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4rhGlGBy William Frolich and I{elen Fleumann

re {\

Our thnnks to the rnnny long-tirne resid.ents wloo shnred

their vnernuries nnd, to Rel)erend J. Max Creswell of tbe

First Presbyterinn Cbwrch of Roselle whose resea,?'cl't intothe histoyy of his 125-yenr-old, cl,turch prottid.ed, invnlwnble

inforrnotion fo, this l't'istory.

Front cal)er logo by Debrn J. Scl'twnrtz

Tennis anyone? Behind the group is a mansion which is today Prall's Funeral Home. Taken about 1880.

/E95Mayor ]ohn I. Flowe

Members of Council: Rude C. Blanck., W.FI. Peddie,FI.P. Baldwin, John Gregory, Miller Fox Moore

Borough Clerk: G.A. RawlinsMet January I0, f B95 in Tiernan Hall

/994Mayor ]oseph F. Safaryn

Members of Council: Ronald Hayman (deceased April 25,1994), loseph Croteau (ap-pointed May 4,1994), Joseph Picaro, Michael Fitch, ]ames Eddleton, Stanley Gurski,

Raymond Nierstedt . Borough Clerk: ]ohanna BredenBorough Administrator: ]ohn Florentino . Borough Attorney: Gary Goodman Esq.

ffiQ'This SIear, the Borough of Roselle, incor-

porated on December 20, I B 94, is celebrat-

itg its one hundredth anniversary. The story

of Roselle begins with a wilderness inhabited

by the Leni Lenape Indians, proceeds to a

farming community, a village and finally to

the present small town in the midst of a large

metropolitan area.

EARLY BEGINNINGS

As New Jersey borders on the Atlantic

Ocean, th. area was visited by some of the

earliest European explorers and settlers ofDutch, Swedish and English origins. In L664

^ group of Englishmen from Long Island,

looking for better land for farming and liv-

ittg, purchased an area known later as the

Elizabethtown tract from the Leni Lenape.

This roughly encompassed what is today

Union County. In the Union County Court-

house in b,lizabeth there is a copy of the origi-

nal indenture signed by both the Indians and

the first English settlers.

It was also necessary to make a deal with

the English governor for the rights to the

land, known as "New Jarsey" or "NovaCaesarex," since King Charles II had granted

the area to his brother, the Duke of York.

He, in turn, gave New Jersey to Lord Berke-

l.y and Sir George Carteret as payment for

debts. After obtaining rights to the tract, the

new owners from Long Island laid out a town

by t river which flowed through the area) and

named the settlement Ehzabethtown in

honor of Elizabeth, the wife of Sir George.

This became the first English town in New

]ersey.

From this early beginning of Elizabeth

in I 664, th. setders proceeded to create farms

and homes and a few roads. Records of some

of the homes and roads can be found on maps

drawn by Robert Erskine, George

Washington's cartographer. Shown among

these highb/ accurate maps are the road to

Wheatsheaf and the Wheatsheaf Tavern on

the Old Dutch Road or King George's High-way (now St. George's Avenue). The tavern

was built in L745.

fu the years went by, the colony prospered

and residents spread into the outer areas ofthe tract. New narnes for local areas appeared,

frequently derived from families or physical

properties of the land, such as Williams'Farms, Crane's Ford, Cclnnectictrt Farms orScotch Plains, which was setded by people

from Scodand. Local names were Mu*lford,

after a large family which occupied several

homes on extensive acreage, and Wheatsheaf,

named for the tavern.

ABRAHAM CLARK

One resident of the \Alheatsheaf area was

Abraham Clark, a signer of the Declaration

of Independence . Born February 15, L726,

Abraham Clark was the great-grandson ofRichard Clark, who came here from Long

Above: Abraham Clark, signer of the Declaration oflndependence. Below: Mulford Station, an early stop onthe railroad. Right: Map of Roselle area before 1860.

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Island in L678. The family later acquiredfarmland in the present Roselle area. Not con-

sidered strong enough for farm labor, Clarktook up the study oflaw and became the HighSheriff of Essex Counry, as his father had been

earlier. Although never formally educated as

a lawyer, he was called upon to settle many

disputes and became known as "the poorman's counselor. "

Well-respected by his neighbors, Clark was

sent by them to the First and Second Conti-nental Congresses where he voted for and

signed the Declaration of Independence.Later he was a member of the Annapolis Con-vention which established the need for the

L787 Constitution Convention. He and other

heroes of the Revolutionary War are buried

in some of the old cemeteries in UnionCounty.

THE RAILROADS ARRIVE

In I B 3l , the E,li zabethtown and

Somerville Railroad was laid out benveen

those two towns. The first trains ran in L839.

