Denville November 2020

No. 18 Vol. 11

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A Thanksgiving Story

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10/9/2020 - Patricia M, Indian Lake Sold a Single Family home in 2020 in Denville, NJ

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By Richard Mabey Jr. n the midst of the Summer of 2018, I began taking my mom to Bingo every Thursday afternoon. Mom lived with me, in our gated community in Central Florida. Playing Bingo was a fun time, for both, Mom and myself. We met some very interesting people. And, we both learned the agony of waiting for just one number to be called to complete the horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line to be able to joyfully call out “Bingo!”

I think it was in the beginning of 2018 that Mom and I began attending classes, at our gated community, for developing skill and style for writing children’s stories. I remember that Mom excelled in the class. She made a lot of friends and people enjoyed hearing her array of children’s stories.

It was in early 2018 that Mom needed to depend upon a wheelchair to get around. The arthritis in her hips had gotten so bad that she was hardly able to walk. Mom’s cardiologist would not authorize that she was stable enough for hip replacement surgery, because of the degree of her heart murmur due to Aortic Stenosis.

In the middle of November of 2019, Mom had heart surgery to replace her Aortic Valve. There were post-operative complications and Mom needed to stay in the hospital.

Thanksgiving Day came and Mom was still in the hospital.

On Thanksgiving Day, my sister Patti and I arrived at the hospital, bright and early to spend Thanksgiving Day with Mom. We made turkey sandwiches and packed them in a little insulated lunch box, complete with a plastic container of dry ice. We also packed two small bottles of iced tea to have with our special Thanksgiving meal with Mom that day.

An older woman came into Mom’s hospital room at about high noon. She carried with her a tray, with lunch on it. The kind woman smiled at Mom, put the tray down on Mom’s mobile, bedside table, said Happy Thanksgiving to Mom, then turned and returned to the hallway to the big lunch storage container on wheels.

And, behold, there it was the hospital cafeteria’s version of a Thanksgiving dinner. Oh, I do not want to be unkind here. But, let’s just say, it was mediocre at best. The turkey was that pressed turkey that comes in a roll and someone simply sliced it up. Mom was given two slices of this turkey

November 2020

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Mom, my sister Patti and myself, on Mom’s 80th birthday.

roll with a sparing amount of gravy. There was a little white, corrugated, paper cup filled about three-quarters of the way with cranberry sauce. Not the real cranberry sauce, but rather the cranberry sauce that has a slight resemblance to gelatin. Then, there was a bit of stuffing, some green beans and then some corn. Not the greatest Thanksgiving meal that my Mom ever had, but still it was better than nothing.

I cut the turkey slices for Mom. She protested with every slice of the knife. “I’m not an invalid,” Mom kept telling me.

I assured Mom that she wasn’t an invalid, that I wanted to slice her turkey for her.

Mom ate her turkey dinner, while my sister Patti and I ate our turkey sandwiches. It was a joyful moment in time.

But it was definitely blanketed with a sprinkling of sadness.

We talked about past Thanksgiving days. We remembered relatives, who were now having their Thanksgiving dinner in Heaven. We remembered places, pumpkin pies that didn’t cook so well, and times when there were so many relatives at the Thanksgiving table at the old Mabey Homestead, Mom would pray that the turkey would suffice. Miraculously, it always did.

None of us knew it at the time, but that would be Mom’s last Thanksgiving meal. When they replaced Mom’s Aortic Valve, the surgeons did not properly align it and Mom died from a slowly leaking heart valve. continued on page 10

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Mission Madera Awarded Grant to Continue Good Work in Madera, Uganda (Africa)

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By Steve Sears ission Madera, founded by 1985 Morris Catholic High School graduate Gerard Duphiney, and his son Ben, a 2018 grad, was recently awarded a $15,000 grant courtesy of the Invest in Others Global Impact Award for the work they’ve done and continue to do in the ravaged country of Madera, Uganda in Africa.

The Mission statement of Mission Madera is (from the website): RADIATING THE LOVE OF CHRIST, MISSION MADERA STRIVES TO PUT FAITH IN ACTION BY SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE SCHOOLS, FAMILIES, AND THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS TO IMPROVE THE LIVING CONDITIONS AND ENCOUNTER THE HUMAN DIGNITY OF EACH PERSON WITHIN THE MADERA COMMUNITY IN UGANDA, AFRICA. Mission Madera started when 10-yearold Ben expressed an interest to visit Madera, but further encouragement came when, during his sophomore year, he met Sr. Cecilia at the Assumption College for Sisters, which is on the old campus of Morris Catholic High School. Sr. Cecelia, born and raised in Madera, planned and prayed with Ben for two months, both envisioning a trip to her homeland.

The inaugural trip to Uganda was in the summer of 2017, when Ben, his dad, and Sr. Cecelia flew to the country for a two week stay. Funds that had been collected for the trip were wired from Morris Catholic when Duphiney told the school conditions in the country were so horrible. “There was no running water, no sinks, no soap for the kids,” he says, and contractors were hired to remedy the issue. There are three schools in the Madera community: The 1,000 student, all-girls St. Ann’s Elementary School, St. Francis Primary School for the Blind, and St. Francis Secondary School for the Blind.

“When we finished that summer,” Duphiney recalls, “we were at the airport and I said, ‘Boy, that was great.’ And Ben said, ‘We have to come back next year. Dad, this is bigger than us. I want others to come and experience the joy we felt.’”

“The people were just so warm and welcoming and loving,” Duphiney says. “In spite of their circumstances, they just have this joy about them. It was a good lesson for all of us.”

The trip was repeated in 2018, this time with a group of 12 others for another two week stay, and in 2019, this time the excursion being a two-parter: first Morris Catholic, and the second, a mission trip with folks from Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish in Cedar Knolls.

COVID-19 stuck a fork in the 2020 trip.

“Within days of our (United States) shutdown, they (Uganda) were shut down as well,” says Duphiney. “The difference there is they literally shut it down with no assistance. In our government, of course, we offered assistance. It was tremendously helpful. So, here are people (in Madera) that go out every day to work to buy food that day to eat. And they were shut down.” Duphiney sent an email and asked those in Madera what they needed done. The response was they were experiencing starvation; it was bad. Mission Madera sent funds over to buy 6,000 lbs. of food.

A 2021 trip is still up in the air.

“We do have additional funding,” says Duphiney, a Denville resident and a Managing Partner at Duphiney Financial Network, “but we’re always looking for more because the work is endless.”

For more information and ways to support Mission Madera, visit www.missionmadera.com.

