Clifton Merchant Magazine - November 2012

Clifton Merchant November 2012 3

November 2012 Clifton Merchant4

Table of Contents

From War to RosesChris de Vinck Considers War & Peace

Frank PinchakPharmacist, Historian, Veteran

George Homcy, Jack AndersonThey Covered Clifton like a Blanket

Chamber Chief Gloria MartiniLeaving a Legacy with Vets Grant

John Fette & FamilyStanding on the Shoulders of Many

Spencer Savings BankManagers Take Corporate Credo Local

Whats Inside?6

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22

30

38

42

50

16,000 Magazines

are distributed tohundreds of Clifton

Merchants on the firstFriday of every month.

Subscribe Page 72

$27 per year $45 for 2 years

Call 973-253-4400

Editor & PublisherTom Hawrylko

Business ManagerCheryl Hawrylko

Graphic DesignerKen Peterson

Staff WriterJoe Hawrylko

Contributing WritersTania Jachens, Carol

Leonard, Rich DeLotto,Don Lotz, Jack DeVries

1288 Main AvenueDowntown Clifton, NJ 07011

2012 Tomahawk Promotions

Marc RikmenspoelWWII Historian & Author

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42


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58

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82

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90

94

Power A Bright FutureVote Often to Help WWMS Win

B&GC History & Hall of FameAlumni being Inducted on Nov. 16

Community EventsEvents of Note Around Town

Madrigals Sing CliftonBotany, Downtown, Athenia, City Hall

Passaic Clifton Optimist Hot Dogs Breaking Bread before Turkey Day Clash

Marguerite HeerschapQuit Scotch & Tomatoesat 104

Halloween Parade& HarvestFest 74

Clifton Rotary & Interact ClubSenior & Junior Humanitarians

Student of the MonthMark Surgent at the Altar, on the Field

On our coverand page 58the Clorox Kids...WWMS students asking for your vote...Ana-MariaPrkic, Nasif Basith, Samantha Miller, Zaria Smith,Molly Herner, Kevin Scorziello, Michael Guzman,Pooja Nahar, David Carcamo, Sarah Shannon.

On our coverand on page 52CHS juniorElizabeth Barattini asking for your coats.


Moments of Grace

In July of 1914,duringWorldWarImygrandfather,acareer

soldier in the Belgian army,

was so severely wounded in

his left arm that the surgeons

couldn't determine if they

should cut his arm off at the

shoulderorattheelbow.

He begged the doctors not

tocutoffhisarm,andwhenhe

woke up from the operation,

he slowlypattedhis left side:

shoulder,elbowhand.

His arm was saved but,

because there was no such

thing as microsurgery at the

time, his arm was a useless

appendage hanging from his

leftsidefortherestofhislife.

From war to planting lilies,pansies, purple irises, androses, beautiful white roses.

During World War II my

grandfather once again faced

an invading army composed,

this time, of Hitler's Nazi

troopsinMayof1940.Mygrandfatherquicklyjoined

theBelgianunderground,aresistancemovementcalled

theDameBlanche,createdduringtheFirstWorldWar

thatprovidedinformationandtroopmovementsto

the allies and caused as much havoc for the

Germantroopsaspossible.

By luck, my grandfather heard that the

eliteSSNazisgotwindofmygrandfather's

activitiesandhefledBelgium,escapedto

Spainwherehewascapturedandplaced

inaprisoncampbutthenwaspartofan

exchangeprogramwithEngland:gasoline

forSpain;prisonersofwarforEngland.

During his four years in England my

grandfather broadcast encouragingwords to

hiscountry,helpedthousands

of European refugees who

were able to escape to

England,andattheendofthe

war,hewasasignificantplay-

er in the reconstruction of

Europe having received per-

sonal awards from Gen.

Dwight Eisenhower and

British Gen. Bernard

Montgomery.

My grandfather also loved

flowers.

When he retired from the

armyasafullgeneralhecame

to America every two years

with my grandmother. I was

onlyaboy,aNewJerseyboy

afraid of his stern look and

charmedwithhisgentlesmile.

Boyslikewarstories:tanks

exploding, torpedoes sinking

ships, but my grandfather

neverspokeaboutthewars.I

watchedhimplantlilies,pan-

sies, purple irises, and roses,

beautifulwhiteroses.

Duringthesummerhespentmuchofhistimeweed-

ing, creating garden borders, and loosening the earth

withasmalltrowel.Irememberwatchinghimashe

kneltononeknee,proppinghisdamagedarm

ontohiskneeasheleanedoverandworked

thesoilwithhisgoodrighthand.

Ispentarecentweekendwithmymoth-

erinthehousewhereIgrewup.Sheis90

yearsold:vibrantandoptimistic.

ShecontinuestoreadThe New Yorkermagazine,travelbooks,novels.Shecon-

tinues towrite.Herpoliticalopinionsare

sharpandcompletelyimmersedintheup-

to-date points of view. As she was

From War to RosesEssaybyChrisdeVinck


f

m

r


Moments of Grace

preparingdinner,sheaskedthatIgooutintothegarden

andseeifIcouldfindanylatesummerflowersleftin

thegardenforthedinningroomtable.

Igrabbedasmallpairofpruningsheersandstepped

outintotheyard.Thereisnotmuchofagardenleft.

Theappletreefellintheearly1970s.Theraspberry

busheswithered awaymanyyears ago.Theday lilies

succumbed to the cold September air. There were no

moreirises,but there,clingingtowhatwas leftof the

rosebush,onewhiterose.

I thought of the white gloves on my grandfather's

handsthatIsawinmanypicturesofhiminhisgeneral's

uniform.Ithoughtofhissmileandwhathedidtohelp

preservefreedomforeveryoneintheworld.

I lookedat thatsingleflower:whitepetalsoverlap-

pinglikefoldsintheoceantide,thestemwithitsstrong

grip onto the flower. I thought how my grandfather

plantedthatrosebushmorethan60yearsago.

Ididntcutofftheflower.Iletithangthereattheside

ofthebushgratefulforitsexistence,preservingthelast

bitofbeautyinthegardenforallseasons,preservingthe

memoryofwhata single flowercando for theworld

thatstruggleseachdayforabitofpeace.

Join us Wednesday, December 5th at 7:15 pm

Please join us as we open our doors to assist individuals who have experienced

the death of a family member or close friend.

This program is our way of reaching out to families we have served, and to others

in our community, to let them know that they are not alone this holiday season.

Everyone is welcomed to attend our memorial program. The program is free.

Reservations requested, but not required. Please call 973-249-6111

Annual Holiday Memorial Program

Light a candle for one who has passed...

Michael A. WallerDirector

James J. MarroccoManager, NJ Lic No. 3320

470 Colfax Avenue (corner of Broad St.)

973-249-6111www.marroccos.com

Christopher de Vinck is theLanguage Arts Supervisor at CHSand the author of 13 books. His bestknown work is The Power of thePowerless a frank reflection on thestruggles and joys of loving hisseverely disabled brother. To orderhis most recent work, Moments ofGrace, call 1-800-218-1903 or lookfor it in bookstores or online.


Salute Our Vets Sunday Nov. 11, 2 pmClifton Veterans Parade East Ridgelawn Cemetery also invites you to visit our Mausoleum on Main Avenue to

pause, reflect and remember the lives of those who have passed. Visits are unlimited and

unaffected by the weather. Crypts are located in the building and convenient for elderly

and handicapped. Mausoleum entombment provides greater Peace of Mind & Security.

niches mausoleum

garden graves non-sectarian

monumental graves no obligation pre-need counseling

financing available one-year at no interest on easy monthly plans

East Ridgelawn Cemetery255 Main Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07014

for more information with no obligation call:

973-777-1920

The Veterans Day Parade

will start on Huron Ave.

and continue up Van

Houten Ave. to City Hall.

This year marks the 10th

anniversary of the Avenue

of Flags. For info, call

Chair Keith Oakley at

201-774-6666.

phase II near completionphase II near completion


Veterans ParadeVeterans parade and photos

last months mag

when come n march at ann vet parade ull be

honor leg of vets from clifton and from usa people

like (something) thats what parade and solmn

speeches all about remind of sacrifces decades

nov 11 2 pm

starts on huron and continues up vha to city hall.

ave of flags 10th year

When you come down to the VeteransDay Parade onNov.11,youllnotonlybehonoringCliftonVets,butthosewhoserved

fromacrossthenation.Oneofthepeople

wellberememberingisFrankLennon.

