Clifton Merchant Magazine - October 2008

Clifton Merchant Magazine • Volume 13 • Issue 10 • October 3, 2008

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October 2008 • Clifton Merchant 3

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EDITOR & PUBLISHERTom Hawrylko

BUSINESS MANAGER

Cheryl Hawrylko

STAFF WRITERS: Joe Hawrylko, Jordan Schwartz

GRAPHIC ARTIST: Rich McCoy

CONTRIBUTORS: Gary Anolik, Rich DeLotto

Say hello to your neighbors, such asAnil Patel, the shop keeper at theWelsh Farms on the corner of Main andPiaget Aves in Downtown Clifton. Onthe following 40 pages, you’ll see andread about a variety of Clifton people.Some you may know and others youmay be meeting for the first time butthe idea is to explain a little more aboutour city’s ever-changing ethnicity.

Through our stories, we hope to pro-vide a greater understanding of ourdiverse cultures and religions and per-haps illustrate, that despite our differ-ences and no matter where we comefrom, we share many of the same goalsand ideals. For instance, Anil’s kidsattend School 1 and CCMS and he—like most Americans—want to makeour hometown a better place to work,live and raise a family.

Clifton, for many of us, has been acity of opportunity. For me, it began in1979 when I moved here to attendMontclair State after a hitch in

The October 1998 cover of Clifton Merchant Magazine was our first study of thechanging face of Clifton. Pictured from left, Luisa Castillo, who is Filipino, RichSmith an African-American, John Pogorelec Sr., a Slovakian, Sohail Mohammed,a Muslim from India, and at center, Sophia Constandinou, who is of Greek ancestry.A decade later with this issue, we once again examine diversity in our community.


by Tom Hawrylko

On our cover, flags in the mast, from left, Italy,Poland, Germany, Turkey, Albania, Philippines andUkraine. Going down the spine: USA, Hungary,Puerto Rico, Japan, Dominican Republic, Peru,Germany, Israel, Macedonia, Greece, Ireland, Iraq,India, Columbia, Mexico and the Netherlands.

Cover photos, first row, from left: Fatima, Abdullahand Dana Aref, Anil Patel, Iris Pallero, Luis Perdomoand George Hayek. Second row: Alex Chudolij,Lillianna Chudolij, Mike Duch, Alicia Mazepa andJohn Komar. Third row: Father Thomas Abraham,Anayzah Thomas, John Celentano, Jr., JenniferReyes-Vega, and Kevin Gorman, Lou Imparato andMary Ellen Wiles. Fourth row: Masoon Karabit andManal Farage, Karina and Igor Yermachenko, OdetteCoronel, Rabbi Stanley Skolnik and James Gwyn.

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Clifton Merchant Magazine • Volume 13 • Issue 10 • October 3, 2008

Free, Please Take One

the US Navy. By 1981, I married into a greatItalian family and managed to share and meldthe Ukrainian and Hungarian traditions I knewas a boy growing up in Perth Amboy with mynew Italian culture and family.

Since we married in 1981, Cheryl and I haveachieved many things in our hometown, includ-ing raising a family of four and starting a busi-ness. It has been a good tale of the AmericanDream for which I am appreciative. I wish thesame good fortune and the many friendships Ihave experienced in Clifton upon all of you.

The sounds of someone drum-ming away on a butcher’s blockemanate from the back corner ofGeorge’s Middle East Market onGetty Ave. in South Paterson.

But it’s not an acne-faced 15-year-old cashier slacking off. It’sGeorge Hayek, an 82-year-old sec-ond generation Syrian-American,busy proving that, despite his age,his fast hands can still put anyyouthful drummer to the test.

Demonstration finished, Hayekflashes a smile and puts the drumsticks back in their hidden locationon the shelves, just in case hecatches another sudden urge for animpromptu jam session.

These kind of things happenwhen you’ve been a drummer most

of your life, and sometimes, you’vejust got to satisfy that itch.

Sixty-two years ago, Hayek andfour of his artistically inclinedfriends decided that they needed amovable stage for their musicalabilities and formed the HawthorneCaballeros Drum & Bugle Corps.

Though it originally started asan outlet for their creativity, surelynone of the original members couldhave envisioned that their littlegroup would continue for genera-tions and go on to become one ofthe premier drum and bugle corpsin the nation.

Throughout their illustrious his-tory, the Spanish-themed Cabshave accumulated dozens ofawards and accolades, mostnotably, nine Drum CorpsAssociation World Championships.

“I’m the only one left stillmarching from the original drumcorps,” Hayek said proudly.“That’s my thing. They call meIron Man because I’ve beenmarching for 62 years now.”

The Cabs were born out of theSt. George Junior Cadets fromPaterson. However, unable to getfunding in town, the Cabs had tolook elsewhere.“We went toHawthorne and were sponsored byAmerican Legion Post 199,”explained Hayek. “We’re stillactive with that post.”

Behind him at his SouthPaterson store are dozens of pic-tures and awards, a testament to hisdedication to his musical craft.Featured prominently on the shelfis a plaque commemoratingHayek’s induction into the

The Hayek family, in front of their Getty Ave. store. From left to right is Bobby,George and Charles. The elder Hayek, a World War II veteran, will be the GrandMarshal at this year’s Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 9.

Musician, Butcher, VeteranCaballero’s Iron Man to lead Nov. 9 Clifton Vets Parade

Story by Joe Hawrylko

There are 1,010 people of Syriandescent living in Clifton, or about1.3% of the population. Here aresome more statistics on thatethnic group:

Male: 599 • Female: 411Median Age: 38 • Under 5: 4018 & over: 824 • 65 & over: 149Average household size: 3Average family size: 4Occupied housing units: 399Foreign born: 347In labor force: 561Per capita income: $23,813Families below poverty line: 33People below poverty line: 173

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

Syrian in Clifton


National Drum and Bugle CorpsHall of Fame in 1994.

In a sense, the walls of George’sMiddle East Market tell the story ofHayek’s life, displaying all of hisaccomplishments and his belovedfamily members.

As for the store itself, it has beenin Hayek’s family since 1933,when his father, Charles, foundedthe original butcher’s shop nearGrand St. in Paterson. The currentincarnation of the store on GettyAve. has been there since 1944, andis now run by Hayek’s sons,Charles and Bobby.

However, Hayek isn’t a NewJersey native. In 1929, during theheight of the Depression, CharlesHayek and his family moved fromDetroit to Paterson, after a familymember told him of a job opportu-nity for the Syrian immigrant.

“I had an aunt down here thatsaid they needed a butcher and heknew how to cut meat,” recalled

Hayek, who was born in Detroit,which has a sizable Syrian commu-nity. “So he put us all in a car andbrought us down here.”

His dad, Charles Hayek, workedat the butcher shop until 1933,when he opened up his first storeon Main St., specifically catering tothe large Syrian population ofSouth Paterson by offering manydifferent cuts of lamb, a staple ofSyrian cuisine.

However, after just six years, heclosed the shop due to the outbreakof WWII. Life was about tochange for the Hayek family. Withthe opportunity for higher pay infront of him, Charles closed hisstore in 1940 to work at WrightAeronautics, where he remainedemployed until 1944.

The junior Hayek was alsoactively participating in the wareffort, joining the Army after grad-uation from Paterson Central in1944. After the Japanese surren-dered in August 1945, Hayek wassent over as a part of the occupyingforce, where he stayed until his dis-charge from the Army in 1946.

Hayek standing in front of his father’sstore on Main St., Paterson in the ’40s.

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“I learned some Japanese while Iwas there,” said Hayek, who fluent-ly speaks English, French andArabic, as well as some Spanish andRussian.

By the time he had returnedhome, Hayek’s father already had abustling business on Getty Ave.,where he would go to help out.Though he initially was contemplat-ing college, the circumstances at thetime altered his plans.

“I was the only boy when myfather got sick,” recalled Hayek,who assumed full control of thestore in 1958, about five yearsbefore his father passed away. “Icould have gone to college underthe G.I. Bill, but my mother (Eva)said, ‘How are we going to live?’Well, the store was here and I justtook over.”

Since then, George’s Middle EastMarket has become a family affair.Just as he started out helping hisfather as a young boy, Hayek’s two

sons found their way into the familybusiness over time.

“I started working Saturdayshere,” said Charles, Hayek’s olderson. “And eventually, you just findyourself here.”

However, even though it’s a newthird generation running George’sMiddle East Market, their staplefood—lamb—is what draws in theloyal customers.

“Any kind of lamb they want, wemake,” explained Hayek, who alsopromoted his son Bobby’s home-made string cheese. “Sausagepieces, sausage made out of lamb,hamburgers made out of lamb...”

Though much of his clientelehas since left South Paterson, ithasn’t effected business much.Generations of customers still callin their orders every weekend.

“Most of our business is byphone. We get a lot of church pic-nics and festivals,” added Hayek,who is a lector at Sacred HeartArmenian Catholic Church inLittle Falls.

“They’re hooked on lamb,” hesaid proudly, perched upon his spotin the corner of his store. “If youwant fresh meat, you come to me.”

George and his wife, Lorraine, whowere wed on Nov. 1, 1953.


Peter Eagler is about to liveevery Polonia’s dream. On Oct.5, the Clifton City Councilman willlead nearly 100,000 like-mindedindividuals from the Tri-State areaup Fifth Ave. in Manhattan as theGrand Marshal of the 71st annualPulaski Day Parade.

“It’s really a wonderful honor tobe in this position,” he said. “Istarted marching in the late ’70s,but I didn’t think that I would everbe Grand Marshall.”

The Pulaski Day Parade is thesecond longest running processionin New York City behind the St.Patrick’s Day Parade, which beganin 1762.

It’s been celebrated since 1937 tohonor Kazimierz Pulaski, a Polishimmigrant who became a general in

the Continental Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War.

Eagler, 53, has been a dedicatedmember of the local Polish commu-nity since he was a child. Growingup in the Athenia section of town,Peter went to school at St. Stephen’sin Passaic and Paul VI in Clifton, allthe while attending church picnicswith his parents who were involvedin the Central Polish Organization.

But Eagler wasn’t interested injust his own culture. In 1976, hegraduated from Fairleigh DickinsonUniversity with a degree in politicalscience and Russian-area studies.

A year later, he took a job as asafety inspector for the New JerseyHighway Authority, but after adecade, Eagler became the directorof Heritage Festivals at the GardenState Arts Center in Holmdel.

In 1990, the Cliftonite decided hecould best help the diverse popula-tion of his hometown by becoming alawmaker, and so he ran for CityCouncil, a body on which he serveduntil 2002. Eagler was also a PassaicCounty Freeholder from 1996 to2005, becoming the first Democrat tolead the board in 12 years when hewas elected director in 1998.

Councilman Peter Eagler was installed as the 2008 Pulaski Parade Grand Marshalon Jan. 17, 2007 at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New YorkCity. From left, is his mother Olga, sister Virginia, Eagler, Eastern European com-munity immigration activist Cami Huk, and Polish American Heritage Leaguepresident Dorothy Sowchuk.

Leading in the PolesPeter Eagler is the Grand Marshal of the Pulaski Day Parade

Story by Jordan Schwartz

There are 11,451 people ofPolish descent living in Clifton, orabout 14.6% of the population.Here are some more statistics onthat ethnic group:

Male: 5,322 • Female: 6,129Median Age: 43 • Under 5: 51118 & over: 9,428 • 65 & over: 2,383Average household size: 2Average family size: 3Occupied housing units: 4,466Foreign born: 3,755In labor force: 5,847Per capita income: $23,904Families below poverty line: 92People below poverty line: 518


Polish in Clifton


From 2002 to 2006, theGreendale Rd. resident served asassemblyman from New Jersey’s34th district. In 2006, he returnedto the Clifton City Council.

Eagler has long been a friend toforeigners looking to make a newhome in North Jersey, helpingmany who would call him withimmigration problems.

But since being elected GrandMarshal last November, the coun-cilman’s main focus has beenpreparing for this year’s parade.

“I try to attend as many of thelocal events as I can and I’m alsohelping to raise funds through thead journal to defray the cost of theparade,” he said.

A Parade Banquet was held onSept. 27 at the Marriot Marquis inNew York.

On Oct. 5, the festivities beginwith a 9 am mass at St. Patrick’sCathedral and a 10:30 am breakfastat the 3 West Club between 5th and6th Aves.

The actual procession steps off,led by the CHS Marching MustangsBand, from 25th St. at 12:30 pm andcontinues up Fifth Ave. to 53rd St.

The theme of this year’s parade is“Celebrating the 400th Anniversaryof Polish Pioneers Arriving at theJamestown Colony in Virginia.”

According to polamcon.org,“Polish craftsmen, skilled in theproduction of potash, soap, tar andglass manufacturing, arrived at thefirst English colony in the NewWorld at the invitation of CaptainJohn Smith, who had becomeacquainted with them in Europe.

“Eleven years after their arrival,the Poles successfully led the firststrike in the New World for equalrights. They had contributed somuch to ensure the survival of thecolony that when advised by theGovernor that they would be exclud-ed from voting in an upcoming elec-tion, said ‘no vote, no work.’ Suchwas their value to the colony thatthey were granted the right to vote.”

Some callKazimierzPulaski “thefather ofAmericanCalvary.” A

Polish nobleborn on March

4, 1746, he was a military com-mander for the Bar Confederationand fought against Russian domi-nation of the Polish-LithuanianCommonwealth. When the rebel-lion failed, Pulaski emigrated to theAmerican colonies, where hebecame a general in the ContinentalArmy during the RevolutionaryWar. On Oct. 11, 1779, he died ofwounds suffered in the Battle ofSavannah. The Pulaski Skyway,named in his honor, is a bridge thatconnects Newark and Jersey City.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Kazimierz Pulaski

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Back home, Razzuka Farage, 60,was a successful computer pro-grammer at an oil company in thenorthern section of his country.His wife, Manal, was a civil engi-neer, and his two sons, Sinan andLayth, were doing well in school.

But back home, the Farage fam-ily lived beneath the oppression ofa tyrannical dictator.

Razzuka was born in southernIraq in the late ’40s — one of fivechildren to a dentist and a housewife.

Farage grew up riding horses,swimming and hunting. He wentto college in Baghdad, earningdegrees in physics and math,before taking a job at a govern-ment-run oil producer in Kirkuk.

“Everything was available atthat time,” he said. But that allchanged when Saddam Husseintook power in 1979. “Freedom isgone, can’t talk, have to obeyorders, can’t travel freely, the econ-omy was poor,” said Farage.

He added that it was impossiblefor him to be promoted at workbecause he wasn’t a member ofHussein’s Ba’ath Party, which sup-ported pan-Arabism. Farage was aminority in Iraq because he wasChristian.

Razzuka was never the victim ofviolence because of his religiousbeliefs, but he did witness the per-secution of his countrymen forother reasons.

“When Saddam entered the GulfWar in 1990, some Iraqi soldiersdeserted their units, and when theywere captured, they were executed,”he remembered. “There was a stadi-um near our house and they would

stop people on the street to forcethem to watch the executions. WhenI saw this, I’d turn the other way.”

Farage said after Hussein’s armywas forced to leave Kuwait in1991, there was an uprising in Iraq.

With all the troops involved inthe Gulf War, Kurdish forces cameand occupied Kirkut.

When the Iraqi army returned toliberate the northern cities, theybegan bombing the Kurds. Caughtin the crossfire were residents likeFarage and his family, who decidedit was time to leave the country.

“I was afraid to go outside,”Razzuka recalled.

But getting out wasn’t that easy,especially for those who workedfor government-owned companies.

In the meantime, the Faragessought shelter in a neighbor’s base-ment. On his way to work,

Razzuka would see bullet holes andblood cover the city walls and bod-ies litter the streets.

“A relative of my wife was adoctor,” said Farage. “He and hisson were killed by a bomb in theirhome. It tore them to pieces.”

After eight long years, Razzukawas able to bribe someone in thepassport department to get creden-tials for himself, his wife and theirtwo sons. The Farage family trav-eled to Jordan and stayed there for20 days before flying to the U.S. in1999.

Razzuka’s sister had lived inNew Jersey since 1959, so hedecided to join her in the GardenState.

The family first lived to OceanTownship for four-and-a-half yearsbefore relocating to Sixth St. inClifton.

Iraqi immigrants, from left, Masoon Karabit and the Farage family: Manal, Sinan,Layth and Razzuka in front of their home on Sixth St.

Starting from ScratchThe Farage family immigrated to the United States in 1999



“I heard we could find work herebetter and my nephew had workedhere,” said Farage. Razzuka took ajob as a subcontractor, transportingpackages for American Expediting,before the company changed thecontract and let him go.

He then returned to Iraq this pastMay in an unsuccessful attempt tosell some property he owned there.

Farage is currently looking foremployment, while his eldest son,Sinan, 25, just opened up an autorepair shop in Paramus.

Layth, 22, meanwhile, recentlygraduated Rutgers University withdegrees in art history and math andhas begun an internship in New

York City. Manal is an accountantat Polytech Design on West FirstSt. in Clifton.

“We’re family oriented and wehelp each other out to succeed inlife,” said Sinan. “We couldn’tmake it by ourselves.”

The 25-year-old had a difficulttime adjusting to life in Americawhen he was uprooted at the age of17. Sinan didn’t speak a word ofEnglish when he arrived at OceanH.S., and so administrators droppedhim two grades to a sophomore.

Sinan also took auto mechanicclasses at a vocational school andBrookdale Community College,and so he was able to land a job at

a car dealership in South Jersey.Farage later decided to move closerto some friends in Florida, where heworked for Lexus of Jacksonville.

Sinan eventually opened up hisown shop, but the venture failed asthe economy stalled, and so he wasforced to move back home with hisparents.

The Iraqi immigrant found workas a dispatcher at Garden StateHonda, but he was let go after justnine months.

Despite the hardships the familyhas faced since arriving in theStates, Sinan knows they made theright decision. “We didn’t have anyfuture back home,” he said.

At left, a 20-something Razzuka Farage riding a horse in 1975. The other picture is of, from left, Razzuka, his wife Manal, hisbrother-in-law Mufed, his sister May and his other sister Masoon in the northern part of Iraq in 1977.

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RReady to relax, enjoy and socialize? Try hookah—and to learn how to partake of this

time honored Middle Eastern tradition, visit HookahParadise in Downtown Clifton.

Owner Simon Sheik is there 7 days a week and canserve as a guide to get you and your friends smoking.While the store is not a smoking lounge, Simon offers forsale hundreds of ornate pipes, many options on flavoredtobacco and dozens of other accessories and items any-one will need to get smoking

So how do you hookah? Simon provided thefollowing bits of information but come down tothe store to speak with him in person.