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IT HAPPENED IN OUR TOWN: Legends of the Founding of Denville

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By Peter Zablocki t was a pleasant summer morning in the year 1898 when John Hinchman hopped on his two-wheel cart hitched to a team of oxen. Hitchman’s large home occupied the space where the Denville Clock now stands, and his vast cranberry patch where the Denville downtown now is, was the center of town. There were no stores, or even streets to hang around but local kids loved the old man and would often jump on his wagon for a ride or to hear stories of days’ past. That day was no different. With a couple of youths attached to the cart and others walking

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alongside it, the seasoned storyteller shared a story about a married couple who came through the area on their way to the mines. They would stop each time to forage for firewood and water. The family’s name was Dennis, said the old man. And as others followed the couple on their work commute, their encampment in the area became known as Dennisville, and the brook, Dennisbrook. Old John concluded his story by proclaiming that once it became a fullfledged settlement, the area became simply known by its shorter name, Denville.

The kids thanked the man for the ride and ran off to

seek yet another distraction. At least one of them enjoyed the story enough to repeat its telling long after Hinchaman’s death. Yet, it was not the first, nor the last story told about the town’s founding.

By 2020, past and present local historians have settled on two most likely origins of the town of Denville. The town’s earliest documented history comes from survey maps ordered in 1715 by none other than William Penn of Pennsylvania fame. It is now accepted that most likely Denville got its name from the impenetrable swamp that continued on page 10

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Legends of the Founding... continued from page 8 once occupied the area, and specifically the den of wild animals that lived in it.

Another likely story centers around John Den who during the Revolutionary War lived in a lonely log cabin where the Den Brook and the Rockaway River meet. There is however another “legend” about our town’s founding that is not as commonly known.

Thirty years after Hinchman told his story, Jim Miller, the editor of the Denville Herald, was walking to his office when he was approached by a local man who shoved a paper in his hand to read – first making him promise that the newspaper would never breathe to a soul who the owner was. The paper handed to him was old and torn. Jim described it as most definitely “over 150-years-old and looking as if it had been tucked away in a drawer for a very long time.” When he entered his office, the editor unfolded the letter and noticed that the handwriting was small and the paper signed in a large scrawl, Wilyam Jones. The man who handed him the letter was reported to be very reputable in town and swore that the piece of paper had been in his family’s possession for over a hundred years. Mr. Miller put on his glass-

es and began to read…

“Daenvill, Jan’y 3, 1757 While recentile makinge a fur of mie trappes around the Rockaway River, I keam opon an old indium who made a fier and wuz brouling venizen. He akes me to sate downe. So I deid. We sate sociable and I wuz aboute to gate up, he sez to me, ‘friend, you live in a territorie that has greate blessing.’

I wuz immediatlie interested an he went on to say ‘before you cam here an injun owne all lande, no white men nowear.

Aliowowa, him great chief he defeat in war all his enemies, Chowae, bade monster chief from Mowhawk indiuns (must have meante the injuns up Albanie ways). Aliowowa no knoew what doe. Him take squaw an babies go sou’ east. He an injun finnalie land here. Old chief he to tire to go farther, so they stoppe. They fall downe and worshippe Manytowe. Manytowe apeare in dreame, telle chief him and land blessed foreevar. Eve’ since then, land verie luckie.

You verie luckie live here. I die soon, I mus tel some one.’

I laffed at hiem at first, but as I wente alonge the banke of the river, I thot maybie he rite. I was alwaies luckie hear. So I wente backe an thanked him and took

him home. The Lord told me to do it. He wuz verie grateful and saye Manytowe blesse me. I say, ‘Trust in the Lord,’ In the morninge, my wief Belhsheba called men an saide, “he is dade,’ That was two year agoe. I wunder if it is tru.”

The letter’s contents were published in 1931. There was no follow up, and to this day, there is no knowledge of what happened to the old piece of paper except that it was given back to its owner, never

to be seen again. It begs the question; how many more Denville secrets are there?

Perhaps Jim Miller said it best, “Legend? you say. ‘Why I had no idea that Denville had a legend; has it?’” Today we could try and separate fact from fiction; or we could just accept that one can always find a little bit of truth in both. Until next time…

Peter Zablocki is a local historian and the vice-president of the Denville Historical Society in Denville, New Jersey.

A Thanksgiving Story... continued from front page Mom went Home to be with the Lord on the twenty-third of December, that following month, just last year. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t think of my mom. Life is so very short. None of us have any guarantees for tomorrow.

I live in a 55 plus, gated community in Central Florida. Because I worked as a Security Guard, for eight years, I have been blessed to come to know quite a few people. Whenever I hear someone say that they have stopped talking to a loved one, it brings a certain sadness to my heart.

Believe it or not, I have even heard a few people in my church talk like this. It deeply saddens me.

I think there are three elements to having good relationships with loved ones.

Those three things are: forgive, forgive again, and forgive yet again. If your Mom is still on this side of Heaven’s Gate, tell her how much you love her. I wish I could mine.

Richard Mabey Jr. is a freelance writer.

He can be reached at richardmabeyjr@hotmail.com. Please put on the subject line: My Life Publications.

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Care, Comfort, and Personal Service the Key at Vivian’s – A Sweet Little Boutique

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By Steve Sears hen you enter Vivian’s – A Sweet Little Boutique, two things strike you. The beauty in clothing and accessories available, and the smile of Vivian Hill.

Both go together.

“I’m in personal service,” she states. “I

love seeing people happy and feeling good about themselves.”

Then there’s her customers. “Regardless of the pandemic, the people who have come in here from Denville and the surrounding areas, through purchase and words, have just made a clear call that they continued on page 12

Give Thanks For All We Have...

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Vivian’s... continued from page 11 support and are happy to see a new business in town.

And this is a community.”

When visiting Vivian’s – A Sweet Little Boutique, you have the opportunity to see and, most importantly, feel the item. “Can you feel that scarf online?” she asks.

She then adds, “Part of my idea of personal service is integrity. If you walk out of the dressing room in something that is ill-fitting, I am not letting you buy it. You might look in the mirror and go, ‘Oh, I love this!’ But I’ll tell you, ‘It doesn’t fit you in the back’ or ‘that color is not for you.’ Relationship is imperative, and you can’t try clothes on online.”

“I was only open about three weeks before I had to close,” says Hill, explaining her grand opening in March 2020 and her almost immediate closing due to COVID-19. She reopened in mid-June. For her, it was

a return to what she loves, she the former owner of a like shop in Newton that many remembered fondly.

“Lots of people were saying, ‘Vintage Vivian’s – we wish you were open. Boy, we miss your store.’ Wonderful, beautiful things.”

Her husband at that time just happened to be in downtown Denville, saw the “FOR LEASE” sign, and Hill was ready. “I love this town,” she says of Denville.

“I live 30 miles north of here, so it’s a 30-mile oneway trip, and I’m happy to make it. I’ve shopped down here over the years, and I think very few towns have a main drag, and Broadway and East Main are just beautiful.”

Hill offers mostly clothing at her boutique, and she admits she is “a sucker for scarves.” “These are designed in Australia,” she says, running her hands along the material. “The de-

signer then goes to India a few times a year and oversees the weaving of these.

They’re wool, they’re light, they’re soft. I love scarves, I love fabric; that’s what it comes down to. I think this is a delightful gift. From cotton to cashmere to yak, the material is the best.” Count angora among the variety, too.

