E a s t H a n o v e r / F l o r h a m Pa r k’s H o m e t o w n N e w s p a p e r
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LIFE May 2023
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It Happened in NJ: Remembering New Jersey Heroes this Memorial Day BY PETER ZABLOCKI GUEST WRITER
AREA - One does not think of parades, medals, or American flags on the battlefield. The soldiers often recall thinking of the person standing directly next to them and how to keep them safe. Many speak of the natural duty to one’s nation and flag. Still, when bullets, mortars, or human charges come at them, and the automated instinct and training take over, most tend to recall extraordinarily little, apart from wanting to survive. Originally known as Decoration Day in the years following the Civil War, Memorial Day is an American holiday honoring those soldiers who, against all their intentions, never made it home to share their stories with their loved ones. It is not known what spurred the movement to make the tradition a unified national day of remembrance. Research points to May 5, 1868, when General James Garfield made a speech before thousands of those gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to lay flowers on the graves of the fallen Civil War soldiers. The future President of the United States dubbed the day Decoration Day. Following the event, the loved ones of those who had fallen and, later, other townspeople across the nation began holding springtime tributes to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. These independent gatherings across local United States
cemeteries and within distinct communities led to decorations, flags, and flowers gracing countless graves of American veterans and, in many instances, became synonymous with the official start of spring. With each town or state choosing its own date in May, and some not at all, to commemorate those fallen in battle, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968. The legislation designated the last Monday of each May, Memorial Day, making it an official federal holiday. With the state’s position as one of the original thirteen colonies and later states, the citizens of New Jersey have been involved in every significant American military conflict, beginning with the American Revolutionary War, which established the nation’s independence. The majority of America’s first war as an independent country, where nearly seventy thousand Patriots died throughout the conflict, including many from New Jersey, was fought in the Garden State. By the time of the Civil War, the bloodiest and most costly war in United States history, more specific record-keeping denotes that nearly 6,300 New Jersey soldiers died between 1861 and 1865. Thirty-five of those men earned the nation’s highest military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Their stories, while all unique, follow a similar pat-
tern of bravery to that of Corporal Charles F. Hopkins, who stayed behind during a fierce battle near Gaines’ Mill, Virginia, to carry a wounded soldier to safety while being twice wounded in the act. The roughly 2,000 New Jersey cemeteries are full of soldiers who, like Hopkins, buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Boonton, New Jersey, fought and many times died to remind future generations that freedom is not free. In fact, the ever-growing number of veteran burials in the state prompted Governor Thomas H. Kean to dedicate the Garden State’s first state-operated veterans’ cemetery in 1986, named after U.S. Army Brigadier General William C. Doyle and located in Wrightstown. New Jersey is full of individual stories of courage, many recorded for posterity in various levels of detail since the Civil War. As we drive by local burial places blanketed with small American flags and flowers this spring, may we consider the sacrifices and bravery of the men and women underneath the red and white flowers held together with blue ribbons. The Garden State was the home to many heroes. Private Frank J. Bart, buried at Flower Hill Cemetery in North Bergen, when in France during World War I, picked up a heavy machine gun and ran ahead of his line, squeezing the trigger. His heroic charge allowed his
Peter’s son near the Vietnam War Memorial
compatriots to escape an enemy ambush and save their own lives. Some World War II stories of New Jersey soldiers have made it to the big screen, as was the case with John “Manila” Basilone, depicted in the critically acclaimed The Pacific. Yet, there are countless others that, although requiring a bit more research, are just as extraordinary. Captain Carlton R. Routh, buried in Berlin Cemetery in Berlin, New
Jersey, first stormed an enemy machine gun nest, then lurched at a Japanese grenade thrown amidst his wounded men and placed his body between them and the explosion. An event he would miraculously survive. Stories such as these apply to the Korean War, Vietnam, and the more recent wars in the Middle East, reminding us that behind each little American flag wavering in the wind near a grave this Memorial Day is a deed once noble yet sometimes
forgotten. Let this year’s holiday, and the ones that follow, be a reminder of a sentiment once shared by American President Abraham Lincoln; “Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” Peter Zablocki is the author of the upcoming New Jersey and the Medal of Honor (November 2023) and the cohost of the History Teachers Talking podcast. For more information, visit www.peterzablocki.com.
