Clifton Merchant Magazine - September 2011

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September 2011 • Clifton Merchant 4

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When�word�first�arrived�that�a�plane�had�struck

the�World� Trade� Center,� the� country� went

into�a�state�of�shock.�As�the�second�airliner

slammed� into� the� South� Tower,� followed� shortly� by

another�smashing�a�portion�of�the�Pentagon,�the�country

went� into�a�state�of�panic—it�was�clear� these�were�not

accidents�but�part�of�a�well�calculated�attack.�

Frightened,�people�did�what�they�have�done�for�cen-

turies�when�faced�with�adversity:�we�prayed.��At�home,

in�houses�of�worship,�even�on�the�steps�of�City�Hall,�peo-

ple�turned�to�God.�President�Bush�set�the�tone�when�he

quoted� the� book� of� Psalms� during� his� address� to� the

nation�on�the��evening�of�the�attacks.�

People� that� have� not� been� to� religious� services� for

ages�suddenly�had�a�reason�to�rely�on�God.�

At� interfaith� prayer� services,� such� as� Clifton’s

Candlelight�Vigil�on�Sept.�16,�2001,�religious�and�polit-

ical�leaders�stood�side�by�side.�

The� traditional� wall� between� church� and� state

seemed�to�have�crumbled�with�the�Twin�Towers.�

With� so�many� lives� lost� and� all� of� us� looking� for

comfort�it�is�no�wonder�city�officials�decided�an�inter-

faith�prayer�service�was�needed.�

“We�put�the�service�together�in�less�than�24�hours,”

recalled� Mayor� Jim� Anzaldi,� “Everybody� was� so

cooperative.”�He� added� that�Aakash�Shah,� a� sopho-

more�at�Clifton�High�in�2001,�was�the�catalyst�to�the

evening.�“He�called�with�the�idea;�I�liked�it.”�

Once�again,�10�years�later�on�Sept.�11�at�4:30�pm,

our�city�will�hold�a�ceremony�at�city�hall,�this�time

at�the�9/11�Memorial�Garden.��

There�the�lives�of�nine�Cliftonites—�Edgar�H.�Emery,

Edward�C.�Murphy,�Kyung�‘Kaccy’�Cho,�Ethesham�U.

Raja,�Zuhtu�Ibis,�Francis�Joseph�Trombino,�John�P.�Skala

and� brothers� Timothy� and� John� Grazioso—will� be

recalled�with� the� thousands�of� others�who�perished�on

that�fateful�day.�

F R O M t h e E D I T O R

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1288 Main AvenueDowntown Clifton, NJ 07011

Tom Hawrylko

Like Yesterday


Having loved and lived in Cliftonforever, the�articles�published�aboutit�and�growing�up�in�it�always�fasci-

nate�me.��That’s�why�Jack�De�Vries’

story� ‘Growing� Up� Clifton’� in

August�was�such�a�hit.��

In� June� I� met� the� real� Joey—

Bobby�Diamond—at� the�Memphis

Festival.� He� was� reunited� with

Roger� Mobley� and� Jimmy� Baird.

Bobby�has�been�a�successful�attor-

ney� in� California� for� decades� and

Roger�(Packy)�was�in�law�enforce-

ment�in�Texas.��

I’ve�since�mailed�your�article�to

Bobby�Diamond—he’ll�enjoy�it�as

he�has�the�greatest�sense�of�humor!��

Nancy RessetarClifton

Reunion edition brings backmemories: Thank� you� so� verymuch�for�the�wonderful�July�issue.��

Having�read�through�your�maga-

zine,�I�am�so�proud�of�the�achieve-

ments� of� my� fellow� 1951� class-

mates� and� pleased� to� read� about

what�they�are�currently�doing.��

I�thank�you,�too,�for�the�portray-

al�of�my�courtship�and�marriage�to

Harold�Geene�(CHS�1952).��It�was

and�remains�a�fabulous�time�of�my

life�and�it�was�a�beautiful�story�that

you�wrote.��Again,�many�thanks.

Lois Fisher Geene, CHS 1951Point Pleasant

L E T T E R S t o t h e E D I T O R

Hot Grill Manager Bill Doris (at right) was misidentified in this July photo withJoseph Padula, John Celentano and Robert Stier. We regret the error.


The October 2001 Clifton Merchant.

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Ten years ago, a few days after the horrific attack

on the World Trade Center, I was working in my

office at CHS and one of my colleagues said,

“Yesterday my 3-year-old grandson was stacking up his

Lego blocks, and then he pretended that he crashed a

plastic plane into the little building he just created.”

How do we, as adults, explain to children the images

of evil? Perhaps by doing what we have been doing since

the beginning of our human existence: telling stories.

Literature is filled with stories of courage, hope and

dignity in the face of all that is lost.

Willa Cather’s Antonia maintained her sense of hope

and goodness in the grip of the rugged and hostile

prairies of Nebraska. John Steinbeck’s Ma Joad in the

novel The Grapes of Wrath tried to keep her family

together as they made their way through the Oklahoma

dust bowl. Atticus Finch fought the club of racism as he

defended Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Another teacher later in the day said, as we stood in

the hallway between classes, “My brother was on the

21st floor in 1 World Trade Center. After the jet crashed

into the floors above him, he quickly left his office

By Christopher de Vinck

M O M E N T S o f G R A C E

The Promise of the Void

and began walking

down the long

stairwell. Soon enough,

firemen, young men in

their 20s, were making

their way up the stairs

past him to tend to the

fire. My brother said

that he and the others

cheered the firemen as

they rushed upward. They were

running up to their deaths, and my

brother was running down to life.”

In the late afternoon one of my

10th grade teachers stepped into the

office to get some books and said,

“I’m so tired.”

“Didn’t sleep well last night?” I

asked. “Well,” she said, “My

husband and I were watching the

news, and the terrible shock of the

buildings collapsing at 11 p.m., and

a city spokesman was saying they

needed clothes, food and equipment.

My husband turned to me, and I to

him and we both knew that we had

to do something, so we drove to a

24-hour Home Depot and bought

$700 worth of shovels. We loaded

them up and drove through the

Lincoln Tunnel to the Jacob Javits

Center.

“There were hundreds of people

bringing things. A man stopped us

and said, ‘Clothes around the corner.

Food to the left. What do you

have?’”

“We said we had shovels. Within

seconds, it seemed, an Army

Humvee pulled alongside our car,

and the shovels were immediately

transported from our car into the

green military vehicle, and a soldier

quickly drove off towards the ruin of

the World Trade Center.”

For me, the most poignant story I

heard in the aftermath of the terrorist

attacks ten years ago were the words

spoken between a husband and wife.

As reported in The New York Times,

Lyzbeth Glick of Hewitt, N.J. spoke

on a cell phone with her husband,

Jeremy, as his plane was being

hijacked, aiming for the Pentagon.

Jeremy was telling his wife that he

and some others were going to try to

overpower the terrorists. “He was a

man who wouldn't let things

happen,” Lyzbeth said. “He was a

hero for what he did, but he was a

hero for me because he told me not

to be sad ...”

Today, ten years

after the attack,

children will be

studying in their

history books about

Sept. 11, 2001. Let

them read about a 20-

year-old fireman who

rushed up the stairs of

the World Trade

Center because he thought that he

might be able to save someone.

Let the children of the future hear

the story of a suburban couple who

drove through the night with newly

bought shovels in the hope that this

small act might make a difference in

someone’s life.

Above all else, teach the children

the story of the husband telling his

wife, “Do not be sad.” We will all go

to our deaths with lives lived, with

regrets and joys, with sorrows and

victories.

So what do we say to those we

love when our lives are done, when

all else is left behind? We say, dear

children, “Do not be sad.” For in

those words are the words of a

human and spiritual hope that there

is a place of joy either in the

memories of a life well-lived, or in

the promise of a life that is still yet

to come.

In the end, Ma Joad, Antonia, and

Jeremy Glick of Hewitt, NJ., were

not deterred from the hope of joy

and goodness. Do not be sad.

We say, dear children, “Do not be sad.”For in those words are the words of a humanand spiritual hope that there is a place of joyeither in the memories of a life well-lived, or

in the promise of a life that is yet to come.

Dr. Christopher de Vinck is the Language Arts Supervisor atCHS and the author of 13 books, his best known work is The

Power of the Powerless a frank reflection on the struggles and

joys of loving his severely disabled brother. This summer,

Moments of Grace: Days of a Faith-Filled Dreamer was

released and hailed for its wisdom. “Readers will find inspira-

tion and hope in this accessible book,” wrote one reviewer. “It

will strike a chord in these difficult times.” To order the book,

call 1-800-218-1903 or look for it in bookstores or online.



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Ten Years After

Story by Carol Leonard

Growing since 9/11The first graders in Nancy Maurer Muddell’s class at School 8 on Oak St.in Delawanna were getting to know one another that September day, 10years ago. And then their daily routine became history. Since that time,

Muddell has remained connected with a handful of those girls, who are nowjuniors at CHS. On the following pages, we find out more about them andMuddell’s reflections from a journal she has kept. She is hoping to publish a

book in the future; it is tentatively entitled ‘And Still the Children Sing.’


Ten Years After

9/11/01

As first graders in 2001, from left top, Amanda Marakovitz, Kinnery Chaudhari, Gabriela Punales. Bottom: Jenna Vallo,Melaina Oliveras, and Madison Molner, who was not available for the photo taken for the cover.


September 11, 2001 began like any otherMonday morning for Nancy Muddell.It was the first day of the first full

week of the new school year for the

veteran School 8 teacher, and she

was looking forward to getting to

know her new group of five and

six year-old first graders.

Back then, kindergarten was

still a half-day program in the

Clifton Public Schools, so first

grade was the children’s initial

experience with being in school all

day. For many, it was an adjustment that

took several weeks, but Muddell knew just

how to help her little charges feel comfortable.

One of the girls in her class, Amanda Marakovitz,

was celebrating her birthday that day and Muddell had

planned a snack-time observance, which would include

having the class sing Happy Birthday. As usual, she

would then present the birthday girl with a special

goody bag.

It was a routine that Muddell had been through for

many years, and that fateful Monday was to be no

different – until it was.

She had just brought her students down to the media

center for their weekly library period with the media

specialist and was headed back to her classroom when

Principal Janet Kolano pulled her aside to give her the

grave news. Two airplanes carrying

terrorists had crashed into the twin

towers of the World Trade Center.

“I had to have my principal

repeat what she had just told

me,” Muddell said. “I felt like

an idiot, but my mind just

couldn’t comprehend what she

was telling me. This couldn’t

be true, I thought. Why was

this happening?”

Once back in her classroom,

Muddell turned on her radio and

still couldn’t believe what she was

hearing. The first tower had collapsed to

the ground.

Shortly after, Muddell heard a faint rumble in the

distance and, when she learned that the second tower

had gone down, she surmised that was what she had

heard.

“What a strange feeling,” she said. “It was like

watching a movie on TV, only this was real.”

When her students’ library period was over, Muddell

turned off her radio and went to pick up her class.

“We were told not to say anything to our students

because we were not sure how many parents might be

working in the area of the disaster,” she said. “That was

tough trying to conceal my feelings from them and still

wanting to know what was going on.”

As f Faci for C 1

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View The Giblin Report Thursday at 9 pm, Channel 76


Protecting the Children

For Muddell and her teaching colleagues, Sept. 11,

2001, was probably the most difficult day of their

teaching careers, presenting challenges in dealing with

their students that they had never before experienced.

“Here we were, just a few miles from the city where

this was happening, but feeling closed out because we

wanted to keep this tragic event from the children we

were supposed to protect,” she said.

Shortly after returning with her students to their

classroom, Muddell remembers an eerie quiet outside

followed later by the constant sound of sirens, nearby

and far off in the distance.

School 8 is located in the Delawanna section, not far

from Route 3, so the occasional sound of sirens is not

unusual. But after a while, the students began asking

why there were so many sirens that day. “Maybe there

was an accident,” she told them. “What else could I

say?”

Before the end of the morning, many parents, upset

and frightened about the events that were unfolding,

had already come to the school to sign out their

children.

Once again, Muddell had to keep the truth from

others when they asked why so many of their classmates

were leaving early. “I told them that maybe they had a

doctor’s appointment,” she said, all the while feeling

guilty for telling so many white lies to the children.

At lunchtime, all the students in the school were told

that they would have to stay indoors because it was still

a little too humid outside to run around.

Meanwhile, in the teacher’s room there was no

laughter, no storytelling about who had done what over

the weekend. Just a lot of chatter about the day’s events

and what they had heard so far. Most spent the lunch

period listening to updated news reports.

“I don’t think anyone ate their lunches that day,”

Muddell said. “There were too many stomachs tied up

in knots and too many thoughts about what was

Ten Years After


happening before our eyes.”

For Muddell, it was worse

than when she was a

teenager in school hearing

about the assassination of

President John F. Kennedy

on Nov. 22, 1963. “And no

one ever thought anything

would ever be more horrible

than that,” she said.

After lunch, most

teachers returned to near

empty classrooms, as well

more than half of the

students had been taken

home by their parents.

“By 1:30 I had only six

children in my classroom,”

Muddell said. “Six little

innocents who once in a

while would ask me why

there were so many sirens on

the highway.”

Frazzled by the reality of

the situation, Muddell tried

to make the afternoon as

normal as possible for her

remaining students, even as

she sensed their childlike

awareness that something

was terribly wrong.

Amanda was one of the

children remaining and

Muddell decided to go on

with the birthday celebration

so as not to take away the

one happy moment that such

an otherwise terrible day

would bring.

“Little did she know,”

Muddell said of Amanda,

“that this tragedy would be

relived in everyone’s

minds, including hers, on

her birthday for the rest of

her life.”

Facing Reality

Once the school day

ended and the staff was

sure that every remaining

child went home safely,

many hung around to talk.

Eventually, they went to the

media center to view the

latest reports on TV.

“That’s when it became

all too real,” Muddell said.

“I couldn’t look. I just

wanted to wait until I was

safely home with my

family before looking at

reality. Unfortunately, I

wasn’t sure I was ready for

that either, but I would feel

safe.”

When she finally left the

building, Muddell sensed

calmness around the

school. There was no traffic

and no children, just

beautiful sunshine. It

became hard for her to

believe what had transpired

on what was supposed to be

an ordinary Monday in

mid-September.

As the week went on,

she and the rest of the staff

began to hear stories from

around the school. One

girl’s uncle is still missing,

three other’s lost an

“When 9/11 occurred, the scary part was that my

mom and dad were separated in their cars as the

tunnel was shut down while they drove to their

jobs. My mom was on the NY side and was stuck

in the city for two days,” wrote Melaina Oliveras,

pictured with her parents Victor and Olga in 2001.

“My father was in the Guard so he was called

up and he went to the disaster site to help. A few

years later, he was sent to Iraq for a year. Mrs.

Muddell always checked on how my family and

I were doing. She made sure I was okay with his

being in a not-so-safe place. She helped with the

surprise at school when my dad came home on

leave and showed up at an assembly program.

“After leaving School 8, my friends and I

stayed close with Mrs. Muddell. Our friendship

grew to summer pool parties, birthday dinners,

lunches, dinners out just for the fun of it, a Sweet

16 photo shoot, a sleepover, fun talks and

conversations. Nancy Muddell is like a guardian

or what we like to think of as “a second mom.” I

am entirely grateful to have such a great teacher,

role model, an overall great friend in my life.”

In Their Words...


aunt and another child’s mother was stuck in New York

City for two days, unable to contact her family, after the

Lincoln Tunnel was shut down.

Others told of how they had overslept, took the day

off or were sent to other offices that day, and how God

must have been on their side.

The girl with the missing uncle, Madison Molner,

and the girl whose

parents became

separated, Melaina

Oliveras, were both in

Muddell’s class.

Every day for the

first few weeks

following the tragedy,

Madison would come

into class and report

that “Uncle Joe is still

missing.”

Melaina’s father

was in the Army

Reserves and she

would talk about how

he had gone to the

scene to help. She

would speak about

how she missed him,

but was proud of the

work he was doing.