In addition to the expertly woven, colorfully detailed scarves (some thick enough to be used as a wrap during colder months), Vivian’s - A Sweet Little Boutique also sells sweaters, umbrellas, blouses and belts, and made-of-paper (although you wouldn’t know it) handbags and purses crafted by a four-sisters owned company in Italy. “People have come in,” Hill says, “who have traveled through Italy, and say, ‘I saw these in Italy!’

They were so excited.” The before mentioned are sturdy and washable. “When

I found this company, it just brought me to tears.

It’s just so beautiful.” She then adds, “The scarves?

They take my breath away.

They’re art.”

Hill loves finding what she sells and being able to share her discoveries. And yes, while she does deal with companies overseas, she also buys and sells United States made items.

Comfort also defines Hill. Her boutique has two dressing rooms, the fabric of the seating in one from her grandmother’s Chester, New Jersey farmhouse (“This fabric is from the 1930’s” she says with a smile), and the other dressing room seating is adorned with fabric from her other grandmother. In addition to the merchandise she sells, pieces of beauty from her being reign here. “That’s everything,” she says. “It’s a small, personally-based business. I don’t just like

fabric, but I like to connect mostly with women who come in, and their families.”

On a recent Saturday afternoon, three generations of women entered. “I had something for every one of them; each generation got something. That’s very cool.”

Hill now offers a unique Women’s Fun Evening of Shopping at Vivian’s - A

Sweet Little Boutique. Ladies, are you looking for something enjoyably different ? Do your shopping during a fun evening to wind down your day. Contact Hill for details.

Vivian’s – A Sweet Little Boutique is located at 84 Broadway 1B in Denville.

For more information, call (973) 875-6549.

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Back to the Roots: Meet The Sharing Project

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By Alexandra Churikova hat can a group of high school students do to help their community in need during times of uncertainty? When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the situation of many families in the local neighborhoods took an unexpected turn. One group of local high school volunteers spearheaded The Sharing Project, an initiative at the intersection of community support and sustainability, to help families in need who have been impacted by the pandemic. The goal is simple—cultivate healthy, organic produce, and offer the harvest to affected families and individuals. To this group of young volunteers, it was not only a way to reach out and lend a helping hand—but also to be closer to the earth and understand the farm-to-table process, by collaborating with local growers and tending to the gardens themselves.

At the roots of the project is an ambitious goal of one student founder, and the collaborative effort of a lasting friendship. Matthew Borinshteyn, a senior at West Morris Mendham High School (WMMHS), founded the The Sharing Project in early 2020, with classmate Matthew Goldgirsh. The two reached out to local food pantries and the school garden supervisor to jumpstart the project.

They secured additional produce for distribution from farmers and local gardeners to and gained guidance on the best harvest for the upcoming season.

The efforts did not stop at their private gardens. As the project became more wellknown, residents started reaching out with ideas and suggestions. With the help of Mendham resident Carol Hunsicker, the two learned essential gardening skills and obtained two plots of land in the Chester Community Garden and the Ironia Elementary School garden (Randolph). They were soon partnering with the Garden of Hope at the Community of St. John Baptist and gathered a team of student volunteers to help tend to the six gardens, raise funds, and deliver the produce.

By June the team donated fresh produce as often as once a week during peak harvest in August and early September, supplying several hundreds of pounds of produce to Chester Mendham Food Pantry (CMFP) pantry (about 50 families) and 26 pounds to the Interfaith Food Pantry. The founders plan to expand the project to be able to feed families from both pantries next year.

“The most rewarding part of the initiative for me was when we donated our produce to the CMFP and I got to see firsthand how our hard work paid off and helped the community,” says Goldgirsh.

For Borinshteyn, the entire garden-to-table process is a source of motivation to es-

calate the team efforts. “I have learned a lot about growing different plants and how to grow the best and most plentiful produce in the space we are given,” he says, “I believe that this is the beginning of a long-lasting partnership of students, the gardening community, and food pantries to help provide healthy produce for families in need.”

For the core team of nine student volunteers, meeting up at the gardens has become a routine pastime despite the uncertainty of the pandemic. With social distancing easily maintained at the gardens, the teams of volunteers learned to efficiently take care of the crops, sometimes with help from their family members. During warm summer months, the volunteers tended to the gardens as often as every other day to maintain a frequent watering schedule.

“I learned a lot about gardening, including the processes and handwork that’s dedicated to taking care of the plants,” says volunteer William Wang, a senior at WMMHS, “Witnessing the plants grow is a very accomplishing feel.”

The aspect of sustainability and health also drew student volunteers to the cause.

The produce, grown mostly from heirloom seedlings, is cultivated by hand with zero pesticides.

“I understand the importance of organic produce more than ever,” says Michael Churikov, a senior in Morris Knolls High School who oversees the garden at Chester, “New technology is making way for more GMO and processed foods but growing organic fresh produce in a local garden is an important step to keeping our local communities healthy.” The original goal of the project was just that—help ensure healthy nutrition to those who are struggling by cultivating a closer connection to the earth.

Keeping the momentum alive through fundraising involves teamwork. The volunteers sold vegetable seedlings and plants and ran bake and t-shirt sales to raise funds for their work. “Throughout the project I have learned to communicate well with strangers to promote our cause, such as during the fundraisers,” says volunteer Geervan Bhattacharjee, a senior at WMMHS, who is managing the plants at the Hunsicker garden with his brother Gairick. The team was able to raise over $1,000 for covering the costs of fresh produce purchases from farmers during planting season, gardening supplies, and developing the project to the next level.

What’s next for The Sharing Project?

Having collected and donated a successful harvest, even bigger goals are ahead for the team. More volunteers have already joined to help build a new dedicated The Sharing Project garden as well as ensure the continuity of the effort after the current volunteers

enroll in college next year. Borinshteyn plans to register the project as a non-profit organization and release a cookbook of healthy recipes for use with locally grown produce.

The Sharing Project is more than just an extracurricular activity for these student volunteers. It has become a way of life which involves collaboration and patience. Waiting

for the vegetables to sprout and grow, cultivating them, tending to them, and finally delivering the ripe and delicious tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, squash—even watermelon!—and many more to the families in need… it is a simple process, and teaches us to be closer to the earth, and to each other.

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Local Veterans Share Wartime Experiences

hen Brian Bergen, an Iraq War veteran, first joined Denville VFW Post 2519, he was fascinated to hear the members sharing wartime experiences. Sitting around the weekly lunch table, veterans from different wars would share their personal experiences with their fellow comrades. Although each of the conflicts was extremely different, the veterans had no trouble bonding with one another. It was not unusual to hear a veteran state they had never shared a particular experience even with their own families.

As time went on, a number of Post members passed or moved away and their stories were lost. Brian realized that the remaining veterans’ experiences needed to be preserved before they too were lost. As a result, he asked local writer Megan Roche to interview and chronicle the stories of as many of the members as she could.