Lennon was CHS Class of 1935 grad

whowenttoLebanonCollege.Hebecame

an aviation cadet with the USArmyAir

Corps.InJanuary,1940,theCanadiangov-

ernmentputoutacall forpilotsandsince

theUSwasnotyetengagedinwar,Lennon

enlistedwiththeRoyalCanadianAirForce.

While home on leave in December of

1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

LennonwascalledtohisunitinVancouver,

BCinanticipationofaninvasion.In1942,

hewasassignedtotheAmericancommand

andsenttotheAleutianislandstorepulsea

Japanese invasion. Later that year, the

Cliftonitecrashedanddiedinanoperational

flightandwasburiedatFtGlenn,Alaska.

Whenyouareattheparade,considerthe

legacyofLt.Lennonandallothersveterans

whoserved.ItisagreatCliftontraditionto

honorourveteransandsupport thetroops.

LearnmoreaboutFrankLennonbyvisiting

www.cliftonmerchant.com.

Parade is November 11 at 2 pmStarts on Huron Ave. & Continues Up Van Houten Ave. to City Hall


Frank Pinchak hasnt beenbehind the counter at hislandmark store, Pinchak

Pharmacy,sincehesolditin

1988,buthislegacyofserv-

ice to the pharmaceutical

industryislegendary.In

fact, some of hiswork

is preserved in the

Smithsonian Institute

inWashington,D.C.

Veterans & History

Pharmacist, Historian, Veteran

By Joe Hawrylko


Beyond his career as a pharma-cist, Pinchak, who has lived inClifton on Fitzgerald Ave. since

1951, also served inWorldWar II

with theArmyAir CorpsAviation

Cadets as an aerial photo officer.

His skills as an amateur photogra-

pherwerehonedinthemilitary,and

Pinchak was tasked with making

mapsusingimagescapturedonspy

planes, as well as processing film

fromB-17bombers.

This job took him around the

globeliterallytraveling from

New York City to India, over the

Himalayas into China, and then

backacrossthePacificonhisreturn

totheUnitedStates.

But despite his worldly travels,

Pinchaks story starts at the corner

Main and Knickerbocker in

Paterson, where he grew up in an

apartment above his familys phar-

macy.

Frank and Edith Pinchak in 1975 in front of their landmark pharmacy at Main

and Knickerbocker Aves., just past Crooks Ave. in Patersoncontinued on page 18


There are about12,000 podiatristsin the UnitedStates, according tothe Department ofLabor, and Clifton

podiatrist Thomas Graziano is oneof only six who hold both a Doctorof Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.) anda Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree.

As a foot and ankle specialist, my

main goal for all my patients is to

find caring solutions that last a

lifetime. I won't just treat the

symptom; I'll strive to correct the

problem... Permanently.

When you combine effective

treatments with my genuine

concern for your well-being,

that's a powerful combination.

-Thomas A. Graziano, MD, DPM,

FACFAS

GOUTTOEFeeling like your big toe is about toexplode? Gout can be an extremelyuncomfortable pain in the toe. It mostoften attacks the joint of the GreatToe although other joints could beaffected. Photos here are of a masswhich Dr. Graziano removed, illus-trating how the healing begins.Pre-operative Post-operative


PODIATRYThomasGraziano,DPM,MD

1033Clifton,Ave.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-473-3344

JeffreyMiller,DPM

1117Route46East,2ndFloor

Clifton,NJ07013

973-365-2208

EugeneA.Batelli,DPM


Clifton,NJ07013

973-365-2208

ZinaCappiello,DPM

886PomptonAve,SuiteA-1

CedarGrove,NJ07009

973-857-1184

GlennHaber,DPM

140GrandAve.

Englewood,NJ07631

201-569-0212

JohnMcEvoy,DPM

152LakeviewAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-340-8970

KevinHealey,DPM

152LakeviewAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-340-8970

MatthewWelch,DPM

6506ParkAve.

WestNewYork,NJ07093

201-662-1122

AnasKhoury,DPM235MainAve.

Passaic,NJ07066

973-473-6665

PAIN MANAGEMENTLadislavHabina,MD


Clifton,NJ07013

973-357-8228

KazimierzSzczech,MD

1033CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-473-4400

BinodSinha,MD


Clifton,NJ07013

973-777-5444

ToddKoppel,MD

721CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-473-5752

ENDOSCOPYPiotrHuskowski,MD

1005CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-778-7882

CHIROPRACTICMichaelGaccione,DC

26ClintonSt.

Newark,NJ07012973-624-4000

TerryMcSweeney,DC

600MountProspectAve.

Newark,NJ07104

973-485-2332

ENTStephenAbrams,MD

1070CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-773-9880

ORTHOPEDICSKentLerner,MD

17JaunceyAve.

NorthArlington,NJ07031

201-991-9019

UROLOGYDanielRice,MD

1001Clifton,Ave.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-779-7231

OPHTHALMOLOGYCharlesCrowley,MD

1033CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-472-6405

GENERAL SURGERYKevinBuckley,MD

1100CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-778-0100

EdwinKane,MD

1100CliftonAve.

Clifton,NJ07013

973-778-0100

RamonSilen,MD

1117Route46East,Suite301

Clifton,NJ07013

973-779-4242

Call your physician about schedulingyour surgery at Clifton Surgery Center.

Meet some of our Physicians...

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Chiropractic Podiatry


Veterans & History

I grew up in Paterson, a block away fromCrooks

Ave.Myfather,Morris,hadadrugstore.Hestartedit

in1919anditclosedupin1998,saidPinchak,90.

Inhisteens,Pinchakregisteredforthedraftandfully

expectedtobesenttowar.Butratherthanallowhisfate

tobedecided,hechosetoenlistintheArmyAirCorps

AviationCadets inOctober of 1942while studying at

RutgersCollegeofPharmacyinNewark.

Anybodywhowasincollegewasdeferred,depend-

ingonwhatyourcoursewas:pharmacy,medicine,engi-

neers, law school, explained Pinchak. A couple of

guysthatknewIwasintophotographytoldmeaboutthe

AviationCadetsthatyoucantryoutforit.Andthenthey

saidthattheydletmefinishcollegeandIsaidokandwe

allwentdowntotheNewarkArmory.

PinchakenlistedinOctoberof1942,andwasgivena

full year to complete his studies before joining the

AviationCadets.InOctoberof1943,hegraduatedfrom

RutgersCollegeofPharmacyinNewark.

Thatmonth,thetelephonerangatthepharmacyone

day and they said, Welcome to theArmy, laughed

Pinchak.Atthattime,theAviationCadetswereapartof

theArmyAirCorps,sincetheAirForcewasnotyetan

independentbranchoftheUSMilitary.

Pinchak was commissioned in 1944 in Sioux City,

IowaandthenwassenttoDyersburg,Tennessee.Hewas

assignedtothe21stReconnoissanceSquad,whichwas

attached to the 23rd Fighter Group. At both bases,

PinchakworkedwithB-17crews,trainingpilotstoread

themapsthathewouldproduceusingphotostakenfrom

reconnoissanceplanes.

Inadditiontomapmaking,Pinchakandotheraerial

photoofficersweretaskedwithmaintainingthecameras

ontheB-17gunsandbombbaydoors.Thesecameras

wereusedtorefinetheskillsoftheB-17crews.

Everymachinegunhada16mmcameraonit.Our

crewswouldpickupthefilmfromthephotolabinthe

morningandtheywouldgoontheirmissions,shoottheir

bullets and gave us the film, explained Pinchak.

Duringthenightwewouldprocess30,000feetoffilm

andthenextdaythecrewwouldgotoaroomwithan

instructorwhowasareturngunner.

Wealsodid trainingof foreignpilots too. Turkish

pilots,Asianpilots,headded.

Inthewaningdaysofthewarinthesummerof1945,

PinchakreceivedorderstoshipouttoChina.