Then, on Sept. 21,

Madison told the class,

“Uncle Joe is still missing, but we know where he is – in

Paradise.”

“Whenever she would speak of this special person in

her life, I would notice a tear trickle down from her eyes.

This time, tears filled my eyes. What do you say when

your heart is so touched by the innocence of this

sensitive child?” Muddell said she just stopped, took a

deep breath and told the girl:

“Tonight, and every night, when you look up in the

sky, find the brightest star that sparkles and that will be

Uncle Joe watching over you.”

Finding Uncle Joe

Madison’s Uncle Joe (Francis Joseph Trombino),

actually her great uncle, had worked for Brinks in New

York City. He was a Korean War veteran and lifelong

Clifton resident, who attended School 8.

Ironically, he had survived the robbery of his Brinks

truck in 1981 that left his

partner dead and

Trombino’s arm nearly

blown off, as well as the

1993 bombing at the

World Trade Center. But

on Sept. 11, 2001, he was

not as fortunate; his

remains were finally

recovered near his

Brinks truck just before

Christmas.

That day Madison

came to school and

reported to her teacher

and the class, “I have

good news, they found

Uncle Joe. He is in

Paradise, but now we

know he is okay.”

Muddell isn’t sure just

how much each child,

including Madison,

understood about what

the little girl had just announced. But a certain sense of

friendship and caring appeared on the faces of every

student in the room that day, and it gave Muddell the

hope for the future that she so desperately needed at

that time.

Ever since Sept. 11, Uncle Joe’s picture, surrounded

by stars and photos of the New York skyline that once

was, adorned the front bulletin board in Muddell’s

classroom.

Madison told her teacher that it was okay if she

wanted to take down the picture since Uncle Joe

On 9/11/02, students planted a tree on Oak St.

Ten Years After


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had been found. Muddell replied that she would keep the

picture up on the board so that Uncle Joe could continue

to watch over the class. With that, Madison gave Muddell

a big hug. “I needed that,” Muddell said. “She was a little

child, but with a big, big heart.”

Throughout the fall and the rest of the school year,

Muddell and the other teachers at School 8 tried to deal

with the 9/11 tragedy by incorporating discussions and

writing assignments about patriotism and what it meant

to be a good American and a good person into their

daily lessons.

The Angels Sing

One afternoon in Muddell’s classroom, as the children

drew and colored special Thank You cards for the Ground

Zero rescuers, one by one the children began to sing,

softly at first, then a little louder, as the whole class

chimed in. The words to God Bless America, The Star-

Spangled Banner and You’re a Grand Old Flag

Ten Years After

Soon after 9/11, the students were busy decorating plasticbags to ship items to Ground Zero..


filled the air.

“It was like angels’ voices

appeared in my classroom,”

Muddell said. “They hadn’t

been told to sing. It was just

something that they did on

their own to express

themselves. As I listened, I

paid closer attention to the

words we often sing from

memory, but give little

thought to.”

The spontaneous singing

sessions continued

throughout the year, as

Muddell’s students mastered

the words to the songs much

quicker than usual. Even

The Star Spangled Banner

flowed from their mouths as

if they were seasoned choir

singers. “And that’s a hard

song for little kids to learn,”

Muddell said.

Every time Muddell

listened to the impromptu

singing from her “little

angels,” her eyes filled with

tears. “But they were tears of

happiness, tears of joy and

tears of hope,” she said.

“These children helped

restore the feelings I had

been losing.”

Muddell realized then

that her students, among the

youngest in the school,

understood more than she

had ever imagined.

A year after the terrorist

attack, on Sept. 11, 2002, the

students and staff at School

8 joined the rest of the

nation in paying tribute to

the victims and fallen

heroes. They assembled on

the front lawn of the school,

where a memorial tree had

been planted. Members of

Uncle Joe’s family were

among those in attendance,

as the children and adults

joined in song in honoring

the lost loved ones.

The next year, on Sept.

11, 2003, the annual tribute

continued, as the School 8

family gathered together on

the front lawn to sing, once

again, and honor the 9/11

victims.

The Wings of Life

Back in the classroom an

unanticipated event was

taking place that would

delight the teacher’s new

class of first graders when

they returned from the 9 am

ceremony.

Ten Years After

“Sept. 11 is a special day for me,” Amanda

Marakovitz recently wrote. “It is now known as a

tragic day for our country, but it is my birthday and

on that day in 2001 a bond began to grow.

“Over the years I continue to think about that

day and the chaos it caused. I remember being in

first grade class having a good day – it was MY

birthday – and all of a sudden my classmates

started getting picked up by their parents. By the

end of the day there were only a few kids left in my

class. As more students began to leave, the

teachers would stand outside of their classrooms

talking to each other quietly so we could not hear.

Mrs. Muddell could not tell us the truth because

the kids in my class were only five and six years-

old. We had to wait until we got home from school

to find out what was going on.

“During our time at School 8, even after we

moved on from first grade, our group of girls,

along with Mrs. Muddell, did many things

together. We helped out at Santa Breakfasts, we

were all in Mrs. Muddell’s play, Sir Bookworm 2,

and we were in her reading program, RAP. Even

after leaving School 8, Mrs. Muddell kept our

group together.

“We get together and go out to eat for each

other’s birthdays, and Mrs. Muddell also came to

National Jr. Honor Society night at CCMS

(Christopher Columbus Middle School) and our

farewell dance. This past April, Mrs. Muddell took

us for a photo shoot to celebrate all of our Sweet

16 birthdays. Somehow, Mrs. Muddell is always

able to find the right time for us to get together.

“Mrs. Muddell is an amazing woman, teacher,

friend and, most importantly, a role model. She

has made a huge impact on my life and I lover

her with all my heart. Some friends may come

and go, but I know that Mrs. Muddell and “her

girls” will be together forever.”

In Their Words...


The first of eight monarch butterflies had emerged

from its chrysalis (the pupal stage of the life cycle of

some insects undergoing transformation). It was a

project that Muddell had introduced into her science

curriculum. As the beautiful new butterfly, often

considered to be a symbol of life, began to flap its

wings, Muddell could tell that the creature was a male.

“Now, you can look at this in several ways,” she

said. “But we had just come from honoring the people

who had died. We had just tied ribbons on the tree

dedicated to Uncle Joe, and here was this male

butterfly. Could it be, I thought.”

In any case, Muddell considered this special surprise

to be a sign of hope, as she watched her students’

excitement at its birth, right in their classroom.

For three years in a row on 9/11, the same incident

took place while she and the students were at the yearly

memorial service outside. A new male monarch

butterfly greeted Muddell and the students when they

returned from the event.

Ten years have passed since the horrendous day that

changed the lives of all American citizens, particularly

those of us in the New York metropolitan area who

could see the towers burning.

The little first graders from Muddell’s class that year

are now juniors in high school, many starting to think

about college and future careers.

For Muddell, they were a special group and she

continued to watch over them throughout their years at

School 8. Some would come back to visit her after

moving on to middle school and high school.

A Bond of Friendship

Six of the girls in that class, including Amanda,

Madison and Melaina, as well as Jenna Vallo, Kinnery

Chaudhari and Gabriela Punales, remained very close

friends with each other and with Muddell over the years.

The girls and their former teacher often get together

for dinners out and other special occasions such as

Ten Years After


birthdays and holidays. Every August, they help

Muddell set up her classroom for the new school year.

In April, in honor of the girls each turning 16 this

year, Muddell took them for a group photo shoot to

celebrate both their milestone birthdays and their

friendship. They also had a sleepover at Muddell’s

home this summer.

Now retired after 25 years of teaching, Muddell still

wells up with tears when she talks about the days and

months in school following 9/11. It was an experience

she wishes she had never had to live through, but it is

one that changed her in so many ways, including how

she looks at life and death, friendship and compassion,

and what it means to be an American.

She also has learned to look at things just a little

more through the eyes of a child, and she will always

be grateful for her “little angels.”

In Their Words...

It may be hard to believe that out of such a horrific

tragedy as 9/11 something good could come. But

hearing their comments, it seems that for a group of

young girls and their former teacher, the emotional

impact of that fateful day has created an inseparable

bond that has lasted for a decade and may endure a

lifetime.

On some of the previous pages and on the this and

the following pages, we’ve published excerpts of the

recollections provided by the girls, who are now CHS

juniors. Obviously, their memories come with some

perspective and insight as they mature. Their

comments also tell about their friendship with each

other and the bond that was created with their teacher

that year, Nancy Muddell.

Smoke in the Sky

“It was supposed to be a regular day in first grade.

You know, the basic day to day schedule. But that day

was different. It was Sept. 11, 2001, and from the looks

of it, it seemed pretty normal,” recalled Kinnery

Chaudhari, writing her recollections while looking

back with a perspective as a high school junior. “I

would never have thought that something life-

threatening had happened no more than 20 miles away.

“I remember how the other kids in my class were

leaving one by one to go to their “doctor’s

appointment,” and all I could think about was why I

wasn’t being picked up.

“Somehow I knew something was wrong that day.

The look on my teacher’s face said it all. We later

found out that Mrs. Muddell wasn’t allowed to tell us

what had happened, so she made excuses about why

most of the kids were leaving early.

“Soon the day had passed and it was time to go

home. On the school bus ride home I saw smoke in the

sky and thought there must be a building on fire

somewhere. When I came home, my mother sat me

down on the couch and told me that there was a

terrorist attack on the twin towers, I was too young to

fully understand what had happened, but as the


days passed, I realized that many people had died that

day. Things would never be the same.

“Who would have thought that, from that day

forward, a bond that was going to last a lifetime was

beginning. The woman that was just my first grade

teacher turned into another “mom,” and from then on

we made our own little family.

Ten Years After

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“Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months

and months turned into 10 years. From lunches to

photo shoots, to sleepovers, we’ve done it all together

with our former teacher, our “second mom.” Mrs.

Muddell and my “sisters” will always have a special

place in my heart.”

Preserving Uncle Joe’s Memory

Madison Molner remembered: “The class was

excited because it was Amanda’s birthday and we knew

we would be getting a treat later in celebration. That

morning I had the honor of taking the class library

books back to the library.

“When I walked into the library I saw the librarian

and my art teacher watching the TV. On the screen was

a news channel with the picture of a plane crashing into

a building and fire everywhere. I thought nothing of it

and wondered what the name of the “movie” they were

watching was.

“Soon, kids in our class were getting pulled out of

school early and those of us that were left were upset

that we were still stuck in school. Later at lunch time it

was my turn to leave. My mom picked me up and took

me to my aunt’s house, where most of my family was.

I still had no inkling as to what was going on except

that Uncle Joe wasn’t back from work yet.

“Well, we waited and waited on that September

afternoon. It was now night and Uncle Joe had not

come home. The next day I walked into class and told

Mrs. Muddell that they hadn’t found Uncle Joe yet.

Then the next day I had the same message, and the next

day, same message. This went on for days, then weeks,

then months. Just before Christmas, we received word

they had recovered Uncle Joe’s remains near his Brinks

truck.

“Many months later, School 8 conducted a memorial

service to honor Uncle Joe and all of those who lost

their lives on 9/11 by dedicating a tree along with a

plaque and pretty flowers.


“Years later, I would walk or

drive by school with my mom and

we’d see Mrs. Muddell bent over

beneath the tree planting new

flowers, cleaning up the plaque,

making certain everything was in

order. Commitment to preserving a

memory, year after year, is only

done by a special person like Mrs.

Muddell, who is dedicated to her

students and community.”

To Share, To Listen, To Help

“On 9/11, the thing I remember

most is so many kids leaving school

with their parents. As kids were

leaving class, I was sitting there

wondering why I was not getting

picked up, why they were all leaving

Ten Years After

The girls today, from left: Amanda Marakovitz, Melaina Oliveras, KinneryChaudhari, Gabriela Punales, Jenna Vallo.

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early,” Jenna Vallo commented.

“With my classmates, I listened to

Mrs. Muddell’s radio that was on

softly, hearing “the second tower

was hit,” and how upset Mrs.

Muddell looked when she heard

that. But she didn’t want us to know,

she didn’t want us to be upset.

“Over the years a group of us

always stayed close. To this day we

say that it is because of our amazing

teacher, Mrs. Muddell and 9/11. It

was a terrible day, but it brought us

together in a way that no one will

really fully understand. She kept us

calm. We were together when it

happened. We helped each other get

past it, and we will continue to help

each other as friends.

“9/11 is Amanda’s birthday. We

were going to have a party for her in

class on 9/11, but everyone left

school. That was sad. So now,

instead of being upset on 9/11 every

year, our group makes sure that we

are happy for Amanda. We celebrate

Amanda’s birthday and we celebrate

our friendship.

“Our “other mother,” Mrs.

Muddell, taught us to be who we are

today. She has shown us since first

grade when she was our teacher that

it’s good to care about others, to

share, to listen and to help.”

Everything will be Fine

Gabriela Punales wrote: “To be

honest, I don’t really remember

much about that day. We were so

young and it was hard to tell what

was even going on. However, I do

remember a lot of kids leaving

school early, and I was one of them.

My mom picked up my brother and

me. She ushered us into the house

when we got home and just went to

the basement to keep herself busy

doing laundry, while the TV had the

news on in the next room. I

remember being scared and not

wanting to be alone because I knew

that there was something bad

happening in New York City and my

dad worked there.

“I went to my mom and started to

whimper and ask for my dad and if

he was coming home. My mom just

told me that everything was going to

be fine. I don’t remember much

after that, but my dad did come

home the next day.”

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Casa Guadalupe

A Franciscan Tradition, House ofDiscernment Offers Place for Those

Considering Religious Vocation

Story & photo by Cecile San Agustin

Casa Guadalupe residents, from left: Diana Rivera, Bulay Minano, Judith Guzman,Holly Lawmaster, Kathleen Burke and Carmen Castrejon. Their story of faithbegins on the following page.

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Casa Guadalupe, located in a house that former-

ly served as the Paterson Diocesan Office for

Clergy Personnel and Vocations, is now a place

of prayer and discernment for young ladies in the very

early stages of a vocation to religious life, marriage or

lay consecrated life.

They live in community, have hours of prayer, serve

the community and all the while they are working or

studying full-time. While the property is owned by the

diocese, the residents help pay the bills, buy their own

groceries and maintain the house.

The women come from diverse backgrounds and

offer unique talents and range from the ages of 21 to 41.

While they are different in many ways, they have one

thing in common—to be totally committed to the will

of God.

“We all desire to pursue holiness,” said Holly

Lawmaster, 37, a youth minister at St. Cecilia Church

in Kearny, who is “house mother.” Living in communi-

ty is beautiful and while it’s not always easy, it is a

great opportunity to see our weaknesses. Every individ-

ual has a vocation.”

The house offers a special environment for the

women who have careers in law, the arts, business and

the Church.

Because the concept of thier discernment is based on

the Franciscan tradition, the women live very simply.

For instance, there are three to a room. Even in these

close quarters, the women aren’t bothered because they

are always busy. In fact, visitors won’t even find a tel-

evision in any of the rooms — and it’s not because they

are staying away from this household staple but simply

because they never have time to watch TV.

For Kathleen Burke, a 21-year-old theater major at

Drew University in Madison, the house has allowed her

to listen and to trust God.

“I like living here. The Holy Spirit moves gently in

the house,” she said. “There’s no pressure to be any

type of way. There is joy in trying to be holy.”

Posted in the house is a chart for chores and a daily

schedule that includes morning and evening prayer

hours. The house has a chapel where the Blessed

Sacrament is present. Franciscan Father of the Renewal

Agustino Torres of St. Michael’s Friary in Paterson is

spiritual director for the women.

Carmen Castrejon, 22, is from Alamo, Texas, and

recently traveled to Honduras on a mission trip and is

the younger sister of Father Torres. She called the

house “a place of healing. We encourage each other and

together we are able to openly discern and live our lives

For a group of women living in community at 737 Valley Rd., theirdesire to discern their vocation in life has led them to a placewhere contemplation of prayer and service may lead them to dothe will of God.