Over the next six months, Roche became a frequent visitor to the Post and was very comfortable commiserating with a group of older men. She met privately with many of the members and asked each of them to share some of their favorite wartime experiences. Some of these interviews took place at the Denville Post, others at the member’s home. Roche, an experienced interviewer, had no trouble establishing quick rapport with each veteran and they were comfortable sharing even some of their most difficult experiences with her.

In the end, Roche interviewed and chronicled the experiences of sixteen Post 2519 veterans ranging from World War II to Afghanistan. In addition to the stories, she obtained wartime photographs of each of the veterans. Although there were other members she wished she could have included, she admits that this project was the most challenging, yet rewarding, of her career.

“This book was not easily established but I loved the experience and meaning behind creating it. As a child and grandchild of veterans, I know how important it is for these men (and women) to share their stories and experiences.

Once they pass on, the stories go with them. I hope that this book lets generation after generation know about the important things that these veterans have done for our country,” Roche said.

Once the project was completed, the stories and photographed were published in a hard cover book entitled “Denville Heroes – VFW Post 2519’s Stories of War”. In addition to the members’ stories, the book contains a Post History and a Memoriam section listing past members of the Post.

The book now resides in the reference section of the Denville Public Library. As a footnote, since the book has been published two of chronicled veterans have passed away. Without this project, their stories would have been lost.

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NJStarz

Tess Feury Hometown: Denville, NJ Meghan Cameron when she first joined Sporting Kanas City courtesy of Sporting Kansas City.

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By Steve Sears enville resident and rugby star, Tess Feury, remembers the moment distinctly.

“I had given so much time and effort,” she excitedly recalls, “and the first time I got to jog onto that field in the USA jersey at the World Cup in Ireland, and my family was in the stands, it was really an indescribable feeling – just like pure joy.”

“Pure joy.” Those two words define Feury and the life she has lived. You both hear it in and feel it from her voice.

Feury, who was just 18 years old that day in Ireland, is 24 now and a full-time registered nurse at Morristown Medical Center. “Back in March, April, and May it was definitely busy,” she says, referring to the COVID19 pandemic. “It’ definitely slowed down now, but those first couple of months were very busy.”

Feury, in addition to playing rugby since age four, also started playing soccer for the Denville Diamonds at the same age, ran track, and even played in the township basketball league.

However, it’s rugby for which she is famed, and a lot of that credit goes to her dad, who played rugby while attending Rutgers University. He then started a family and he played for the Morris Rugby Club men’s team.

“He said, ‘I want my kids to play rugby,’ so he started a youth flag rugby program (called the Denville Dawgs) in Denville, which I think now has expanded to almost ten towns,” Feury says.

Tom Feury indeed sowed the seed of a sport he loved in his daughter’s heart, and her mom, KJ, planted the healthcare seed. “She never actually played rugby,” Feury says, “but with her nurse practitioner background, she’s been like the athletic trainer.” Her older brother, Blaze, played rugby at Penn State, and middle brother, Jake, is a member of Rugby United New York in the Major League Rugby men’s league. He was also both a high school and college All-American at Delbarton in Morristown and Middlebury College in Vermont.

Tess Feury playing for the USA Junior All American Team - RJ Photography For Feury, her childhood is a memorable one. “I absolutely loved growing up in Denville. I love Denville so much. I have my best friends, all the ones I met playing sports in Denville as little kids. I just think that Denville has such a good community feel. I feel like all through my rugby, I feel like all the things I have accomplished, they have supported me through the whole experience.” Denville Dawgs in the summer was tops. “It’s co-ed, and there’s not many co-ed sports for youths. That was in the summer, it was only eight weeks, it was just like very free-spirited and fun. It was a great way to meet other people and kids in town. It was awesome.”

Flag rugby came to an end when Feury was 14. Because her high school, Villa Walsh Academy, didn’t offer a rugby program, she proceeded to the next realm, the sport’s tackle version, for the Morris Rugby Club – but in her sophomore year of high school. She explains. “To be honest, I didn’t want to go on to play tackle. I was convinced that I wanted to keep playing soccer and give up the rugby thing, and I didn’t actually play rugby my freshman year of high school.” She attended games and the realization hit that she had given up something she had learned to love. “I realized that I was so lucky to play such an amazing sport at such a young age, and why would I give that up?” The transition wasn’t that difficult, and her two older brothers are partly to thank. “They roughed me up a bit,” she says with a chuckle.

When Feury was 18, she was named to the high school All-American team (“The first big thing in the USA level that I had accomplished, and it was really exciting,” she says), and she realized that she could go further in the sport. “The friends I’d make from across the country, the places that I could travel, all of that kind of set my mind that I wanted to do this – play at the highest level that I can.”

She continued to ascend towards the apex. After her senior year of 2014, Feury captained the United States Girls team at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, and then was named a member of the Women’s Junior All-American team. “I spent a month over there (in China),” she recalls. “That was a very cool experience because that wasn’t just a rugby event; there were other sports, athletes from all over the world. And by the end of that year I was named to the Junior All-American team. I kind of graduated my way up from the high school All-American team, and that was also the year, that fall, that I started at Penn State.”

What did that year of accolades showered upon her do for or to her? “Senior year of high school was awesome. Because I was so lucky to start playing rugby so young, I feel like through high school I was kind of forced into a leadership position. I was forced to be a leader from a young age; I was forced to develop those characteristics. The mental strength a leader should have, the communication they have to have, that undoubtably set me up for success – especially leading into that senior year. That senior year I was on Cloud 9. It just can’t get any better,” she says. “I had the amazing support of my family, and I had another four years of college to look forward to.”

Feury wanted three things in a college: strong nursing and rugby programs, and a school that would give A young Tess Feury – KJ Feury continued on page

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Tess Feury...

continued from page her a ‘college experience.’ Penn State was the perfect fit. “It was funny,” she says, “because when I was talking to the rugby coach at Penn State and said I wanted to be a nurse he said, ‘Oh, we’ve never actually had a nursing major on our team before.’

And I was like, ‘I don’t know if that’s good or bad,’” she recalls with a chuckle.

It was incredibly good. The nursing program was a competitive one which required much of Feury’s time, but she was determined and had her eye on the profession she had desired since she was young. Doing rugby and school, however, was a challenge. “I had to prioritize my time. There were times I missed team workouts and had to do them on my own. I really had to have open communication with my professors. Every weekend we’d be leaving for our games and we would leave on Friday and I’d miss all of my Friday classes. For most athletes, they’re able to work around that, but for nursing, the curriculum is pretty heavy.

My professors kind of saw my aspirations with rugby and were able to work with me, which was great.”

“I didn’t sit down a lot,” she adds. “I was either playing rugby, studying, or socializing, because I didn’t want to miss out on my four years, either.”

While at Penn State, Feury played for the

United States in the Women’s Super-Series in Utah, and then also, as previously mentioned, played a year later for the United States Eagles in the 2017 World Cup. She was a collegiate All-American all four years there for national champion Penn State, and in her freshman season, she was named Most Valuable Player in the national championship game.

