Clifton Merchant Magazine - February 2005

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Clifton Merchant Magazine • Volume 11 • Issue 2 • february 4, 2005

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The proposal is in the preliminary stages.

February 2005 The Kostisin’s Share Their Home . . . . . . . . . .29 The Dabal Family is Diverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Life is a Stroll for Rhoda and Bill . . . . . . . . . .42 Kohout’s Apple Crumb Love Cake . . . . . . . . .45 Heeeeere’s Norman! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Zoning and Planning Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Clifton Rec Awards Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 A Troop 3 Salute for 81 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Art, Plays, Film & More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 CHS Winter Sports Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 March 6-12 Rotary Food Drive . . . . . . . . . . . .81

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Clifton Merchant Magazine is published monthly at 1288 Main Ave., Downtown Clifton • 973-253-4400

Where is the Athenia Steel Traffic Study? As many readers may know, the Board of Education and the City Council have been talking for some time now about this former factory property becoming the site for a 1,700 student school. For years, it has also been considered as the potential site for a recreational complex, and 125 additional units of subsidized senior citizen housing.

But until the major issues of site cleanup and adequate access to the property are resolved, it’s anyone’s guess as to when the potential of the 35 acre city-owned Athenia Steel property will be realized.

Want to be a candidate for the Board of Education?

Feb. 28 at 4 pm is the deadline for filing a petition to run for one of the three seats that will be up for election on April 19. Clifton residents who are registered voters are eligible to run. Candidate packets may be picked up at the business office at the Board of Education offices at 745 Clifton Ave. A candidate must obtain the signatures of 10 Clifton residents who are registered voters. For more info, call 973-470-2288.

Critical decisions that directly affect the future of the Clifton School District must be made this year. In particular, a decision must be made by June about a site for a 1,700 student grades 8-9 school if a referendum is to be placed before voters in Dec. This school is needed to alleviate the overcrowding in the middle and upper grades.

To date, only one petition has been filed, according to a spokesperson at the Business Office. However, incumbents Marie Hakim, John Traier and Jim Leeshock have all indicated that they will seek reelection. Board member terms are for three years.

Clifton Merchant Magazine: Our goal is to be a positive, fair and frank voice for our town. It is our honor and pleasure to call Clifton home. These pages are open to you so send us your opinions, whether pro or con. Anonymous letters are never published. Be sure to include your name and number with your missive.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Opinion

by Editor and Publisher Tom Hawrylko

Over the past few months, we’ve watched deadlines come and go regarding remediation efforts on the complex. But contamination is just one of the many problems associated with this project.

The Board and the Council have not adequately addressed access to the project, and a traffic report is way past due. Currently, the land has only one entrance, a long driveway on the highly travelled Clifton Ave. It’s been agreed that at least two more access roads are needed for the property. But like most aspects of this project, there are more questions than answers.

One option is to open Svea Ave., which currently dead ends on the side of Athenia Steel, but offers easy access. However, because of reasons that are unclear, the city has indicated that if Svea Ave. was to be opened, hours of use would be limited.

Additionally, the City and the Board want to purchase a Paulison Ave. car wash, demolish it and create a new intersection with a traffic light at Paulison and Washington Aves.

To create that access, the city needs approvals from the State and Federal rail authorities because this plan would require creating a ‘grade level crossing’ road across a busy NJ Transit passenger rail line.

We interviewed rail officials in last month’s magazine, one who said “...new crossings, especially on main lines, should not be considered unless there is no other viable alternative and then, consideration should be given to closing one or more existing crossings.”

In the interest of safety and smooth traffic flow, isn’t it time for the City Council and/or the Board of Education to conduct a comprehensive traffic study of the Athenia Steel project to let the public know what is feasible and what is not?

Tomahawk Promotions 1288 Main Avenue Downtown Clifton, NJ 07011 973-253-4400 • Tom.Hawrylko@verizon.net

EDITOR & PUBLISHER Tom Hawrylko BUSINESS MANAGER Cheryl Hawrylko GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andre Olave WRITERS Jack DeVries, Joe Torelli, Fran Hopkins, Raymond Tulling, Daniel Wolfe, Frank Santamassino, Gary Anolik, Joe Hawrylko

ADDRESSES & PHONE NUMBERS OF ELECTED OFFICIALS SERVING CLIFTON Federal Office Holders President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 202-456-1111 U.S. Senator Jon Corzine 502 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-4744 Local address: One Gateway Center, 11th Fl Newark, NJ 07102 973-645-3030 U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg 324 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 Local address: One Gateway Center, 1st Fl Newark, NJ 07102 973-639-8700 Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. 1722 Lonworth House Office Bldg Washington, DC 20515 202-225-5751 Local office: Robert A. Roe Federal Bldg 200 Federal Plaza, Suite 500 Paterson, NJ 07505 973-523-5152 State Office Holders

Passaic County Freeholders All Freeholders can be reached by writing this address: Passaic County Administration Bldg 401 Grand St, Rm 223 Paterson, NJ 07505 973-881-4414 Individual names and numbers: Freeholder Director Elease Evans 973-225-5417 Deputy Freeholder Director James Gallagher 973-225-5415 Freeholder Lois A. Cuccinello 973-225-5416 Freeholder Terry Duffy 973-881-4537 Freeholder Peter C. Eagler 973-881-7891 Freeholder Pat Lepore 973-881-4536 Freeholder Sonia Rosado 973-881-4417

Clifton City Council All Council members can be reached by writing this address: City of Clifton 900 Clifton Ave Clifton, NJ 07013 Individual names and numbers: Mayor James Anzaldi 973-470-5757 Councilman Frank Gaccione 973-773-3788 Councilman Steven Hatala, Jr. 973-777-5389 Councilwoman Gloria Kolodziej 973-777-6600 Councilman Donald R. Kowal 973-777-0977 Councilman Stefan Tatarenko 973-777-4920 Councilman Edward Welsh 973-478-4031 Clifton Board of Education All school board members can be reached at this phone number: 973-470-2288.

Individual mailing addresses: President Joseph C. Kolodziej 113 Fornelius Ave., Clifton 07013

Lizz M. Gagnon Other Elected County Officials 34 Brookwood Rd.,Clifton 07012 These individuals perform a Marie L. Hakim variety of services and are elected 299 Lakeview Ave.,Clifton 07011 to terms of various lengths: Keith La Forgia State Senator Nia H. Gill Surrogate William J. Bate 7 Myron St., Clifton 07014 425 Bloomfield Ave, 2nd Fl Passaic County Courthouse James A. Leeshock Montclair, NJ 07042 77 Hamilton St., Room 101, 16 Harold Pl., Clifton 07013 973-509-0388 Paterson, NJ 973-881-4711 Kim Renta State Assemblyman Peter C. Eagler Clerk Karen Brown 131 Pershing Rd., Clifton 07013 1113 Main Ave Passaic County Admin. Bldg.

Clifton, NJ 07011 James M. Smith 401 Grand St., Room 130, 973-458-1130 162 Beverly Hill Rd., Clifton 07012 Paterson, NJ 973-225-3632 State Assemblywoman Norm Tahan Sheriff Jerry Speziale Sheila Y. Oliver 141 Rutgers Pl., Clifton 07013 Public Safty Complex 15-33 Halsted Street John M. Traier 435 Hamburg Tpk. East Orange, NJ 07018 15 E. Parkway, Clifton 07014 Wayne 07470 • 973-389-5919 973-395-1166 Governor Richard Codey The State House, PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625-001 609-292-6000

Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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Clifton Merchant Magazine 1288 Main Ave. Clifton 07011 Tom.Hawrylko@Verizon.Net

Letters to the Editor Road Rage in Allwood: I am a Bloomfield resident who shops and visit Clifton often but in the past four years I have been incensed by some traffic decisions made by your government. Let’s start with the Allwood Roundabout. It took three years of unwarranted delays to destroy a working traffic circle and come up with the flop of the century. What were they thinking when they came up with a six way yield system? One can barely move through a yield sign in one direction when they hit another directional. Traffic does not move faster or safer.

What were you thinking? Maybe a traffic light would have been a better choice with right turn passage lanes allowed. I am not offering a solution but it is clear planners or government officials haven’t either.

The second traffic monster you have created is near the entrance to Clifton Commons at Route 3 and Main Ave. connecting to Allwood Rd. Has anyone from the Clifton government driven there and watched cars just waiting to get through a traffic light system that allows no one to move through quickly? It is a nightmare. Traffic lights are supposed to control traffic. This group of consecutive lights creates congestion. I do not have the solution but it is clear that the city doesn’t either.

More thought should have been put into this project for the good of driving safety. Infuriating drivers should not be the mission. Road Rage is the only product of this expensive boondoggle.

Steve Goldschmidt Bloomfield

Dear Steve: Over the past two years, we have written extensively about the construction of the Allwood Roundabout and recently one of our Council members made a vigorous opposition to its existence.

Unfortunately, his advocacy came about three years too late. In a story in the Dateline Journal a few weeks ago, Councilman Ed Welsh complained about the disaster known as the Allwood Roundabout. A spokesperson from Passaic County asked why didn’t Welsh or his colleagues speak up when the Clifton City Council had reviewed the plans, some three years prior? —Editor 6

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Hoop Dreams: I read your magazine with great interest. I lived the first 36 years of my life in Clifton. The last 20 years I’ve lived in Palisades Park where I teach high school and coach high school track and field/cross country. I know John Pontes, head coach of Clifton, very well. Our two teams scrimmage every spring.

I was recently selected by the Record as North Jersey Cross Country Coach of the Year for the Girls after our girls team won the Group One state championships by two points on Nov. 13 at Holmdel Park. My Palisades Park Boys teams won state Group One titles in 1995, 1996 and 2000.

I am not writing to inflate my ego. In fact, my friends always kid me about all the lay-ups I missed playing basketball in the Clifton Heavyweight Recreation League.

I, like many of my friends, talk incessantly about the great games and all the fun we had playing Recreation Basketball two nights a week for many winters at Woodrow Wilson and Christopher Columbus.

Zeppy Fighto (sp?) was always running the clock. I played with Bill Dolinsky, Neil Westerdruin (sp?), Jim and Steve Placo, played against John Mohonchak, Mike Scott and many others. I don’t know if you covered this yet. If not, I think it would make a great feature.

Frank Donohue Palisades Park

Clear as a Bell: There’s an error in the Mustang Traditions article in the Dec., 2004 issue regarding the bell rung upon touchdowns and wins at the Clifton football games.

It was not donated by the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, as your story states, as the company did not come into existence until Oct. 17, 1960.

On that date, the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad merged with the Erie Railroad to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad.

Thus, the bell is from a retired Erie Railroad steam locomotive.

The Erie donated a number of bells to communities and churches along its system when they ‘dieselized’ in the early 1950’s. The original locomotive number is probably stamped in either the cradle or bell, possibly both, as this was common practice in the days of steam.

Al Holleuffer Clifton

The resignation of CEPC Chair Al DuBois impressed me. After 16 years on Clifton’s Environmental Protective Commission, he stated that the commission is ignored and is never brought in to comment on new developments in the city.

I admire Mr. Dubois for his courage and honesty. I also wonder who profited the most from the ugliness that has replaced the for-

mer Shulton factory on Colfax Ave. It was land that could housed a school and large park for residents and the city’s children. But that may have been too environmentally sound and who would have made all the money? I have lived in Clifton all my life, growing up on Piaget Ave. While it may already be too late, can we stop all this development in our city? Does the CEPC protect any of our environments? If it doesn’t, that group should be disbanded.

Our policy is to publish corrections or clarifications as needed. If you feel that an article is incorrect, please call or write us.

Thanks again for keeping me informed of all that is happening in Clifton, both good and bad. Your editorial coverage is top notch.

Clifton Firemen’s Benevolent Association (FMBA Local#21) would like to thank residents who made our annual Christmas Toys for Tots drive an overwhelming success. Donations of toys, dolls, games, bikes and clothes exceeded all expectations and was greater than any previous year. Along with this, Clifton ChildrensWear on Getty Ave. made a donation of over 500 toys that enabled the FMBA to include the Boys & Girls Club and St Peter’s Haven on our Christmas gift list. Again, thank you for your generous contributions.

Mary E. Tiberi Clifton

Rich Delotto Clifton

Arlene McCarren Clifton

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Clifton’s

By Jack De Vries

Super Bowl Coach Ditch Malavasi took the lessons learned as a Mustang to football’s ultimate stage. wenty five years ago, the Mustangs made it to the Super Bowl, tucked inside the heart of the coach of the Los Angeles Rams.

Though the Rams lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19, the Jan. 20, 1980, game was a triumph for Clifton. On the sidelines of the Rose Bowl stood one of Joe Grecco’s boys— Ray Malavasi, a leader created from the dirt of Nash Park and forged by the spirit of Grecco’s fiery halftime speeches.

Both Malavasi and Grecco loved football with a passion. As players, it wasn’t touchdowns or glory that drove them, but the battle to control the line of scrimmage—a victory decided by strength, technique, and force of will.

Each was intelligent. Grecco was a scholar-athlete center at Upsala College before becoming a coach; Malavasi was the lineman whom Grecco trusted to call the Mustangs’ offensive and defensive signals— the hell with the quarterback running the show.

Years later, when asked about his best players, Malavasi’s name would roll off the coach’s tongue.

“Ray Mal-a-Vay-See,” Grecco’s voice would boom, enjoying each musical syllable, “got more out of his ability than any player I ever coached.

He was so driven to make himself a good football player that it seemed he did more than he was capable of doing.”

Malavasi carried the football dreams of every Mustang far beyond his hometown.

T

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

When he led his Rams against the Steelers, every Clifton player went with him—a long line that stretched from Grecco and through Coaches Bill Vander Closter and John Lischak.

If only his story ended after the third quarter of Super Bowl XIV with the Rams leading 1917, everything might have been perfect.

However, real life never ends that way.

Ditch of Nash Park In 1945, Joe Grecco was selling dreams. The Clifton coach was on a mission to build a downtrodden football program, showing his Mustangs game films at every hot dog night and club meeting in the city. He told parents football was good for their sons; it would build character and discipline.

Raymondo Giuseppi Giovanni Baptiste Malavasi’s parents weren’t buying.

☛

Ditch Malavasi as a 1948 Fighting Mustang. Photo provided by Gloria Chigounis.

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The Clifton Buffalos in Nash Park, fall 1944. Top Row: Coach Charley Triola, Walter Shenton, Art Conrad, Ed Farley, John Fitzgerald, Harry Fichtner, Rudy Turrin, Floyd Zanetti, Enzo Mazzer. Middle Row: John Murphy, Enzo Balduini, Ray Malavasi, Victor De Luca, Jordan Serafin, Don Hagedorn. Bottom Row: Mario De Luca, Bill Beverage, Leroy Belli, Julius Tibolla, Adolph Frinko, Ziggy Fisher, John Chiamolera. Photo courtesy of James J. Marrocco.

Italian immigrants from the Northern Italian Dolomite Mountain region, they didn’t care about this strange game; their only child would go to college. They dotted on their son, especially Malavasi’s mother, who ran the family’s Van Riper Ave. home.

Ray’s dad worked as a carpenter in the Bayonne Navy Yard.

Cousin Adeline DeLotto remembers young Ray as a big, stocky, generous boy who loved to eat and

practice his accordion. Friend Gloria Chigounis recalls a classmate everyone liked, the grammar school class clown.

But there was another side of Malavasi, one more comfortable on the nearby Nash Park fields. He was a rambling, tough kid, whose clothes were often covered with dirt from falling down. Friend Rocco “Rock” Zanet told Ray he often looked like he was “digging a ditch.” The nickname, “Ditch,” stuck—a perfect

moniker for a lineman. When Grecco held his football tryouts, Malavasi forged his mother’s signature on a permission slip and went out for the team.

