case. While off duty in Smithy’s Bar & Grill on Fourth St, he overheard a conversation that led to a woman, which directed the police to the Fitzsimmons brothers. Capt. Zislen and Det. Sol Gelman went to 205 Monroe St. and found the Pontiac registered to Paul Fitzsimmons. Sgt. Andrew Pokrywka and Det. Harry Zabotinsky then followed another lead to 12 Lincoln Pl. in Clifton and spotted Fitzsimmons’ other vehicle parked on the street. Capt. Victor Jaffe, who lead the Passaic Police investigation, informed Det. Sgt. Phil Calderaro and Det. John De Groot of the Clifton Police of the situation. Police obtained a warrant and raided the
home while the Fitzsimmons brothers were sleeping. Jaffe spotted a pile of cigars, which Eugene admitted had been stolen from Herbert Koller’s Confectionary. Officers also found a pair of rubbers and shoes. The rubbers matched the footprint found at the scene of the crime and there were blood stains on them and the shoes. They also found two cartons of Revlon cosmetic products, believed to be stolen property as Winnegar was an employee at Revlon in Passaic. The brothers and Winnegar were taken to Clifton Police headquarters on Main Ave. where the interrogation took place. A witness was called in and said he recognized one of the men on Fourth St. as the one who was talking to Strone prior to his being murdered. The brothers admitted to the slaying of Strone after hours of relentless questioning. Both men entered mandatory please of not guilty and were taken
to Passaic County Jail where they were held without bail. Winnegar was held on $25,000 bail and was charged with the crime of being a material witness. She was reported to be the unknown female wanted in the crime and was the mystery woman who had information about the persons involved in the murder. After searching the Dundee, on May 19, Passaic Police found the murder weapon and it was revealed that it fired only one bullet. The serial number matched the one on Strone’s gun. Two days later, the second gun was found in a swampy patch below the Pennsylvania Turnpike, about two miles from the Delaware River Bridge. The investigation of Officer Strone’s death took its toll on the Passaic Police Dept. However, justice was ultimately served. The Fitzsimmons brothers were both sentenced to life in the state prison, where they ultimately died.
Police • Fire • DPW• School Custodians
Have You Been Exposed to Dust, Chemicals or Asbestos? You May Have A Legal Claim. Q: Do You Suffer from Lung Problems, Shortness of Breath, Coughing or Hearing Loss? A: Your Work Exposure to Dust, Fumes, Chemical, Asbestos and Noise May Allow You to File a Claim. Q: Have You Been Injured on the Job? A: All Injuries: Sprains, Strains, Fractures, Lung Disease, Cancers & Hearing Loss May Qualify for Benefits if Related to Work. Q: What Benefits Are Available for Workers Like Me? A: You May Collect Money for Temporary & Permanent Disability as well as Medical Treatment. You are Entitled to Testing such as MRIs & Xrays. Attorney Ricky Bagolie can meet you in his Clifton office.
Q: Can Retired Workers Make A Claim? A: Yes, Retired Workers Can Make a Claim. Widows of Those Who Contract Cancer May Also Obtain Benefits. Q: What Do I Do Now? A: Contact Ricky Bagolie or Alan Friedman Now for a Confidential, Free Consultation. We Can Even Set Up a No Risk Doctor’s Evaluation. If There is No Case There is No Fee. Call Toll Free at 1-866-333-3529 or 201-656-8500 or go to
www.BagolieFriedman.com Bagolie Friedman Injury Lawyers 660 Newark Ave., Jersey City, NJ
Main Office • 201-656-8500 Ricky Bagolie can you meet in Clifton at his Ackerman Ave. office (by appt only) May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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The Police Unity Tour...
With dual goals of remembering officers killed in the line of duty and raising money for a National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, the above individuals are riding bicycles to Washington, D.C. on May 9-12 or providing support services. From left: Paterson Officer Daniel Condon, Clifton Police Officer Randy Colondres, Passaic Officer Ron Freeman, Tom Hawrylko, Fair Lawn Officer Anthony Lugo, Fair Lawn Det. Lt. Bill Yirce, Passaic Officer Juan Zuniga, Passaic Sgt. Al Daidone, Passaic Officer Michele Merced, Paterson Officer Eric Colondres, Passaic Officer Enrique Hernandez and Passaic Team Leader Sgt. John Jedrejczyk.
