clifton merchant magazine - august 2011
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Lakeview MemoriesJack De Vries
Back to WoodstockCarol Leonard
Being UkrainianTom Hawryko
REMEMBERING
CAMP CLIFTON
Misfit Mutts • One More Once • Other Music News
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Clifton Merchant Magazine is published the first Friday of every month at 1288 Main Ave., Downtown Clifton • 973-253-4400
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 4
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 5
August�is�a�perfect�time�to�sit�back�and�relax�so
we’ve�put�together�a�team�of�writers�who�have
provided� some� easy� reading� and� many� fun
photos�that�we�expect�you’ll�enjoy.
Our�cover�story�on�Camp�Clifton�is�a�team�effort,�with
three�former�campers—Julie�Dominick,�Joe�Crivelli�and
Colleen�Kennedy—who�collected�memories�and�recol-
lections� of� the� now� defunct� green� retreat� in� Jefferson
Township.� � Their� stories� spans� some� three� decades� of
tales—but�the�photos�alone�will�take�you�back.���
Veteran�columnist�Jack�De�Vries�presents�an�excerpt
from�a�book�he�is�working�on�about�life�at�the�midpoint
of�his�journey,�age�50.�His�tale�begins�on�Trenton�Ave.�in
the�Lakeview�section�during�the�Kennedy�years.��
Adeline�De�Vries�(jack’s�mom!)�shares�recollections
about�her� love�of�America’s�pastime,�baseball,� and� the
early�days�of�TV�and�how�it�was�introduced�to�Clifton.
We� have� another� story� from� Christopher� deVinck’s
book�Moments of Grace: Days of a Faith Filled Dreamer.While�his�essay�begins�on�page�20,�look�for�more�about
Chris�and�how�to�purchase�his�13th�book�on�page�72.��
It’s�road�trip�time�as�Carol�Leonard�takes�you�upstate
to�Woodstock�as�she�tracked�down�a�group�of�Mustangs
who�made�that�trip�to�the�concert�in�August,�1969.��
Joseph�Hawrylko�has�pulled�together�a�section�of�sto-
ries� on� local�musicians,� telling� about� their� origins� and
plans�for�growing�a�fan�base.�
And� to� mark� the� 20th� anniversary� of� Ukraine’s
Independence�on�August�24,�I�have�taken�the�liberty�of
writing�an�essay�on�my�church�community.� �While� the
story�is�focused�on�one�culture,�I�hope�readers�will�find
it� reflective�of� their�own�American�experience�and� the
pride�they�have�in�their�unique�origins.
Tom Hawrylko
F R O M t h e E D I T O R
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are distributed tohundreds of Clifton
Merchants on the firstFriday of every month.
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Editor & PublisherTom Hawrylko
Business ManagerCheryl Hawrylko
Graphic DesignerMichael Strong
Staff WriterJoe Hawrylko
Contributing WritersIrene Jarosewich, CarolLeonard, Rich DeLotto,Don Lotz, Jack DeVries© 2011 Tomahawk Promotions
1288 Main AvenueDowntown Clifton, NJ 07011
Summer Reader
On Our CoverA 1970 circa photo from Camp Clifton serves as the back-drop. On the right of the page, from the top... yes that boldKathy DeLuca seems to be smoking a cigarette! Center, threeyoung campers from the mid-1970s. Bottom, they look likeClifton’s Bowery Boys and they are, from left, Bob DaGiau,Don Grillo, Casey Lasiek and Jeff Spina.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 6
Correction: On�page�25�of�our�Julyedition,�the�headline�for�the�Class�of
1961�intro�reads�‘Last�Class�in�‘Old’
School’.� � Josephine� Kimberley
wrote� to� let� us� know� the� Class� of
1962�was�actually�the�last�group�of
students� to�graduate�high�school�at
what�is�now�Christopher�Columbus
Middle�School�on�Piaget�Ave.
I want to say thank you for thatwonderful piece you�wrote� aboutme�in�the�July�edition.��It�is�so�nice
to� be� remembered� after� all� the
years.� � My� friends� and� neighbors
have�all�called�me�to�say�congratu-
lations—perhaps� because� I� have
lived�so�long!�So�again,�thank�you
and� please� know� that� I� appreciate
your� kind� attention.� � � Good� luck
and�God�bless!��
Jo Ann MoriciCHS 1941
My wife, Helen, and I, read�withinterest� your� July� issue� and� it
brought� back� fond� memories� of
Clifton�High� School.� � I� graduated
on�June�1941�and�soon�after�enlist-
ed�with�the�Navy,�ultimately�served
in� the� Pacific� aboard� the� USS
Cimarron,� AO22,� earning� seven
Battle� Stars� before� being� dis-
charged� in�April� 1946.� �While� on
leave� from� the� service� in� 1944,� I
married� my� girlfriend,� CHS� ‘42
graduate� Helen� Zachack.� � It� was
really�great� to� see�JoAnn�Morici’s
story� and� her� recollections� of
Clifton� High.� � I’m� sure� JoAnn
would� remember� both� Helen� and
I—both�Helen�(86)�and�myself�(87)
remember�her�fondly.��Jo�Ann�was
the�live�wire�of�the�1941�June�Class
and� judging� by� her� story,� she� still
has�that�strength.
Kenneth A. DeGhetto, PH.DLivingston, NJ
ne 011
net
Gary Smith, CHS 1971.
Write to us atClifton Merchant Magazine
1288 Main Ave. Clifton [email protected]
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 7
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Great job, I’m flabbergasted. Allof� these�classmates,� they�suddenly
became� lifelike� and� that� edition
brought� back� many� happy�memo-
ries.� I�was� amazed� to� see�my�pic-
ture�in�there�with�a�nice�write�up.��I
really� appreciate� it� a� lot� and� just
wanted� to�say� thank�you.� I�admire
how�you�got� so�much� information
and� photographs,� not� only� on� my
class�but�all�the�others.��
Leroy� Constatine� was� my� best
friend�and�while�he�died�young�he
had� an� illustrious� life.� � Joan
Kuzmich�was�a�beautiful�girl�in�the
most� strict� sense� of� the�word,� and
she� became� Miss� NYC.� � Judge
Ciolino�was�our�class�president�and
went�on�to�an�illustrious�career.�
And� Joe� Padula,� does� he� still
hang� around� City� Hall?� He� was
lively�when� he�was� a� kid� too.� � � I
could� almost� taste� the� Hot� Grill
from�that�photo.��
So�many�good�memories.��Golly,
everything�just�came�alive.��People
walked�right�off�the�page.�
One�correction:�I�grew�up�in�the
Delawanna� section� not� Botany.
One�of�my� team�mates� from� there
was�Joe�Trombino�who�was�killed
in�the�World�Trade�Center�in�9/11.��
Father Anthony RussoCHS 1951
I was excited to see myself fea-tured in�your�July�publication.��I�ampresently�and�for�the�last�decade�the
Senior� Director� of� Recruiting� at
Jennifer�Temps,�a�staffing�agency�in
New�York� City.� � I� live� in� Passaic,
and� I� am� active� in�my� parish,�Mt.
Pilgrim� Baptist� Church,� and� also
volunteer� at� Madonna� Funeral
Home� in� Passaic,� comforting� the
bereaved.�
Gary SmithCHS 1971
I loved your look back at the class-es from�CHS�in� the�July�edition.� � I
lived� upstair� from� actor� Stefan
Kalinka� �(CHS�1981)� on� Campbell
Ave.� and� I� always� told� him� to� go
California.� � And� I� went� to� school
with� Joe� Padula.� My� husband� was
Whitey� Milmark,� he� was� the� best
fast�ball�softball�pitcher�in�the�men’s
league.� �Years�later,� in�the�1980’s,�I
volunteered�as�a� team�mom�for� the
Fighting�Mustangs,�even�though�we
had� no� children.� � We� were� in� the
Booster�Club,�made�them�lunch�and
helped� out.� Then� to� my� surprise,� I
received�a� trophy�from�the� team.� � I
used�to�go�to�every�game�with�a�little
megaphone� I� had� from� my� high
school�years.��Even�though�we�didn’t
have�kids,�I�loved�Mustang�football.
Jean Mirabella MilmarkCHS 1948
That was an excellent article onCHS ‘71 graduate Cindy Czesak.She� is� now� the� Director� of� the
Paterson�Public�Library,�where�I�am
the�Library�Board� President.� I�was
one� that� stole�her� from�Clifton�and
I’m�so�glad�we�did!��She’s�doing�an
excellent�job�and�has�accomplished
so�much.��Thanks�again�Clifton�for
raising�such�a�good�person.�
Florence BottlerPaterson
Where are theseMUSTANGS����
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PLUS A LOOK BACK AT 1941!
The July 2011 Clifton Merchant.
L E T T E R S t o t h e E D I T O R
� � ��
� � � �
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 8
Apply Today for Fall Classes:www.pccc.edu/applytoday
Classes Start September 1.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 9
May’s magazine connected twoold Marines, irrespective�of�the�factthat�one�died�on�a�Viet�Nam�battle-
field�in�1968.
“George� McClelland� was� my
best� friend� growing� up� in� Hell’s
Kitchen.� � We� managed� to� avoid
most� of� the� trouble� and� joined� the
Marines� together,”� recalled� Gary
Besmer,�who�is�now�70�and�a�retired
NYC�Police�Officer.�
“Georgie� wanted� to� go� to� the
Navy.��I�got�him�to�go�with�me�to�the
Marine�recruiter�and�they�promised
we’d� be� together� through� the� serv-
ice.� � We� were� young� and� dumb
enough�to�believe�that�BS.”
The� two�made� it� through� Parris
Island� boot� camp� together� but� in
1960�shipped�out�in�different�direc-
tions.� � It�was� the� last� time� the� two
boys�would�see�each�other.
Around� that� time,� their� families
moved� to� the� suburbs.� The
McClelland� clan� settled� first� in
Passaic�and�then�purchased�a�home
on� Second� St.� in� Clifton.� “I� often
wondered� what� hap-
pened�to�Georgie�but�it
was� hard� back� then� to
track� down� people,”
said�Besmer.��
On� Feb.� 25,� 1968,
McClelland,� a� Staff
Sergent� with� the� 26th
Infantry�Regiment,�was
among� two� squads
ordered� to� go� out� on
patrol� beyond� the� fire
base�to�search�for�enemy�mortar.
The� patrol� ran� into� an� ambush,
taking� on� intense� small� arms� and
mortar�fire.��A�second�patrol�sent�to
help� also� came� under� a� barrage� of
fire.� �When� the� shooting�was�over,
there�were�47�casualties:�21�wound-
ed� and� 25� missing� in� action.
Clifton’s� George� McClelland� was
listed�as�among�the�25�MIAs.��
McClelland's�body�wasn’t�recov-
ered� until� May� 8,� 1968,� at� which
time� he� was� officially� listed� as
Killed�In�Action.
Around�the�year�2000,
Besmer� made� a� bucket
list� and� in� it�was� his� old
pal,�pictured�here.
“George� came� out� of
the� Marines� but� couldn't
find�a�job�and�went�back
in� and� became� a� drill
instructor,"� explained
Besmer,� who� also� con-
nected�with�McClelland’s
son.�“I�also�met�with�his�sister�who
lives�in�Toms�River�and�she�gave�me
the�article�from�your�magazine.”
Former� Cliftonite� George
McClelland� is� buried� in� a�Paterson
cemetery.�“I�told�his�son�I�was�going
to�pay�my�respects�to�his�dad...”
No� doubt� he� will,� but� USMC
Staff�Sergent�McClelland�also�lives
on�in�monuments�in�Passaic,�Clifton
and�in�his�old�buddy’s�heart.
L E T T E R S t o t h e E D I T O R
In Super Dave’s Memory...
The Porter Clan
On August 25, 2006 our son David Nicholas Porter lostthe 14 month battle to Wilms’ Tumor. David may have lostthe battle, but his warm smile, energetic personality and hiswill to live will last forever. Since then, The David Nicholas Foundation was creat-
ed to help support the children and their families that arefighting the battle against cancer.
This year’s 5th Annual David’s Day was on July 9 and wewanted to say thanks for opening your hearts and your kindgenerosity. Funds raised go to support Daniel, a 7 year oldboy, who lives in Denville. To find out more or to make a donation, go to www.the-
davidnicholasfoundation.org.Once again, thank you.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 10
T his is how I drove my
mother crazy. In 1961 at
the age of four, I decided
I didn’t belong in Clifton, my
beloved hometown, but rather on
the Broken Wheel Ranch out West.
I discovered this through the magic
of the black and white Zenith TV in
our living room where each week
I’d watch another episode of Fury,
a show about a magnificent black
stallion.
Fury was owned by a heroic
cowboy named Jim and his son,
Joey Newton. If there was a mom,
I don’t remember her, which was
fine with me. Joey and his dad had
ranching to do and didn’t need a
mom telling them to pick up stuff
or wash up.
I was obsessed with Fury, Jim
and, most of all, Joey. What a life
– about a million times better than
mine in dumb old Clifton.
I dreamed of going to live on the
Broken Wheel and riding Fury, but
I knew there was no chance of that
happening. The farthest my family
ever went was the Bergen Mall in
Paramus, Two Guys in Totowa or
Downtown Paterson. Since these
hot spots were all within 10 miles,
it was obvious I’d never ride a
bustin’ bronco in Big Sky Country.
So… if I couldn’t join Joey, I’d
move him to Clifton and become
Joey.
I concocted this wild fantasy
about Joey coming to visit his rela-
This is a chapter from an upcoming memoir by Jack De Vries, which describes his life in Clifton as
a young boy. De Vries lived at 204 Trenton Ave. in theLakeview section of town, a place never far from
his thoughts. The book also examines DeVries’ lifelonglove of sports, fatherhood and other topics at the
halftime point of life, age 50.
GROWING UP IN
CLIFTONBy Jack De Vries
Summer Reading
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 11
t
d
n
n
k
k
d
a
f
m
n
t
t
n
r
a
d
tives back East in the too noisy, too
busy city of Clifton. When Joey
arrived, I assumed his identity and
became him. Of course, my father
became Joey’s dad, Jim.
In the days before 24-hour cable
TV news and the Internet, when
parents were blissfully unaware of
roaming armies of child predators,
kids played outside. Today, parents
(me included) will not let their chil-
dren past the front door without a
surgically implanted tracking
device and CIA drone to watch
over them. But in the sixties, kids
had graduated boundaries.
At age three, I was confined to
the backyard. Age four, I had the
run of the block in front of my
house – the wild plains of macadam
along Trenton Ave. between East
2nd and East 3rd Streets. By age
five, I was man enough to roam the
entire block – past the squirrel-
hunting frenzy taking place at the
neighboring Stickleburgers’ house,
moving by the crazy Italian lady’s
home on the back end of the block,
and a quick step from the Stewart’s
house and their yappy dog Tippy.
Later, I learned the Stewarts
weren’t fond of parishioners of St.
Brendan’s and loved how Tippy
scared the heck out of the little
Catholic kid with the blonde crew-
cut. Joey Newton had bears and
Indians; I had a crazy black and
white mutt who’d often get loose.
Joey hit town on a beautiful
April day, wearing his cowboy hat
and boots that were bought, as I
imagined, at the general store (but
really purchased at Two Guys). On
my hip were six-shooters, a pair of
silver beauties with no orange cap
at the ends to let cops know they
were fakes. They were tucked into
my gleaming black Lone Ranger
holsters that I’d gotten for
Christmas.
A cowpoke like me was soon
bored in these here surroundings.
With nothing to do, I headed to the
front of the Breures’ house, our
next door neighbors, and sat
My next-door neighbor Ted Breure in his prime, wrestling as The Golden Boy.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 12
on the small boulder along the side-
walk. I imagined it was lifted there
by Mr. Breure, the pro wrestler who
lived next door.