Ditch excelled on the gridiron, helping the Mustangs to a 22-3-1 record during his three varsity seasons. As a sophomore, he was part of the undefeated 1946 Clifton squad that won the state championship and played in the Oyster Bowl in Norfolk, Va., losing to Granby High, 6-0.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

The next season, Malavasi was a unanimous selection at tackle on the All-State and All-Metropolitan teams. As a senior, he repeated those honors and was chosen as a Wigwam All-American.

“Ray was incredibly talented,” says Joe Scanella, one of Grecco’s assistants who later coached with Malavasi on the Oakland Raiders staff. “After Boettcher, he was the second fastest guy on the team. He could’ve played any position on the field.”

Running back Jim Haraka describes him as a fiery player.

“He could do things on the field that were almost unheard of,” Haraka says. “Every opposing team had to double-team him at the line.

We’d run the ‘43 reverse’ where (star running back) Bobby Boettcher was used as a decoy, and Ray would block for me. He would take out two guys by himself—Ditch never cared about his body. Every time we ran the play, it seemed we’d gain 10 or 15 yards.”

☛

Fateful Play

Ray Malavasi played a fateful role in Jim Haraka’s terrible injury on the first play of the 1948 season in the opening game against Paterson Central at Hinchliffe Stadium. “Ray was supposed to kick-off,” remembers Haraka, “but his ankle was bothering him so Coach Grecco told me to kick. I had a bet with Malavasi about who would get down the field first.” On the play, Malavasi tacked the ball carrier, but Haraka was hit from opposite directions—the force of the collision fracturing his right thighbone, effectively ending his promising football career. Pictured from left Coach Grecco, Malavasi, center Mike Pelech and Haraka.

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Haraka also remembers Malavasi’s leadership qualities, calling him “an extension of Coach Grecco on the field.” Boettcher, also an All-American, describes the bigshouldered Malavasi as a serious young man in high school.

“I’d see him in the hallway,” says Boettcher, “but he never stopped or talked—he was on his way to his next class. The same on the football field—there was no fooling around with Ray. It was like he was in a world of his own. After practice, he usually went off with his friends from his neighborhood, Rudy Turrin and Enzo Balduini.”

Boettcher also remembers Malavasi’s interest in business.

While in high school, the teammates founded a used car business, buying old cars for $25 and selling them for $75 at a friend’s gas station in Wayne.

But Boettcher most recalls Malavasi’s love of football.

“On Sundays,” he says, “Ray would play with Rudy Turrin’s sandlot team in Nash Park. He’d take a ski hat and cut out holes for his eyes and pull it over his face.

He knew Grecco didn’t want him playing sandlot ball.”

Fullback Bob Pityo says, “Calling plays in the huddle, Ray was always on an even-keel, never excited. But when we needed motivation, he was vocal. During the 1946 Nutley game (Clifton trailed 13-0 at halftime, but won, 18-13), Ray was one of the main igniters of our comeback.”

It was at Nash Park that Ditch (while playing for Clifton High) got his first taste of coaching, guiding the Mustangs A.C. Indians (ages 12 to 14) to the city football championship.

“He was the same style coach as Grecco,” says Lou Poles, an end for the Indians. “He was also ahead of his time—Ray used short 3- to 6yard passes to set up the run, which was very unconventional back then.”

Malavasi in the Army-Navy program, 1950. Photo US Military Academy.

Now a Cadet After graduating CHS in January 1949, Malavasi went to West Point to play for Army, then one of the nation’s football powerhouses.

“We were both supposed to go,” says Boettcher, “but I wasn’t

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confident that I could handle the math. Ray thought he could.”

Though recruited by more than 20 colleges, Malavasi was sought by the legendary Vince Lombardi, an offensive coach at the Academy and a close friend of Grecco’s. “He was persuasive and powerful,” Malavasi told the Boston Globe in 1980, “and it would have been difficult to say no to him.”

At West Point, Ray also developed a relationship with defensive coach Murray Warmath—one that would later save Malavasi’s football career.

By his sophomore season, Malavasi was part of the nationally second-ranked Army squad, winners of 26 games and two ties. To cap their undefeated 1950 season, all that remained for Cadets was to beat the 2-6 Midshipmen in the annual Army-Navy game. The Dec. 2 contest served as an omen for Malavasi’s future at West Point.

“I’ll Betcha a Hat!” It was during an afternoon at the Hendricks Field Golf Club in Belleville that Vince Lombardi vowed to prove his friend Joe Grecco wrong. The two coaches were arguing about Lombardi’s new West Point recruit and Grecco’s former player, Ray Malavasi.

Lombardi, then an Army assistant coach, loved the type of player Malavasi was, but vowed to change his lineman’s stance from wide to more compact. Lombardi believed the new stance would make Malavasi better; Grecco said Ray’s stance could not be altered without negatively affecting his play.

Not one to refuse a challenge, Lombardi argued he could. “All right,” said Grecco, “I’ll betcha a hat!”

At the end of the next season, Lombardi delivered a new hat to Grecco, admitting the Clifton coach was right about Malavasi.

Grecco wore Lombardi’s hat during many Saturday afternoons on the sidelines at Clifton School Stadium.

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During the two weeks before the game, the Cadets practiced inside their field house. Army’s Col. Earl “Red” Blaik, later wrote, “In my 25 years as head coach, I never made a worse mistake.”

When the Cadets took the field at Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium, bitterly cold temperatures awaited them—along with a crowd of more than 100,000, including President Harry S. Truman.

Ironically, lining up for Navy was Malavasi’s former Clifton teammate, Ted Kukowski.

The Midshipmen jumped out to a 14-0 lead, intercepting Army quarterback Bob Blaik (the coach’s son) five times.

Hampered by the cold, the Cadets suffered a 14-2 defeat, giving Navy its first victory over Army in seven years and one of the greatest upsets in college football history.

Next summer, things got worse.

On Aug. 3, 1951, the nation was

“I was an All-American... and I had everything to look forward to. It was a bad experience but in the end I made the only decision that I felt I could live with—that I couldn’t tell on my fellow classmates” –Ray Malavasi

rocked by news of a cheating scandal at West Point involving the football team.

The cadets were divided into two regiments, and each took identical quizzes on different days. Because the regiments were kept separate, there was no chance to violate West Point’s honor code: “A cadet does not lie, cheat, or steal. A cadet who knows something about someone who has lied, cheated, or stolen must report him for violating the code.”

However, regiments did mix—at the athletes’ dining hall tables where quiz answers were passed.

As detailed in When Pride Still Mattered by David Maranis, the scandal broke when a West Point swimmer reported the scandal as dictated by the honor code.

Investigations revealed “cribbing” had gone on since 1947.

While the senior class was allowed to graduate (none admitted taking part), the underclassmen on Coach Blaik’s advice confessed their involvement and 83 left the Academy. Included among them were Blaik’s son Bob and Clifton’s Ray Malavasi.

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Clifton teammate and Malavasi’s lifelong friend, “Ray told me he had nothing to do with the cheating.”

In the 1980 Globe interview, Malavasi related, “I was an All-American heading... and I had everything to look forward to. It was a bad experience but in the end I made the only decision that I felt I could live with—that I couldn’t tell on my fellow classmates.”

Malavasi’s wife Mary knows her husband didn’t need to cheat. “It was a family joke about math,” she says. “Ray could do numbers in his head while the kids and I struggled with math. He left West Point because he violated the honor code by not saying anything about his teammates.”

In 1996, when asked about Malavasi’s involvement in the scandal, Grecco paused, thought, and said, “He got caught up in something that was going on a long time before he got there.”

Said Vander Closter, Grecco’s assistant coach at the time, “If it bothered Joe, he never showed it. He never spoke about it.”

Coaching Nomad However, the West Point scandal bothered others.

Some believed the honor code, which encouraged cadets to betray each other, and the poor system of administering tests, were partly to blame.

Warmath, who would go on to lead the University

Mustang Coach Bill Vander Closter (right) and Ray Malavasi, at the Los Angeles Rams training facility around 1980.

of Minnesota Gophers to a national championship, thought the expelled cadets were mistreated, believing them “fine young men.” He began helping place players at different schools, landing Malavasi at Kansas State. Joseph P. Kennedy, the future president’s father, quietly provided scholarship money for the expelled cadets.

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After one semester at Kansas State, Malavasi joined Warmath at Mississippi State, where his old Army coach had taken the head job. However, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) barred any of the expelled cadets from playing.

“Because he couldn’t play,” says Warmath, 91, “Ray coached the freshman (while earning a degree in civil engineering). He was intelligent and had a quick mind.

He did okay in school, but could’ve done better if it interested him more.”

Though unable to play in games, Malavasi participated in the varsity practices.

“On the field, he looked like another guy,” Warmath recalls. “Ray wasn’t especially big, but when the whistle blew, he’d get after it. Nobody played with more enthusiasm or got more out of his ability. He loved to play rough… sometimes a bit too rough. And he was always thinking out there, knowing the down, distance, situation—just the way a quarterback does.”

In 1953, Malavasi was the eighth round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. However, his toughness and desire couldn’t overcome his injured knee and lack of NFL size. With the advent of the Korean War, he took a lieutenant’s commission in the Army Engineering Corps.

During his two-year hitch (he also served 16 years in the Army Reserves), Malavasi coached the Fort Belvoir, Va., team to the service championship. He also met his

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future wife Mary, a nurse who had just returned from serving in Korea.

When Warmath offered him an assistant coach job at Minnesota in 1956, Malavasi began to chase his dream of one day becoming a successful head coach. He later worked in similar positions at Memphis State (crossing paths with Elvis Presley) and Wake Forest.

“Ray recruited me and Bill Galese from Eastside in Paterson,” says Bob Finamore, who starred for Paterson Central and is now the athletic director at Manchester Regional High School.

“Bill Vander Closter tipped him off about us. Being from the area, Ray always took care of us and made sure we were okay.”

“As a defensive coach, I’d call him a genius,” recalls Finamore.

“We beat some pretty big schools.”

Galese, who went on to become head football coach at Eastside, Elmwood Park, and Morris Hills, calls Malavasi “a coach’s coach.”

“It was an honor and pleasure to play for the man,” he says. “He looked like a coach—his nose had been broken from playing when they didn’t wear face masks. He was bright and a great tactician—knew the game backwards and forwards.

“Ray was energetic, enthusiastic, and very competitive—never afraid to mix it up with the boys. Once, he

“It was an honor and pleasure to play for the man. He was bright and a great tactian— knew the game backwards and forward.”

–Bill Galese

blocked a field goal during practice, knifing in between the line without pads. We never knew how he got in there. He’d also jump into the sprints to motivate the slower guys.

And his players emulated his rough and tumble style.”

Despite his disciplinarian reputation, Malavasi cared deeply about his players.

“He was always bringing home his kids,” says wife Mary Malavasi.

“If one of Ray’s players had a problem with his wife, I’d go see her.

They’d even borrow money from us—which was a joke because we didn’t have much.”

In 1962, Malavasi was hired as personnel director of the Denver Broncos. The next season, he became the defensive line coach.

After the firing of head coach Mac Speedie in 1966, Malavasi was elevated to interim head coach, leading the Broncos to a 4-8 record.

The following year, he became defensive coordinator for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Two years later, he joined the Buffalo Bills as an assistant coach.

Malavasi with the Denver Broncos.

While his Clifton fans enjoyed following his career, Malavasi’s parents were disappointed with his work.

“His mother Mary,” says Vander Closter (related to Malavasi through wife Gilda’s family), “would say, ‘Look at my Raymond running around as a coach. He has an engineering degree—he should use it.’”

Malavasi joined the 1970 Oakland Raiders coaching staff under John Madden.

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In 1973, he moved to the Los Angeles Rams, serving as defensive coordinator for Chuck Knox.

After five seasons, George Allen was brought in as Rams’ head coach—a move that disappointed Malavasi who wanted the top job.

But after moving his family an estimated 20 times since his coaching career began, Malavasi decided to stay in Los Angeles. He swallowed his pride, made plans to work as Allen’s offensive coordinator, and waited for another head coaching job to open.

Big Time Coach Malavasi studying film for an upcoming game. Photo Gloria Chigounis.

heart trouble and resulting quadruple bypass surgery. “Carroll also had heart surgery,” says Mary Malavasi, “and he advised Ray to go ahead with his. Carroll was very supportive and concerned about Ray and our family.”

Malavasi rewarded Rosenbloom’s

faith by leading Los Angeles to a 12-4 regular season record.

During the postseason, the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game, 34-10, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 28-0, in the NFC Championship contest.

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Malavasi didn’t wait long.

After two 1978 pre-seasons games, Allen was unexpectedly fired and the former Clifton Mustang gained his dream job.

Team owner Carroll Rosenbloom’s choice for new head coach was not a complete surprise.

The two men had become close during Malavasi’s

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During the 1978 season, Malavasi was honored by the Clifton C Club the day before a Dec. 3 game with the New York Giants. The next day, the Rams coach invited a few of his former teammates and friends, including Boettcher, to view the Rams’ 20-17 victory on the sidelines at Giants Stadium.

“There was no question of who was in charge,” says Boettcher. “Ray was constantly talking to his players, telling and showing how he wanted things done.”

The players loved Malavasi—something witnessed by the late Mustangs’ athletic trainer Lou “Cap” Capuano.

“I arranged with Ray,” says Vander Closter, “for Cap to visit the Rams’ locker room to see how the pro trainers taped ankles and worked on injuries. The first thing Cap said afterwards was, ‘Bill, those players really love Ray’—that made the biggest impression on him.”

As a coach, stopping the opposition was Malavasi’s specialty. From 1973 through 1979, his Ram defense allowed the NFL’s fewest rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, total yards, and points, while amassing the most quarterback sacks.

Though liked by his owner and players, the coach had an uneasy relationship with the press and cared little about what reporters wrote. “Ray read Ann Landers,” says Mary Malavasi. “I would read what they wrote and tell him, but even then he didn’t care that much.”

A bit overweight, his mop of gray hair often fighting the wind, Malavasi’s old school image contrasted with the glitzy L.A. media market. He also said what was on his mind, providing legendary quotes.

For example, he once told a writer, “I don’t care what the tape says. I didn’t say it.” When asked why he changed quarterbacks during one post-game interview, Malavasi retorted, “None of your damn business.”

Perhaps his funniest moment with the media was the interview… done while asleep.

JC

KMPC radio morning host Robert W. Morgan called Malavasi for a live ‘After the Game’ spot, a scheduled weekly interview at 7:22 am. Mary Malavasi answered the phone and passed it to her husband, whom she thought was awake. Both fell back to sleep.

Morgan proceeded to interview Malavasi, asking him questions about the game played the night before.

Each time, Malavasi replied with a loud snore.

“Ray usually didn’t need much sleep,” says Mary Malavasi, “but after that game, we must have been tired. We didn’t get upset about (the interview)—we thought it was funny.”

Super Season The 1979 season would test Malavasi like never before. In April, Rosenbloom drowned while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the team to his widow Georgia. The new owner soon fired Rosenbloom’s son Steve, who was his father’s choice to run the Rams.

Rumors swirled that Malavasi was next to go. One sportswriter called the Rams a “soap opera in cleats.”

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Before the big game, back in Clifton, Malavasi (second left) is flanked by members of the Clifton “C” Booster Club, Charles Manella, Bob Narsavage and Don Matsko.