Story by Tom Hawrylko
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
On a recent morning, Clifton Police Officer Randy Colondres and I were in the middle of a training ride, getting us in shape to make a 300 mile bicycle trek to Washington D.C. It was about time for us to take a break when he pushed me to ride on a few more miles. We continued through Elmwood Park and along a busy road just off Route 20. Up ahead was Fair Lawn; a bit farther along in front of a church and a school was where we stopped. “That’s where Mary Ann was killed,” he said, pointing to the churchyard where Fair Lawn Officer Mary Ann Collura was shot and murdered on the night of April 17, 2003. Also shot and nearly killed that night was Clifton Police Officer Steve Farrell. The incident began at about 10 pm in Clifton when Farrell tried to stop a speeding car, then chasing it along Route 46 to Route 20 and into Fair Lawn, where the car crashed on the lawn of a church. Responding to a call for assistance, Collura pulled up as one of the occupants got out of the car and began waving his hands as if to surrender, but then the driver jumped out of the car and ran.
Riding for Those Who Died
Among the Clifton area officers killed in the line of duty and for whom a team of bicyclist will ride to Washington D.C. in their memories: Port Authority Officer John Skala died on Sept. 11, 2001; Fair Lawn Officer Mary Ann Collura died April 17, 2003; Clifton Police Officer John Samra died on Nov. 21, 2003; Paterson Officer Tyron Franklin died Jan. 7, 2007.
Farrell holstered his gun and took off after him. Collura steered her cruiser toward the church and pinned the fleeing suspect against the wall. Farrell tackled him in the rear lot of the church. “Steve was reaching for his mace to subdue the guy when (Omar) Marti drew a gun from his pocket and shot Mary Ann twice, point blank,” Colondres continued. “Steve took out his gun but before he could fire, Marti shot Steve.” The drug dealer Marti—who would eventually shoot and kill himself in Florida rather than face charges—fled by stealing Collura’s patrol car, running her body over as he sped away. Farrell was able to empty his weapon at the car, but the suspect was not hit. To add to the tragedy, on November 21, 2003, Clifton Police Officer John Samra would die in the line of duty while attempting to apprehend a suspect who fled a traffic stop. Above are the photos of Samra and Collura, as well as two other local officers killed in the line of duty. They are Clifton resident and Port Authority Officer John ‘Yash’ Scala—who perished rushing in to save lives in the Trade Towers on 9/11— and Paterson Officer Tyron Franklin, shot and killed after being identified as a police officer during a robbery attempt at a fast food restaurant early last year. Those of us pictured above participating in the Police Unity Tour are doing so to honor the memory of ‘Yash’, Mary Ann, John and Tyron as well as the thousands of other men and women—such as Passaic Police Officer Robert Strone who was killed 50 years ago—who have died in service to our communities. The secondary purpose of our tour is to raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum. Your support of this endeavor would be appreciated.
Help us raise $2,000 more... Clifton’s ‘08 Team to the Police Unity Tour includes Clifton Officers Kevin Collucci, Randy Colondres, Brian Fopma, John Kavakich, Derek Fogg & Tom Hawrylko. The team must raise $10,200. Thus far we’ve raised $8,260, thanks to... Environmental Devices, Inc., The Famous MidTown Grill, Clifton Moose Lodge 657, Suburban Auto, Albion Place Memorial VFW Post 7165, Grasso, Anthony Den Uyl esq., Post 438 American Legion, International Processing Corp., Foodies Cafe, Cafe D’ Amici, Clifton P.B.A. Local #36, The Altman Group Inc., Gemini Restoration, Matthew J. Trella. esq., Neil’s Pizza, Computerized Multi Systems, Denman & Davis, Dikeman Laminating Corp., Shook Funeral Home, Gam’s Auto Service, Linens & Things, British Motor Cars. Pat & Greg Collucci, Joann & Tim Strub, Centineo Family, Steven Fortunato, Robert & Ilona Collucci, Jim Bennett, J. Krolikowsky, Beth McGovern, Michael & Mary Samra, Joseph Conte, Wendy Relyea, Maryann Ricca, Bart Giaconia, Vito & Mary Ellen Collucci, Michele Em, Elaine Kuzmich, Kevin & Allison Collucci, Amy & Kevin Gamarello, The Sutter Family, Hawrylko Family South, Chidiac Family. Kathy & Robert Kehoe, Brian Klein, James Flanagan, Armando Medina, Lydia Gonzalez, Larry & Jennifer Torres, Maria Magda O'Keefe, Luisa Torres, Stan & Helena Lenc, Michael & JoAnn Leonard, Theresa Sinacori, Ken Collucci. The Police Unity Tour is a non-profit organization under section 501© (3) of the Internal Revenue code; donations are fully tax deductible. To contribute, make checks to Police Unity Tour and mail it c/o Clifton Merchant Magazine, 1288 Main Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07011 or call 973-253-4400. May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Bygone News As collected & edited by Clifton Historian Don Lotz