While my alter ego of Joey was
imagined, Ted Breure was not. He
wrestled under the name the
“Golden Boy” (for his blond hair
that covered his body and created a
yellow carpet on his chest). He
spent April through September sun-
ning himself in his backyard and
downing six-packs of Miller High
Life. A lion in winter, he didn’t
wrestle much then but owned a bar
in Passaic called, of course, the
Golden Boy.
Every year, Mr. Breure would
treat the neighbors to an annual
stink-off as he’d lavish his tomato
plants with manure. For a week,
Trenton Ave. would smell like
horse dung with everyone’s win-
dows shut to keep out the stink. No
one ever complained. Even with
the stink wafting around him, Mr.
Breure would lay in his chaise
lounge, blissfully downing bottles
of Miller and reading the newspa-
per.
My father would grumble, but
that was about it. He’d also grum-
ble when Mr. Breure’s son Ted Jr.,
who was bigger than his father,
would drop barbells in his base-
ment late at night and scare the hell
out of my parents.
The Breure’s boulder was an
ideal seat for Joey to observe the
big city… which I was doing when
“the lady” happened by.
She was dressed in a long coat
and hat, and wore gloves. She was
probably headed to Crooks Ave. to
visit Sidney the druggist on the cor-
ner who always shook like he was
saying “no” when you talked to
him. Sidney later pumped two bul-
lets into a would-be robber so I
guess his hands didn’t shake.
Being a respectful country boy, I
said howdy as she walked by. The
lady stopped, smiled, and said,
looking up at the Golden Boy’s
house, “Hello, little boy. Do you
live here?”
“Nope, ma’am,” I said channel-
ing Joey and saying ma’am just like
he did. “I live in Montana.”
“Montana?” she asked, raising a
plucked eyebrow. “That’s a long
way from here.”
“That’s right, ma’am,” I said
unleashing my inner Joey. “I’m
visitin’ my relatives back East.
They live in that house over there.”
I pointed to my house next to the
Breure’s – a coffee-colored fake
brick colonial with number 204 on
the front. Inside, my mother’s psy-
chic radar went off and she began
moving from the kitchen to the
front porch. “That’s nice,” the lady
answered, not sure whether to
believe me.
“Name’s Joey Newton, ma’am,”
I said with full TV drawl. “And I
live on the Broken Wheel Ranch
with my dad, Jim. And I’m going
back there real soon cause there’s a
lot of work to do with the horses.”
“Is that so?” she said, her
plucked eyebrows at full arch.
“Yes’sim,” I said, believing it
myself.
Seeing the strange lady talking
with me, my mom came out on the
front steps to see what her little
Clifton cowpoke was up to. Spying
my mother, the lady hurried over to
tell her everything I said. As I fixed
a pair of steely green eyes over the
pastoral plains of Trenton Ave.,
ending with the fence that kept peo-
ple driving onto the Garden State
Parkway, I heard my mom saying,
“He did?” and “He said what?”
before beginning to giggle.
Joey Newton had far more
important things to do than listen to
womenfolk chattering. I had to
keep my eyes on the horizon for
stray coyotes that might be sneak-
ing up to get the chickens.
Here’s my dad, Jack Sr., in 1966, wearing the Clark Kent glasses and workingon the “133,” a massive testing machine used by his company Bendix and theU.S. Military to keep us safe from the Soviets.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 13
There was one time when my
Joey adventures nearly gave my
grandmother a heart attack. I was
downstairs watching cartoons one
Saturday morning when the phone
rang. My parents were upstairs
sleeping in.
“Hello, this Joey Newton,” I
answered.
My grandmother, who had five
other small grandchildren at the
time, didn’t pay any attention to my
introduction. My phone voice
probably sounded like one of the
cartoon Chipmunks, and Grammy
was in no mood for games.
“Jackie,” Grammy said, “put
your mother on the phone.”
“Can’t,” I answered. “She’s
upstairs in bed with Jim.”
Grammy probably dropped the
phone and the other three old ladies
listening in knew they’d struck gos-
sip gold. This was in the era of the
“party line,” when homes shared
one phone line with three other cus-
tomers. My mother was forever
complaining about the line being
tied up or one of the old biddies
eavesdropping.
After that call, I got a lecture
about being honest and respectful
on the phone. It didn’t matter too
much to me – Joey was about to
leave my life for good as I was
assuming a new persona: the “Man
of Steel.” I spent the next few
years as Superman, protecting my
block from criminals with a white
dishtowel cape flowing over my
shoulders and back.
Unlike the kids from the fifties,
my knowledge of the Man of Steel
came not from comic books but
from the TV show, Superman, star-
ring the tragic George Reeves.
This made Superman more real –
something nearly every adult told
me he wasn’t.
An urban legend said that a kid,
believing he had Superman’s pow-
ers, jumped out a window and flew
to his death. There was also a story
that Reeves met his untimely end
not by a gunshot, but because he
went crackers, believing he really
was Superman and going for the
big air dive.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 14
Conversations often went like this:
Adult: “Who are you?
Me: “Superman.”
Adult: “You know he’s not real, don’t ya? Don’t
jump out any windows.”
Me: “I won’t (secretly hoping Superman was real
and hadn’t shown up yet).
Making it more possible that Superman could be real
was that my father bore an uncanny resemblance to
Clark Kent, complete with thick black glasses and
Brylcreem-shining hair. Not that I ever confused the
old man for Superman – that was a stretch for even my
fertile imagination. But it proved superheroes looked
just like regular people. Who was anybody to say
Superman wasn’t waiting for the right time to show up?
It wouldn’t have been the first time a larger than life
personality had come to my hometown. JFK stopped
there while campaigning for president. Yogi Berra and
Phil Rizzuto of the New York Yankees owned a bowl-
ing ally in Clifton. And Babe Ruth was known to tip a
few at Donohue’s, a gin mill near the Clifton border in
Garfield.
My family lived in the Lakeview section, an older
area of Clifton that was a sea of asphalt, filled with
homes, candy stores and dotted with backyards. Our
home, built around 1910, featured a fake brick exterior,
an old blonde woman who haunted the upstairs (and
once scared the pee out of me by asking if I was hun-
gry), and an attic where we could see the Fourth of July
fireworks show at Clifton School Stadium above the
maple trees.
The house, as my dad often reminded us, was held
together with “spit and plasterboard.”
Behind the house was our postage-size backyard
where we crammed a cheap above-ground pool, swing
set, garden (far smaller than the Golden Boy’s), a tool
shed and a “torture area” – a diagonal plot of grass
where my little brother Billy and I threw grounders at
each other at light speed.
Living on the opposite side of our house was the
Harris family – an elderly mother, daughter Millie, and
her brother Wilbur, who belonged on a farm. Wilbur
doted in his small brown dog named Sandy that he
adopted from the Hounds of Hell Kennels. Sandy was
a mean little bitch, a vicious walking piranha.
18141814
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A backyard birthday party in 1965, fresh out of the poolFrom left is my brother Bill, Tom Carrola, my momAdeline, Don Miller, me and Paul Nydam; my brotherChris stands in the center.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 15
Next to them were the Stickelburgers, a retired fire
chief, his wife and their adult son, a bachelor who “did-
n’t want to share his money,” as his mother whispered.
Father and son’s weekends centered on the Yankees on
the radio, Rheingold beer, and BB guns to pick off the
squirrels they said were always about to invade our
attics. Each of them, both named Adolph, owned
showroom-looking Ford Mustangs.
Tragically, the family died together – the parents
after wrecking their ’65 white Mustang while racing to
the hospital following an ambulance carrying young
Adolph, who suffered a fatal heart attack.
Across the street was old Mr. Bailey, another intrep-
id squirrel hunter; the Vogts, who owned a pristine black
1940s-era gangster car; the three unmarried Farrell sis-
ters; and John and Betty, a happy 50-ish couple who
were living in sin, a fact kept from me by my ever-vig-
ilant, Mass-going mother. That left me as the only kid
around until my brother Billy arrived when I was four.
In the sixties, Clifton was a city coming into its own
– complete with a new high school, low taxes, plenty of
businesses, and more unsolved murders than Dodge
City. Crisscrossed by highways and the Passaic River,
it was an ideal spot to dump bodies.
The Clifton of my youth was a magical place, full of
sidewalks pushed up by mature tree roots, summer
nights of lightening bugs and deafening crickets, and a
feeling that even better times were ahead. Kennedy
said we were going to the moon. John’s candy store
was only a block away. And a kid like me could sit on
his front steps and wait for Joe the super market man-
ager to ride past in a long white convertible with a
blond next to him.
Without a scrap of lust in my young heart, I knew
back then Joe was a man to admire.
In my world, there were baseball cards on the back
of cereal boxes, creamed corn for dinner and comic
books (on special occasions) for sale at the candy store
(with real bookmakers in the back), just four blocks
away. There was also Sinatra on my mom’s kitchen
radio and at least four different girls I could see myself
marrying someday.
Finally, there was my father in the next room doing
his homework at night and keeping the old lady ghost
away. He’d struggle with engineering problems from
his night school classes at Fairleigh Dickinson, looking
to ultimately get his degree and lift his family out of
this old house, the one I loved so much. I’d lay there in
my bed, safe and secure, with my whole life before me.
It was home.
In our backyard, after First Holy Communion, 1965, in St.Brendan’s Church. That’s mom, dad and me.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 16
Summer Reading
T his past September, at
the Ukrainian church’s
picnic, a tough friend of
mine, we call him ‘Big Daddy’,
was talking about his then 15 year
old son.
“He went upstate this summer
and didn’t want to come home,"
Roman Diduch said of his fourth
child, his only boy.
The two are pictured at right.
Little Roman was up in the
Catskills at a Ukrainian sports and
culture camp. “Five weeks up in
CYM. He grew man... stretched
out. He has girlfriends now! And
then I look at his neck. He’s got a
silver chain with a big Tryzub
hanging there! He came back a real
Ukie. His grandfather must be
smiling,” Big Daddy said.
He was so proud of little Roman
who now wears the Trident coat of
arms from Ukraine.
Three generations of pride and
heritage and community explained
in a short statement: “A real Ukie.”
Like many others in our city, I
am proud of where I come from, of
my heritage and my religion.
I love that when I go to
Ukrainian Church I bless myself
three times and chant prayers that
my ancestors did decades ago,
perhaps hundreds of years earlier.
I laugh that when I eat solena at
a picnic in my hometown of Perth
Amboy or at the church in Passaic,
or in the center of Kyiv like I did
during the Orange Revolution back
in 2004, it is the same delicacy
other Kozaks like me washed down
with vodka generations before.
My heritage, which intertwines
with my religion, is a great
emotional well at my soul, a deep
and familiar place to be. And that
people like me and “Big Daddy”
can share this with other Ukies from
all across the globe—that they
know the same prayers and rituals
and eat the same foods, and share so
many connections—that is a gift.
While I did not meet my
grandfather John and do not much
recall my dad Joe, when I go to
most any Ukrainian church, and
when I am around my hromada—
my community—I see “Dido” and
“Tato.” I connect with them and
“Babcia” and “Mama,” and all my
aunts and uncles, because we come
from the same “tribe.”
ON BEING PROUD OF OUR
HERITAGEBy Tom Hawrylko
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 17
I simply look around the church
or on the picnic grounds and see
my family in my new neighbors.
There is my Babcia in the lined and
etched visage of the old ladies,
reciting the Hail Mary as part of the
Rosary in a quiet but boldly painted
church.
I see my mama Julie sitting on
her bed, looking out the Ashley St.
window, reading from her prayer
book. That’s my brother John—
”Yonko”—walking to the school
stage so proudly in his embroidered
shirt, ready to dance the Hopak.
And there is my beautiful sister
Elaine, perhaps 16, at the center of
the May crowning of our beloved
Blessed Virgin Mary, looking
angelic, even sacred.
These days, I am a church elder,
alone and above in the choir, where
often I am a Diak, a cantor, who
leads the responses to the priest
during Divine Liturgy.
From the loft, I sing and watch
new generations of my brothers and
sisters, toting along their families,
wearing their Sunday best as they
walk in and modestly kneel before
the icon of Volodymyr, petitioning
he and our saints, and asking the
Blessed Virgin for protection or
forgiveness.
I hear them shssing their young
as they enter the pews, innately
teaching them the rules of being
Ukrainian Catholic, just as their
parents did in Ykraina and my
parents did during my youth in our
Perth Amboy “ghetto”.
I love the fact that little Sister
Yosephata taught me for eight years
at the Ukrainian Assumption School
and decades later she instructed my
kids in preparing for their first Holy
Communion—and that just this past
Sunday I saw her and we greeted
each other as peers.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 18
871 Allwood Rd., Clifton973.405.5163
and
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871 Allwood Rd Clifton
anndddNJ ArthritisOsteoporosisCenter
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While I can sing in Ukrainian I do not speak the
language but I love the fact that while at times we
cannot understand one another, there is this unspoken
nod of trust between me and many of my new brethren
who do not speak English so well.
Newcomers like Ihor, Myron and Jaroslaw, as well
as guys like Yonko, Big Daddy and me begin with a
certain amount of trust just because we are Ukies.
Perhaps that's because we have drunk from the same
well and we are pilgrims on a shared journey. To me,
being Ukrainian makes the world a smaller and
friendlier place. It gives me knowledge of where I
come from. It is a place where I am always welcomed
to return to, and it is a community where I still discover
new things. And to have a place where you belong is a
good and comfortable feeling.
That’s Tom Hawrylko, third from the right rear, at an Altar Boy retreat back in 1969.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 19
Schedule your surgery at Clifton Surgery Center. We are athree room state of the art, nationally accredited, physicianowned facility. Smaller and more service oriented thanhospitals, patients and theirfamilies benefit from theconvenience and lower cost.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 20
Summer Reading
Does anyone remember the
way things used to be:
when the artist Norman
Rockwell sketched boys rushing off
to fish; when you could pick up
hitchhikers; when gas-station atten-
dants wore white shirts and ties and
gave away glasses with each full
tank of gas?
Remember how we could go off
to the woods, swimming hole, or
train tracks, and pretend that we
were Daniel Boone, Olympic stars,
or hoboes, and rush home in the late
afternoon for a glass of Kool-Aid?
Remember when the Cracker Jack
box had great prizes: alligator click-
ers, charms, jumping tin frogs?
There was once a thing called the
Good Humor truck. Every child
born before 1960 remembers the
sound the door made closing after
the ice-cream man reached in and
pulled out a chocolate eclair or a
Fudgsicle.
It is easy to dismiss our “modern”
world and roll ourselves in a securi-
ty blanket of nostalgia, pointing to
better times when people were more
polite and less afraid.
Don’t believe everything you
read in the newspaper or see on tel-
evision. The accumulation of evi-
dence about the state of the world is
not neatly packaged and printed on
paper, or projected on flat screens
that illuminate our faces and lull us
into a near-hypnotic trance of delu-
sion and disgust. Goodness is not
news. Compassion is not news.
The triumph of our daily routines
accrues no hero’s welcome.
KINDNESS & COURTESY
ON THEROAD
By Christopher de Vinck
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 21
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Providingquality care
for over 80 years
I was reminded of the grace of goodness that most of
us have within ourselves while driving home with my
mother and Roe from our annual two-week vacation in
Canada. (My father didn’t come with us that year.)
Just before mile marker 175 on Route 81 south, just
twenty miles from Watertown, New York, my car devel-
oped engine trouble. The alternator light popped on.
The check-engine light blinked frantically. The temper-
ature gauge swung to the right, smack into the heart of
the “hot” indicator. There was a gross, mechanical noise
whining and clanking under the hood.