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called to holiness.” As part of the community life, the

women serve together to help the poor and pro-life

ministries. Once a month, they also meet with other

women to reflect and discuss the serious place discern-

ing has in their lives.

Casa Guadalupe began a few years ago in a house at

Newark when Lawmaster served campus ministry for

Rutgers University and NJIT. There she met Diana

Reyes and Bulay Minano, who both attended NJIT and

had the same desire to live in a place where they could

discern their vocations. Eventually they moved to

Harrison, which happened to be on the Feast of Our

Lady of Guadalupe. and then to the Clifton house ear-

lier this year in the spring.

“Living here has more structure than the previous

houses. It is very joyful being here,” said Reyes. “Each

of us has something special to contribute.”

Living in a house of discernment and serving togeth-

er in community has led them to many different con-

nections as they get to meet religious from different

orders and leaders from various organizations.

In fact, the women are in the process of making Casa

Guadalupe a non-profit organization, which would

allow them to serve the community in many different

ways.

Sister of Christian Charity Mary Edward Spohrer,

diocesan chancellor/delegate for religious vocations,

has spent time with the women and had dinner at the

residence said, she was “very touched by these women.

“They have a willingness to pray in the process of

discernment. They live a very simple, lifestyle –

Franciscan tradition. Their Eucharistic life is so com-

mendable as well,” she commented.

The residents attend Mass at nearby St. Philip

Church here, which is a short walk down the hill. They

said they feel lucky to be so close to the church within

walking distance.

Because of the successful model of Casa Guadalupe

here in Clifton, there is hope that another property can

be found within the vast region of the Paterson Diocese

for more young women who have the desire to experi-

ence the discernment process in this manner.

Sister Mary Edward said, “I pray for them individu-

ally each day. I hope they will be able to continue to

glorify God by their devotion, commitment and dis-

cernment in searching for God’s will in their lives.”

This story was published in the Aug. 4th edition of

The Beacon, newspaper of the Diocese of Paterson. It

is reprinted with the permission of The Beacon.



Clifton High School senior Alex Lemos has a new

appreciation for the value of freshly grown fruits and

vegetables. So do his classmates John Gonzalez and Josie

Red Wing, and De Paul High School junior Alan Jordan.

FromGround to Market

From left in Downtown Clifton selling their organic wares ona recent Friday, Alan Jordan, Sam Anderson, Lauren Shear,Alex Lemos and Josei Red Wing. At left, Lemos tends to cornat the former Schultheis Farm on Grove St.

By Carol Leonard

B A C K t o t h e E A R T H


Clifton High School senior Alex Lemos has a new

appreciation for the value of freshly grown fruits and

vegetables. So do his classmates John Gonzalez and Josie

Red Wing, and De Paul High School junior Alan Jordan.

The four Clifton teens worked as interns this sum-

mer at the former Schultheis Farm on Grove Street.

Using Green Acres funds, the old family farm was

purchased by the city six years ago as part of an effort

to maintain a portion of open space in an area once

dominated by farmland.

After efforts to find a farmer to work the land came

up empty, Clifton Councilwoman Mary Sadrakula

reached out to Jennifer Papa, executive director of City

Green. The Wyckoff-based non-profit organization

operates a community gardening program in Paterson’s

Eastside Park as well as school gardening programs in

several Bergen County schools.

This spring, City Green entered into a five-year lease

with Clifton, and in April began cultivating a one-acre

plot on the five-acre farm. The organization is paying

the city $1,000 a month to use the land and the farm-

house that sits at the front of the property.

The summer interns started working on the farm on

July 5 and completed their program on Aug. 19. They

were paid $8 an hour for an average of 25-30 hours a

week to help maintain and harvest the crops, which

included corn, tomatoes, green beans, squash and

watermelon, among other summertime favorites.

Papa’s college age son, Sam Anderson, who serves

as foreman for the farm, supervised the group, which

also included several other high school interns from

Paterson.

Every Friday, the teens would help load up a truck

with their pickings and head to the Clifton Farmers

Market on the corner of First St. and Clifton Ave. to sell

the fresh produce to the community. The leftovers that

didn’t sell they brought to the food pantry at St. Peter’s

Haven for distribution to needy families and to senior

citizen homes for the residents to enjoy. They also got

to bring home some of the fruits and vegetable to share

with their own families.

Red Wing and Jordan both had grown vegetables at

home in the past in small backyard gardens, but for

Lemos and Gonzalez working on the farm was their

first experience with growing crops and enjoying their

fresh taste right off the vine.

Even the two home gardeners admitted that they

learned much more than they knew before about the

process of caring for the plants to get the best crop

yield.

“We learned about how and why to tie up the toma-

to plants and why you need to keep the crops free of

weeds,” Jordan said.

Gonzalez feels that the knowledge he gained this

summer will help him with his plan to study civil engi-

neering after high school. “I’ve learned so much about

how to take care of the land and the soil,” he said.

“Learning about land use is part of what I’ll study in

college.”

City Green uses organic farming techniques, which

means that its crops are free of chemical pesticides and

herbicides. “We use composting and natural methods of

pest control, and we really work hard on building up the

health of the soil,” Papa said.

Organic crops generally have more nutrients than

conventionally grown fruits and vegetables because

they are grown in healthier, presticide-free soil. And,

there is strong evidence that chemical pesticide

residues, which in many cases cannot be totally washed

off fruits and vegetables, have been linked to the devel-

opment of some cancers.

Papa feels that teaching the students about the value

of organic gardening and farming methods is an impor-

tant part of the educational component of the internship

program.

Lemos admits that before working on the farm he

never gave a thought about the quality of his food.

“Personally, I didn’t care what I ate,” he said. “I’ve

changed my point of view. Now I know that organic is

much better for you. These chemicals are killing the

soil.”

Red Wing echoed his sentiments and said she enjoys

speaking to other people about the value of eating

organic.

During breaks in their farm duties, Papa sometimes

gathered the interns together to talk with them about

other aspects of nutrition, such as the dangers of con-

suming products containing a lot of high fructose corn

syrup.

The interns were very impressed by a film they

watched that showed the plight of migrant farm work-

ers who must wear face masks to protect themselves

from inhaling pesticides when working in the fields of

conventional, nonorganic farms. They also took a field

trip to the American Labor Museum in Haledon to see

an exhibit on migrant farm workers.

“We want them to understand the bigger picture of

sustainable agriculture and why we do what we

From left in Downtown Clifton selling their organic wares ona recent Friday, Alan Jordan, Sam Anderson, Lauren Shear,Alex Lemos and Josei Red Wing. At left, Lemos tends to cornat the former Schultheis Farm on Grove St.

By Carol Leonard

B A C K t o t h e E A R T H


do here,” Papa said. “I think they’ve

gained a new appreciation for farm-

ing and for the benefits of using

organic methods.”

The interns also attended weekly

half-day youth development work-

shops sponsored by City Green

through a grant from the Geraldine R.

Dodge Foundation, which focused on

communication and leadership skills,

goal setting and resume writing.

Papa’s organization receives fund-

ing from a number of other founda-

tions and organizations as well as

from companies such as Trader Joe’s,

Whole Food Market and UPS.

They also received a grant to

enable them to double the value of

food stamps, so that if a customer

presents these at the farm market, they

can purchase twice the amount of

wholesome fresh produce.

“This gives them the incentive to use their food

stamps for healthier food choices,” Papa said.

Her plans for the future at the former Schultheis

Farm include developing about 30 plots of the land for

community gardens, which local residents will be able

to lease starting next spring.

She hopes to add some fruit trees and a children’s

garden, where she will host visits from families and

field trips for school groups to tour and learn about the

principles of organic gardening and nutrition.

A roadside farm stand is another possibility for next

year, where passersby can stop to purchase some of the

freshly picked produce.

Papa is also moving forward with a project to reha-

bilitate the farmhouse, using funding she has received

as well as in-kind donations, including supplies from

Dubnoff Paints of Clifton. She is also working with

United Way to line up volunteers do some of the work

in the house.

Upon completion of the renovations, which will

include the addition of a commercial kitchen, she plans

to move her organization’s headquarters into the farm-

house.

The kitchen will be used to provide classes for

young children, teens and adults on the principles of

cooking for healthy eating as well as techniques of food

preservation, including canning and freezing. “There’s

a lot to be learned,” Papa said.

For more information about City Green programs,

contact Papa at 201-444-7514.

Clifton resident Dot Lukas found the vegetables fresh and well priced. She alsocomplemented Jonathan Gonzalez, a CHS senior and Taheen Singletary, a sen-ior at East Side High School in Paterson for their help. The Downtown Cliftonfresh market is open Fridays through Oct. 7.


F or Michael McGinley, there is no such thing as a

free lunch. The new principal at CHS believes

that you should work hard for everything you get

in life, and he hopes to instill this, among other values, in

his students as school gets underway this month. “We

need to teach kids the life les-

sons they’ll need as they go out

into the real world,” he said.

McGinley, who was chosen

from among 40 candidates for

the principal’s job, took over the

reigns at CHS on July 1. He

comes to Clifton following a

three-year stint as principal of

Garfield High School, where he

oversaw development of a

mandatory restructuring pro-

gram that helped the school

raise its academic performance

under the federal No Child Left

Behind law. The plan included a

movement toward three themat-

ic small learning communities

within the school.

He initiated a

Student/Family Advocacy Program to help keep students

on the path toward success in school and beyond by hav-

ing all teachers and administrators meet regularly with

an assigned small group of students. The advocates also

reach out to parents and guardians to help improve com-

munication between home and school.

The 51 year-old long-time educator was born in

Glasgow, Scotland, and immigrated to the US as a child

with his seven brothers and sisters. His father was a

plumber and worked for many years at the United

Nations building in New York City. McGinley gives his

dad credit for imparting upon him the strong work ethic

and sense of responsibility that he has today.

After growing up in Union City, McGinley went out

on his own, paying his own way through Jersey City

State College (now New Jersey City University), where

he majored in English.

While in college, he had no intention of becoming a

teacher and worked for a while in public relations.

Eventually, he realized that career wasn’t for him, so he

decided to go back to earn his teaching certificate, while

working as a substitute teacher and track coach at Union

Hill High School.

He spent seven and a half

years teaching English at

Central and West Side high

schools in Newark.

After getting his master’s

degree in administration and

supervision, McGinley landed

a vice principal job at Fort Lee

High School, where he handled

discipline and other student

management issues. He later

was appointed principal of an

elementary school in the dis-

trict, but after two years in that

position he missed being at the

high school level. “I loved the

elementary school kids, but I

knew that my first love was

high school,” he said.

His preference was to be in a diverse setting where he

could help kids who were struggling and needed extra

attention. “When I was in high school, I hated it,” he

admitted. “I didn’t like the clickiness and bullying. I

was lucky because I was a successful athlete and I had

a lot of brothers and sisters who watched out for me.

But I was aware of the kids who got lost and that both-

ered me. High school shouldn’t be a torturous journey.

It’s tough enough being a teenager.”

McGinley is pleased with what he was able to accom-

plish in Garfield. “I’m proud that the district is now mak-

ing AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) and that we were

able to set up the framework and structure for the small

learning communities,” he said.

With a student population at CHS nearly three times

that of Garfield, however, McGinley knows that chal-

lenges lie ahead for him.

By Carol Leonard

MUSTANG MCGINLEYNew CHS Principal Candid and Strong • by Carol Leonard


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Among his priorities will be the enhancement of safe-

ty, especially in light of the alleged rape of a female stu-

dent under a stairwell last spring. Following the arrest of

a suspect, the outcome of that case is still pending. But

it raised the concern of students, parents and the com-

munity and the new principal hopes to allay these fears.

McGinley will be shifting staff duty assignments so

that all doors and areas in the sprawling building will be

monitored throughout the day. “No one is going to be sit-

ting around,” he said, referring to teachers’ hall duties.

“We’ll have more adults in the hallways and once the

school day starts every door will be locked.”

In addition, the Board has discussed installing addi-

tional security cameras in the building, which McGinley

feels are a helpful deterrent to bad behavior.

He also plans to enforce the school’s policy that for-

bids students to leave the building during lunch periods.

Violation of that policy has been a concern over the years

and has been a hot topic at Board meetings.

Another bone of contention for McGinley is seeing

students come to school inappropriately dressed. While

visiting CHS before the end of last school year, he was

troubled to see the sloppy attire and “lack of clothing” on

some of the students.

In Garfield, all students wear uniforms to school and,

although McGinley is not advocating for such a policy

here, he does plan to require students to adhere to a dress

code. “They have to get ready for the real world,” he

said. “In real life in the working world you can’t dress the

way they dress. It wouldn’t be tolerated.”

McGinley feels that students need to start moving in

that direction with respect to clothing choices for school.

Although he describes himself as a disciplinarian

when it comes to rules, the new principal doesn’t feel that

punishment is always the answer. In consultation with his

team of vice principals, he has made recommendations to

the superintendent regarding proposed changes to some

disciplinary policies.

“My effectiveness is in my ability to make real con-

nections,” he said. “Kids know when you care about them

and they want to meet your expectations. I saw this in

Newark, I saw this in Fort Lee and I saw it in Garfield.”

McGinley said that it is important to de-escalate rather

than escalate the situation when conflicts take place

between students and teachers. He tries to impart this

advice to students as another life lesson. “I ask them,

when you get a job what do you think will happen if you

get into an argument with your boss?”

McGinley knows that in a school as large as CHS it is

important for the four vice principals to all have input in

his policy decisions. For this reason, he spent the first few

weeks meeting with his administrative team to discuss a

number of issues.

“We spent an entire week on the vice principals’ duties

and who should handle what based on their areas of

expertise,” he said.

The vice principals also made recommendations to

McGinley regarding which teachers should be assigned

to certain duties. Other topics included a review of disci-

pline and attendance policies.

McGinley, who usually arrives at school by 6 a.m.,

plans to be very visible to students, parents and the pub-

lic. “I go to everything after school and in the evening,

games, concerts, plays,” he said.

When he took the principal’s job in Garfield, he moved

to Nutley from West New York so that he would have a

shorter commute to the school, and he’s pleased that his

new residence is even closer to Clifton.

M U S T A N G M c Gi n l e y


“I think it’s important to be out in the community,” he

said. “It helps to quell the rumors and gets rid of the dis-

connect and false perceptions that people have of our stu-

dents. We need to reach out more to communities within

the community.”

McGinley plans to do a principal’s newsletter, which

he will have translated, along with all other major school

documents, into Spanish and Arabic, the two most fre-

quently spoken languages at home of district students.

He speaks Spanish and hopes to use the services of

staff members who speak Arabic and other languages to

help overcome the language barriers that exist with some

families.

He also wants to make the schedule for parent confer-

ences more flexible to accommodate the needs of parents

and guardians who work either day or evening jobs.

Regarding the political climate in New Jersey and

across the country with respect to public school teachers’

salaries and benefits, McGinley commented, “We live in

a time when educators are really not valued. If we know

that’s happening, we need to make ourselves more valu-

able. Public education is the great equalizer. We need to

make it clear to the public that we are not just teaching

kids subjects, we are giving them the tools that they’ll

need to succeed.”

M U S T A N G M c Gi n l e y


After a program revival this past decade that culmi-

nated in a 2006 State Championship, the Fighting

Mustangs have raised the expectations of the team

to new heights. These aspirations are not expected to be

diminished under new head coach Steve Covello, the former

defensive coordinator for the now departed Ron Anello.

“The whole coaching, teaching thing is just natural,

something I really enjoy doing,” explained Covello, who

started in Clifton as an assistant with Anello in 2004 before

being promoted to defensive coordinator midway through

the team’s 2006 championship season.

Covello explained that he is cut from a similar cloth of his

predecessor, hoping to win games thanks to a suffocating

defense and hard nosed run game while helping his student-

athletes prepare for life in college and beyond.