May 1908 The treasurer reported a cash balance of $1,357.01 at the May 5th Acquackanonk Township Committee meeting, “the poormaster reported the expenditure of $118 for the month [and] the clerk reported cash received from licenses and wagon-plates $33.” The meeting “was usually tame,” but “a license was granted for William Stewart for conducting a moving picture show in De Lava’s Hall.” Campbell & Cooper, real estate at Clifton Ave. and 3rd St (phone 464-L); May 25th advertised a “special for this week only at amazingly low prices.” Richard Berry advertised an auction sale of 70 lots at Passaic Ave. and Third St., which
embraced “many of the finest lots in various parts of the Clifton Development Co. tract.” Hewlett & Sachs (Paterson) advertised for sale at “Roosevelt Park Clifton [a] one family house, 2 story and attic – 7 large rooms – water, sink and wash trays – built on plot 100x65, price $2,800 on very easy terms.” For their employees, “the Athenia Steel Wire Company erected a large windmill with tank over its artesian well near Passaic Ave. and Seventh St., which will be used for supplying the houses to be erected there with water.” Hohenstein’s Hotel replaced its weatherboard with shingles which made “a decided improvement in appearance.” “Bicycle racing is to be revived in this county again” with John S. Prince, world famous as ‘Jack’ Prince former champion bicyclist,” looking for a tract of land in Clifton or Lakeview to build his “Paterson Velodrome.” The new stadium would seat 6,000 and be part of the National Bicycle Circuit with meets in
In 1958, Councilman Ira Schoem warned the Clifton Lions Club of illegal door-to-door salesmen.
Madison Square Garden, Vailsburg and the new track. The three choices included “property opposite Fairyland Park, the old Clifton race track, and the Groocock property at Main and Luddington Aves.” Prince narrowed his choice to the Clifton race track and plans had “the old track [being] lengthened to a mile and would be used for automobile races and within it would probably be constructed the six-lap bicycle track.” Negotiations closed when ‘Jack” Prince signed a five year lease with the owner of the Clifton race track Mr. Henry Muhs.
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Bygone News provides a glimpse into the events occurring in Acquackanonk (now Clifton) 100 and 50 years ago. While topics illustrate the evolution of a rural Acquackanonk Township into the Clifton of today, no doubt readers will also notice how some issues seem timeless.
YEARS
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May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
Main Ave. was at the center of it all in 1908. Above, an advertisement in the Passaic Daily News on May 26, 1908 promoted the opening of the fourth season at Fairyland Park . At right, a photo of the park’s entrance. Below, a photo of a 25-acre property—where Main Memorial Park and the Clifton Library stand today—which was converted in 1908 from horse racing into a velodrome for bicycle and motorcycle races.
“The course will have six laps to the mile. The stretches will be on an angle of twenty-five degrees and the turns will be at forty-five degrees. Rapidly moving motorists encircling the track six times within a minute will ride with their bodies parallel with the ground on making the curves.” Horse thieves “broke into the barn of the Simmons Estate, in Lexington Avenue” and “stole two horses, one belonging to Mr. Simmons and the other to Letter
Carrier Andrew Wilson.” Having escaped, the thieves tried a second burglary, but were discovered by Mrs. Daniel De Vries and “several neighbors responded and gave chase firing a number of shot.” The recent burglaries “alarmed the people of Clifton and strict vigil will be kept on all the stables in the town.” Acquackanonk Township’s Assessor Richard Berry proposed “that owners of horses organize a protective association throughout the county and that each member
joining the association [has] a brand put on the horse’s hoof, thereby making it impossible to cover up its identity.” Strawberry festivals were held by the “young men of Clifton in honor of the young women who gave the leap year dance” and the Clifton Fire Dept. The Dept. elected E. T. Hooker foreman, James E. Reid first assistant, and George Kiester second assistant at their recent meeting and ”three new members – George Wilson, Edo Yearance, and James Maybury, Jr. were added to the roll.” Fairyland Park promised “the public will witness an almost new amusement enterprise” when it opened its fourth season May 28th. General Manager J. J. Schultheiser scoured the country for new acts to be added and returned “the human laundry [and] ‘The Honeymooners.’ The entrance has [also] been remodeled, so that now it is resplendent with Corinthian columns that in the sunlight and electric light dazzle the eyes.” May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Councilman Ira Schoem addressed the Clifton Lions Club warning members of the “Illegal Door-to-Door Salesmen Menace.” As executive vice-president of the Clifton Chamber of Commerce, Schoem explained “the chamber is constantly striving to protect the homeowner against [these] frauds [and] not only do the women fall for these people, the men do also.” Chuck Pezzano (in a Clifton bowling pro Chuck Pezzano recent photo) was “qualified for the Masters Bowling Tourney gaining fame as a pro bowler in 1958. [with] four game sets of 826 and 798 [and] finished in 22nd place.” Pezzano joined Paterson bowler Al (Lindy) Faragalli and two-time May 1958 champ Dick Hoover in the field of 64. Contributing $50 to the Clifton High School Rose The Clifton BOE reported its K-6-3-3 or junior Bowl Fund, Councilman Emil M. Gacy noted “The high school system being “set-up best educationalrecent invitation of the Pasadena Tournament of ly and financially” as opposed to the K-8-4 system Roses Committee to the CHS Mustang Band to parproposed by several “’well-intentioned candidates’ ticipate in the famous New Year’s Day Rose Bowl in the current City Council campaign.” Nine educaParade is evidence of the remarkable accomplishtional benefits of the K-6-3-3 school system were ments of this talented group of young musicians…” explained besides an additional saving of “Richfield Happenings” noted the 76th birthday $3,000,000 not reverting back to the K-8-4 system celebration of Mrs. Katherine Schultheis of 7 proposed by several of the candidates. Council canGrove Street. Guests at the gathering included Mr. didate Augustine La Corte, favoring the K-8-4 and Mrs. Alfred Schultheis, Jr. and son Alfred, school system, “accused the board of being ‘doubleLouise Hugo, May Jones, John Carpenter, Louis talking experts who get grandiose ideas and then Faure, and Sal Coppola of Clifton. let the taxpayers struggle with their payment.’”
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The “thrilling experience” of William P. Adam, 21 Madison St, appeared as “Cadet’s Story Of Collision – Clifton Man Vividly Describes Accident at Sea.” Cadet Adam was aboard the American liner St. Paul when the British cruiser Gladiator struck them. Confusion reigned on both vessels, but the Captain of the Gladiator managed to ground the vessel miles off Portsmouth. Lifeboats were launched off the St. Paul and Cadet Adam described his experience rowing through the heavy snowstorm to rescue the sailors off the Gladiator.
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Throughout 1958, the CHS Marching Band, led by Drum Majorette Diane Reichardt (at right), raised money for their trip to Pasadena where they performed in the Rose Bowl Parade on Jan. 1, 1959. The Mustangs field program was the state of California.
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An early and light voter turn out eventually saw 20,101 of 37,563 eligible voters cast ballots. Coming in first was incumbent Stanley Zwier whose 9,978 votes beat Sam Monchak by a mere 9 votes. The remaining winners and their votes were Arthur J. Sullivan (9,753), Frank G. Yingling, Jr. (9,544), William R. Brogan (9,401), Emil M. Gacy (7,597), and Augustine La Corte (7,365). Runners-up included Joseph N. Donatelli, Ernest T. Scheidemann, Chester Calvert, Harry Fengya, Jr., Louise Friedman, and William Smith, Jr.
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School 14 Principal Miss Raylouise Thorburn was feted at the recent School PTA installation meeting with a lifetime membership. Refreshments were served and the “proceeds of a cookie sale held at the meeting were turned over to the Tournament of Roses band fund.” May ended the five weeks of campaigning for the Clifton City Council election or as nicknamed the “councilmanic contest.” Thirty-two candidates traversed the city with meetings in Gus’ Hall Van Houten Ave, Domyon’s Hall Center St, the VFW Hall Piaget Ave, and multiple private residences. A summary of the campaign reported that it “never got off the mild level [and] no consistently major issues ever were raised.”
194 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell • 973-403-9968 –– 2 Union Ave., Paterson • 973-595-1647
May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Birthdays & Celebrations! send us your dates and names... tomhawrylko@optonline.net
Madge and Bob Nelson will be married 50 years on April 12 (that’s them in 1958). Mike Szwec . . . . . . . . . Samantha Cruz . . . . . Jessica Perez . . . . . . . Jordan Lynn Bykowsky Maria DeGraaf . . . . . . Julia Komarczyk . . . . . Margie Maloney . . . . John Anderson Jr. . . . Spencer Flynn . . . . . . . Russell Courtney . . . . . Vanessa Laine Montesano . . . . . . . . . Yasmeen Saleh . . . . . . Mary Domyon . . . . . . Margie Hatala . . . . . . Carol Schwartz . . . . . . Terry Capili . . . . . . . . . Ken Hauser . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Homsany .