I quickly pulled into a U-turn road built for police and
maintenance crews, pushed the gearshift into park, shut
off the engine, opened the hood, and felt like Dorothy in
the Wizard of Oz stuck in the middle of a poppy field
ready to call out for help. Glinda the Good Witch didn’t
appear, but within four minutes, a New York state troop-
er pulled off the northbound lane of the highway, drove
down the small U-turn road and stopped before us. I
wanted to shout hooray! It was as though Roy Rogers or
Zorro had come to my rescue.
He was a young man: dark hair, crew cut, sunglasses,
smart uniform. He stepped out of his cruiser and, with
great politeness and concern, asked if we were okay. I
explained that my wife was on the cell phone with AAA,
and that my mother was in the car doing fine.
The policeman was concerned about my mother and
spoke with AAA himself, and once he was assured that
the tow truck was coming, he said “I’ll swing by again in
a few minutes just to make sure that you are okay and on
your way.” It was obvious that this man had a human
interest in us and that he was not just “doing a job.” He
drove away and waved. I waved too.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 22
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Before the tow truck arrived, a
park ranger stopped, asking if we
needed help; a Good Samaritan in a
van also stopped and asked if we
needed a ride; and then the tow
truck and its driver appeared.
This man was blond, well built,
tall, confident. “Right there is your
trouble,” he said, as he pointed to
two belts that looked like shredded
snakes trapped within the guts of
the engine. “It could be that the
alternator seized and caused the
belt to snap. Whatever happened,
the one belt cut into the other and
your fan stopped spinning, which
caused your radiator to overheat.”
I leaned over the engine, pre-
tending I was as wise as Merlin
when it came to auto mechanics,
and said, “What do we do?”
Ten minutes later, Roe, my
mother, our dog, and I were in a
tow truck, riding to Watertown with
our van behind us like a broken
hippopotamus.
The tow truck driver spoke
about his wife and children, about
his work with the Special
Olympics. I thanked him for his
helping us. He said again and
again, “I know what it is like to be
stranded and people don’t help you
out.” He was concerned about my
mother, drove us to the Ramada Inn
in Watertown first, so my mother
would not be upset and she could
settle in. Then he drove me and my
car to the Mazda dealer in
Watertown.
The mechanic, his name was
Lou, seemed right from central cast-
ing. He looked like Nicholas Cage
and was as kind and helpful as St.
Christopher. “Could be the alterna-
tor, or just the belts. I can get you
going by tomorrow morning.” As
we talked, we spoke about our lives
a bit, about our children and jobs.
Who are we as people? The
state trooper’s immediate arrival
and his kindness? The tow truck
driver’s demeanor and grace? (We
exchanged addresses and I sent him
one of my books.) The mechanic
who shook my hand warmly when
I was about to drive out of the park-
ing lot with my repaired automo-
bile? Even the woman behind the
desk at the Ramada Inn was con-
cerned about our plight, rearranged
some rooms, agreed right away to
take the dog, even though there
were “no pet” signs prominently
displayed. “We’ll make you as
comfortable as possible.”
Remember the old Saturday
Evening Post magazine? Norman
Rockwell, with his talent, could
have illustrated the cover of this
week’s issue with a group portrait:
a policeman, a tow truck operator, a
mechanic, a Good Samaritan, and a
hotel clerk, and he would have
given us, with his brushes and
paint, just the right angles, just the
right texture, just the right colors
and light to depict America.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 23
m
Most people learn about
baseball in their back-
yards or a sandlot. I dis-
covered the game on a street corner.
My dad, Joseph DeLiberto, Sr.,
was a bus driver for Public Service
and avid baseball fan. Raised in
New York City, he had attended
many baseball games at the Polo
Grounds and Yankee Stadium.
His hero was Babe Ruth, and I
grew up hearing about “The
Bambino’s” exploits. In fact, many
said that my dad bore a strong
resemblance to his hero.
As the youngest child in the fam-
ily, I loved playing with my dolls,
but after hearing about “The Babe,”
I soon began sharing my Dad’s
enthusiasm… though I couldn’t
fully understand why this man was
such a hero.
During World War II, many
mothers went to work in defense
plants. My mom Vincenza was no
exception. After leaving a hot meal
on the stove for her family, she left
for work at Western Electric in
Passaic to work the 3 to 11 pm shift.
That left Dad in charge.
Te
Summer Reading
LEARNING ABOUT AMERICA’S
PASTIMEBy Adeline DeVries
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 24
We always had lots of fun with my dad, playing cards
and other games. We also did our homework, but he was
a great baby-sitter.
Then something new came on the
scene… television!
On Hilton St. and Main Ave., one block
from our house, stood the Federal Appliance
Store with its fantastic TVs glowing through
the storefront window. No more radio
broadcasts of baseball games for us!
Each night, Dad carried our lawn chairs
and snacks to the corners of Main and
Hilton. We joined escalating crowds and
cheered our team on. It was here, on a street
corner with traffic passing by, that I learned
about the game of baseball and became a
true fan. But my mom was mortified – her
family was hanging-out on a street corner!
Mom saved and saved until she bought our own tele-
vision. No longer did we have to go to a street corner to
watch a ballgame, but saw it the comfort of our own
home. We had a Dumont mahogany console
with doors and a 12-inch television screen.
It even had a pullout drawer with a turntable
for records. What luxury! Dad was thrilled
and Mom was happy… her family was off
the street corner. We had one of the first tel-
evision sets on Barkley Ave.
Years have passed but my love of base-
ball that began on that Downtown corner has
grown. Like Dad, I gained my own baseball
heroes, like Joe DiMaggio, Tommy
Heinrich, Johnny Lindell, Yogi Berra, and
my favorite, Bobby Brown, who later
became a doctor. I passed this love of the
game to my four sons who are all baseball
fans.
And it all started on a busy corner in Clifton.
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Adeline DeVries todayand a file photo taken at the old Boys Club
in Botany when the kids got their first TV.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 25
Forty-two years ago this month, eight music-loving
high school buddies from Clifton decided to take
a three-hour road trip up to a remote location in
the small rural commu-
nity of Bethel, New
York, to hear some of
their favorite rock
bands and folk singers
perform.
Little did the boys
know when they set
out on their journey
that they would
become part of a cul-
tural phenomenon and
the largest music festival of its kind in American history,
better known as Woodstock.
Included in the group were CHS Class of 1968 grad-
uates Tom Graziano, Paul (Helmut) Paukovits, Ed
Pskowski and John Torregrossa, as well as George
Goldey, Tony Lulling,
Bob Marinaro and Tom
Scudilla from the Class
of ’70.
Goldey, Graziano,
Paukovits, Scudilla and
Torregrossa all grew up
together in the Albion
Park neighborhood.
Lulling and Marinaro
were from the Richfield
section and had known
each other since fourth grade, and Pskowski lived on
Valley Rd. near Montclair State.
At the Woodstock campsite, from left: Tom Graziano, Tony Lulling, George Goldey, Tom Scudilla, Helmut (Paul) Paukovits.
f
By Carol Leonard
AT WOODSTOCK3 Days of Peace & Music become a Lifetime of Tales
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 26
Eventually, the guys all ended up
at Clifton High School and, in part,
their devotion to the popular music
scene brought them together as
friends.
They often went into New York
City to see their favorite groups per-
form at the now defunct Fillmore
East Theater in the East Village,
where tickets at the time ranged
from $2.50 to $4.50. For that mea-
ger price, concertgoers could see
and hear some of the day’s hottest
performers, including Jimi Hendrix,
Jefferson Airplane, the Allman
Brothers and John Lennon.
Goldey recalled that they first
learned about the Woodstock
Festival in an announcement published in an alternative
newspaper. “They were billing it as a weekend of peace
and music, but we didn’t know much else about it,” he
said. “It seemed like it was only semi-organized.”
“When we heard about it, we discussed going,”
Pskowski said. “Some of us thought
we really didn’t need to get tickets,
but John (Torregrossa) insisted that
we buy them. I think we ended up get-
ting them someplace at the Bergen
Mall. We paid $18 for the three days.
Can you imagine what they would
have cost today?”
Originally planned as a two-day
weekend rock concert for about
50,000 people, the Woodstock
Festival was expanded to a three-day
event, from Friday, Aug. 15, to
Sunday, Aug. 18, 1969. In fact, it
actually ran into a fourth day,
Monday, Aug. 19, as performers con-
tinued to entertain what turned out to
be a crowd of upwards of 500,000
people who descended upon and around the 600-acre
dairy farm where it was held.
Not knowing in advance the enormity of what they
were to experience that weekend, the Clifton boys
packed two cars, Terregrossa’s ’64 Chevy and Scudilla’s
father’s Oldsmobile, with tents and sleeping bags, but
not much else.
“We just thought it was going to be a camping trip and
we were going to listen to some good music,” Goldey
said. Pskowski had to work at his part-time job on
Thursday night when the others guys wanted to leave, so
he planned to go up separately on his Triumph motorcy-
cle and meet them up there.
“I left early Friday morning and it started to rain like
crazy,” he said. “It was storming and I was getting soak-
ing wet, so I turned around and went back home. There
I was sitting all alone at 3 a.m. thinking that I wasn’t
going to get to Woodstock and all of a sudden I saw
John’s car pull up. They got half way up and realized that
I would never make it in the rain, so they came back to
get me. I knew then that they were really good friends.”
As they rode north up the New York Thruway and saw
all the traffic starting to build, the guys began to think
that the Woodstock Festival was going to be much larg-
er than they ever expected.
After getting off the thruway, Marinaro remembers
sitting in traffic on a two lane road and watching cars rid-
ing on the shoulder. “We had our eight-track speakers
hanging out the window and the music blasting the
whole time,” he said.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 27
Nobody gets seafood from the shores and to your table fasterthan the seafood experts at the Paulison Avenue ShopRite.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 28
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 29
When they finally got to the Woodstock area, the guys
realized how unorganized the event would be. “There
was no real designated camp site,” Goldey said. “It was
very random. People just began setting up camp in vacant
hayfields.”
The Clifton boys pitched their tents about a half-mile
away from the music stage on a Little League baseball
field. By then at least 50,000 other people had done the
same, with many, many more to come over the weekend
as word of the event continued to spread.
“When we saw all the traffic heading up there, we
knew it was going to be a lot bigger than we thought,”
Goldey said. “As soon as we arrived and saw all the
hordes of people already there we thought, holy s**t.”
Torregrossa added, “We never imagined that there was
going to be a half-million people there. It hit all of us by
surprise.”
At that point the guys realized how unprepared they
were. “We didn’t have enough food or supplies,”
Pskowski said. “We walked for miles to get to a store.”
Pskowski chuckled when he recalled that he bought a
gallon jug of wine and carried it back the long distance to
the campsite only to drop and break it along the way. And
then there was the rain, lots of it, starting again late Friday
night and continuing off and on throughout the event, cre-
ating a sea of mud as people sloshed through the wet
grounds.
“I wasn’t much of a camper so, when the rain started
coming through the tent, I went and slept in my car,”
Torregrossa said.
Food and water was in short supply and there were
very long lines to use the few restroom facilities that were
available. But, despite the uncomfortable conditions, the
guys all agreed that incredible performances by such
notable groups as The Grateful Dead, The Who,
Credence Clearwater Revival and Blood, Sweat and
Tears, along with folk-rock legends Joan Baez, Arlo
Guthrie, John Sebastian and 25 other groups and singers
made it all worth while.
“When Ritchie Havens came out on stage to open the
show, there was this huge burst of energy,” Pskowski
said. Even with the crowd as large as it was, the Clifton
boys were able to make their way very close to the stage
for many of the performances.
“I can vividly remember being right up front watching
Joe Cocker,” Terregrossa said. “Me in my tie-dyed shirt
with a plastic bag over my head to protect me from the
rain.”
One of Marinaro’s favorite memories was seeing Sly
and the Family Stone. “It was about two or three in the
morning and everyone was wiped out,” he said. “When
Sly walked out and started singing, I Want to Take You
Higher, everyone woke up. He got everybody standing
and he brought the crowd out of their stupor. Then he told
everyone to light a match. It was unbelievable to see.”
Pskowski recalled that on Saturday night many people
started lighting bonfires. “I remember looking around and
you could see about 20 or 30 or them,” he said. “There
were helicopters flying over head. It was incredible.”
The next day, on Sunday, Pskowski remembers laying
on the ground listening to one of the performers when
someone stepped over him. “I looked up and realized it
was one of my friends, Paul Guilfoyle, from Lehigh
University where I was going to college,” he said.
“Everyone was so exhausted at the time so when we ran
into each other again two months later at school we both
asked, did I see you at Woodstock?” Today, Guilfoyle
plays Detective Jim Brass on the hit TV series, CSI.
The setting of the stage in the middle of an open field
created a perfect natural amphitheater, and the music res-
onated far beyond the immediate area. The guys remember
being able to hear it even while sitting at their campsite.
Aside from getting a chance to see and hear some of
their favorite rock and folk music stars, Clifton’s
Woodstock boys got to meet a variety of other music-lov-
ing hippies, peaceniks and just plain fellow suburban
kids like themselves, many of whom traveled from all
over the country to take part in the event.
John Terry Terregrossa and George Goldey.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 30
“Some of these people came from
a completely different reality than us,
real Haight-Ashbury types,” Goldey
said, referring to a district in San
Francisco that was a haven the count-
er culture scene during the 1960s.
“Heck, my father still made me get
haircuts at the time.”
As reported in the press and writ-
ten about extensively in later histor-
ical accounts of Woodstock, the
guys acknowledged witnessing a
good amount of pot smoking and
other drug usage at the event as well
as sexual acts freely taking place out
in the open.
“I have to admit that I saw some
things that I had never seen before in
public and probably shouldn’t have
seen,” Graziano said. In spite of all
that, the group never felt threatened
or concerned for their safety.
“It was a very gentle crowd,”
Goldey said. “There was never a
nasty edge to it at all. It was all very
peaceful.” Marinaro described it as
“a live and let live atmosphere that
will never be duplicated.”
“Don’t worry,” Lulling added,
“we didn’t take the brown acid, so
we were fine.”
Meanwhile, back at home, the
boys’ family members and friends
anxiously awaited their return and
hoped that they were safe and
sound. Without cell phones, the
internet and other technological
advances of today’s modern life and
the lack of phone booths (remember
those, Baby Boomers?) in the area,
there was no communication from
the group while they were away.
Their families relied on accounts of
the event that they read in daily
newspapers and from network TV
news reports (believe it or not, you
20-and-30-somethings, there was no
cable TV as we know it today back
then).
“The local impact was hilarious,”
Goldey said. “All of our parents
thought we were going away to a
sizeable folk/rock festival but when
we got home, it was like VE Day or
something. Apparently the astound-
ing size of this phenomenon caught
the whole world – and Clifton – off
guard. All of our parents and neigh-
bors were waiting for our return as if
we’d been on the first space flight.”
The boys arrived back home late
Sunday night, without a hitch, and
had many interesting stories to tell.
Marinaro even made it to the first
practice of the new CHS football
season the next morning.
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In their CHS yearbooks, from left; Edward Pskowski, Helmut Paukovits, Tom Graziano and John Terry Torregrossa.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 31
f
f
Life after Woodstock returned to
normal and the guys went on to col-
lege and careers, marriages, some
divorces and parenthood.
Goldey and Marinaro moved to
Santa Barbara, California, together
in 1973, where Goldey enrolled at
the University of California’s Santa
Barbara campus. He worked as a tal-
ent agent/manager and publicist in
Hollywood for most of his career,
then later for the RAND
Corporation. He is semi-retired now
and lives in Brentwood, California,
with his wife, Karen, and their
grown daughter.