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From Nash Park to the Super Bowl On the morning of Jan. 20, 1980, Father Julian Varettoni at Clifton’s Sacred Heart R.C. Church made a special request to his parishioners: “Everyone say a prayer for Ray Malavasi and the Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl today.”

While calling on God to intervene on NFL team’s behalf was highly unusual at a Catholic Mass, it wasn’t every day that a former parishioner was coaching in America’s biggest game.

Outside the Italian American COOP building in Botany Village, a large sign hung wishing Malavasi well. Almost overnight, Clifton had gone from a city of Giants and Jets rooters to one filled with enthusiastic Rams fans.

Three-thousand miles away in California, Malavasi made sure everyone knew Clifton was on his mind. When asked if he and his team would be intimidated by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ imposing black jerseys, he told the Los Angles Times that he had grown up wearing the same color.

“It was one of my first coaching jobs,” Malavasi said. “I was in high school and I was playing on and coaching a sandlot team sponsored by Marrocco Funeral Home (the Clifton Buffalos).

That was back in good old Clifton, New Jersey.

Everything we wore was black.”

The Fighting Mustangs were present at the Super Bowl in other ways. On a previous visit to L.A.’s training complex, former coach Bill Vander Closter found the old Clifton High playbook on Malavasi’s desk. “That’s right, Bill,” he said when Vander Closter spotted it, “it’s still here.”

Malavasi’s mentor and former coach Joe Grecco led a group of Cliftonites to attend Super Bowl XIV, part of more than 103,000 fans that would watch the contest at the Rose Bowl. When Grecco visited Malavasi at the Rams training complex before the big game, he got a surprising welcome.

“We ran into ABC sportscaster Dick Schaap,” says Grecco’s nephew Joe Dolinoy. “After we introduced ourselves, he said to my uncle, ‘So you’re the great Joe Grecco from Clifton, New Jersey that I’ve heard so much about.’”

Malavasi and the Rams gave Clifton much to cheer about.

Despite being 10-point underdogs, the Rams were unfazed by the three-time Super Bowl champion Steelers, taking a 13-10 halftime lead.

After Pittsburgh scored to make it 17-13, Malavasi’s Rams stormed back and scored a touchdown on a halfback option pass for a 19-17 lead (L.A. missed the extra point).

But with 2:56 gone in the final quarter, quarterback Terry Bradshaw hit John Stallworth on a 73yard touchdown bomb to give Pittsburgh a 24-19 lead. The Rams answered, driving to the Steelers 32-yard line before quarterback Vince Ferragamo was intercepted. The Steelers added another touchdown, making the final score 31-19.

Despite the loss, Clifton remained proud of Malavasi. Perhaps Herald-News sportswriter Augie Lio summed up the city’s pride best when he wrote: “Congratulations, Ray. If there has ever been one time in your extensive coaching career where your true character and guts have showed, this is it.”

Special thanks to Lou Poles, Bill Vander Closter, and Maureen and Jeff Beach for their photos and help writing this article.

Clifton Merchant • February 2005

23

“Carroll understood the game,” says Mary Malavasi. “It was a difficult thing for Ray having a woman takeover.”

The rumors got louder when the team got off to a dismal 4-5 start, hurt by injuries to nine starters.

Now taking orders from a former chorus girl and nightclub singer just off her sixth marriage, Malavasi made the best of his position. Ignoring reports of his impending firing, he led the Rams to a 9-7 record, including four wins in the last five games to win the NFC Western Division.

In the NFC playoffs, Los Angeles beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21-19, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 9-0, to earn the Rams’ first trip to the Super Bowl.

Running back Lawrence McCutcheon recalled how his coach rallied the team.

“We had lost five or six in a row and we’re struggling,” McCutcheon told the Orange County Register in 1987, “but Ray told us that if you believe in yourself, things will work out. We went on to the Super Bowl. Not giving up, believing in ourselves made that possible.”

Though the Rams would lose Super Bowl XIV to the Steelers, the game, played before more than 103,000 fans and millions more watching on TV, had given

Three All Americans, all from CHS, were honored by the Saint & Sinners Society back in the 1980’s. From left, Frank Pecci, the only Scholastic Magazine Junior All American in the history of New Jersey, and Ray Malavasi and Bobby Boettcher.

Malavasi a moment on sports’ ultimate stage and secured his place in football history.

The Cheering Stops The next season, the Rams finished 11-5 and qualified for a postseason wild card spot, but lost a playoff game to the Dallas Cowboys, 34-13. In 1981, L.A. went 6-10, and then dropped to 2-7 in the strike-shortened 1982 season, leading to Malavasi’s firing.

His final record as Rams head coach was 40-33.

“We were surprised when Ray was fired,” says Mary Malavasi,

“especially with the strike that year.

He had a hard time with the firing.

It broke his heart.”

Many thought Malavasi would be back in the NFL soon, but a job never materialized. Some speculated he only wanted to return as a head coach; others said Ray’s blunt, old school reputation kept him out.

“He was supposed to take a job with the Eagles,” says Mary Malavasi. “But it fell through.”

Daughter Maureen Beach says her father was offered a position with the Chicago Bears, but didn’t want to move away from California and his children.

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Without football, Malavasi turned to business.

While in coaching, he owned two restaurants and other ventures, but was never able to devote time to run them properly. His wife said he often listened to successful people, but was stubborn and followed his own advice.

“He wasn’t a businessman,” she says. “Someone was always talking him into something. He was too good-hearted—he believed people.”

After many businesses failures, Malavasi retuned to football, coaching in the United States Football League and trying to get the International Football League off the ground. Neither league lasted.

Before long, his bad business decisions landed him in deep financial trouble. In 1986, Malavasi declared bankruptcy. His health also worsened as he battled his weight and an alcohol problem. Mary left him when his drinking became too much.

“His whole life was football,” Mary Malavasi says.

“He loved the competition and camaraderie. When that was taken away, it was hard.”

But with every setback, Malavasi fought back, searching to make things right.

A job with International Daleco Technologies gave him some success as he used his engineering skills to work with holography, a process using laser light to produce three-dimensional images.

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Ray and Mary Malavasi with an unidentified individual.

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However, the lure of football remained strong. In 1987, daughter Maureen remembers her father coaching in Australia before returning to California late that year.

On Dec. 15, 1987, Malavasi’s health problems finally caught up with him. He suffered a fatal heart attack while at the federal court building in Orange County, Calif. Malavasi was there because of a suit over an old debt—one of six suits, the Los Angels Times reported, pending against him. He was 57 years old.

While the last years of his life were hard, they are only part of Ray Malavasi’s story. He remained, as Bill Vander Closter said when he died, “the same guy he had been here in Clifton.”

Rams quarterback Pat Haden said, “He was a nice man… a guy who knew more about football from a technical standpoint than anybody I’d ever been around.” Guard Dennis Harrah said, “He’s the first coach I ever liked.” And Hall of Fame defensive end Jack Youngblood said Malavasi had “the most influence of any one man on my career. He didn’t just give you what he had, he gave you more.”

Malavasi was also remembered as a devout Catholic, a man who could never refuse someone in need of a handout or a group seeking a free after-dinner speaker. He was also a devoted father who loved his family and made time for his children.

“He couldn’t be there all the time when he was coaching,” says Mary Malavasi. “But whenever they’d call, he’d get right back to them. He loved his kids.” Says his daughter Maureen, “I still miss him so much.”

As do his friends. They remember his talent as a Mustang football player, and how he was never too busy for a phone call or visit—even after he became Rams head coach. And they remember Ray taking them along, in spirit, all the way to the Super Bowl.

“Write a nice article about Ray,” says Joe Scanella. “He was a hell of a guy.”

Ray Malavasi as a West Point Cadet in 1949.

On Feb. 6, bring Your Family to the Boys & Girls Club for the....

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26

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Federal Mortgage Offers Senior Citizens A Reverse Mortgage

F

or some 32 years now, Anthony A. Accavallo, shown here, has been helping make the American Dream become a reality, right here in Clifton.

As President of Federal Mortgage & Investment Corp. at 1111 Clifton Ave., Clifton, he and his firm have written millions of dollars worth of mortgages which have allowed people to purchase homes. And while that work has been fulfilling, Accavallo said he is getting his greatest satisfaction these days by helping senior citizens with reverse mortgages.

A reverse mortgage is a special kind of mortgage loan for seniors. “It is a safe, easy way to turn your home equity into tax-free cash,” he continued.

“Unlike a home equity loan, you do not have to make monthly payments.

Instead, a reverse mortgage pays you.

More importantly, you do not have to repay the loan for as long as you live in the house. It’s a great way to keep your home and get money from it at the same time.”

The name “reverse mortgage” describes exactly what the mortgage is — it is the exact opposite of a conventional mortgage. That is, with a conventional mortgage the borrower pays the lender but with a reverse mortgage, the lender pays the borrower.

In the past, a senior citizen in need of money would have to take out a loan against their house and immediately start making monthly payments again or sell their home.

How do I qualify for a Reverse Mortgage?

It’s simple. You and your co-borrower must be at least 62 years old.

You must own your home free and clear or have just a small balance on your existing mortgage. Best of all, there are no income or credit requirements to satisfy.

How can I receive my money?

You can receive it in several ways: •Equal monthly payments as long as you live in your home •Equal monthly payments for a certain period of time •As a line of credit you can draw upon as needed, for whatever reasons •As a lump sum draw at closing •A combination of the above, to meet your requirements.

But a reverse mortgage allows seniors to borrow against the equity they already have in their home... and they never have to make a monthly payment.

Each reverse mortgage candidate is required to attend a free counseling session with a local independent housing agency approved by FHA (Federal Housing Administration).

Candidates are encouraged to bring other family members with them to help in the decision-making process.

“This process ensures that the borrower understands the program fully and aides them in determining whether or not a reverse mortgage is for them,” said Accavallo.

When must I repay the loan?

You must repay the loan if you no longer live in your home.

In the event of your death, your heirs can choose to repay the loan and keep the house or sell the house and repay the loan, What are interest rate charges & fees?

•An adjustable rate of interest is charged on reverse mortgages •Closing costs are typical for any mortgage closing and all may be financed •No out-of-pocket expenses at closing Are Reverse Mortgages safe?

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1-800-788-1184 www.federalmtg.com Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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Forever Love L

ove. It’s hard to describe precisely what it is, and no doubt, the experience of love between a man and a woman is different each time it happens.

But as we interviewed eight Clifton couples for this special Valentine’s feature, it became apparent that there are certain essential requirements for lasting marital love.

Some common themes run through their stories, regardless of age or ethnicity, education or financial status.

While of course our sample isn’t statistically significant, we informally observed the following characteristics of enduring relationships: • Respect for each other • Open communication • Sense of humor • Importance of family • Community involvement

28

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

So in this month that belongs to Cupid and St. Valentine, enjoy these simple, happy stories of unique couples – your neighbors, friends and relatives – who just may have a few things to teach the rest of us about how to make love last.

Most of the stories in this section were written by Fran Hopkins, with the exception of the profile of Rhoda and Bill Frisch, which was prepared by Joe Hawrylko.

In memory of Joe and Julia Hawrylko, married on May 24, 1947.

John & Ginny Kostisin “He had great legs. He still does,” Ginny Kostisin exclaimed, describing what first attracted her to her now 73-year-old husband, John. John denied that his legs had anything to do with it. “I had a nice car,” he said. “She was mercenary.” But when Ginny left the conversation for a moment John confided, “She was a very good-looking girl.”

Ginny, 68, and John will be married 47 years on June 14. “She puts up with me,” John said. “I won’t deny it,” Ginny quipped.

What it is that Ginny has to put up with? “A man sometimes has a temper,” John said. “And when you’re coaching (which John did for many years between 1972 and 1985), you’re never around. And everything depends on what kind of season the team is having.”

John and Ginny (nee Garvey) Kostisin met as juniors at Paterson State College in 1956. They got together thanks to the encouragement of Ginny’s friend, Gerry. “Gerry had dated John a couple of times but had her eye on Bob, another basketball player (at William Paterson). So she asked me to make a play for John. In those days a basketball player wouldn’t move in on another basket-

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John and Ginny Kostisin, married in 1958.

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29

“He was a basketball player. In those days, they wore short shorts, not those long baggy below-the-knee things they wear today.”

Ginny Kostisin

ball player, so she wanted me to distract John,” Ginny explained. Gerry knew the basketball players because she was a cheerleader.

So, good friend that she was, Ginny ‘made a play’ for John. “Everywhere he was, I was,” she said. “We wouldn’t normally run into each other because I was in elementary education and he was in junior high education.” And how did she discover that he had such “great legs”? “He was a basketball player. In those days, they wore short shorts, not those long baggy below-the-knee things they wear today,” she said.

John’s a bit older than Ginny because he had been in the Army before going to college and had transferred from Indiana State. John is a lifelong Clifton resident, but Ginny lived in Palisades Park and Hasbrouck Heights before moving to Clifton with her brand-new husband in 1958. They’ve lived in their current home on Fairmount Ave. for nearly 41 years.

The couple have four children: two daughters in Bloomingdale, a son in Rhode Island, and another son in Nebraska, along with eight granddaughters ranging in age from 16 to six weeks. “They’re the light of our lives,” Ginny said.

John long denied ever having “popped the question” to Ginny. “But one of our sons was looking in our attic and found love letters that John wrote to me when I was away in the summers working at the Fire Island ferry with my uncle,” Ginny said. “They were very passionate letters and my son read them and saw that John had proposed in writing. He said, ‘Dad, she has it in black in white.’”

They were married right after graduation and honeymooned in Virginia Beach. “Virginia is for lovers,” Ginny noted.

John and Ginny both taught school. John taught science at Woodrow Wilson for 25 years. He also coached basketball, including freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams, and retired in 1986. Afterwards he worked for Scott Tire on Route 46 but “now he’s really retired,” Ginny said.

Ginny taught in Nutley and North Haledon between having babies and then substituted in the Clifton public schools for 18 years before going back to teaching math full-time in Haledon for 24 years, retiring last June.

The Kostisins currently share their love and their home with a 13-year-old Ukrainian girl, Alisa Kepa, and her mother as part of the Ukrainian Gift of Life Program. Alisa was scheduled for heart surgery on Jan. 24 and she and her mother will stay with the Kostisins until Alisa is well enough to return to the Ukraine.

The Kostisins currently share their love and their home with a 13year-old Ukrainian girl, Alisa Kepa, and her mother Halya as part of the Ukrainian Gift of Life Program.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

“We learned about the Gift of Life Program in 1998 from the Topp family in Haledon,” Ginny explained. “I taught their two older children. The Topps hosted many, many children who received heart operations through the Gift of Life.”

So in 1998, the Kostisins decided to take in a 12year-old Ukrainian girl who needed a heart operation.

“She was so pale and could barely walk up a flight of stairs,” Ginny said. “After her operation, she was at a party with us at Discovery Zone and she was running all over the place. Her mother was in tears.”

The Kostisins love to travel throughout Europe and recently took the opportunity to visit the girl, Oksana Moskva, whom they’d helped in 1998. “Her cheeks were so rosy,” Ginny said. “I said to her, ‘Oh, you’re wearing makeup,” and she said, ‘No, no, natural.” Oksana is now a healthy dean’s list college student.

So how do the Kostisins keep their romance alive?

“By going on vacations,” Ginny said. “We’ve had several honeymoons.” Ginny recalled that her friend Gerry never did catch the other basketball player’s attention. But Ginny and John hit it off and have been together since.

“She got the prize,” John said, referring to his loving wife. “The booby prize.”