First, don’t rush it— a smoking session lasts some-where between 30 and 60 minutes. After preparing aclean hookah with cold water, selecting a flavorful tobac-co for the bowl, lighting and adding the charcoal, the aro-matic hookah smoke is drawn bubbling through thewater.

Cooled and softened after being filtered by the water,light, pleasant smoke infuses the senses, lingering on theair, encouraging slow meditative breathing and sweeten-ing conversation, games of dominoes, or quiet contem-plation and study.

The slow and relaxed experience of smoking a hookah, which includes preparation of the hookah and thetobacco, is the whole point of hookah smoking. It's not about a buzz or a nicotine fix, it's about the

relaxed space, among friends and out of time, that is created by the hookah and the act of smoking it.

Because hookah smoking is a socialactivity, there is an unwritten eti-quette when partaking• never light cigarettes using the char-coal that heats the hookah tobacco• avoid blowing smoke in the face ofanother person unless they ask—sothey can taste the flavor being smoked• since the point of the individualplastic mouthpiece is health and safe-ty, don't share them• when one person is done smokingbut the hookah is still in use, setting ahose directly on the table signifies thatsmoker is finished and another personmay use the hose• when a hookah smoking session iscompleted, the hoses should bewrapped around the stem • finally, don’t smoke anything buttobacco out of a hookah.


Some smokers add ice to the water andchill the hoses. Others add fruit juice or wineto the base, so the lush fruit flavors of hookahsmoke are enhanced by various ingredients.

Other tips on how to hookah:• always use the proper charcoal, specificallymade for hookah smoking as charcoal whichisn’t low-smoke will overwhelm the flavorand experience of the hookah smoke; • only a very small amount of hookah tobaccois needed in the bowl, since a little goes along way• if the smoke or flavor are lacking, it’s proba-bly because the coals aren’t hot enough• when smoking for more than half an hour,fresh coals will be needed.

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renting hookahs, tobaccos— and even providing an experienced hookah

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Salute Our Vets • Sunday Nov. 9, 2 pmClifton Veterans Parade Once again we are proud to help spread the word and remind residents to stand along

Main Avenue on Nov. 9 near Main Memorial Park to Salute our Veterans.

East Ridgelawn Cemetery also invites you to visit our Mausoleum on Main Avenue topause, reflect and remember the lives of those who have passed. Visits are unlimited andunaffected by the weather. Crypts are located in the building and convenient for elderlyand handicapped. Mausoleum entombment provides greater Peace of Mind & Security.

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Congratulations toVeterans Parade

Grand MarshalGeorge Hayek


Igor Yermachenko relaxes in hissmall office, taking a long sip ofhis iced coffee on an abnormallywarm September afternoon.Though he attempted to wash upprior to going on break, his handsand shirt still bear the remainsfrom the dozen or so oil changeshe has already done today—andit’s only a little past noon.

Being a mechanic certainlyisn’t an easy job. However, it payswell enough for Yermachenko,who is actively shopping for hisfirst home. In an independent autoshop on Main Ave., he’s living theAmerican Dream, shaping his ownfuture through hard work.

For this Ukrainian immigrant, itsure beats the desolate tundra ofSiberia, where his family wasforcibly relocated to by JosephStalin’s Soviet Union in the 1950s.

“The winters are so strong,”recalled Yermachenko, who is themanager of People’s Auto at thecorner of Main and Barkley Aves.in Clifton. “Summers are good,but short—only two months andthat’s it.”

And compared to those whowere deported to Siberia beforehim, the 38-year-old says he had itgood. At least it was partiallydeveloped during the seven yearsthat he lived there.

“In the 1950s and ’60s, Siberiawas much worse,” saidYermachenko, who still speakswith a noticeable EasternEuropean accent. “They had noth-ing there, just wood. They had tobuild everything themselves.”

‘They’ refers to DP’s, or theDisplaced Peoples, who were theunfortunate souls that were removedfrom their native countries by theSoviets and placed in jails, or sent toSiberia or other distant lands.

“My grandparents... Stalin sentthem there because they were rich,”said Yermachenko. “He mixed upall nationalities. But politicians orthose who were considered richwent to Siberia.”

The forced relocation broughttogether his parents, Nykola andStefania, who met in Siberia. Infact, Yermachenko himself wasborn there in 1970, however, giventhe circumstances, he still identi-fies himself as a Ukrainian.

Yermachenko lived with hisfamily in Siberia until 1977. About

then, the regulations first put inplace by Stalin were relaxed andfamilies started returning home.For Yermachenko, that meantgoing back to Lviv in the Striyoblast or region of Ukraine.

However, with the Russians stillin power, there were a couple ofcaveats to go along with these newso called freedoms.

“The borders were closed before1991,” said Yermachenko, recall-ing when Ukraine declared inde-pendence on Aug. 24, 1991. “Youstill couldn’t leave the USSR.People had no choice to travel.”

Young men also had to fulfilltheir military service to the USSR,which landed Yermachenko in theSoviet Navy from 1988 to 1990.However, he managed to

The Yermachenko family. From left, Kyrstyna, Ulyana, Karina and Igor.

Living the American DreamIgor Yermachenko is about to purchase his own home



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make the best out of the situation.“Where I went was good. I got totravel the whole Soviet Union,” hesaid, noting that he had ports of callin the Baltic, as well as the northernand southern tips of the country.

By the time he was discharged,the life Yermachenko knew wasbeginning to change. The USSRwas on the verge of dissolving,soon to give way to Ukrainianindependence in August 1991.

He also met his future wife,Ulyana, whom he would marry thatsame year, just before he beganstudying at Lviv University.

“Everybody goes to school, butnot everyone went to college,” saidYermachenko, who has two daugh-ters, Kyrstyna and Karina. “If youwanted a better job, you went tocollege.”

While going for his degree inengineering, Yermachenko alsohad a transportation business,which took him all over Europebefore graduating in 1997.

After obtaining his degree,Yermachenko entered his nameinto a draft lottery for a green cardto enter the United States, eventu-ally being accepted in 1999.

“I had traveled around Europe,but never to America,” saidYermachenko, who added that thecultural experience was his mainmotivation for the move.

However, coming over wasn’teasy. While he spoke Ukrainian,Polish and Russian, he had to learnEnglish. And then he had to find aplace to live and work.Yermachenko first settled in Passaic,and recalled getting lost often atfirst. But he eventually found com-fort in St. Nicholas UkrainianCatholic Church in Passaic.

Yermachenko also was able toassimilate into American culture atPeople’s Auto, a Polish-owned autorepair shop. “The first time is hard,everything is unknown,” saidYermachenko, who got the job andhis first apartment through a friend.“You know nothing, but the Ukipeople tell you where everything is.”

With many customers ofUkrainian, Russian and Polishdescent coming in, he was able tosettle in comfortably. A few yearsback, the shop owner had a heartattack and now Yermachenko alsomanages the property. Soon, afteryears of saving up, Yermachenkowho has lived in an apartment on

Clifton Ave. for the past sevenyears, can finally take the next stepin the American Dream—heexpects to purchase his own home.

“It’s not just a better life,” hesaid of America “It’s a completelydifferent country than Ukraine. Ialways hear America is the best inthe world. I like the country, that’swhy I’m still here.”

Ukrainian in Clifton

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There are 1,795 people ofUkrainian descent living inClifton, or about 2.3% of the pop-ulation. Here are some morestatistics on that ethnic group:

Male: 849 • Female: 946Median Age: 48 • Under 5: 9718 & over: 1,522 • 65 & over: 527Average household size: 2Average family size: 3Occupied housing units: 780Foreign born: 632In labor force: 840Per capita income: $26,951Families below poverty line: 21People below poverty line: 154


Thomas Abraham brought hisfaith with him when he immigrat-ed to the United States in 1977.

The 58-year-old grew up inKerala State in the southernmostpart of India. This is where theUniversal Syriac OrthodoxKnanaya Church is headquarteredand so it’s no surprise that one ofthe region’s sons is now the chiefpastor of a Syriac church in Clifton.

Members of St. Thomas Churchon Third St. are mostly first gener-ation immigrants from theOrthodox Knanaya Community ofKerala, who migrated to Americain the 1970s and later.

After finishing school, Abrahamworked for the postal department inIndia. “It’s the job I got when I waslooking around for a job,” he said.“I didn’t have much of a choice.”

Abraham wed his wife, Leela, in1976, during one of her return tripsto India. She was born and raisedin the country, but moved to NewJersey as part of a nursingexchange program with PassaicGeneral Hospital in 1971.

After marrying Thomas, shereturned to the U.S. with her hus-band following a year later.

Father Thomas Abraham at St. Thomas Syraic Church onThird St., and inset, as readers may more readily recognizehim, behind the counter as a Clifton Postal employee.

Postman and PriestThomas Abraham is the Vicar at St. Thomas Syriac Church


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Abraham worked at an electron-ics company in Wayne and at theIndian tourist office in New YorkCity before becoming a Cliftonpostman in 1982.

Two years later, the Abrahamsmoved from Passaic to Clifton,where their two children attendedschool.

Their son, Tomlee, 29, graduat-ed 14th in the CHS Class of ’96before receiving his masters inpublic health from ColumbiaUniversity. He now works in theadministration department at Mt.Sinai Hospital in New York.

His sister, Teena, 26, is a CHSClass of 2000 alum who currentlyworks for a pharmaceutical compa-ny and was recently married.

Thomas still works for theClifton Post Office but he is alsoextremely active at his church.

St. Thomas Syriac OrthodoxKnanaya Church started its servic-es in Clifton in 1987, renting itsplace for worship at Athenia

There are 2,397 people of Indiandescent living in Clifton, or about3% of the population. Here aresome more statistics on thatethnic group:

Male: 1,200 • Female: 1,197Median Age: 33 • Under 5: 18418 & over: 1,755 • 65 & over: 172Average household size: 4Average family size: 4Occupied housing units: 613Foreign born: 2,112In labor force: 1,342Per capita income: $16,595Families below poverty line: 20People below poverty line: 157


Indian in Clifton

22 October 2008 • Clifton Merchant

Reformed Church on Clifton Ave. and also at anotherlocation in Nutley. The church members previouslybelonged to the St. Peter’s Syriac Church in Yonkers.

In 1994, church members decided to purchase abuilding of their own here in Clifton and elected abuilding committee with Abraham, who was then theVicar Fr., as its president.

The committee searched for five years before buy-ing 186 Third St., which became available when thecongregants of the Free Reformed Church of Cliftonmoved to Pompton Lakes.

On March 26, 2000, now Clifton’s fifth OrthodoxChurch opened its doors with the Holy Liturgy cele-brated at 10 am.

Today, about 60 families belong to the church, most-ly from Clifton. Abraham is the present Vicar.

“I lead services on Sundays and take care of the con-gregation,” he said. “It takes a lot of work.”

The Knanaya Community in North America has 12parishes in the U.S. and Canada and own their ownchurches in 10 major cities.

The Knanaya Church, which follows the EasternOrthodox faith, is distinctly different from otherChristian denominations, upholding traditions andpractices dating back to the first century. “Qualities thatdistinguish Orthodox churches from other houses ofworship is the aromatic smell of the incense used dur-

ing the services and the beautiful and luxurious over-flowing garments worn by the priests and its hierarchydating back to the Aaronic times of the Old Testament,”explained Abraham.

Sunday morning services begin at 9:30 at St.Thomas, with morning prayers followed by the HolyEucharist at 10 am and Sunday school at 11:30.

After the services, all attendees participate in a lunchof Indian dishes provided by one of the member fami-lies, each of which takes a turn once a year.

Although most Orthodox churches follow the Juliancalendar, the Knanaya Church follows the Gregorian,celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25. For more info, go towww.syriacstudies.com.

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For some 35 years now,Anthony A. Accavallo, shownhere, has been helping make theAmerican Dream become a reali-ty, right here in Clifton.

As President of Federal Mortgage& Investment Corp. at 1111 CliftonAve., Clifton, he and his firm havewritten millions of dollars worth ofmortgages which have allowed peo-ple to purchase homes. And whilethat work has been fulfilling,Accavallo said he is getting his great-est satisfaction these days by helpingsenior citizens with reverse mort-gages. A reverse mortgage is a specialkind of mortgage loan for seniors.

It is a safe, easy way to turn yourhome equity into tax-free cash.Unlike a home equity loan, you donot have to make monthly payments.

Instead, a reverse mortgage paysyou. More importantly, you do nothave to repay the loan for as long asyou live in the house. It’s a greatway to keep your home and getmoney from it at the same time.

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

In the past, a senior citizen inneed of money would have to takeout a loan against their house andimmediately start making monthlypayments again or sell their home.

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Each reverse mortgage candidateis required to attend a counselingsession with a local independenthousing agency approved by FHA(Federal Housing Administration).Candidates are encouraged to bringother family members with them tohelp in the decision-making process.

“This process ensures that theborrower understands the programfully and aides them in determiningwhether or not a reverse mortgage isfor them,” said Accavallo.

How do I qualify for a Reverse Mortgage?It’s simple. You and your co-borrower must be at least 62 years old. You mustown your home free and clear or have just a small balance on your existingmortgage. Best of all, there are no income or credit requirements to satisfy.

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Social activism was beginning to catch onas the conservative ’50s turned into the lib-eral ’60s and Stanley Skolnik wanted to bea part of it.

“There was a sense of change in theworld,” said Skolnik, who has led the con-gregation at Temple Beth Shalom in Cliftonfor the past 33 years. “There were a lot ofsocial issues that appealed to me.”

So, when he was just a junior in highschool, the New Yorker decided the bestway to make a difference was by becominga rabbi. Skolnik attended the University ofCincinnati and Hebrew Union Collegesimultaneously before being ordained backin New York in 1969.

While in rabbinical school, Skolnik ranthe Mitzvah Corps, a social organization inwhich youths from across the country volun-teered a summer to do service work in thecity. The kids helped the poor and encour-aged voter registration.

Skolnik’s first congregation was inMaryland, where he worked from 1969 to1975. “Some offers were too far away like inSan Antonio where they needed an assistantrabbi,” he said. “I wanted to be on my ownand I was too short to wear a cowboy hat andboots, so I took the job in Maryland.”

But after six years there, Skolnik decidedhe wanted to return to the New York area.There was an opening at Beth Shalom andso he came to Clifton.

Rabbi Stanley Skolnik in front of three torahs stored in the ark at BethShalom Reform Temple on Passaic Ave. in Clifton.

33 Years of Judaic ServiceRabbi Stanley Skolnik joined Temple Beth Shalom in 1975


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“When I arrived in 1975, theJewish population here hadreached its zenith,” said the rabbi.“There were a lot of kids in Cliftonschools and there was a significantnumber of Jews whose lives weremore involved in the general com-munity, but as time went on, thatpopulation diminished.”

Skolnik said his congregationhas dropped from 185 to 100 fami-lies over the past three decades,and the members today are much

older than they used to be. Headded that the number of childrenin the Hebrew school has fallenfrom 140 to 30, and a lot of thoseare from out of town.

“If we had to rely just on Passaicor Clifton, we’d go out of busi-ness,” he said. Rabbi Skolnik saida lot of Clifton Jews moved toWayne or elsewhere in NorthJersey, while others died or movedto “God’s waiting room inFlorida.” Most of the Jewish peo-

ple that remained in Clifton wereorthodox, not reform like the con-gregation at Beth Shalom.

The only other temple in town isthe conservative Clifton JewishCenter on Delaware St., but Skolniksaid its members tend to lean moretowards the orthodox side. “Thereare differences in personal behav-iors between reform and orthodoxJews, but we live parallel lives,”said the rabbi, adding that most ofthe teachers at Beth Shalom’sHebrew school are orthodox.

Skolnik and his wife of 35 years,Norma, have three children.Jonathan, 40, is a professor at UMass,Julie, 37, is in publishing and onceran for the Clifton BOE, and Miri, 35,is assistant dean at MIT. Stanley andNorma have four grandchildren.Skolnik, 65, said he’d like to contin-ue on in his position for at least a fewmore years. “I have felt fulfilled asfar as my congregation goes and I feellike I’ve done a modest amount ofservice to the community.”


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Rabbi Eugene MarkovitzAs teenagers head out later thismonth for “Mischief Night,”some Cliftonites will be remindedof one act of vandalism that led toreligious tolerance and nationalheadlines exactly 20 years ago.

On Oct. 30, 1988, four youngresidents desecrated four differentplaces in town—the garage ofRabbi Eugene Markovitz, theClifton Jewish Center where heworked, a kosher meat market andthe automobile of an elderly Jew.

They used blue paint and shav-ing cream to plaster swastikas,stars of David and derogatory state-ments such as “I hate Jews,” “Goback to your own country,” “F---you Jew bagel” and “Hitler shouldhave killed you all.”

Adding insult to injury, was thefact that the incident took place just10 days shy of the 50th anniversaryof Kristallnacht, the Nov. 9, 1938pogrom in which Nazi sympathiz-ers torched 267 temples andattacked more than 7,000 Jewishbusinesses in Austria and Germany,marking the start of the Holocaust.

The Clifton perpetrators were all13 and 14 years old, middle-classsons of a dentist, a banker, a teacherand a cop. While their act was deter-mined to be caused by teenage stu-pidity rather than religious hatred,the crime was still taken very seri-ously by Superior Court Judge FrankDonato, a non-Jew who was greatlybothered by the racist vandalism.

Donato was ready to sentencethe boys to juvenile prison for twoyears, but he first discussed the sit-

uation with Markovitz. Whilemany area Jews wanted the teenslocked up, the rabbi instead sug-gested they be forced to learn aboutthe religion they had insulted.

“One must never give up onyoung people,” he told Time maga-zine two years later. “In Judaism,it’s literally a crime to do so.”

So the judge sentenced the chil-dren to 25 hours with Markovitz andanother 30 hours of helping aroundthe temple and the neighborhood.

“The youths squirmed and rolledtheir eyes when Markovitz toldthem to put on yarmulkes, the headcoverings worn by Jewish men and

boys that the four youths had for-merly belittled as ‘funny lookingbeanies,’” wrote Myrna Oliver inthe Los Angeles Times followingMarkovitz’s death in 2003.

But the boys eventually listenedand one of them even learned thathis own grandfather had put his lifeon the line to hide Jews beneath thefloorboards of his house in Hollandduring World War II.

“They don’t have to love Jews,but they’ve learned to respectthem,” Markovitz told Time.

The rabbi underwent heart sur-gery and suffered through his son’sdeath during the instruction period,

Longtime head of the Clifton Jewish Center on Delaware St.