Roselle is just one of several towns which have

been created because the railroad made travel

easy to New York City. Cranford, (Crane's

Ford), Garwood, Westfield, (the west fields

of Elizabethtown), Scotch Plains andPlainfield were some of the towns along the

way. The railroad eventually became known

as the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

LINDEN IS CREATED

In colonial times, the authority to estab-

lish towns rested with the kirg by way of his

Royal Governor ofthe colony. Afrer the Revo-

lution, that authority passed to the state gov-

ernnxeret. In New Jersey the expanditrg popu-

4

lation caused the creation of many townshipsto provide municipal services. On March 4,186I, an act of the N.f .Lrgislature created

the township of Linden. This act contains a

complete description ofthe boundaries ofthetownship which was taken from the City ofElizabeth and the townships of Rahway and

Union. The description includes the present

site of Roselle.

It was also enacted "that the inhabitantsof the township oflinden shall hold their firstannual town meeting at the inn now kept by

John B. Day atWheatsheafrin said township,on the duy appointed by law for holding the

annual town meetings in other townships inthe County ofUnion." In this electior, which

had to be by ballot, Gilbert Rindell was to be

the judge of election. John \4/. Mulford and

William Ross were to be inspectors; Elias W.

Vreeland was to be the clerk.

So it was that this area which was knownas Mulford Station on the Central Railroad

and as Wheatsheaf near the tavern, came un-der the control of the Linden township gov-

ernment. This was apparendy satisfactory fora few years, xs there were few residents in this

part of the township.

WHEATSHEAF TAVERN AND SCHOOL

V\Iheatsheaf Tavern played an importantrole in the development of the area. A de-

scription of the inn is found in an ad in the

Eliznbeth Dnily Journnl of February 20, I837 .

"Large and commodious house and grocerystore , outhouses) excellent garden) an acre and

L/4 ofland. Well with very good water and a

number of fine fruit trees on premises. It is

equidistant from Rahway an d Ehzabeth. "

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During that early period, the youth of the

area was educated in a small school known as

the Wheatsheaf School. It was probably lo-cated near St. George's Avenue. In 1856,

there were 6I pupils taught by a teacher who

was paid $50 for a term of twelve weeks.

ROSELLE IS BORN

In f 866 john Conklin Rose took advan-

tage of his connections with the Central Rail-

road of New Jersey to make some money by

creating a new town. With the cooperationof several landowners in this area) he purchsed

200 acres) established the Roselle Land Im-provement Company and laid out "The Vil-lage of Roselle." ft\lrile there is no positive

proof that the village was narned for Mr. Rcrse,

local tradition says that it is so. In the files of

the Roselle Flistorical Society is a letter fromhis son which also makes that claim. )

The Jersey Journnl, on March L9, L867,

carried the first of a number of articles whichappeared in local newspapers over the years

praising Roselle . "The flourishing village ofRoselle, formerly called Mulford Station, issoon to be the starting point of every train

on the Central Railroad, instead of Elizabefi,as at pre sent.... Quite a collection of newhouses is going up here, md the place prom-ises to be one of importance."

By 1868 the Roselle Land ImprovementCompany was selling buildirg lots in thenorthern area of Linden township. The vil-lage included the land between Pine and

Spruce Streets, md from the railroad to NinthAvenlre. The first sale was to Adrian W. Smith

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Above: Wheatsheaf Tavern about 1914.

for a buildittg lot on the west side of Chest-

nut Sueet between Fourth and Fifth Avenlles.

The First Presbyterian Church of Roselle was

not far behind in erecting a church on West

Fifth Avenue. In 1869 the company autho-

rrzed the building of the Mansion Flouse, a

large Mansard-roofed hotel on the southeast

corner of First and Chestnut. The real estate

development was a remarkably successful ven-

ture for in less than its twenty year allotted

time, the company had disposed of all its prop-

erty and gone out of business.

A Letter to the Editor on February 2I,l87I described the progress of the borough.

"Roselle...i.S a new town two miles west

of Eli zabeth on the Central Railroad, laid out

within the last five years, with wide streets

and avenues. The avenues running parallel

with the railroad are 400 feet apart; the streets

6

(tr."toed after forest trees) "t

right angles' are

800 feet apart; and straight, regular) and well

graded; lots 50 feet by 200. The whole place

is laid out according to a regular Plan, with-

out regard to old roads or landmarks. There

are at present fwo churches...o hotel con-

ducted upon the temperance principle; two

public schools and one private school; two

grocery and one drug store and post office.