☛

Ukrainian Gift of Life, Inc. (UGoL), was incorporated in 1996 as a volunteer organization working to facilitate as many Ukrainian children’s heart surgeries as possible while supporting the advancement and self-sufficiency of pediatric cardiology in Ukraine.

Children with congenital heart defects are examined and diagnosed at the UGoL partner clinic in Lviv. If the required surgical treatment has a high success rate and low mortality rate in Ukraine, then surgery is performed at the Cardiac Surgery Center in Lviv Regional Hospital.

If the child’s family is in financial need, a sponsor is identified in the US to purchase the consumables needed for the child’s surgery. Through this collaboration, 150 more children’s open-heart surgeries have been performed in Ukraine since 2000.

Over 100 other children have been brought to the US since 1996 for surgeries at Montefiore Hospital and NYU Medical Center in New York, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson and Hope Children’s Hospital in Chicago. The UGoL has an alliance with Rotary International District 7490 for surgeries performed in the New Jersey metropolitan area.

For more on Ukrainian Gift of Life, Inc. (UGoL), or to make a tax deductible contribution, write to UGoL at 233 Rock Rd.; Glen Rock, NJ 07452, call 201-652-4762 or visit www.ugolinc.com

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US Post Office 973-473-4946

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Fascination Beauty Salon 973-473-6105

Exchange Florist 973-594-0700

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Footnotes Bookstore & Learning Center 973-779-6122

Alice’s Cards & Gifts

Kid City 973-614-1111

Celebrations

Marty’s Shoes 973-471-4140

Pet Stuff 973-778-1617

Dress Barn 973-249-0233

The Men’s Gallery 973-777-4700

Cleaners 2000 973-614-1400

The Artisan’s Touch 973-471-0001

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C E N T E R

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

“You have to know each other’s wants. You have to talk , you have to communicate.”

Anna Torres

Anna & Fred Torres Fred Torres, a system analyst for Cigna Health Care, believes that the same logical, problem-solving approach that he employs at work is key to his and his wife Anna’s happy marriage.

“I treat my marriage like a business,” Fred said.

“You have to know where you’re going, how to get there, and you have to fix things on the spot. I’m always evaluating the relationship.” (Note to female Merchant readers: sounds like a man, doesn’t it?)

Fred and Anna Torres grew up together. Their families lived in the same building in Manhattan and knew each other. “We started dating in 1969,” said Anna, a paraprofessional in the Clifton public schools. “It was like a lightning bolt,” Fred said of his first meeting with his future wife. She was 18 and he was 19. “We were both going to college, so we agreed to finish college first before getting married,” Fred said. “We were married on May 27, 1972.” “He studied that (their wedding date),” Anna laughed. This year the couple will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary.

After a honeymoon in Miami Beach, the Torreses lived for a year in Jersey City and seven years in East Rutherford before relocating to Clifton 24 years ago.

They lived in the Lakeview section for 23 years and moved to their current home last year.

Their son Brian, a 2004 inductee into the Clifton High School Hall of Fame for track and field, is a civil engineer who lives in Arlington, VA; their daughter, Jessica, who also runs track, attends Clifton High School. Anna and Fred are now 53 and 54 years old, respectively. ift et Gow m r u Go kets N le Bas vailab A

Anna and Fred Torres, married in 1972.

Fred had a lot to say about why their marriage has endured. “There are always bumps in the road,” Fred said. “You have to solve them. Don’t keep problems to yourself. If you need help, talk to someone – a priest or your parents.

“Everybody in my office is a single dad or single mom,” Fred said. “They didn’t bother trying to fix what was wrong in their marriages. They just ignored their problems and ended up divorced.”

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

33

“The secret to happiness and joy in our marriage is that it is anchored in God.” Agustina Perez

Anna and Fred Torres today.

Anna shared her thoughts about the secrets of a happy marriage. “You have to follow your dreams,” she said. “Listen to each other. Work with each other.

Treat your spouse like you would like to be treated.

Then everything falls into place.”

In addition to his system analyst job, Fred runs his own business, Elite Racing Systems, which provides scoring and timing services for running competitions.

Anna works with Fred in the business. “We’re a track family,” Fred said, noting that he’s run 11 marathons.

“We have a lot of the same interests.” Both share similar Hispanic backgrounds too.

While their marriage is “not so much huggy-huggy,” Fred said, “We have goals for our kids and for ourselves. We’re striving to reach those goals. Because we have the same goals, there’s no friction and there’s no need to compromise.”

“Romance – it comes and goes, but it’s still here,” Fred added. “I commute an hour and a half to work, so I leave at 5:30 a.m. and get home around 7 p.m.,” he explained. “But we connect on weekends.”

The Torreses like romantic cruises and will be leaving for the Western Caribbean later this month. “We’re taking our daughter,” Anna said. “We treasure every moment with her.” The couple enjoys family get34

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

togethers and “we make a big thing about holidays and birthdays,” Anna said. “That keeps us together too.”

They also go out together with other couples like themselves. The Torreses believe in community involvement. Fred was a member of the Community Advisory Committee that made school site recommendations for the Clifton School District and Anna is a commissioner on the Board of Recreation.

Fred told us that there’s another important member of the Torres family: their eight-year-old golden retriever, Toby. Surely Toby must go running with Fred. “No, he doesn’t run,” Fred laughed. “He’s a little lazy. He’s a watcher.”

Anna offered other reasons for the strength of the Torres’ marriage. “You have to know each other’s wants. You have to talk , you have to communicate,” she said.

Fred summed up his convictions about marriage. “I believe in the vow that we took: ‘til death do us part,’” Fred said. “I truly believe that, with no excuses. Your marriage should be based on the love that you had when you first met, until you die.”

Agustina & Anibal Perez Agustina and Anibal Perez were related by marriage even before they met at a family gathering. “My husband is my aunt’s brother-in-law,” Agustina explained. She was 22 and he was 27. “We fell for each other,” she said.

They dated two or three years before their marriage.

“She probably didn’t trust me,” Anibal said. While they were courting, Anibal would drive twice a week from Passaic to the Bronx in his old car to see Tina. Explained Tina, “My father said, ‘It’s OK for you to marry my daughter, but you can only see her on Sundays and Wednesdays.’ No matter what, Anibal would be there.

He would come to see me even in snowstorms. That sold me. I figured, ‘This man loves me.’”

Replied Anibal, “In bad weather, I’d say, ‘Can I have a raincheck?’ And she’d say, ‘No, I want to see you.’ That was love, I guess – I sacrificed myself,” Anibal said.

They were married Dec. 12, 1965. After their first child was born, they moved from a Passaic apartment to their current home in Clifton on Burgess Pl.; then

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four more children arrived. Their four daughters and a son range in age from 27 to 38 and all are graduates of the Clifton public schools. Two daughters still live in Clifton. The Perezes have three grandsons and three granddaughters between two months and 16 years of age.

Both Tina (as she’s called) and Anibal are originally from Puerto Rico. Tina came to this country when she was 10, when her family settled in the Bronx. Anibal was in the Army during the Korean War and afterwards moved from Puerto Rico to Passaic when he was 22.

Anibal was a bus driver for NJ Transit for 30 years, retiring in 1999. “Now more than ever, it’s ‘Honey, do this, honey do that,’” Anibal joked. Tina worked for a company called Data Delay Devices on Mt. Prospect Ave. for 25 years and for New Jersey Bank before that. How was she able to work with five children? “My grandmother helped me,” Tina explained.

Her mother moved back to Puerto Rico after Tina married and, at 85, still lives there. “We often go back to visit family,” Tina said.

Tina said that she and Anibal are ‘very close’ and ‘very happy.’ After 39 years of marriage, Anibal said, “So far, so good.” Tina is now 62 and Anibal is 68.

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Tina has no doubt about the reason for their marital success. “The secret to happiness and joy in our marriage is that it is anchored in God,” she said. “Through Him we’ve had the patience, love, understanding and wisdom to handle whatever came our way.”

“It’s a giving of oneself to the other,” Tina continued. “Being good to each other – doing unto your husband or wife as you would have your husband or wife do unto you.” Sharing not only the good times but life’s difficulties as well bonds them together even more, Tina said, noting that Anibal lost his mother last August.

The couple have a number of customs that strengthen their love.

“We celebrate each other,” Tina said.

“Birthdays, Valentine’s Day… any day that’s important to the other.” Said Anibal, “We make big things out of little days.”

For example, for Anibal’s last birthday, Tina arranged a surprise cookout for family and friends.

She bought a Mexican piñata and filled it with unusual items like Ben-Gay and toothpaste. “We love to laugh and have fun,” she said.

And last Valentine’s Day, they decorated their finished basement with hearts and red tablecloths – “to celebrate love,” Tina said – and had the family over for dinner.

The Perezes also enjoy a delightful weekly routine. Every Friday evening, they have what they call a “Happy Hour” just for the two of them. “You have to make time for each other,” Tina said. “So I cook a special dinner – shrimp, lobster – and he does the cocktails and appetizers. We put on music and we dance.”

Somehow their children have gotten wind of these special weekly dinners and have a habit of dropping in on them. “We kiss and get romantic in front of them,” Tina laughed, “just to get their reaction.”

They also make a habit of going to the Bally Health Club in Saddle Brook several times a week, arriving there by 6 a.m. “We do bikes, treadmills,” Tina said. Quipped Anibal, “She wants me to do everything. What am I, Superman?” In the nice weather they go to Passaic Park to walk and jog together.

The Perezes believe strongly in the importance of family. “When the kids were young and playing outside I blew a whistle at 6 p.m. every night,” Tina said. “They came running from all over. We sat down together and had dinner at the table.” Added Anibal, “We’d talk things out, talk about problems or what happened during the day.”

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Agustina and Anibal Perez today.

Today the family remains very close. “In the summertime, after church, they all come marching in like soldiers,” Anibal said. “They follow the smoke,” he joked, referring to his backyard barbecue.

“Once we were thinking of selling our home,” Tina said. “The kids said, ‘No, this is our home.’”

“With togetherness, love, patience and understanding, you work it all out,” Tina said. “You have to work together,” Anibal added. “We had our problems – it was rough sometimes,” Tina said.

“But we said, ‘Thank God, it’s all in Your plan.’ We wouldn’t change a thing.”

Anticipating their 40th wedding anniversary at the end of this year, the Perezes decided to take this opportunity to plant some hints for their children. “A cruise to Hawaii would be nice,” Tina said. “Or a trip to Las Vegas,” suggested Anibal.

“Our marriage is stronger than ever,” Tina said. “A longlasting marriage is a testimony to God’s love.”

“Kids today, when they have problems, they get divorced. You’ve got to talk it out, especially if you have kids.”

Louise De Molli

Louise & Louis De Molli Louis (Lou) De Molli couldn’t have imagined that, when a family from Italy moved next door to him on East Clifton Ave. in 1957, he would find his future wife among them.

“We used to look at each other over the hedges,” said Louise De Molli, the girl who came to America at age 15. But that was as far as it went until the summer of ’65, when “we ran into each other on the beach in Spring Lake,” Lou said.

They dated for a couple of years and, on Christmas Eve in 1967, they became engaged in a charmingly romantic way. “I used to hide her Christmas present inside the branches of the tree,” Lou said. “That Christmas I hid a ring box in the tree.”

When Louise spotted the tiny box with her name on it nestled within her parents’ tree, she reached for it slowly. “Open it,” Lou encouraged her. She did and found an engagement ring inside. Then, on bended knee and in front of Louise’s parents, Lou asked Louise to marry him. “That was really something,” Louise recalls.

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The couple were married in Clifton’s Sacred Heart Church on Apr. 27, 1968 and honeymooned in Puerto Rico. They moved into their home on Christie Ave. 34 years ago and today have four daughters, ages 23 to 33, with their first grandchild due in July.

Lou De Molli is a mechanic whose father founded the family business, De Molli’s Gulf on Lexington Ave. The service station was a 50-year Clifton institution. His parents, Margaret and Louis, still live in the house on East Clifton Ave. Louise works in her home as a babysitter.

What makes their nearly 37-year marriage work?

“The most important thing is that nothing can be onesided,” Lou said. “Both sides have to be talked out. You have to listen to each other’s views. If you’re too selfish, it won’t work.”

Louise agreed. “Kids today, when they have problems, they get divorced. You’ve got to talk it out, especially if you have kids,” she said. “You have to respect each other’s wishes and thoughts,” Lou added.

“You can’t be selfish and just think of yourself.”

The De Mollis still follow the advice Louise’s mother gave her many years ago. “My mother used to say, ‘Don’t go to bed mad at each other,’” she said. “That’s what we do, and we have a good marriage.”

Every summer the De Mollis do something special for themselves: they vacation for a week at Lake George. “We stay in a nice motel and go sightseeing, shopping, relax on the beach, go to restaurants,” Lou said. “It’s good to get away – just the two of us – for awhile,” Louise added.

The key to their longlasting marriage, the De Mollis believe, is this: “The main thing is to love each other,” Louise said. “If you love each other, you can get through anything.”

“Right, my dear?” Louise said to her husband. “Yes, honey,” Lou replied.

Myriam & Ziggy Dabal The Dabals’ home on Harding Ave. can barely contain the love they share with each other, their children, their pets and their friends.

That’s because the Dabal “family” includes a sixfoot boa constrictor, a red-tail South African parrot and other birds, lizards, baby snakes, and salt- and freshwater fish. This is in addition to a number of more traditional pets: a cat, a Chihuahua, a Shih Tzu and a 100-

Louis and Louise De Molli today.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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“We help each other. We trust and respect each other. That has kept us together.”

Myriam Dabal In 1971, Ziggy and his family moved from Passaic to the Harding Ave. house in Clifton. Ten years later, on Sept. 5, 1981, he and Myriam were married at St. Paul’s Church and then honeymooned in the Virgin Islands. They lived in Paterson for about 10 years and Pennsylvania for a year before returning to Clifton in the early 90’s, moving in with the elder Dabals on Harding Ave. Four years ago they bought the house from Ziggy’s parents and his mother still lives with them (his father passed away).

Ziggy is self-employed in the heating and air conditioning business, while Myriam works at Fortunoff in Wayne.

Ziggy and Myriam believe in family togetherness. “No one has ever babysat our children except for one night for a wedding,” Ziggy said. “I don’t understand when people want to take a vacation to ‘get away from the kids.’ I don’t want a break from the kids. Children come first with me. We have our

Myriam and Ziggy Dabal, married in 1981.

pound, seven-month-old Great Dane puppy. And oh yes – they have two daughters too. Tracey is 19 and attends Fordham University and Michelle is a sophomore at Clifton High School.

“We love animals,” explained Ziggy Dabal. “Most of our pets came from other people who gave them up because they didn’t realize what was involved in caring for them.”

Myriam and Ziggy Dabal are both 49 years old and met each other thanks to Myriam’s brother, Frank. “I was friends with Frank at Passaic High School,” Ziggy said.

The two came to live in Passaic by different routes; Myriam emigrated from Ecuador with her family in 1964 when she was nine years old, while Ziggy (short for Zbigniev) came to the US from Poland in 1966 at the age of 11.

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friends and the kids’ friends over here and we do things together.”

One of their family traditions is an annual vacation in Beach Haven West, where the Dabals go boating, camping, jet skiing, crabbing and clamming together.

“We also enjoy going to Chinatown with our family and friends,” Ziggy said.

The secret to their happy 23-year marriage, Ziggy believes, isn’t complicated. “It’s really simple. We don’t boss each other around. We have no rules for each other. We’re very open with each other. Our money is not separate. There’s no ‘I’m in charge of this, you’re in charge of that,’” Ziggy said.