This picture of Rabbi Eugene Markovitz at the Clifton Jewish Center was taken inSeptember 1998 for our Many Faces of Clifton project. He passed away in 2003.


but he continued enlightening the boys, taking them toHolocaust museums and showing them Night and Fog,a documentary about concentration camps.

Markovitz’s actions inspired a 1994 televisionmovie entitled The Writing on the Wall.

The L.A. Times reported that one of the youthsinvolved in the real incident told the film’s screenwriterthat the rabbi had “saved his life” by moving him awayfrom gangs.

Markovitz emigrated from Romania to Brooklyn asa teen in 1940 after his father, who was also a rabbi,decided eastern Europe was too dangerous for hisJewish family to live at the time.

The Clifton religious leader got a bachelor’s degreeand a doctorate in theology from Yeshiva Universitybut also earned a master’s in American history, whichhe taught later on in life.

Markovitz died of pneumonia at the age of 82 on Sept.26, 2003 in Clifton. About 500 people attended funeralservices and his coffin was carried by five firefighters andthree police officers because the rabbi had served for halfa century as chaplain to both departments.

“He was an exceptional human being,” said HenryPoller of Rutgers Pl., who had Markovitz as a rabbi for50 years. “He was a spiritual leader for our congrega-tion and a liaison between our community and the non-Jewish community.”

As a member of the exclusive House Committee on Ways & Means,Congressman Pascrell is committed to rebuilding America’s Middle Class.

• FIGHTING FOR CLIFTON FIRST RESPONDERS: Wrote The F.I.R.E. Act(Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement) Act which has deliv-ered more than $417,000 in federal funding to the Clifton Fire Department.

• SUPPORTING CLIFTON’S SMALL BUSINESSES: Brought federalresources like loan assistance and grant opportunities to the Lakeviewcommercial district during a recent informational tour with SmallBusiness Administration officials.

• PROVIDING FOR OUR NATION'S VETERANS: Established a newVeterans Health Clinic in Passaic County to serve more than 150,000veterans that reside in the area.

• EASING CONGESTION & BUILDING SAFER ROADS: Secured mil-lions in federal funding to complete the Route 46 modernization initiative.

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‘Jimmy’ Demetrios Pappas, the longtime ownerof San Remo Pizzeria & Restaurant at the corner ofMadison and Main Aves., died on Sept. 23 at theage of 62. Son of Alexandra, loving husband ofRalia (Litsa) and devoted father of Dr. AlexandraPappas Gomes and her husband Chad, Jimmy alsohad three brothers: Harry, George and Tommy.While the restaurant closed for services, Sam Remois again open and will continue to offer quality foodand superior service, as it has for the past 28 years.


On March 16, 1684, an agreementwas reached between 14 Dutch pat-entees and the East JerseyProprietors for the purchase ofAcquackanonk. Fourteen estateswere then laid out in tiers betweenthe Passaic River and WeselMountain.

Three centuries later, the Dutchinfluence in Clifton continued asone man with roots in theNetherlands helped design a num-ber of structures in town.

Bill Houthuysen was born in the’30s to parents who emigrated fromHolland the decade before.

Adrian and Frances Houthuysenfirst moved to Weehawken beforerelocating to Passaic just prior tothe Great Depression.

Bill was born, raised andschooled in Clifton’s sister city,

Bill Houthuysen competing in a bicycle race at the 168th St. Armory in New Yorkin 1950. He and his teammate won the race.

The Dutch ArchitectBill Houthuysen helped design Clifton City Hall


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where he developed a love forcycling and architecture.

From 1948 to 1953, Houthuysencompeted in bike races throughoutthe Tri-State area and as far north asCanada. He twice rode the 155-miledistance between Quebec andMontreal.

The athlete was drafted into themilitary during the Korean War, buthe served stateside as an ammuni-tion instructor, so he was still ableto ride his bike.

Houthuysen won a number ofraces in his time, and even competedin the 1948 and 1952 Olympic trials,the latter of which was held inPaterson. “I took a bad spill andwent to the hospital and that endedmy chances,” he recalled.

After getting out of the service,Houthuysen worked for a littlewhile before attending CooperUnion in Downtown Manhattan.

He graduated in 1958 with adegree in architecture and got hisfirst job at a firm in Passaic.

After 13 years there,Houthuysen began a partnershipwith his former boss and co-work-er, but that only lasted two yearsbefore the architect started his ownbusiness.

“I had my first office on StraightSt. in Paterson and then I moved toBloomfield Ave. in Styertowne for40 years,” he said.

Houthuysen helped designClifton City Hall, an animal shelterin town, multipurpose room addi-tions at Schools 1 and 15, FireStation No. 5 on Brighton Rd. andFire Station No. 4 at the bottom ofAllwood Rd.

He also served as an outsidecontractor with the McDonald’sCorporation for 35 years, drawingup plans for additions and alter-ations to many of their buildings inPennsylvania, New Jersey, NewYork and Connecticut.

The Brookwood Rd. resident,now in his seventies, continues towork from home these days and he

has no plans of walking away fromhis drawing board anytime soon.

“I feel as long as I’m movingalong and active, there’s no reasonto retire at this point,” he said.

There are 2,091 people of Dutchdescent living in Clifton, or about2.7% of the population. Here aresome more statistics on that eth-nic group:

Male: 965 • Female: 1,126Median Age: 42 • Under 5: 10718 & over: 1,719 • 65 & over: 523Average household size: 2Average family size: 3Occupied housing units: 854Foreign born: 13In labor force: 1,064Per capita income: $23,533Families below poverty line: 5People below poverty line: 145


Dutch in Clifton


When Madonna or BruceSpringsteen come to town, theycall Alexander Chudolij.

That’s because the Cliftonite isone of the foremost accordion deal-ers in the country.

In addition to selling instru-ments to people from all over theworld, Chudolij’s company, MusicMagic Accordions USA, providesaccordions to musicians like U2and Paul McCartney when theyplay shows at Giants Stadium.

Alexander and his wife,Lillianna, started the business in1997 as the first internet-basedaccordion cyber store. Later on,however, they also opened up a pri-vate showroom on Urma Ave.

Mr. Chudolij, who is ofUkrainian descent, said his cus-tomers come from all walks of life.Many Jewish people purchaseaccordions for use in Klezmerbands, but Germans, Italians andIrish residents frequent the show-room as well. Even Latinos arebeginning to use the instrument intheir Tex Mex music.

“Clifton is a wonderful spot geo-graphically but there are probably alot of ethnicities that we haven’teven tapped into,” said the musi-cian and accordion merchant.

Chudolij began playing theaccordion when he was a six-year-old growing up in Rhode Island.

“I wanted to play the piano butthere was no way I could pick it upand put it on its side without gettingin trouble,” he joked. “So I becameinterested in the accordion.”

Chudolij, 50, played in a houseband at a Ukrainian resort in the

Catskills for about eight yearsbefore picking up gigs at parties andweddings all over the East Coast.

He continued playing even ashe earned his chemical engineeringdegrees from Western University inCleveland and Tufts Universitynear Boston.

But 12 years ago, the musicianwas forced to give up touring afterthe birth of his son, Petro. That’swhen Chudolij decided to beginselling the instrument he hadenjoyed playing for so long.

“The internet was up and comingand I thought about the challenge ofstarting a business,” he explained.

But how do you sell an itemonline in 1997 that costs up to$10,000?

“We started coming up withaudio visual things and we nowhave several websites offeringaccordions made by more than adozen manufactures.”

Chudolij imports the instru-ments directly from Italy and sellsthem at the showroom.

Anyone interested in purchas-ing an accordion should call 973-883-0168 or 888-887-0975 to setup an appointment. You can alsoperuse the selection online atmusicmagicusa.com.

Showing off one of the new models, Lillianna and Alexander Chudolij outside theirprivate accordion showroom on Urma Ave.

Master of the SqueezeboxUkrainian Alexander Chudolij sells Italian accordions



A Little Bit of Give and TakeLuis Perdomo and Iris Pallero are making it in America


If there’s one thing that you learnfrom marriage, it’s that compro-mises are a way of life. After 16years together, Irisdania Palleroand Luis Perdomo now know thatsacrifices are sometimes necessary.

In 2006, Perdomo, then a super-visor at Mayer Textile, then onBrighton Rd. in Clifton, was pre-sented with a formidable question:relocate with the business or find anew job. “They asked me to moveto North Carolina,” he recalledwhile speaking from the comfortof his living room in his Sears Pl.home. “But it is kind of hard withall of my family that is here.”

His wife’s relatives from hernative Dominican Republic weremostly in New Jersey, so uprootinghis family would have been diffi-cult. But at the same time, Perdomoknew his job opportunities werelimited, since he never got a collegedegree after immigrating to NewJersey from Colombia in 1986.

Eventually, the couple reached acompromise: Perdomo would workpart-time while attending PassaicCounty Community College to studytechnology, while Pallero temporari-ly supported the family as a socialworker with the Passaic County

Board of Social Services. “That wasthe idea since the beginning,”explained Perdomo, who said he hadintended to go to school earlier. “ButI was kidding myself for 20 years.When you start making goodmoney, you forget about school.But at some point in your life, yourealize that you need education.”

Now, almost two years later, the47- year old father of two is on theverge of graduation. Perdomo willreceive his associate’s degree ininformation technology fromPCCC this December—somethingthat he most likely could not havedone without his wife’s financialand emotional support.

At their Botany Village home, the Pallero-Perdomo family. From left to right, isJazamine, Irisdania (with Jabi), Luis and Bianca.

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Given her arduous path to America, it’s easy tounderstand why Pallero was so quick to make sacri-fices to help her husband obtain his degree. After all,if Pallero’s mother, Rafaela, had not made her own sac-rifices, their family might have remained in theDominican Republic instead of immigrating to theUnited States in November 1974.

For the first 10 years of her life, Pallero only knewabout her mother from the stories her grandparentswould tell her and some old, tattered photographs thatwere around their small house.

“They just talked about her, because we didn’t havetelephone lines,” recalled the 44-year-old “At thattime, we used mail a lot.”

Pallero figured that her mother had left Villa Lobos,a little village of just 50 homes in the DominicanRepublic, for greener pastures in the United States likeso many others had done. It wasn’t until years laterwhen Pallero immigrated to Paterson that she learnedof her mother’s true motives.

“She was sending money back to my grandfather tohelp out,” explained Pallero, who came to the UnitedStates when her mother saved up enough money. “Wehad a very small, wooden house. We eventually built anew house there—that’s where my mom visits.”

Looking back, Pallero added that she really didn’tfully appreciate that sacrifice until she was much older.

“Maybe when I was in my last year of high school,it sunk in,” said the 1983 Paterson Eastside graduate.“Just all the sacrifices she made.”

And even today, Pallero still hasn’t forgotten every-thing that her mother, Rafaela, did for her. Her motherbrought her here, and then pushed her through herteenage years, making sure she had life goals.

“I was the first to graduate from college in my fam-ily. It really didn’t sink in for a while,” said Pallero,who attended Rutgers New Brunswick, graduat-

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Irisdania (at center), her sister Lisa and their mom Rafaela.


ing in 1988 with a bachelor’s inpsychology. “My mother alwaysemphasized how important it was.”

However, another motivatingfactor to go to college was a sum-mer job. “I had a job at a factorywith my aunt,” recalled Pallero. “Itwas tough. Eventually, I said, ‘Ican’t take this, it’s not me.’” She alsomet her future husband in 1988, afterthey were introduced through amutual friend. Their paths here weresimilar. Much like his wife, Perdomoimmigrated here with nothing.

“I guess when you’re down there,you really think you can come hereand collect dollars off the trees,” saidPerdomo, who, in 1986, left hisnative city of Cali, Colombia tocome to Paterson. “But you pay aprice—not seeing your family andleaving behind 25 years of your life.”

When he settled in Paterson,Perdomo was an immigrant withskills in hands-on labor and limitedEnglish. However, he began study-ing the language at night classes,eventually beginning to work atMayer Textile in 1988, a job thatPerdomo held until 2006.

“You never know when you’regoing to be on the other side of thetable,” Iris said of her husband’sunexpected unemployment.

As a social worker for nearly 20years with the Passaic County Board

of Social Services, Pallero regularlydeals with individuals who are insimilar situations to what her hus-band faced as an immigrant.

“You also get a lot of people whohave been to college and got theirPh.D,” she added. “You never knowwhere you’re going to be.” Born intopoverty herself, Pallero is naturallysympathetic to the plight of the lessfortunate. “I’m there to help themget rid of the barriers preventing self-sufficiency,” she explained.

Perdomo also believes in helpingothers and giving back to the com-munity, having coached soccer fornine years with the Clifton StallionsRec and Traveling leagues.

“At first, it was probably just tomake sure my daughters had some-one who really knew the game,”explained Perdomo, who playedsemi-pro soccer in Colombia.“Second, we all have a teacher insideof us. Like I said before, I am happyto be giving back to the society thatgave me a lot.”

He believes that what he doeskeeps kids on the path to success.

“The other day, I saw my daughter(Jazamine) walking down VanHouten Ave. to practice,” saidPerdomo, now the Stallions U-10girls traveling team coach. “She’sdoing the right thing and not gettinginto trouble. I’m proud.”

Karma seems to have rewardedthe couple, who now enjoy the bene-fits of their hard work and sacrifices.They purchased their two-familyhome on Sears Pl. in Botany Villagein 1993, moving from ElmwoodPark. “We were looking for a betterplace to raise a family,” Palleroexplained, citing Clifton’s diversity.

And she might not be done yet.With her husband set to graduate,returning to school for an advanceddegree is a consideration. “It’s still onmy mind,” she said. “I have calledRutgers about it. I want to go for myMSW (Masters in Social Work).” Ifshe does return, Pallero knows herhusband will be there to help her pur-sue her dreams.

However, no matter what sheachieves, in Iris’ mind, she would-n’t have anything if it wasn’t forher mother’s sacrifices back in the1960s. “If it wasn’t for my mother,God knows where I’d be,” shelaughed. “Probably in theDominican Republic, with three orfive or ten kids or something.”

There are 1,853 people ofDominican descent living inClifton, or about 2.35% of thepopulation. Here are some morestatistics on that ethnic group:

Male: 820 • Female: 1,033Median Age: 31 • Under 5: 12418 & over: 1,289 • 65 & over: 55Average household size: 4Average family size: 4Occupied housing units: 512Foreign born: 1,134In labor force: 836Per capita income: $13,596Families below poverty line: 52People below poverty line: 303


Dominican in Clifton


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When you visit the Aref family ofWest 1st St., you’re greeted beforeyou enter the door.

“The man is here!” Ahmad, 8,shouted to the rest of his family asI walked up the front steps onerecent Thursday evening.

Ahmad, who attends School 4right across the street, is the eldestof four young children and hisfather, Said, says he’s beginning totake on some of the responsibilitiesof caring for his three siblings.

Crossing the threshold of the Arefhome, you’re welcomed by thesights and scents of Palestinian cul-ture. Ahmad and his sister, Hadeel,6, bounce up and down on thecouch watching a Middle Easternchildren’s television program,while their mother Fatima, 26, pre-pares dinner in the kitchen.

The baby of the family,Abdullah, 1, cries due to all thecommotion, and the youngest girl,Dana, 3, sleeps upstairs.

“Family is very important,”explained Said, 31. “It’s kind ofnumber one in everyone’s life.Every time you do something, you

ask someone in your family first.They’re always there for you.”

Said’s father, Mohy Iddin, firstcame to the U.S. in 1954, when helived for a brief time in Columbus,Ohio. In the early ’60s, he movedto Puerto Rico where there was agrowing Arabic community, butMohy Iddin returned to Palestine in1977 when his wife, Fada, gavebirth to Said.

Aref was born in the small townof Turmos Ayya, just outside thecity of Ramallah in the central WestBank. He was the youngest of sixchildren and enjoyed playing soc-cer growing up.

“It’s a different culture and it’ssometimes dangerous,” he said. “Iwasn’t part of the fighting but lifewas not normal.”

Aref said he knew three peoplewho were killed before immigrat-ing to the United States in 1995.But he didn’t leave his homeland toescape the violence, rather to fol-low his siblings and take advantageof the educational opportunitiesAmerica had to offer.

Said attended Clifton HighSchool for one year so that hecould improve his English. He saidhe experienced some prejudice dur-ing his time there.

The Aref family, from left, Ahmad, Fatima, Abdullah, Dana, Said and Hadeel.

Family, Religion Above All ElseThe six-member Aref clan attends daily mosque services



“During the morning rush hourtraffic in the hallways, I’d hearderogatory comments, but I waspeaceful and wouldn’t respond.”

Following graduation, he studiedinternational business at MontclairState University. After earning hisdegree, he got a job in White Plains.

Said’s Muslim faith is veryimportant to him and so he wouldtake time every day at work to stopand pray — something that his co-workers may have taken a greater

interest in following 9/11. “I neverexperienced prejudice because ofthat, but people around me did,” hesaid. “I always tell my wife,‘Don’t put yourself down.’ No oneis above the law so just call thepolice if there’s a problem. Don’tdo it the street way.”

Six years ago, Aref began work-ing with his brother, Hamed, as anaccountant at H.M.A. Accountingand Tax Services on Main Ave.The firm is mainly Muslim and sosalah, or ritual prayer, is no prob-lem during the day.

The Arefs attend services atOmar Mosque on nearby GettyAve. on a daily basis, especiallyduring the recent Ramadan holiday.

The family’s location is conven-ient for other reasons as well.

“Corrados is right here and themalls are not far away,” saidFatima, as she brought me a glassof orange juice and a neatly foldedpaper towel on a golden serving

tray. Ahmad, meanwhile, staredcuriously at my notepad.

“We like Clifton; my wifeknows the area,” Said concluded.“We’re part of Clifton.”

Said Aref’s CHS class of 1995.

There are 2,622 people of Arabicdescent living in Clifton, or about3.3% of the population. Here aresome more statistics on that eth-nic group:

Male: 1,494 • Female: 1,128Median Age: 32 • Under 5: 23418 & over: 1,885 • 65 & over: 227Average household size: 3Average family size: 4Occupied housing units: 913Foreign born: 1,278In labor force: 1,246Per capita income: $18,269Families below poverty line: 125People below poverty line: 524


Arabic in Clifton

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The people of Clifton aren’t justdiverse in ethnicity and religion,but in sexual orientation as well,and the upcoming Theater Leagueof Clifton production, The LaramieProject, tackles that issue head on.

The play, done in moment form,chronicles the reactions and feel-ings of the town of Laramie,Wyoming, and the events surround-ing the death of Matthew Shepard.