FirsttheysentmetoIndia.Itwasa30daytripona

troop transport from NewYork City, through the

Atlantic,throughGibraltarandthentheSuezCanal,the

RedSea, theGulf ofOden and thendownaround the

bottomofIndiaanduptoCalcutta,herecalled.Iwas

thereforabouttwoorthreeweeksandthenweflewThe

Hump(whattroopscalledtheHimalayas).Welandedin

Kunming,China.ThatwastheterminusfortheBurma

RoadandalsoforTheHump.

SoImonthiswholebigtripandtheydroppedthe

atom bomb, Pinchak continued. We were going to

invadeJapanandweweregoingtobethereplacements

forpeopleovertwo,three,fouryearsagoalready.

Despite the armistice, the 21st remained in China

doing reconnoissance work with spy planes.

Pictured here are two examples of some of the posters cre-

ated by Pinchak used nationally by pharmacists.

Tues. Nov. 6 Vote Row-A Paid for by PCDC &Pascrell for CongressClifton Merchant November 2012 19


Veterans & History

Pinchakwasincountryforapproxi-

matelyfivemonths.

Wewere doingCIAwork in a

way. We were mapping countries

that I cant name in Asia for any

future conflict, he said. We

wouldsendtenplanesoutatatime

eachwithoverlapabout40percent

sideways. We would send those

guysoutforaboutfivehoursandall

thatstuffwentbacktoWashington.

All I know iswehada lotof film

andalotofpaperandtheysaiduse

itall.

After returning home from

China, Pinchak was sent to Shaw

Fields in Sumpter, SouthCarolina.

HebrieflyworkedinanArmyhos-

pital before being discharged in

Aprilof1946asasecondlieutenant.

Upon returning to Paterson,

Pinchak resumed his career in the

familypharmacy.Hebecamemore

active in the emerging field and in

1954,hewasnamedPresidentofthe

Passaic County Pharmacists

Association,servinguntil1955.

DuringthetimeIwasPresident,

wehadakidgrabaholdofabottle

ofaspirinanddieaweeklater.We

alsohadafatherthatneededabottle

foraurinesample,sohepouredoil

of wintergreen into a Coke bottle

andthekidswalloweditanddied,

he recalled. So I said lets put a

posterineverydrugstoreinPassaic

County125 stores in totalSaveyour child, keep medicine out ofreach, safe storing saves lives.

Not long after the signs were

releasedinPassaicCountyin1954,

pharmacy trade journals picked up

on the concept and it began to

becomepopularacrossthecountry.

Four years later in 1958, Pinchak

was named President of the State

PharmacyAssociationandserveda

oneyearterminthatcapacity.

LouBowser,hehadadrugstore

inEastOrange,andIgothimtogo

around tohospitals in thestateand

put poison control centers in each

hospital,Pinchakrecalled.Inless

than a year, hes got 27 hospitals

doingthis.

Eventuallythegovernmentdeter-

mined that their efforts overlapped

withtheStatesandconsolidatedall

branches into one central poison

controlcenterinNewark.

Years later in 1989, Pinchaks

effortsindevelopingandcirculating

the posters was recognized by the

Smithsonian Institution, which put

the original work on display at its

Washington,D.C.museum.

Pinchak also has an exhibit on

displayatthePatersonMuseum.As

theownerofapharmacyformany

years, Pinchak collected antique

medicalitems,

Mymother-in-lawtoldmedont

throw out anything, he recalled

addingthathefollowedheradvice.

Pinchaksold the store in1988and

retired,and it laterclosed forgood

in 1998. She was a picker for

antiquedealers. By the timeIhad

retired, I hadput up shelves in the

garageandthemuseumheardabout

it.Therewereallsortsofoldpatent-

edmedicinesandotheritems.

In1996,DirectorJackDeStefano

extended an offer for Pinchak to

haveadisplayofhis700itemsfor

three months at the Paterson

Museum. That three month stint

was extended due to high interest,

and at the end of that term,

DeStefanomadePinchaksexhibita

permanentpartofthemuseumscol-

lection.

The Cliftonites historic items

havebeenloanedouttootherlocal

museums,andoften,atage91,heis

still giving talks abouthis antique

medicalsupplies.

The Pinchak family in 1997. Seated from left: Gale Pinchak Silverstein, Gale

Irwin Pinchak and Frank P. Pinchak. Standing: Jeffrey Silverstein, and Edith and

Frank Pinchak.


Veterans & History

Marc Rikmenspoel remembersfirst becoming interested in WorldWar II as a young boy after finding

some of his fathers books in a clos-

et. Years later, the native of Albany,

NY is now an author himself, hav-

ing penned two books and con-

tributed to several others.

I still remember the day I looked

through that. I was about seven

years old and I was bored one after-

noon because my parents went out

and left me with a babysitter that I

probably didnt like all that much,

laughed the 42 year old.

Rikmenspoels father was from

The Netherlands, and had lived

through the German occupation and

collected material about the war.

As a teenager growing up in

Albany, NY, Rikmenspoel started to

form his own collection of WWII

history books.

In the 70s and early 80s, you

could find a lot of WWII paperbacks

in new or used copies at a very cheap

price when compared with today,

he explained. Rikmenspoels inter-

est in World War II and history led

him to Colorado State, where he

graduated with a Bachelors in

History in 1992.

After graduation, Rikmenspoel

worked as a freelance writer for a

couple of publications, but his main

interest was having a book about

World War II history published.

I had done writing ever since I

was old enough to write essentially.

And I always wanted to make my

own contributions to the study of

history, he said. I had a fortunate

opportunity in 1995 when I started

acquiring WWII photographs, so it

was obvious to me to start assem-

bling that into a book and eventual-

ly, multiple books.

Marc Rikmenspoel is an Expert on the Waffen-SS and the Eastern FrontWWII Historian & Author

By Joe Hawrylko

Marc Rikmenspoel at his job at FedEx

on Rt. 3. and the cover of the Waffen-

SS Encyclopedia, his second book.


Veterans & History

After buying many books over

the yearsthis was time before the

internetI used to talk to some of

the book dealers and publishers. Its

really not that big of a field for spe-

cialized military history books, so I

got to know people in the industry,

Rikmenspoel continued.

I met a man in South Dakota

who used to be in the US Army. He

knew German vets and he built up

material over the years but he

became depressed because many of

those vets were his personal friends.

As the vets all started to die off, the

material started to lose some of the

joy and I bought it in bits and pieces

through 1997.

After reaching out to one of his

publishing contacts, Rikmenspoel

got the green light and put together

Soldiers of the Waffen-SS: ManyNations, One Motto, which was aphotobook of the many different

nations that made up that branch of

the German military.

Rikmenspoel decided to focus on

the Waffen-SS because of the mate-

rial available to him, and due to the

unique ethnic make up of that group.

The political and social aspects

in the historical sense, for someone

who has an appreciation of history,

there are so many things that come

together on such a massive scale,

he said. Its interesting for me to

study the lesser people that are hard-

er to find information on. What

brought all these people together?

What brought Latvians and

Norwegians and the Dutch all

together in the Germany military,

fighting against the Soviet Union?

Its an intensely complex subject.

From a military perspective, the

Eastern Front between Germany

and the Soviets also interested

Rikmenspoel.

It is essentially the largest mili-

tary campaign in history in several

different ways. It was the largest

front of fighting ever. At one point

it stretched from the Arctic to the

Caucasuses, he explained. It was

also supposedly Germans against

the Russians, but it really wasnt.

The Axis had Finns, who were in an

informal alliance with Germany.

There were Romanians, Hungarians

and Italians, who were all in

alliance. And there were smaller

nations and contingents like

Veterans & History

Croatia, Slovakia and volunteers

from all over Europe.

There was even a Spanish divi-

sion in the German Army,

Rikmenspoel added. People from

all over the Soviet Union ended up

as German prisoners and fought.

The Soviet Union, people think of

Russians and maybe Ukrainians sec-

ond... but there was also

Chechnyans trying to assert their

independence, Georgians... some

occupied parts of Caucasus and

sometimes Balkan states, people

voluntarily joined. In some ways, it

was a second Russian civil war.

After his first book was well

received, Rikmenspoel connected

with another publisher, who had a

contract with the US Military Book

Club. He was contracted to do a

second book for the club, Waffen-SSEncyclopedia, which was a textbased publication. A total of 8,000

copies were printed for the book

club in 2002, and about two years

later, it was released to the general

public.