Miriam thinks that understanding each other is important too. In addition, she said, “We help each other. We trust and respect each other. That has kept us together.”

Rhoda & Bill Frisch

Myriam and Ziggy Dabal today.

When you think of ways that you’ll possibly meet your soul mate, a blind date is probably one of the last places you would expect. However, that’s exactly how the former Rhoda Sussman first met her future husband Bill Frisch in 1948.

Rhoda, who was originally from Passaic, was set up on the date by a friend of hers.

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“My husband and I draw support from each other during tough times.”

Rhoda Frisch “I didn’t know anyone from Clifton, so I didn’t know what to expect,” said Rhoda.

When the two finally met, they clicked. “I had a thing for dimples,” said Rhoda, “I loved the dimples on his cheeks.”

Soon after, the two began dating.

However, it was tough to be together, since Bill was attending the University of Kentucky, studying to become a veterinarian. “At the time there were only about five schools in the whole country which offered veterinarian courses, so we didn’t get to see each other much,” recalled Rhoda.

During the summer, the two were inseparable and would see each other as much as possible.

They were engaged for a year and then married on Sept. 2, 1951. After the wedding, they moved to Kentucky so that Bill could finish his schooling. “Marriage is a compromise,” said Rhoda.

Their stay in Kentucky lasted six months until Bill received his degree in Agriculture and the couple moved back to a Clifton apartment. However, soon after the move the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Frisch had the bonds of their young marriage tested when Bill was called up for duty for the Korean War. He left for Washington state for training, however, the situation in Korea began to settle down and Bill was soon sent home to a relieved wife.

In 1953, Bill got his first job not as a veterinarian but at a pharmaceutical company. In 1957, the Frisch’s moved into their current home on Luddington Ave and soon after Bill started a new job with Novartis, a 42

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Rhoda and Bill Frisch, married in 1951.

pharmaceutical company, where Bill is still employed, these days as a part time salesperson.

After starting his new job, life was good. The couple had two children, Robert and Susan. These prosperous times allowed the fami-

ly to grow close to each other, however it was what lay ahead that would make them much stronger.

“I’ve always said ‘adversity builds character,’” said Rhoda. “My husband and I draw support from each other during tough times.”

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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“It’s very important that you respect the person you marry. And don’t think that you’re going to change him or her.”

Helen Kenny

Rhoda and Bill Frisch today.

The tough times came on Dec. 17, 1981 when Bill was driving on a snowy night when his car slid and hit a guard rail. He was hospitalized and spent the first night alone due to the blizzard. During the next two weeks, Bill slowly recovered with his wife by his side.

“After Bill was in a serious accident I became aware of his and my mortality,” recalled Rhoda, noting how the accident motivated her to solve a life long question. “I was adopted at age two by wonderful parents. But all of my life, I wondered about my biological family.”

When her husband’s health returned, Rhoda and Bill began searching for her biological parents.

Rhoda, who is an advocate of open adoption, searched as her husband supported her on her quest for her parents. Bill stuck by her side through the entire ordeal, almost 10 years after they first began looking, until they found her parents in 1991.

Although Bill and Rhoda were happy to have one situation behind them, further adversity lay ahead.

Later that year, Rhoda visited a doctor one day after feeling ill for a while and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. With the support of her husband, Rhoda battled the tumor, which was eventually found to be benign and removed.

However, in 1998, another benign tumor was found in Rhoda, this time on her spine. Although benign, it still caused great discomfort and was removed.

After some healthy years, cancer was found last May and Rhoda underwent chemotherapy but has since fully recovered.

Today Bill, 75, and Rhoda 73, can often be spotted holding hands while they take their walks around the School 3 neighborhood. With Rhoda healthy once again, the couple has returned to their normal two mile stroll.

“We have taken our two mile walk every day for years,” said Bill.

“It’s something we have always done together and something we will continue to do together.”

Helen & Bill Kenny Nearly 58 years ago, my thennewlywed mother and father, Clifton residents Josephine Kohout and Walter Fleischer, threw a “thank you” party for Dad’s co-workers at Prudential. They’d been very generous with wedding gifts and Mom and Dad wanted to show their appreciation. The party was held at the Kohout family’s summer home in Vernon, NJ. The date was Aug. 23, 1947.

“I wasn’t supposed to be there,” Aunt Helen said. “My sister Emily and I were supposed to go to the shore with two boys we’d dated.

But we didn’t really want to go out with them again so we went to your father and mother’s party instead,” Aunt Helen said.

Uncle Bill wasn’t supposed to be at the party either. He’d starting working at Prudential a week

☛

Helen and Bill Kenny, married in 1948.

Clifton Merchant • February 2005

45

Helen and Bill Kenny

before my parents’ July 6 wedding and hadn’t been involved in the employee gift-giving. “But a couple of girls from the office needed a ride so he drove them,” Aunt Helen said.

At the party, Aunt Helen soon noticed that Uncle Bill seemed to be following her around. “Every time I turned around, he was there,” she said. They teamed up to play badminton on the lawn.

But when the party was over and Uncle Bill had left, Aunt Helen puzzled over how she’d be able to see him again. “We hadn’t exchanged phone numbers,” she said.

But within the week, a letter from Uncle Bill arrived at Kohout’s Bakery on Lakeview Ave., where the Kohout family lived. “He wrote that he was anxious to have some more of our apple crumb cake,” Aunt Helen said.

With that, the two began dating.

They became engaged four months later, at Christmas 1947, and were married Apr. 24, 1948 at SS. Cyril and Methodius Church on Ackerman Ave. “My cousin, Fr. John Taus, and Bill’s uncle, Fr. Francis X. Kenny, married us,” Aunt Helen said. Their wedding reception was held at Donohue’s on Rt. 23 in Wayne and they honeymooned at the Skytop Club in the Poconos.

Their first home was the apartment above the Bakery, where they lived for six years. Then Uncle Bill was transferred by Prudential to Jacksonville, FL, where they lived for about five years.

They moved back to Clifton in 1960 and have lived in the same home on Greenlawn Ave. for over 44 years.

Children filled – and still fill – the Kennys’ lives. Between 1951 and 1963, seven of them arrived: five daughters and two sons. Now ranging in age from 41 to 53, my cousins have given Aunt Helen and Uncle Bill 20 grandchildren.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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Six of their seven children still live in New Jersey, so family gettogethers are a central focus of the Kennys’ lives.

Over tea and cookies, Aunt Helen and Uncle Bill shared the secrets of their happy 56-year-plus marriage with their niece (Fran Fleischer Hopkins).

“Right from the beginning, we meshed,” Uncle Bill said. “We couldn’t think of any reason why we shouldn’t get married,” Aunt Helen said.

“There’s a lot of give,” Uncle Bill said. “But it doesn’t feel like you’re giving.” “We enjoy each other,” Aunt Helen said. “We can be very silly.” “And we never fight,” Uncle Bill added.

“It’s very important that you respect the person you marry,” Aunt Helen said. “And don’t think that you’re going to change him or her. It’s also important to have similar values.”

Watching the two of them exchange smiles and looks, it’s hard to believe that the youthfullooking couple are now 79 (Aunt Helen) and 82 (Uncle Bill).

In fact, the Kennys are viewed as a model couple at St. Philip’s: they often work with Pre-Cana couples – couples preparing for marriage – at the church, sharing their experiences and wisdom with engaged couples.

Longtime St. Philip’s parishioners, both serve as Eucharistic Ministers there and Uncle Bill is also a lector.

Aunt Helen said that it’s been the couple’s faith in God that has helped them through the inevitable difficult times.

“We’ve been unusually lucky and blessed all around,” she said.

“And as time goes along, you have to both change together, not apart. Don’t take each other for granted. You have to start off with love.”

Jerry Cohen

Nita & Jerry Cohen “I didn’t know what love was until I met Nita,” Jerry Cohen said. “Neither did I,” his wife Nita responded.

Jerry and Nita Cohen didn’t take the typical route to love and marriage. For both, theirs is a second marriage; Nita was married to a Vietnam veteran and Jerry married upon his return from the Korean War. Nita, 61, and Jerry, 74, celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary on Dec. 5. “Sometimes I kid him that he robbed the cradle,” Nita said. “She’s a short little girl with a big – personality,” Jerry kidded her back.

The petite, long-haired Nita smiled at her husband, a distinguished-looking man who could pass for someone 10 years his junior.

Like many couples, the Cohens met at work. Jerry was general manager at Great Lakes Paper Co, a company that supplied materials for making lampshades, on Walnut St. in Athenia; Nita started as a receptionist and eventually became Jerry’s assistant. “For me it was love at first sight,” Jerry said.

Still, they dated for 10 years before their marriage, after which they settled into their home on Seventh St. “We got married on a Saturday and were back at work on Monday,” Nita said.

Both retired now, Jerry and Nita don’t think it’s healthy for a couple to spend all their time together.

“Nita and I have tremendous respect for ourselves and each other,” Jerry said. “We’re very well-suited. We’re very close, but we retain our independence.”

“We’re very much alike,” Nita agreed. “But I don’t believe a marriage can be good if you’re constantly

Jerry and Nita Cohen, married in 1987, in a recent photo.

with each other.” So while Nita is downstairs cleaning or checking out books at the library, Jerry is upstairs working out or working at one of his three computers. “But we always have breakfast and dinner together,” Jerry said.

The couple also share similar backgrounds: both are Jewish, both are third-generation Americans, and both have roots in Eastern Europe.

Jerry was a biochemist, scientist and engineer and earned his Masters degree in biochemistry at NYU. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, he relocated to New Jersey after the Korean War, when he took a job as a chemist in Paterson. Nita was born in Passaic and lived there until her marriage to Jerry.

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

47

Their fondness for each other is obvious and, over a cup of hot tea, we asked them to share their secrets of a happy marriage.

“There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for each other,” Nita said. “I love him to death. I’m the only one who could ever make him laugh and smile,” she said, as an adoring smile spread across her husband’s face as if on cue.

“It’s very important to truly love your spouse,” Jerry said. “And as time goes along, you have to both change together, not apart. Don’t take each other for granted. You have to start off with love.”

Both agreed that good communication is key. “You have to talk things out,” Nita said. “We tell each other if we don’t like something,” Jerry added. “Every couple argues, but we only discuss the thing that we disagree about.”

Something else that’s held them together, Jerry said, is shared sorrow. “Nita and I have been through

a lot of tragic things in our lives,” Jerry said. “When you get through things together, it makes you closer.” One such tragedy was the death of one of Jerry’s daughters threeand-a-half years ago from ovarian cancer; she was 41 years old and left behind two young daughters. Jerry has another daughter and a son and seven grandchildren.

The Cohens mentioned other factors that contribute to their marital success. “I value her opinion,” Jerry said. “He’s still romantic,” Nita said. “We’re not jealous of each other,” Jerry said. They agreed that, when they look at each other, they don’t see physical flaws; “I love everything about her,” Jerry said. “We see what’s inside,” Nita said. “He’s my soulmate.”

The warmth of the Cohens’ genuine rapport and gentle humor with each other is almost palpable.

“You’ll never be replaced,” Nita said to Jerry. “I’ll never get anyone to replace you,” Jerry replied.

Give Blood on Feb. 18 at Clifton Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, at 248 Edison St., just off Valley Rd., and new patients will receive free chiropractic services.

This includes all first day services, such as a consultation/case history, exam and x-rays (if needed), a value of $265.

To accommodate blood donors, the American Red Cross Blood Mobile will be parked at the office for the day.

“There is currently a critical shortage of blood donors and a lack of blood supply,” said Dr. Suzi Schulman, who runs Clifton Chiropractic with her brother, Dr. Jeff Schulman. “This shortage could literally cost thousands of lives. Your donation could mean the difference.”

Call 973-742-3400 to make an appointment if you intend to take advantage of this offer.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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ave you ever had the misfortune of cleaning up a smelly, wet and very cold mess on a freezing winter day?

We hope you haven’t and never do. Thousands of people, however, suffer through this nightmare every year because unprotected water pipes in their homes freeze and break.

There are ways you can prevent frozen pipes, simple solutions to avoiding the hassles and costs of cleaning and repairing your home.

The Value of Two Minutes Two minutes. That’s about as long as it takes to begin a small trickle of water from your home’s hot and cold faucets and to open the doors of cabinets with water pipes running through them.

Two weeks. That could be the length of time needed to find and hire contractors to tear out smelly, water-soaked carpet and wallboard, dry the remaining flooring of your house and replace all that might have been destroyed by flooding from burst, frozen pipes. An eighthinch (three millimeter) break in a pipe can spew up to 250 gallons (946 liters) of water a day, wrecking floors, furniture and keepsakes.

As you can see, there can be a tremendous advantage to spending a couple of minutes taking simple, no-cost precautions to prevent frozen pipes. The saying, "time well spent," is certainly an under-statement when you consider the soggy consequences of doing nothing. Here are a few additional steps to protect your home or apartment:

• Insulate pipes in your home’s crawl spaces and attic.

• Use heat tape to wrap pipes. (Only use products approved by an independent testing organization, such as Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., and only for the use intended (interior or exterior). Closely follow the manufacturer’s installation and operation instructions.

• Seal leaks that allow cold air inside, near where pipes are located.

• Close air vents leading under the house.

• Disconnect garden hoses and, if practical, use an indoor valve to shut off an drain water from pipes leading to out-side faucets.

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Norm Predicts Latteri in June

By Fran Hopkins

B

oard of Education member Norm Tahan recalled the memory of Johnny Carson and “Carnac the Magnificent” to make a humorous yet serious point at the Board’s Jan. 26 meeting.

Tahan discussed the Board’s need to make a decision on a site for the 1700-student grades 8-9 middle school by June if a referendum is to be held in Dec. 2005.

Since June 2004, the two site “finalists” have been Latteri Park and Athenia Steel.

Tahan told his fellow Board members that, by June, no one could accuse them of being “rash” in making a decision and no one could say that they hadn’t given the City Council the opportunity to expedite the investigation and cleanup of the northern portion of the Athenia Steel site (a promise that the city made last Fall).

Since the Board knows nothing more today about the status of the Athenia Steel property than it did last Sept., Tahan said, he made a prediction.

Athenia Steel School?

50

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

“In honor of Johnny Carson, I’m going to do my best Carnac impression,” Tahan began. Raising a sealed envelope to his head, he said, “I predict that there will be a 5-4 vote in June in favor of putting the middle school on Latteri Park. I’ve sealed the names of the five people who will vote for it inside this envelope.”

On the outside of the envelope he’d written, “Do Not Open Until June.”

Tahan’s tribute to the late 30-year host of “The Tonight Show” was meant to express his frustration over the lack of new information about the status of the Athenia Steel property. Some five months have passed since the city and its environmental consultant, TRC Raviv Associates, promised to help the Board by expedite the process of learning what it needs to know about the property in order to make an informed decision.

At the previous Board meeting on Jan. 13, Board President Joe Kolodziej felt that ‘significant movement’ was occurring because the DEP was taking steps towards instituting penalties against Davis Wire/National Standard for not proceeding with the investigation and cleanup of the property according to the DEP’s specifications.

But a Jan. 2005 letter to Tariq Ahmad of Davis Wire from Mark Pederson of the DEP, in which Pederson asserted the DEP’s right to institute penalties against Davis Wire, is similar to a June 2004 letter in which the DEP also threatened to penalize Davis Wire.

Further, in a Jan. 10, 2005 letter from Dennis Petrocelli of the city’s other environmental consultant, Matrix, to City Engineer James Yellen, Petrocelli recommended that the city approach the DEP for a “No Further Action” letter for the northern portion of the property, based on soil samples collected and tested last July by both Matrix and RMT Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, the environmental consultants for Davis Wire.