Matthew was a University ofWyoming student, living in Laramiein the late 1990s. On Oct. 12, 1998,he was brutally beaten, tied to afence, and left to die. RussellHenderson and Aaron McKinney,both 21, killed a man because he wasgay. The show begins with excerptsfrom interviews and journal entriesof the people of Laramie. It pro-gresses with Aaron Kreifels’ reaction

to finding Matthew barely breathing,tied to the fence post and Matthew’ssubsequent hospitalization – seenthrough news press conferences.

Henderson’s police interroga-tion and court sentencing are seen,as well as many of the vigils andprayer services that were held forMatthew and his family. Throughthis show, see the reactions of thehuman race in response to a tragicevent. The hatred of some, the darkdepths to which mankind can sinkare shown – but more importantly,the amount of love and tolerance ofmost people comes through as well.

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The Laramie Project was writ-ten by Moises Kaufman and mem-bers of the Tectonic TheaterProject. More than 200 interviewswere conducted over the course ofa year in Laramie. A cast of 14 por-trays 75 different roles as Laramieresidents and Tectonic members.

The play is directed by Ed Guinanand produced by Mark Peterson.The stage manager is StephanieSmith. Thomas Howard, theEducational Director of the MatthewShepard Foundation, will be holdingtalk back sessions with those inter-ested after the shows on Oct. 10 and11. Visit www.matthewshepard.org.

Performances are at School 3 onWashington Ave on Oct. 4, 5, 10,11 and 12. Friday and Saturdayshows begin at 8 pm and Sundaymatinees start at 2 pm. Tickets are$15 for adults of $10 for studentsand seniors and will be available atthe door. Opening night is a twofor one special. Call 973-458-9579or visit theaterleagueofclifton.com.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Clifton Ave. planted a Peace Pole with thePrayer for Peace May Peace Prevail on Earth in four languages popular inClifton: English, Arabic, Spanish and Polish. To prepare for the Sept. 21event, the parish’s adult education class discussed issues about fosteringintercultural awareness and diversity. During the year, the church will spon-sor Labyrinth Walks to foster inner peace as well as a series of pilgrimagesto different houses of worship to foster interreligious understanding and tol-erance. To get involved, call Rev. Peter DeFranco at 973-546-5020.

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The Clifton Arts Center presentsKeeping It Real, an exhibit of tra-ditional and fine art media from theArt Centre of New Jersey. Theexhibit opens Oct. 8 and runsthrough Dec.13. There will be areception open to the public onOct. 11 from 1 to 4 pm. The ArtCentre of New Jersey was organ-ized in the late 1920s to provide ameeting place for artists and artlovers. The Clifton Arts CenterGallery hours are Wednesdaythrough Saturday: 1 to 4 pm.Group tours are available byappointment. Admission is $1. Forinfo: www.cliftonnj.org.

Don Pasquale, Gaetano Donizetti’ssunny opera buffa masterpiece, willbe staged by the Garden State Operaon Nov. 22 at 7:30 pm at CCMS.Part of the proceeds benefit theClifton Public Schools’ Adopt aMusic Student program, which helpsstudents with financial hardships getinstruments. Tickets are $20. Creditcards accepted. Call 973-272-3255or visit gardenstateopera.org.

New Jersey Music and Arts, Inc.hosts Fall Fest 2008, a celebration ofthe season with performances ofmusic, drama and dance at the PCCCAuditorium in Paterson on Nov. 7 at7:30 pm. Call 973-272-3255.

Lissane Lake, noted book illustra-tor and artist, will demonstrate heracrylic painting techniques at theClifton Association of Artists’meeting on Oct. 6. The sessionbegins at 7 pm and is being held atthe Senior Citizens CommunityCenter Building off LinzenboldDr. in the Clifton MunicipalComplex. Lake, a freelance illus-trator for more than 20 years,earned her bachelor’s degree inillustration from Jersey City StateCollege before working in adver-tising. The public is encouraged toattend and the demonstration isfree. Call 973-627-4369.

The CHS Drama Club presentsLost In Yonkers from Oct. 13 to 16at the school’s auditorium. Writtenby Neil Simon, the show won theTony Award for Best Play in 1991and the Pulitzer Prize for Dramathat same year. The story centerson an American family duringWorld War II, the effects that thewar has on their lives and how theycope with it. Showtimes are 4 pmon Oct. 13, 7:30 pm on Oct. 14, 3and 7:30 pm on Oct. 15, and 3 pmon Oct. 16.

Kate Oberjat sings the role of Norina inthe opera Don Pasquale on Nov. 22 atChristopher Columbus Middle School.

Above, a collage from Keeping It Real, an art exhibit on display at the Clifton ArtsCenter starting Oct. 8.


Former Clifton Board of Edpresident Robert Taylor has pub-lished a humorous new book enti-tled In-Laws and Other UFOswhich examines the trials and tribu-lations of merging two families.The book is available at author-house.com and amazon.com.

Taylor, who served on the BOEin the 1970s, says the novel took

him about 30 years to complete.He started writing it when hemoved to Florida three decadesago. The insurance business wasslow, so Taylor filled his time bycrafting poetry.

Then, he noticed that a bunch ofpeople kept complaining to himabout their in-laws and he decidedthat would be a good topic for abook.

However, he had to put the proj-ect on hold when hurricanes hitFlorida and he was forced to shutdown the business and switchcareers to consulting.

Now 79 years old, Taylor has alot more time to write and that’sexactly what he’s doing.

The former Alcohol BeverageControl board member grew up inPassaic but moved to Clifton whenhe was 20. He later became AnnaLatteri’s campaign manager andwhen she was elected to the CityCouncil, she asked Taylor to serveon the Board of Ed.

The author now lives half theyear in Florida and the other half inVermont with his wife of 57 years,Iris. The Taylors have three chil-dren including a son, William, whois a lawyer in Clifton.

When asked how his wife reactedto him writing about her parents,Robert said, “She wasn’t too happy.”

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For most people, a morning trainride into the city is a time to relax.Many commuters will read thepaper, sip a cup of coffee, or catchsome extra Z’s before a long day atwork.

But James D. Gwyn, 59, isn’tmost people. For the Bard ofDutch Hill, the daily trip across theHudson is for poetry.

“I try to write something everyday,” he said. “I find a spot on thetrain facing forward and write untilI get to New York, which usuallygives me a lot of uninterruptedtime.”

However, Gwyn wrote hispoem, “The Burning Bed,” at anadult school workshop.

“Usually I’ll go through sevenor eight drafts, but every once in a

while there are poems that justcome right out like this one.”

The piece won the Cliftonitefirst prize in the 2008 AllenGinsberg Poetry Contest sponsoredby the Poetry Center at PassaicCounty Community College. He’llbe reading the poem at the PatersonPoetry Center on Nov. 8.

“The poem is really a dreamsequence and speaks to the differ-ence between illusion and realityand how it is easy to confuse thetwo,” said Gwyn.

“The Burning Bed” also refer-ences some famous Clifton loca-tions that have caught fire over theyears, such as the mattress store,

The Bard of Dutch Hill, James D. Gwyn, in front of his home on Madison Ave.

The Bard of Dutch HillImagery of Clifton wins Jim Gwyn prestigious poetry award


Beat poet Allen Ginsberg lived inPaterson and his legacy and relation-ship with the city is celebrated with theannual Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards.


the Pirogi Factory and Lee’sHawaiian Islander.

“All on Lexington Ave!” writesthe poet. “And what was left, defy-ing all odds? The Hot Grill!?”

Gwyn has been crafting poemssince he was a teenager growing upon the shores of Lake Ontario inMedina, New York.

“It was just a way to captureideas, thoughts and feelings,” hesaid.

Gwyn majored in creative writ-ing and English literature atBinghamton University, studyingunder Basil Bunting, a Britishmodernist poet.

Following graduation, the aspir-ing writer traveled the country, tak-ing a number of odd jobs frompicking strawberries in Oregon toworking as a bank teller inRochester.

Gwyn returned to Binghamtonin 1975 as a part-time grad student,during which time, he survived bytutoring blind students, driving a

taxi cab and delivering pizza.While at grad school, the poet

got a call from someone whoworked for a magazine publisher inNew York City. The friend helpedGwyn get a job in the industry andhe’s been in Manhattan ever since.

He’s been a desktop publisher,an editor and even a crosswordpuzzle writer.

“I’ve done everything exceptrun the press,” joked Gwyn, whotoday works as a senior project

manager in marketing and publica-tion services at The College Boardin New York.

But the Dutch Hill resident stillfinds plenty of time to write. He’shad his work published in severalchapbooks and anthologies overthe years, but he’s never been hon-ored with anything as prestigiousas the Ginsberg Award before.

“I think it’s one of the most fan-tastic things that ever happened tome,” he said.

At left, Mike Duch of Homemade Pirogi standing in front of his shop on LexingtonAve. after it caught fire on March 21, 2003. The store is now located on Main Ave.At right, the famous Lee’s Hawaiian Islander at the corner of Lexington and PiagetAves. burned in a fire on July 26, 2003. James D. Gwyn references both blazes inhis award-winning poem, “The Burning Bed.”

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The North Jersey Chamber ofCommerce is honoring L. RobertLieb (at right), Chair and CEO ofClifton’s Mountain DevelopmentCorporation, and Columbia Bankof Fair Lawn with the 2008 StarAwards at a gala dinner on Dec. 4at the Westmount Country Club.The awards are presented to com-panies and individuals who supporteconomic development and growthin North Jersey, have a positive

impact on the community andexemplify a commitment to“Service, Tradition, Action andResults.” Lieb founded MountainDevelopment Corp. in 1979. Thefirm is a is a full-service commer-cial real estate company with land-mark properties in Clifton andthroughout the northeast. He is alsoa Past President and a Trustee ofthe Passaic County 200 Club. Fortickets, call 973-470-9300.

The Passaic County 200 Club helda social beefsteak on Sept. 25 at theBrownstone in Paterson. The Clubis an organization of business menand women, public safety profes-sionals, and others who stand readyto provide financial assistance to thefamilies of law enforcement, fireand EMS personnel. Within 48hours of the death of an emergencyworker who lives or serves withinPassaic County, the Club presents a$10,000 check to the family of thedeceased to help them get throughthe difficult times that accompanysuch a loss. Visit pc200club.org.

send Clifton business news to [email protected]

A member of the Paterson FireDepartment’s Honor Guard stowing theflag at a 200 Club event on Sept. 25.


Toll Booths Made in Clifton:Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblinrecently visited with workers andwitnessed the manufacturing opera-tions at Clifton-based Meta-Lite Inc.The company was founded inHasbrouck Heights in 1978 as a cus-tom metal fabricator but has been onEntin Rd. since 1981. Meta-Lite,which employs 28 people, is theexclusive supplier of toll booths forNew Jersey roadways and manufac-tures high security booths for NASA,jail cells and subway platform stairs.

Renee Chirico of Liberty LincolnMercury in Clifton has been namedan NJBIZ 2008 “Forty Under 40”Honoree. The “Forty Under 40” con-sists of a select group who are recog-

nized for their commitment to profes-sional excellence, business growthand community involvement.Chirico, a 1989 Paul VI grad, isDealer Principal and VP of the dealer-ship established by her parents, Robertand Elaine Robertazzi, in 1976.

Corrado’s held a grand openingon Sept. 25 for its new supermarketat 201 Berdan Ave., Wayne. This isthe second location for the family-owned market. The late JamesCorrado established Corrado’sFamily Affair on Main Ave. in1975, while continuing to operateits original store in the PatersonFarmer’s Market for another 11years. Visit corradosmarket.com.

Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin stands inside anewly constructed toll booth at Clifton-based manufacturer Meta-Lite, located onEntin Rd. The firm makes toll booths for a variety of roadways, including these stylistic ones pictured inset for the San Joaquin Toll Road in California.

Renee Chirico of Liberty LincolnMercury’s has been named an NJBIZ2008 “Forty Under 40” Honoree. The late James Corrado.


Two years ago, Rodney Brydsonsaw it coming.

“I realized our 90th anniversarywas coming up and I figured it wasappropriate to celebrate in someform or another,” he said. “Ibrought it up to the board and wewent from there.”

The Clifton Moose Lodge willcommemorate nine decades ofservice on Nov. 15 with a dinnerdance at the Bethwood in Totowa.

Brydson, 65, only joined the fra-ternity five years ago after seeinghow much the organization meantto his late father-in-law, PaulKurinovich.

“The Moose was his life, it waseverything for him,” said theRichfield Park resident.

And now Brydson understandswhy.

“The second convention I wentto was in Chicago and this gave methe opportunity to seeMooseheart,” he said. “After hav-ing gone there and seeing the kids,that alone will make me sure thatmy membership stays for life.”

The national Moose organiza-tion was founded in Mooseheart,Illinois, an autonomous town thatwas the basis for Father Flanagan’sBoys Town.

It’s a self-governed village that’sbroken down into age-appropriategroup homes, led by house parents.

If a parent feels that he or shecan’t take care of his or her child,then that child can be sent to live inMooseheart. There, they live withhouse parents as well as other kidstheir age.

In this environment, all of thechild’s needs are met, including

food, clothing, school, toys andlove. Older kids get vocationaltraining, or, if the aptitude is there,money for college.

The Clifton Moose Lodgeopened in 1918 in a Passaic build-ing on Washington Ave. In 1923,the Lodge was built at its currentlocation at 1268 Main Ave. Anexpansion in the mid ’80s added anexpansive party and meeting area.

The Moose is a family-orientedfraternal organization which helpsnot only its own families, but thecommunity they call home as well.

Over the past 90 years, theLodge has been a major supporterof local organizations that providecommunity support and service atmany levels.

Some of the groups servedinclude the Clifton Police and Fire

Departments, Muscular DystrophyAssociation, Boys & Girls Club ofClifton, Boy Scouts, SpecialOlympics, The Salvation Army, St.Peter’s Haven, Dackks Group, andHome & School Associations.

“We’ve given more than$114,000 in scholarships over thepast 38 years,” said CommitteeCo-Chair Tom Miller. “TheMoose rejuvenates your belief inorganizations.”

Lodge Governor Kevin Gormanechoed those remarks.

“It’s an organization that doesgreat things for the community,” hesaid. “I became a member in 1994when a friend of mine’s daughterhad leukemia and they donated thehall and did all the cooking for thefundraiser. They do things for oth-ers not just themselves.”

Clifton Moose Lodge 657 officers. Back row, from left, Treasurer Lou Imparato,Governor Kevin Gorman, and Committee Co-Chair Tom Miller. Front row, SeniorRegent Kathi Allen, Committee Secretary Mary Ellen Wiles, Trustee Keith Wiles,and Past Senior Regent Sophie Prendergast.


Doing Great Things for 90 Years


The Phenomenal Grandmothersand Dr. David Moore are teamingup to collect bed pillows for thePaterson Domestic Abuse Shelter.Residents are being asked to donateone pillow at the cost of $2.50.Expensive pillows are not request-ed since they must be discarded ifnot taken when the women leavethe shelter. Other items needed aretowels, washcloths, twin size bedsheets, comforters or blankets. CallColleen Murray at 973-253-9579.

Frank and Nina Corradino ofNina’s Salon on Valley Rd., alongwith their staff are sponsoring thesecond annual “Hope Cuts” event onNov. 9 from 12 to 4 pm at the salon.The City of Hope Foundation’s“Hope Cuts” is an organizationdevoted to helping cure cancer,HIV/AIDS and other life-threateningillnesses. Call 973-278-0356 tomake an appointment for “HopeCuts.” All proceeds made that daywill be donated to the cause.The second annual “Hope Cuts” atNina’s Salon on Valley Rd. is Nov. 9. Atlast year’s event, from left, are MariaWiebe, Frank Corradino, JoannaMaritato, Mayor James Anzaldi, NinaCorradino and Adriana Balduzzi.

From left, Women’s Center ProgramManager Mercedes Rolon,Phenomenal Grandmother ColleenMurray and Clifton chiropractor Dr.David Moore are collecting pillows forthe Paterson Domestic Abuse Shelter.

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Clifton FMBA Local 21 membersonce again teamed up with the busi-ness community to publish a FirePrevention Booklet for Kids, saidFMBA President Bob DeLuca.

Published by TomahawkPromotions, 10,000 copies are pre-sented to the community at no costto taxpayers. The 28-page maga-zine offers coloring pages andactivities with easy to understandthemes of fire safety. Designed forstudents in pre-school to grade 3,the goal is to introduce youngstersto fire safety lessons in a fun way.

“When children color these pagesand then show the art to their par-ents, we hope it will motivate fami-lies to discuss fire prevention andsafety and discuss what to do in theevent of a home fire,” said DeLuca.

“We want to spread the word that,with a little extra caution, there areways to prevent fires,” he said,adding that throughout October,Clifton Fire Safety officials will visitschools and talk to children. For afree copy of the coloring book, or forfire safety info, call the Clifton FireDepartment at 973-470-5801.

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Clifton State Farm AgentsTom Tobin and Bill G. Eljouzi

The Apprehensive Patient

Poller Dental

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Clifton PBA Local 36

Miles Feinstein, Esq.

Anthony D’Elia, Esq.

Thomas P. De Vita, Esq.

Carl G. Zoecklein, Esq.

Tenafly Pediatrics

Wee Care Child Care Center

Clifton’s IHOP Restaurant

Coldwell BankerResidential Brokerage

Queen of Peace High School

Clifton Moose Lodge Chapter 657

Optimist Club of Clifton

Shook Funeral Home

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John Charles Samra was the first and only Clifton Police Officer to be killed in the line of

duty since the agency was founded in 1920.Samra, 41 at his End of Watch, died on

November 21, 2003, when his motorcycle

was hit by the driver of a mini-van

attempting to flee a traffic stop.

The incident began when the officer stopped

a vehicle at 10 am. The driver, who had

recently been released fromprison on parole, then

fled. As Samra pursued the suspect,he was struck at thecorner of Maple Pl.

and Washington Ave.The officer was rushed to

St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson, where he

succumbed to his injuries.

Run to Remember Johnny SamraThe first annual John Samra Memorial Scholarship

Fund 5K Run/Walk is Oct. 26 at 9:30 am at Clifton City

Hall. All proceeds will go to the John Samra Memorial

Scholarship Fund, which awards a $1,000 prize to one

CHS senior and one CPD family member. The entry fee

is $35 for adults and free for kids 12 and under. Make

checks payable to Clifton PBA Local 36 Scholarship

Fund, and mail c/o Clifton PBA 36, P.O. Box 1436,

Clifton, NJ 07015. For info, to contribute or participate in

the 5K, call Clifton Police Officer John Kavakich at 973-

470-5897, visit cliftonpba36.com or e-mail Kavakich at

[email protected].