Marinaro later moved north to
complete his bachelor’s degree at
UC Berkeley and went on for a mas-
ter’s degree in cartography from the
University of Wisconsin. He worked
for the US Geological Service for 26
years. He lives in Palo Alto,
California, with his wife, Debbie,
and their 16 year-old daughter.
Pskowski has been living in
Honolulu, Hawaii, since 1974. After
serving in the Peace Corps in the
Marshall Islands, he stayed on as a
planning officer for design and con-
struction projects, and later earned a
master’s degree in urban regional
planning from the University of
Hawaii. Currently, he works as a
project manager, supervising proj-
ects all over the Pacific Islands, Asia
and Hawaii, and travels 150,000
miles a year. He has three daughters
and six grandchildren.
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From left; Robert Marinaro, Thomas Scudilla, George Goldey and Anthony Lulling
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 32
Torregrossa attended Florida
Atlantic University and has made
his career in the music industry,
starting out as a DJ. He later sold
musical instruments and sound
equipment, and today serves as
national sales manager for a division
of Numark Industries. He lives in
Fort Lauderdale with his wife,
Tracey, and their Great Dane.
Lulling attended college in
Pittsburgh, and completed his
degree at FDU. He enjoyed a 25-
year career in pharmaceutical mar-
keting and advertising at Hoffman
LaRoche, and lived in Upper
Montclair with his now ex-wife and
now grown son and daughter. After
retiring in 2003, he moved to
SantaFe, New Mexico, where he
owns a bar, the Tin Star Saloon.
Graziano received his bachelor’s
degree from William Paterson
College and a master’s in physiology
from FDU, while working in
research for Schering-Plough. He
went on to graduate from the Illinois
School of Podiatric Medicine in
Chicago and has been in practice in
Clifton as foot and ankle surgeon
since 1983. Four years ago, he also
completed the requirements for his
medical doctor degree from the
University of Health Sciences. He
lives in Ramsey and has a grown son
who is the administrator in his
Clifton Surgery Center.
Scudilla went to Robert Morris
College in Pennsylvania before
completing his degree at Montclair
State. He also had a 25-year career
at Hoffman LaRoche as a cost
accountant, and later worked as an
accountant for a perfume packaging
company. He is the only member of
the group who still lives in Clifton
with his wife, Ingrid, and has two
grown sons.
Paukovits was unreachable for
comment, but several of the others
reported that he resides in Garfield.
Over the years, the eight friends
have kept in touch and visited each
other from time to time. Lulling has
held several reunions at his Sante Fe
home that a number of them have
attended. Several of the guys also
have Facebook pages, where they
keep each other up to date on their
lives and share memories of their
time together as Clifton boys as well
as their unforgettable weekend at
Woodstock.
Marinaro, who was the group’s
unofficial photographer, has a slew
of photos from Woodstock on his
Facebook page (listed under Robert
Marinaro), all shot with his Kodak
Instamatic film camera (that’s right,
20-and 30-somethings, there were
no digital cameras back then, either).
He also recently helped a start-up
firm develop an i-Pad application on
Woodstock, a project that he said
helped him relive the experience
one more time.
Some of the Woodstock crew in 2009, Ed Pskowski, Robert Marinaro, GeorgeGoldey, John Terry Torregrossa and Tony Lulling.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 33
With 19 musicians in the wheelhouse,armed with many years of professional
playing experience, One More Once has
the ability to produce a wide range of catchy big band
and jazz tunes. But harnessing all of that talent and
producing quality music is not as simple as heading to
the studio and belting out some sonds. There is a def-
inite sense of chemistry between members, a bond that
exists beyond the many shows and rehearsals. This is
the driving force behind One More Once, allowing co-
leaders Joe Verderese and Timothy Hayward to craft
harmonious jazz and big band tunes from a mish mash
of horns, guitars, percussion and vocal sounds.
“These are who we thought can handle it and who we
like as people. That’s a big part of music—not who can
play, but who you get along with,” explained Verderese.
“The better you get along, the better music you make.
Tim and I are always hanging out, getting stuff togeth-
er. Glen and Ryan and I get wings at Sharky’s.”
That element was how Verderse, a 1999 CHS alum,
selected musicians from a deep talent pool around New
Jersey when he first started to lay the foundation for
One More Once sometimes in 2008. Naturally, his
search led him to a familiar place: Old friends and fel-
low former Marching Mustangs.
The Showband of the Northeast is well represented
in the group. Mustang alum include, Glen Levitsch,
CHS 2001, Ryan Krewer, CHS 1997, Joe’s cousin Luis
Imparato, CHS 2002, Shane Zwievel, CHS 1987, and
Joe’s sister, Karen, a CHS 1996 alum.
By Joe Hawrylko
ONE MORE ONCEThe Alchemy of a Big Band on the Rise
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 34
“That group of people, most of us have played
together in the past,” said Verderese, who also played
trombone while in the Marching Mustangs.
“Throughout high school and then we had a big band
similar to this in high school. Some of us played pro-
fessionally in other groups in the area and around New
Jersey. It’s basically a band of Clifton people that I
knew and guys from MSU that John Molloy (a former
band member) knew.”
Since 2008, the line up has been altered drastically
as Verderse auditioned many musicians. Only nine of
the original 19 remain with the band.
“We underwent a major face lift. We matured,
became a bit older band,” said Verderese. “It’s great,
really helpful. We’ve got such a diversity of not only
musical styles, but personalities. These guys have been
playing everywhere with some pretty famous acts.
They’ve done so many things—they bring a knowledge
of music. You’re playing with guys who have played
big band music since the 70s.”
But it was the addition of co-leader Timothy
Hayward, a professional musician who relocated to
Clifton from Paris, that helped solidify the line up and
the direction of the band after joining on a permanent
basis when he moved to the United States in 2010.
The connection between Hayward, Verderese and
the band goes back several years prior, when they had
bonded after being introduced by a mutual friend and
fellow musician, Bob Ferrel.
“He is a really great trombone player, one of the
Duke Elingtons of trombone players, and he was Joe’s
teacher,” explained Hayward, 28. “Bob introduced me
to Joe and first well all hung out as friends, but music
became involved pretty quickly.”
Verderese, a music teacher in Cresskill, first worked
with Hayward after hiring him to perform at school
functions. However, the native of France, whose train-
ing includes degrees from Conservatoire Supérieur de
Paris and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de
Musique et de Danse de Paris, is also an accomplished
music composer, and began supplying One More Once
with original scores to perform.
At the time, Hayward was a part timer in America,
coming over for a few weeks at a time to work some
gigs in the NYC area. In 2009, Verderese contacted
Hayward about filling in last second for a member at a
concert to benefit the Wounded Warriors project.
“That was my first gig with the band and I loved it
right away of course, and he definitely felt it too,” he
explained. Hayward was already contemplating a
move to the US because his gigging schedule was
becoming more busy, and the invitation from Verderese
to join the band as a co-leader in 2010 simplified the
decision.
“We have a great relationship, a great friendship,”
explained Hayward. “We have the same way of work-
ing, if I can put it this way. We are devoted towards the
band, towards the music. We have the same values in
terms of what music we love. It was just logical.”
Between the two co-leaders and the other band
members, who often play with each other in local acts
such as Chris Opperman, The Infernos and more, there
are many different genres that influence the overall
sound of One More Once.
“It’s a heavy influence of a few big band leaders:
Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, that type of stuff.
There’s some new vibe stuff too, like the Gordon
Goodwin Big Phat Band,” explained Verderese. “We
can play at a jazz club, play at a park or if we need to,
play at a wedding, for either a bunch of 20 somethings
or 90 somethings and everyone will be happy.”
“Playing with all those different groups, I take pieces
of what I like from each band, pieces what I like from
leader ship and put it all together to create my own
style,” he continued. “Leading a group of profession-
als is different than leading a group of kids.”
During the school year, Verderese’s students and
have the opportunity to perform alongside their teacher
at Trumpet’s Jazz Club in Montclair, where One More
Once has had a regular gig since last year. The union
between students and teachers creates a unique learning
experience, and an excellent marketing opportunity.
“We have a high school band open for us and the
kids play from 7:30 to 8 pm,” said Verderese. his
band’s show includes classic and original scores, with
some swing music tunes as well as slower dinner songs.
“Then we’ll go on and play some heavy ensemble stuff,
sprinkled with some awesome solos so the kids can
hear what can be done. We take a break then come
back for our second set, which is largely based on
improvising solos and spreading it out.”
Most importantly, Verderese believes that students
will understand that it is possible to do something that
you love, with people you love, and still make a living.
“We’ve gotten the comment many times that it looks
like we’re having a lot of fun,” laughed Verderese.
big
ard
e’s
on
ned
ub,
t a
me-
one
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 35
Chris Opperman (CHSClass of 1996) is so com-
mitted to creating music
that he began his own record label,
Purple Cow Records in 1998, when
he was only 19. “My parents
thought I was crazy,” Opperman
said, laughing, “but I was driven to
do it and I didn’t want to lose any
time or opportunities.”
Now at 32, Opperman has just
released his fifth studio album,
“The Lionheart,” an instrumental
album that combines modern clas-
sical music with elements of rock,
alternative, and jazz. “I don’t see
distinctions between genres. This
album is very diverse and a kind of
musical journey,” he explained.
While growing up in Clifton,
Opperman began taking piano les-
sons as a present for his eighth
birthday and the rest is history.
In elementary school, he began
to play the trumpet in the band
under the direction of Tom
Charsky. “If there was a band or
choir, I was part of it,” Opperman
said. “I took lots of music classes,
practiced during my lunch periods,
and stayed late after school for
rehearsals.”
As part of the Mustang
Marching Band under the direction
of Bob Morgan, Opperman enjoyed
the great sense of camaraderie. “I
was friends with people not only in
my section and I have so many
good memories from being part of
the band,” he said “I liked being
able to play really loud all the
time.” While he was clearly pas-
sionate about music, Opperman did
not become interested in the actual
composing process until his junior
year after hearing the music of leg-
endary composer, singer-song-
writer, and guitarist Frank Zappa.
“He’s so crazily into music,”
Opperman said about Zappa. “He
put out seventy-five albums in
twenty-five years and never once
repeated himself as a guitarist. I
would have loved to have per-
formed with him.” While the
Cliftonite will never get to play
with Zappa—he died in 1993—
Opperman will perform with an
ensemble at the Frank Zappa festi-
val (Zappanale) on Aug. 19-21in
Bad Doberan, Germany. But
before he performed there, he'll fin-
ish a score entitled “Lollipops &
Roses” for the Clifton Community
Band, which he is doing at the
request of the conductor and his
mentor, Bob Morgan.
After starting Purple Cow
Records in 1998, named after his
affinity for wearing purple and
drawing stick-figure cows in high
school, Opperman put together a
fifteen piece band to record his first
record, “Oppy Music, Vol. I:
Purple, Crayon,” which became a
popular favorite on local college
radio stations. After graduating
from Boston’s Berklee College of
Music, Opperman moved to Los
Angeles and in 2001 released his
second album titled
“Klavierstucke,” a piano-solo
album which caught the attention
of Steve Vai, a Grammy Award-
winning rock musician and com-
poser.
Vai hired Opperman to orches-
trate several compositions, includ-
ing “For the Love of God,”
By Tania Jachens
CHRIS OPPERMANGiving Classical Music a Modern Edge
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 36
the video of which has over seven
million views on YouTube.
Opperman also played piano for
Vai on two songs, “Lotus Feet” in
2006 and “The Attitude Song” in
2008, both of which were nominat-
ed for the Best Rock Instrumental
Performance Grammy in their
respective years.
Opperman looks back fondly on
the experience. “I learned a lot
because he’s so detailed and
intense. He’s so good that it might
as well be magic,” he said. “He
practices a ton, so when he plays it
seems so natural and easy. He’s
very demanding but he wanted to
work with me, so it was very
rewarding.” Opperman lived in
Amsterdam, Holland for two
months while working with Vai,
and cities it as one of his favorite
cities to visit.
After releasing two more
albums, including 2004’s collection
of duets called “Concepts of Non-
linear Time” and 2005’s live album
called “Beyond the Foggy
Highway,” Opperman considers his
new album, “The Lionheart,” to be
a “full out studio rock band
album.” Named after “what it
takes to survive in the music indus-
try,” this album presents
Opperman’s first major original
work for a full orchestra plus a rock
ensemble.
This song, called “The
Porpentine,” is an ambitious multi-
movement opus that took
Opperman one year to write and
three years to actually record.
“With this song, I set the bar so
high and it took every ounce of my
energy to write and fundraise for
it,” Opperman explained. After
composing it, Opperman recorded
computerized sounds and then
slowly replaced them with a total of
fifty live instruments. “For every
hour I spent working on
the album, I spent one
and a half on ‘The
P o r p e n t i n e ’ , ”
Opperman said. “The
entire album was a
daunting task, but I was
satisfied as long as by
the end of each day a
little bit more was done
and I was that much
closer to my final
goal.”
As a com-
p o s e r ,
Opperman con-
siders himself
to be more
open-minded
than most other
c o m p o s e r s
because “I
don’t feel like I
have to classify myself. Any com-
poser is going to take what they
hear and make something of it.
Some turn up their noses if you use
guitars and drums because that’s
considered pop,” Opperman
explained. “I grew up in the 90’s,
so I can’t pretend that Nirvana and
The Beatles don’t exist.”
Previously quoted saying, “if
Beethoven were alive today, he
would be pushing the envelope
with his musicians, utilizing the lat-
est technology, and embracing
many styles of music to create his
own inimitable sound,” Opperman
thinks this division
explains why it is diffi-
cult for younger genera-
tions to gain an interest
in classical music. “You
have to make it relevant
by making comparisons
between classical music
and contemporary music
rather than just disparag-
ing all modern music.”
Besides Zappa, Opperman has
been influenced by the rock band
Sonic Youth, along with classical
composers and pianists Prokofiev
and Bartok. However, he said that
he is not so keen on many new
musicians. “There is a difference
between an entertainer and a musi-
cian,” he said. “However, there are
a lot of rock bands who are really
good, like The Killers, My
Chemical Romance, and Linkin
Park. But I’m partial to piano play-
ers. Sara Bareilles and
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 37
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Bruno Mars are great and sound
even better live.”
While he is not composing,
Opperman still likes to play the
piano for fun, adding. “I’ll improvise
until something sticks with me and
that usually begins a song I write.”
Since moving back to Clifton in
2008, Opperman now plays trum-
pet with the Clifton Community
Band, also under the direction of
Mr. Morgan. “He’s a great guy and
I enjoy that he’s really intense. No
one works harder than him, so he’s
definitely a role model for people
who want to get into music,” he
said. “He’s proud of me and it’s
great to be working with him
again.” Opperman is now working
on an arrangement called
“Lollipops & Roses” which the
Clifton Community Band will per-
form this summer.
Since earning his Master’s
Degree in Music Composition from
Montclair State University,
Opperman has been hired as an
Adjunct Professor at MSU to teach
an independent study on the music
industry, which he is very excited
about. Opperman also has another
album soon to be released called
“Play Like Men, Eat Like Kings!”
which he worked on with Counting
Crows founding bassist Matt
Malley and Grammy-nominated
saxophonist Frank Macchia. This
album was created from the unique
idea that “instead of having a good-
bye party when I was leaving LA, I
decided to write an album in one
day. I asked Matt and Frank to join
and we worked for twelve hours
straight on this album which, in the
end, really doesn’t sound like it was
done in a day.”
Another album which Opperman
has in the works is a collection of
Walt Whitman artsongs for piano
and soprano called “Leaves of
Grass.” This summer, Opperman
will be performing with his ensem-
ble Special Opps as one of the
headliners at the annual Frank
Zappa Festival (Zappanale) in Bad
Doberan, Germany.