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city’s other environmental consultant, TRC Raviv Associates, told the Board last Fall did not provide enough information on which to generalize about the status of the entire northern portion. So it seems that the city’s own consultants disagree.

Ironically, if there is progress being made, it is news to Superintendent of Schools Michael Rice, who advised us that he has received no written response from the city to four questions he sent them on Jan. 4 about the status of the Athenia Steel property.

In spite of this lack of response, the city seeks to “memorialize the understanding of agreement reached with the Clifton Board of Education regarding use of a portion of the Athenia Steel site and the preservation of Latteri Park” in a resolution at the Feb. 1 City Council meeting.

Said Mayor James Anzaldi, “That’s just to formalize the agreement between the City and the Board that we’ll swap the properties if a school is built on Athenia Steel.”

John Traier, a Board member who’s a member of the joint Board-Council Committee at which this resolution was discussed, said, “The city is considering taking over the cleanup of Athenia Steel. Before they do that, they want to be sure that it’s the Board’s intention to go through with it (i.e., building a school at Athenia and exchanging that property for the Board-owned Latteri property).”

Traier said that he hasn’t seen the resolution but said that it will be forwarded to the Board of Education for review. “The city is very confident (about the suitability of Athenia Steel as a school site), but I’m not as confident,” Traier said.

Also at its Jan. 26 meeting, the Clifton Board presented a check for $22,250 to American Red Cross representative Norma L. Smith for tsunami relief.

Donations were collected from students, staff, and students’ families.

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A

t a neighborhood meeting held Jan. 12 at Johnny’s Tavern, attended by six of the seven City Council members and other city officials, residents and business owners, it appeared that the remaining stumbling blocks to moving forward with plans for the Historic Botany Village District Special Improvement District (SID) were eliminated.

Initially some Botany residents objected to the annual SID assessment – an extra tax of about 5.7%, or about several hundred dollars on average – because it would be unaffordable for some homeowners or because they felt that the benefits of the SID would primarily accrue to commercial property owners.

Then the Task Force agreed to a proposal by Lori Ann Stopyra, Property Manager for the Nassimi Realty Corp., owner of Botany Plaza, that only the commercial/investment property owners be assessed for the SID and that owner-occupied one- and two-family not be assessed.

“It just seemed to be a hardship for the homeowners,” Stopyra said when asked why she’d made the suggestion. “The businesses are really the ones that bring additional traffic and people into the area. The homeowners aren’t. So it didn’t seem fair that the burden should be placed on the homeowners.”

Don Smartt, the consultant engaged by the city whose expertise is in community revitalization, said, “City officials are working to reintroduce the SID ordinance and to introduce the proposed work plan and budget at the same time. All are working to ensure that the revised ordinance is introduced as quickly as possible. The Council has signaled its collective intent to pass the ordinance as revised.”

At the Jan. 18 City Council meeting, the Council rescinded its previous draft of a SID ordinance to allow the Legal Department to redraft the wording to exclude owner-occupied one- and two-family homes. The city has sent certified letters to these residents in order to verify which are owner-occupied (as opposed to tenantoccupied), according to Mayor Jim Anzaldi.

The SID ordinance, however, did not appear on the Feb. 1 Council meeting agenda. Anzaldi said that this is because the city is still in the process of verifying which homes are owner-occupied and which aren’t.

Botany Village Task Force Vice President Joe Nikischer said that, once the redrafted ordinance has its first reading, a second reading will occur at the following Council meeting. At that meeting any remaining objectors may address the Council and Task Force members will be present to answer questions.

52

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

For weeks now, Clifton DPW barriers have been up where a historic fountain once stood in Botany Village.

“We hope that the ordinance will be passed at the second reading or at the latest, at a third reading,” he said. “But we’re confident that the redrafted ordinance will be passed.”

Assuming the ordinance passes, Nikischer said that the next steps for his group will be to adopt bylaws and assemble a board of directors. “Then we’ll take it from there,” he said. He said that the Task Force hasn’t been meeting since the Jan. 12 meeting, pending the passage of the SID ordinance.

In addition to the SID, city planner Dennis Kirwan is currently studying a comprehensive Botany redevelopment plan prepared by a former planner and, Kirwan said, he’ll be making his recommendations to the City Council in the near future.

At the Jan. 12 SID meeting, John Penkalski, owner of Johnny’s Tavern and President of the Task Force, said, “The (Botany) redevelopment plan make take years to get going. The SID is something we can do now.”

“After 18 months of working on this, we want to get started,” Nikischer said.

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Clifton Development: How it works, What’s under review now, How you can get involved...

––––––––––– Story by Fran Hopkins –––––––––––

T

he future of Clifton is being planned right now. But few of you are paying any attention. Most decisions about development in Clifton are made at meetings of the Zoning and Planning Boards; but you wouldn’t know it based on attendance at

these meetings. At the Jan. 27 Planning Board meeting, the Municipal Court Room was virtually empty except for this writer.

It does no good to complain about new development, or about something your neighbor has done on his property, after the fact.

If you want to have a say in these issues, you have to get involved.

But zoning and planning can be complicated and, even if you watch the meetings on TV, what’s going on may not be clear to you. And you certainly can’t express your opinions from your living room couch.

But knowledge is power, so to help inform readers, we spoke with Clifton officials to learn more about how development and redevelopment, zoning and planning work in the city of Clifton.

We’ll illustrate the processes involved using a couple of current examples: the former Union Camp property between Route 3 and Allwood Rd. and the Anderson Tract property.

Zoning Dan Howell, Clifton’s zoning officer, is the first person you should see before building anything – even a fence or installing a hot tub. Howell will let you know if what you want to do complies with zoning regulations in Clifton.

To aid him in this task, Howell keeps two “bibles” handy on his desk: one is the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) and the other is the NJ Uniform Construction Code.

Zoning laws address issues such as how and where things must be built: what may and may not be built in specific parts (i.e., zones) of a town or city, how far back from the street a structure must be built, how many residential units may be built in a certain amount of space,

54

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Union Camp Project

Facing Route 3 and backing to Allwood Rd., the former Shorewood Packaging Plant, also known as the Union Camp project, produced cardboard boxes and employed over 50 union workers. While the plant closed last spring, the property was sold, the area was rezoned for retail use and demolition of the plant began last fall and is nearly complete. If all goes as expected at the Planning Board, the former factory will become another shopping and dining destination.

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Planning The Planning Board generally oversees larger projects that involve review of a site plan.

Among other things, the Board prepares and adopts regulations for the subdivision of land and conducts public hearings on proposed changes to the official zoning map.

“People go to the Planning Board for things like subdivisions, or when a development in excess of 10,000 square feet is involved, or when traffic flow will be affected,” 1219

Howell said. For more information about both zoning and planning, see Clifton’s website at www.cliftonnj.org.

Just last summer, Clifton hired a full-time professional planner, Dennis Kirwan. Recently we met with Kirwan to discuss two projects currently before the Planning Board: redevelopment of the former Union Camp property between Rt. 3 and Allwood Rd. and development of the Anderson Tract property on Rt. 3.

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how much of the property may be covered by a structure, and so on.

“If what somebody wants to do doesn’t comply with zoning, they can either make it comply or get a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment,” While both the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board can grant variances, only the Board of Adjustment has the power to grant use variances, or permission for a property use that isn’t normally allowed in a particular zone, Howell said.

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Compact Parking Logic At right, a compact KIA Rio, which has a 14 foot length and a width of five feet.

Below is a Ford Excursion SUV. It is 19 feet and has a girth of seven feet.

The Clifton City Council approved an ordinance for both the Union Camp and Anderson tract projects (similar to ones passed for Clifton Commons) which allows 20 percent of the parking spaces built in the new zone to be for compact cars. Which do you see more of on the road—and in local parking lots— compact cars or SUV’s?

Union Camp Development “The Union Camp project is part of a rezoned area from Passaic Ave. to the railroad tracks between Allwood Rd. and Rt. 3,” Kirwan explained. The new zone is called a Planned Development Highway Commercial Zone (PD-HC). The area was previously zoned for industry/manufacturing, but since industries have been moving out and are not moving back in, the Planning Board decided to rezone the area for commercial use. “‘Planned development’ means that the whole area will be thoroughly planned out,” Kirwan said.

For example, the ordinance for the PD-HC details such things as the size of the buildings, the types of signs permitted, the lighting that must be used, and so on.

The developer is the Briad Group of Florham Park and representing them is Clifton attorney Frank Carlet. Plans call for the construction of a TGI Friday’s restaurant and another building or

buildings for some number of retail stores, according to Carlet, who expects that the Planning Board will approve Briad’s plans at its next regular meeting on Feb. 24.

In this situation, because the property is bordered by a county road, Allwood Rd., and a state road, Rt. 3, both the county and the state must have the opportunity to review and approve the plans as they affect those roads, Kirwan said.

“The county and state supercede the city,” Kirwan said.

For example, Carlet said that he’d met with the county planning board on Jan. 28. “The county wants the Allwood Rd. entrance to be opposite Book Ct., with no traffic light,” Carlet said. “But when the stores open, they will want a traffic light there.” The plan is for the TGI Friday’s to open before the stores do, Carlet explained.

Carlet also said that Briad will comply with the ordinance for the new zone, which states that “There may be only one retail establishment in any single development in

the PD-HC Zone that contains a maximum of 75,000 square feet, with the remaining establishments limited to a maximum 45,000 square feet or less.”

Parking Issues According to the PD-HC ordinance, “The minimum parking stall size for permitted retail stores and service establishments in the PD-HC District shall meas-

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The Anderson Tract

The 20-acre Anderson Tract near Costco—amazingly, a place of pristine Clifton wilderness—can be seen from Route 3 West and is accessible from lower Main Ave. to Bridewell Pl., past the entrance to Costco. Much of the property is NJ DEP-designated freshwater wetlands and flood plains and thus undevelopable. The Third River, a feeder to the Passaic River, runs through the property and had for many years fed the old Yantacaw Pond. A dam supporting that pond, previously seen from River Rd. near Oak St., washed out in 1984.

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ure 9 feet by 18 feet. However, the minimum parking stall size shall be reduced to 8 feet by 18 feet for 20% of all required spaces for the remaining permitted uses in the PD-HC District.”

This means that 20% of the parking spaces in this zone may be what are called “compact car spaces.” Parking stall size is important for a number of reasons.

Ownership of SUVs, trucks and similar larger vehicles (e.g., Hummers) is on the rise. In NJ, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, one in six NJ drivers owns an SUV. But developers like smaller parking spaces because, the less space they allocate to parking, the more they have left to build bigger buildings. And from a municipality’s standpoint, the bigger the building, the more taxes can be collected.

Kirwan said that the standard parking space in Clifton is 9’ by 19’. But in the new PD-HC, 20% of the spaces may be 8’ by 18’ and the rest may be 9’ by 18’ (i.e., smaller than the standard size elsewhere in Clifton). “The standard for most retail centers today is 9’ by 18’,” Kirwan said. “Not that I’m happy with that, but that’s what it is.”

At the Jan. 27 Planning Board meeting, the Briad Group said that all of the compact spaces would be

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Montoro described such features as canopies, columns, use of brick and stone materials and a light, airy facade; the Center will have “an ambiance that will attract better tenants,” Montoro said. “It will have places to congregate – umbrella seating for dining outside, to attract families,” he added.

There will be about 20 stores in total, with a “fair amount of restaurants,” Montoro said. Some of the stores anticipated as tenants include Bed Bath and Beyond, Starbuck’s, and Pier 1. He emphasized that the Center will not be a strip of buildings, but a group of four individual buildings. “Retail centers don’t have to be dull,” Montoro said.

located behind the retail building and that they would ‘encourage’ the stores’ employees to park in those spaces. None of the TGI Friday parking spaces will be compact size.

The Anderson Tract Just beginning the process before the Planning Board is the “River Front Center” development, a retail center proposed for the Anderson Tract property along Rt. 3. This property is part of a “Planned Development Commercial” Zone, or PDC. The concept plans for this development were presented by Mad River Development and Clifton attorney Tom DeVita at the Jan. 27 Planning Board meeting.

The property known as the Anderson Tract is about 20 acres of undeveloped marshland through which the Third River winds its way to the Passaic River. Kirwan said that “a portion of the tract will be preserved as open space.” DeVita told the Planning Board that the plans “only use the buildable area” – i.e., not the wetlands along the back portion of the property (the front is along Rt. 3). “The wetlands will be untouched,” DeVita said.

City Planner Dennis Kirwan

The plans call for a 120,000 square foot retail and restaurant complex. River Front Center is envisioned as an upscale center with ‘character.’ “We want it to connect to the adjacent community,” said the Center’s architect, John Montoro.

“We want it to be useful to both the community and tenants.” The Center will have a ‘downtown appearance’ – a ‘streetscape’ feel that will attract pedestrians as well as shoppers and diners.

Environmental Issues In a Jan. 18 letter to the Planning Board, the Clifton Environmental Protective Commission (CEPC) noted some concerns about “deficiencies” in the River Front Center plans, including: • There are no wetlands and State Open Waters noted on the plans.

• Has a letter of interpretation been obtained, verifying the limits of Wetlands and Open Waters

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s part of the Planning Board’s review process, City Planner Dennis Kirwan asked the Clifton Environmental Protective Commission (CEPC) to review the plans for both the Union Camp redevelopment project and the Anderson Tract development.

While this may not seem particularly noteworthy, it was, in fact, a first for Clifton.

“It was the first time we’ve been involved in reviewing a project in the planning stages,” said Steve Shukaitis, one of the CEPC’s commissioners.

Shukaitis said that the Commission invited Kirwan to attend its meetings. “There are a lot of dedicated individuals on the Commission and we asked to be involved,” he said. “I think it’s a great thing for the city and the Planning Board.”

After reviewing the plans for both projects, Sam Sofer, CEPC chair, said in a Jan. 18 letter to the Planning Board that the Commission had ‘no significant comments’ about the Union Camp redevelopment.

However, the CEPC did note a number of concerns about ‘deficiencies’ in the River Front Center plans for the Anderson Tract. “Our main concerns are the protection of the river and the wetlands,” Shukaitis said.

We attempted to contact Tom DeVita, the Clifton attorney who represents the Anderson developers, to discuss these issues; but several calls were not returned by press time.

Shukaitis said that former CEPC chairman Al DuBois, who after serving for 16 years on the volunteer board resigned last August, was ‘discouraged’ by the fact that, in the past, the city failed to take advantage of the environmental expertise of the Commission’s members.

“We have professors and environmental experts,” Shukaitis said.

“My expertise is in environmental remediation and I worked for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for almost four years as an enforcement agent.”

The seven-member Commission currently has two vacancies, Shukaitis said. Members are volunteers and are appointed for threeyear terms by the City Council.

and Resource Classification for the property with designated transition areas (buffers)? These limits are not shown on the plans.

[Note: at the Jan. 27 Planning Board meeting, attorney DeVita indicated that an ‘LOI’ from the DEP has been received which indicates “what’s wetlands and what’s not.”]

• Flood Hazard Area Limits, including floodways, should be shown on every plan sheet.

• Impact areas (by acreage) should be shown on Items 1, 2, and 3 above.

• Existing and proposed impervious surface areas of the development must be delineated and quantified.

• The Stormwater Management Plan for the site should be in compliance with the requirements of NJDEP, NJDOT and the City of Clifton.

• Existing vegetation in the 25-foot DEP setback area must be preserved, and any lost vegetation must be replaced by native species.

• Existing plans for this development already indicate development occurring in wetlands as indicated by the Developer’s own surveyor (Plans C2 and C3).