Russell TrioloAs a six-year-old standing on line

at the front desk on the first day theBoys Club opened on Clifton Ave. in1956, Russell Triolo never thoughthe’d one day become a member ofthe Alumni Hall of Fame.

“On that first day, my parents hadregistered me for swim lessons andfrom that day forward, I have lovedthis organization so much,” Triolowrote on his HOF application.

Five decades later, theWashington Ave. resident is stillheavily involved in the Club, serv-ing for the past 28 years as ChiefExecutive Officer of its Union

County operation. From ages six to18, Triolo was at the Clifton Clubevery day, taking part in activitiesin the game room, gymnasium andswimming pool. He was also amember of the Leaders Club andmet his wife, Linda, at CampClifton.

“I always felt safe and I knew thatthe staff cared about me every daywhen I walked into the Club,” hesaid. “The staff and the programs Iparticipated in taught me right fromwrong, boosted my self-confidenceand self-esteem, developed my lead-ership skills, and assisted me in set-ting my goals and career aspirations.”

Triolo said he was so inspired bythe Club, that he set a goal for him-self early on in life to becomeExecutive Director of a Boys &Girls Club when he grew up.

And in 1980, after working fiveyears as Assistant Director at aClub in Garfield, the Cliftonitereached his goal in Union County.

As CEO, Triolo speaks to groupspromoting the good work that isdone every day at some 4,000 Boys& Girls Clubs around the world.

“Each time I speak, I am sure toshare my personal experiencegrowing up at the Club in Clifton,”he said.

“Did you pass through the Club?” we asked on thecover of our September 1999 issue. Many people havesince the Clifton Boys Club was first established on onefloor in Botany’s School 7 back in 1947, and for the firsttime this month, the Club is inducting its most dedicatedmembers into a newly formed Hall of Fame. The festiv-ities will take place at the 2nd Annual Alumni Beefsteakto be held at the Club on Oct. 24 from 6:30 to 11 pm.Admission is a $35 donation. Call 973-773-0966. Overthe next pages, we offers photos and tell more aboutsome of the members of the inaugural class of inductees.

2008 Boys & Girls Club

Hall of Fame

Erin Monahan Shaughnessy Jaclyn Mateja Tom Acton Frank PajueloOctober 2008 • Clifton Merchant 52

Jack De VriesJack De Vries said the Boys &

Girls Club experience prepared himfor nearly every phase of his life.

“As a counselor at CampClifton, I learned about workingwith kids and the great joy thatcomes from helping them achieveor discover new interests,” said DeVries, who now uses those skills asthe father of two daughters, Jessicaand Alyson.

The Ledgewood resident addedthat his experience editing thecamp newspaper, Wocanda’s

Whisper, gave him his first taste ofthe publishing world.

Today, De Vries is an author andjournalist (with Clifton Merchantand other publications) in additionto his full-time job as a communica-tion strategist and executive speech-writer for State Farm Insurance.

But most of all, the Clubinspired Jack’s great love of sports.

“I discovered basketball and theNew York Knicks, the team wewatched every Friday on the Club’sblack and white TV,” he wrote onhis Hall of Fame application.

“I learned what being part of abasketball team meant, includinggetting to practice by 9 am on aSaturday (after taking two buses),ready to run ‘suicides,’” continuedDe Vries, who was a memberbetween 1969 and 1975.

“I got my first athletic jacket as amember of the Clifton Boys Clubjunior varsity team and wore it on a75 degree day. Sports became anobsession for me after spending somuch time at the Club—despitebeing kicked out at 3:30 pm everySaturday because of bingo.”

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The inductee also became inter-ested in coaching thanks to peoplelike Tom DiDonna. “I saw howtough Tom was but how he caredfor his players and the passion hehad for basketball and his role onthe sidelines,” recalled De Vries.

“Knowing I’d never join WillisReed on the court, I began to thinkmore about following Tom, andhave since coached youth teams formore than 30 seasons in four differ-ent sports.”

De Vries is currently the vice pres-ident of the Roxbury Rebels travelsoftball organization, coaching its U-12 team. He’s also the programdirector and coach for the RoxburyRec League girls basketball team.

Janell BaniaAs an eight-year member of the

Boys & Girls Club, Janell Baniaspent a lot of time there, which shesaid “helped to shape who I havebecome today, both personally andprofessionally.”

Bania competed in soccer, gym-nastics and swimming at the Club.

“My passion for swimming beganat the Boys & Girls Club,” added the2000 Youth of the Year recipient.“And was second to academics inpriority when choosing a university.”

The 1999 CHS grad eventuallychose Syracuse and used the val-ues she learned as a kid at theClub, to become a successful stu-dent athlete.

“At Syracuse University, Ibecame a member of the varsityswim team, but truly excelled inacademics,” she said. “Since grad-uation five years ago, I havefocused on becoming a successfulbusinesswoman in the advertisingand marketing field.”

Bania has done just that, havingbeen named by her company,Brand Connections, as the top salesperson for the past three years. Shealso gives back to the community,regularly donating to Makers ofMemories Organization, the MSSociety, the Muscular DystrophyAssociation and the US Veterans.

Bania currently resides inHoboken, where she’s active withZogSports, a charity sports league.

Andrew Hickman IIIIn the Clifton High School Class

of 2005 edition of CliftonMerchant Magazine, AndrewHickman III was asked how hewould stay involved in Cliftonafter graduation. “I have workedat the Clifton Boys & Girls Club

for many years, so I will continueto stay involved by going back andinspiring young children,” heresponded. “I believe that is theone way in shaping ourfuture...mentoring our youthbecause they are the leaders oftomorrow.”

Three years later, the 2004 Youthof the Year has held true to his wordby remaining a counselor at theClub to which he’s belonged for thepast decade.

Today, Hickman also works as abank teller at Commerce Bank andis a senior English major atCaldwell College.

The East First St. resident is alsoan advisor to the Keystone Cluband an assistant scoutmaster forB.S.A. Troop #6 in Passaic.

In addition, he is an assistantyouth minister for St. Anthony’s ofPadua Church in Passaic.

Hickman’s other interestsinclude sign language and salsa,bachata and merengue dancing. Hewas also the captain of the CHSswim team.

Hickman says “it would be agreat honor after all my years hereat the Club” to be inducted into theHall of Fame.

From left, John Celentano, Jr., Lori Slater-Brigati and Frank Carlet. Not pictured is Victor Deluca.


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The Clifton Democratic Club will honor its memberswho have recently passed away—Genevieve Eardley,Gerald Mault, Bob Leland and Bruce Arzig—with a treeplanting ceremony on Oct. 11 at 11 am at Morris CanalPark on Broad St. On Oct. 13 at 6 pm at Mario’s on VanHouten Ave., the club will host a Pasta Night. Ticketsare $18 ($13 for seniors and students). Call DemocraticClub President John Pogorelec Jr. at 973-778-1604.

The National Council of Catholic Women host itsAutumn Harvest fundraiser on Nov. 6 at 6:30 pm at TheMountainside Inn. Tickets are $30. Call 973-473-8610.

Passaic County Community College Open House isOct. 18, 10 am to 1 pm at the Paterson and Wanaquecampuses. All are welcome to come and meet faculty,learn about classes and choose from day, evening oronline schedules. Call 973-684-6868 or visit pccc.edu.

Clifton Toastmasters, a nonprofit public speaking andleadership group, meets the first, third and fifthTuesday of every month at 7 pm at the Clifton Library.Meetings this month are on Oct. 7 and 21. Call 973-420-4148 or email [email protected].

The Eighth Annual Crafty Kids Day, sponsored bythe Clifton Rec Dept. and A.C. Moore, will be held Oct.4 from 10:30 am to 2 pm at the Rec Center. Come andmake a selection from more than 30 crafts. Projectswill cost between $0.25 and $2.50 each. For moreinformation, or to volunteer, call 973-470-5956.

Optimist Clubs Hot Dog Night: On Nov. 19, in a tradi-tional precursor to the Clifton and Passaic Thanksgivinggame, members of the two schools will meet at the annu-al hot dog night. This Nov. 19 event is organized bymembers of the Passaic & Clifton Optimist Clubs as away for the players to get to know one another. Be aFriend of Youth—the club’s slogan—and attend theClifton & Passaic Optimist Clubs Hot Dog Nite at 6:30pm at the Clifton Rec Center on Main Ave. Tickets are$10. Send checks to Optimist Club of Clifton. For info,call Clifton Optimist Tom Hawrylko at 973-253-4400.

Mustangs Remember:On Oct. 10 againstBergen Tech at CliftonStadium, the Mustangswill hold a pre-gameplaque dedication cere-mony at 6:30 pm inhonor of former playerLouis Feliciano, pic-tured. The ’07 grad diedafter the car he and hisdad were in crashed intothe Caribbean on Oct.19, 2007. The 19-year-old and his dad Luis were in the Dominican Republicto see if Louis could play professional baseball there.

Join these Fighting Mustangs fans for CHS Homecoming on Oct. 3. Festivities begin at Clifton Stadium at 6 pm and the gameagainst Hackensack has a 7 pm scheduled kick-off.

Homecoming!


Alicia Mazepa won’t be able to attend the CliftonHigh School Athletic Hall of Fame Luncheon on Oct.19, but she has a good reason — she’ll be in Dubai.The gymnastics and track inductee works as a freelancechoreographer and dancer traveling the world puttingtogether shows for conventions held by large compa-nies such as Reebok, Subway and Panasonic.

Back in the States, the 1997 grad has danced on tourfor Jay-Z, on television and on film.

Mazepa, 29, was born in Glen Ridge, but grew up inClifton, attending St. Clare School on Allwood Rd.until switching to CHS in ninth grade.

There, she became a star performer on both the gym-nastics and track squads. As an all-around gymnast,Mazepa was named All-League and All-County,advancing all the way to States in the floor exercise.

She was also named to the winter track All-Leagueand All-County teams on two occasions, breaking anumber of indoor track records and becoming rankedamong the best pentathlon athletes in the country.

In the spring, she was a three-time All-League andAll-County track star, and was named runner-up for theAll-County Scholar Athlete of the Year Award.

Outdoors, Mazepa broke nine school records andfinished third in the long jump at the state Meet ofChampions. She also competed in the triple jump, highjump and hurdles.

After graduation, Mazepa earned a spot on theTowson University dance team, leading the squad tothe top of the rankings for the three years she was there.

The Cliftonite broke into the entertainment businesswhen she auditioned to be a dancer at the 2002 NBAAll-Star Game. She not only got the gig, but alsofound an agent who booked her in her first commercial.

Since then, she’s danced and choreographed forBeyonce, the New York Knicks, the Victoria SecretFashion Show, the MTV Video Music Awards and SNL.

Mazepa recently bought a home on Graham Pl. nearWWMS where she lives with her Boston terrier, Roxy.The CHS alum says she’d like to open a dance schoolin the Basking Ridge area by next year. “I’d probablyteach there at first because I’d want it done my way buteventually I’d like someone to take it over,” she said.“My goal now is to just keep working because it’s notan easy industry to be in.”


2008 CHS Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

Gymnast Alicia Mazepa

The CHS Athletic Hall of Fame will induct 10 newmembers and one championship team at a luncheonat the Brownstone in Paterson at noon on Oct. 19.They are: Jamie Anzaldi, Robert Capo, Chris Karcz,T.J. Kraznowski, Alicia Mazepa, Fernando Rossi,John Scancarella, Janet Nelson Smith, Albert Swan,Mark Tomaskovic and the 1967 Boys Soccer Team.For tickets ($35), call Flo Calise at 973-470-2321.


NJ SPECIALTY 3684


All recaps are in action through Sept. 29.

FootballThe Fighting Mustangs are 2-0

for the first time this decade.Clifton opened the season in remark-able fashion with a big 12-7 upset atWayne Valley. While the Indianshave lost plenty of talent from lastyear’s North 1, Group 3 state finalistsquad, many still expected a victoryfor the team from Wayne.

But Clifton’s ferocious defensehad other plans. Keith Champagne, ajunior transfer from Eastside, had aninterception and broke up two passesin the end zone late in the game toseal the win. Defensive end KhalidPitts added nine tackles and a sack.

It was a two-pronged offensiveattack from the ’Stangs with seniorAl-Aziz Pitts carrying the ball 16times for 66 yards and a score, while

junior Nick Giordano chipped in 17rushes for 57 yards and a TD of hisown. Freshman QB Pat Ferrarawas solid in his debut, completingall four of his passes for 35 yards.

After a bye week, the Maroonand Grey traveled to Teaneck onSept. 27. Clifton jumped out on topwith an Al-Aziz Pitts one-yard TDrun in the first quarter and a

Top, a wall of Mustangs at the Teaneck game on Sept. 27. Above, are Pat Ferrara,Khalid Pitts, Joey Beltran, Alesandro Justo and Ahmed Alfawair.

The football team’s stunning opening week victory at last year’s state finalistWayne Valley highlights the first month of action. by Jordan Schwartz

Catching up with the Mustangs


Blame improper toenail trimming,snug soccer cleats and repetitivekicking for a soccer player’s ingrowntoenail problem, says foot & anklesurgeon Thomas Graziano, DPM,MD, FACFAS.

“Plus many kids wear hand-me-down cleats that don’t fit,” he adds.“And older children like tightercleats. They believe it gives them abetter feel for the ball and the field.”

Prevention is key to avoid the pain,says Dr. Graziano. First, teach kidshow to trim their toenails properly—in a fairly straight line—and don’t cutthem too short.

Second, make sure cleats fit prop-erly. “A child’s shoe size can changewithin a single soccer season,” Dr.Graziano reminds parents.

If a child develops an ingrown toe-nail, soaking their foot in room-tem-perature water and gently massagingthe side of the nail fold can reduceinflammation.

But Dr. Graziano warns parentsagainst home treatments, which canbe dangerous. For myths aboutingrown toenail home treatments, goto FootPhysicians.com.

“If ingrown toenails show signs ofinfection, it’s time to seek medicalcare,” says Graziano, who can removea child’s ingrown toenail and preventit from returning with a 10-minutesurgical procedure. He’ll numb thetoe and remove the ingrown portionof the nail. Various techniques canremove part of a nail’s root too, pre-venting it from growing back.

“Most kids experience a littlepain,” says Dr. Graziano, “but resumeactivity the next day.”

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12-yard scamper by transfer Joe Tahan in the second.The Highwaymen answered back with a score beforehalftime, but the Mustangs put the game away with aPitts 34-yard touchdown in the fourth that made thefinal score 19-7.

Girls SoccerThe Lady Mustangs (4-1) opened their season with a

tough 1-0 loss to last year’s nationally ranked squad atIHA on Sept. 12. Senior All-State goalie LianneMaldonado had five saves for Clifton.

Three days later, the Maroon and Grey evened itsrecord with a thrilling 1-0, double overtime win atMorristown. Senior midfielder Adriana Daley scored thegame winner on a feed from sophomore forward MeganFerrara. Maldonado again stopped five shots.

On Sept. 20, Clifton downed Kearny 3-0 as Michelleand Megan Ferrara each found the back of the net. Senior

midfielder Elise Burnett and senior forward Jamie Lisantieach had an assist. Maldonado picked up four saves.

Next up was Paramus, who the Lady Mustangs snuckby 1-0 on a Megan Ferrara goal. Maldonado was the starof that game, stopping all 12 Spartan shots.

The Lady Mustangs won a 9-0 laugher overHackensack on Sept. 24. Megan Ferrara was outstand-ing, scoring twice and assisting on two other goals.Back from an ACL injury, senior forward KristinaCordova added two tallies, and Burnett picked up agoal and two assists.

Boys SoccerThe boys soccer team (4-1-1) beat St. Joe’s Regional

3-0 in its opener on Sept. 12. Sophomore forwardOscar Gonzalez scored two goals and assisted onanother. Victor Manosalvas also found the net andDanny Lam picked up an assist. Sophomore goalieAnthony Tsouhnikas had six saves.

Sophomore ShannonSeidzik (in white)battles with aHackensack defenderduring a 9-0 Cliftonvictory on Sept. 24.

Mustang seniordefender DavidOsorio clears aball during a 2-0 loss toParamus on Sept. 22.


Manosalvas found sophomoreforward Igor Petrovic for Clifton’sonly goal in a 1-1 tie againstBergen Catholic on Sept. 15.Tsouhnikas stopped five shots.

Two days later, Eastside fell vic-tim to the Mustang attack in a 5-0drubbing. Five different playersscored for Clifton, including ValdrinSeci, who also added an assist.Tsouhnikas saved three attemptsbefore being replaced by KevinAquino, who stopped one more.

The Mustangs completed a sweepof the Paterson schools with a 3-0victory at Kennedy. Petrovich andsenior defender Ryan Ware eachpicked up a goal and an assist, whileManosalvas added another score.Tsouhnikas had two saves.

On Sept. 22, Clifton lost its firstgame of the season, 2-0, to Paramus.Tsouhnikas stopped seven shots.

The Mustangs quickly bouncedback in its next game, edgingHackensack 1-0 on a Manosalvastally. He was assisted by JuanCarlos Leal, while Tsouhnikasagain made seven saves.

Girls VolleyballThe Lady Mustangs (5-4) stum-

bled out of the gate with losses toNo. 10 Holy Angels and No. 1IHA, but rebounded to beat Verona,Eastside and Kennedy in their nextthree matches.

Two days later, the Mustangslost to Paramus, 25-17, 25-22, butbeat Hackensack and Teaneck laterin the week. In the 25-17, 25-18victory over Hackensack, seniorsetter Madeline Prado had fiveassists, while senior middle hitterBrenda Slazyk tallied three kills.

Clifton lost a tough three-setter toRutherford on Sept. 29, and in tour-nament play, the Mustangs reachedthe semis of the Clifton event onSept. 20 and the finals of the WayneValley Tournament on Sept. 27.

Cross CountryBoth the boys and girls teams

are undefeated in league action thusfar. The boys finished fourth in thecounty meet on Sept. 27, while thegirls placed second.

Senior Eloisa Paredes is the toprunner on the girls side with anaverage 5k time of 20:12. She’sfollowed by junior Kerry Sorenson(20:52), junior DaphneBienkiewicz (22:31), senior KaylaSantiago (22:53), freshman sensa-tion Josie Redwing (23:18), seniorBrenna Heisterman (24:03) andsenior Graciela Arias (24:04).