The air in that Cloud 9 had not dissipated.

Feury’s peak, of course, was stepping onto the field to take part in the World Cup. “The World Cup really left me speechless. It was something that – playing at that level – I had set up a goal for myself early. It was not an easy road. When I was in high school and early in college, I was one of the few girls who had a lot of rugby experience. So, I kind of took those leadership positions, and rugby came a little more natural to me.

But at this (World Cup) level, everyone had been playing rugby a long time, everyone has a lot of experience, and it’s very very competitive. And I was also one of the youngest girls on the squad, so I was kind of in an unfamiliar environment. Just making the team, I was ecstatic.”

Feury now plays for the New York Rugby Club of the USA Rugby Women’s Premier League, which is the highest women’s club

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TTess Feury playing for Penn State – KJ Feury

rugby that can be played in the country.

Her 3-days-per-week, 12 hour a day nursing schedule fits perfectly with her game schedule.

Tess Feury sums it all up. “The experiences and memories I’ve been able to make, travel the world with my teammates and my family, it’s just something I’m just so grateful for. I really think that’s the big-

gest reward that has come out of it. I mean, getting to wear the USA jersey, and sing the National Anthem to represent your country, and just to realize that you’re playing the sport for more than just yourself, it’s extremely rewarding.”

“And having a great family and teammates by my side makes it that much more worthwhile.”

Page 20 • November 2020 • Denville Life • Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com

You Can’t Spell Community Without The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA

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he Lakeland Hills Family YMCA partners with numerous organizations throughout the year to fulfill the requests of food, clothing, school supplies, Christmas presents, and much more. The Y works with multiple nonprofits to secure donations, which have increased because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

When the Market Street Mission of Paterson asked the Y to help with their recent clothing drive for winter coats and accessories, Community Service Director Robb Elko was doubtful he would be able to receive donations on a large scale, as the Y has been accustomed to in the past.

“Our local community residents are always so generous when providing donations for the charitable causes our Y supports throughout the year. I didn’t think that in these tumultuous times people would be able to respond as they have in the past, with dozens of coats, jackets, hats, scarves and mittens, which is all part of the Winter Clothing Drive we were sponsoring with the Market Street Mission”, Robb said.

The Winter Clothing Drive was held from October 1 - 15 and the donations not only came in quickly, but they came in by the bagful! Robb was very surprised but also very happy to see the tremendous response to help those in need. Bags of hats and scarves were dropped off to the Y, some sporting new tags indicating they were not previously worn.

In the past few months of the Pandemic, the Y has held 3 blood drives with the American Red Cross, with 2 more coming up on November 8 and December 6. They have also held weekly free food distribution boxes with fresh produce, perishables, and shelf-stable food items as well, in partnership with the Seashore Fruit & Produce Company, the Community Food Bank of NJ, and the NJ YMCA State Alliance. To date,

almost 3,500 boxes of fresh food has been distributed!

The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA has also held 2 flu-shot clinics in conjunction with the pharmacy team of Acme of Denville, giving close to 150 free flu shots to all residents of the local communities it serves. The response from the community was tremendous, as the flu-shot clinics were held safely outdoors following all protocols and procedures, under the Y’s covered pavilion in a natural wooded setting which is nestled at the back of the Y’s property on Fanny Road in Mountain Lakes. This allowed individuals to feel comfortable being outside and socially distanced as each person patiently waited to receive their inoculation.

Knowing that mental wellness is just as important as physical fitness, this summer the Y held all their outdoor fitness classes free for the community. With 14 classes rang-

ing from yoga to boot camp, each week over 170 individuals participated in the hour-long classes. Additionally, all classes were offered for both Y members and non-members, thereby providing much-needed spirit, mind and body wellness.

The Y also offered free access to YMCA360, a suite of video presentations for various fitness classes, along with virtual programming from many of their wellness partners, including LifeFitness and Les Mills.

With the beginning of schools re-opening in September, the Y saw a huge need for remote learning assistance for school-age children. As some schools went totally virtual and others went on an A/B schedule, the Y took its Kids Club afterschool programming and changed its curriculum to include continued on page 22

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After careful examination, Dr. Chiu decided she would need very extensive bone repair in her sinuses, done in stages to allow her to have implants placed. This could take two years, because she is already wearing a removable denture. It interferes with the normal bone repair process in the other areas of her upper jaw.

That’s why planning ahead is crucial when it comes to a treatment of an implant-supported fixed bridge, especially before the teeth are extracted. Often times, a lot of the “prep” work is done while a couple of teeth remain in the mouth to hold up a fixed temporary appliance. This allows for a faster healing time and more optimal placement of implants to support a fixed bridge.

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Page 22 • November 2020 • Denville Life • Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com

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Ayres/Knuth Call for Volunteers

he Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation in Denville will hold its Annual Holiday Tree Sale at Union Hill Farms on Cooper Road. We need your help! The sale takes place starting Thanksgiving weekend from November 27th to December 13th or until all trees have been sold: Friday 4-7 PM and Saturday and Sunday 10 AM-4 PM. The non-profit, 501c3 Foundation relies entirely on volunteers to staff the sale, and we are finding staffing for this year to be challenging in view of COVID-19 precautions. Local students have traditionally volunteered and been a huge asset, but school service groups are on hold during the pandemic. Our student and local helpers make it possible to hold the sale, the main source for the funds we use to restore and preserve the historic farmstead.

The Foundation is asking for volunteers of any age to help for one or two short shifts (no more than 2 hours long), at least one weekend of the sale. Face coverings and social distancing will be required for all vol-

unteers and customers, and the indoor part of the sale will be very limited. Come out, enjoy the scent of freshly cut trees, and help with this happy holiday event! If you usually purchase your tree with us, could you spend a couple of hours helping to make it possible?

Duties will include holding trees for customers to look at them, moving trees to the baler and to cars, keeping the area tidy, and unwrapping new trees. Physical limitations will be accommodated. The Annual Tree Sale is our sole fundraiser, dedicated to earning the funds we must supply to match grants in support of restoring the Farm buildings. The Ayres/Knuth Farm is on the State of New Jersey and National Historic Registers.

To volunteer, contact us on Facebook, go to our website at https://www.ayresknuth. org/get-involved/volunteer/, or send U.S. mail to P.O. Box 304, Denville, New Jersey 07834, as soon as possible so that staffing can be planned with your schedule in mind.

Lakeland Hills Family YMCA... continued from page 20 virtual learning and adding physical fitness and scheduled outdoor activities to the mix. Parents are now offered the opportunity to have their child, from any school district, attend their “e-camp & care” _program onsite at the Y. This brings a great sense of relief to parents as the Y ensures each child is logged in on their laptop to attend school virtually and is there to offer assistance and homework help. Children get the academic structure they need while being in a safe, sanitized environment complete with social distancing, individual desks, and more. A flexible schedule allows children to be at the Y on certain days and times adjusted according to their school day.