Florham Park Prayer Shawl Ministry Supplies Warmth and Blessings
New Principal, Robert Foster, Takes Reigns at Brooklake Elementary School 10-year classroom English-Language Arts teacher and district administrator ascends to higher post
BY JEFF GARRETT STAFF WRITER
FLORHAM PARK - A new school principal usually starts the job at the beginning of the school year - in late summer before August or September hits, when the grounds are flush with students and teachers. Even mid-year transitions as such happen. But at Brooklake Elementary School, principal Robert Foster is settling in to a big chair -- as the cherry blossoms bloom, field trips abound and kids start getting spring fever. Foster hopes to make quite an impact guiding Florham Park Elementary School to academic excellence for years to come. He succeeds former principal Kerri Waibel and served as
a District Administrator, Dean of Students and English-Language Arts teacher before taking up his new role. Foster is an educational leader at his core. For him the change is bittersweet, but welcome. “I leave a role where I was helping 60 to 70 students,” in the classroom, “but here I can help 360 students,” as well as assist teachers and fellow administrators, he says. Foster started officially on April 17. He liked this. Why? So he can listen for a few months in the beginning, since listening is an unspoken pre-requisite for anyone in Education. “I can use the time to get to know people in the building.
Winners From April’s “Find Hank The Hornet Mascot” Contest
AREA - The winners from April’s “Find Hank the Hornet Mascot” are Jodie Kruis; East Hanover, Elizabeth Arias; Florham Park, Vance Melillo, East Hanover, Deepthi Govindaraj; Florham Park.
The ads that “Hank the Hornet” were in: Kidz World, Magnolia, Kam Man, Jag Paving, Everest and Viking Pest. Thanks to everyone who enter and congratulations to our winners!
Florham Park Prayer Shawl Ministry members (photo courtesy of Kathy Memoli)
BY STEVE SEARS STAFF WRITER Robert Foster
I was a Union V.P. for teachers before,” so he’s had some practice listening on top of his 10 years in various school roles. “I’d like to hear what they are saying as well as what parents have to say and support what works and try to address some frustrations some may be having.” Becoming Principal seems like the natural progression for Foster, 33, who has always sought to do more outside the classroom to know students and faculty better. He coached Cross Country and was co-founder of the Ridgedale Middle School National Junior PLEASE SEE NEW PRINCIPAL, PAGE 2
FLORHAM PARK - Kathy Memoli knows both the benefit of being a prayer shawl creator and giver, as well as receiver. She has been blessed. “I have stage four kidney cancer,” she explains. “I was only 48 years old at the time, so it has been almost 30 years, and I have been blessed beyond belief. And I have had multiple surgeries. Originally it was stage one cancer, but over the years it metastasized, and I had more surgeries. I have been under the care of Memorial Sloan Kettering for all these years, and I have done very, very well. If I do meet someone who is going through any kind of a trial, I like to share my story, because I have found that is a big support, especially to cancer patients.” Memoli and a host of other ladies are members of the almost 10-year-old Florham
Your Chance to Win a $25 Gift Card with the “Find Hank The Hornet Mascot” Contest
AREA - Check out our new mascot...Hank the Hornet. Look for him in the ads in this issue and enter (no purchase necessary) to
win a $25.00 gift card (4 winners). It is easy to enter. Look through the paper and read the ads and look for “Hank” in the
ads. He will be located throughout the paper in 6 random ads. Then go to www.easthanoverflorhamparklife.com scroll down
and fill out the form to be entered. Winners will be notified and printed in the next issue.
Park Prayer Shawl Ministry. Founded by the late Barbara Tinari, it is an offshoot of the original Prayer Shawl Ministry, which dates to 1998 and was started by Janet Severi Bristow and Victoria Galo. Both were graduates of the 1997 Women’s Leadership Institute at The Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. “It became a way to reach out to others and pass along a blessing,” Memoli says. She is one of two current leaders of the Florham Park group; Pat Schwartz is the other. “She (Tinari) wanted to do something to help others who have been undergoing, not only health issues, but it could be someone has lost a spouse or a member of their family, or it could be a child who’s undergoing some kind of treatment.” It could also be a caregiver for those suffering with an illness, they themselves needing blessing and peace. Initially all members were parishioners of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, but the topic of expansion beyond those church doors came up. Memoli adds, “We decided that rather than have it come just out
of Holy Family, we would expand it and try to get the word out as best we could to include anyone who wanted to join.” The group, which currently consists of 12 active members, as well as ladies who knit or crochet at home and drop their shawls off, meets year-round every Tuesday morning from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. in the Florham Park Senior Center. Some members already know how to knit and crochet, and there are also those who want to learn and help. All are welcome. When the group gifts a prayer shawl, the package includes a letter, and sometimes Memoli will write a note, or if one of the members knows a recipient, they then will pen the note. “We enjoy being together,” Memoli happily states. “There is always a need for a prayer shawl, and the Florham Park Senior Center has welcomed us with open arms. It is a lovely place to be.” For more information about the Florham Park Prayer Shawl Ministry, contact either Kathy Memoli at (973) 377-7611, or Pat Schwartz at (973) 3770156.