On the boys squad, junior JamesSahanas leads the way with anaverage time of 16:58. He’s fol-lowed by senior Andrew Kopko(17:40), sophomore Daniel Green(17:57), senior Victor Almonte(18:12), senior Ivan Enriquez(18:43), senior Hanni Abukhater(18:51) and senior Gary Feig(18:53).

Girls TennisThe girls tennis team has gotten

off to a slow start, losing its firstthree matches and having three oth-ers postponed because of rain orother reasons.

After a rain out against HolyAngels, Clifton played its firstmatch of the year on Sept. 15, whenit fell 5-0 at IHA.

Following two postponementsagainst Eastside and Kennedy, theLady Mustangs didn’t play againuntil a 5-0 loss at Paramus on Sept.22. Senior captain and first singlesplayer Lia Salierno missed thematch due to sickness and so herteammates were each forced tomove up a flight.

Clifton then lost a tight 3-2 bat-tle with Hackensack on Sept. 24.Second singles Michelle Kvitnitsky

and the second doubles team ofKathy Tupiwala and Perla Esquiveleach won their matches, butSalierno, third singles LenaElezaby, and the first doubles teamof Catalina Jaramillo and JeannaYoo each came up short.

GymnasticsThe gymnastics team is 0-5 but

the Mustangs are scoring about 10total team points more now thanthey were at the beginning of theseason and they lost to WayneValley on Sept. 22 by a narrow79.1-71.45 margin.

Coach Judy D’Argenio said sen-ior co-captain Chelsea Gurley gother first state sectional qualifyingscore in floor exercise and is lead-ing the team in beam as well.

Fellow senior co-captainDonnalayha Cook is leading thesquad in vault and freshmanGabriella Cruz is tops in unevenbars.

D’Argenio added that seniorMelissa Petrina is doing a great jobdespite the fact that this is her firstyear of gymnastics.

Senior Catalina Jaramillo prepares toreturn a serve during her second doublesmatch against Hackensack on Sept. 24.


On Sept. 21, the fans came forone last time… to sit under itswhite façade, walk on its warningtrack, and visit its ghosts. Theycame to Yankee Stadium on Sept.21 to see one more win – a 7-3 vic-tory over the Baltimore Orioles –and take with them as many mem-ories as they could.

During this final game, theycheered one last time for their heroes,past and present, in “the House ThatRuth Built.” They breathed thesmells of the great stadium. They rantheir hands over the concrete walls,saying farewell to an old friend.

And, one last time, they lookedout on the emerald grass and browndirt field, taking a mental photo tolast a lifetime.

The great Yankee Stadium, anarena second only to the Coliseumin Rome, will soon be no more.

And when it’s gone, Cliftonloses a bit of its own past.

Yankee Stadium, which openedApril 18, 1923, is just 12 miles fromthe city. For generations, Cliftoniteshave made the trip over the GeorgeWashington Bridge and up the MajorDeegan Expressway to the stadium.

Sal Sperlazzi, 94, then ofPassaic, took another route toYankee Stadium to see Babe Ruth,Lou Gehrig and others.

“As a kid, I’d hitchhike downPaterson Plank Road to the ferry,” hesays, “cross the river and take thesubway up. I’d sit in the bleachers’cause we didn’t have money in thosedays. We’d get home the same way.”

An aerial shot of the two Yankee Stadiums by A.J. Zarra. The one on the left, is the oldballpark, and the one on the right, is the new stadium currently under construction.

From left, Hap Nightingale, Andy Miller, owner of the Paddock, Yankees Billy Johnsonand Yogi Berra, and Paterson sportswriter Joe Gooter.

Story by Jack De Vries

Good-Bye, Yankee StadiumWhen the baseball cathedral in the Bronx is no more,pieces of Clifton history and memories go with it


While fans have memories ofthe stadium, the Yankees have theirown remembrances of Clifton.

The builder of Yankee Stadium,team owner Col. Jacob Ruppert,loved hosting beefsteaks in his brew-ery, catered by Clifton’s legendarybeefsteak inventor, Hap Nightingale.Later, many Yankee stars, includingJoe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, andYogi Berra, would also enjoy aNightingale beefsteak.

But Clifton’s history with theYankees goes beyond food – backto the time of the stadium’s birth.

David vs. GoliathIn 1923 – just 11 days after

Yankee Stadium opened – BabeRuth and the Yankees journeyed toClifton to play an exhibition gameagainst the Doherty Silk Sox,arguably the greatest white semipro baseball team in the country.

When Yankees manager MillerHuggins told his players about theClifton game, the Babe was quotedas saying, “Fine. That is one ballpark I like to play on.”

He wasn’t kidding. Twice as amember of the Boston Red Sox,Ruth played at the Doherty Ovalbehind the large mill on Main Ave.,earning $5 from owner HarryDoherty for a home run. Wantingmore prize money, Babe lookedforward to his game in Clifton.

On April 29, 1923, he earnedanother $5… and caused a riot.

With the Yankees leading 9-6 inthe ninth, Babe whacked a majestichome run that traveled nearly 500feet over the Oval’s fence andbeyond, bouncing onto the ErieRailroad tracks. The homer sothrilled the 15,000 fans that theyrushed the field to personally con-gratulate Ruth… who had to be res-cued by police.

The next year, the Silk Sox gottheir revenge as pitcher HarryHarper clouted a ninth inning homerto beat Ruth and the Yankees, 6-5.

It was the last time the teamswould play against each other butnot their final meeting.

Throughout the followingdecades, the Yankees continuedtheir relationship with Clifton – themost famous being with the open-ing of a 40-lane bowling alley inthe Styertowne Shipping Mall onApril 28, 1958, owned by futureHall of Fame players Phil Rizzutoand Yogi Berra. Many of theirYankees teammates were frequentguests.

But there is one date that unitesClifton to Yankee Stadium forever –the celebration of “Clifton Day” atthe stadium 41 years ago. The event,attended by more than 4,000 Cliftonfans, was part of the city’s “GoldenJubilee,” recognizing Clifton’s first50 years of existence.

The original Yankee Stadium under construction in the Bronx on Nov. 14, 1922.

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Traffic Jams and Mantle Blasts

The Clifton Day celebration tookplace April 30, 1967, during theYankees’ doubleheader against theCalifornia Angels. Heading into thedate, New York was 8-5 and just a halfgame out of first place. Unfortunately,the Yanks would finish that year inninth place at 72-90 – its once greatdynasty old and crumbling.

But on that beautiful April day, thefuture of the team, city, and stadiumlooked promising.

Clifton’s famous crooner FrankieRandall (who cancelled appearanceson English TV to be part of the festiv-ities) would sing the National Anthem,Clifton Mayor Joseph Vanecek was tothrow out the first ball, and the famousClifton Mustangs Marching Band wasscheduled to perform the StarSpangled Banner, as well as entertainbetween games.

Also planned by Clifton Day organ-izer Terry LaCorte was a reunion ofthe Doherty Silk Sox – most who hadnot seen each other since they battledBabe’s Yankees in the 1920s.

However, some of the festivitiesnever took place.

Vanecek arrived at the stadium on-time, but many of the Clifton fans –journeying to the stadium on 30 char-tered buses – got stuck in a massivetraffic jam on the Major Deegan. Sodid the Marching Mustangs, travelingin four buses of their own.

The entire contingent arrived 15minutes after the game started, withRandall missing his chance to sing.

“Clifton Day is a happy memorytoday,” says LaCorte, “but I wasn’t toohappy back then with the traffic.”

But the day quickly improved,especially on the field. In the firstgame, Clifton fans watched as MickeyMantle smacked a home run, the 498thof his career, off Angels’ pitcherMinnie Rojas, to power New York to a


4-1 win. Fans also saw Whitey Fordpitch one-run ball over seveninnings, with reliever DooleyWomack getting the victory.

Between games, Vanecek andRandall were interviewed on TVby Yankees broadcaster Rizzuto.

“That was such a thrill for me,”says Randall, “because guys likeDiMaggio, Rizzuto, Berra, and(Tommy) Henrich were my idolsgrowing up.

“When I was asked to perform atYankee Stadium, I couldn’t say no.Though I did miss singing there, itwas still a great day – they took mein the dugout and in the press box,a real nice tour. Clifton Daybecame one of the most excitingtimes in my life.”

On the field, the Silk Sox heldtheir reunion with players likeClifton’s “Bibbs” Raymond andBenny Borgmann in attendance.

Ironically, Raymond was oncesigned by the Yankees and went tospring training with the club in1925. Later that season, he“jumped’ the team to go back andplay with the Silk Sox. A combi-nation of homesickness and not

being able to break into the startingline-up caused Raymond to returnto Clifton – something that angeredthe Yankees, who believed Bibbshad a future with the club.

Borgmann had his own history atYankee Stadium. In the 1920s whilea member of the Silk Sox, he triedout on the field and was offered acontract with the Boston Red Sox, intown to play the Yankees.

However, Borgmann, who wouldeventually be inducted into theBasketball Hall of Fame, refused to

report to spring training so that hecould complete his lucrative basket-ball season. For his actions,Commissioner Kenesaw MountainLandis banned him from organizedbaseball, and it took Borgmannyears to earn his reinstatement.

But on that special day at YankeeStadium, all was forgotten byBorgmann and Raymond, whowatched the game from the mayor’sbox. Between games, memorieswere made for the 145 MarchingMustangs, led by drum majoretteBarbara Williams and Jubilee pag-eant beauty queen Susan Sisco.

Behind a banner that read,“Clifton Golden Jubilee – Fifty Yearsof Progress,” the Mustangs marchedin formation to the center of the fieldwhere they performed five songs,including Peter Gunn. Each selec-tion was announced by YankeeStadium announcer Bob Sheppard.

The Herald-News reported, “Alltunes were well-received by theaudience.”

Besides the traffic, the onlyblack mark on the day was theYankees’ loss in the nightcap to theAngels, 4-2, with Mantle account-ing for both New York runs with atwo-run double.

Some of the Yankee stars in the early ’50s, from left, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle,Tommy Henrich, Hank Bauer and Gene Woodling.

New York Yankees manager Ralph Houk welcomes Mayor Joseph Vanecek and busloads of Cliftonites to Yankee Stadium on April 30, 1967. (Photo courtesy of thePaterson Museum/Arcadia Publishing, “Clifton: The Boomtown Years.”)


Clifton Fans Say Good-ByeIn 1993, Brian Reilly saw his first Yankees game at

age 10 with his Clifton Western Division Little Leagueteam. Since then, he’s been hooked.

“I became a big Don Mattingly fan,” Reilly, 25, says.“First, I got the pennant and then a Mattingly shirt.When I’d watch the Yankees on TV, I’d watch him.”

As he got older, Reilly began to watch Mattinglymore at the stadium. “As soon as I got my license,” hesays, “I started going to about 10 games a year.” At19, Reilly took a big step as a Yankees fan – becomingone of the stadium’s legendary “Bleacher Creatures.”

“I have what I describe as ‘an emotional attachment’to the Yankees,” Reilly says, “and a seat in Section 39of the bleachers for the past six years.” Along withClifton friends Joe and John Pecora, he attends about20 games a year. Known for their game-starting “RollCall” (the Bleacher Creatures chant each startingYankees player’s name until he waves), Reilly and hisfellow Creatures are famous for their serenades ofopposing right fielders.

“If I was Trot Nixon,” Reilly laughs, “and I heardsome of the songs we sing, I’d go home and cry.” Arecent Montclair State University graduate who worksat DeLuxe Formalwear on Main Ave., Reilly says hisbest moment came in the 2004 American League

Championship Series Game 1 against the Boston RedSox. “(Boston’s) Curt Schilling was pitching but wewere doing the “Who’s your daddy?” chants to PedroMartinez,” he says. “There was a point in the gamewhen the Yankees had bases loaded and Hideki Matsuihit a single. Gary Sheffield slid, scored and pumpedhis fist in the air.

“We went crazy. I was there with my father and westarted hugging strangers we were so happy. Peoplewere throwing $9 beers in the air – nobody cared ifthey got wet. It was incredible.”

When the Series turned sour and Boston came backfrom a 3-0 deficit, Reilly learned something about hisgirlfriend Krystina. “That’s when I saw she was a keep-er,” he says. “I was so upset during the four games theYankees lost, I’d leave the house without talking, justto take a walk. I couldn’t sleep for a week because Iwas so upset. But she stayed with me, even thoughwe’d only been together for a little bit.”

On Sunday, Sept. 21, Reilly attended the last game atYankee Stadium. “I told my friends that I needed to takemy own car because I didn’t want anybody rushing meout that night,” he says. “You could tell the game wasgoing to be special – Spike Lee was in the bleachersfilming us. I remember looking around and thinking thatthis was where Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio played.”

After the Yankees’ win, Reilly’s friends left, leavinghim alone in the stadium with other diehard fans. “Iwalked around with my video camera,” he says, “takingpictures and trying to make the night last. I finally left atabout 1:30 a.m.” Though he plans to attend games at thenew Yankee Stadium next year, Reilly will never forgetthe old building. “You know,” he says, “they call YankeeStadium a cathedral. And they’re right, it really is.”

Cliftonites and Bleacher Creatures Brian Reilly, Joe andJohn Pecora attend about 20 Yankee games a year.

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My first trip to Yankee Stadiumcame on Thursday, July 22, 1993.Just a 10-year-old boy, I sat withmy mom, dad, and sister in thelower level down the left-field line.In the bottom of the seventh inning,my favorite player of all time, DonMattingly, scalded a 2-1 pitch offDoug Linton into the right-fieldseats for a three-run homer. It wasthe 200th of his storied career, andthe Yankees went on to beat theCalifornia Angels, 12-1.

Exactly 15 years later, onTuesday, July 22, 2008, I attendedmy 42nd and final game at the oldYankee Stadium. Accompanied byjust my sister this time, we sat inthe upper deck, down the left-fieldline. In the bottom of the seventhinning, the Yankees scored fourtimes to put away an 8-2 victoryover the Minnesota Twins.

The Bombers are missing theplayoffs this fall for the first timesince the year in which I went tomy first game, but during thatdecade-and-a-half span, I was for-tunate enough to see my share ofYankee Stadium magic.

The Yankees were 35-7 in games Iattended at the Stadium. That’s right,35-7. Five of the seven losses wereby one run, another defeat was bythree, but New York brought thetying run to the plate in the ninth, andthe only blowout loss was when theywere no-hit by six different HoustonAstros pitchers on June 11, 2003.

My friend, Brad, caught a foulball during that game, and fromthat point forward, we knew wewere doomed.

I witnessed seven walk-off victo-ries, including three in a row betweenSept. 30, 2004, when a homer by

Bernie Williams clinched the divi-sion, and May 16, 2006, when JorgePosada’s game-winning blast cappeda 14-13 comeback victory over theTexas Rangers—a game in which theYankees had trailed 9-0.

But the biggest walk-off I sawwas one of the most dramatic infranchise history.

When 2003 postseason ticketswent on sale in late September ofthat year, I, like thousands of oth-ers, stared at my computer asTicketmaster.com informed me thatmy wait time was eight minutes.

A half-hour later, a screenpopped up presenting me with theoption of purchasing four tickets to“ALCS Home Game 4.” I immedi-ately snatched them up, not think-ing that I would actually attend thegame. But a few weeks later, theBoston Red Sox forced a Game 7,and I found myself skipping aThursday afternoon class to drive

from Syracuse to New York.The excitement was palpable

among the 56,278 people thatattended the game with me on thatchilly October evening. It wasPedro versus Clemens, Sox versusYanks for the right to advance tothe World Series, and I was there.

The anticipation quickly mor-phed into shock as the Bombers fellbehind 3-0 in the top of the second,and by the time it was 5-2 Bostonin the top of the eighth, the feelingturned to desperation. But then, asalways, the rally started with DerekJeter. A double. Then BernieWilliams singled him home. 5-3.Then Hideki Matsui doubled to putthe tying runs in scoring positionfor Jorge Posada.

I clasped my numb fingers infront of my face and rocked backand forth in the right-field bleach-ers as the Yankee catcher battledwith the tiring Martinez.

Writer Jordan Schwartz’s favorite Yankee Stadium memory was Aaron Boone’sgame-winning home run in Game 7 of the 2003 American League ChampionshipSeries against the Boston Red Sox. Schwartz attended the game with his family.

Story by Jordan SchwartzA Fan’s Memories of Yankee Stadium


After an agonizing five pitches,Posada finally lifted a fly ball toshallow center, as everyone heldtheir breath.

Until it landed.The stadium actually shook as

Matsui scored the tying run, and Ihigh-fived everyone around me.But there was still work to be done.The game continued on, knotted atfive, into the ninth, the 10th, andfinally the 11th. As Tim Wakefieldgot ready to deliver his first knuck-leball to Aaron Boone, my dad andI turned to step up onto the bleach-er so we could see better.

Just then, we heard the crowdroar and swung our heads around tosee the ball land in the left-fieldseats for a pennant-winning homerun. My dad and I turned to each

other in shock, but we were tooexcited to be disappointed. We hadjust witnessed—sort of—one of thegreatest moments in Yankee history.

The magic dissipated somewhatover the following five years, but Istill took in my share of greatYankee Stadium moments.

I saw Clemens win his 350thcareer game, Posada homer fromboth sides of the plate, and Jeterpass Bernie Williams and thenMickey Mantle on the Yankees’ all-time hit list.

I’ve seen New York play everyAmerican League team except theA’s and White Sox, I’ve attended10 inter-league games, and I’veeven had three dates at YankeeStadium. The team was 2-1 in thosegames. I was 1-2.

So, as the House That Ruth Builtcloses its doors for the final timethis year, it takes with it old memo-ries of championships and fatherstaking their sons to their first game.

But with a new stadium come newmemories, and I can’t wait to one daybring my son to his first Yankeegame at the ballpark across the street.

It’ll probably be July 22.

Don Mattingly homered in Schwartz’sfirst trip to Yankee Stadium in 1993.

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Since we ran last month’s story about the condition ofthe former American Legion Post on Lake Ave. in BotanyVillage, the dangerous sidewalk has been repaired.However, the removal of the tree that caused the damagehas drawn the ire of Ellen Woodham, who wants to knowwhy she wasn’t allowed to do the same on her property.

Woodham, the individual who lives directly acrossthe street from the Post, was featured in our story lastmonth, after she was told by the city that she had torepair her sidewalk on her own tab, despite it beingdamaged by a city tree.

“That’s when they started repairing the sidewalk, theday before your magazine came out,” Woodham said,referring to Sept. 4. “They just lifted the concrete outand came and cut down the tree and put the slab of con-crete back. But there wasn’t anything wrong with theirtree, they just cut it down.”