Also butchef, blacksmith, and carpenter

shops. The new houses that have been built,

Some 60 or more., are first-class in size and

Above: Mansion House in 1870. First hotel authorized in

1869 by Roselle Land lmprovement Company. Built about

1870. Note First Presbyterian Church built 1868 at right.

station probably photographed about 1880.

,{.lr5i

style, with most of the modern improve-

ments... "

A livery stable stood not far from the rail-

road where horses and landaus were housed,

while their owners commuted to "the City."

A wooden boardwalk was built to protect

sweepirg skirts; a branch postoffice was

opened in a home at Chestnut and Fifth.

BLACK CITIZENS IN ROSELLE

Along with the wealthy commuters ) a

number of black families setded in the bor-

ough. Some came as domestic help to work

in the large mansions. A number of men were

8

Pullman porters on the railroad, a prestigious

job at that time. Old residents say that the

first black families came from Virginia and all

owned their own homes.

LIGHTING THE BOROUGH

Roselle was the first village in the worldto be lighted by Thomas A. Edison's incan-

descent light bulb. It was chosen for the ex-

periment because it did not have gas light-

Above: House at corner of Sixth Avenue and LocustStreet about 1870. Still there today. Above right:House on Chestnut Street across from Abraham ClarkHigh School about 1870. Still there today. Below right:Original installation of the electrolier.

irg. At that time it was feared that gas and

electricity should not be mixed. Set up as an

experiment to prove that a town could be

lighted by electricity from a single generat-

ing station, the generator was started on Ianu-ary L9 ,I8 8 3 . From its location on the north-

east corner of Locust Street and West First

Avenue , it sent power through overhead wires

to a store, railroad station, about fotty houses

and I50 street lights. In April of that year,

the First Presbyterian Church of Roselle be-

came the first church in the world to be so

lighted when the thitty-bulb "electrolier" was

installed within it. Although damaged by fire

Above: Edison's generating station about 1BB3 and the

plaque erected at corner of F-irst Avenue and Locust street

to commemorate centennial of lighting of Rose.lle' Above

right: Van court lnn which replaced the Mansion House'

Burned down in 1943'

in I g49, the electrolier was salvaged, restored

and rehung in the church where it can be seen

today. The steam-driven generator which

stood on the corner of Locust Street and West

First Avenue no longer exists, but the people

of the town operated it for nearly ten years

after Edison went on to other things'

speaking in 1g47, Edison's son) charles,

said, ,.success in Roselle encouraged imme-

diate and, rn idespread. installation of electric

lighting in villages, towns and small cities

throughout the nati'oll' "

Biggergenratingstationstookoverthetask of lighting much larger areas' In 198 3, a

dme capsule and. bronze-and-granite marker

were placed at that corner to designate that

spot and event.

RoSELLEGRoWSANDTHRIVES

In 1886 , The Roselle Record'carried a Let-

rer ro the Editor which describes the village

as it appeared at that time. It is another of

the "booster" letters which appeared in the

press.

..I promised, to tell you Something about

our beautiful village, its origin, Progress, etc'

r0

About the year f 866 the idea occurred to a

number of gentlemen connected with the

Central Railroad of New Jersey, that this lo-

cation which is four miles from tidewater, and

7 5 feet higher, would be a good place forbuildirg up a town .The company built a

number of houses, sold lots and aided the

purchasers in buildirg homes. There were

introduced as citizens persons who had a great

regard for the morals and religious welfare ofthose who should settle among lrs. Conse-

quendy, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Baptist and

Methodist Churches were established, school

houses built, x determination to keep out the

liquor saloons. The Mansion F{ouse was kept

as a temperance house, md we trust it will

always be kept free from the terrible demor,Rum.tt

A hotel, the Van Court Inn built in 1889,

was described as one of the first class inns inthe country. It was located at the corner ofFirst Avenue and Chestnut Street, replacing

the Mansion Flouse which had burned inf 886. PresidentWilliam McKinley was a guest

there after attending a local wedding.Woodrow Wilson spoke from its front porch

during his camp*igtr for governor of New

Jersey. It was de stroyed by fire December 13,

L943.

On January 2, I89L., another letter listed

the amenities to be found in the borough:

"..two public schools, a post office)..a new,

tt

Clocl<wise from left: Second Baptist Church organized1890. First St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church about1900. Note dirt road. First St. Luke's Episcopal Churchabout 1875. Original building of the Heard AfricanMethodist Epsicopal Church.

porated in 1895. Its building was dedicated

in f 898 at East Third Avenue and Walnut

Street. Wesl.y Methodist Church was or-

ganrzed in 19 f 0 and still meets in the

church on Sheridan Avenue.