If you look on Amazon there are

two versions of it, he said. The

encyclopedia took about six months

of wring. It was something that I

studied a lot anyway for my own

enjoyment.

Through his various contacts in

the publishing industry,

Rikmenspoel has worked on several

other projects as a co-author and

editor. His ability to speak and read

some Spanish, French and German

has opened up several opportunities.

I cant read German poetry. It goes

right over my head, he said.

Rikmenspoel was self taught after

years of studying German history.

He learned Spanish in college. But

I can read a German war diary.

Rikmenspoels French abilities

were put to the test when he was

named co-author for For Rex andFor Belgium: Le'on Degrelle andWalloon Political and MilitaryCollaboration 1940-45, translatingthe manuscript into English and

making some edits, in addition to

adding some material.

He had assembled his own

English manuscript but wanted a

native English speaker to go through

it and edit it. He wanted a little help

with it and wanted someone who

knew the publishing field to find a

good publisher, recalled

Rikmenspoel. The book is now out

of print but is available as an Ebook.

That was in 2004.

Rikmenspoel also served as a

technical editor on The GoodSoldier by Alfred Novotny, who wasa soldier in an elite Germany army

tank unit. Rikmenspoel worked

with Novotny to rewrite his


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Veterans & History

memoir, which has previously been self published.

Rikmenspoel also worked on East Front Drama 1944,published by Fedorowicz publishing. Rikmenspoel was

given the manuscript, which was originally penned in

German, and was tasked with making it more readable in

English.

Now living in Nutley, Rikmenspoel is currently a

manager at FedEx on Rt. 3 by day. However, he is still

very much involved in writing. Currently, Rikmenspoel

is assembling a two volume photographic set for

Fedorowicz Publishing, whom he has done editing work

for in the past.

Im fortunate that I have a good reputation in this

limited field as somebody who knows his stuff and

someone who will produce a good book. And they know

Ill actually produce, he said. This one is about

Western European volunteers in the Waffen SS. Danes,

Norwegians, Dutch, Flemmish and similar people. The

working title is currently Sunwheels and Fiegrunen. I

started it in the Spring of 2011 and I expect to finish

work on the volume at the end of this year, with publish-

ing for 2013 or 2014. And then I will be working on the

second volume next year.

Rikmenspoel has been developing the collection

thanks to donations from acquaintances and friends in

Europe, as well as by using the US National Archives.

He plans to organize his upcoming books by photogra-

pher.

The Waffen SS has combat photographers. Theyd

take their negatives and they prepared a sort of index

print of their many negatives that they called a contact

sheet, he said. The negatives did not survive the war

but index and contact sheets did. The mass of them are

in the German National Archives, but the US National

Archives has a large batch of them. Its possible to take

these and scan them at high resolution.

In the Spring of 2011, Rikmenspoel scanned more

than 900 photos in just three days. He plans to have

more than 1,500 photos between the two volumes.

Its going to be organized by photographers. Ive

been specializing in studying the photographers. Theres

some archive material that lists various photographers

and their assignments, he said. If you have a photo-

graph by X it obviously shows unit Y. No one before has

studied the photographers to this extent. Its going to

have photos with very detailed captions. It should be the

best reference in photographs for the Western European

volunteers in the Waffen SS.


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Veterans & History

By Jack De Vries

On December 7, 1941, high school senior JackAnderson was in the original Herald & News building,then on Prospect St. in Passaic, mixing chemicals in the

darkroom for photographer George Holm.

Bells and whistles started going off in the wire

room, Anderson remembered in an interview in 2000.

I asked someone what it was, and they told me that

happened whenever a special story was coming over.

Soon, there was a constant stream of information com-

ing over the wire. It made quite an impression on me.

By that winter, most of the young men I knew were in

the service.

Anderson, who died in 2008 at the age of 83, would

soon join them. I volunteered for Navy because I want-

ed to fly and joined V-5 program, he says. I got my

wings in Pensacola, Fla., then flew on a North Atlantic

sub patrol near end of war. I never saw any combatI

didnt shoot at anybody and nobody shot at me. As the

war ended, I was being transferred for duty in the

Pacific.

The war also impacted the life of George Homcy.

During WWII, says Homcy, just 12 when the war

broke out, I was a voracious reader of newspapers. I

read anything about war. I even kept a map on my

rooms wall and plotted the warthe battles, the Allied

victories. Id clip out pictures of battle ships, German

field marshals, English and American generals, and Id

keep a scrapbook. Thats how I developed my interest

in news. Its funny that I later became a wordsmith. In

high school, I was not the greatest English student.

Veteran Journalists CoveredClifton Like A Blanket


WWII shaped both mens lives. It kindled a

thirst for reporting in Homcy and helped light a

passion for documenting the news in pictures

for Anderson.

Starting in the 1950s, the two would come

back to this area and report the story of Clifton

(and many other towns) for the areas leading

newspaper, the Herald & News.I was fascinated with photography as a boy,

says Anderson, who was born in 1924 near

Passaic High School. My first camera was a $1

box camera. When I was a teenager, I went into

Dolan Studios in Passaic and asked to be an

apprentice. The man who owned the studio said

he couldnt afford to pay me, but I wanted to

learn and offered to work for nothing.

I started by taking passport photos and soon

was taking wedding pictures. I worked there

the entire summer. By summers end, the owner

took a week vacation and left me, just a teenag-

er, running the studio.

Photography became Andersons passion.

Along with working on the school newspaper,

The Hilltopper, he landed a job with the Herald& News, working before and after school. Priorto joining the Navy, he had worked his way up

to freelance photographer.

After the service, Anderson says, I came

back and the paper wanted me to go into the

advertising department. I said no. Instead, I

went to work at Curtiss-Wright, testing airplane

engines because Id been a pilot.

But photography was something Anderson

couldnt get out of his blood. He began

In 1951 George Homcy was a broadcaster for Armed ForcesNetworkAFN. Above, he and the late Jack Anderson (at left) pic-tured above in 2000, both served in the military and went on tohave storied careers at the Herald & News. Homcy also served asthe executive director of the North Jersey Regional Chamber ofCommerce for 28 years, retiring in 2002.

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Veterans & History

doing public relations work for Farleigh Dickinson

University and assisted them with photos for their

school yearbook. He worked in these positions from

1951 to 1957.

In 1958, he began working at his true callingphotog-

rapher for the Herald & News.

George Homcy followed a similar path. He grew up on Main Ave. opposite Clifton Memorial

Parkthe same house where noted Clifton businessman

Terry LaCorte would also grow up. Homcys father

owned a silk mill. But, times were tough during the

1930s, and the elder Homcy lost the mill near the end of

the Depression. The family sold the house in 1940 and

moved to South Paterson.

I did not go to college, says Homcy, who today is

83. When I graduated from Central High School, my

family was in such tough financial shape that I decided

to go to work. In February 1948, a friend told me to go

up and see Eddie Haines at the Paterson News becausethey were looking for somebody. I became keeper of

the papers morgue, filing clippings up on the second

floor of the old Paterson News building on Ellison St.what a dungeon that morgue was.

Homcy then started working for sportswriter Joe

Gooter. Joe was a real character, he says. I can still

remember him saying in that gravely voice of his, Get

me a scrambled egg on a hard roll. Soon, I was cover-

ing sports on my own. I started writing about Central

High games, Diamond Gloves boxing, golf, and ten-

niswhich I knew nothing about. It was a lot of fun.

Another assignment Homcy got was covering the

Paterson Crescents basketball team from 1948 to 1951.

Id ride along with the teams owner, Jess Weiner, he

says, and wed travel to Scranton, Philadelphia,

Bridgeport, and Wilkes-Barre for road games.

With the outbreak of the Korean War, Homcy was

drafted into army in 1951. After going through basic

training, he was assigned to the AFN with friend and

fellow writer John Keel.

The assignment turned out to be one of the armys

best, as AFN stood for Armed Forces Network.

During his 20-month tour, Homcy and Keel were head-

quartered in the 900-year-old Von Bruening castle that

overlooked the Rhinemilitary but plush, is how he

describes it.