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Marge and Ed Schweighardt celebrate 50 years of marriage on May 3 (seen here in 1958). 100 May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
On May 14 Joe & Marlene Chidiac celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Their daughter Catherine recently turned Sweet 16, made Confirmation and was inducted into National Honor Society. Matthew Nagy . . . . . . . Hector Perez . . . . . . . . . Christine Siluk . . . . . . . . Thomas Steranko . . . . . Petey Pathos . . . . . . . . Rebecca DeChellis . . . Joe De Liberto . . . . . . . Michael Lonison . . . . . . Donna De Liberto . . . . Myrt Petty . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Reilly . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Zawicki . . . . . . Alice De Liberto . . . . . . Earl Grosser Jr. . . . . . . . Victoria Leja . . . . . . . . . Fred Gurtman . . . . . . . . Mark McGuire . . . . . . . Rosemary Canavan . . John ‘Yonko’ Hawrylko Jamie Antal . . . . . . . . . Walter Hryckowian . . . .
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Mariana Pineda . . . . Becky Kuter . . . . . . . . Jennifer Mulick . . . . . Ken Bender . . . . . . . . Joe Murolo . . . . . . . . Matthew Palladino . Kage Lord . . . . . . . . . Jessica Bielen . . . . . . MaryEllen Krattinger . Michele Perez . . . . . . Donald Lopuzzo . . . . Michael Santosuosso Brittney Abell . . . . . . Olivia Alexandra Hryckowian . . . . . . . . Jessica Suckerman . Kaylee Pinter . . . . . . Jonathan Rideg . . . . Fred Antes . . . . . . . . . Steve Bielen . . . . . . . Kyle J. Magaster . . . David J. Ricca . . . . .
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Pelagia (Babcia) Hryckowian is 94 on May 3. Author Glory Read turns 83 on May 8. Jessica Camp is 18 on May 12. Birthday wishes to CHS teacher Mr. Shelley who celebrates May 18. Eleanor & Wendell Kellenberger are married 69 years on May 10. Ray & Terry (Sasiela) Capilli celebrate their 52nd anniversary on May 12; now living in Barnegat, both are 1953 grads of CHS—Terry also has a birthday May 8. Double Dutch wishes to Roland & Lena Krygsman on their 55th wedding anniversary on April 24.
There may be a pizza party in her future! Kayla Barilari turns 9 May 5.
Visit us in Downtown Clifton: 1103 Main Ave • 973-473-4999
Anthony Alcalde . . . . . . . .5/29 Valerie Gancarz . . . . . . . .5/29 Anthony DeSomma . . . . .5/30 Rachel Gergats . . . . . . . . .5/31 Christopher Ramirez . . . . .5/31 Christopher Smith . . . . . . .5/31 Logan Thompson . . . . . . .5/31 Stop by and see Ray Zang on May 9. He’ll be 54!
We Don’t Sell Parts… …We Sell Service Machine Shop On Location No Order Too Large Or Small FREE DELIVERY
Two Stores In Clifton 973-473-1997
973-473-4999
802 Van Houten Ave • Clifton Mon-Fri 8-6pm • Sat 8-5pm • Sun 9-1pm
1103 Main Ave • Downtown Clifton Mon-Fri 8-6pm • Sat 8-5pm • Sun Closed
Our Other Locations: 201.843.8040
201-845-8353
136 Essex St • Rochelle Park Open Sundays
101 Route 46 West • Saddle Brook Open Sundays
201.391.3333
973-857-2600
5 Hawthorne Ave • Park Ridge New Location
614 Pompton Ave • Cedar Grove New Location
201. 261.0411 59A E. Ridgewood Ave • Paramus New Location
973.338.9292 1278 Broad St • Bloomfield New Location
973-694-2228 1168 Hamburg Turnpike • Wayne New Location
973-423-1700 93 Goffle Rd • Hawthorne New Location 1036
Gia Camille Genardi turns 8 on May 2 and celebrates First Holy Communion on May 4. Her cousin Brianna is 18 on May 29.