Fleard A.M.E. Church was founded as

Allen Chapel in L92L. In L924, propertywas purchased to build a church on East

large, commodious hotel...largedrug store in Masonic buildirg;two fancy and dry goods stores,

one large shoe shop, two shoe-

maker shops, one barber shop,three grocery stores, two flour and

feed stores, two meat markets, two

blacksmith shops) a carriage factoryaod livery stable ; also a well stocked

coal and lumber yard... "

CHURCHES IN THE BOROUGH

Churches flourished in Roselle.

The First Presbyterian Church and

St. Luke's Episcopal Church were

organrzed in 1868. Both churches

promptly built structures. In 1872,

the First B"ptist Church was

formed and purchased land tobuild. The oldest Black church inthe borough, Second Baptist was

founded in f 890 and built a church

at W. Second Avenue and LocustSt. St. Joseph the Carpenter Ro-

marl Catholic Church was incor-

L2

RECREATION IN THEBOROUGH

The social tife of a

large number ofthe pros-

perous residents centered

around the Roselle Ca-

sino which was built in1892. It was well-equipped with readingroom, bowlirg alleg bil-liard tables, tennis courtsand an auditorium. Lo-cated on the northwestcorner of Third Avenue

and Chestnut Street, itwas destroyed by fire inT9L6.

Iceskating was a fa-

vorite pastime. Banta's

Lake at Raritan and W.

Ninth Avenues) was the

local iceskating rink in the

winter. The pond was

filled in when St.

Walburga's Orphanagewas built in 1925.Eighth Avenue. Bishop Winam FI. Fleard do-

nated $500 toward the $850 builditg con-

tract prompting the name change.

Bethlehem Baptist Church was orga-nrzed in 1928. The congregation first metin a house at lLI2 Rivington Street. Thepresent church on Rivington Street was

erected in L940.

St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church,built in 1930 at Wheatsheaf Road and Mar-tin St. burned down on December 27.,

1984. The congregation merged with the

Wesley Methodist Church.

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where bank is now. Center of social activity until 1914 when it was destroyed by fire. Bottom Left: Stevenson House1870 on Fifth Avenue. Porch on left was destroyed in a hurricane. Became Clio Club. Top Right: Local newspaper,Roselle Record, office on Second Avenue about 1900. Below Righl: Banta's Pond where people iceskated. Filled inwhen St. Walburga's orphanage was built in 1925.

L4

The Clio Club. was founded as areading club in I884. Incorporated in1886, it was a charter member whenthe New Jersey State Federation o

Women's Clubs formed in 1894. Will-iam Ffoward Taft was enrertained bythe club during his candidacy for presi-dent. During the fight for women's suF

frage, the club suffered a schism. Thosewho believed in women's suffrage lefrto form the Women's Civic Club. TheClio Clubhouse, still in use, stands onEast Fifth Avenue.

ROSELLE SEPARATES FROMLINDEN

From its incorporarion in 1861,Linden Township included the area

which became Roselle; thus, the local governing bodiesTownship. The Eliznbeth Dnily Jowrnnl reported a public1882, to prornote the formation of a new township. The

were Union County and" Lindenmeeting at the Mansion I{ouse intwo mile distance to the center of

15

the village of Linden and no interests in com-

mon were given aS reasons to Separate. Atabout that time ( 18 87) a census revealed that

Roselle contained 22L dwellings and L+I7

residents.

Disagreement benveen the township and

residents of the Roselle area concerning their

request for a needed sewage system came to

a head on November 26, 1894. Among the

citizens campaigning for sewers was Dr. FI.

Pierson, the local physician who lived on

Walnut Street. F{e was concerned about ty-

phoid. UtilLZIng an enabling act of the New

|ersey Legislature to create a borough, x Pe-

tition was signed by property owners of more

than ten percent of the assessed value of tax-

able real estate within the proPosed borough.

The pntition was presented to Union County

r6

|udge T. F. McCormick. It contained the sig-

natures of most of the prominent residents

of the village; their genuineness was sworn to

by Florace S. Bachman. The petition re-

quested that an election be held, by and for

the voters of the area to decide if the Bor-

ough of Roselle should be created as an in-

corporated political entity.

The election was ordered to be held, af-

ter proper notification to the voters) on De-

cember 18, L894, in the Tiernan Builditg,

Top Left: Dr. H. Pierson, local physician with his dog

about 1895. Dr. Pierson, who lived at the corner ofWalnut Street and First Avenue, campaigned forsewers. Bottom Right: Tiernan Building, West First

Avenue and Chestnut Street. Torn down about 1938

and replaced by gas station. Third floor had meetingrooms where Borough Council met before Borough Hallwas built. Contained first switchboard.

which stood on the southwest corner of First

and Chestnut. The vote of I49 to L2L in fa-

vor of incorporation was then reported to the

County Clerk on the lgth and certified on

December 20, 1894. This is the official date

of the incorporation of the Borough ofRoselle.