• We recommend that all undeveloped wetlands, open space areas, floodplains, etc., be dedicated in a permanent Conservation Easement to the City of Clifton.

Public Participation is Part of the Process Because neither applicant (Briad Corp. or Mad River) had sufficient time to complete its presentation to the Board on Jan. 27, a special Planning Board meeting will be held on Feb. 7 at 7 pm so that both may continue their presentations.

Both Planning and Zoning Board meetings include a time set aside for public comment. If you have questions, comments or concerns about these developments, or about the future development of Clifton in general, you are encouraged to attend and speak at these meetings.

The Planning Board meets on the last Thursday of every month at 8 pm in the Municipal Court Room; the Zoning Board meets in the same place on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7 pm.

If you want to know what’s going to be discussed at a specific Planning or Zoning Board meeting, the agendas are posted five days in advance on the bulletin board at the entrance to City Hall.

In addition, if you live within 200 feet of the property that’s going before one of these boards, you’ll be sent a letter with the time and date of the meeting. And of course, if you really want to become involved, you can apply at City Hall to become a member of one of these boards.

In a mature, fully-developed city like Clifton, it’s a continual struggle to balance quality of life with the city’s desire for “ratables” – commercial developments – that bring in more tax dollars and help keep homeowners’ taxes down. “The purpose of planning is to improve the quality of life for the people of Clifton,” Kirwan said, “while mitigating the impact to adjacent neighborhoods of things like traffic, parking, noise, and light.”

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2005

Super Bowl Family Day

Casa-Clifton Against Substance Abuse Jim & Rita Haraka & Family RJR Electrical Contractors Applebees of Clifton Brookdale ShopRite Les & Dot Herrschaft Knights of Columbus, St. Philip the Apostle Council No. 11671 Barbara Dougherty... ... in memory of Henry Dougherty The Optimist Club of Clifton Clifton Firefighters FMBA Local 21 Clifton Moose Lodge #657 Surrogate Bill Bate Clifton Rotary Club Dr. Vincent J. Malba, DC Dr. Edward Healey & Dolores Colucci Healey Steve & Ellen Corbo & Family Dr. David Moore, Chiropractor Clifton City Manager, Mayor & Council, Municipal Attorney & City Clerk William & Marilyn Shaughnessy & Family Clifton Lions Club Council on Compulsive Gambling of NJ Clifton Merchant Magazine Boys & Girls Club of Clifton Councilman Frank Gaccione Clifton Recreation Department Clifton Supervisors Association Fieldhouse Family

Bring your towels to the annual Alcohol-Free Super Bowl Family Day. That’s because the pool will be open at this year’s event, as will the gym and much more.

The big football game is just the beginning of the fun. This year, the party is set for Feb. 6 at 5 pm at the Clifton Boys & Girls Club at 802 Clifton Ave. (enter from Colfax Ave.).

Watch the Super Bowl on two big-screen TVs while the kids play games in the gym and munch on hot dogs, chips, pretzels, and soda, all for $8 per family or $3 per person.

The games, which mix with the sporty theme of the day, are easy for children of any age and include basketball shooting, whiffle ball, football toss, and floor hockey.

Funding is provided by CASA—Clifton Against Substance Abuse—and those sponsors listed here who provided $100 each or donated goods or services.

For info about the event, call Clifton Rec at 973-470-5958.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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s 2004 is written into the record books, the staff and volunteers who deliver a variety of services for the Clifton Rec Department hosted an Installation and Recognition Dinner on Jan. 20. In addition to those pictured here, Tom Hawrylko of Clifton Merchant Magazine received the Friend of Recreation Award.

At their induction, Board of Recreation Commissioners, from left Joseph Bionci, Doreen Delancy, (Mayor James Anzaldi), President Tom Fieldhouse and Tom Mullin.

Vinny Colavitti sr., Supervisor of the Clifton Special Police seen at most Rec events, is pictured with Rec Director Debbie Oliver. He received the Staff Man of the Year Award.

The Famous MidTown Grill on Main Ave. was named Sponsor of the Year. Accepting the award are Panagiota and Gerasimo Dimitratos. Jimmy Doris, another owner, was busy minding their Downtown Clifton landmark.

Elsa Giaconia and MaryEllen Collucci, pictured center, shared Staff Women of the Year honors for their work in the pre-school programs offered by the Rec. Department. Also pictured, at left, Mary Ann Ricca and at right, Jessica Vasilenko.

Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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Entering 81st Year of Service, Troop 3 Scouts Do Their Best

A

lthough 81 years have passed since Troop 3 received its first charter on January 23, 1924, the words of the charter and the commitment that they represent remain unchanged. Boy Scouting continues to work for character development, citizenship training and mental and physical fitness.

Troop 3 is sponsored by the United Reformed Church of Clifton and Passaic and holds weekly meetings from 7 to 8:30 pm on Mondays during the school year in the church’s Fellowship Hall on Clifton Ave. Boys between the ages of 10 through 17 who are interested in learning about the troop are invited to attend a troop meeting or they can call the troop Scoutmaster, Keith Oakley, at 973-777-0264.

Troop activities include a week at summer camp, participation in the Boy Scout Southern Valley District Klondike Derby, such as the one recently held on Jan. 15 at Silas Condict County Park in Kinnelon.

The Klondike Derby involves the scouts traveling from location to location along a trail to demonstrate their scouting skills. When there is snow on the ground, the scouts pull a sled along the trail.

In addition, the scouts of Troop 3 participate in day hikes and overnight camping. Recent activities included camping with the Civil War re-enactors at the Morris Canal Park in Clifton and participating with alumni at the Fall Camporee at former Camp Aheka.

Boy scouting is a place where boys can grow into men; they socialize with their peers, learn from their elders, and gain an appreciation of their environment and nation.

Scouts from Troop 3 also participate in various service projects in and around Clifton, such as placing the flags around the War Veterans Memorial in Clifton’s Main Memorial Park for Memorial Day and participating in the Flag Day ceremony sponsored by the Clifton Elks Club every June 14.

Unit Commissioner Roy Berkenbush and District Executive Ken Mayti (both far right) present the 2005 Boy Scout Charter to Scoutmaster Keith Oakley and the Scouts and Scouters of Troop 3, affiliated with United Reform Church of Clifton and Passaic.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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They are taught the values of the Scout Law and encouraged to be: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Scouts are taught to Be Prepared (Boy Scout Motto) and are asked to be of service to their community by doing a Good Turn (good deed) daily (Boy Scout Slogan).

In its 81 year history Troop 3 has been the home to more than a 1,000 scouts, of whom 60 have achieved the highest rank of Eagle Scout .

In 2005, the Boy Scouts of America will celebrate its 95th Anniversary.

The scouts and scouters of Troop 3, both past and present, have been proud to be a part of this scouting movement, which continues to help strengthen youth, families and communities through comprehensive programs for its members.

Call for our Spring Catalog 973.470.2438 In person registration at Clifton High School Monday, Feb. 7th & Thursday, Feb. 10th – 6 - 9 PM Senior Citizen registration 3:30 - 5 PM Classes Begin Monday, Feb. 28th & Thursday, Mar. 3rd Inclement weather registration will be Feb. 14th

www.clifton.k12.nj.us Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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Cub Scout Pack 74 hosts their Blue and Gold dinner on Feb 5. It is their yearly awards ceremony and it will kick off activities to celebrate 75 years of Scouting. (The young Scouts also anticipate entertainment at the dinner and this year will be no exception.)

Pack 74 is active all year long, especially in the summer months.

Local hikes and trips and the Clifton Family Campout in Albion Park in August is on the agenda. Leaders are also trying to get to Jackal Stadium and host an overnight campout on the ball field.

Camping trips are also planned for the fall and another has jut been scheduled for the spring.

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This past October, Pack 74 was at Camp Lewis in Rockaway where they completed a three mile hike and then did numerous activities to earn badges.

On May 6-8, they will head to the wilderness of Camp Allamuchy where the Scout leaders and volunteer parents will help the kids earn badges and have some fun hiking and doing other hearty outdoor activities. For the creativity put into their programming, Pack 74 has been awarded the Quality Unit Award for the past 12 years.

Scouts range in age from grade one to grade five. Kids come into the program at any age with the goal of moving up to Boy Scouts. Pack 74 meets at the Presbyterian Church hall on Maplewood Ave. on Tuesday nights at 7 pm. While a membership drive will be conducted in May, interested parents can call Mark Krisinski at 973-458-9056 for info.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

C

orrado’s Annual Amateur Winemaking Competition on Jan. 6 was once again a culinary treat. Held at the Venetian in Garfield, the event is a feast, plus much more. As one can expect, samples of wine were poured throughout the evening. Over 1,000 attended the sixth annual affair and no one walked away yearning for more. From endless rounds of appetizers, then entrees of seafood, beef, fowl and pasta followed by a bountifull dessert and coffee finale, the Corrrado Family, some of whom are pictured at right, have a created a don’t miss showcase of an affair.

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Chuch Ranges with his sons Chuck and Brett, at right, who won a second place ribbon at Corrado Winemaking Competition.

The Preakness Healthcare Center, Passaic County’s 484-bed long term care facility with two locations, one in Wayne and another in Haledon, hosts a cooking demonstration and luncheon in its Wayne location. This quiet enjoyable afternoon on Feb. 9 will feature lunch and homemade desserts prepared by Executive Chef Robert Bontatibus. The event is free but reservations are required. Call 973-304-3687 to reserve a spot. Also, the Preakness Auxiliary will host a Fashion Show and Tricky Tray on March 16 at 5:30 pm. Proceeds from this fundraiser are used to benefit the residents of Preakness, such as holiday gifts for the residents, as well as assisting with outings and events that are offered throughout the year. This year’s event will be held at The Bethwood in Totowa.

Tickets are $30. For info, call 973-904-6124.

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Passaic - Clifton Chapter of UNICO National presents the

Michael N.Corradino

Service Above Self Award This award is presented to those organizations and individuals recognized for unselfish service to the community for work above and beyond their normal duties and which best exemplify the UNICO motto ‘Service Above Self.’

2005 Award Recipients Passaic County 200 Club Passaic Firefighter Jason Ayala Clifton Police Officer Stephen Berge Clifton Teachers Arlene Rodgers and Meredith Madden

Award and Gala Dinner Dance Friday, March 18, 7-11 pm Il Tulipano Restaurant • 1131 Pompton Ave., Cedar Grove Emcees Clifton Police Chief Robert Ferrari, and Robert D’ Arco Keynote Speaker Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale

Tickets $100 Black Tie Optional Featuring Five Hour Premium Open Bar & After Dinner Cordials Full Elaborate and Upscale Cocktail Hour • Music • Choice of Entree Desert Coffee, Espresso & Capuccino • Includes door prize raffle Souvenir Ad Journal Pages Available

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UNICO PASSAIC – CLIFTON CHAPTER

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Passaic - Clifton Chapter of UNICO National presents the

Michael N.Corradino Service Above Self 2005 Award Recipients Award and Gala Dinner Dance Friday, March 18, 7-11 pm The Passaic County 200 Club, accepted by Trustee Sheriff Jerry Speziale.

The 200 Club of Passaic County is committed to supporting, both financialy and emotionally, Passaic County Law Enforcement, Fire and EMS personnel and their families in the event of death or serious injury in the line of duty. They also provide support in the form of scholarships and special needs appropriations to agencies who serve and protect Passaic County communities.

Jerry Speziale

Passaic Firefighter Jason Ayala

Jason Ayala

From coaching Roberto Clemente Little League to mentoring for the United Passaic for Troubled Youth program to organizing boot drives to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy and buying, wrapping and delivering toys to hospital bound children, Firefighter Ayala has been instrumental in helping the children of Passaic.

Clifton Police Officer Stephen Berge When a crime victim on his beat needed help, Officer Berge responded by organizing an event to raise money to replace the stolen custom walker that gave its user freedom and mobility.

Stephen Berge

Clifton Teachers Arlene Rodgers and Meredith Madden

Arlene Rodgers

Ms. Rodgers, of School #16, and Ms. Madden, of School #5 were the driving force behind the hugely successful first annual Clifton Junior Olympics. When funding for the regional, multi-school Olympics for the learning and language impaired and delayed dried up, these dedicated teachers refused to let the program die. Instead, they decided to organize their own event for Clifton’s children.

Meredith Madden

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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The Conservatory Players of Action Theatre Conservatory will present Jules Feiffer’s comedy Little Murders from Feb. 18-20 and on Feb. 25-27. Directed by ATC teaching artist David Braucher, Little Murders, “is a play for our times although it takes place in 1968.” Said Braucher: “Little Murders is set in the age of urban paranoia where motiveless mass murder is as much a part of the atmosphere as air and noise pollution. It’s an outrageously funny look at Uncle Sam’s conception of freedom for all, even if it kills them; the spirit of get up and go and faith in the Almighty. It’s a black comedy for today, with a swinging zest and bold honesty — bittersweet, sardonic, despairing and hilarious.” Shows on Friday and Saturday are at 8 pm and Sunday matinees are at 3 pm.

Performances are at St. Paul School in Clifton. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors and are available through ATC at the door or in advance by calling 973-772-6998.

The Clifton Arts Center presents Penumbra: A Society for Representational Art: ‘The Nature of Love’ at the Clifton Arts Center., which runs through Feb. 25. The exhibit features numerous professional artists from the tri-state area.

Penumbra, a society of professional artists present The Nature of Love, an exhibit and sale of their representational art styles and mediums from paintings to sculptures at the Clifton Arts Center, through February 25.

‘The Nature of Love’ encompasses relationships, family, nature and fantasy with the mission of enlightenment, beauty, hope and a coming together of the community at-large.

Gallery hours are Wed. through Sat., 1 to 4 pm. Call 973-472-5499.

Just Jakes at 30 Park St., Montclair will host a Tsunami Relief Show to benefit those effected by the tragedy in Indonesia on Feb. 13. The event will feature Lady Blue and the Tramps, Terraplane Blues, Son Lewis, Robert Ross, Chaz DePaolo, The Paul Gargiulo Band, and The Revs.

Door donations are $10, however,

if you can afford more it will be greatly appreciated. All proceeds will go to help tsunami relief efforts. Just Jakes is at 30 Park St., Montclair; doors open at 5 pm.

John Muller of Clifton is the producer. For info: 973-340-9405 or 973-655-8987.

The Passaic County Student Film and Video Festival is on April 16 at the Passaic County Community College Public Safety Complex, 300 Oldham Rd., Wayne. The event is a juried exhibition of works created by students who live or attend school in Passaic County.

Call 973-881-4427.

We now offer a

Percussion Program All Instruments

with Drums, Congas, Bongos, Bells and Timbales.

Lessons for Piano, Guitar, Mandolin, Accordion, Drums, Voice, and all Orchestral / Band Instruments.

Annamaria Menconi, Director 309 Lakeview Avenue, Clifton

973-253-7500 • www.menconimusic.com 72

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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Jessica Colotta performs in Nutley.

Clifton resident Jessica Colatta portrays Cybil in the play The Altruists, at the Nutley Little Theatre Barn on Feb. 11 to 26. The play contains adult situations and strong language and skewers the self-righteousness of political activists in a modern farce about a dedicated group of young radicals. The NLT is at 47 Erie Pl., Nutley. Tickets are $12. For more info, call 973-748-5327.

Clown Parade is among the photographic images by Clifton resident Joseph V. Riggio in an exhibit entitled ‘Street Vibes’ on display at the Watchung Arts Center, 18 Stirling Rd., Watchung through Feb. 26. Call 908-753-0190.