“We preach accountability and responsibility. My pri-

mary focus for these kids after this is education and second,

college football,” said Covello. “We want kids to go

FIGHTING MUSTANGSteve Covello Wants Clifton to be a Player’s First Choice • by Joe Hawrylko


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F I G H T I N G Mu s t a n g

Carlton Palmer(1921)

Joe Grecco(1945-1963)

Bill Vander Closter(1964-1979)

Harry Steinmark(1924)

Al Lesko(1935-1940)

Vic Dragon(1941-1944)

Dennis Heck(1985-87)

Alex Kaplanovich(1988-1989)

John Lischak(1980-1981)

Jack Jones(1982-1984)

Ron Anello(2004-2010)

James D. Hill(1998)

Chet Parlavecchio(1999-2003)

John Iannucci(1990-1992)

James Kelly(1993-1997)

Art Donnelly1926-1934

While Clifton’s football legacy has

been one of state championships and

packed stadiums, it’s also been one

of rocky fields, political bickering and disap-

pointment. Eighteen coaches have lived through

those seasons, all leaving their mark on

Clifton’s football history. Most are pictured here

but we could not source photos for:

Clifford S. Hurlburt (1922-1923)

Steve Holster (1925)

on and play college ball, no matter what level. Some

of my best friends in the world are people I played

college ball with. Football provides structure and

schedule. If you don’t have organizational skills,

you’re going to be crushed and overwhelmed.”

The coach believes that preparing his Mustangs to

be well rounded adults will translate into on the field

success as well.

“We are stressing a code of conduct this year. It’s

going to be based on behavior, attendance and class

room performance,” he said. “When you walk down

the hallways of CHS, you represent the team.”

On the gridiron, Covello anticipates a similar play-

style to Anello’s, with a few tweaks to add additional

wrinkles to the playbook.

“We’re still going to be a ground and pound team,”

said Covello. The runningback stable and ferocious

defense have been Clifton trademarks since the

revival.

“We’re going to set up the pass with the run. We’re

gong to be physical. We’re going to make you pre-

pare for us. We’re going to give you a lot of different

looks. We’re not making wholesale changes, but we

want to make teams prepare for us a little differently.”

Because of the similarity between styles and


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Coach Covello and his wife Angie with their girls: MaciCarmen, Olivia Grace and Gianna Faith.



his decision to retain all of the coaching staff, Covello

believes that the transition between coaches will be

smooth.

“I have a knowledgeable staff, and they’re loyal,” he

said. “When I was given the job, people asked who are

you going to hire? That was simple: the guys who have

already been here for seven years. The first goal is sur-

rounding yourself with loyal guys. You want them to be

positive role models for the kids. I didn’t have to look

too far.”

The coach has also been doing some preparation on

his own as well. Covello has been reading x, the biogra-

phy of the New York Jets talented and boisterous head

coach Rex Ryan for insight into the job.

“I am not even a Jets fan. I’m a Dolphins fan actual-

ly,” he laughed. “But reading the book as a first year

head coach, it’s great what he does. They like to have

fun, and we like to have fun.”

That’s something that Covello wants to stress in

Clifton, which he believes will help create a bond

between the players, and the players and coaches.

“We’re like father figures on the team,” said Covello.

“People don’t realize that arm around that kid goes a

long way.”

Creating a sense of trust in the program wil allow the

team to better prepare for the upcoming season. Though

positive, Covello knows that the ultimately lost out on a

playoff bid last season due to early season losses, which

is something Clifton cannot afford if Covello’s dream of

a state championship is to be realized.

“When you have the opportunity to walk through the

tunnel at night at Giants Stadium, you want to get back

there every year,” said coach. “You win one state cham-

pionship and don’t win another after, people start to talk

about it. But after last year (Clifton was 6-3 but missed

the playoffs), we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

“The offense needs to prove itself. We beat ourselves

last year,” he continued, while noting that he is opti-

mistic due to the return of Patrick Ferrara, a four years

tarter at quarterback. “Patrick is coming in again and

he’s been working hard this summer. He’s a four year

starter and we’re expecting a lot in terms of leadership.

He has a strong grasp of our system.”

“We’re 0-2 against PCTI,” added Covello. “We’re

getting our kids ready for Sept. 9. We want them living

for the day. We will be prepared and we want to win.

What better way to send the message that you should

have stayed in Clifton.”


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Though the team has only been around since the 60s, the CHS boys soc-

cer squad has long been regarded one of the top programs in New Jersey

thanks to talented players and excellent coaches. After nine successful

years at the helm, departed head coach Joe Vespignani has earned his place

alongside legends like Fernando Rossi and Severin Palydowycz in Mustang lore.

Under Vespignani’s watch, Clifton went 170-38-8, decimating the opposition

with 658 goals while giving up just 176. Clifton was crowned Group 4 State Co-

Champs in 2007, and returned to the State Finals again in 2008 and 2009. The

three consecutive trips are an unmatched state record. Vespignani’s boys also

won six Passaic County titles and seven league titles during his tenure.

Clifton’s other coaches also had equally impressive resumes. Rossi finished

with a 353-95-51 record, and Palydowycz was 93-14. Records for Angelo Izzo

could not be compiled before deadline.

M U S T A N G Fu t b o l

Joe Vespignani (2002-2010), the late Fernando Rossi (1978-2001), Angelo Izzo (1972-77), Severin Palydowycz (1964-1971).


Alfred Bido isn’t just the new soccer coach inClifton. He’s the guy expected to replace head

coach Joe Vespignani, who lived up the to the

immense expectations created by his predecessors, the

late legend Fernando Rossi, and the founding father

Severin Palydowycz.

The bar is already set high for the assistant turned

head coach, and Bido is up to the challenge.

“It’s a positive expectation. I consider it a positive

atmosphere for me as a coach and for my coaching

staff,” he said. “I think it’s a positive for all of the soc-

cer program.”

For Bido, who has more than two decades of semi pro

coaching experience in his native country of Albania, the

goal coming in is to simply continue to successful ways

of Vespignani, whom the new coach considers a friend

and mentor.

“My goal as head coach is to continue the tradition of

the past under head coach Rossi and Joe Vespignani,” he

stated. “As time goes on, we need to improve, to see

progress, every year. The Clifton soccer program to me

is not only winning, but teaching the kids, education,

learning manners, life skills and creating an exciting

environment for education. We want to create profes-

sional student athletes.”

“We’re looking to win the Passaic County

Championship and the State Championship in group

four. We’re going to fight for it, so you never know,” he

continued. “The Clifton Boys Soccer Program, the

potential exists in this town with its diversity and its pas-

sion for soccer from the young students and community

of Clifton, to be one of the best programs in the country,

not only the state of New Jersey. I am confident. It is

not going to be easy. There’s high level competition in

Group 4, but I consider this our destiny. It is our fight to

be ranked one day in our near future.”

The notion isn’t as far fetched as it seems. Clifton has

had much success over recent years, making New Jersey

soccer history by making it to the state finals three years

in a row—2007 through 2009—with the Mustangs earn-

ing a Co-Championship with a draw in the 2007 state

title game.

Bido, who joined the program in 2002 after

Vespignani was hired, served as an assistant Varsity

coach and JV coach during the run and said it serves as

inspiration to the current squad.

“The recent success we had was because Joe and I and

the coaching staff, we all got experience in how to deal

with a complete season, how to prepare the team in the

preseason and how to manage the power of the team dur-

ing the Passaic County Tournament and the State Final,”

said Bido. “We always got into the best form around

mid-October to mid-November.”

The two coaches developed a bond which showed in

their work. “From the beginning, he valued me a lot and

I respected him. We got on the same page. He always

told me, Fred, you are the tactician of the team, I am the

head coach. You tell me what you see in the game, what

is not going right and what we need to change,”

Alfred Bido replaces Joe Vespignani as head coach.

MUSTANG FUTBOLDiverse & Strong, CHS Soccer Goal is for Growth • by Joe Hawrylko


Joe Vespignani (2002-2010), the late Fernando Rossi (1978-2001), Angelo Izzo (1972-77), Severin Palydowycz (1964-1971).


explained Bido. “It was a very good relationship. Joe

is about 32. He is like my son, but also he’s my friend,

a very, very great friend. He’s the best guy I’ve met in

the United States and we’ve learned from each other.

From him, I learned from his young age, for his passion

that he had for the game.”

Bido said he plans to make few modifications to how

the program was run under Vespignani’s watch. The

main changes will be tactical. The new coach said he

would like to use different formations and players based

on the opponent, and would like to settle on a smaller

group of players used in games, a trend which started

towards the end of Vespignani’s tenure in Clifton.

“Joe sometimes had the opinion that we were going

to have 24 players, so we’d try to play 24 players,” he

said. “After a couple years, I said to Joe, if we want to

be competitive, we need to stick with 16 players. They

are supposed to dominate always, the starting line up.”

And although Bido noted that the team regularly hits

its stride just in time for championship season, the coach

said it is his goal to open the season in top form to com-

pete with other highly ranked schools. He referenced

last season’s opening match against Don Bosco, which

Clifton lost in the closing minutes, as an example of how

a lack of fitness and tactical preparation can impact the

game. When the teams squared off again a few weeks

later, the Mustangs took Don Bosco to a 1-1 draw.

“We’ve discuss that change with the boys. They

know they will have to sacrifice time from summer, not

going on vacation,” he said. “We are guys together that

love this sport, love soccer, and love to represent

Clifton. We want to represent on the highest level and

win everything, but we need to win the first game

against Don Bosco this season on Sept. 10 at home.”

The coach said he’s counting on Mustang faithful to

help cheer on the boys and usher in a new era in

Clifton’s storied soccer program.

“The fan base is important, whether it’s a few, 500 or

1,000 people,” he said. “They come out, not only in

Clifton, but for big games that we have in the Passaic

County Tournament. It’s a big factor. Emotionally, it

gives the kids the support they need in their hearts.”

“The potential exists in Clifton. It’s a big town, it’s

diverse,” Bido added. “The Combination of skillful

Latino soccer, combined with American soccer with

tactical European soccer. I’m a traditional coach from

Europe. I like that European approach to soccer.”


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From top left, Abril,Fatima and Vonetta.That’s Maria andSilvana at left.

The four year starter is a rare

thing in high school football.

Not only is there a huge phys-

ical gap between an average 14 year

old and a 17 year old, but there’s the

issue of maturity, something many kids

don’t get the hang of until well after high school. A fresh-

man quarterback with that type of potential is a prized pos-

session to any coach.

Steve Covello has been around the game long enough to know

that. The new Mustang head coach may be at the helm of a run-

first, smash-mouth defensive team, but he understands the value of

his quarterback, Pat Ferrara. Covello’s field general has honed his

game over the past four years, and the coach believes that Ferrara

has the talent, experience and mental toughness to return a team

that just missed the playoffs in 2010 back to postseason glory.


Fighting Mustangs 2011Fighting Mustangs 2011

Fighting Mustangs Seniors from left front: Jason Ramsay, Tyler Holmes, MoRamadan, Sal Farhan, Ivan Cruz. Second row: Ryan White, Kevin Martinez,Tim Brown, Tyler Gonzalez, Luis Febles. Third row: VinnyZirrito, Patrick Ferrara, Chris Rogers, Kevin DelaCruz, Ryan Hariton, Dondre McClain.


SIBLINGDISCOUNT

CHS Fall Sports Preview

“We have very high expectations for him this year,”

said Covello, who praised Ferrara’s work ethic and lead-

ership.

The presence of the veteran quarterback will particu-

larly benefit the run game, which is the focal point of the

Mustang offense. Ferrara’s abilities from under center

will keep defenses from stacking the line against the

rush, and have allowed Covello to implement some new

plays on the offensive side of the ball.

However, both the quarterback and the running game

can only be effective if the offensive line provides ample

protection. Luckily for Covello, the

Mustangs in the trenches are battle

tested as well, with many linemen

returning as starters in 2011.

Senior center Kevin Delacruz

enters his second year at the heart of

the line for the Fighting Mustangs.

To the left, he is flanked by senior left

guard Chris Rogers, a three year

starter, and junior Chris Acevedo at

tackle. On the right side of the line,

senior Tyler Gonzales has earned the

right guard position due to his

impressive camp, and senior Kevin

Martinez will anchor down at tackle

for the second year on Varsity.

At tight end, senior Tim Brown returns for his second

campaign with the Varsity team as the starter. Behind

him on the depth chart is senior Mo Ramadan, a versatile

athlete, who Covello plans to integrate into the offense

through two tight end sets as both a blocker and a

receiver. Both may appear in the game at the same time

frequently due to their pass catching skills, and more

importantly in Clifton’s offense, to help open up lanes

for the running backs.

The backfield will once again be cluttered for the

Fighting Mustangs, with an impressive selection of

runners that are able to either punish defenders or go

right around them based on the situation.

Senior Michael Naidack will be the thunder out of the

backfield, entering the game either as a runner or

fullback, depending on the situation. His physical play

will be complimented by junior Dondre McClain, who is

perhaps the most dynamic of the group, able to rip off

big chunks of yards to keep the offense moving

downfield.

“He’s a very explosive running back. He had

something like 600 yards in our system last year,” said

Covello. “If he was our marquee back, he could have

had over 1,000 yards. And he’s improved tremendously

from last year.”

Also in the backfield mix are seniors Sal Farhan and

Ryan Harrington.

“(Harrington) is one of the better football players I’ve

come across,” said Covello. Harrington is one of many

two way players for the Mustangs in

2011. “He’s just a real all purpose

guy.”

At wideout, Clifton’s top threat will

be Tyler Holmes, who returns for his

second stint on Varsity. Senior Jason

Ramsey and junior Conrad Jackson

will fight for time behind the senior

Holmes.

Defense once again figures to be a

strength for Clifton in 2011. Covello

plans on running 4-3 base defense

similar to last year’s squad, with some

added wrinkles to keep the opposition

on its toes.

The line will be anchored by Kevin

Martinez, Chris Acevedo and senior Ryan White at

defensive end, while Chris Rogers and Tyler Gonzales, a

senior will slot in at tackle. Senior Alex Tirado will

rotate in at both positions, and also figures to be in the

mix on the offensive line as well.

Linebackers wil be led by senior Michael Naidack, a

two year starter at MLB. Outside linebackers include

fellow senior Sal Farhan and junior Adam Linarejo, who

played on Varsity in 2010.

“Our whole secondary returns this year. That and our

defensive line are our strengths this year,” said Covello.

McClain and Holmes will start at corner, with seniors

Jayson Ramsey and Jim Scilone coming in as backups.

Ramadan and Harrington will be the safeties.

“We’re looking to finish games this year,” said

Covello. “We want to be in playoff position by week

five instead of playing the wish and hope game. We’ve

got no one to blame but ourselves.”

Mustangs

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FootballSept 11 PCTI 7:00 pm

Sept 16 Teaneck 7:00 pm

Sept 23 @ Eastside 7:00 pm

Oct 1 @ Bergen Tech 2:00 pm

Oct 9 Ridgewood 7:00 pm

Oct 14 Fair Lawn 7:00 pm

Oct 29 @ Kennedy 1:00 pm

Nov 4 @ Don Bosco Prep 7:00 pm

Nov 24 Passaic 10:30 am

All Stories by Joe Hawrylko


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For the CHS Cheerleaders, the season began in the

first week of August, as the girls were practicing in

Clifton, working on cheers that they will use to lead the

fans at the football games this fall.

As part of their pre-season preparation, the Mustangs

attended Pine Forest Cheerleading Camp in Pennsylvania,

where they learned cheers, dances, and stunting skills.

They also participated in team-building activities.

The Mustangs received awards for cheer and dance

and placed second in the cheer division of the camp

championships. Freshman Christine Castillo won her

level of the camp jump competition.

Senior Cheerleaders Jazmine Perdomo, Laura Jaramillo, Kelsey McGinley, Katie Amoruso, Carina Davila and Jessica Geary.



There’s a new face at the helm ofthe storied boys soccer team in

2011, but the expectations are the

same for Clifton: Win it all. Head

coach Fred Bido, an assistant and

JV coach under previous head

coach Joe Vespignani, sees a talent-

ed program that is just a few tweaks

away from greatness.

Getting there will be a matter of

physical preparation and refining

Clifton’s tactical approach to

games. Bido’s squad will be led by

senior captain Brendan Guzman, a

four year starter who will anchor

the stout Mustang backline as a

sweeper.