The Y continues to serve school-age students in Denville, designed to help working parents in the Denville elementary schools who need supplemental care for their halfday dismissal and beyond. It conducts a program at Riverview School from 12:303:30pm. The program at Lakeview School offers two schedule options: One from 12:003:00pm and one from 3:00-5:00pm.

The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA has always been a community resource for Morris County residents, but never more so than during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s new President and CEO, Alex Martinez, believes that the organization’s 3 YMCA areas of focus is truly its best asset.

“Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility is the foundation of our Y. Parents find a safe, nurturing environment for their children, our program offerings bring families together for year-round fun, and our community service initiatives provide support and opportunities for all of us to give back”.

Alex continued, “We have the most qualified fitness and coaching staff in the industry, with technologically superior equipment and modern facilities. We are at the forefront of every safety protocol and procedure available throughout our facility, from our Infant and Toddler Care Program, Early Childhood Learning Center, our Aquatic Program, and our Health and Wellness Center.”

This fall the Y has multiple events for its members and the community: A member fitness challenge is scheduled for early November, followed by a family and community event, a Virtual 5K Turkey Trot. It has also kicked off its annual financial assistance campaign, Give a Kid the Y, to help children and families in the local community with summer camp, preschool, and more. The Lakeland Hills Family YMCA continues to be the center of the community. No other organization can impact as many, as powerfully, as the Y does every day.

For more information on the Y, please email its Director of Marketing, Rosemary Linder Day, at RosemaryL@Lhymca.com.

About the Y Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from by ensuring access to resources, relationships and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, they Y’s goal is to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment and demonstrate the importance of connections in and across 10,000 communities nationwide.

Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com • Denville Life • November 2020 • Page 23

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Women’s Suffrage Celebrates Centennial

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By Henry M. Holden he U.S Constitution originally left it up to the states to determine who is qualified to vote in elections. In the early years of our nation, states typically limited the right to vote to “freeholders” which were defined as persons who owned land (men) worth a certain amount of money. It was thought that people who did not own property would have no permanent stake in the community.

The campaign for woman suffrage was long, difficult, dramatic, and at times heart breaking. Decades of effort to include African American and other minority women in the promise of voting rights remained the challenge.

Voting rights for women and racial minorities were unheard of. But the devil is in the details. Most African Americans were slaves, owned by their white masters, and could not vote. Several states, however, allowed free blacks to vote. Most women could not vote, but in a number of venues, qualified women voted in local elections.

In 1776, the New Jersey Constitution provided that “all inhabitants” of legal age who made the property and residency requirements were entitled to vote. It is unclear if it was intended to include women. By 1790, state election law used the phrase he or she, to clarify the issue.

By 1807, with allegations that men were dressing as women, and voting twice, the right of women to vote in New Jersey was revoked.

For the next 30 years women’s suffrage was not taken seriously by lawmakers.

Women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, but their struggle took decades to accomplish their purpose. Few early supporters lived to see final victory.

The Seneca Falls Convention, in 1848, was the first women’s rights convention in the United States. The meeting launched the women’s suffrage movement.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, at the convention and it led to many other women’s rights conventions.

By the mid-19th century, woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a sweeping change of the Constitution.

In 1872, the first Presidential election since the ratification of the Fourteenth

Amendment (1868), was a call to action for suffragists. Susan B. Anthony argued that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause forbid any state from making or enforcing any law that abridged the privileges or immunities of its citizens.

Women had always been citizens; and the privileges or immunities clause therefore conferred on women the right to vote, Anthony argued.

When Anthony tried to vote, to her surprise, she was permitted to do so. Her victory was, shallow. Two weeks after the election she was arrested for illegal voting.

Despite her argument about the significance of the Fourteenth Amendment, she was convicted.

In 1878, the suffrage amendment was first introduced in Congress. It would be introduced to each congress for the next 41 sessions. Women worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied.

Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state.

Early in the 20th century, women were only able to vote in nine western states which adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. Some suffragists used confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes.

Usually supporters met angry resistance.

Opponents heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused them.

By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment.

When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917, and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance shifted.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed.

Momentum rippled through the states.

In July 1920, all eyes were on the Tennessee capital, Nashville, as anti-and pro suffragist each lobbied for the vision of a socially evolving United States. One more state was needed to ratify the proposed amendment and that duty rested solely on the shoulders of Tennessee. It passed by one vote, cast by a 25-year old legislator named Harry Burn, whose mother had urged him to do the right thing.

When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final challenge of obtaining the agreement of

Susan B. Anthony argued that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause forbid any state from making or enforcing any law that abridged the privileges or immunities of its citizens. (Public Domain)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, at the convention and it led to many other women’s rights conventions. (Public Domain)

three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State, Bainbridge Colby, certified the ratification on August 26, 1920. The ratification

was a transformative moment in America, changing the face of the American electorate forever.

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Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com • Denville Life • November 2020 • Page 25

Internationally Acclaimed Abstract Expressionist’s Works Speak to Soul

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By Jillian Risberg mong thousands of paintings, her style is instantly recognizable. Divna Pesic looks to the universe for revelation and passionately creates works of art.

“Through Divna’s artwork, the recipient will be able to create visual sounds through which they will directly communicate with their emotions and soul,” says Ana Frangovska Stojanovska, curator of National Gallery of Macedonia.

Pesic prefers people view her paintings in person if possible, at her newly opened space, Divna Pesic Art Gallery.

“I use a lot of colors, like six — and when you see the painting it’s like 3D,” she says, adding that photos don’t do it justice. “Much more expressions and 3D effects, it’s like real.”

And the abstract expressionist’s unique technique utilizes painting with her fingers.

“I use a brush only to sign my name and a spatula,” Pesic says.

She put healing energy into creating when COVID hit and we all had to quarantine.

“I was staying home with the kids the first few months and produced so many creative paintings inspired from this whole

situation,” says the artist.

People are really feeling her work.

“That’s the most important part for me,” the abstract expressionist says. “It gives you more motivation to create and I think it’s for every artist who is really doing this from the heart and not just a business.”

To get going one must figure out what you want to paint and sit with that thought.

“It can take months for you to get to that point,” Pesic says. “Then to put this on the canvas it takes a few hours of course but it is a few hours that I’m not moving from the spot.”

She launched her career as a painter (oil on canvas) at just 13-years-old and has had 20 major exhibitions at home and abroad: Skopje, New York, Miami, Paris, Washington, Dusseldorf, Ljubljana and Istanbul.

“I’m inspired by Salvador Dali; the first reason I started with oil was because of Dali,” says Pesic. “And you can feel that in my painting, the combination of color; this is coming naturally.

“Before that I was just drawing with pencils, watercolors; winning awards in my country for kids, there’s a competition — my teacher also encouraged me that I need to continue.”

Her home country (Macedonia) is land-

locked, bordering with Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and according to the artist, doesn’t have many of the things we can so easily purchase in the United States.

So her father ordered art supplies from other foreign lands.