Normally, the Lake Ave. resident said she wouldn’thave any objections to the removal of the tree.However, Woodham was told that she wasn’t allowedto remove the tree that damaged her sidewalk—a totalof $3,100 in repairs—because it was a living tree.

“They refused to cut ours down, because they saidthey can’t cut down a live tree,” she explained. Little has changed on Lake Ave. since last month’s story.

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“But they said the mayor wantedthem to cut the tree down. That’swhat the DPW supervisor that wasthere with the crew told my hus-band.”

However, Mayor James Anzaldidenied those allegations in a phoneconversation.

“Me? James Anzaldi?Absolutely not, I can’t authorizethat,” he insisted. “I took a pictureof the raised sidewalk and filed aCity Manager sheet and showedthem the picture on my cellphone—that’s it. The last I heardof it, they told me it was going toget done, but I don’t know anythingabout the tree.”

The mayor explained that thecity has a tree policy, limiting theinstances in which they can beremoved.

“I know clogged sewer line—that’s one of them for sure,”recalled Anzaldi. “I think it wouldalso include drain pipes, sincesome people have the pipe under-ground.”

The mayor directed furtherquestioning to City Manager Al

Greco, who noted that city policyallows for the removal of a live treeif it damages the concrete morethan twice in a five year period.

“We had complaints on it beforeand had done it about three or fouryears ago,” said Greco. “We willalways come out and cut the rootsfor the home owners without charge.Usually, they’ll get a contractor tolift the slab and cut the roots to savethemselves a lot more money.”

While addressing Lake Ave., thecity manager also noted thatClifton is currently in the processof searching for a contractor toremove the asbestos from the city-owned former American LegionPost and then demolish it.

The city would also like to hire acontractor to level 12 Arthur St. inBotany, a private home that hasbeen in disrepair for several years.“We’re trying to get one price forboth buildings. There’s a tax salesoon and I’m authorized to buy

back the lien and purchase thehouse on the city’s behalf,” saidGreco, adding that the lien isaround $120,000.

Funds would be transferred fromthe city’s affordable housingaccount, and then Clifton wouldlook to construct affordable hous-ing on the site, in accord with thestandards set by the NJ Council onAffordable Housing, or COAH.

Greco also noted that, at theBotany SID meeting in September,there were no remarks about thestatus of Lake Ave. from residents.

“We mentioned the plan andasked if there were any suggestionsor comments,” said Greco, addingthat there were about 20 people inattendance. “There were no com-ments, no feedback.”The Clifton Rec Center will con-tinue to be in the spotlight for sometime it seems. At the Sept. 22 Boardof Recreation meeting, newlyappointed Council Liaison to

After we questioned city officials last month about the uneven pavement in front of theold American Legion Post on Lake Ave., a tree was removed and the problem was fixed.

The city would like a contractor tolevel this house on Arthur St., whichhas been in disrepair for several years.



the Board, Mayor James Anzaldi,was answering questions regardinghis opinion on whether or not thecity needs a new center to replacethe one on Main Ave.

Board member Tony Yannarelli,an outspoken supporter of a newcenter, asked the mayor point blankif he was in support of the Board’s9-0 motion to recommend a newrecreation center in town.

However, the mayor essentiallyreiterated his comments in our Sept.edition, saying that he is open mind-ed, but thinks that current facilitiesare being underused.

“To be honest,” Anzaldi added.“I think much of what has happenedhas been twisted badly.”

However, some Board membersexpressed concern about theCouncil’s involvement.

“There’s nothing that the Councilneeds to be involved with at thispoint,” said Yannarelli.

The Board and Mayor Anzaldiwere in agreement with one thingthough: if the surveys come backagainst the project, it becomes deadin the water.

“If the survey is like no onewants this, why waste our time?”said Board President DoreenDelancy-Williams.

Mayor Anzaldi also reiterated hisdesire to improve existing servicesinstead of adding new ones. Hementioned park adoptions or corpo-rate clean-ups as an inexpensivemeans of remediation for the RecCenter and other facilities.

Despite disagreeing with themayor’s proposal, Yannarelli saidAnzaldi did bring some goodchange to the Board.

“The only thing he did accom-plish is having Debbie (Oliver, ofthe Rec Department) tell us thatthere’s money left from the budgetlast year,” said Yannarelli, being

sure to note that his opinions do notreflect those of the entire Board.“It’s about $28,000 to $30,000—somewhere in that area. It’s for fix-ing up items in the rec center.”

Another issue brought up at themeeting was the review of Clifton’sparks by an outside firm, to the tuneof a $26,000 bill.

“They spent $26,000 on that,”Yannarelli said over the phone laterthat week. “If you go down to theparks yourself, you can see whatthe condition of those parks are.They spent $26,000 to tell themwhat it looks like because theyhaven’t maintained them for thepast 20 years.”The cost of using water is goingup. Sewer user fees have increasedfrom $1.39 to $1.92 per 100 cubicfeet of usage based upon 2007unbilled water consumption as pro-vided by the Passaic Valley WaterCommission. City Manager Al

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BBaaggoolliiee FFrriieeddmmaann IInnjjuurryy LLaawwyyeerrss660 Newark Ave., Jersey City, NJMMaaiinn OOffffiiccee •• 220011--665566--88550000Ricky Bagolie can you meet in Clifton at his Ackerman Ave. office (by appt only)

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Greco said last year’s figures arebeing used instead of this year’sbecause the city needs to knowexactly how much revenue it willbe taking in. It can’t estimate howmuch water consumption will takeplace in 2008.

According to the city’s website,the rate change occurred becausethe figures given to Clifton by thePVWC for actual billing purposes in2008 were significantly less than in2006. The lower consumption fig-ures meant that the original ratewould not generate enough revenueto pay for sanitary sewer service.

A service fee of $20 per quarterwill also be charged to each user.The city says it was institutedbecause all customers, regardlessof consumption levels, are connect-ed to and utilize the sewer distribu-tion system.

But where did this new usagefee come from in the first place?

Greco said when the CityCouncil was reviewing the 2008

municipal budget, which is aboutsix percent higher than in 2007, itappeared as if taxes would have toincrease 10 percent and $1.2 millionof services would have to be cut.

“The Council didn’t want to lay-off anyone or impose a tax increase,so they decided to create a usagefee,” said Greco, who added that thecity has put a freeze on hiring cer-tain open municipal positions.

Before this year, the $7.1 millioncost of providing sewer service wasincluded in the total municipal taxbill. Greco said the usage fee is afairer way of distributing the cost.

“We analyzed the structure and itturned out that the commercial sidewas paying 40 percent but using 60percent of the service, while resi-dents were paying 60 percent andusing only 40 percent,” he said.“For smaller consumers, this bene-fits them because they’re paying lessthan if taxes went up 10 percent.”

But despite the fact that there isno increase in the local portion ofthe tax rate in 2008, Cliftonites arestill paying more overall to the citybecause of this new fee.

“You tell me what you want us tocut out of the budget,” said Greco.“No one wants to pay more, but noone wants to give up services.

“No money is being wasted butwe are looking at privatizing someof our services such as the DPWand recycling,” continued the citymanager. “We’re also looking atenergy conservation in our vehi-cles and buildings and addinganother court session to processtickets quicker.”

Sewer user fees make watering yourClifton lawn more expensive.

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12October 2008 • Clifton Merchant 75

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PLEASE MAKE CHECKS TO TOMAHAWK PROMOTIONS, 1288 MAIN AVE., CLIFTON, NJ 07011

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Clifton Merchant Magazine1288 Main Ave. Clifton 07011

[email protected] to theEditor

2008

Congratulations on the latest issueof your magazine. It is a wake-upcall to our local politicians and thoseof both parties running in November.

The lazy city “planners” can’tthink of anything else but stripmalls for vacant sites. We are up tohere in them and yet they now plananother one for the former Lee’sHawaiian Islander site. Why not aluxury high-rise apartment house?There are two on Hepburn Rd. nearthe golf course that are at least 30years old now and still are sought-after rentals. Apartments nearhighways would be filled as soonas they are built.

All these malls and DowntownClifton is still being touted to attractshoppers. Where do the mayor andCouncil shop? Probably where thereis parking nearby, which Downtownlacks. Let Downtown be a thing ofthe past and stop throwing taxmoney at it. It can be a service areabut shopping is finished.

Changes need to be made to theRec Center on Main Ave., but itdoesn’t need to be replaced by a

new one. It’s likely there was nomajor maintenance done for years.

Shultheis Farm and the BrightonRd. school mess can readily betraced to the mayor and City Council.

Montclair St. Univ. putting in adorm in Botany Village? Howdeluded can they be? A dorm isexpected to be near the collegeitself. Put luxury apartments therein its place. They would providenew taxes for the city and desper-ately needed housing for the middleclass and those who can afford it.

The current group that sits in CityHall has been there too long. Theyhave become entrenched and havehad no new ideas in 20 years.Nothing is decided because it maymean more kids in already over-crowded schools and new schoolsraise taxes. Well, when have taxesgone down in Clifton? The new sep-arate sewer fee rose this year withthe explanation that more had to becharged since water consumptiondeclined. When the number of citi-zens decline (and that is inevitable)will taxes then have to be raised too?

Indecisiveness will result inmore deterioration and drift to themorass that our neighboring townsfind themselves in. Our leadersmust wake up, stop talking anddecide. It is possible that a mistakewill occur now and then. If theywere doctors and did nothing, alltheir patients would die. Operateand some might die, but not all.And that is what the mayor andcouncil are afraid of.

Bob EiserleClifton

Some say changes need to be made at theClifton Community Recreation Center.


It’s good to see the Merchant againholding the City Council accountablefor failing to resolve so many impor-tant issues. You hit the nail on thehead when you pointed out the lackof planning, both past and present,that prevents Clifton from realizingmeaningful improvements to qualityof life. The excuses and finger point-ing of the mayor and Council wouldbe laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic.Maybe your next cover should showMayor Anzaldi with some of hisCouncil cohorts dressed in top hats,tails, and spats, dancing the old soft-shoe around a cardboard box full ofunresolved issues.

Joseph R. TorelliClifton

Kudos for taking the stand on arange of issues the Council needsto address. I will continue to pushand prod and I salute you for a jobwell done. Maybe the issue willprompt more people to questionwhat is happening to our city.

Matt WardClifton City Councilman

Tribute to a Local Hero: As myson celebrated his 10th birthdaylast year, which coincidentally fallson Halloween, I asked him who hisheroes were. He hesitated, smiled,then proceeded with Superman,Spiderman, Batman and SpongeBob. I sighed in disappointment.He then asked me who my heroes

are. I told him they have alwaysbeen real people. There was myfather who was a heroic cop whofrequently put himself into harm’sway to save people. Then therewere my brothers who all served inVietnam. I went on to tell himabout all the 9/11 heroes who sacri-ficed their lives to save others fromthe burning buildings we saw fromNew Jersey that day.

Consequently, as I opened hisbag to retrieve his homework thatevening, I found the Officer MaryAnn Collura Memorial HalloweenSafety Program that was institutedin her memory by the CliftonPolice Department. You know theone that comes with a glow stickand a memo on how to be safer onHalloween? I found this to be anexcellent example of a local hero. Igrabbed my son and sat him downand explained how this haschanged our lives for the better.

Donna FantaconeClifton

Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary AnnCollura was killed in the line of duty onApril 17, 2003. Her legacy lives on,though, with the Collura MemorialHalloween Safety Program.

Long term blight in Clifton cre-ates a negative image. The for-mer Capo D’Anno Restaurant onLexington Ave., with its tornawnings, cracked windows andplywood-covered door, is an eye-sore. While I am not exactly cer-tain how long it has been vacant,the weeds pushing through themacadam of the parking lot con-firm that it has been quite a while.

Another eyesore is a former gasstation on the corner of Clifton andVan Houten Aves. The buildinghas three bay doors with manypanes missing or broken, theshards of glass lying scattered onthe ground. The office part of thebuilding has been boarded over andhere too there are grass and weedsgrowing up through the macadam.

A person could have completed afull formal education (grades K-12and a four-year college degree) inthe amount of time this propertyhas sat vacant. It has been so long,in fact, that most people cannotrecall the brand of gas it sold.

What further adds to the insultof having this derelict building in

our city is that it is across the streetfrom City Hall. Anyone havingany business there cannot help butsee this blot on the landscape andmake the obvious negative conclu-sions about our city. How do prop-erty owners get away with this?

Patricia A. SiemsClifton

The former Capo D’Anno Restaurant on Lexington Ave. vacant and deteriorating.


The CHS Class of 1973 35th Reunion isscheduled for 7 pm to midnight on Oct. 18 atThe Bethwood in Totowa. The deadline topre-order tickets for $100 has been extendedto Oct. 9. The cost at the door is $120 (cashonly). The price includes DJ entertainment,buffet and a five-hour open bar.

Alumni Committee members (some pic-tured here, circa ’73) include John Orlowsky,Lori (Struck) DeSilva, Doris Pohle, BruceRissmiller, Phil Read, Carol Thorpe, Bernice(Knowlton) Mekita, Diane (Natonick) Goode,Joe Salerno, Susan Junda, Bob Frisch, JudyDimun, Lorraine (Cooke) Anicito, PeteGarnevicus and Glenn Nahass.

Visit chs73alumni-cliftonnj.net for reunionphotos, alumni news and information. Formore details, call Orlowsky at 973-773-8711.

Joseph Baratta

John Orlowsky

Bernice Knowlton

Judith Dimun

Lorraine Cook Patrick Donohue Doris Pohle Bruce Rissmiller

Lori Struck

Christina Kotlar Glenn Gorab


79October 2008 • Clifton Merchant

Halloween Parade&HarvestFest

along Lakeview Ave. and in Nash Park on Oct. 26, 2008

The Annual Halloween Parade and Harvest Fest isOct. 26 (rain or shine). Kicking off at the corner ofLakeview Ave. and E. 4th St. at 12:45, pm, the caval-cade of costumed Cliftonites proceeds down LakeviewAve. to Piaget Ave. ending at Nash Park, where judgingtakes place. Harvest Fest then begins and runs till dusk.

Parade participants are to meet at the designated cor-ners (call the Rec Dept for details: 973-470-5956) at12:15 pm to register for the costume contest and to marchin the parade. Those wishing to pre-register for the con-test—strongly recommended—may do so at the RecDept., 2nd floor of City Hall. There are also categoriesfor pets (must be on a leash or other type of restraint),groups of at least six people, and homemade floats.

Harvest Fest offers food, fun, games, crafts, rides, animals, vendors and even an Apple Pie Bake-Off. Painta pumpkin, stuff scarecrow, visit the Petting Zoo or takea hayride in the park. With games and rides costingbetween a quarter and $1, there is lots to do at a greatprice. Vendors will be selling food and other goods.

Volunteers and vendors are welcome. Purchasetokens in advance and receive a discount. For moreinfo, call the Clifton Rec Dept. at 973-470-5956.


39 Years


The owners & employees of CuellarFamily Markets want to say thanks toall of our Partners In Caring. OurSeptember 21 Walkathon to raisemoney and help fight hunger was agreat success as the pictures hereillustrate. Thanks to many, including:• Clifton Health Department• Clifton Recreation Department• Clifton Public Schools• St. Peter’s Haven • Bond Parade Floats• Pushcart International • Passaic Recreation• Passaic Police Department• Children’s Nursery & Family CenterAnd to our customers who generouslydonate or participate in this and everyevent to help our neighbors in need...

Cuellar Family Markets & all at the Paulison Ave. ShopRite want to say:

Thanks, Partners in Caring


Joseph G. BionciRegistered Representative

126 Oak Ridge Rd.Clifton 973-472-1707OFFERINGTHE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS & SERVICES:RETIREMENT PLANNINGIRAs • 401(k) Plans • SEPsand Simple Plans • Pension/Profit Sharing Plans ESTATE PLANNINGBusiness Ownership Succession Plans • Charitable Remainder TrustsEDUCATION PLANNING529 Plans • Coverdell Education IRAsINSURANCEFixed and variable Life Insurance • Disability Insurance •Long term Care Insurance • Fixed and Variable AnnuitiesINVESTMENTSMutual Funds • Stocks and BondsInvestment and insurance products distributed byGenworth Financial Securities Corp., member NASD/SIPC& a licensed insurance agency (dba Genworth FinancialSecurities and Insurance Services in CA). Home office at200 N. Martingale Rd., 7th Fl., Schaumburg, IL 60173;phone 888 528.2987.©2005 Genworth Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.NS19664B 08/15/05


Bygone News provides a glimpseinto the events occurring inAcquackanonk (now Clifton)100 and 50 years ago. While top-ics illustrate the evolution of arural Acquackanonk Townshipinto the Clifton of today, nodoubt readers will also noticehow some issues seem timeless.

October 1908The Acquackanonk Township

Committee met Oct. 6 in theClifton Hall with all memberspresent. “The treasurer reporteda cash balance of $200.39; thepoormaster had expenditures of$107.23 and the clerk received$58.34 for licenses.”

Petitions were received withone “requesting to have the origi-nal name Ackerman Ave. placedon the street signs, maps and alllegal documents, instead ofGarfield Ave. and on motion therequest was granted.”

The committee also employedGeorge Duerlein “to remove allbrush and weeds growing alongthe roadside in West Clifton.”

Applications for two tavernlicenses were delayed pendingfurther investigation, because ofthe objections of nearby resi-dents. The first delay was due toits proximity to the new normalschool building and “the saloonwould cause a depreciation ofproperty in that vicinity.”

In the second case, counsel forthe objecting residents explained“that there were already toomany liquor dealers inAcquackanonk Township…

“There is a population of only7,000 inhabitants,” counsel stat-ed, adding “and there are thirty-five retail and six wholesaleliquor dealers in the township…[and] within the square of five

In 1908, Clifton Stadium was the site forthe 40 mile Great American Derby bicy-cle race, won by Hugh McLean who out-paced Elmer Collins, pictured above.

Bygone NewsAs collected & edited by Clifton Historian Don Lotz


blocks of the proposed tavernthere are eleven retail and fivewholesale liquor dealers, whichis far too many…”

The Constantine Brother’s Storeat Dayton and Lake Aves, after arecent burglary, “is being madeburglar proof. Windows being cov-ered with heavy iron bars.”

Nelson Kacsline, “while driv-ing his horse to a water trough infront of the Clifton Race TrackHotel,” was accosted by a “wilystranger who informed him hewas under arrest for recklessdriving.” The stranger demand-ed a $12 fine; which Mr. Kacslinepaid “under protest.” This wasthe second case of impersonationof a police officer “within a fewweeks and they are anxious toclear up the mystery.”