Even after so many years of
doing what he loves, Opperman is
still taken back by his accomplish-
ments. “If you told me in high
school that I’d play with Steve Vai
and Grammy nominated musicians,
I would have laughed in your face,”
he said. “I never thought anyone
would listen to or appreciate my
music.”
The Cliftonite said any aspiring
musicians should pursue their
dreams as well. “Just write stuff. It
doesn’t matter if it’s good and it
doesn’t matter what your parents or
teachers think,” he said. “Don’t
give up and you’ll get better
because you learn so much more by
actually doing something.”
Find Opperman’s new album,
“The Lionheart,” at www.chrisop-
perman.net or on iTunes.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 39
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Bruno Mars are great and sound
even better live.”
While he is not composing,
Opperman still likes to play the
piano for fun, adding. “I’ll improvise
until something sticks with me and
that usually begins a song I write.”
Since moving back to Clifton in
2008, Opperman now plays trum-
pet with the Clifton Community
Band, also under the direction of
Mr. Morgan. “He’s a great guy and
I enjoy that he’s really intense. No
one works harder than him, so he’s
definitely a role model for people
who want to get into music,” he
said. “He’s proud of me and it’s
great to be working with him
again.” Opperman is now working
on an arrangement called
“Lollipops & Roses” which the
Clifton Community Band will per-
form this summer.
Since earning his Master’s
Degree in Music Composition from
Montclair State University,
Opperman has been hired as an
Adjunct Professor at MSU to teach
an independent study on the music
industry, which he is very excited
about. Opperman also has another
album soon to be released called
“Play Like Men, Eat Like Kings!”
which he worked on with Counting
Crows founding bassist Matt
Malley and Grammy-nominated
saxophonist Frank Macchia. This
album was created from the unique
idea that “instead of having a good-
bye party when I was leaving LA, I
decided to write an album in one
day. I asked Matt and Frank to join
and we worked for twelve hours
straight on this album which, in the
end, really doesn’t sound like it was
done in a day.”
Another album which Opperman
has in the works is a collection of
Walt Whitman artsongs for piano
and soprano called “Leaves of
Grass.” This summer, Opperman
will be performing with his ensem-
ble Special Opps as one of the
headliners at the annual Frank
Zappa Festival (Zappanale) in Bad
Doberan, Germany.
Even after so many years of
doing what he loves, Opperman is
still taken back by his accomplish-
ments. “If you told me in high
school that I’d play with Steve Vai
and Grammy nominated musicians,
I would have laughed in your face,”
he said. “I never thought anyone
would listen to or appreciate my
music.”
The Cliftonite said any aspiring
musicians should pursue their
dreams as well. “Just write stuff. It
doesn’t matter if it’s good and it
doesn’t matter what your parents or
teachers think,” he said. “Don’t
give up and you’ll get better
because you learn so much more by
actually doing something.”
Find Opperman’s new album,
“The Lionheart,” at www.chrisop-
perman.net or on iTunes.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 40
Ray Grabowski joined the Fred Astaire Studio ofUpper Montclair two years ago hoping to learn
how to swing dance. Somehow, he ended up play-
ing swing music instead.
“I always wanted to learn how to swing dance and I went to
the school and met (teacher) Carrie Babcock,” explained
Grabowski. “I used to play years ago professionally. I kind of
retired and then took dance lessons up. I had the idea of putting a
band together again for a while and roped Carrie into it since she
can sing.”
The unexpected turn of events led to the creation of Swingman
and the Misfit Mutts, a nine piece, jump jiving swing band that
harkens back to an era of music from long ago.
“The Blues Brothers movie, that’s basically what our band is
like,” explained Grabowski, the leader of Swingman and the Misfit
Mutts. “We play stuff from the 50s, 60s, a lot of contemporary blues
songs... we give people unique songs but also do a lot of cover stuff.
Blues music is not only slow music, it’s got a shuffle beat.”
The band came together over the span of about a year after a lengthy
search and many auditions.
By Joe Hawrylko
THE MISFIT MUTTSSwingman Ray Grabowski Keeps ‘Em on a Loose Leash
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 41
COLOR“We actually went to open coffee
houses, open mic nights and on the
internet, just talking with different
musicians,” explained Ray. “We
actually ran into Pete at a coffee
house and he said ok, and then he
got me a sax player.”
The line up includes Ray
Grabowski on drums, Slap Pappy on
bass, Rich Fischer on lead guitar,
Leny Nigro on sap and harp, Shane
Zwibel wields the baritone sax, with
Carolyn Messina playing key-
boards. The vocals are handled by
Carrie and Pete DeMaio.
The creation of Swingman and
the Misfit Mutts also led to the
musical reunion of Grabowski and
his brother, Matt, a City Councilman
and an accomplished musician in his
own right. Matt is the third vocalist
for the band, and has nine albums to
his name on mattgarbo.com.
In the past, the Grabowskis have
collaborated on numerous projects,
most notably Cerberus. a rock band
which achieved success domestical-
ly and abroad in Europe. Ray
recorded and co-produced two
records and an album with the group.
“That was an original band,”
recalled Grabowski. “We played
together for a couple of years in
New York City, hitting all the big
rock clubs, parties, barmitzvahs,
catering.”
Their shared professional musi-
cian background simplified the
process of finding like-minded
musicians and forming a distinct
sound.
“All of the people hired, they are
professionals, not high schoolers in
a garage,” he continued. “We prac-
tice every Wednesday, and if we
have time on Tuesday we put in
some hours. If I send everyone a
CD on Friday, they’d come in next
Wednesday and we’d count it down
and play it. These guys are really
good.”
In the short time that the band has
been actively performing,
Swingman and the Misfit Mutts
have developed a following.
“In the last three months, we’ve
played six times. That’s more than
some bands play in an entire year,”
he said. “We only came out in
March. We’ve done Bliss a
The Swingman, Ray Grabowski.
Monday - Saturday 11am - 10pmSunday 3pm - 10pm
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 42
couple times, Crossroads, the Whiskey Cafe, the
Downtown Salsa Night.”
Word of the band has spread in part due to the
Grabowski brothers promotion of the group and the part-
nership with Fred Astaire Studio of Upper Montclair.
“The first time we played, we probably had 100 peo-
ple from there come,” said Grabowski. “They dance
every single song and when you’re in the crowd, it gets
contagious. People from the dance school are friendly.
They just go up to anyone and say, ‘lets dance.’”
As the band’s popularity grows, Grabowski said the
band has started to include more original works, and
more booking opportunities have opened up. Everything
is happening just as he envisioned it.
“We have a bunch of great people with us,” he said.
“My brother, he’s a good looking guy, and Carrie, she’s
a good looking girl. What else can you ask for? It’s
visual, and it works.”
11 am - 6 pm Every Friday until Oct. 7
at Clifton Ave and First St.
www.downtownclifton.com
Misfit Mutt Richie Fischer on July 15 in Downtown Clifton.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 43
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 44
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Bring a chair and your dancing shoes!
Friday night concerts funded, in part, by the Passaic County Cultural& Heritage Council / the NJ State Council on the Arts / Department of
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All concerts held rain or shine. In case of rain, concert will bemove indoors at the Italian Amercan Coop on Parker Ave.
10th Annual Labor Day Weekend Festival in the Park CarnivalRides, Food & Fun • September 2, 3, 4 & 5
5-10 pm in Randolph ParkWelcome our new Neighbors...
5The FrostKings
12Rave On
19The Mike
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26Sweeter than Honey
AUGUST
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Find out more about Botany: John Penkalski: 973-546-9813
Joe Nikischer: 609-731-5454
Greg Mayo:
e
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 45
For a self-professedmusic geek like BillKelly, it’s the best job
in the world. A radio DJ at
WFMU since 1978, his job
has given him access to the
company’s massive music
library and allowed him to
interact with some of the pre-
mier talent in radio and
music, including ‘Little
Steven’ Steven Van Zandt of
the E Street Band fame, who
eventually ended up recruit-
ing the Kelly, man known as
the Guru of Garage, when he
was preparing to set up his
own station nearly a decade
ago.
“Ten years ago his office manager called to set up a
meeting,” he recalled. “I thought I was being punked, but
I go there and damnit, he is there.”
Kelly had heard rumors of having a celebrity fan, and it
turned out that Van Zandt (above, left) enjoyed his show so
much that he wanted to get a hold of the Cliftonite for tips
on how to start up his own show on Sirius Satellite Radio.
“He met me because he was interested in getting into
radio and he liked my show specifically. Essentially when
he started his syndicated show, he even acknowledged my
show as the prototype,” explained Kelly, who has had his
own slot on the Underground Garage since 2004. “The
fact that I got to meet him and work on his radio show is
a thrill. The fact that he’s a great guy is a bonus, just icing
on the cake.”
The two bonded over their shared love of the raw
sounding American garage rock band from the 60s, which
drew heavily from British Invasion bands like The Kinks
and others. And while Kelly did enjoy the some of the
mainstream groups, his passion was finding obscure but
talented local bands from around the country. Prior to
Napster revolutionizing the way people listen to music,
the only way someone could listen to a local band from
across the country in 1978 was to either listen to the radio
at a precise time of day when the signals would carry the
farthest, or start working at a radio station with access to a
impossibly huge album collection.
“My first show at WFMU was on Aug. 15, 1978 and I
haven’t looked back since,” recalled Kelly, an unpaid vol-
unteer who airs from 3 to 5 pm on Sundays. “I wanted an
opportunity to have access to as much music as possible
as a music geek. I wanted to play what I like instead of
what I’m supposed to like. I’m a bit of a music historian,
so I’m quite well versed. It’s a hobby but turned out to be
more than just that.”
It could quite possibly be destiny—Kelly’s fascination
with music and radio started many years ago after sickness
confined him to his bed for a few weeks as a child.
By Joe Hawrylko
REAL ROCK & ROLLDJ Bill Kelly is Hailed as the Guru of Garage
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 46
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“In the first grade, I got the measles,” recalled Kelly. “So
I was home, watching tv, and my mother comes in and puts
a table radio next to the bed and said you’re going to get sick
of all this TV, listen to the radio.”
The TV went off and the radio went on, and Kelly’s inter-
est in music and radio piqued. His love of music became a
passion and then obsession throughout his childhood.
While attending Holy Cross College, Kelly volunteered
at the school radio station and briefly considered a career in
broadcasting but decided against it for a field with better job
prospects and now operates his own company, International
Components, out of his home.
But that passion for music continued to burn after he
graduated in 1970. After learning about a volunteer oppor-
tunity at WFMU, he went there in 1978 and has been there
ever since.
With more than
three decades of air-
time experience, Kelly
has developed a fol-
lowing, and has
earned himself a hand-
ful of odd nicknames:
The Guru of Garage,
the Sultan of Surf, the
Potentate of Power
Pop, the Mountebank
of Manhattan an d the
Black Hole of Rock
and Role, among oth-
ers.
The names—some
given, some authored himself—all speak of his seemingly
endless and occasionally useful knowledge of rock acts both
popular and obscure. Kelly has 45 demos of groups that
few of heard of and that the artists themselves sometimes
don’t even know exist.
“I’ve gotten calls from some artists asking where I found
their stuff because they don’t even have it,” he said. “Five
years ago, I got a call from a woman in Ohio who was get-
ting married. Her father was in a band, The Journey Men
and heard their song on the radio.”
The Guru of Garage came through and had a copy of the
song delivered to the DJ at the wedding. It’s little anecdotes
like that make his job well worth the time.
“I’m just happy doing what I do at WFMU and the
Underground Garage,” said Kelly. “This is a labor of love.”
Bill Kelly as he appears on theWFMU DJ collectible cards.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 47
“In the first grade, I got the measles,” recalled Kelly. “So
I was home, watching tv, and my mother comes in and puts
a table radio next to the bed and said you’re going to get sick
of all this TV, listen to the radio.”
The TV went off and the radio went on, and Kelly’s inter-
est in music and radio piqued. His love of music became a
passion and then obsession throughout his childhood.
While attending Holy Cross College, Kelly volunteered
at the school radio station and briefly considered a career in
broadcasting but decided against it for a field with better job
prospects and now operates his own company, International
Components, out of his home.
But that passion for music continued to burn after he
graduated in 1970. After learning about a volunteer oppor-
tunity at WFMU, he went there in 1978 and has been there
ever since.
With more than
three decades of air-
time experience, Kelly
has developed a fol-
lowing, and has
earned himself a hand-
ful of odd nicknames:
The Guru of Garage,
the Sultan of Surf, the
Potentate of Power
Pop, the Mountebank
of Manhattan an d the
Black Hole of Rock
and Role, among oth-
ers.
The names—some
given, some authored himself—all speak of his seemingly
endless and occasionally useful knowledge of rock acts both
popular and obscure. Kelly has 45 demos of groups that
few of heard of and that the artists themselves sometimes
don’t even know exist.
“I’ve gotten calls from some artists asking where I found
their stuff because they don’t even have it,” he said. “Five
years ago, I got a call from a woman in Ohio who was get-
ting married. Her father was in a band, The Journey Men
and heard their song on the radio.”
The Guru of Garage came through and had a copy of the
song delivered to the DJ at the wedding. It’s little anecdotes
like that make his job well worth the time.
“I’m just happy doing what I do at WFMU and the
Underground Garage,” said Kelly. “This is a labor of love.”
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 48
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 49
On June 5, several bands and many fans came outto Dingbatz on Van Houten Ave. for a benefit con-cert to support the New Jersey Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals. James Nastaand other members from Clifton band, TheUnknown (left), helped coordinate the event withbar owner Freddy Dingo, and then later per-formed. Above is The Dirty Stayouts, anotherClifton based band which performed that day. Tohear some music, look up each band’s name onFacebook. Below center is Keith ‘Kahuna’ Mekita, who hostskaraoke nights at Milano’s on Van Houten Ave.every Saturday night. Pictured from left is ReginaCarfora, Ross LaCorte, Robert Rowan and wifeJoyce, Lori and Keith Mekita, and Richard andDebbie Lekstom.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 50
SIBLINGDISCOUNT
Always interested in music, Danny Farkas had
always treated it as a fun hobby and nothing
more. However, after graduating from CHS in
2001, the former Marching Mustang began to explore
career options and ultimately enrolled in NYU’s music
business grad program.
The decision allowed Farkas to embark on a career in
the music industry, where he combines his sales skills
with his love of music.
Farkas currently works for Getty Images, but not in
the capacity that most would imagine. An account exec-
utive with the music branch, he sells music licenses to be
used in advertisements and other forms of short media.
“I deal with creative agencies, production companies,
creative departments within corporate clients,” he said.
“I usually deal with departments that are making creative
videos or marketing campaigns.”
“A lot of it is dealing with existing clients, getting
them to buy or subscribe to our service,” he said. “ “We
even get clients who are in the music industry or are cur-
rent Getty customers that don’t know that we do this.”
The prospect of working in a new branch within an
already established company is what attracted Farkas to
Getty Images.
“I was brought in to be their lead sales guy,” he said.
“We deal mainly with production music and the kind of
music used as background music.”
Prior to Getty, Farkas worked for an artist manage-
ment company for three years, working closely with
musicians like Regina Spektor and others.
“My role was kind of like Jonah Hill’s character in
Get Him To the Greek,” he explained. “But it wasn’t so
much being a personal assistant. We worked with every-
one that the artist dealt with: the label, business man-
agers, lawyers... If we were putting out an album, we’d
be dealing with the record label. On tour, a lot of book-
ing agents and tour managers. My boss would make
executive decisions and I’d carry out those decisions.”
The job called for Farkas to sometimes hit the road
with musicians, stopping across the United States and
Canada, as well as the United Kingdom.
“Anything you could encounter in the music industry
on the talent side, you’d run into while you’re doing
artist management,” he added.