He will be backed by junior

Matthew Miazga at stopper, and

flanked by seniors Jose Macedo

and Diego Espinoza. Senior Chris

Komperda can play on the outside

or as a stopper, and will be utilized

by Bido in both situations depend-

ing on the opponent.

Other defensive players for the

Mustangs include seniors Kelvin

Kote, Humberto Vasquez and

Alejandro Hernandez.

Though traditionally a defensive

squad, Clifton features dynamic

talent in the midfield under Bido.

Junior Danny Herrera is a three

year starter for Varsity at center

midfield, and should make for a

potent combination with senior

Jaime Montero, who will push the

field forward from his attacking

midfield position.

Junior Jermaine Hernandez will

once again start on the right side of

the midfield, and will be joined by

senior Diego Cozar. Other midfield-

ers include seniors Ramiro

Marquez, Jacek Hasaj and Anthony

Atoche. Sophomores Cesar

Miranda and Jason Ibanez will also

factor in for playing time.

Continued on page 54

Back row, from left: Joel Hernandez, Jaime Montero, Brandan Guzman,Chris Komperda, Jacek Hasaj, Diego Cozar, Adam Pawlik and Jose Macedo.Front: Gerson Espinoza, Diego Espinoza, Ramiro Marquez, Anthony Atoche,Alejandro Hernandez and Kelvin Kote.

Mustangs

Boys SoccerSept 10 Don Bosco Prep 10:00 am

Sept 12 @ Passaic 4:00 pm

Sept 14 Eastside 4:00 pm

Sept 16 @ Wayne Hills 4:00 pm

Sept 19 Kennedy 4:00 pm

Sept 22 @ PCTI 4:00 pm

Sept 26 @ Wayne Valley 4:00 pm

Oct 3 @ Don Bosco Prep 4:00 pm

Oct 5 Passaic 4:00 pm

Oct 13 Bergen Tech 4:00 pm

Oct 14 @ Eastside 4:00 pm

Oct 18 PCTI 4:00 pm

Oct 20 @ Passaic Valley 4:00 pm

Oct 25 Lakeland 4:00 pm

Oct 27 West Milford 4:00 pm


Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Baseball

Mustangs

Track

Mustangs

Golf

Mustangs

Volleyball

Mustangs

Lacrosse

Mustangs

Cross Country

Mustangs

Football

Mustangs

Boys Soccer

Mustangs

Girls Soccer


Mustangs

Gymnastics

The 2011 LadyMustangs varsityplayers.

Back row from left: Sam Pedraza, KimDouglas, LexiBalkjy, CarlyPadula, andStephanie SanJuan.

Middle: Stephanie Pinto,Marina Rodriguez,Gina LoBue, and MarissaFragapane.

Front center: Arden Lembryk.

Story starts on next page.


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Oct 18 PCTI 4:00 pm

Oct 20 @ Passaic Valley 4:00 pm

Oct 25 Lakeland 4:00 pm



The 2011 LadyMustangs varsityplayers.

Back row from left: Sam Pedraza, KimDouglas, LexiBalkjy, CarlyPadula, andStephanie SanJuan.

Middle: Stephanie Pinto,Marina Rodriguez,Gina LoBue, and MarissaFragapane.

Front center: Arden Lembryk.

Story starts on next page.


Sunday, October 2, 2011• 8:30 am

The 4th Annual John Samra Scholarship Memorial 5K Run/Walk— Certified Course —Start & End, Clifton City Hall

Paulison Ave. ShopRite503 Paulison Ave.

Clifton/Passaic • 973-471-0868

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Stan Lembryk’s Lady Mustangskeep on inching closer to their goal

of a state championship with each

passing season, having collected

another round of League and County

crown in a successful 2010 cam-

paign that ended in the State

Sectional semis.

With the return of several key

players, the head coach believes that

Clifton will once again be in the

thick of things at the end of Autumn.

“It’s great to have so much suc-

cess right off the bat again,” said

Lembryk, who is in the third year of

his second stint at the helm of the

Lady Mustangs. “I attribute it to not

only the very good players here, but

the hard work of the team. The

camaraderie, the sacrifice of the

team. In the end, when you have

that, you have success.”

Sophomore Rachael Egyed (First

team All-League, second team All-

County) took over the starting posi-

tion on Varsity in the 2010 season

and enters this year as the incum-

bent. She will be vying for playing

time over seniors Marina Rodriguez

and Carly Padula.

“We’re well balanced,” said

Lembryk. “We’ve been one tough

team to break down.”

Leading the defense will be senior

Sam Pedraza, who will play in the

center. “She’s one of the strongest

defensive players in the area,” said

Lembryk. Pedraza was named first

team All-League in 2010. “Tenacity,

leadership and skill. She’s a no non-

sense player.” She will be joined in

the heart of the defense by Danielle

Celestine, a sophomore who locked

down a Varsity starting position as a

freshman in 2010.

Other central defenders who will

see playing time include senior

Alexis Balkjy and junior Julia

Ulczak.

On the outside, the starters figure

to be juniors Shannon Guzman and

Katie Brody, with senior Stephanie

Pinto pushing for time. Other

defensemen in the mix include fresh-

man standouts Meghan Sekaniks

and Nicole Noncancio.

The Mustang midfield will be

orchestrated by senior Gina LoBue,

a four year starter at centermid who

collected first team All-League and

second team All-County honors in

2010. Senior Marissa Fragapane

joins LoBue in the midfield, and

will be counted on to contribute

greatly after earning first team All-

League honors last year.

Senior Kim Douglas, who first

cracked the Varsity lineup as a

sophomore, will play defensive

mid. Freshman Mariana Jaramillo

is also a projected starter in the

midfield. Other contributors

include senior Stephanie San Juan,

juniors Annette Malysa, Victoria

Vail, and freshmen Nicole Rzekiec

and Marisa Ale.

Up front, Junior Delana

Pasquale will be featured as the

attacking midfielder, tasked with

pushing the ball up to Jennie

Hornstra, Clifton’s talented senior

striker who was named to the North

1 All-State team. “Win champi-

onships, that’s the mindset here,”

said Lembryk. “We’ve got a great

group of people here.”

Mustangs

Girls SoccerSept 10 @ IHA 12:00 pm


Sept 17 @ Brick 4:00 pm


Sept 22 PCTI 4:00 pm

Sept 27 @ Bergen Tech 4:00 pm

Oct 4 Wayne Valley 4:00 pm

Oct 6 IHA 4:00 pm

Oct 12 Eastside 4:00 pm

Oct 18 @ PCTI 4:00 pm

Oct 20 Passaic Valley 4:00 pm

Oct 25 @ Lakeland 4:00 pm


Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Baseball

Mustangs

Track

Mustangs

Golf

Mustangs

Volleyball

Mustangs

Lacrosse

Mustangs

Cross Country

Mustangs

Football

Mustangs

Boys Soccer

Mustangs

Girls Soccer


Mustangs

Gymnastics

Up front, Bido will utilize a combinate of seniors

Adam Pawlik and Gerson Espinoza to generate

offense. Much like the midfield, this combination can

change based on the formation the coach uses in the

game. Montero, Herrera or Hasaj could all end up

seeing time at forward during the season. Junior

Christopher Ugarte, who played on Varsity in 2010,

will also factor in at attack.

In net will be senior Joel Hernandez, who served as

backup on the Varsity squad in 2010. Junior Jonathan

Diaz and sophomore Justin Purdy will back up the

senior.

“The offense will come naturally. We’ll score and

win a lot of games,” said Bido. “But the key is set

plays. The scrimmages have been tough, but they

give us experience. It allows the players to be realis-

tic about where they’re at right now. We’re on the

right path.

Boys Soccer, continued from page 52



Sunday, October 2, 2011• 8:30 am

The 4th Annual John Samra Scholarship Memorial 5K Run/Walk— Certified Course —Start & End, Clifton City Hall

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Clifton/Passaic • 973-471-0868

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Head coach Mike Doktor knowsthat Clifton’s from just a year ago

could have been much better. But

even though it was somewhat a dis-

appointment in his eyes, the coach

believes that the Lady Mustangs

enter 2011 with many reasons to be

optimistic.

“We had four seniors last year, so

it was a bit of a rebuilding season for

us,” he said. ‘This year, we’ve got

some extra experience. We’ve got a

lot of returning players. We’re going

to be very, very solid.”

Junior Emily Guzman was a

standout for the Lady Mustangs in

2010, collecting second team All-

League honors as a middle hitter.

She will again be expected to shoul-

der the load this coming season.

Seniors Kelly Young and Zeina

Halwani also return at the outside

hitter position, and classmate

Meghan Fahy is back as the team

defensive specialist.

“We’re a strong team this year,

with lots of depth, the most we’ve

had in years,” added Doktor. “We’re

four deep in each position.”

However, two of the coach’s play-

ers to watch in 2011 were not on the

club last season. Senior Alex

Travoric recently came to America

this past year, and at 6’1, will make

her presence felt on the court.

Standout freshman April

DiAngelo is slated to make an

immediate impact, as she is able to

play any position on the court.

“April has played since she was

five or six. Two of her sisters played

for me,” said Doktor. “She’s proba-

bly had more court time than any

freshman ever.”

Buoyed by his new additions,

Doktor is confident: “We’re definite-

ly going to improve on 12-8.”



Back row from left is April DiAngelo, Christine Peskosky, Emily Guzman,Alex Travoric, Zeina Halwani and Kelly Young. Middle: Mel Poplawski, MelOliveras, Callie Shanahan, Renee Korczynski and Sara Douglass. Front:Julia Woolsey and Meghan Fahy.

Head coach Chad Cole has achallenge ahead of him this sea-

son as he tries to replace the five

starters he lost to graduation at the

end of the 2010 season in which

the Mustangs went 6-12. Building

off of his two returning starters

and the enthusiasm of his girls,

Cole believes that Clifton will be

competitive this season.

“We lost five of seven starters.

There’s a lot of new girls here, but

we’re not that inexperienced over-

all,” he said. “A lot of JV players

will move up. I love coaching this

season, all the girls come off sum-

mer break and are excited to play.”

Senior Payal Handiwala and

junior Hemakshi Mandania are the

lone returners from Varsity, and

will be counted on by coach to

help acclimate the newcomers to

the top squad.

They will be battling for singles

slots with seniors Vidhi Patel and

Zalak Patel, and junior Kayla

Correa. Cole said that sophomore

Natasha Mendoza is the most

experienced player and will likely

lead the singles team.

“We’re going to be very com-

petitive in our league,” he said.

“But we have to player the good

teams out of it too. But we should

be competitive.”

Mustangs

VolleyballSept 9 @ IHA. 4:00 pm

Sept 12 Passaic 4:00 pm


Sept 16 Wayne Hills 4:00 pm

Sept 20 @ Kennedy 4:00 pm



Sept 24 North Hunterdon 10:00 am

Sept 27 Wayne Valley 4:00 pm

Sept 30 Ridgewood 4:00 pm

Oct 1 Randolph 2:00 pm

Oct 3 Ridge 4:30 pm

Oct 5 IHA 4:00 pm

Oct 6 @ Passaic 4:00 pm


Oct 15 @ Livingston 9:00 am



Oct 21 Kennedy 4:00 pm


Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Baseball

Mustangs

Track

Mustangs

Golf

Mustangs

Volleyball

Mustangs

Lacrosse

Mustangs

Cross Country

Mustangs

Football

Mustangs

Boys Soccer

Mustangs

Girls Soccer


Mustangs

Gymnastics

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Head coach Chad Cole has achallenge ahead of him this sea-

son as he tries to replace the five

starters he lost to graduation at the

end of the 2010 season in which

the Mustangs went 6-12. Building

off of his two returning starters

and the enthusiasm of his girls,

Cole believes that Clifton will be

competitive this season.

“We lost five of seven starters.

There’s a lot of new girls here, but

we’re not that inexperienced over-

all,” he said. “A lot of JV players

will move up. I love coaching this

season, all the girls come off sum-

mer break and are excited to play.”

Senior Payal Handiwala and

junior Hemakshi Mandania are the

lone returners from Varsity, and

will be counted on by coach to

help acclimate the newcomers to

the top squad.

They will be battling for singles

slots with seniors Vidhi Patel and

Zalak Patel, and junior Kayla

Correa. Cole said that sophomore

Natasha Mendoza is the most

experienced player and will likely

lead the singles team.

“We’re going to be very com-

petitive in our league,” he said.

“But we have to player the good

teams out of it too. But we should

be competitive.”

CHS Seniors in front, from left: Aalak Patel, Payal Handiwala, Vidhi Patel.In rear, juniors Hemakshi Mandania, Kayla Correa and Claudia Gonzalez.

Sept 9 @ IHA. 4:00 pm







Sept 24 North Hunterdon 10:00 am


Sept 30 Ridgewood 4:00 pm

Oct 1 Randolph 2:00 pm

Oct 3 Ridge 4:30 pm

Oct 5 IHA 4:00 pm



Oct 15 @ Livingston 9:00 am





Mustangs

TennisSept 6 @ IHA 4:00 pm





Sept 22 PCTI 4:00 pm



Oct 5 IHA 4:00 pm







Oct 25 @ West Milord 4:00 pm

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Baseball

Mustangs

Track

Mustangs

Golf

Mustangs

Volleyball

Mustangs

Lacrosse

Mustangs

Cross Country

Mustangs

Football

Mustangs

Boys Soccer

Mustangs

Girls Soccer


Mustangs

Gymnastics



Back row from left is Raul Letona, Michael Czerhoniak, Chirag Desai, Ryan Dziuba and Vedanta Nayak. Front row isMiguel Garcia, Veronica Medina, Joseph Smeriglio, Gillian Swisher and Monica Miazga.

Clifton’s cross country squadskeep on dominating the competi-

tion high atop Garret Mountain,

with the girls going undefeated to

the tune of a 7-0 record, while the

boys ended the season with a 6-1

mark. Each squad won its league

and division, and girls also came

home to Clifton as County

Champions.

In 2011, head coach John

Pontes expects his teams to once

again be competitive despite los-

ing some key talent after the 2010

season.

“We graduated a lot of talent on

both sides,” explained Pontes, who

praised the help of his assistant,

Mike Rogers, a CHS history

teacher and former state sectional

champion during his high school

years at Garfield. “I think the

boys are a little better than the

girls right now at this point. We

will be in the mix there some-

where though. We have a nice

group.”

The head coach will have

numerous returning athletes at his

disposal, but the key will be to

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find runners to replace the depart-

ed talent.

For the girls, Gabby Gonzaga

will pace the squad. Pontes is

expecting big things from the jun-

ior who is expected to lead the

girls in scoring.

“She’s by far our best runner,”

he added.

Her classmate, Yuaria Yuasa, is

another returner, and will be

counted on heavily in 2011.

Senior captain Jillian Swisher, a

four year Varsity member on the

cross country team, will also be

another leader for the Mustangs.

Pontes also noted that he is

expecting good results from junior

Ivonne Boria, a cousin of Jessie

Boria, another top runner for the

boys side. “They do all of my

recruiting,” laughed Pontes,

whose teams have featured numer-

ous familial ties stretching back

generations.

Other runners include junior

Alexa Budhi and senior Monica

Miazga, who also excels in winter

and spring track for Clifton.

Pontes noted that senior

Veronica Medina could surprise

competitors this fall on the moun-

tain.

“She’s brand new to cross coun-

try,” he said. “She did spring for

us and we saw a lot of potential.”

The coach added that freshman

Sophia Nedelcheva has impressed

during summer workouts and will

be a factor in the fall.

For the boys, junior Jessie Boria

leads the back. He has been a

mainstay on the Mustang cross

country team since his freshman

year.

Senior Fabian Rodriguez and

David Monclova also figure to be

major contributors this season.

Junior Darren Malysa will be

counted on more in what is his

second year on the cross country

squad.

Senior Ryan Dziuba and

Vedanta Nayak will captain the

2011 boys team. Other contribu-

tors include sophomores Jay Rana

and Justin Tanayan.

