C
WHERE ARE THESE
lass of
‘76
MUSTANGS NOW?
By Michael C. Gabriele To quote the song lyrics of Amy (Fingerhut) Mackoul’s favorite band from the United Kingdom, her journey from the Class of ‘76 to the present day is a “long and winding road;” a circuitous route that most likely has similarities with the lives of other female classmates. The events on her resumé include graduation from college, career ambitions, temporary relocation to other parts of the country, a return to the Garden State, marriage, divorce and remarriage, two daughters, the passing of a beloved parent, and the joys of a balanced, busy life—as she marked her 40th high school class reunion in March. Mackoul currently serves as an account executive for NJ Advance Media (njadvancemedia.com), which represents the “second act” in her professional life. She previously worked 25 years for Verizon and its various corporate iterations, before retiring from the telecommunications giant in 2012. She is enjoying family life in Morris County’s Riverdale with daughters Amanda, 23, and Ashley, 18; husband Ted; and three stepsons, Matthew, Gregory and Peter, along with stepdaughter-in-law Rehana. Mackoul visits Clifton regularly to see her mom, Barbara, who still lives in the house on Burlington Rd. where Amy grew up. Her dad, Bernard—known to friends and family members as Bernie—died in 2013. Through the years, her life journey has intersected major events, such as Sept. 11 and Hurricane Sandy. There have been milestones and bumps on Mackoul’s long and winding road, but the most significant bump in her life occurred on March 30, 1966, just before her 8th 42 July 2016 • Clifton Merchant
A Beatles fan who resides in Riverdale, Mackoul worked at Verizon for many years and currently is an account executive for NJ Advance Media.
birthday. She was, at the time, a third grader at School 9. While crossing Allwood Road at Burlington Rd., adjacent to the traffic light intersection at Market St., she was hit by an oncoming car, flew into the air and landed on the street. Seeing the Light on the Other Side Her father watched in horror as the accident unfolded. Clifton Police Officer Thomas Steele—the father of classmate Nancy Steele—was the first to arrive at the scene. First responders rushed young Amy to Passaic General Hospital as she had suffered a concussion, broken ribs, a broken right leg and various other injuries. Fifty years after the accident, she still recalls bits and pieces of her ordeal and admitted that her leg, broken in several places, “still hurts when it rains.” Recounting the harrowing tale while enjoying a cup of coffee at Allwood Rd.’s Tick Tock Diner on a Wednesday afternoon in early June, Mackoul confessed to having a “near-death experience” immediately after the accident—seeing herself floating upward toward an ethereal white light, only to suddenly