AFN was one of the most powerful radio outlets in

the world back in those days. We were a half-million

In 1963 on Dundee Lake, George Homcy (from left), Clifton Municipal Court Judge John A. Celentano and CouncilmanWilliam Sellinger. The purpose of the row boat excursion was to prove that the lake section was shallow and would be anappropriate location for Route 21. The highway was constructed and elevated over that areasome four decades later.


watt station. The stations today, like WABC-AM, are

limited to 50,000 watts. We were heard behind the Iron

Curtain, in North Africa, and halfway out into the

Atlantic.

Because he had gained much experience writing and

doing newscasts for the AFN, when Homcy returned to

the states, he contacted New York and New Jersey radio

stations about a job. He was told he needed commer-

cial broadcasting experience and received only one

offer from a New Brunswick station. Now living in

Clifton and not wanting to move, Homcy turned it

down. The Herald & News was waiting.Both men thrived in their jobs at the Herald & News. Anderson again worked as a freelance photographer,

making $40 for every ten photo assignments, $5 for

every extra one. Homcy started as a $65 a week

reporterthe paper beating the $50 offer he got from

the Paterson News. We had a lot of fun, says Homcy. I worked with

a lot of great peopleAl Smith, Art McMahon, Joe

Lovas, and the publisher, Dick Drukker, a fair man and

wonderful guy, as is his son Austin. There were great

reporters, like Maurice Mickey Carroll, who now runs

the Quinnipiac College Poll, Gordon Bishop, John

Reilly, and Ford Baker. Other great ones included Art

Lenihan, Leslie Davis, Boley Schwartz, and Kent

MacDougal, who went on to work for the Los AngelesTimes.

We covered Clifton like a blanket. We were on call

24 hours a day. I had a good dealId go in from 6 am

to 1 pm, get the final edition out, then go home or go

down to the Y. Then we went back to work at night. We

covered every board meetingplanning boards, board

of adjustment, board of education, and the city council.

Nobody assigned us to cover these eventsas

reporters, we knew it was our responsibility to do so.

Anderson also loved his new life. We had three

photographers when I joined the paper, he says, Roger

Flash Terhune, Tommy Lynch, and myself. They

worked 7 am to 3 pm and 3 pm to 11 pm I worked 3-11

and weekends, and was off Mondays and Tuesdays.

But, because of their jobs as newsmen, readers

thought they worked round the clock.

People had our home phone numbers, and they

would call useven at 3 amto let us know about a

story, says Anderson. One night, Roger Terhune

heard a tremendous crash near his house, grabbed his

camera, and ran out in his bathrobe to take pictures


Veterans & History

of the accident. He ended up directing traffic at the

scene.

Anderson also assisted the police departments on

many occasions.

Id be at a crime scene, and they wouldnt be able to

locate the one person who could work their cameraso

Id end up taking the shot of uncovered bodies and giv-

ing the prints to the police. Of course, those pictures

never ran in the paper.

The Herald & News covered fires, fatal accidentsanything making news in the town. Anderson says this

aggressive approach was typical of the papers execu-

tive editor, Al Smith

Allen W. Smith was the paper, and he wanted us to

follow up on every lead, Anderson explains of his boss

who retired in the late 1960s. If fire engines or police

cars went flying past with sirens blaring and lights flash-

ing, Smitty knew thousands of people were seeing that,

and he wanted the paper to tell that story. His philoso-

phy was to anticipate peoples questions and answer

them in our paper.

During much of Andersons tenure, the Herald &News produced three main editions and nine editions,covering the Paterson, Passaic, and Clifton, much

George Homcy running down a story near Nash Park withDr. Irving Silverman.


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Veterans & History

of Bergen County and a rim of Essex County. Smith,

who played a few seasons for the Passaic Wonder Team

in the 1920s, presided over it all, reading every word

that went into the paper.

Smitty liked me, says Homcy, and we got along

famously. Anderson also has a soft spot for his old

boss, and can laugh

now about how Smith

dealt with salaries.

When he gave you a

raise, hed say, Dont

say anything about

this to anybody.

We worked for

peanuts, says Homcy,

but we loved it. I got

invited to so many

cocktail parties and

dinners, and met so

many people, that it

was worth it.

My camera was

always invited every-

where I went, says

Anderson. I just

went along with it.

While both men

loved their jobs, they

also felt a deep sense

of pride for their craft

and the paper they

represented.

Most of the

reporters I worked

with were loyal to the

paper, states Homcy,

who retired from the Herald & News in 1973 after 20years. They cared about the people they wrote about,

as I did. I loved writing about Clifton and covering the

local elections.

One of my proudest accomplishments was that,

during the 15 years I wrote about Clifton, I avoided get-

ting sued for libelwithout even a threat of a suit. I

always prided myself in checking facts, and, even

though I wrote some unflattering things about some

people, I guess I was fair.

After leaving the paper, Homcy started a new career

with the Clifton Chamber of Commerce which became

the North Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce. He

retired in 2002 having served for 28 years as executive

director.

Anderson was proud of many things during his 18-

year tenure with the

paper that ended in

1986. He loved

sports, especially the

football Giants for

sports editor Augie

Lio, and enjoyed tak-

ing pictures at high

school games, some-

times running

between six different

contests.

Another memory

for Anderson was tak-

ing a photo of Pope

John Paul II, then a

cardinal, when he vis-

ited St. Marys

Hospital in Passaic.

But he also values the

many 50th anniver-

sary photos and first

baby of the year shots.

The association

with people was what

I liked best about my

job, Anderson said.

When I worked, I

represented the

Herald & News.Thats why I maintained my own dress standards.

Another thing I did was to give people the prints from

the stories we ran when we were done with them. Those

pictures were important to them. Why put them in a file

to throw out a year later?

What was important to the people who read the

Herald & News during Homcy and Andersons timewere the contributions of both men, who captured the

story of the citys life, making it live in their paper

each day.

George Homcy and Henry Fette at Cliftons Jubilee parade in 1967.


m


NJRCC Awards

In the ten years that she has served as President of theNorth Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce, Gloria

Martini has directed many innovative changes to benefit

the business advocacy group. But before she retires on

Dec. 31, Martini is proud that she will have established

one last precedent: a grant for returning veterans to

attend college. This years award went to Army veteran

Fernando Sanchez, who served in Iraq and now attends

William Paterson University.

For the first time, we gave a scholarship to a return-

ing veteran. They had to be someone who served in Iraq

or Afghanistan. We gave them a $5,000 grant to help,

she explained. The NJRCC Foundation has been giv-

ing scholarships for the last 16 years. That foundation is

an affiliate of the Chamber. We also give scholarships to

local high school students and also to students in the four

area colleges who are pursuing a career in business.

With over 500 member businesses, the Chamber of

Commerce provides numerous services, including net-

working opportunities, seminars, scholarships and much

more. The group thrives on the generosity of its mem-

bers, who comprise the board, volunteer time and donate

money for many causes.

Martini joined a decade ago after a lengthy career in

communications and public relations with pharmaceuti-

cal giants Novartis and Ciba-Geigy. She was quickly

impressed with what the Chamber is able to accomplish

with the help of its members.

Were a small staff. Theres only three of us on staff.

Everything else is done with the help of volun-

Gloria Martini Will Step Down as NJRCC President on Dec. 31

Leaving a Lasting LegacyBy Joe Hawrylko

Bob Jaffe, President of the NJRCC Foundation, Fernando Sanchez, the first recipient of the Lebert Grant, ChristineLebert and her sister, Victoria, and Gloria Martini. The Leberts funded the program in honor of their late father, Jack.


NJRCC Awards

teers, she said. All the local business people give

time to help plan events, serve on the executive

committee to help set our goals so we are as successful

as we are able to harness the power of those volunteers.

I was not used to working with

volunteers. In the corporate

world, people did their job, got

paid and went home, Martini

continued. Working with volun-

teers, it surprised me how much

people donate time and money to

things that they truly do believe in.

Its rewarding. Its part of work-

ing at the chamber that sometimes

goes unnoticed.

Over her decade long tenure,

Martini and her staff have put

together several new initiatives.

But the biggest challenge in the past

ten years was helping businesses survive the recession.