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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School 11 HSA hosts a Tropical Paradise Tricky Tray on Feb. 20 at 2 pm at the Wayne Manor. Tickets are $25 and include dinner and one sheet of small prize tickets. Tables of 10 are available but must be purchased in advance. Doors open at 2 pm.

Goodie bags, door prizes, 50/50, weekend getaways and a Las Vegas trip will be awarded. For tickets, call 973-546-0758 or 973-546-5111.

Clifton Moose Lodge 657 presents a benefit dinner and comedy show on Feb 19 with proceeds to support Parkinson’s Disease research. Three stand-up comedians will be the featured guests and promise a night of fun. Doors at the Clifton Moose Lodge on Main Ave. will open at 6:30 pm and the ticket price is $15, adults only. Dinner includes chicken served over linguine with cream sauce and vegetables. There will be a cash bar. Anyone who wishes to contribute a donation to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation can mail checks to Tom Miller, 45b St. Andrews Blvd., Clifton 07012. For tickets or more info, call Miller at 973-471-2157 or 973-881-4173.

Coach Joe Vespignani of the CHS boys’ soccer team hosts a winter soccer camps for boys ages 4-14 in cooperation with the Clifton Stallions Soccer Club at Clifton School 13. Through the Skills and Drills program, players of all skill

School 3 will host a Ladies Only Comedy Night on March 10 at 6:30 pm at the Brownstone in Paterson. Tickets are $40 and includes show, dinner and dessert.

For info, call Alice De Liberto 973-546-1194 or Angela Montague 973-546-6512.

levels learn fundamental soccer concepts through a structured series of drills and exercises. Camps will be held through March and then again March 28 to May 27. A one-time fee of $65 cover eight sessions.

Email vespignanisoccer@aol.com or call 973-334-0207.

CHS Grads may purchase old Clifton yearbooks dating as far back as 1925 by contacting the Clifton Education Foundation. To purchase, send your name, address, phone number and graduation year to: Clifton Education Foundation, P.O. Box 2071, Clifton, NJ 07015.

Prices vary based on condition.

The Clifton Association of Artists will hold its first meeting of the new year on Feb 7 at 7 pm at the Senior Citizens Community Building on Linzenbold Ave. in the Clifton Municipal Complex. Pastel artist Christina Debarry will demonstrate her painting technique and discuss some of the fine-points and pitfalls of this medium. There will be a non-member admittance fee of $1. The CAA meets on the first Monday of each month from October through May and ends the season with an Outdoor Art Show and Sale in June in Jubilee Park.

For info call 973-742-2712.

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74

Specializing in Arthritis, Rheumatism, Osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Dr. Mao

Dr. Lewko

Dr. Makar

AARP 1995 of St. Brendan’s Church plans the following outings: On March 30, the group will have a day of fun and dancing at Camp Hope, in upper Passaic County. Tickets are $9, the bus leaves from St. Brendan’s at 9 am and breakfast and lunch are included.

An afternoon of Dinner Theater is planned for April 21 at the Wayne Manor, which includes a cocktail hour, comedy show and transportation. Tickets are $48 per person. From May 19 to 22, there will be a tour of Williamsburg and Busch Gardens in Virginia. Tickets are $390 and a $100 deposit is due March 1, with final payment in April. On June 16, a day of picnicking and fun is planned at the Breuhaus Resort in New York State. Picnic lunch and full course evening dinner will be served. Tickets are $54. A day at Monmouth Park Racetrack is planned for August. Bob Koistra is the organizer. Call him at 973-742-2712.

Clifton 77, Clifton’s Cable Television Station, seeks volunteers to assist in the production of city board meetings and other shows along with the creative implementation of new productions. No prior television experience is necessary, however, volunteers must be Clifton residents, 16 or older, and be trained on all equipment.

Those interested in taking part in the productions should contact station manager Sai K. Bharadwaj at 973-4705753, or via sbharadwaj@cliftonnj.org.

The CHS Prom Fashion Show is Feb. 6 at 2 pm in the JFK Auditorium of the Colfax Ave. school. Mustang models will be styling in gowns provided by Angelica Fashions and tuxedos from Deluxe Formal Wear, both in Downtown Clifton. Hair styles are provided by Infatuation on Market St, and Hairworks, Urban Oasis and Lunar E Clips. During intermission a hypnotist/ comedian, Dr. Level, will provide some fun and ‘levity’. The public is invited to attend. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds go to defray the cost of Project Graduation.

The goal of this 16th annual event is to provide a safe, drug and alcoholfree environment for CHS seniors on the biggest night of their lives. On graduation night, after the ceremony, students meet back at CHS and board buses for a nearby resort.

Chaperones accompany about 450 seniors for the all-night gathering. For more info on these events, Dr. Level will provide some call chair Maryann Cornett fun and ‘levity’ at the CHS Prom Fashion Show. at 973-779-5678.

Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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Celebrations

Visit us in Downtown Clifton: 1103 Main Ave • 973-473-4999

We Don’t Sell Parts… …We Sell Service Machine Shop On Location No Order Too Large Or Small FREE DELIVERY

Happy Anniversary to Cheryl and Tom Hawrylko who will be married 24 years on 2/14 Alison Degen ....................

Robyn Feldman................

Kristin Reilly ........................

Jillian Sloma ......................

Scarlette Ramirez ............

Emil Soltis Jr ......................

Two Stores In Clifton 973-473-1997

973-473-4999

802 Van Houten Ave • Clifton Mon-Fri 8-6pm • Sat 8-5pm • Sun 9-1pm

1103 Main Ave • Downtown Clifton Mon-Fri 8-6pm • Sat 8-5pm • Sun Closed

Happy Anniversary to Mary and Bob Henn who will be married 54 years on 2/03

Our Other Locations: 201.843.8040

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Visit us in Athenia: 802 Van Houten Ave • 973-473-1997 76

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

2/1 2/1 2/1 2/1 2/2 2/2

Joe Fierro .......................... 2/3 Eric Lux .............................. 2/3 Bob Naletko...................... 2/3 Catherine Burns .............. 2/4 Jennifer Correa ................ 2/4 John Nittolo ...................... 2/5 Courtney Carlson ............ 2/6 Joseph DeSomma .......... 2/6 Charlie Hornstra .............. 2/6 Anna Robol ...................... 2/6 Robert D’Alessio .............. 2/7 Nicole Goretski ................ 2/7 Nicole Tahan .................... 2/7 Tara Fueshko .................... 2/8 Natalie Pych .................... 2/8 Jamie Carr........................ 2/9 Craig Grieco .................... 2/9 Bryan Kelly ...................... 2/10

Matthew Seitz....................

Valentine Le Ster ..............

Joseph Hilla........................

Leann Perez ......................

Dolores Rando ..................

2/10 2/11 2/12 2/12 2/12

Birthday greeting to the Mikolajczyk sisters, Jamie on 1/24 and Sarah on 2/11 Maria Jimenez ..................

Michael Papa....................

Chris Lorenc ......................

Diana Murphy ..................

John T. Saccoman ............

Robert Adamo ..................

Eileen Feldman..................

Kimberly Mistretta ............

Kimberly Gasior ................

Brittany Pinter ....................

Brittany Helwig ..................

Joyce Penaranda ............

Lauren Ricca ....................

2/18 2/20 2/21 2/22 2/22 2/24 2/24 2/24 2/26 2/26 2/27 2/27 2/27

Grandma Stella Pych wishes a Happy Birthday to Natalie who turns 4 on 2/08

Renee Lux celebrates her 4th birthday on 2/14 and Brother Eric is 10 on 2/3 John Hodorovych ............

Amin Zamlout ....................

Renee Lux ..........................

Orest Luzniak ....................

Jeanette Ann Saia............

Christine Canavan............

M. Louis Poles ....................

Helen Stimach ..................

2/13 2/13 2/14 2/14 2/14 2/15 2/15 2/16

Best wishes to Ashley Brandecker who turns 11 on 2/17 Anthony Musleh ................ 2/17 Lorraine Rothe .................. 2/17 Michael Del Re.................. 2/18

Employees at St. Mary's Hospital are joining companies across the nation by wearing something red with jeans on Friday, Feb. 4. Their goal is to support the American Heart Association’s Wear Red Day event, a program to increase awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of American women.

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

77

CHS Sports BY

GARY ANOLIK

It’s the middle of the CHS winter sports season and there are some real highlights for the Mustangs. Corey Bleakman, the 140 lb. junior wrestler, pictured here, is 15-0 this season. The victories are impressive. A pin against Passaic in 47 seconds, and a pin against number one ranked Bergen Catholic. “I love wrestling,” the mild mannered Bleakman said after a recent match. “All you have to depend on is yourself. You can’t blame anyone else if you lose.”

Bleakman shows the signs of an experienced wrestler during his matches, sometimes having conversations with the referee. He has plans for college and to continue his wrestling career, but that’s two years from now. His immediate goals are the County and State Championships.

CHS Wrestling is 4-4 this season, and ranked 24th in North Jersey.

The Boy’s basketball team had a series of injuries, including a concussion to Randy Cabral and a season ending thumb injury to Carlos Pena. The team was all but written off at 3-8 going in against eighth ranked Ridgewood. That night against the Maroons, Clifton took the lead in the beginning of the second half and never gave it up. Silas Lee scored eight, but most of all, the Clifton offensive outplayed the Ridgewood zone defense, flooding the right side all night long. The guards stayed back and never let a fast break go by.

Clifton won that night 58-53, and at press time, the basketball team is now 5-8 going into the Passaic County tournament.

The Boy’s hockey team is battling Bayonne for the top spot in the North Conference, Red Division.

The two met recently at Floyd Hall Arena, and played to a 3-3 tie, both teams scoring two goals a piece in the last six minutes. The team is once again being led by junior Anthony Yelovich and senior Ian Meltzer.

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Sunday 9 am – 12 noon • www.tenaflypediatrics.com

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

Tenafly 32 Franklin St 201-569-2400

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The Girls Bowling team, ranked 7th by the Star Ledger, won the Passaic County Championship. Led

by Lindsey Specian, Alison Jonkman, and Tylencia Selph, the Girls won by over 400 pins.

The Girls Indoor track team won the Passaic County Championship.

Girls’ running at Clifton is consistently excellent. For example the Cross Country team won the league title this year.

Three mainstays for the past four years explained why. Christine Gagliardi, said “We have such depth and raw talent, it creates a great dynamic.” Gagliardi, who will be attending Assumption College next year said. Her greatest experience at Clifton was, “coming in at Leagues in Cross Country and seeing everyone right behind me, knowing that we finally won our league.”

Marta Oeja, a senior who lists Ivy League schools as a possibility for next year explained this team is one “with great diversity in talent,

Some members of the 2005 CHS Girls Track Team.

everyone is so good at what they do, and we all fit in.” Liz Post, one of New Jersey’s top shot putters, who will be going Division 1 next year said that “we get a positive influence from the coach on down.

We are one family.”

On Jan. 30, for the first time in the history of CHS, both the Boys

and Girls Track teams won league titles. Individual achievements have also been many. In track and field. elite is defined. If one beats certain times and distances, they are considered elite. NJ Runners sets the standards. Reaching the standard allows the individual to attend certain prestigious meets.

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

79

Yale bound Joe Hathaway is a shoe in for the State Meet of Champions for the shot put. Elite performances have been put in by Nicole Kryzysik and Rebecca Weiss in the 600 meter dash. Alvin Forster is elite in the 500 High hurdles meter dash.

Each school can enter three athletes in each track and field event.

Only two schools in the State have all three athletes considered elite in one event. They are Christian Brothers Academy and Clifton High School. Oddly they both qualify in the mile, which requires a sub-4:40. In Clifton, Steve Klett, Carlo Santelli and Alexander Anolik are Clifton’s elite milers.

The Clifton Boys Swim relay team— Doug Ciallella, Calman Goodell, Craig Casperino and Matt Hyde—who broke the school record by less than a second, with a time of 3:36:31.

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February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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At the North Jersey Sectionals in Bayonne, the Clifton Swim Team had an impressive outing, led by the record breaking boys 400 yard relay team of Doug Ciallella, Craig Casperino, Matt Hyde and Calman Goodell.

They turned in a fourth place time of 3:36.31, and with that time also broke the CHS record by less then a second. The same relay team also came away with first place in the 200 yard relay, beating an outstanding St. Peters Prep team with a time of 1:37:26. The boys team overall placed 4th out of 25.

The Girls Swim team had a good day as well, taking 7th place overall, led by a strong performance by Kirsten Ciervo, who took 6th in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 27.03. Ciervo also led the girls 200 yard relay to a 3rd place finish with Samantha Eromenok, Francesca Hemsey, and Margaret Krol, turning in a time of 1:52.07.

Clifton Rotary Food Drive T

Father Hank Dwyer, Donna Nelson Ivy, Deputy Chief Tom Lyons and Russ Schneider.

Clifton Rotary Club, one of the city’s oldest service organizations, has been supporting charities in the community for over 50 years. This is the fourth food drive it will conduct to benefit St. Peter’s Haven, which remains the only homeless shelter and food pantry in Clifton.

For more on the food drive or other Rotary programs, call Clifton Rotarian George Jacobs of Jacobs Enterprises at 973-591-5222, or Deputy Chief Tom Lyons of Clifton FMBA Local 21, fmba21@aol.com, or Rotary president Russ Schneider at 973-779-7343.

1159

he Clifton Rotary Club will conduct its annual Food Drive March 6-12 for the benefit of St. Peter’s Haven Food Pantry, Clifton.

Clifton Rotary President Russell Schneider said the food drive will take place in two phases. The first phase will be a week-long collection of non-perishable food items by the Clifton FMBA. Food donations may be dropped off at any of the six Clifton fire stations any time from March 6 through March 12. Off-duty firefighters will then deliver the food items to St. Peter’s Haven.

The second phase will be a collection of food items on March 12 by members of Clifton Rotary and its CHS Interact Club. Collection takes place at five Clifton supermarkets: Stop & Shop, Broad St. and Allwood Rd.; Pathmark, Paulison Ave.; Acme Market, Styertowne Shopping Center; Stop & Shop, Clifton Commons; and Pathmark, Botany Village.

Collection hours on March 12 will be 10 am until 2 pm. Rotary members will then deliver the food to St. Peter’s on Clifton Ave.

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Clifton Merchant • February 2005

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It’s always safety first with archery instructor Dan Cabral, above center, who teaches an introductory class offered through the Clifton Rec Department. Call 973-470-5958 for more details.

Dr. David R. Moore, Chiropractor

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Dr. Moore is pleased to announce our “Valentine’s Patients of the month” Jim and Lee Van Dyke, who enjoy regular spinal "tune- ups" in order to maintain their health.

Mon • Wed • Fri Chiropractic Health Center 241 Crooks Ave • Clifton • 973.253.7005 Tue • Thu • Sat Elmwood Park Athletic Club 690 River Dr • Elmwood Park • 201.794.0155

Sports Injures • Car Accidents Family Practice 82

February 2005 • Clifton Merchant

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Jim and Lee always brighten our office with their smiles and happiness.

Celebrating 100 Years of Serving our Community

East Ridgelawn Cemetery... ...invites you to visit our Mausoleum on Main Avenue to see the inspirational art adorning our new building. Within the Mausoleum, our artist has painted a serene and peaceful view, entitled ‘Eden’, pictured above, where visitors can pause to celebrate the lives of those who have passed.

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Paterson

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Paterson

$299,000

Nice well kept one family home. 3 bdrms, den or possible 4th bdrm, LR, KIT, bath & and extra room bsmnt is full unfinished w/laundry area, half bath plus room.

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