The time spent at the company gave Farkas valuable
experience in the industry, and the confidence to start
exploring for other opportunities in the field. An open-
ing at Getty Images attracted him, and Farkas has been
working for the company’s emerging music division for
three months.
“Getty got into music four years ago when they
acquired a company, Pump Audio,” he said. “From
Danny Farkas is with Getty Images’ music branch.
By Joe Hawrylko
PASSION MEETS TALENTDanny Farkas Combines Sales Skill with Love of Music
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 51
there, they’ve expanded music offer-
ings and much like Getty Images,
have both rights management and
royalty free images.”
“It’s challenging because coming
from a music background, I remem-
ber what I went through at the music
business graduate program at NYU,
immersed in music-only,” continued
Farkas. “Coming here, there’s a
wide range of very smart people
who deal with a lot of different types
of licensing. It’s challenging, and
obviously I’m just learning. This
part of the industry is exciting. It’s a
new, well-rounded experience.”
The former Cliftonite said that his
new gig is a perfect blend of his
sales skills and his love of music.
The ability to see his success in the
new branch of Getty Images is what
motivates him each morning.
“You’re starting with a product
that people don’t know much
about,” he said. “It can only go up if
things go well.”
• Infant & Toddler Program • Precious 2’s• Pre-School & Pre-K Program • Open 7 am to 6 pm• Weekly Chapel
SUMMER CAMPRegister... Classes to Aug. 26!
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• When public schools are closed, we’re open!
• 19 Teachers & Aides — Many here over 20 years!
• This Fall: After-School Pick-Up at School 5
Blues Rocker Jerome Mykietym brings his band The Reclamatorsto the Rosen Theatre at the YM/YWHA of North Jersey in Wayne on
Sept. 18 at 7 pm. Special guest include veteran bluesman Robert
Ross and Jerome’s son Jeremy of The Benjamins on drums. Mykietyn has
come full circle with the release of his blues album, Sing It, White Boy! with
observations on global warming, homelessness, the economy and love’s
rejection. Mykietyn had his first single release (vinyl) in 1963 and for the
next six years he turned out 15 singles. Find out more and sample his sound
at www.myspace.com/thereclamators.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 52
Around the blazing council fire light
We have met in comradeship tonight
Round about the whispering trees
Guards our golden memories
And so before we close our eyes to sleep
Let us pledge each other that we’ll keep
Camping friendships strong and deep
Till we meet again...
Story by Julie Generalli Dominick
Photo by Collette Kennedy
Friendships forged at the Campfire
R E M E M B E R I N G C A M P C L I F T O N
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 53
Around the blazing council fire light
We have met in comradeship tonight
Round about the whispering trees
Guards our golden memories
And so before we close our eyes to sleep
Let us pledge each other that we’ll keep
Camping friendships strong and deep
Till we meet again...
Photo by Collette Kennedy
Friendships forged at the Campfire
On the facing page, a photo from areunion held two years ago in whichold friendships and campfires wererekindled. Top of page... boys at thebasketball court, a ceremony invokingthe Lenni Lenape traditions, and bot-tom, a pig roast to close out a session.
The tradition at Camp
Clifton was to end each
campfire with a song
pledging to keep our
summer friendships
alive, the words to which are on the
facing page. We laughed about how
corny those lines sounded when we
were teens but decades later—and for
generations of campers—those verses
have kept us connected.
Photos and comments from former
campers—generations of whom have
remained friends—some have even
married!—tell the story... Camp
Clifton holds a special place in the
hearts of many of us.
I was a camper and later a coun-
selor at the Clifton Boys Club camp
from 1967-1971. Today, at 55 years
of age, I still remain closely connect-
ed to those who have a shared histo-
ry of carefree and blissful days of
summers past.
In 1961, the Clifton Boys Club
executive director, Al Abruscoto pur-
chased Camp Ranger in Jefferson
Township and opened the camp for
boys in 1963. Four years later,
Clifton girls were offered the chance
to attend a two-week session. By
1968 another girls’ session was
added due to popular demand. A bar-
gain at $110 a session, my parents
and many others took full advantage
and signed all six of us up.
R E M E M B E R I N G C A M P C L I F T O N
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 54
At the path to the lake, from top, camp cookBen Pierce, counselor Severin Palydowiczand Diane Quinn, and below, a look backat a live performance on the lake. Bottomof page, unidentified groups of campers.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 55
“You were the reason my sisters
and I went to camp,” Patricia
DeLora told me recently. “Our
moms met at a UNICO meeting
and the next thing I knew, we were
out buying trunks with locks on
them.” .
Sisters Joanne, Patricia and
Linda DeLora also attended the
first girls’ session and instantly
bonded with me and my own three
sisters, Roseanne, Janet and Vicki
Generalli. We became so close to
the DeLora family that many peo-
ple thought we were related.
“Maybe that’s because you call my
mother Aunt Toot and I call your
mother Aunt Gen.” she laughed.
I recently had a chance to remi-
nisce with Patricia, who now
resides in Bloomfield with her hus-
band, Dr. Richard Podkul, and their
children, Lauren and Alex.
“Remember when the coun-
selors kept playing the soundtrack
to Romeo and Juliet over and over?
Your sister Roseanne drove us to
see the movie at the Clifton Theater
on Main Avenue in 1968.” Romeo
and Juliet remains on Pat’s and my
top ten movie list.
The counselors left lasting
impressions on us all. “I remember
my CIT (counselor-in-training)
Diane Quinn because she was beau-
tiful, so nice,” Pat mused. Diane’s
mother was the first camp nurse and
is remembered fondly by many.
Kathy DeLuca, whose family
name is synonymous with the Boys
Club and Camp Clifton, recalls her
first days at camp and time spent in
the camp infirmary.
“In 1967, I went to see my broth-
ers Vic and Ray on visiting day,”
said Kathy who was only 9 years
old, “and everyone loved me. I was
just a kid and they begged me to
stay. I went to visit and never went
home. Little did they know I had
the chicken pox. Our entire cabin
had to be quarantined. I ended up
staying in the camp infirmary for
my first week up there.”
Kathy and I fondly remember
the camp cook, Ben Pierce, who
was most likely the first African
American man that we knew.
Kathy recalls asking Ben every
night, “What’s for dinner?” He
would answer, “Food.”
Kathy: “What kind of food?”
Ben: “Good food!”
Kathy and I would eventually
become bunkmates and good bud-
dies. Together we earned the right
to take an overnight trip on the
Appalachian Trail, a requirement
necessary to earn the coveted red
feather that would make us Red
Squaws following in the camp tra-
dition of Native American lore.
“When we became Red Squaws
they made us put cloves under our
tongues after the council fire cere-
mony and we weren’t allowed to
talk for the rest of night,” recalls
Kathy. Looking back, I realize the
counselors were no fools. What a
great way to keep us quiet.
At the path to the lake, from top, camp cookBen Pierce, counselor Severin Palydowiczand Diane Quinn, and below, a look backat a live performance on the lake. Bottomof page, unidentified groups of campers.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 56
Kathy DeLuca Pugliese is now a
certified teacher and lives in Clifton
with daughters, Jacqueline and
Victoria and works as a bar manag-
er in Woodridge. Her brother Victor
is the mayor of Maplewood, where
he and his wife Janey live. Last year,
he was inducted into the Boys Club
Hall of Fame for his contributions to
camp and the Boys Club. DeLuca
has been active in politics and civic
affairs for a long time.
Vic DeLuca attended Camp
Clifton from 1966 to 1969 and start-
ed working as a kitchen boy. He
remembers the historic moment in
July of 1969 when the first men
walked on the moon. “We had all
the kids in the dining hall to watch
this historic event on an old, cruddy
black and white television. The pic-
ture was so bad, all we saw was
moon snow. Godzilla could have
been walking on the moon for all we
knew,” Vic remembered.
He shared his first camp cabin
with Bob Lipala, another Hall of
Fame inductee. Bob, known to
campers as “Magoo,” worked in
every capacity at camp before
becoming the camp’s director.
“Those years – 1967 to 1969 -
were the Golden Years at camp, a
time of peace, love and happiness,”
said Bob at a mini-reunion held this
July at the Grande Saloon with
camp alumni Keith Oakley, Ray
Kalas, Tom DiDonna and Karen
Dominick. Upon seeing Bob for the
first time in decades, Karen
exclaimed, “It’s Mr. Camp Clifton!”
With plenty of grass, woods and
water, Camp Clifton was a welcome
respite for city kids.
“I went to camp to catch frogs,
turtles and snakes,” Bob said. “I
would finish my work in the
kitchen, walk down to the lake,
catch these creatures and bring them
up to the nature shed.” Not surpris-
ingly, Bob would become the nature
counselor, a position he loved.
Looking over an old copy of the
camp newsletter, Wocanda’sWhisper, Bob mused at his own
writings from so long ago. “Those
words were obviously not from
someone looking for a paycheck or
a 9-5 job. They were from a way of
life, a special way shared by all the
campers. It was a happening, a
‘Woodstock of campers.’ Feelings
were meant to be alive and shared –
coldness and detachment seen as
problems to be overcome.”
Bob knows a great deal of Camp
Clifton’s history and credits Al
Abruscoto for having the foresight
to get funding to buy the camp in
1961. “I’m grateful to have experi-
enced and shared all of those feel-
ings in my lifetime – even if was a
long time ago. There was a special
outpouring of love then and love is
its own reward.”
Bob is now the treasurer of the
Mens Club of the Clifton Boys &
Girls Club and lives in Lake
Hopatcong with his wife Rosemary
and their children, Nick and Sara.
He and his family still appreciate
nature and rent a cabin in Stokes
State Forest every Father’s Day.
Another fellow Boys Club Hall
of Famer is Tom DiDonna, whose
connection to Camp Clifton is
roundabout. Tom claims, “Al
Abruscoto took a chance with me. I
was a goof ball, always in trouble.
When I stopped terrorizing kids at
the Boys Club, he gave me a job at
camp.” He recalls being paid $100
for the entire summer of 1969.
At the time, Tom was working at
Good Deals, a supermarket located
where Corrado’s Market is today,
and had to take a leave of absence to
work at camp. “Your brother Ernie
[Generall] was in my cabin. He
Campers Tom DiDonna, Karen Dominick, writer Julie (Generalli) Dominick, Robert Lipala, Keith Oakley, Ray Kalas.
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gave me a run for my money.”
Being a wise guy himself, Tom
knew how to handle tough kids.
Tom came to Clifton after living in
Paterson and at one time lived in the
house next to Juliano’s Pizza, the
building that is now the Grande
Saloon. “My mom was a single par-
ent and the Boys Club provided a
safe place for me to grow up.”
Tom met his wife Karen at Good
Deals and they still reside in Clifton
and have two daughters. He was a
delivery driver for DHL for 18
years. Tom also coaches Clifton
Stallion soccer. “Everywhere I go, I
hear people say, ‘Hey Coach!’ It’s a
good feeling knowing you made a
difference in a kid’s life.”
Keith Oakley’s connection to the
Clifton Boys Club is generational
and legendary. His mom, Mary,
was the secretary at the club and his
dad worked at the club in many
capacities. His brother Wayne and
sister Cindy also attended.
Keith likes to brag: “I was one of
the first kids to see Camp Clifton
when the Boys Club bought it, and
one of the last adults on the proper-
ty when it was sold.”
Keith taught Indian lore at camp,
which he learned from visiting the
National Museum of the American
Indian in NYC as a teenager. “I
wanted to learn traditional Indian
lore and how to make crafts so the
experience would be more authen-
tic.” His ultimate honor as a young-
ster was when he was inducted as an
honorary Golden Chief wearing a
full headdress and war paint stand-
ing near the camp fire. He was more
recently inducted into the Boys Club
Hall of Fame.
Now Keith is an active alumni
member and a busy dad. He has
four children and two grandchil-
dren. He worked for Air Chek
Window Depot in Clifton for years
before retiring.
As for Ray Kalas, I think he came
to the Saloon out of curiosity. He
did go to the Boys Club and worked
at camp for a short time. He and I
had a five-minute romance in CHS
and it was great to see him again,
looking healthy and fit. One of
Ray’s camp memories includes
waking up to Paul McCartney’s
“Uncle Albert” as it was blasted
through the PA system early in the
morning. He now lives in Morris
Township with his wife and has a 20
year old daughter. Ray is a
Communications professor at the
County College of Morris.
So many campers, so many cher-
ished memories. The more alumni I
talk to, the more stories I hear...
Mrs. Oakley playing Santa Claus
at the winter reunions. Counselors
sneaking out to the Milk Barn for ice
cream. Bags and bags of caramel M
& M’s which were donated to the
camp because they ‘melted in your
hand.’ Henry Sabot asking, “Do you
want to go on a bear hunt?”
58 COLOR
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 59
Russ Triolo singing “The End”
by Jim Morrison. My sister Vicki
getting thrown in the lake by Dave
Rainone because she was afraid of
its orange murky water.
Singing “Miss Ol’ Leary put a
Lantern in the Shed” in the dining
hall as loud as possible. The
DeVries family, the Vladicheck
family, The beautiful MacVicker
sisters, Severin Palydowycz, Wally
Joblanski, John Mullan, Steve
Sneizak. The list goes on…
Sitting across the table from my
camp friends at the Grande Saloon, I
realize that you couldn’t find six
more different people. Yet once we
began to share our camp memories,
it was clear that there was a connec-
tion between us that had been sealed
around a burning campfire many
years earlier. We will always be
connected - to a time and a place
that was so special to each one of us
and to the many others lucky
enough to have sat around that same
campfire. ‘Till we meet again.’
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These photos were taken at a2009 reunion at CampClifton and attended byalumni from the 1980’s.
There were lots of reasons
people found tranquility
as a camper at Camp
Clifton. Perhaps it was
because you could just
be who you were and at the end of
every night when lights went out we
were all together no matter what.
Your trunk of clothing and gear
and a squeaky bunk bed now defined
who you were as an individual. We
were all equals. I do not think anyone
cared what troubles you may have
been facing at home... a divorced
family... a financially struggling fam-
ily... a family who had someone off in
the military... All of those labels did-
n’t matter at Camp Clifton.
You would walk down the com-
mon path and sing songs as a team so
the next cabin knew you were passing
by and they would try to out sing you.
It was fun, plain and simple.
Being at Camp Clifton was life
altering as everyone had to learn the
skills that many children would never
be introduced to. I mean they certain-
ly don’t teach you archery in elemen-
tary school, the parts of a row boat,
how to survive hiking the
Appalachian Mountains or go rafting
or canoeing down the Delaware River.
These were all skills we picked up
at Camp Clifton... it was just like rid-
ing a bike, once you learn them you
will never forget them.
Story & photos by Collette Kennedy
It was a Safe Placein the Crazy 80’s
R E M E M B E R I N G C A M P C L I F T O N
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 61
61
COLOR
Story & photos by Collette Kennedy
It was a Safe Placein the Crazy 80’s
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 62
Meeting new people every two
weeks taught us social skills and
the ability to constantly adapt to
new situations and personalities;
how to ‘work things out’ and
become one cabin for that session.
We swam, hiked, played kickball,
kept a clean table in the dining hall
together. It was a bond, a bond for
at least two weeks—for most of us
it was six weeks—a bond that was-
n’t mean to be broken and it wasn’t.
Looking back, it is apparent our
friendships were real... There was-
n’t Facebook then to ‘friend’ just
anybody, not cell phones to text
message, not even computers or
internet to stay in touch.
Despite that all, we kept lifetime
bonds. My niece’s Godfather is my
brother’s (Kevin Kennedy) fellow
campmate (Scott Wagner). Penny
Vareha married Josh Gross, Sue
Gogick married Brian Gruchacz
and the list goes on and on.