Just helping them navigate through such a difficult

economic climate and providing services so that they can

be more successful. The economy is slowly beginning to

improve but the goal was just really to help them make

it through, explained Martini. The Chamber provided

help in the form of additional networking opportunities,

educational seminars, information about HR regulations,

legal advice, among other things. Businesses were

looking to our organization for more support to help

them. We really had to focus more on our services that

can help people be more successful.

We also offer more marketing opportunities through

the Chamber. Theres free advertising on the website.

We also encourage more member to member discounts

so that they support each other, she continued. The

Chamber also works with the Passaic County

Department of Economic Development to host seminars

for funding, navigating the banking industry for loans

and other related information.

Some events benefit specific segments of the business

community, such as the annual food festival, which takes

place in March at the Preakness Hills Country Club in

Wayne and features 20 to 30 restaurants.

Its another event that we have really grown over the

last few years is the annual food festival, said Martini.

This is a chance to really promote our restaurants and

thats been really important the last few

years because people are not going to

higher end restaurants as much.

Another major event added

under Martinis tenure was the

Star Gala, which is now in its sev-

enth year. This years event will

be held on Dec. 6 at the

Westmount Country Club.

We realized that so many

members had been with us for so

long, explained Martini. Fette

has been a member of our cham-

ber for 60 years. Spencer Savings

has been with us for many years.

Roche, theyve been there for

over 60 years. They each provide

financial support. Their person-

nel sit on the committee and they

help plan events. They allow us do the things were

able to do.

Martini, who was the Chambers first female presi-

dent, has also worked hard to include more women

members and executives.

At the Chamber, I didnt think (being the first female

President) was a challenge. My first job out of college

was with the US Food and Drug Administration. I was

one of the first women that they had hired, said Martini.

I did work hard to get more women on board and onto

our executive committee.

The Presidents most lasting change might just be the

inclusion of more women and more young professionals.

The newer members have helped keep membership

steady and are active in helping plan events.

Finding volunteers hasnt been a problem until this

year. Businesses have slowly cut back thinking I can do

the same thing with fewer people, explained Martini.

Now a lot are down to the bone.

We had 200 or 300 people at our Oktoberfest event

(Oct. 24). The comedy night, that also started the last

few years and that has attracted a lot of the younger

members, explained Martini. Many of these younger

members have turned into valuable members. They

bring a whole new energy. If you look at where the

chamber is going in the future, theyre going to be the

future business leaders.

At the Chamber, I didntthink (being the first femalePresident) was a challenge.My first job out of collegewas with the US Food andDrug Administration. I wasone of the first women thatthey had hired.


NJRCC Awards

John Fette is not one for grand speeches. So in antic-ipation of what the president of Fette Ford, Kia &

Infiniti would say when he accepts the Star Gala Award

from the North Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce

on Dec. 6, we asked how his firm got to this place.

Really, its about my dad and HF, said Fette, a

third generation business owner. He pondered for a

moment and explained. Henry and Larry did it. They

got me to this point. Im growing it. Continuing it.

Im honored to be here. But its not about me. Theres

Kristin, my wife. Chris Ciresi and Pat Murray. I am

standing on the shoulders of many giants. I mean that.

HF refers to grandfather and patriarch Henry Fette.

A showman extraordinaire, HF was the guy who in

1952 founded Fette Ford and essentially put the Fette

nameplate on thousands of vehicles since. During

Cliftons post-war growth years, HF beat the band to do

what was right for Clifton.

The firm is a 60 year member of the Chamber, begin-

ning with HF as president of the Clifton Chamber of

Commerce and organizations such as Kiwanis and local

banks. Active with the Boys & Girls Clubhis grandson

in on that board todayhe was also the grand marshall of

Cliftons 50th Anniversary Parade.

John Fette at right depends upon Chris Ciresi and Pat Murray to keep things running smoothly at his family dealership.

Standing on the Shoulders of Family & Employees

By Tom Hawrylko


NJRCC Awards

In the early 1950s, Fette was lead fundraiser

for the Clifton Memorial Library, which opened

on Jan. 31, 1953. In 1990, when the Piaget Ave.

facility was being rebuilt, Fette gave a personal

donation to establish the Clifton history room.

Henry Fette died at the age of 96 on August 7,

2001. I worked with him since I was in high

school, said Larry Fette upon his fathers pass-

ing. He was a good father and a good friend.

Larry, CHS Class of 1954 and Rutgers Class

of 1959, joined the firm full-time after gradua-

tion. He learned much about the business from

his dad. Like my father always said, customers

come first, then employees, and last, the owners.

We pride ourselves on good customer service.

Sadly, just seven years later on May 9, 2008,

Larry Fette passed away at the age of 71. He

succeeded his father and ultimately passed the

business along to his son, John, keeping the busi-

ness in the family for a third generation. Like his

father a true Clifton booster and involved in

many community causes, Larry left behind his

wife Nancy, four daughters, his son John, 13

grandchildren, two sisters and a brother. Founder Henry Fette, at right, with a customer circa 1965.

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NJRCC Awards

Started in 1952, first as an auto part

supplier than as a dealer on Main and

Madison Aves., the name Fette became

synonymous with the Ford brand. With a

growing reputation and banking on

Americas love affair with motoring, Fette

in 1954 moved the dealership to Allwood

Ave., near the Allwood Circle.

As the business grew, Fette knew that

he would need more space to display an

ever-expanding line of cars. While the

shop at the Allwood Circle served them

well, Fette knew they need a location with

higher visibility. In the mid 1970s, HF

contacted the owners of the landmark,

state-of-the-art bowling lanes, Bowlero,

to see if they could make a deal.

The owners were based out of state,

and yes, they were interested in selling the

property at the intersection of Routes 3

and 46. Soon, the Fettes were designing

their dream dealership, all the while still

maintaining the current business.

Henry Fette hired Clifton architect

Arthur Rigolo to design a new showroom

in the huge space vacated by Bowlero.

Construction began in June of 1976 and

was completed in July, 1977.

It was a lot of work and my father was

there overseeing the project every day,

Larry Fette recalled years ago.

Construction actually ran pretty smooth-

ly, except that it was the coldest winter.

Pipes froze and leaked in the spring,

which slowed us down a bit.

Taking apart a landmark bowling cen-

ter resulted in numerous stories.

Bar equipment was donated to the old

Knights of Columbus Hall in Downtown

Clifton. A man came in to rip up the 50

lanes and used the lumber to build a restau-

rant. Bowling balls, shoes and various

equipment mysteriously disappeared. The

bowling alley had a restaurant called

House of Lam with a liquor license. Henry

Fette transferred the license to whats now

Chengdu 46.

Main and Madison Aves. was at the center of it all in 1952 when HenryFette established his automotive business there. The building is now thehome of Clifton Electrical Supply. Prior to that, Fette had an auto supplystore on Main (below). By 1954, Fette moved near the Allwood Circle,where the Auto Zone store is today. Fette Ford & Kia moved to the firmscurrent location, at the intersection of Routes 46 and 3, in 1977.


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Fette Ford, a landmark at the intersection of Routes 3

and 46, has become a business that in many ways has put

Clifton on the map. Under Larrys leadership, the franchise

mix expanded with Isuzu, Subaru, and Kia. Since 2008 with

John at the helm, the line up includes Ford, Kia and Infiniti.

John joined the business full time after college in 1986,

learning the business from service to management. John

married Kristin Marie (Hart) of Michigan and this year they

celebrated their 25th anniversary. Kristin and John have

two sons, Dan and Hart, sophomores in college.

John is on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Clifton

and supports other community causes. His professional

affiliations include being on the boards of Fords Tri-State

Advertising Association, NADAs Dealer Election Action

Committee, Kias National Dealer Council, and services as

a trustee of the NJ CAR Association in Trenton.

With the new Infiniti showroom and service center

almost complete, John recalled this is the second construc-

tion project he has overseen. In 2005, John managed a ren-

ovation and expansion of their main buildingthe one his

dad and grandfather designed in 1976.

Thats what I mean about standing on shoulders, said

John. My family, my employees, they keep this place

focused on our customers. We all share in this award.

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Larry, with his wife of 50 years, Nancy, circa 1980.