Overall, Pontes has high hopes

for 2011, and believes in the stu-

dent athletes that end up impress-

ing him every year.

“The boys, if they gel and keep

healthy, can make some noise by

counties,” he said. “If every coach

had kids who believe as they come

to believe, the job is a gift.”


59 COLOR

CHS Fall Sports Preview Mustangs

Cross CountrySept 10 Eastside 4:00 pm

Sept 13 @ Kennedy. 4:30 pm




Oct. 28 W. Milford 4:15 pm

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Baseball

Mustangs

Track

Mustangs

Golf

Mustangs

Volleyball

Mustangs

Lacrosse

Mustangs

Cross Country

Mustangs

Football

Mustangs

Boys Soccer

Mustangs

Girls Soccer


Mustangs

Gymnastics

Clifton’s cross country squadskeep on dominating the competi-

tion high atop Garret Mountain,

with the girls going undefeated to

the tune of a 7-0 record, while the

boys ended the season with a 6-1

mark. Each squad won its league

and division, and girls also came

home to Clifton as County

Champions.

In 2011, head coach John

Pontes expects his teams to once

again be competitive despite los-

ing some key talent after the 2010

season.

“We graduated a lot of talent on

both sides,” explained Pontes, who

praised the help of his assistant,

Mike Rogers, a CHS history

teacher and former state sectional

champion during his high school

years at Garfield. “I think the

boys are a little better than the

girls right now at this point. We

will be in the mix there some-

where though. We have a nice

group.”

The head coach will have

numerous returning athletes at his

disposal, but the key will be to



Head Coach Judy D’Argenio-Salsano expects a challenging

2011 season due to the relative

inexperience of her squad which

lost its few experienced seniors

from last year. However, the long-

time coach remains encouraged

due to the raw potential she has

seen in from newcomers in limited

time thus far.

“This has been the best

preseason we’ve had here in a

while, talent-wise,” said

D’Argenio-Salsano. “There’s a lot

of potential there, but little

background in gymnastics. We

have a lot of new kids who have

never done gymnastics before”

The head coach said her team

will be built around returning

gymnasts, who she hopes to refine

into more well rounded

competitors during the pre-season.

Coach D’Argenio-Salsano said

she sees strength in her veterans.

The top returner will be junior

Gabriella Cruz, who keyed the

Mustangs on vault, bar and beam

in 2010. She will be expected to

do the same this season, and to

impart her knowledge on some of

the younger gymnasts who are

new to the sport.

Junior Karina Rojas qualified

for the state sectionals in floor in

2010. D’Argenio-Salsano expects

that Rojas will once again lead the

Mustangs in that category in 2011,

and said she would like to see the

junior become a more well

rounded performer in this coming

season.

Senior Kaitlyn McCracken is

another gymnast that the coach is

counting on score highly. “She’s

an excellent dancer, has a lot of

talent,” said D’Argenio-Salsano.

“She’s got great leadership.”

Junior Simone Stilley, who is

recovering from injury, was a high

ranked vaulter who will again

contribute this year. “We’re going

to be primarily upperclassmen this

year,” said D’Argenio-Salsano.

Mustangs

GymnasticsSept 13 Butler 5:30 pm


Sept 20 @ Randolph 5:00 pm

Sept 23 @ Ridgewood 4:30 pm

Sept 27 West Milford 4:30 pm

Oct 3 Ramapo 4:30 pm

Oct 11 @ Wayne Hills 4:30 pm

Oct 13 Montclair 4:30 pm

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Tennis

Mustangs

Baseball

Mustangs

Track

Mustangs

Golf

Mustangs

Volleyball

Mustangs

Lacrosse

Mustangs

Cross Country

Mustangs

Football

Mustangs

Boys Soccer

Mustangs

Girls Soccer


Mustangs

Gymnastics

Back row, from left: Natacia Dymora, Tatyana Genoves and GabriellaBarcelona. Middle: Simone Stilley, Kaitlyn McCracken, Gabriella Cruz,Meghan Ortiz-Pacheco and Karina Rojas. Front: Emunah Lewis, JalynAdams, Bianca Green and Madeline Lora.

61 COLOR



Head Coach Judy D’Argenio-Salsano expects a challenging

2011 season due to the relative

inexperience of her squad which

lost its few experienced seniors

from last year. However, the long-

time coach remains encouraged

due to the raw potential she has

seen in from newcomers in limited

time thus far.

“This has been the best

preseason we’ve had here in a

while, talent-wise,” said

D’Argenio-Salsano. “There’s a lot

of potential there, but little

background in gymnastics. We

have a lot of new kids who have

never done gymnastics before”

The head coach said her team

will be built around returning

gymnasts, who she hopes to refine

into more well rounded

competitors during the pre-season.

Coach D’Argenio-Salsano said

she sees strength in her veterans.

The top returner will be junior

Gabriella Cruz, who keyed the

Mustangs on vault, bar and beam

in 2010. She will be expected to

do the same this season, and to

impart her knowledge on some of

the younger gymnasts who are

new to the sport.

Junior Karina Rojas qualified

for the state sectionals in floor in

2010. D’Argenio-Salsano expects

that Rojas will once again lead the

Mustangs in that category in 2011,

and said she would like to see the

junior become a more well

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season.

Senior Kaitlyn McCracken is

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counting on score highly. “She’s

an excellent dancer, has a lot of

talent,” said D’Argenio-Salsano.

“She’s got great leadership.”

Junior Simone Stilley, who is

recovering from injury, was a high

ranked vaulter who will again

contribute this year. “We’re going

to be primarily upperclassmen this

year,” said D’Argenio-Salsano.



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As is almost always the casewith county government,the main question for

Clifton voters is whether or not the

city receives fair com-

pensation based on the

taxes its residents con-

tribute. According to

city resident and incum-

bent Freeholder Bruce

James, that answer is

yes, and he plans to con-

tinue to seek ways to

trim taxes while

improving services if re-

elected.

“I’m a Clifton resident

and Clifton owner. I’m

retired, like a lot of people,” he said.

“My income isn’t going up anymore,

just my bills. So when taxes go up,

it’s a killer. I think that’s what most

people are going through right now.”

James, who has served since

2005, said that he and his fellow

Freeholders have been actively seek-

ing out excess from the budget to

trim down annual increases. While

this has been contested by political

rivals, the incumbent said the proof

is in the county’s bond ratings.

“We’ve had two increase in our

bond rating because of the way

we’re handling things fis-

cally,” he said. “Moody

said we’re in the best

position for a county in

the state and in the

nation.”

James said the county

has been able to keep

waste at a minimum while

still providing many use-

ful services to residents.

He is particularly proud of

the Preakness Healthcare

Center in Wayne, which pro-

vides a number of Medicare beds,

which are difficult to find in hospi-

tals. Since the controversy over the

center’s construction costs, the facili-

ty has been in frequent use, and is

starting to pay for itself.

“There’s a real severe shortage of

long term beds for vets. A lot of these

people are coming back with trau-

matic brain injuries and there just

aren’t beds,” he said. “They’ll wind

up at a hospital for as long as they

can, but it’s tragic, there just aren’t

facilities. We have, at my insistence,

a request to get approval from the

Vets Adminstration to take on the

vets.”

James, who is also on the energy

committee, helped oversee green ini-

tiatives at government buildings to

save money. He’s also spearheaded

a campaign to get municipalities to

pool together their buying power to

go out to bid for commodities such

as electric and gas, which has result-

ed in a large savings.

“Last year, every town was pay-

ing a tariff rate, the highest rate you

can pay,” he said. “We went out to

market, hired a consultant firm. The

county and all municipalities saved a

significant amount. We’re going out

for natural gas now, offering it to

Board of Ed and municipalities.”

James was also involved in the

consolidation of the detention cen-

ter. “We saved $11 million on con-

solidation. Not every kid should be

in the shelter, but we had no alternate

program. Now a lot of kids are

C A N D I D A T E S F O R P C F R E E H O L D E R

All Profiles by Joe Hawrylko

Election Day November 8September means that Election Day is just

around the corner, and this year’s Freeholder

race is particularly important based on the cur-

rent makeup of the board. The Democrats,

holding power for over a decade, currently

own four of the seven seats and seek to retain

control in an odd year election—meaning the

race does not coincide with Presidential or

gubernatorial elections.

Passaic County voters will elect two

Freeholders to three-year terms. This month’s

magazine includes profiles for each of the

Freeholder candidates, who will be tasked

with appropriating funds for county depart-

ments and services. In November, residents

will also be asked to vote on two Assembly

seats in the 34th District, as well as a replace-

ment for the late surrogate, Bill Bate.

Democrat Bruce James

on home detention,” he said. “We

consolidated. It was easy $600 a day

per resident, but now it’s $175 a day

per resident.”

“We cut spending well over $20

million—I don’t remember the exact

number,” he continued. “Passaic

County, when you look at the average

income, has the highest taxes in the

nation. Property taxes in general, not

the county. The county on average is

significantly the least portion of the

bill. It’s education, municipal and

then county. We’ve done our best and

continue to do our best to cut that

county portion anyway.”

James said the Freeholders thor-

oughly research any means of sav-

ings, even if they ultimately decide

against action. He noted how the

Freeholders considered but eventual-

ly decided against the closing of the

Passaic County Jail this summer due

to the uncertainty of the savings and

the small timeframe in which a deci-

sion had to be made.

“Two things disturbed me: We

couldn’t get a verifiable answer.

First it was $40 million in savings,

then it was $20 million,” said James.

“And for Essex, we had to decide for

Sept. 1 with a whole bunch of ques-

tions. And it’s a private facility.

When this came up a few years ago

with (former Sheriff Jerry Speziale),

I talked to a bunch of prosecutors in

the state and everyone was against it.

When you pay someone low wages,

they’re going to supplement their

income in ways we don’t like.”

James also supported Sheriff

Richard Berdnik, also a Cliftonite,

and said he has made many tough

decisions in a short timeframe.

“I have faith in him and we do sit

down and talk very reasonably about

stuff,” he said, noting that the Sheriff

decided to reduce costs by not

replacing retired officers rather than

doing layoffs. “He understands the

town, he’s from Clifton, which is

important to have for perspective as

sheriff. He’s really on the money

when it comes to stuff.”

James said his relationships with

other Clifton politicians has been

beneficial for the city.

“We gave Clifton $1 million for

open space for Athenia Steel. The

Mayor is good with reaching out,

and we just put Gloria Kolodziej on

Farmland Development for the

County because she was interested

in open space as a Councilwoman.

She always wanted to make Clifton

beautiful,” he said. “Matt

Grabowski is very good with calling

about things. These are people who

really care and have a vision.”


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Bob Ceberio may be mak-ing his first bid for a

Freeholder seat, but he’s

entering the race with significant

experience in both

business and govern-

ment.

The candidate has

served on the Wayne

Board of Education for

six years—two as

P r e s i d e n t — a n d

enjoyed a lengthy

career with the New

Jersey Meadowlands

Commission, serving

as executive director for

the last eight years before retiring

at the end of 2010.

“It’s a regional and zoning

authority that takes part of 14

towns in the County of Hudson and

Passaic and do all the zoning, plan-

ning and environmental work,” he

said. “Basically, all development

that happens in the entire

Meadowlands region. I took an

agency that was getting $6-7 mil-

lion a year in state appropriations

and took it down to zero. It turned

around and it’s a debt free agency

to this day, one of the few state

agencies that has no debt.”

Now the President of his own

consulting firm, RCM Ceberio

LLC, Ceberio works hand in hand

with businesses and municipalities

alike to find ways to become more

efficient.

“It’s very interesting as a small

business. They dynamic

is obviously much, much

different. But trying to

open a small business in

this period of time has

been a challenge, but a

challenge that is very

rewarding,” said

Ceberio. “We try to get

them to see things in a

different perspective.

Not just the way it used

to be, but how it needs to

be now under this economic situa-

tion. I have a good background

from a budgetary perspective, the

administrative perspective, man-

agement perspective and the lead-

ership perspective. That’s why I

decided to run.”

Ceberio, who has vowed to not

take a salary or benefit package if

elected, believes that his fiscal

expertise can help trim what he

believes to be an excessive budget.

Like his runningmate Frank Fusco,

Ceberio firmly believes that the

county can safely cut 10 percent

from its budget without department

wide layoffs.

“My approach is a little differ-

ent. It’s not a knee-jerk reaction,”

he said. “We need a department by

department breakdown. Look at

the numbers for programs, look at

the services and determine what are

the things that the department does

well and what doesn’t the depart-

ment do well. If they don’t do it

well, why are they doing it?”

Ceberio continued, targeting the

engineering department, which he

said has authorized change orders

on numerous projects, which cost

taxpayers millions. “All the people

have to do is look at the Freeholder

agenda to see the magnitude of

these changes,” he added.

Ceberio said he would like to

explore sharing or outsourcing

services. As an example, he said

Clifton and the county could go out

together for paving contracts for

roads located within the city bor-

ders.

“Not only roads, but shared serv-

ices. If you take 16 towns and put

in the structure, you have the

opportunity to save money in serv-

ice areas, and you have the oppor-

tunity to share equipment,” he said.

“For example, in the Meadowlands,

we bought several pieces of heavy

equipment and created a co-op for

15 towns, including Jersey City.”

Ceberio said such a program

would be particularly useful in

Passaic County, which has a



RepublicanBob Ceberio

mix of both rural and urban com-

munities of varying degrees of

wealth.

“I believe there’s a disconnect

between the county and municipal-

ities. You see it time and time

again on different issues,” he

added. “If you don’t go in and

show respect to municipalities, to

leader, mayors and Councils, you

develop this atmosphere of con-

stant disjointedness, constant suspi-

cion, constant looking over the

shoulder. You’ve got to listen to

them rather than talking to them.”

“If government doesn’t have

common sense, it’s not going to run

efficiently,” he said. “It’s not that

difficult.”

At 29 years old, TJ Best isone of the younger candi-

dates in recent memory, but

he has a resume that rivals his oppo-

nents. The Paterson native is a grad-

uate of Rutgers New Brunswick,

where he studied political science

and history, and most notably

worked as a legislative aide for

Congressman Bill Pascrell in

Washington DC for two and a half

years.

He also worked for

Assemblywoman Elease Evans for

a year and a half, and was the

youngest member in the history of

the Paterson Board of Education.

Best is currently the grants manager

for the New Jersey Community

Development Corporation, and also

works as a director of a teen center

in Paterson.

It is this blend of community

involvement and experience that he

feels makes him an ideal candidate

in November.

“I understand how government

works. I’ve been involved in gov-

ernment for over six years, right out

of college, both in an elected capac-

ity, as well as an employment capac-

ity,” said Best, who is running in

place of Greyson Hannigan, who

declined to seek re-election. “It’s

important to be able to work with

the rest of the people on the board.

You’ve got to be on the same page

or nothing gets done in the county.”

“I think the Freeholder Board for

the most part has done a good job of

providing services to residents of the

county while still being fiscally

responsible,” he said. “They under-

stand that towns and residents can’t

afford a heavy county tax increase

because they’re facing a local tax

increase. I want to continue in that

same direction—high quality social

services to people who need them the

most, while keeping a close eye on

the budget so we’re not creating any

additional hardship for taxpayers.”

Best said he is pleased with the

progress at Preakness Healthcare

Center, which he said is now prof-


Roy B. Garretson Manager , NJ Lic.#3550



itable. “More importantly than that

is the fact that we have a state of the

art medical facility to take care of

the county’s most vulnerable: the

elderly and disabled,”

he said. “My father,

who is two years away

from needing that type

of help, it’s reassuring

to me to know that we

have a facility in the

county that will accept

Medicare and

Medicaid. I won’t have

to go to the poor house

to send him there.”

Best is also a proponent

of green space, particularly

in urban areas like Clifton. ‘I think

what I’d like to do and what Bruce

has already proven we can do is cre-

ate recreation opportunities in urban

areas using county money,” said

Best, alluding to Athenia Steel Park,

which was funded by Green Acres

grants. The candidate said that his

runningmate is a perfect mentor for a

newcomer to the Board.