Two decades and several moves
later I was working at Kean
University in the Chemistry
Department and looked out the
window to see Amy Lindemann
The 2009 reunion committee, Kevin Kennedy, Lauren Carlet Szumita, Collette Kenn
edy, David Carlet,
Amy Lindemann Castillo, Sue Lindemann Burman,
Joe Criveli, and the late Joe Balega.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 63
walking by. I kind of froze... I was
afraid that the labels of child-
hood—I thought of myself as the
‘camper with the divorced par-
ents’—would come back to me at
age 37! But then I remembered
that while at Camp Clifton, the
labels don’t exist.
Once we connected it was like
the 20 years had not gone by. We
laughed through camp songs and
memories. Within a month we said
it would be great to have a reunion.
In 2009 that reunion came to be
thanks to connections that were
reestablished from Facebook and
the leadership of Joe Crivelli. A
committee was formed and we
were able to rent the old Camp
Clifton grounds (now Camp
Jefferson) and host a one day
reunion.
It was amazing to be at the old
camp and see old friends, as many
looked exactly the same.
Campers brought their kids who
‘earned their feathers,’ we built a
huge camp fire, sang songs, walked
the grounds and were amazed at
how close the pavilion really is...
Who knew the temporary stages
set on skit nights in the pavillion
would become the platform for the
impact Camp Clifton would have
on all of us for the rest of our lives?
As I wrote this essay, I was also
packing to take my 7 year old
Godson Jacob Baker camping.
“My dad thinks it is going to be
really funny to watch you start a
camp fire,” he said.
Have confidence, I told him,
because many years ago at Camp
Clifton I learned how to start a
fire... and I would teach him, too.
Then I shared how I nurtured
these skills when I was a few years
older than he on hikes on the
Appalachian Trail. How I built a
fire at night to cook the food we
carried in our backpacks and the
same was true when we went
canoeing or rafting down the
Delaware River, the only trick to
that trip was being sure nothing got
wet or ruined if your canoe flipped.
I am happy to report that the
campfire was a success. On the last
night, we found a single feather lay-
ing on the ground. It was a feather
of a Blue Jay—I guess Jacob really
did earn his ‘blue feather.’
Collette Kennedy went to CampClifton from 1983-1988. She attendedcollege later than most and graduatedin 2008 with a Bachelor’s inManagement Science and a Minor inRecreation Administration.
She hopes that ‘my second careercan be working a summer camp for kids(unless I hit the lottery and I can buyCamp Jefferson and turn it back intowhat we had) or working at a Boys &Girls Club since the B&GC had such aprofound impact on my childhood andhelped shape who I am today.’
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 64
R E M E M B E R I N G C A M P C L I F T O N
A Somber Memoryof Camp Clifton
The late Joe Balega, in July 2009, with Joe Crivelli (
right) at Camp Clifton.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 65
Reconnecting with the
Camp Clifton crew
unleashed a flood of
memories and emo-
tions. A troubled, intro-
verted, and lonely kid, Camp Clifton
was the one place on earth that I felt
like I fit in. It was the one place where
I could be welcomed as one of the
“cool” guys.
On my first day at camp I was wear-
ing a tee shirt with the ubiquitous
bunny logo. When teams were being
selected for a basketball game, one of
the counselors said, “Hey you—
Playboy—you’re on this team.” The
name stuck. For the rest of my years at
Camp Clifton I was Playboy. I relished
that nickname.
There was one common denomina-
tor for all of us who attended Camp
Clifton in the 1970s—Joe Balega.
When I first started going to camp
Joe was one of the older campers, a
senior camper really. He had made
“Warrior”—the highest honor
Story by Joe Crivelli
R E M E M B E R I N G C A M P C L I F T O N
A Somber Memoryof Camp Clifton
It was Facebook that got the ball rolling…connecting
me first with co-workers, then folks from high school
and college. Then Camp Clifton. It was a blast to
reconnect with people who had been absent from my
life for decades and find that we had all evolved into
responsible adults with homes, kids, jobs.
The late Joe Balega, in July 2009, with Joe Crivelli (
right) at Camp Clifton.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 66
that could be bestowed on a Clifton
camper and was on a path to be a
counselor once he was old enough.
He knew the ropes and was respect-
ed and admired.
Joe and I were a stark contrast.
He was driven, focused, confidently
moving through his life towards
goals. If you asked him back what he
wanted to be when he grew up, he
would tell you he wanted to be a
lawyer. Joe Balega kept his nose
clean and stayed out of trouble,
walked the straight and narrow. A
model camper. A model kid. A clean
cut young man.
Joe Balega was the one who
broke the news to me and my fellow
campers when Yankees catcher
Thurman Munson died in a plane
crash. We sat in stunned disbelief
while Joe Balega openly cried for the
loss of one of his childhood idols.
Me, I got in trouble. I smoked.
Brought magazines that were associ-
ated with my nickname to camp.
Snuck off to the girls’ side of the
camp late at night to rendezvous
with girlfriends. Basically ignored
the rules and annoyed the powers-
that-be that ran the camp.
My last year at camp I was 15 and
working as a Counselor-in-Training,
and though it was never formally
stated that I wouldn’t be welcomed
back the next year as a counselor, it
was clear to me that I shouldn’t
apply. The next summer I would find
a new camp to try my act at. It would
last one year. After that, I spent my
summers lifeguarding at pools in and
around Clifton. My camping days
had come to a close.
Joe Balega continued to work at
Camp Clifton for many more years,
touching many more lives. When we
all reconnected on Facebook, it was
no surprise to me to learn that Joe
Balega had gone to Rutgers and
become a lawyer. Now living in
Ohio, he was a single dad to three
boys. And dozens if not hundreds of
former campers who had their lives
touched by him as a kid were over-
joyed to reconnect with him.
Joe Balega drove the fur-
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 67
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 69
thest to attend the Camp Clifton
reunion. He was engaged to a beau-
tiful woman. His law business was
doing well. He seemed genuinely
happy. All of us were thrilled to see
him again, and even more thrilled to
see him open the reunion council
fire —a Camp Clifton tradition. We
all said goodbye as darkness fell and
the fire burned down and we made a
pledge to meet again a few years
hence.
Fast forward to April 1, 2010. It’s
morning and I’m settling into my
routine at my office, when I get an
email from Amy Castillo, one of my
new-found friends from the Camp
Clifton Reunion. “Joe, call me
ASAP. It’s important.” This was odd,
and not at all like Amy.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Amy
broke the news to me that the previ-
ous morning, Joe Balega had been
found in his home, dead of an appar-
ent suicide. Once again, I sat in
stunned disbelief. Not Joe Balega.
That’s not possible.
If you had asked me my impres-
sion of Joe at the reunion, I would
have said, “He’s happy.” He seemed
genuinely happy to be there, gen-
uinely happy with his life. He was all
smiles, as were his sons. My lasting
memory of Joe and his family was
that they were joyful. My lasting
memory of Joe as a teenager was that
he had his act together. He was one
of the good kids. He was universally
nice and kind to everyone.
Others concurred. In a recent con-
versation, Renee Ilaria Woods, a
classmate and fellow camper, said,
“I didn’t see someone who was
struggling the day of the reunion—I
saw someone who was filled with
joy, pride and promise for the
future.” Amy Lindemann Castillo
added, “I think if Joe could be in
such a place, anyone could. He had
an amazing impact on all of us.”
We really didn’t know each other
all that well. A few summers spent
together at camp. A few months
spent planning a reunion as adults.
But his life touched mine. He treated
others well, and he did so simply
because he was a genuinely good
guy. He seemed to me one of those
rare people who didn’t have a mean
inclination in his being.
He was the absolute last person I
would have expected to do this. And
the irony is that if he had asked any
of us from the Camp Clifton crew for
help, if he had called any of us on
that fateful night, we would have
been there for him. I think there are
probably a hundred people from
camp that would have driven all
night or hopped on the first flight to
Ohio to sit by his side, talk him
through whatever dark demons were
haunting him, convince him that he
was loved and needed—by his sons,
by his family and friends, and by us,
to open that next council fire at that
next reunion.
This year, on the one year anniver-
sary of that horrible day, a number of
folks from camp posted on Joe’s
Facebook page. “Grateful for the time
we had. Heartbroken for the time we
won’t. Too many tears, not enough
memories. Have a peaceful rest. I
look forward to catching up.”;
“Camp Clifton on the brain today—
thinking how amazing it was to have
a reunion and reconnect with every-
one, feeling lucky to have had those
experiences...and missing you terri-
bly, Joe Balega”; “I miss you Joe —I
think of you so very often. Xoxo”
And the most heartbreaking post
of all, from one of Joe’s sons, which
simply said, “Hi dad.”
Some have kicked around the
idea of another reunion, but the idea
of a reunion without Joe just seems
so incomplete. In many ways, Joe
Balega was Camp Clifton. If only we
had known. If only he could have
found the words, the word, to ask for
help.
So many troubled kids spent sum-
mers at Camp Clifton—myself
included. So many kids who you just
knew were going to have a hard time
making their way through life.
But not Joe.
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 70
The First Annual John Greco Memorial Golf Outingwas a success. Over 300 golfers attended the July 11
event at the Knoll Country Club. Greco, who was a
teacher at CCMS, as well as lacrosse coach at MSU,
passed away last November. In his memory, the Greco
family created a fund and scholarships have been award-
ed to MSU lacrosse players who are studying teaching,
as well as CHS lacrosse alum who are pursing a higher
education. Details and photos at johngreco.dyndns.org.
Russell Triolo, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Union
County, was named executive of the year by the Garden
State Chapter of The Professional Association of Boys &
Girls Clubs. Triolo began as a Program Director at the
B&G Club in Garfield in 1973 and was named the Chief
Executive Officer of the B&G Club of Union County in
1980. Since then, the Union County Club has grown
from a single facility serving 2,000 children to five club-
houses that today provide services to over 7,500 children
annually. Triolo is an alumni of the Boys & Girls Club
of Clifton, and a 2009 inductee of its Hall of Fame.
CHS Class of 1971 member Keith Oakley (pictured
rear, left) is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Passaic
County Elks Cerebral Palsy Center. Oakley and Joanne
Stolarz (rear, right), President of the Elks Special
Children’s Committee, were recently recognized for
their service by parents and other Board members.
C L I F T O N Pe o p l e …
CHS Senior Eric James was one of 2,250 young men andwomen selected to attend the Naval Academy SummerSeminar program this summer. The six day program is forhigh achievers entering their senior year of high school andconsidering enrolling in the US Naval Academy.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 71
In October of 1998, SohailMohammed told the CliftonMerchant: “I would like to see
a time when my name can be taken
as it is, and I am not considered to
be a terrorist.”
That time came on July 26 when
Mohammed became the first Indian-
American and second Muslim to sit
on a bench in New Jersey.
He was sworn in as a Passaic
County Superior Court Judge by
Retired Assignment Judge Robert J.
Passero, who inspired Mohammed
to pursue a legal career back in the
late 1980’s after he had served on a
jury in Passero’s court. He was
nominated for the post in January by
Governor Chris Christie.
Mohammed story reads like a
modern day American journey. He
came to this country and became a
citizen in 1986. He and his wife set-
tled in Clifton and became active in
the community.
Not long after his experience as a
juror, he quit his job as an engineer
to enroll in Seton Hall University to
study immigration law. He began
practicing in 1993, and has been
awarded numerous accolades. In
1995, he was one of just six attor-
neys in the nation who were award-
ed a scholarship to attend the nation-
al leadership conference for young
lawyers. Then in 1997, Mohammed
won the New Jersey Young Lawyers
Professional Achievement Award.
Following the attacks on the
country on Sept. 11, 2001, Christie,
then US State Attorney, contacted
Mohammed to serve as an ambassa-
dor between the state’s Muslim
community and law enforcement
officials.
Mohammed had previous experi-
ence as an ambassador for the
Muslim community, speaking at
seminars to ease tensions long
before the Sept. 11 attacks.
However, such history did not
dissuade detractors on the internet
and elsewhere from challenging the
nomination.
Attackers criticized Mohammed
for representing individuals that
were detained following Sept. 11,
and questioned whether a devout
Muslim judge would bring Sharia
law—Muslim religious code—into
the American courts.
Despite detractors from across the
country, Christie, a Seton Hall Law
School grad himself, stuck by his
nomination, voicing support in news-
papers and at the July 26 ceremony in
the Passaic County Courthouse.
“It’s just crazy, and I’m tired of
dealing with the crazies,” Christie
said on July 29 in the Star-Ledger.“It’s just unnecessary to be accus-
ing this guy of things just because
of his religious background. I’m
happy that he’s willing to serve
after all this baloney.”
Clifton
Court
Indian
an eng
and wo
Cl
M
Co
Our Oct. 1998 edition focused on ourcity’s evolving ethnic diversity.Among those featured included LuisaCastillo, Richard Smith, SophiaConstandinou, John Pogorelec andSohail Mohammed.
A JOURNEY TO JUSTICE
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 72
Over the last few months, essays by Dr. Christopherde Vinck have been featured in our magazine. His sto-
ries have been wonderful tales, some which reach back
to his childhood to convey an emotion and others that
share his observations of life today.
A graduate from Teachers College, Columbia
University, Dr. de Vinck (at left) is better known as the
Language Arts Supervisor at Clifton High School. But
his inspiring and reflective essays have appeared in the
Wall Street Journal, the Record and many major nation-
al publications. Thus, we are pleased to welcome him
as a regular contributor to our pages.
As the author of 13 books, his best known work
is The Power of the Powerless (Crossroad Books) a
loving and frank reflection on the struggles and
joys of loving his severely disabled brother.
This past month, Moments of Grace: Days of aFaith-Filled Dreamer was released and hailed for
its insight and wisdom. Readers will find inspira-
tion and hope in this accessible book,” wrote one
reviewer. “It will strike a chord in these difficult
times.” To order the book, call 1-800-218-1903 or
look for it in major bookstores or online.
C L I F T O N Pe o p l e …
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 73
In addition to being a Realtor with ColdwellBanker, Colleen North can now add author to her
resume. The Cliftonite has recently published a book
about her father, William North, entitled Florida Artists,WM North, His Life and Art.
Colleen always remembered her father as a business
man who was usually enroute to New York City for the
start of his work day by the time she was out of bed for
school. But over the years, she learned that her father
was a budding artist whose interest in the field stretched
back to his own childhood.
Growing up in The Great Depression, William’s fam-
ily was unable to afford sketch pads, and he would draw
on the scraps of paper and cardboards that came inside
his father’s shirts from the laundry.
William would spend several years harnessing his
emrging talents while focusing on raising his family. His
dream was to eventually become a full time artist, some-
thing that William achieved in 1990 after he retired and
moved to Florida, where he now resides. There, William
dedicated himself to oil painting, found his muse and
became a renown artist, selling more than 600 original
works and receiving numerous accolades along the way.
His works have been on exhibition in various galleries
over the past 40 years, and his paintings are in hundreds
of collections across the United States and abroad, from
Japan to Russia.
William, who will be 84 in September, has been liv-
ing with Age Related Macular Degeneration for more
than three years, which affects his vision. Before his
sense of sight completely deteriorated, he wanted to
complete one last goal: publish a book about his artistic
endeavors, a dream which William had expressed to his
daughter for the past decade.
Colleen undertook the task, found a publisher and set
out writing what William calls his ‘legacy book’, learn-
ing much about her father in the process. The book can
be purchased at Amazon. com or other outlets.