NJRCC Awards

Spencer Savings Banks has beena cornerstone in its communitiessupporting its local businesses and

causes for more than a century. On

Dec. 6 at the Westmount Country

Club, the management team of the

bank, which has two branches in

Clifton, will be honored for this

service with the Star Gala Award

presented by the North Jersey

Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Led by President, Chairman and

Chief Financial Officer, Jos

Guerrero, the management team

also includes Executive Vice

President and Chief Operating

Officer, Jane Allerman-Rey; Senior

Vice President and Chief Financial

Officer, Robert Peacock; Senior

Vice President and Senior Lending

Officer, John Duncan; Senior Vice

President of Retail Banking, John

Fitzpatrick; and Senior Vice

President and Treasurer, Thomas

Mathews.

Dedicated Spencer managers

such as Ed Kurbansade, Jr., make

that corporate commitment come

alive at the local level.

As the manager of the Piaget

Ave. branch, Kurbansade and Van

Houten Ave. manager Halina

Qasem have immersed themselves

in everything from managing street

fairs to being advocates for their

neighborhoods. Their focus, they

say, has been to make their neigh-

borhood a better place to live and

work.

In Kurbansades case, his dedication to Clifton is evidenced by his lead-

ership roles and active involvement in the NJRCC. He currently serves as

chair of its board of directors, after previously serving as a director on the

board from 2007 to 2010.

He is also involved with the Boys & Girls Club, the Clifton Rotary Club

and Cliftons Downtown Economic Development Group.

Kurbansade served as President of the Clifton Rotary Club from 2008 to

2009 and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Clifton

Boys and Girls Club.

From left, Jane Allerman-Rey (EVP, Chief Operating Officer), John Duncan(SVP, Senior Lending Officer), William Callahan (VP, Retail Sales Manager),John Fitzpatrick (SVP, Retail Banking), and Clifton branch managers EdKurbansade, Jr. and Halina Qasem.

Spencer Savings BankClifton Branch Managers Bring Corporate Credo to Local Level


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As a member of the Downtown Clifton group, he

became active in creating a vision for the Main Avenue

commercial corridor. And dont let the kids read thisbut he put a smile on many faces when he donned thered suit for last years tree lighting at the Annual

Downtown Holiday Party.

While Spencers executive management team and

managers such as Kurbansade and Qasem are a driving

force in community relations, all 225 of the banks ded-

icated employees participate in local initiatives.

Over the past few years, Spencer employees have

gone out into their communities, making them better

places through the banks Teach Students to Save

Program. There is also an annual scholarship program,

which to-date has donated $245,000 to local students,

as well as small business networking events which pro-

vide essential information on timely topics, helping to

strengthen the business communities.

Additionally, employees consistently contribute

their time and help raise awareness by fundraising and

participating in Paterson Habitat for Humanitys

Corporate Build Days. There are annual toy drives in

which the toys collected are delivered by the Spencer

Santa and Elves directly to children in local hospitals,

food drives that benefit five food banks, fundraising

and annual participation in Relay for Life. Individually

and as teams or volunteers, Spencer employees have

joined 10 community 5K races that raise funds and

awareness for local charities.

Spencers employees have also donated their time

and provided fundraising efforts in support of the

Muscular Dystrophy Association, the American Cancer

Society, the American Heart Association, Cystic

Fibrosis Foundation and Special Olympics New Jersey.

Spencer Savings Bank remains deeply rooted and

committed to the communities it serves and proudly

supports local business and workforce initiatives as

well as numerous civic groups, charitable organizations

and youth groups.

The NJRCC 2012 Star Award Gala on Dec. 6 atthe Westmount Country Club will honor the Fette

Family, Spencer Savings Bank and include a tribute

to retiring Chamber President Gloria Martini. To

attend, tickets are $140. The Chamber is also sell-

ing space in an ad journal. Reserve space by Nov.

15. For information, call 973-470-9300.


FOOD DRIVES &


Internationally, the Rotary Club is known as a chari-table, humanitarian organization with a lengthy history

of service. Founded in 1905, it features 33,000 chapters

and more than 1.2 million members. Rotary initiatives

have eradicated polio, addressed health issues, helped

feed the hungry and improved education world wide.

Locally, the Clifton Rotary supports some 25 charities

annually through various drives and monetary dona-

tionsand they throw a helluva annual Beefsteak too,

At Clifton High School, teenage humanitarian are

being groomed in the Interact Club.

Interact Club is a high school version of the Rotary

that does community service, explained Angela

Montague, the Rotary Liaison to Interact. She has held

the position for six years.

Anytime theres something going on in the commu-

nity that needs help we call the Interact kids. When the

Boys & Girls Club and the 21 Club hosts the Family

Super Bowl Day event, the Interact kids go there to vol-

unteer and help out.

Rotary & Interact Clubs Among Those Collecting Coats & FoodSenior & Junior Humanitarians

By Joe Hawrylko

On this page, Mauna Trivedi (far left) poses with someof her students in the Interact Club at CHS. On the fac-ing page, Rotary Club members Pat DeLora, RussSchneider, Carlos Vargas and Angela Montague. TheInteract members include Justin Mozolewski, ElizabethBarattini (in basket) and Tricai Montague.

COAT COLLECTIONS


Helping Neighbors

Members include: Tricia Montague, Shivani Rana,

Shivani Ganatra, Elizabeth Barattini, Andriy Koutun,

George Harhaj, Laura Echavez, Carolina Osma,

Danielle Babilonia, Sruti Rana, Anne Zhang, Suzette

Lee, Stephanie Miranda, Denisse Romano, Shikha

Rana, Bishwa Patel, Janice Hurtado, Jonathan Satelo,

Maitry Mahida, Justin Mozolewski, Cristian Ramirez,

Danny Trujillo, Chantel Ayoub Natasha Velasquez,

Unnati Patel, Ana Reljic and Canberk Ceylan.

The Interact Clubs current project is supporting the

Rotarys food and coat drive, which is going on through

the holiday season. This will be the fifth year that the

Interact Club has assisted in the drive.

Last year was the most we came up with, said

Mauna Trivedi, a Career/Vocational Teacher who has

been the head of the CHS

Interact Club for six years.

Mrs. Montague, our liaison, her

trunk and her front and back

seats were completely packed

with coats.

The coats are then brought

down to Deluxe Cleaners on

Main Ave. where they are dry

cleaned free of charge and taken

to St. Peters Haven.

We get about 300 coats per

year from the Rotary and Interact

Clubs, the Fire Department and

St. Peters. And we have people

drop them off here, said Pat DeLora, owner of DeLuxe

and a Rotary member since 1999. Its just a good way

to contribute to the community and give back a bit. Bob

Hammer (the late former City Manager) got me involved

with Rotary.

Over the next few days, Rotary Club members will be

at are supermarkets asking shoppers to purchase a few

items to donated to St. Peters Haven. The Interact stu-

dents are also collecting non-perishable foods which will

also be donated to St. Peters Haven. Both drives will

continue throughout the holiday season.

Weve been doing this for St. Peters Haven for

many years. Pretty much as long as I can remember,

said Russ Schneider, who has been a Rotary member for

13 years. He became president in July.

Support the good work of St.Peters Haven, which is onClifton Ave. To donate fooditems, call 973-546-3406.

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While the Interact Club solicits

donations from students at school,

the Rotary members will be out

doing the same at each Clifton

supermarket on Nov. 3

George Jacobs, who manages

Styertowne, hes the one who really

organizes it. He arranges all of the

pick ups at supermarkets in Clifton,

Schneider explained.

On Saturday morning, Nov. 3,

we go out for about three hours. We

stand at the entrance and hand out

flyers to people, asking them to pick

up some items and hopefully give us

something after they shop.

Afterwards, we deliver it to St.

Peters Haven that same day.

Schneider estimated that his

group collect between 10 and 15

bags worth of goods from each

Clifton store that they visit.

In addition to the food and coat

drives, the Rotary also gives St.

Peters an annual financial donation,

which varies each year depending

on the amount of money raised

through various Rotary events, such

as their blockbuster beefsteak. Last

year, the group gifted The Haven

with $2,500.

Interact and Rotary also team up

for their annual Thanksgiving lunch

with members of Disabled

Information Awareness Living

(DIAL). The event takes place at St.