“I’m running on a great ticket. I

think Bruce brings great leadership,”

said Best. “No one in the county

knows more about issues than Bruce.

He’s extremely astute and does a

good job of representing Clifton. I’m

happy to learn from him.”

Frank Fusco isn’t happywith how the Board ofFreeholders have been

spending the money of county tax-

payers, explaining that the decade

long reign of Democrat control has

led to excessive waste and a multi-

tude of poor decisions that can only

be corrected with a change of power

on the elected body.

“It’s been over a decade. There’s

no checks and balances—zero. We

need a review of every single

salaried position on the books. We

need to go through for necessity,”

said Fusco, who served as a Clifton

City Councilman from 2006 to

2010. “Make sure the

job is even necessary

before you just go and

replace the person with

someone cheaper.”

Fusco and his run-

ningmate, Bob Ceberio,

have been advocating for

a complete review of

county government

because of the drastic

financial situation. Both

candidates are in agreement

that such a review would

allow for immediate savings.

“In our first year, our goal will be

to see a 10 percent reduction of the

budget,” explained Fusco. He said

that the review would

allow for the Freeholders

to eliminate waste on

several levels while

avoiding layoffs and

importantly, maintaining

the many services pro-

vided to Passaic County

residents.

“There’s clearly a

need to protect those

who are less fortunate,”

explained Fusco. He plans

to target unnecessary management

positions, as well as the engineering

department, which he said has

authorized numerous change orders

costing millions.

“The Sheriff’s Department

should not be excluded from the

personnel review,” he added. “But

that doesn’t mean layoffs. Maybe

you find you don’t need so many

guys in the jail and you put them on

the streets. The number one goal

should be crime prevention. Ease

the burden on municipalities, help

more with county roads. Expand the

inner city patrols and start investing

more in street crimes units.”

However, because such compre-

hensive reviews have not taken

place, money is wasted in depart-

ments, which ultimately inflates the

budget and forces the government to

go back into the taxpayer’s pocket.

Fusco said that the Freeholders

have resorted to fast cash gimmicks

the last few years—the proposed

sale of the golf course and more

recently, the nixed sale of the coun-

ty jail—because of waste elsewhere

in the budget. When those ventures

failed, the Democrats sought fund-

ing through other means.

“The Dems wanted to bond for

operating expenses, including

Sheriff’s personnel,” said Fusco.

“The Republicans refused to bend.”

The candidate said

he would also like to

see more coordination

between Freeholders

and local governments.

Fusco said in his expe-

riences as a Clifton City

Councilman, he found

that the Board of

Freeholders to not be

particularly helpful in

times of need.

And as a local business

owner and taxpayer, he felt that he

was not getting enough out of his

elected officials.

“I don’t think that any municipal-

ity, Clifton or any of the smaller

towns, gets back what they put in,”

he said. “I saw for four years on the

City Council how county govern-

ment failed our municipality and I

know how it fails other towns too.”

“City leaders and taxpayers don’t

need to be told what they can and

can’t afford,” Fusco continued.

“They need actions.”


DemocratTJ Best

RepublicanFrank Fusco


Eleanor

Craig is a former CHSteacher who enjoyed more

than 100 years of life before

passing away earlier this

year. One of her last wishes

before departing this earth

was to return two pieces of

Clifton history to the

Hamilton House.

Diane DiBenedetto, who

cared for Craig in her final

years knew of her plans and mailied the items to

Hamilton House Vice President Arlene Bayeux.

Within the package was a coin crafted to commem-

orate Clifton’s celebration of the American Revolution

bi-centennial in 1976. The other item was a wooden

candle stick, which was originally a piece of banister

railing that Craig had salvaged from a historic house

that was being disassembled.

Craig, who taught

English and creative

writing at CHS from

1934 to 1971, was

thought to have taken

the item from the

Garrittsee House and

then brought it to a

student in the CHS

woodshop class to

fashion into a candle

stick.

Craig, born May 1,

1911 in Brooklyn, NY,

had a busy life. She

authored two books,

and was listed in the

Who’s Who AmericanWoman, Second

Edition in 1961. The

items she donated are

now on display at The

Hamilton House, 971

Valley Rd., an 18th

Century Dutch gam-

brel-roofed structure,

which once housed the

Van Wagoner and Hamilton families.

The City of Clifton acquired the home following the

passing of Harry Hamilton in 1970. Three years later,

the home was physically moved across the street and

designated as a historical site and museum. Tours are

offered every Sunday from 2-4 pm from March through

December, excluding holidays. Tours may also made

by appointment by calling 973-744-5707.

Arlene Bauyeux of the Hamilton House Museum with arecently donated candlestick. The inset photo is of a com-memorative coin minted in 1976, said to be modeled on theimage of Mayor Frank Sylvester, in office 1974 to 1978.

C L I F T O N Pe o p l e …


Jean Mirabella Milmark hasn’t lived in Clifton for

nearly two decades but she still lays claim to being the

Number 1 Fan of the Fighting Mustangs. A CHS grad

of 1952, she has never missed a game since her fresh-

man year in 1948 until she and her late husband Andrew

moved to Melbourne, Florida in 1992.

“I attended full of regalia and Mustang-wear,” she

recalled, describing traditional maroon and gray attire

plus a tiny leather covered megaphone from back in the

day. While she and her husband could not have kids, she

“adopted” Fighting Mustangs year after year and was a

Booster club member, preparing lunches for the boys and

rooting them on. The team gave her a “Fan of the Year”

plaque in 1988 and The Record did a feature on her.

However, Milmark did have some familial connec-

tions to the team. Her niece Joan Sinatra was a

Marching Mustang Majorette who “is 64 now but looks

35.” And then there was her nephew Keith Mekita, a

center for the Fighting Mustangs back in the 1970’s.

Milmark was back in Clifton in August for a family

reunion. She was especially pleased to report that her

grand nephew Joey Gebbia is keeping on that maroon

and gray tradition. “He leads his team in sacks,” she

said. “He’s a real Mustang.”

MUSTANG MOM


B U S I N E S S a n d C O M M E R C E

W hat is the engine thatmake our economy run?How do small business

owners in Passaic County connect,

grow and thrive in an economy that’s

slow to rev?

That’s the kind of questions James

Giffin hopes industry and government

leaders will be able to answer at the

First Passaic County Small Business

Growth Summit on Sept. 20 at noon.

The event is at the North Jersey

Federal Credit Union Headquarters,

(NJFCU), 711 Union Blvd. in Totowa.

Admission is free.

Giffin is the VP of sales and market-

ing at the credit union which is a mem-

ber-owned, not-for-profit financial

cooperative. Membership is open to

those who live, work, worship, attend school or conduct

business in Passaic or Bergen Counties.

Congressman Bill Pascrell will give the opening

remarks at the noon session. Other business leaders and

economic development officers from government will

attend and also be invited to speak.

After the opening remarks, smaller working sessions

will be held on topics such as financing, protecting and

growing your business and increasing

profitability. There will also be tabletop

displays by vendors offering a range of

goods and services. Lunch is at 2 pm

and a second session with speakers, a

new range of topics and open forum is

presented from 3 to 5 pm.

“I see this as a great way for busi-

ness people to network, to find out

more about each other’s industries and

to share concerns,” said Giffin.

He added that he hopes it will also

generate membership in the NJFCU.

“We have 30,000 members and I can

help member businesses market to our

membership.” Specifically, he wants

to introduce business owners to the NJ

Preferred Program.

“Open a business account with us

and we’ll help you connect and market to our members.

These people buy cars, eat out, buy clothes. They spend

money. We want to offer them exclusive discounts at par-

ticipating businesses,” explained Giffin. “And we want

to help you grow your business so that we all win.”

To attend or vend, call James Giffin at 877-755-1716,

x3328, email him at [email protected] or visit

njfcu.reachlocal.net/summit.

NJFCU’S PASSAIC COUNTYSMALL BUSINESS GROWTH SUMMIT

Lourdes Cortez President andCEO of the NJFCU will be amongthe speakers at the Summit.


This November, Charlie Hornstrawill be in Malaysia, where the

2007 CHS grad will be teaching

and studying under the prestigious

Fulbright Scholarship Program, which

counts many Nobel and Pulitzer Prizer

winners as alum. When he was applying

little more than a year ago, Hornstra did-

n’t think he had much of a chance.

“When I was researching the Fulbright

program, I noticed that a lot of people that

get selected are from very good schools:

Yale, Harvard, Princeton,” he explained.

“A lot of the people that I met in orienta-

tion were from there, and I was a little

intimidated knowing who the past

Fulbright winners are.”

Hornstra is no academic slouch—he

graduated from Rutgers New Brunswick

with Cum Laude Honors in May, double

majoring in political science and criminal

justice, with minors in sociology and crim-

inology. In the Fall of his senior year, he was prodded

into applying for the Fulbright Program by a friend.

“I had applied for Teach for America. I had made it

through the cuts and was planning to move to

Philadelphia because that’s where they had placed me

and then I found out about the Fulbright acceptance,” he

explained. Though the friend he applied with did not

make it through the process, Hornstra was awarded a 10

month contract to study and live in the country of his

choice. After some deliberating and research on his part,

Hornstra chose Malaysia.

“A lot of countries have a language requirement and

the Southeast Asia education system is already in

English,” he said. Hornstra’s contract includes daily liv-

ing stipends and will cover virtually everything but per-

sonal travel expenses.

“I wanted to get the most out of my 10 months abroad,

studying in a place that has a lot of rich culture, a lot of

background. And Vietnam was one of my number one

choices, but to visit, it is just an hour and a half flight away.”

Hornstra was approved as an English Teaching

Assistant, and he will be stationed in a classroom equiv-

aliant of an American middle school in Malaysia.

“You’re helping them with conversation skills and

learning and understanding the English language,” he

explained. “We’re there to help them understand

English, but also to answer any question they don’t know

about us already.”

Hornstra still is unsure of what he wants to do in the

future—he is currently leaning towards working in a cor-

porate environment—but knows that this experience will

be a major benefit to whatever career he choses.

“I’d like to work in some kind of corporate setting in

big business,” he said. “Going abroad to Malaysia will

give me a global edge, a global perspective on things,

which will help me in the business world where a lot of

businesses are either outsourcing or dealing with interna-

tional clients.”

Despite his global plans, Hornstra remains grounded to

home in Clifton. “I wanted to thank my mom (Susan), my

dad (Charles) and my grandmother (Norma McNeel),” he

said. “When my mom found out, she got very excited

and showed it by breaking out into tears. She’s a little

upset that I’m leaving for 10 months, but without my

mom, my dad and my grandma, I would not be in a posi-

tion to go to college at all. I owe it all to them.

GLOBAL FOCUSBy Joe Hawrylko


Chris Liszner is on the CHS 1961 50th class reunion

committee and writes: “We are hoping to do a then and

now digital presentation of all our favorite places and

the changed places in Clifton since 1961. We’d like to

get photos of kids at Poppy’s, Bowlero’s, School 7 and

10 and other places. Can you and your readers help?”

The reunion is Oct. 14 at the Bethwood. To attend or for

details write CHS Class of 1961, PO Box 3749, Wayne,

NJ 07474, call Liszner at 973-650-2719 or email

[email protected]. The chair of the

event is Marlene Rothe Korman; call 973-696-8899.

The CHS Class of ‘56 has a 55th reunion on Sept. 23

at the Cucina Calandra in Fairfield. Call or write Judi

Zagaya Den Herder at 973-779-6923 or

[email protected] or Terry Guarrera Gloede at 973-

773-5910 or via [email protected].

CHS Class of ‘66 hosts its 45th reunion Nov. 18-20.

There is a Friday night social and a Saturday evening din-

ner dance at the Regency House Hotel in Pompton Plains.

For info, go to Facebook (Clifton HS Class of 66) or call

organizers Nancy Maurer Muddell (201-723-0402) or

Jackie Sussman Schein (201-303-7033).

Members of the CHS Class of ‘01 have their 10 year

reunion from 7 to 11 pm on Nov. 26 at the Park Ridge

Marriot. Ticket are $65 for the first 100 people; $70 for

those who register after. For details, visit

www.chs2001.rsvpbook.com.

The Second Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event

is Sept. 24 at 10 am in Jubilee Park, Allwood and

Clifton Aves. Participants will don high heels for a walk

around the park to protest rape, sexual assault and gen-

der violence. Register at pcwcwalkamile.dojiggy.com.

Sponsored by the Passaic County Women’s Center, a

non-profit group providing domestic violence and sexu-

al assault services for our community which is open 24

hours a day. For info on the services of the center,

write [email protected] or call 973-881-0725.

The CHS Class of 1961 seeks photos like this one of Cliftonrestauranteer Gene Boyle (right) who ran for US Senate inthe late 1960’s. He is with President Richard M. Nixon.

973-772-8451Roofing • SidingSeamless Gutters

Additions • Alterations

C L I F T O N Ev e n t s …

The Botany Village Festival inthe Park is on Sept. 2-5. There are

rides, a midway of games and plen-

ty of food, from cotton candy and

caramel to hot dogs, hamburgers

and sausage and peppers. Covering

Randolph Park, which is located

near the intersection of Parker and

Clifton Aves., there’s plenty of

nearby free parking. The Festival is

open until 10 pm every night. For

more info on this event go to

www.botanyvillage.com.

The Athenia Street Fair along Van

Houten Ave. on Sept. 18 will close

the road to vehicular traffic from

Huron Ave. to the Passaic border.

Family fun is the theme as there

will be a petting zoo with pony

rides and other animals and a mid-

way of rides and amusements for

the kids. Parents will find local

watering holes serving beverages

and there will be live entertainment

and more. Vendors, sponsors and

citizens call 973-473-0986.

Downtown Clifton Street Fair is

Oct. 22, from 10 am to 5 pm. The

Avenue will be closed as vendors

set up their wares and merchants

and local groups will display serv-

ices and offer food and entertain-

ment. Interested vendors can call

201-998-1144. For sponsorship

opportunities and other details, call

973-253-1455.

The St. Andrew’s RC ChurchCarnival is Sept. 7 to 11. With food

and plenty of rides, the parish

grounds offer a nice day or evening

of meeting and greeting neighbors

and friends. Nightly entertainment is

scheduled and the fair is open 5 to 10

pm Wednesday to Saturday and from

4 to 9 on Sunday. Free admission.

St. Nicholas Ukrainian CatholicChurch, 216 President St., Passaic,

hosts its parish picnic on Sept. 25,

from noon to 8 pm. There will be

homemade foods, a large bar, chil-

dren’s games, Ukrainian music and

it is all held on the blacktop behind

the school grounds.

St. John Kanty Parish Picnic is

Sept. 4, from 1 to 7 pm at 49 Speer

Ave. Admission is $2; children

under 12 free. The picnic is fol-

lowed by a dance from 7 to 10 pm.

Call 973-779-4102.

The Ukrainian Orthodox HolyAscension Church on Broad St.

holds its annual parish picnic on

Sept. 18, from noon to dusk. While

there is plenty of food for purchase,

made in the church kitchen, there

will also be a stage featuring

Ukrainian dance troupes from the

tri-state region. Free; all are wel-

comed. Call 973-471-8131.

The Annual Elmer GoetschiusFish ‘n’ Chips Dinner is Sept. 23

at 5 pm at First Presbyterian

Church, 303 Maplewood Ave.

Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $7.50

for children. Takeout available.

For info, call 973-523-1272.


Chris Liszner is on the CHS 1961 50th class reunion

committee and writes: “We are hoping to do a then and

now digital presentation of all our favorite places and

the changed places in Clifton since 1961. We’d like to

get photos of kids at Poppy’s, Bowlero’s, School 7 and

10 and other places. Can you and your readers help?”

The reunion is Oct. 14 at the Bethwood. To attend or for

details write CHS Class of 1961, PO Box 3749, Wayne,

NJ 07474, call Liszner at 973-650-2719 or email

[email protected]. The chair of the

event is Marlene Rothe Korman; call 973-696-8899.