“All colors from Turkey, from Bulgaria

with some friends that he had, so this is how I started,” says the abstract expressionist.

She was a very good student in primary school and high school. From there went on to graduate from the Faculty of Philology in Skopje, Department of Macedonian continued on page 27

Page 26 • November 2020 • Denville Life • Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com

Empowering Individuals Who are Blind or Low Vision is the Mission of Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey

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By Steve Sears ision Loss Alliance of New Jersey (VLANJ) has always been ahead of its time.

“If you see some of our program participants, they can do so much,” says Jennifer Singer, Director of Development of the 501c3 since March 2019.

The key mission of VLANJ is (per their website) “to empower individuals who are blind or low vision. We do this by providing support, education, skills training, assistive technology and employment opportunities for people of all ages.” VLANJ is the only day program of its kind for people with profound vision loss and blindness in the Garden State.

The 78-year story starts humbly in the city of Newark. In 1943, individuals met in a basement to address bias against people who were suffering blindness or profound vision loss. The New Jersey Association for the Blind was formed at that time, and in Denville, New Jersey’s first summer residential camp to offer respite for blind women was founded. The camp soon expanded offerings to provide life-skills training to aid those in attendance to live more independently. Thereafter, developing essential skills became a focus, and VLANJ focused on teaching those skills, in addition to yearround health and wellness activities.

2020 has been a challenge, but per Singer, VLANJ rose to meet those challenges. “When the pandemic hit in March,” she says, “we closed up for the safety of all of our students and staff. Within two weeks, we were able to pivot quickly to providing virtual classes to our students.” It started small but has grown. “We’re very proud we were very quickly able

to take the need of services and be able to provide them in a virtual way so that all of our program participants could stay virtually connected.” Singer also mentions that there is a virtual social hour on Fridays, where students can chat and give each other guidance and support. “It’s really nice as well.”

VLANJ’s “Dining in the Dark” annual fundraiser – this year called “VLANJ Goes Virtual: A Dining in the Dark Experience,” was held on October 29th. “We made the decision in June to change it to a virtual event,” says Singer. The program’s purpose was to allow viewers the experience of walking in someone’s shoes who are blind or have low vision. The event, available for viewing on You Tube, takes the viewer through four different events. The first, cooking and dining, shows how to safely navigate a kitchen, and as well how to eat out and eat in; a technology segment, showing how technology can be used by those with failing or no eyesight; an orientation and mobility segment, explaining and displaying how important orientation and mobility is to someone who is blind; and finally, a portion regarding low vision rehabilitation therapy. Also, students offered tips for viewers on how to properly announce themselves to blind or low vision people when entering a room, and how to let them know when you are leaving as well.

VLANJ in October launched “Lift” (Living Independently for Tomorrow), a four-week virtual program that teaches adaptive skills and strategies for those adjusting to vision loss, as well as their families.

VLANJ is located at 155 Morris Avenue, Suite 2, in Denville, and also offers select programs in its Ridgewood location. Call (973) 627-0055 or visit www.vlanj.org.

SNAP (Special Needs Athletic Programs) of Morristown Celebrates Its 15th Year

S

By Steve Sears NAP (Special Needs Athletic Programs) of Morristown has been doing good for 15 years.

“We may be in Morristown, but we have never turned anyone down. We have participants and mentors that come from all over Morris County,” says Kimberlee Strasser, SNAP program coordinator. “Which kind of goes along with our theme that we are very inclusive, and accepting, and we would never turn anybody down.”

SNAP was created in 2006 by brothers Matt and Zach Certner when they were in high school. It enables special needs kids to enjoy the camaraderie of sports.

Matt was a sophomore in high school, was athletic, knew someone who had special needs, and realized that even though he himself personally had athletic programs to engage in, the other individual had no place to turn to after school. Rounding up some of his basketball buddies, they got together with the special needs person, who then got his own friends involved.

“SNAP was basically born as a result of him wanting to Photo courtesy of SNAP make this equal,” says Strasser.

In the beginning, SNAP was a nightly occurrence.

Many volunteers took part in yoga, arts & crafts, swimming, and more, and then Matt went off to college and his brother, Zach, took the reins, and he brought on an educational piece focusing on awareness of special needs. When Zach when off to college, Matt and Zach’s mom, Sandy, asked Kimberlee is she’d like to take over the program, which is now a oncea-week event. Strasser, who is fond of the awareness portion of the program especially because she is a mom to a 24-year-old son with severe autism, but also taught special education and first grade, hopped on board. “Getting out into the schools,” she says, “and teaching the kids what autism is, teaching the kids what different disabilities are.” The latter is started in third grade, where there are four different stations at which students are taught about the different disabilities. “They (the kids) get to feel what it’s like to be different.”

Strasser cites outstanding student mentors that take part in the program, one of which is

junior Alex Grayzel of Morristown Beard High School.

“I’ve been with the program for four years, and I’m now one of the head mentors of the program,” he says. “The reason why I love SNAP is because I get to play and bond with kids who have special needs who might not get that chance outside of SNAP. Seeing all the kids laughing and smiling while playing makes me really happy and that’s why I participate in the program. I dedicate my time to help set up and run the program and I can say that it’s well worth it. Not only has Mrs. Strasser taught me valuable lessons and skills during my time with the program, but SNAP as a whole has taught me so much. Giving back to the community is something I love doing and I think SNAP is a great way to do that.”

Parents who take their special needs kids to SNAP clinics also enjoy a little down time in the “Peace for Parents” room, which was devised by Strasser’s daughter, Kylee. “That particular program was created by my daughter,” says Strasser, “and she created it probably because of me. She realizes that parents like me get very little down time, and she wanted these parents that were bringing their kids to have a more quality down time. Instead of sitting on the gym floor watching their kids play sports, she wanted to give them comfortable seating in their own space and soft music and snacks – let them really relax during this very short period of time during the week.”

For now, SNAP has gone virtual, which Strasser says often excludes the severely handicapped. “It’s not the same with the ZOOM sessions,” says Strasser. “Playing bingo and charades on a screen is really for the more able children; those are the ones signing up.” She is attempting to develop a way to do ZOOM session that could include physical activity for the kids that are looking for that.

“I love this program,” says Strasser. “I love what it’s doing for our community. Just to have the community rallying for SNAP and talking about it is all I could really ask for.”

Visit www.snapclinics.org.

Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com • Denville Life • November 2020 • Page 27

Expressionist’s Works... continued from page 25 and South-Slavonic Languages with American Studies. Later she finished Master of Economy science in Management and Banking.

Concurrently she was also always creating.

“All my life I’m with art,” Pesic says, calling it her passion and professional hobby.

The artist is also a Macedonian sport shooter for more than 20 years, who competed in the country’s Olympic Games (2000 and 2004). She holds 37 state records in small caliber rifle and air-rifle/ female and male competitions. Twice became a champion of the Balkans and ranked among the top competitors in many European and World competitions.