Visit us in Athenia: 802 Van Houten Ave • 973-473-1997 May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
101
Two new faces have joined the Board of Education, as voters gave the nod to Paul Graupe, Lou Fraulo and incumbent John Traier. Graupe, who was just seven votes shy of becoming a commissioner last year, came in first with 3,856 tallies. Fraulo was second with 3,746 and Traier secured the last seat with 3,294. Hakim, the current Board of Ed President, came in last with a total of 2,949 votes. Two questions on the April 15 ballot were defeated by voters. The budget, slated at $139.9 million, was defeated by a 3,905 to 2,083 margin. It would have been a $151 dollar increase per year for the average assessed home at $177,000. The proposal for field turf at Clifton Stadium failed by a margin of 4,194 to 1,617. The above figures from the Board of Ed were not yet verified with the County at time of print.
From left: Lou Fraulo, John Traier and Paul Graupe, who were elected by Clifton voters on April 15 to three year terms on the Clifton Board of Education.
The BOE and the City Council now have 30 days to make cuts to the budget. If they fail to do so, the State BOE will intervene. The 290 Brighton Rd. saga continued in April, with the Board finally receiving the needed construction permits on April 24. After being approved by voters in Dec. 2004 by a 3,094 to 1,456 margin, the property was denied a variance by the Zoning Board after 17
meetings. The 500-student facility may house 9th and 10th graders. “It will be 10 to 11 moths from when the contractors put shovels in the ground to when it is completed,” said Tony D’Elia, the BOE attorney. However, Clifton’s new Master Plan, adopted on March 27, only allows schools in industrial properties if they are in residential and business zones.
Watch Dr. David Moore on Health Talk, Clifton Channel 77 Friday 9:30 pm & Sunday at 8 pm
Dr. David R. Moore, Chiropractor/Director
David R. Moore, D.C. 850 Clifton Ave., Clifton 973-253-7005 www.OnTrackChiro.com No Insurance Required 102 May 2008 • Clifton Merchant
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Tomahawk Promotions 1288 Main Avenue Clifton, NJ 07011
PERMIT NO. 1185
NICHOLAS TSELEPIS Broker/Owner
TOP 1% OF NJ REALTORS Direct Line: 973-340-1107 SELLING? CALL NICK AND START PACKING!
CLIFTON
$439,000
BEAUTIFUL CURB APPEAL Offers 5 spacious rooms, 2 bedrooms, bath on 1st floor. Collect rent from 4 rooms, 2 bedroom, bath apartment on 2nd floor. Full finished basement with recreation room, summer kitchen, bath. Central air on 1st floor. Extra large property.
CLIFTON
$379,000
NICE 2 FAMILY HOME This nice 2 family home features 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, bath on each floor. Attic has extra 2 rooms. Bank/Lender approval required for short sale.
CLIFTON
1624 Main Ave. Clifton, NJ 07011
Office: 973-340-1202
973-859-2270
$374,900
TWO FAMILY HOME IN DESIRABLE CONDITION Offers Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, bedroom bath on 1st floor. 3 rooms, bedroom, bath on 2nd floor. Both apartments have potential 2 bedrooms. Full basement, 1 car garage, plenty off street parking.
CLIFTON
$399,000
LOVELY HOME IN THE ALBION SECTION OF CLILFTON Features large Living Room, Dining Room, Modern Kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, finished basement, plenty off street parking. Call today! Bank/Lender approval required for Short Sale.
CLIFTON
$399,900 CLIFTON
CUL DE SAC LOCATION Beautiful home with great curb appeal offers Living Room, Dining area, 3 bedrooms, modern Kitchen, 1.5 baths, master bath with Jacuzzi Tub, full basement with recreation room, 1 car garage.
CLIFTON
$399,000 CLIFTON
WONDERFUL 2 FAMILY HOME ON QUIET STREET Features 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, bath on 1st floor. 2nd floor offers 6 rooms, 4 bedrooms and bath. Bank/Lender approval required for Short Sale.
$379,900
LOVELY SPLIT LEVEL HOME With a great curb appeal, located in a Great Location offers large Living Room, formal Dining Room, nice family room, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath. 1car garage.
$299,000
NICE COLONIAL HOME This nice colonial home offers Living Room, Dining Room, Eat In kitchen, with pantry, 3 bedrooms, and bath. Full basement, unfinished attic for storage or additional room, enclosed porch.
Having trouble making your Mortgage Payments? We have several options we can offer you. We also specialize in Short Sales Call Nick Today! Direct: 973-340-1107 Cell: 973-725-3378