Brendans Church the tuesday

before Thanksgiving.

Interact also started a new

fundraising drive in the Spring to get

dictionaries to children in Jamaica.

Likewise, Rotary annually donates

dictionaries to third grade students

in each Clifton school. Rotary also

offers scholarships to Interact mem-

bers through its Rotary Youth

Leadership Awards, which is a lead-

ership training program

I think its a really good way to

serve the community, Schneider.

said of his service with Rotary. We

have about 25 different charities that

we help out each year and its just a

really good way to help out.


Helping Neighbors

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Clifton Firefighters are are collecting gently used coats. Pictured at Station5 on Brighton Rd. are FF Sean O'Rourke, FF Joe Lauritano, FF Steve Turi,Cpt. Nick Marchisello and LT. Fikret Darzanoff

The Chiropractic Center atStyertowne, 501 Allwood Rd., iscollecting non-perishable food items

for St. Peters Haven through Nov.

16. This is the 11th year that the

Center has held the drive. New

patients who donate will receive: a

free exam, consultation and x-rays in

exchange for six or more items, or an

exam, consultation, x-rays and

adjustment for 12 or more items.

For info, call 973-777-6995.

The Clifton Fire Dept.s coat driveis Nov. 11 to 25. Drop off coats at:Fire Station 1, 69 1st St.; Fire

Station 2, 7 Dumont Ave.; Fire

Station 3, 180 Mahar Ave.; Fire

Station 4, 144 Main Ave.; Fire

Station 5, 51 Brighton Rd.; Clifton

Fire Station 6, 1202 Van Houten

Ave. For more info, email

[email protected] or

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The Chiropractic Center atStyertowne, 501 Allwood Rd., iscollecting non-perishable food items

for St. Peters Haven through Nov.

16. This is the 11th year that the

Center has held the drive. New

patients who donate will receive: a

free exam, consultation and x-rays in

exchange for six or more items, or an

exam, consultation, x-rays and

adjustment for 12 or more items.

For info, call 973-777-6995.

The Clifton Fire Dept.s coat driveis Nov. 11 to 25. Drop off coats at:Fire Station 1, 69 1st St.; Fire

Station 2, 7 Dumont Ave.; Fire

Station 3, 180 Mahar Ave.; Fire

Station 4, 144 Main Ave.; Fire

Station 5, 51 Brighton Rd.; Clifton

Fire Station 6, 1202 Van Houten

Ave. For more info, email

[email protected] or

visit www.fmba21.org.


Woodrow Wilson Middle School stands to win upto $50,000 in grant money from the Clorox com-pany, but to do so, Cliftons students need our help.

The Clorox Power a Bright Future programoffers $50,000 as a grand prize and six $25,000grants. WWMS administrators wrote up a pro-posal and an application with a plan of how theywould allocate the funding to improve the VanHouten Ave. facilities and learning environment.

The WWMS administrative team of PrincipalMaria Romeo, Vice-Principal Mike Doktor andAdministrative Intern Chrissy Bertollo puttogether a proposal to improve the schools cen-tral courtyard, which is currently only utilized forthe eighth grade Farewell Dance.

Under the Clorox grant guidelines, the WWMSproposal falls within the play category, one offour options to meet qualifications.

From left at rear: WWMS Administrative Intern Chrissy Bertollo, Vice-Principal Mike Doktor and Principal Maria Romeo. From left, students Nasif Basith, Samantha Miller and Ana-Maria Prkic.

Power A Bright Futurefor Students at WWMS


Voting runs from Nov. 5 through Dec. 12. Be sure to vote daily.Visit www.powerabrightfuture or text WWMSs code to 95248.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Americans again have

the right to decide which candidate we want

to faithfully execute the

office of President of the

United States and pre-

serve, protect and defend

the Constitution. I urge you to exercise your

constitutional right on Election Day.

The Honorable

Sheila Y. OliverSpeaker of New Jersey

Proudly Serving Assembly District 34...

Clifton, Orange, East Orange & Montclair

15-33 Halsted St., Suite 202 East Orange, NJ 07018973-395-1166 [email protected]

paid for by Committee to Elect Sheila Oliver

We thought about what we could fix up in theschool to help students from a variety of differentlevels in different ways, explained Bertollo, a2002 graduate of Clifton High School who taughtat WWMS for five years. She was named anadministrative intern this year.

Language arts classes can utilize the area asinspiration for writing and poetry readings. Ourspecial needs population would benefit from themusical space. Science classes would benefit bylooking at the life cycle of plants and animalssuch as butterflies and tadpoles.

Math classes will be able to calculate percent-age growth rates of the plants. Magnifying glassscreens can be used to look at hand made fossilsin social studies classes. Even the Cooking Clubwill be able to use the vegetables and herbs thatare grown to cook with.

Bertollo said once the grant is awarded, get-ting the job done will be a school project.

She sees it working into a variety of aspects ofschool life, socially, academically even afterschool. Students will take part in the creation ofthe Outdoor Learning Environment. Art studentswill paint tiles for the performance area.Environmental Club members will plant the flow-ers and crops.

Vote for WWMS from Nov. 5 to Dec. 12. Go to www.powerabrightfuture.com and

search for the Woodrow Wilson Middle Schoolproposal and vote once a day.

There were more than 2,500 submissions, with70 of those schools being from New Jersey. Thewinners are determined by a vote, which runsfrom Nov. 5 through Dec. 12.

Remember, you must be 13 years old to vote. You can also text your vote to 95248 by visit-

ing www.powerabrightfuture.com and finding thecorresponding Clifton keyword.

Well keep you informed of the progress.

From left at rear: WWMS Administrative Intern Chrissy Bertollo, Vice-Principal Mike Doktor and Principal Maria Romeo. From left, students Nasif Basith, Samantha Miller and Ana-Maria Prkic.

Power A Bright Futurefor Students at WWMS


Imagine a Time Before Color TV & YoullGive Three Cheers for the Founders, Too

Back in the late 1940s, the organization known todayas the Clifton Boys & Girls Club was just a modest

idea talked about in city neighborhoods. Known then

nationally as the Boys Clubs of Americaas it was a

male only organizationthe fledgling group had a

growing need but not a permanent home.

Stanley Zwier began meetings of the Athenia Boys

Club but by 1945, William Bratton then a high school

student, was elected president. He recalled in a 1999

interview that the School 13 janitor, Jack Taylor,

allowed the boys to meet at the school.

Bratton went on to become a lawyer and Zwier, who

died in 1999, became Cliftons 14th mayor. The Boys

Club of Clifton began as a branch of the Passaic Boys

Club and members were permitted to use the pool and

handball court at the Passaic YMCA on Friday nights.

But despite the goodwill from our sometimes sister

city, and access to the facilties at the Passaic Y, resi-

dents and civic organizations wanted to have a place

Clifton youth could call their own.

That came in 1947 in the form of a donation from

the Clifton Kiwanis and the Clifton Boys Club was

established in name. Richard Drukker was named as

the first president and temporary headquarters were set

up at School 13 on Van Houten Ave.

Soon other civic organizations stepped forward and

supported the cause: Optimist Club, the Moose, Lions

and the Rotary joined the Kiwanis in lending a hand to

the cause, making large contributions with the invest-

ment of Cliftons youth in mind.

But in a large way, the Club owed its existence to the

membership of the Clifton Kiwanis, which recog-

Forget about channel surfing. Back in December, 1950, very few American homes had television sets. People watched thetube in shop windows or in community centers. So this gang gave three cheers to the owners of Clifton Industrial Television

when the firm donated a new black and white tv to the Boys Club.

B&GC History

126 College Preparatory courses, including 27 Honors and 16 AP level courses

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Vibrant Performing Arts Programs, including Marching Band, Show Choir, Drama/Musical, Concert Band, Dance, and Concert Choir

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Members of the Class of 2012 earned about $30 million in scholarships and grants. Clifton graduates earned over $2.5 million of those scholarships and grants.


Forget about channel surfing. Back in December, 1950, very few American homes had television sets. People watched thetube in shop windows or in community centers. So this gang gave three cheers to the owners of Clifton I

Clifton Merchant Magazine - November 2012

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Transcript of Clifton Merchant Magazine - November 2012