The Gilt Edge Pleasure Cluborganized with its officers:President, Joseph Fox; vice-pres-ident, A. Vermeulen; secretary,Roy Dale; treasurer, WilliamSharrah. “Pleasure is the soleobject of the club members.”

August Nathan, realestate and insuranceMadison Ave and ThirdSt Clifton, offered “aworkingman’s oppor-tunity; two new one-family homes for sale.”

The homes located nearBurgess Place “are two stories,five rooms, pump in kitchen andcellar, piped for gas, slate roof, lot27x125 with a $1,850 price andterms of $300 cash then $13 amonth.” Prospective buyers weretold “you have been going to do itfor a long time; ‘DO IT NOW.’”

The Acquackanonk SchoolBoard “reported a subcommitteehad visited the Albion Pl School(#5 on Gould St) and could notfind that surface drainage hadcaused damage to Mr. Carney’sbarns and that one of the barnswas practically worthless.” Theboard voted against paying anydamages to Mr. Carney.

Bicycle and motorcycle racingcontinued at Clifton Stadium.“Motor cyclists had narrow

escapes; Derosier and T. M.Samuelson kept their heads andsteered clear of death” after theirchains snapped on their vehicles.

Bicyclist Jake Derosier brokehis own one-half mile world recordgoing the distance in 27 1/5 sec-onds. Hugh McLean, going 40 1/3miles in one hour, won the “GreatAmerican Derby,” out distancingGeorge Riley and Elmer Collins.

Clifton Fire Company No 1 heldits first prize fair Oct. 15, 16, and17. The fair opened with a paradeand continued with a sale of “fancyand useful articles,” auction, chil-dren’s day, and Saturday eveningprizes were awarded.

The “Historic Trumpet” was awarded to Albion Place Chemical Fire Co.No. 1 (members above) on Oct. 17, 1908. The trumpet was stored in thefirehouse (right), which was constructed in 1906 and destroyed by fire in1914. The firehouse was where School 5 stands today on Valley Rd.


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Another attraction of the fairwas the post office operated byMisses Mathilde Genthon andElla Burrows; selling postalcards of “scenes familiar toevery Cliftonite, being all theprincipal points of interest in themunicipality and several pic-tures of the fire company.” Oneof the prizes awarded Saturdayevening was the “HistoricTrumpet” won by the AlbionPlace Chemical Fire Co. No. 1.

Proved by the engraving on thetrumpet that reads “Clifton FireCo. No. 1 Trophy Contested For ByVolunteer Firemen of Passaic,Essex, and Bergen Counties, Wonby Albion Place Fire Co., Oct. 17,1908.” Their firehouse was con-structed in 1906 and destroyedby fire in 1914. It was locatedwhere the present School No. 5 ison Valley Rd.

A newspaper reported about abarred rock pullet—a chickencommonly found on small farms,circa 1900 valued for their hardi-ness, large size, gentle nature andgreat egg production—which fol-lowed his young master, TraceyStorms, around the neighbor-hood, and even to school.

October 1958The School Board rejected “the

initial plans of the new highschool with its main theme beingseparated classes according togrades.” An open courtyardenclosed by interconnected build-ings was Architect ArthurRigolo’s plan. The Superintendentof Schools endorsed the segrega-tion of students by grades; whileSchool Board President GerardHollander was “opposed to the‘single schools’ for sophomores,juniors and seniors and called it‘mass education.’”

Council Chambers on Main andHarding Aves are “installing loudspeakers so that everyone in thechamber will be able to hear allthat is going on up front…”

New building construction inClifton dropped considerablyfrom the previous Septembergoing from $911,665 in 1957 to$598,609 in 1958.

The Council moves to build roaddespite land owner’s protest, a

paper reported: “the City CouncilTuesday night passed two ordi-nances to permit a street to be cutthrough from the Plymouth Rockdevelopment to Van Houten Ave.One ordinance authorizes the con-struction of Priscilla St. throughthe Richfield Nursery operated byConrad Maarschalk oppositeSchool 2 on Van Houten Ave”

On Oct. 21, Board of Educationmembers dedicated the new 13room addition to School 2 on VanHouten Ave County Supt. J.Harold Straub complimentedClifton officials on their schoolbuilding program. He said Cliftonwas doing a good job keepingabreast of the pressing school sit-uation by meeting the needs fornew schools.

Sounds of the Cold War: “at 7pm tonight [Oct. 23] a StatewideCivil Defense alert entitled‘Operation Pre-Attack’ will bestaged. Only one siren signal willbe sounded – ALERT (steadythree minute blast of sirens).”

The plan for the new Clifton High School was presented in October 1958. Theycalled for three classroom wings (1, 2 & 3) of three stories each with the middlewing also housing the heating plant in a basement. Plans also included special-ized areas common to all students, such as a library (4), cafeteria (5), industrialarts (6 & 7) girls gym (8), lockers and showers (9), boys gym (10), administration(11), auditorium (12), homemaking (13) and music (14).


On May 8, the USS Lexington wassunk at the Battle of Coral Sea. TheUSS Yorktown went down a month laterat the Battle of Midway. The USS Waspwas lost 150 miles southeast of SanCristobal Island on Sept. 15. And sev-eral Japanese torpedoes struck the USSHornet at the Battle of the Santa CruzIslands on Oct. 26.

But the loss that really hit homewas the sinking of the USS Juneau atthe Battle of Guadalcanal on Nov. 13.

The Juneau was laid down byFederal Shipbuilding Company ofKearny on May 27, 1940, launchedon Oct. 25, 1941 and commissionedon Feb. 14, 1942.

The cruiser left for the PacificTheater on Aug. 22 with 30 sets of

War was raging in thePacific in 1942 and it took aheavy toll on the U.S. Navy.Between Aug. 6 and Nov. 13,more than 5,000 men and20 ships were lost, but thedisastrous casualties beganeven earlier that year.

Local Boys Lost in Pacific

Story by Jordan Schwartz and Rich DeLotto

Four Cliftonites among hundreds downed with Juneau in 1942


brothers on board, including thefive Sullivan brothers fromWaterloo, Iowa, the four Rogersbrothers from New Haven,Connecticut, and the Weeks broth-ers from Delawanna.

The ship supported three actionsat Guadalcanal: the Buin-Fasi-Tonolai Raid; the Battle of theSanta Cruz Islands; and the NavalBattle of Guadalcanal, which issometimes referred to as the ThirdBattle of Savo Island.

During the early morning hoursof Nov. 13, 1942, the Juneau andother American ships becameengaged with a Japanese forcemade up of two battleships, onelight cruiser and nine destroyers.

During the battle, a torpedo hitJuneau on her port side causing adramatic list, halting her move-ment and forcing a withdrawal.

About nine hours later, Juneauleft the Guadalcanal area when asecond torpedo struck the ship,causing an explosion that sunk thecruiser in 20 seconds.

Only about 100 of the nearly700 men on board survived thesinking, but many of those sailorswere killed by sharks or the ele-ments as they waited eight days inthe open ocean before being res-cued. By that time, only 10 menwere left alive. One of them wasFrank Holmgren, 85, who is thelast living survivor.

“We were only able to get threelife rafts down,” remembered theEatontown resident. “I can’t evenswim, so I thought I was dead, buta life jacket got around me some-how. I’m one of the luckiest menin the world.”

Others weren’t as fortunate. The sinking of the Juneau made

headlines across the countrybecause all five Sullivan brothersdied. Three of the men were killedinstantly after the second torpedo

hit, while the remaining two per-ished while waiting to be rescued.

Two of the four Rogers siblingstransferred to another ship beforethe sinking and so only half of theboys died.

But Clifton’s Weeks family was-n’t as lucky. On Jan. 11, 1943,William and Dorothy Weeks werenotified of their sons’ deaths.

“Hard upon the telegrams camethe Navy’s announcement of thenames of the eleven warships lostin the hard fighting from October21 to December 1 in theSouthwestern Pacific,” wrote TheHerald-News beneath the scream-ing headline “Local Boys Lost inPacific.”

“It was earth shaking for thefamily to have this happen,” saidRobert Weeks, who was 18 whenhis two older brothers were killed.

Mary Weeks Ochipa, the soledaughter in the family, was just 14at the time.

“I was so upset that I didn’t goto school for six months,” said the80-year-old widow who now livesin Miami. “They kind of just treat-ed me special because I was the girland I was the youngest. I remem-ber someone poisoned my dog andmy oldest brother went to a petshop and got me another.”

Mary eventually married andlived in Passaic with her husbandwho was an Army veteran ofSaipan.

William Weeks, 23, was born onChristmas Day in 1919. Hisyounger brother Harold, 21, camealong two years later. The siblingsgrew up at 35 William St., graduat-ing from School 8 and CliftonHigh. They were boy scouts andHerald-News delivery boys, whilealso attending St. Clare’s Church.

Mr. Weeks worked with histhree sons at U.S. RubberCompany in Passaic.

Two weeks after Pearl Harbor,the two eldest sons enlisted in theNavy. Harold was engaged at thetime, but the Weeks came from along line of patriots. Their grand-father, Francis J. Wynne, was aNavy veteran of the SpanishAmerican War.

Harold and William attendedboot camp in Newport, RhodeIsland for two weeks before joiningthe fleet.

William was assigned to the USSMacomb before meeting up with hisbrother aboard the Juneau, whichoperated in the Atlantic Theater forapproximately four months beforemoving to the Pacific.

Cliftonites William (left) and Harold Weeks were killed aboard the USS Juneau in 1942.


Robert Weeks enlisted in theservice in July 1942, right aftergraduating CHS, but he hadn’tactually joined a fleet yet by thetime his brothers were killed.

“My mother was against megoing but my dad signed me up,”he remembered.

Robert spent the following 34years in the Navy as a surface war-fare officer. He retired in 1976 andcurrently lives in Austin, Texas.

But the Weeks were not the onlyCliftonites affected by the Juneautragedy. Two other city residentsperished in the disaster.

Israel Rabkin, 27, of 119Madeline Ave. was also killed. Hisparents, Mr. and Mrs. Max Rabkin,owned the Rabkin Confectionarydirectly across the street from Aceand George’s Deli.

“My mother and father seemedto just age overnight after hearingthe news,” said Israel’s sister,

Hannah Gilbert, who was just 16at the time.

Israel, who graduated CHS in1934, liked to ride his motorcyclearound town. In addition toHannah, he had two brothers,Hyman and Aaron.

Three years ago, Hannah’sdaughter surprised her with an 80thbirthday trip to the Juneau monu-ment in Alaska.

“It was quite emotional,” shesaid. “I took my finger and rubbedit over my brother’s name. It wasmy last tribute to him.”

Peter Pagnillo, 24, was thefourth city resident killed aboardthe Juneau.

He was born, raised and schooledin Paterson, but moved to 43 CenterSt. in Clifton for six months beforeentering the service. Pagnillo wassurvived by his wife of a year,Josephine Pasetto, and parents, Mr.and Mrs. Joseph Pagnillo.

He was posthumously awardedthe Purple Heart and three cam-paign medals. Three 19-year-oldPassaic residents were also on theJuneau. They were LawrenceEdward Saxer, Edward Eustace, Jr.,and Charles Kalinich, Jr.

Israel Rabkin of Madeline Ave. alsodied in the Juneau tragedy.


At our Sept. 5th ceremony to honor our deceased members, remember the MIA /POW and install officers. Pictured:(top left) Top row, from left: Carmine Delcore, Domenick Chiappone, Mike Gimon & Joe Nikischer. Middle: StephenScelba, Ted Harsaghy, Louis Poles & Robert Cordaro. Bottom row: Frank Smith & Ed Jazwinski. Ladies Auxiliary:Top from left: Edith Pettke, Amy Delcore, Sallyann Chiappone, Louise Van Decker, Dot Constantine, Gloria Turba& Madia Andrikanich. Bottom: Martha Jazwinski, Joan Campbell, Adele Gimon, Dorothy Saunders & CarolWestdyke. Bottom pic: Top from left: Chris Sotiro, Walter Marut, Angelo Guerra, Don Franz, Cipriano Zallagnoni &Walter Turba. Bottom: Joe Constantine, Frank Neceskas, Anton Taschler, Anthony Furino & Willie Gumann.


Sarah Bekheet . . . . . . . . . . 10/1Melissa Szwec . . . . . . . . . . . 10/2Nancy Csaszar . . . . . . . . . . 10/3Awilda Gorman . . . . . . . . . 10/3Ashley Messick . . . . . . . . . . 10/3Charlene Rivera . . . . . . . . . 10/3Grace Robol . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/3Frank Antoniello . . . . . . . . . 10/4John Brock Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . 10/4Kayla Galka . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/4Lisa Junda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/4Alan Merena. . . . . . . . . . . . 10/4Bruce Merena. . . . . . . . . . . 10/4Rosalie D. Konopinski . . . . . 10/5Gene D’Amico. . . . . . . . . . 10/6Nicole Nettleton . . . . . . . . . 10/6

Christopher Phillips . . . . . . . 10/7Jilian Fueshko . . . . . . . . . . . 10/8Nick Kacmarcik . . . . . . . . . 10/8Eileen Patterson . . . . . . . . 10/11Anthony Shackil . . . . . . . . 10/11Michael D. Rice . . . . . . . . 10/12Stepanie M. Palomba . . . 10/13Kimberly Beirne. . . . . . . . . 10/14Lil Geiger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/14Mary Anne Kowalczyk. . . 10/14Andrea Kovalcik. . . . . . . . 10/15Stephen Kovalcik . . . . . . . 10/15Marianne Meyer. . . . . . . . 10/15Devin DeVries . . . . . . . . . . 10/18Matthew Fabiano . . . . . . 10/18

Jamie Norris . . . . . . . . . . . 10/18Brian James Grace . . . . . 10/19Kristen A. Hariton . . . . . . . 10/19Rocky S. Angello (woof!). 10/20Joan Bednarski . . . . . . . . . 10/20Jean Chiariello . . . . . . . . . 10/20Lea Dziuba . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/20Patrick M. Doremus Jr. . . . 10/21Eugene Osmak. . . . . . . . . 10/21Katelyn Smith . . . . . . . . . . 10/21Daniel Atoche . . . . . . . . . 10/23John Bross . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/23Allison Beirne. . . . . . . . . . . 10/24Sandra Kuruc . . . . . . . . . . 10/24Heather Sito . . . . . . . . . . . 10/24Paul G. Andrikanich. . . . . 10/25Matthew McGuire . . . . . . 10/26Kristofer Scotto . . . . . . . . . 10/27Nicole Keller . . . . . . . . . . . 10/28Ashley Gretina . . . . . . . . . 10/29Lindsay Berberich. . . . . . . 10/30Raymond Romanski . . . . . 10/31Josef Schmidt . . . . . . . . . . 10/31

Happy Belated 88th Birthdayto Wanda Jakubczyk who

celebrated on Sept. 12.

In Loving MemoryDaniel Leigh Magaster

4/7/85-10/16/03

Happy 17th Anniversary toFrances and Saverio Grecowho wed on Oct. 26, 1991.Saverio also celebrated his43rd birthday on Sept. 26.

Happy 60th Birthday toEdward Holster Sr. on Oct. 18.

194 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell • 973-403-9968 –– 2 Union Ave., Paterson • 973-595-1647

F R E E S U N D A EBuy One Ice Cream or Yogurt Sundae,Get Another FREE With This Coupon

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send us dates & names... [email protected] & Celebrations!


1036

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

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

We Don’t Sell Parts……We Sell Service

Machine Shop On LocationNo Order Too Large Or Small FREE DELIVERY

Two Stores In Clifton973-473-1997

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

201.843.8040136 Essex St • Rochelle Park

Open Sundays

201.391.33335 Hawthorne Ave • Park Ridge

New Location

201. 261.041159A E. Ridgewood Ave • Paramus

New Location

973.338.92921278 Broad St • Bloomfield

New Location

973-473-49991103 Main Ave • Downtown Clifton

Mon-Fri 8-6pm • Sat 8-5pm • Sun Closed

201-845-8353101 Route 46 West • Saddle Brook

Open Sundays

973-857-2600614 Pompton Ave • Cedar Grove

New Location

973-694-22281168 Hamburg Turnpike • Wayne

New Location

973-423-170093 Goffle Rd • Hawthorne

New Location

Our Other Locations:

Happy 7th Birthday on Oct. 4 Renee Kimiko Angello &Jeffrey Joseph Angello.

Christopher Michael Rold &Kimberly Ann Calabro wereengaged on Aug. 28. An Oct.

2010 wedding is planned.

October 5 • Noon to 5 • Free


DecemberSharing the Holidays Toy Drive

Collecting Toys for Kids

Tuesday 12/16 at 6 pmAdvanced Health & Healing

Secrets, Psychological

Give the Gift of Health$150 Gift Certificates for $40

OctoberSpinal Health Month

Take care of your Skeletonfor Halloween

Tuesday 10/21 at 6 pmAdvanced Health& Healing SecretsYour Next Level

NovemberPack The Pantry Food Drive

Collecting non-perishable foodfor the needy.

Thanksgiving WeekNO CHARGE for service for

new or current potentialCall for appointment

Tuesday 11/18 at 6 pmAdvanced Health &

Healing Secrets, Biomechanical

It is our goal to reach & educate the community on theprofound positive effects chiropractic care has on one’s qualityof life, health & wellness. Through free ongoing workshops & programs, we hope to makereaching your health goals a reality. Call to reserve your seat & start living “Your Life Without Limits.”

2008 Drum MajorJohn Komar

1938 MajoretteMarie Giunta

Join the Marching Mustangs’ first Drum Majorette,Marie (Vullo) Giunta at the band’s 70th anniversary

dinner at 6:30 pm on Nov. 29 at Johnny’s Bar and Grill on

Ackerman Ave. No tickets will be sold at the door, so reserve seats

by calling 973-777-1781. Tickets are$35 for CMBAA members and

$40 for non-members. For more info, visit mustangbandalumni.org. Also, UNICO membershost the 2nd Annual Columbus Day Benefit Beefsteak

Oct. 12 at 6 pm at the Clifton Boys & Girls Club. Ticketsare $50 and all proceeds benefit the band’s uniform fund.

Call Dave D’Arco at 973-417-0731

for info.


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Tomahawk Promotions1288 Main AvenueClifton, NJ 07011

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11662244 MMaaiinn AAvvee.. CClliiffttoonn,, NNJJ 0077001111Office: 973-340-1202

973-859-2270

cover-template 9/29/08 4:28 PM Page 4

Clifton Merchant Magazine - October 2008

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Transcript of Clifton Merchant Magazine - October 2008