THE ARTIST &HIS DAUGHTERColleen North and herfather, William
From top left: William North, a painting ofColleen as a baby, and Colleen North today.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 74
The Second Annual Walk a Milein Her Shoes event is Sept. 24 in
Jubilee Park, Allwood and Clifton
Aves. Men, along with other sup-
porters, will don high heels for a
walk around the park to protest
rape, sexual assault and gender vio-
lence. Sponsored by the Passaic
County Women’s Center, registra-
tion begins at 10 am and the walk at
11. A limited amount of womens
shoes will be available at the event.
The Passaic County Women’s
Center (PCWC) is a non-profit
organization that provides various
domestic violence and sexual
assault services for our community,
and is open 24 hours a day year
round. To enter the event, register
at pcwcwalkamile.dojiggy.com.
For info on the services of the cen-
ter, write [email protected]
or call 973-881-0725
The Athenia Veterans Post ClassicCar Night is on Mondays, 5 to 9 pm
through the end of September at the
Post, 147 Huron Ave. Entry is free,
and there is a menu with a selection
of BBQ food. The Post will also
hold its annual Labor Day Picnic on
Sept. 4, from 1 to 6 pm. Tickets are
$20 for this all-you-can-eat and
drink event. Call 973-778-0931.
The Clifton Rocket Club will
begin its fourth eight week session
in September. Children of all ages
learn how to assemble a toy rocket,
which is launched more than 1,000
feet into the air with assistance
from Deputy Fire Chief Norm
Tahan, who oversees the club. A
total of 18 kids have turned out for
the club, which meets each Sunday
from 10 am to noon. The $25 fee
includes a rocket kit with engines.
For more info on the and other pro-
grams offered, call the Rec Dept. at
973-470-5956.
The Clifton Family Camp Outwill take place overnight on Aug 19
starting at 6 pm at Albion Park on
Maplewood Ave. Families can pitch
tents or sleep under the stars but
either way, the idea is to spend some
time outdoors together. Staff from
the Clifton Rec Dept. will host a
cook out with hot dogs and ham-
burgers, followed by games and
activities, campfire, marshmellow
roasting and more. The fee is $10
for a family of four or $3 per person;
$20 for a family of four for non res-
idents. Raindate Aug. 26.
The Second Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to fight rape, sexual assaultand domestic violence will take place on Sept. 24 in Jubilee Park, 1365 Clifton Ave.
973-772-8451Roofing • SidingSeamless Gutters
Additions • Alterations
C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …
The Take Back the Parks cleanupproject continues on Aug. 6 Nash
(Lexington and Piaget), Aug. 13,
Chelsea Park (Chelsea and
Brighton), Aug. 20, Surgent Park
(Valley Rd.) Aug. 27, Lowry &
Delawanna Memorial (Main and
Delawanna) Cleanup begins at 10
am so bring gloves and a water bot-
tle. The Rec Dept. program Play It
Forward offers gently used bags of
bats, balls, frisbees and other gear
for families to enjoy for free at a
designated park each day from 6 to
8 pm. The list is as follows: Aug. 1
and 15, Washington, Aug. 2 and 16,
Lakeview, Aug. 3 and 17, Albion,
Aug. 4 and 18, Mt. Prospect.
St. John Lutheran Church, 140
Lexington Ave., Passaic, will hold a
thrift sale on Aug. 6 from 9:30 am to
1 pm. For info, call 973-779-1166.
Cliftonite Parrish Durham was
awarded the silver medal at 2011
AAU National Taekwondo
Championships on July 2 in Austin,
TX. Competing in the 12 to 13 year
old division in a competition
involving each of the 50 states and
Puerto Rico, Durham came up just
short of his gold medal goal, which
would have landed him on the AAU
Cadet National Team. He will have
another chance in February at the
2012 US Open Championship in
Las Vegas. Durham attends CHS
where he is a Fighting Mustang and
trains under the direction of his
father Elliot at Quality Martial Arts
on Van Houten Ave.
The CHS Keystone Club will hosta blood drive on Aug. 22 at the
Boys & Girls Club bingo hall on
Colfax Ave. from 3 to 8 pm.
Keystone Club President Kelly
Hanrahan, the CHS senior who
coordinated the event, will receive
$250 from Community Blood
Services towards her college tuition
for every 25 donors. Donors will be
screened on site and given refresh-
ments afterwards. Eat a meal before
hand. Call1-866-228-1500.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 75
The Second Annual Walk a Milein Her Shoes event is Sept. 24 in
Jubilee Park, Allwood and Clifton
Aves. Men, along with other sup-
porters, will don high heels for a
walk around the park to protest
rape, sexual assault and gender vio-
lence. Sponsored by the Passaic
County Women’s Center, registra-
tion begins at 10 am and the walk at
11. A limited amount of womens
shoes will be available at the event.
The Passaic County Women’s
Center (PCWC) is a non-profit
organization that provides various
domestic violence and sexual
assault services for our community,
and is open 24 hours a day year
round. To enter the event, register
at pcwcwalkamile.dojiggy.com.
For info on the services of the cen-
ter, write [email protected]
or call 973-881-0725
The Athenia Veterans Post ClassicCar Night is on Mondays, 5 to 9 pm
through the end of September at the
Post, 147 Huron Ave. Entry is free,
and there is a menu with a selection
of BBQ food. The Post will also
hold its annual Labor Day Picnic on
Sept. 4, from 1 to 6 pm. Tickets are
$20 for this all-you-can-eat and
drink event. Call 973-778-0931.
The Clifton Rocket Club will
begin its fourth eight week session
in September. Children of all ages
learn how to assemble a toy rocket,
which is launched more than 1,000
feet into the air with assistance
from Deputy Fire Chief Norm
Tahan, who oversees the club. A
total of 18 kids have turned out for
the club, which meets each Sunday
from 10 am to noon. The $25 fee
includes a rocket kit with engines.
For more info on the and other pro-
grams offered, call the Rec Dept. at
973-470-5956.
The Clifton Family Camp Outwill take place overnight on Aug 19
starting at 6 pm at Albion Park on
Maplewood Ave. Families can pitch
tents or sleep under the stars but
either way, the idea is to spend some
time outdoors together. Staff from
the Clifton Rec Dept. will host a
cook out with hot dogs and ham-
burgers, followed by games and
activities, campfire, marshmellow
roasting and more. The fee is $10
for a family of four or $3 per person;
$20 for a family of four for non res-
idents. Raindate Aug. 26.
Parrish Durham won a silver medal ina national Taekwondo Championship.
CHS Senior and Keystone ClubPresident Kelly Hanrahan.
C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …
Girl Scout Troop #107 of St. Philip the Apostle School earned their Bronze Awardby beautifuying an area at Morris Canal Park. Troop members planted flowers,painted and put up a new fence and added decorated rocks and bird houses.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 76
Former Mustang roundball coachPete Vasil has added an additional
week to his annual MVP Basketball
Camp at St. George’s Greek
Orthodox Church on Valley Rd.
Camp will run from Aug. 22 to 26
and is open to children ages 7 to 16
for a rate of $75. Vasil, now the
head coach at Group 1 state power-
house Bloomfield Tech, teams up
with his son, Pete Jr., a junior
ballplayer at Brookdale College, to
train kids from 9 am to 3 pm each
day. Call Vasil at 973-930-8331,
his wife Angela at 862-668-1450 or
email [email protected].
Running coach Joel Pasternackhosts his fifth annual cross country
camp from Aug. 22 to Aug. 26 at
Brookdale Park in Bloomfield from
6 to 8 pm. Cost is $125 or $100 if
three members from the same team
sign up. Visit joelrun.com.
The Clifton Road Runners Clubemerged victorious from an inter-
club challenge against the at
Brookdale Park on July 17. In two
separate events that day, the CRRC
defeated the Essex Running Club
and then bested the Rose City, The
Do Run Runners, Geezers, and
North Jersey Masters. Runners start
according to five-year age groups
in two-minute increments but all
finish on one clock, and each run-
ner completes three 1.1 mile loops
of the park. The Clifton Road
Runners began in 1978 and is a
member of the state governing
body United States Track & Field-
NJ. For two consecutive years,
2009 and 2010, CRRC ranked 2nd
Overall Team within USATF-NJ
standings. For info on membership,
write [email protected].
These campers enjoyed their time at Pete Vasil’s Basketball camp earier this sum-mer. Pictured at center is the coach’s son, Pete, Jr.
C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …
The Clifton Road Runner Club after winning an interclub challenge on July 17.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 77
Former Mustang roundball coachPete Vasil has added an additional
week to his annual MVP Basketball
Camp at St. George’s Greek
Orthodox Church on Valley Rd.
Camp will run from Aug. 22 to 26
and is open to children ages 7 to 16
for a rate of $75. Vasil, now the
head coach at Group 1 state power-
house Bloomfield Tech, teams up
with his son, Pete Jr., a junior
ballplayer at Brookdale College, to
train kids from 9 am to 3 pm each
day. Call Vasil at 973-930-8331,
his wife Angela at 862-668-1450 or
email [email protected].
Running coach Joel Pasternackhosts his fifth annual cross country
camp from Aug. 22 to Aug. 26 at
Brookdale Park in Bloomfield from
6 to 8 pm. Cost is $125 or $100 if
three members from the same team
sign up. Visit joelrun.com.
The Clifton Road Runners Clubemerged victorious from an inter-
club challenge against the at
Brookdale Park on July 17. In two
separate events that day, the CRRC
defeated the Essex Running Club
and then bested the Rose City, The
Do Run Runners, Geezers, and
North Jersey Masters. Runners start
according to five-year age groups
in two-minute increments but all
finish on one clock, and each run-
ner completes three 1.1 mile loops
of the park. The Clifton Road
Runners began in 1978 and is a
member of the state governing
body United States Track & Field-
NJ. For two consecutive years,
2009 and 2010, CRRC ranked 2nd
Overall Team within USATF-NJ
standings. For info on membership,
write [email protected].
C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 78
CHS Classes of ‘71-74 host a a joint
reunion on Nov. 4 at the Parsippany
Hilton from 7 pm to midnight.
Tickets are $99 and include cocktail
hour, buffet dinner and desert, four
hour open bar and DJ. Details at
www.reunions-unlimited.com.
The CHS Class of ‘56 has a 55th
reunion on Sept. 23 at the Cucina
Calandra in Fairfield. Call or write
Judi Zagaya Den Herder at 973-779-
6923 or [email protected] or
Terry Guarrera Gloede at 973-773-
5910 or via [email protected].
Members of the CHS Class of ‘01have their 10 year reunion from 7 to
11 pm on Nov. 26 at the Park Ridge
Marriot. Ticket are $65 for the first
100 people; $70 for those who reg-
ister after. For details, visit
www.chs2001.rsvpbook.com.
CHS Class of ‘66 will gather on the
weekend of Nov. 18-20 for its 45th
reunion. There is a Friday night
social and a Saturday evening dinner
dance at the Regency House Hotel in
Pompton Plains. For info, go to
Facebook (Clifton HS Class of 66)
or call organizers Nancy Maurer
Mudd (201-723-0402) or Jackie
Sussman Schein (201-303-7033).
The Hamilton House Museum,971 Valley Rd., hosts a family Civil
War lunch on Sept. 17 at noon.
Julie Esty will give a presentation
on the dress, daily activities and
customs. The event is a part of a
commemoration of the 150th
anniversary of the start of the Civil
War. Cost is $22.50. The Museum,
a restored Dutch Farm house is
open most Sundays from 2-4 pm
($3 donation). Call 973-744-5707.
C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …
This photo is from an exhibit atLambert Castle entitled HonoringPassaic County’s Civil War Veterans.Info at www.lambertcastle.org.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 79
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 80
Happy Birthday to Yuko Angello on Aug. 15. Emily Hawrylko celebrates on Aug. 12. Charlie ‘Tato’
Stek will be 90 on Aug. 6. Tom Hawrylko turns 54 on Aug. 15. Robbie Lucas will party on Aug. 25.
Angelo Greco ....................8/2Karen Lime ........................8/2Michael Urciuoli .................8/2Kevin Ciok.........................8/4Mark W. Mikolajczyk .........8/5Theresa Raichel ..................8/5Christina Sotelo ..................8/5Ed Gasior Sr. .....................8/6Sean McNally....................8/6Charlie Stek .......................8/6Chiara Cristantiello.............8/9Jean Schubert.....................8/9Danielle Swede ................8/13Andrew Cronin ................8/14Kimberly Mozo ................8/14Michelle Smolt..................8/14Christopher Antal .............8/15Peter Bodor......................8/15
Jessica Oliva....................8/15Maria Pinter.....................8/15Susan Van Blarcom...........8/15Daniel Wolfe....................8/15Bella Bulsara....................8/18Alexandria Veltre..............8/19Michael Melendez............8/20Rachelle Swede................8/20Emile Oakley ...................8/22Jacke Neering..................8/21Cara Cholewczynski .........8/24
Yasmin Ledesma ...............8/24Joanne Pituch ...................8/24Robbie Lucas....................8/25Dolores Bonkowski............8/25Veronica Tanski ................8/26Eileen Gasior ...................8/26Cameron J. Popovski.........8/26Ann Soltis ........................8/26Adam Brandhorst .............8/27Peter Fierro, Jr. .................8/28Nicholas Swede. ..............8/29Michelle “Mish” Choy .......8/30Joe Rushen.......................8/30Kathleen McKenny............8/31
Birthdays & CelebrationsSend dates & [email protected]
Best wishes to E. Bernadine Boyarsky who celebrates a birthdayon Aug. 3. • Nancy & Mike Ressetar mark their anniversary onAug. 15. • Bruce & Diane Drake will be wed 41 years onAug. 22. • Belated congratulations to lifetime sweethearts Ken
& Donna Chipura on their 40th anniversary which was July 11.• Belated birthday salutations to Lee Ann Varga on July 29.
August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 81
Happy Birthday to Yuko Angello on Aug. 15. Emily Hawrylko celebrates on Aug. 12. Charlie ‘Tato’
Stek will be 90 on Aug. 6. Tom Hawrylko turns 54 on Aug. 15. Robbie Lucas will party on Aug. 25.
1036
Emilie Oakley is 18 on Aug. 22
Lisa Hojnacki and David
Osorio wed on June 12
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August 2011 • Clifton Merchant 82
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• Still Serving Kosher Certified Products• Less than 45 cents per ounce, ToppingsIncluded! Why Go Anywhere else?
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Excludes Kiddie Cups &
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Expires 8/30/11. Limit one coupon/person. Not valid with
any other offer or promotion. Clifton store only.
C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …
The Clifton Veteran Parade FundBeefsteak is on Aug. 19 from 6 to 10
pm at the Clifton Boys & Girls Club
on Colfax Ave. Tickets are $40 and
include beefsteak, beer and soda.
Funds will help pay for the city
annual Veteran’s Parade, on Nov. 6
at 2 pm. The parade steps off at
Sylvan and Main Aves. and contin-
ues through Downtown along Main
Ave. to the Clifton Veterans
Memorial Monument where there
are ceremonies and speeches. Make
checks payable to ‘Clifton Veterans
Parade Fund,’ and mail c/o John
Biegel Jr., 91 Market St. 1, Clifton,
NJ 07012. To contribute to the fund,
for tickets, or to otherwise help out,
call John Biegel at 973-519-0858.
Over 1,400 American flags will be
displayed on the campus of city hall
on Patriots Day, Sunday, Sept., 11.
The idea is to honor a veteran for their
time in service and to remember them
in perpetuity. The flags are put up and
taken down by volunteers, who also
do year round maintenance. The flags
are also on display on Memorial Day,
which is the last Monday in May; Flag
Day, June 14; Independence Day, July
4; and Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11. To
honor a living or deceased veteran,
purchase a flag for $100. The dona-
tion includes a name plate and a
ground socket. The vet’s name, branch
of service and the donor’s name will
be placed in the registry book. Call
John Biegel at 973-519-0858.
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1288 Main Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07011
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