The CHS Class of ‘56 has a 55th reunion on Sept. 23

at the Cucina Calandra in Fairfield. Call or write Judi

Zagaya Den Herder at 973-779-6923 or

[email protected] or Terry Guarrera Gloede at 973-

773-5910 or via [email protected].

CHS Class of ‘66 hosts its 45th reunion Nov. 18-20.

There is a Friday night social and a Saturday evening din-

ner dance at the Regency House Hotel in Pompton Plains.

For info, go to Facebook (Clifton HS Class of 66) or call

organizers Nancy Maurer Muddell (201-723-0402) or

Jackie Sussman Schein (201-303-7033).

Members of the CHS Class of ‘01 have their 10 year

reunion from 7 to 11 pm on Nov. 26 at the Park Ridge

Marriot. Ticket are $65 for the first 100 people; $70 for

those who register after. For details, visit

www.chs2001.rsvpbook.com.

The Second Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event

is Sept. 24 at 10 am in Jubilee Park, Allwood and

Clifton Aves. Participants will don high heels for a walk

around the park to protest rape, sexual assault and gen-

der violence. Register at pcwcwalkamile.dojiggy.com.

Sponsored by the Passaic County Women’s Center, a

non-profit group providing domestic violence and sexu-

al assault services for our community which is open 24

hours a day. For info on the services of the center,

write [email protected] or call 973-881-0725.


Yameil & The Total Soul Band will perform on Sept. 18 at the Van Houten Ave.Street Fair. Their performance is presented by NOC AutoBody which is also spon-soring a Classic Car Show from 10 am to 4 pm. Registration fee is $10 with manytrophies. Call 973-594-1005 or go to www.nocauto.com for more details.

1232

Benjamin Moore Paints and much more...

Able Hardware745 Van Houten Ave.

973.773.4997Mon.-Fri. till 7pm

Sat. till 5pm


The St. Michael’s Cathedral Festival is Sept. 16 to 18

on the chapel grounds, which is at 415 Lackawanna

Ave., Woodland Park. On Sept. 16-17, hours are 4 to 8

pm and on Sept. 18, it is noon to 6 pm. Come for

music, dancing, games, Slavic foods, pastries and the

opening of the Eparchial Museum. Free parking and

admission. Call 973-777-2553 or 973-256-0134.

St. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church,

81 Washington Ave. hosts its picnic on Oct. 2, from 1 to

5 pm. Homemade Ukrainian food/desserts, live music

and raffles with ethnic gifts. Fee is $2 and the event is

rain or shine. Call 973-546-2473 for details.

The Athenia Veterans Post Classic Car Night is on

Mondays, 5 to 9 pm to Sept. 26 at the Post, 147 Huron

Ave. Entry is free, and there is a BBQ menu. The Post

will also hold a Labor Day Picnic on Sept. 4, from 1 to 6

pm. Tickets are $20 for this all-you-can-eat and drink

event. Call 973-778-0931.

The Dutch Hill Residents Association hosts a Fall

Flea Market at Weasel Brook Park, along Paulison Ave.

on Sept. 10 from 9 am to 4 pm. Vendor space reserved

after Aug. 31 will be $40, cash only. Rain date of Sept.

17. The group will hold its next meeting on Sept. 15 at

7:30 pm at the Family Federation, at De Mott Ave. and

Second St. Call 973-413-5007 or 973-470-0679.

The Clifton Rocket Club will begin its fourth eight

week session in September. Children of all ages learn

how to assemble a toy rocket, which is launched more

than 1,000 feet into the air with assistance from Deputy

Fire Chief Norm Tahan, who oversees the club. A total

of 18 kids have turned out for the club, which meets

each Sunday from 10 am to noon. The $25 fee includes

a rocket kit with engines. Call 973-470-5956.

The Hamilton House Museum, 971 Valley Rd., hosts

a family Civil War lunch on Sept. 17 at noon. Julie

Esty will give a presentation on the dress, daily activi-

ties and customs. The event is a part of a commemora-

tion of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil

War. Cost is $22.50. The Museum, a restored Dutch

Farm house is open most Sundays from 2-4 pm ($3

donation). Call 973-744-5707.

Destination New Jersey People & Places is a group

exhibit at the Clifton Arts Center which seeks to educate

the public about people and places of the Garden State.

This show (sample pictured) also includes a visual tour

relating to landmarks that have helped to shape our

state’s unique identity. The exhibit will be displayed

from Sept. 21 until Oct. 29. A reception open to the

public will be held on Sept. 24 from 1 to 4 pm. The

Clifton Arts Center is within the Sculpture Park on the

grounds of the Clifton Municipal Complex near the

intersection of Clifton and Van Houten Aves. Admission

is $3. For hours and info, www.cliftonnj.org.

Dominic Sportelli and Carmen La Medola will celebrate the50th anniversary of The Hot Grill on Oct. 8 and 9. Look fordetails at www.thehotgrill.org.



The St. Michael’s Cathedral Festival is Sept. 16 to 18

on the chapel grounds, which is at 415 Lackawanna

Ave., Woodland Park. On Sept. 16-17, hours are 4 to 8

pm and on Sept. 18, it is noon to 6 pm. Come for

music, dancing, games, Slavic foods, pastries and the

opening of the Eparchial Museum. Free parking and

admission. Call 973-777-2553 or 973-256-0134.

St. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church,

81 Washington Ave. hosts its picnic on Oct. 2, from 1 to

5 pm. Homemade Ukrainian food/desserts, live music

and raffles with ethnic gifts. Fee is $2 and the event is

rain or shine. Call 973-546-2473 for details.

The Athenia Veterans Post Classic Car Night is on

Mondays, 5 to 9 pm to Sept. 26 at the Post, 147 Huron

Ave. Entry is free, and there is a BBQ menu. The Post

will also hold a Labor Day Picnic on Sept. 4, from 1 to 6

pm. Tickets are $20 for this all-you-can-eat and drink

event. Call 973-778-0931.

The Dutch Hill Residents Association hosts a Fall

Flea Market at Weasel Brook Park, along Paulison Ave.

on Sept. 10 from 9 am to 4 pm. Vendor space reserved

after Aug. 31 will be $40, cash only. Rain date of Sept.

17. The group will hold its next meeting on Sept. 15 at

7:30 pm at the Family Federation, at De Mott Ave. and

Second St. Call 973-413-5007 or 973-470-0679.

The Clifton Rocket Club will begin its fourth eight

week session in September. Children of all ages learn

how to assemble a toy rocket, which is launched more

than 1,000 feet into the air with assistance from Deputy

Fire Chief Norm Tahan, who oversees the club. A total

of 18 kids have turned out for the club, which meets

each Sunday from 10 am to noon. The $25 fee includes

a rocket kit with engines. Call 973-470-5956.

The Hamilton House Museum, 971 Valley Rd., hosts

a family Civil War lunch on Sept. 17 at noon. Julie

Esty will give a presentation on the dress, daily activi-

ties and customs. The event is a part of a commemora-

tion of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil

War. Cost is $22.50. The Museum, a restored Dutch

Farm house is open most Sundays from 2-4 pm ($3

donation). Call 973-744-5707.

Destination New Jersey People & Places is a group

exhibit at the Clifton Arts Center which seeks to educate

the public about people and places of the Garden State.

This show (sample pictured) also includes a visual tour

relating to landmarks that have helped to shape our

state’s unique identity. The exhibit will be displayed

from Sept. 21 until Oct. 29. A reception open to the

public will be held on Sept. 24 from 1 to 4 pm. The

Clifton Arts Center is within the Sculpture Park on the

grounds of the Clifton Municipal Complex near the

intersection of Clifton and Van Houten Aves. Admission

is $3. For hours and info, www.cliftonnj.org.



The Clifton Cares Committee is

again cranking up the effort to col-

lect and mail packages to soldiers in

Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since August 2010, over 800

packages have been mailed thanks

to contributions collected but funds

are needed to continue the shipment.

Checks of $12.95 made payable

to the “Clifton Post Office” are

requested. They can be mailed to

the addresslisted below. That dona-

tion pays for a US Postal Priority

Flat Rate box which will be filled

with supplies a soldier in the war

zones can use.

Donations of the following item

are needed:

Handsanitizer, mouthwash,

deodorant, toothpaste, bodywash,

shampoo, shaving cream, baby

powder, Gold Bond powder, lip

balm, flossing items, disposable

razors, white socks, Visine, gum,

hard candy, powder drinks, maga-

zines, crossword puzzles and

Suduko books.

To donate funds, supplies, or

items, there are a few ways to sup-

port the cause.

Clifton Care volunteers will be

soliciting at the Valley Road Quik

Chek on Sept. 3, Dutch Hill Flea

Market on Sept. 10, Van Houten

Avenue Street Fair on Sept. 18 and

at Stop & Shop on Oct. 1.

To mail a donation, make checks

to “Lizz Gagnon” or “Clifton Post

Office” and send c/o Clifton City

Hall Tax Assessor’s Office, 900

Clifton Ave., Clifton, NJ 07013.

Contributors can also bring sup-

plies to City Hall where a bin is in

the front entryway.

If you have any questions, email

Lizz at [email protected] or call

her on her cell at 973 818- 8141




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Over 1,400 American flags will be

displayed on the campus of city

hall on Patriots Day, Sunday, Sept.,

11. The idea is to honor a veteran

for their time in service and to

remember them in perpetuity. The

flags are put up and taken down by

volunteers, who also do year round

maintenance. The flags are also on

display on Memorial Day, which is

the last Monday in May; Flag Day,

June 14; Independence Day, July 4;

and Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11. To

honor a living or deceased veteran,

purchase a flag for $100. The

donation includes a name plate and

a ground socket. The vet’s name,

branch of service and the donor’s

name is placed in the registry book.

Call John Biegel at 973-519-0858.

The Passaic County 200 ClubBeefsteak Benefit to honor local

police, fire and EMS workers is on

Sept 27 at 6:30 pm at The

Brownstone. Entertainment will be

provided by ventriloquist and comic

John Pizzi and while it is a lot of

fun, the group is the first on the

scene in the event if a public safety

officials is killed or injured. Tickets

are $60. Call 973-225-0696 or visit

www.pc200club.org.

The Clifton Veteran Parade is on

Nov. 6 at 2 pm. The parade steps

off at Sylvan and Main Aves. and

continues through Downtown

along Main Ave. to the Clifton

Veterans Memorial Monument

where there are ceremonies and

speeches. Make checks payable to

‘Clifton Veterans Parade Fund,’ and

mail c/o John Biegel Jr., 91 Market

St. 1, Clifton, NJ 07012. To con-

tribute to the fund, participate in

the parade, or to otherwise help out,

call John Biegel at 973-519-0858.


JoAnn Bartnik is Sweet 16 Sept. 2. Olivia Krynski turns 6 on Sept. 26 & big sister Alexandra is 9on Sept. 12. Liam Robert Martin celebrates number 1 on Sept. 2. Dorothy Knapp is 76 on Sept. 12.

Michael Capwell ...............9/1Allison Di Angelo ..............9/2Bill Federowic ...................9/3Dave Gabel ......................9/3Jennifer Martin ..................9/3Sharon Holster ..................9/4Joseph Shackil...................9/4Eric Wahad ......................9/4Linda Ayers.......................9/5Christy Gordon .................9/5Mohammed Othman..........9/5Ana Stojanovski ................9/6Darren Kester ....................9/7Greg Martin .....................9/7Helen Albano....................9/8Eddie Bivaletz ...................9/8Shannon Carroll ................9/8Liz Tresca .........................9/8

Geoff Goodell...................9/9Annamarie Priolo...............9/9George Andrikanich ........9/10Nicole Moore .................9/10Ronnie Courtney..............9/11Tammy Csaszar ...............9/11Andrew Orr ....................9/11Andrew Shackil ...............9/11Lee Ann Doremus ............9/12Wayne Funke..................9/12Naoma Martin ................9/12Sarah Bielen ...................9/14Anthony Dorski................9/14Emily Duchnowski ............9/15Manny Monzo ................9/15Stacey Corbo..................9/16Nancy Ann Eadie............9/16Joe Genchi .....................9/16

Jaclyn Scotto ...................9/16Cindy Murcko .................9/17Kathleen Gorman ............9/18Amanda Meneghin..........9/18Dawn Smolt ....................9/18Daniel Smith ...................9/18Gloria Turba ...................9/18Mickey Garrigan .............9/19James Graham ................9/19Rickie Ojeda...................9/19Louis DeLeon...................9/20Sara Gretina...................9/21Lynne Lonison..................9/21Annamaria Menconi ........9/21Peter Skoutelakis..............9/21Valerie Carestia...............9/22Beverly Duffy...................9/22Ryan Gorny ....................9/22Timothy St. Clair..............9/22Keith Myers ....................9/23Brian Salonga .................9/23Brian Engel....... ..............9/23

Birthdays & CelebrationsSend dates & [email protected]

Best wishes to E. Bernadine Boyarsky who celebrates a birthdayon Aug. 3. • Nancy & Mike Ressetar mark their anniversary onAug. 15. • Bruce & Diane Drake will be wed 41 years onAug. 22. • Belated congratulations to lifetime sweethearts Ken &

Donna Chipura on their 40th anniversary which was July 11. •Belated birthday salutations to Lee Ann Varga on July 29.


JoAnn Bartnik is Sweet 16 Sept. 2. Olivia Krynski turns 6 on Sept. 26 & big sister Alexandra is 9on Sept. 12. Liam Robert Martin celebrates number 1 on Sept. 2. Dorothy Knapp is 76 on Sept. 12.

1036

Carly Rose Hawrylko turns16 on Sept. 12. Her momCheryl is 53 the same day!

Pam Bielen......................9/25Deanna Cristantiello ........9/25Donato Murolo................9/25Corey Genardi................9/26Saverio Greco.................9/26Richard Van Blarcom........9/26Kenneth Chipura .............9/28Barbara Mascola.............9/29Thomas E. Moore ............9/29Mary Perzely ..................9/29Ryan Lill..........................9/30 Lauren Hrina ...................9/30


H U R R I C A N E I r e n e …

The howling winds and pouringrain of Hurricane Irene may have

caused chaos and mayhem else-

where in the state, but it was not

enough to stop the wedding of Ryan

and Sharon Meltzer.

Set to stand before the rabbi on

Aug. 26, the anxious couple had

watched the coverage of the storm

for several days before ultimately

deciding to reschedule the wedding

and reception until Sept. 18.

However, the honeymoon was

still set for Aug. 29 and Sharon did

not want to depart for Greece as an

unmarried woman. Thus, mid-day

on Aug. 26, the cancelled wedding

was suddenly back on.

Now the scramble began. Who

would marry them? Could the rabbi

make it? And then there was the

legal issue: the couple applied for

their marriage license in Garfield,

where the wedding was originally

scheduled, so the makeshift ceremo-

ny would have to take place there.

With only a matter of hours to get

the wedding in, the family had to

come up with a plan—and fast.

Billy Meltzer and his wife Lisa

had the perfect location: the family’s

longtime place of business,

Meltzer’s Sporting Goods store in

Garfield. The empty offices on the

second floor were swiftly converted.

Showcases were covered with table

clothes, a bouquet was purchased,

candles were found.

Some 50 friends and family

members made it past the rising

storm waters of the Passaic River to

the Outwater Lane retail landmark.

Sharon’s 95 year old grandmoth-

er was determined to walk up the

stairs and did it. Ryan’s 91 year old

aunt was carried up by one of the

groomsmen.

“It was beautiful and romantic,”

laughed Lisa Meltzer. “Then we

went home to Clifton for a recep-

tion. Pizza was the main course.”

Hurricane Irene couldn’t stop the

wedding and wouldn’t prevent the

newlyweds from flying to Greece.

Before departing for their honey-

moon, they stopped in the store to

pick up some rain boots for the

soggy trip to the airport.

“Dad would have loved it,” said

Billy Meltzer of his late father Izzy.

Tomahawk Promotions

1288 main avenue

Clifton, nJ 07011

PRSRT STDUS Postage

PAIDPaTeRSon, nJPeRmiT no. 617

Clifton Merchant Magazine - September 2011

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Transcript of Clifton Merchant Magazine - September 2011