“I think because I’m shooting things since six-years-old because my father was coach, it’s like all the time you need to be focused on the target, train the target, you need to be so calm and patient, and I think with the art I find the way to respect myself without so much discipline and to be more free.”

With sport shooting, Pesic says you can’t shoot whenever you want.

“I’m always teaching my kids that you never aim a gun or rifle to the person, just aiming to the target,” says the abstract expressionist, who has always painted about her life.

“About life in general, of what’s happening around me; what’s happening in the world and I always consider myself a citizen of this world,” Pesic says. “In my art, every painting has a message.”

Because her paintings are surrealist and abstract, she says one will uncover some symbols and forms in them.

The abstract expressionist placed third at the World of American Art Awards with 65 countries competing with her painting, ‘Who make the Bat Bad’ (24x30/oil on canvas).

“So you will see the bat and start to think, ‘what’s behind that,’” Pesic says.

The artist says the battle between good and evil is present within her paintings, and the works have evolved with her over the years.

“When I was 13-years-old my paintings were like skies and children’s fantasies, something naive,” Pesic says. “When you’re reaching real life you can feel that in the periods of paintings that I’ve grown up.”

She has shown her work (more than 500 paintings) all over the world and here in the states, receiving accolades from the

City Loft Art Gallery in Miami, and many others.

“Veni, vidi, vici, life — when she gets a canvas and her brush out; a surrealist mirage full of color and symbolisms,” says curator/owner Hans-Juergen Klemm, of Pesic’s paintings. “For all of our personal daily life issues, love, truth, jealousy, hope, deceptions, passion... full of surprising subjects, colors, energy.”

She took first place at the American Art Awards (AAA) 2017 juried by 25 best museums and galleries across the United States and was named the best abstract expressionist in the world.

Pesic placed second among ‘33 Emerging Creative Minds You Need To Know For 2011’ by Sofi Art Magazine, USA. One of her paintings, ‘Protecting my Pride’ is owned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and hangs at Buckingham Palace.

And Pesic’s paintings were displayed on the largest video billboards in Times Square, as a selected artist from around the world by #SeeMeTakeOver Times Square 2014 Divna Popovska purchased her first painting from Pesic a few years ago and had a wonderful experience, calling the artist kind and helpful throughout the process.

“Since I had a vision of what I wanted my piece to look like, Divna was able to work with me to design and then ultimately create the artwork. The painting sits beautifully in my dining room and everyone in my family absolutely adores it,” says Popovska, of Pope Real Estate Investments LLC. That piece, “Macedonian Treasure” won first place in the Abstract expressionism category at the 2019 AAA. “I was not surprised as it is absolutely stunning and definitely deserved the title,” Popovska says. “We have purchased more artwork from her since the first piece and plan to continue purchasing in the future.

Divna is an amazing artist with an eye for beautiful color combinations and you can tell that each piece is meaningful and comes from the heart.”

Pesic is not politically oriented, nor does she like politics; the artist says she is just being herself.

“I want my paintings to inspire people, to wake up good things in them. This is my aim,” To visit the new gallery in Denville, Divna Pesic Art Gallery, which is open by appointment only, call 201-658-0651.

What’s happening in your school or organization?

Email us at editor@mylifepublications.com

Page 28 • November 2020 • Denville Life • Like us on facebook www.facebook.com/mypaperonline.com

Modern Acupuncture – for All Who Need Relief, and to Relax, Restore, and Revive

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By Steve Sears lorham Park resident and Modern Acupuncture franchisee, Joan Arata, saw the writing on the wall: the possible end of her sales career.

“Years ago, I started thinking about what was going to be my next life,” she recalls. “I knew I had a shelf life in corporate America, and I was quickly approaching that ceiling.”

Through a friend, she heard about a franchise called The Joint, which is in the chiropractic field. Initially she opted not to get involved, but ran into the group a few years later, and they were talking about acupuncture. Arata’s thirsts were fueled. “Wow,” I said, “acupuncture. Now that’s an idea I can really get behind because I’ve been a big fan of acupuncture for many years.” It was a new concept started by some of the original founders of The Joint, so I knew they had experience with this business model.”

Arata visited the Scottsdale, Arizona home offices and planned on buying two licenses. She told her son, who had a sleep issue, to try it. He did, and two weeks later called his mom and said, “Mom, I went and got acupuncture. I have to tell you – I’ve never slept like this in my life.” He was sold, so they decided to go into business together. They own five licenses but, currently, are only open in Florham Park and in SoHo in Manhattan.

Arata’s job layoff occurred right thereafter. “We had just started construction in Manhattan and had just agreed to purchase here (Florham Park). So, it kind of became the perfect time for me to be able to focus on getting these two locations going.” Both locations opened in January 2020, then were forced to close in March due to COVID-19. Florham Park reopened on June 22, and SoHo after the 4th of July weekend. There are two acupuncturists now at each, and although both sites are open limited hours, Arata hopes a current uptick in services continues and both locations can reopen for regular hours.

Acupuncture has been around over 2,500 years, but there is still a hesitation to try it.

“When people ask me if it’s going to hurt,” explains Arata, “I will not tell them it’s not going to hurt. You know something’s happening, but once the needle is in, you don’t feel it. When the

needle comes out, you don’t feel it.” The needles used are thinner than a piece of thread, or the size and thickness of a piece of hair.

Acupuncturists will explain to the patient how the science of acupuncture works. “The needles have a 20-minute cycle,” explains Arata. “Those needles have to be in you for 20 minutes for them to impact the neural pathways. Less than that, you didn’t finish the job; more than that, you can overexcite.” Arata also mentions that, in order for the neural pathways to truly change, you have to do acupuncture more often when starting out, “so that the neural pathway understands you’re changing it. Once it’s changed, you can come less frequently in order to sustain it.”

Modern Acupuncture offers two types of treatments: Health (for the body and a specific ailment) or Glow (facial with no Botox or foreign substances), and all take place in a zero gravity leather chair in the Modern Acupuncture Zen Lounge. Offered are cost effective, affordable memberships. Modern Acupuncture also offers a program for families as well as individuals. Children, especially now, benefit from acupuncture in multiple ways. “Acne…bullying… stress, sports injuries - there’s all sorts of ways that children benefit,” states Arata. “We offer a junior membership so children can come along with their parents and get the benefits of this ancient Chinese medicine.” Modern heroes, military and first responders, receive a 30% discount on treatments.

Modern Acupuncture employs a top-notch safety protocol. All of the needles come in sterilized packets. All needles are properly disposed of after use, including extra needles in that packet – even if they were not used. Also, the Zen Lounge and bathrooms are sanitized at least twice daily with UVC Light Sanitizers. “Of course,” Arata says, “every chair is sanitized between every patient. Everybody who works here wears a mask, the acupuncturists wear gloves, and we require patients to wear masks while they’re here as well. So, we’ve had no issues with safety since we reopened.”

Modern Acupuncture is located at 176 Columbia Turnpike in Florham Park, and 65 West Houston Street in New York City. Visit www.modernacupuncture.com.

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