The organization of the council was the

first order of business afrer the borough was

established. At the first meeting on ]anuary8, 1895, John W. Howe was elected Mayor

and G. A. Rawlins, Borough Clerk, xt a sal-

ary of $f 50 per year) in lieu of other fees.

The first ordinance ordered the construction

of a main outlet sewer from the intersection

of Third Avenue and Walnut Street to tide-

water. The second ordinance established a

Board of Health. These ordinances were soon

followed by others which finally created the

sewer system that Linden Township would

not provide. As a health measure, atl build-

irgr were ordered to be connected to the sew-

ers and thus eliminate the use of outdoor

"privies." Wells had been replaced by city

water pipes in l89I; gas for cooking and light-

itrg was commonplace by 1895.

On a number of occasions (I9L7 and

1925) discussions were held on the feasibility

of joining the north side of the railroad

(Roselle Park) with the south side (Roselle).

The Central Railroad tracks proved an im-

possible barrier to consolidation although itwas still discussed as late as L934.

TROLLEYS INSTALLED

By f 899 the borough had made arrange-

ments with the Westfield and F,Lrzabeth Street

Railway Company to provide for electrically

powered trolley cars to op-

erate on the streets ofRoselle. This necessitated the

relocation of the historic

Jouet Flouse, which was

built in 1770, out of the

middle of East Second Av-

enue where it had stood on

the old road to Wheatsheaf

long before anyone dreamed

of Roselle.

The trolley fare fromF,hzabeth to Roselle was five

cents and to Plainfield, fif-

teen cents. The route for the

street cars was a double track

coming from Ehzabeth on

Jersey Avenue into Roselle

with a slight kink at the town

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line where ]ersey Avenue became East ThirdAvenlre" At Sheridan it was necessary to make

a wide turn north onto East Second Avenueand to rnake another wide turn west onto thatstreet. Although the troltrey cars vanishedmore than fifry years ago, the wide turns are

still a part of the inte rsections.

After crossing Locust street the tracks

turned north to West First Avenue through a

private right-of-way known as Laurel Street.Flere th.y went west into Cranford crossingthe Staten Island Railroad by means of a

wooden tresde, whose height made some pas-

sengcrs nervCIus.

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The electrical power for these cars was pro-vided frorn large powerhouse generators andsupplied to the cars by r system of overheadwires supported by poles along the enrirelength of the route. A long spring-loaded trol-l.y pole at the rear of the car made contactwith the wire by me ans of, a small roller at itstop, thus feeding electricity to the motors ofthe vehicle. A similar pole at the other end ofthe car could be used to permit it to run inthe opposite direction without har,.irg to be

turned around. As the trolley pole could be

raised or lowered by "

rope danglirg from it,daring youths would sometimes disconnect

Left page: Jouet House about 1900. Had been located in the middle of Second Avenue. Moved to make room for

trolley. Top Right: Trolley on Second Avenue looking east from Chestnut Street about 191 0. Note bank on corner.

Bottom Right: Trolley coming through right-of-way on Laurel Avenue. Roy Rogers Restaurant is now located at the

right.

L9

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20

the pole, much to the annoyance cf the mo-

torman who drove the car.

NEW ARRIVALS

On a Sund"y in June , 1903, the local resi-

dents were surprised to see a crowd of 400

"Israelites" marching up Chestnut Street frorn

the railroad station. They came from New

York on a speciC train of six cars as guests ofthe Realty Trust of New York City which was

managing the Zregler property. This property

was bounded by Ninth Avenue, Chandler

Avenue and St. George Avenue. Fifty lots had

been sold by 5:30 p.m. when the train re-

turned to New York.

Excursions at the rate of three a week were

run into Roselle by real estate brokers. A let-

ter was sent to the Borough Council by the

new Jewish residents asking if an old school-

house could be purchased for a synagogue.

The request was referred to the Board of Edu-

cation. Eventually, three synagogues were

built in the largely jewish area. They were

Congregation Emanuel at Walnut and East

Ninth Arrenues (later moved to Shaffer Av-

enue), Beth David on Frank Street, and ^

small synagogue on Warren Street which is

now a private home. Congregation Emanuel's

first building is now St. Matthew's Baptist

Church. The Shaffer Avenue builditg is now

a communlty center.

The community, known as "Jewtown" in

those "politically incorrect" years, maintained

a Ladies' Free Dispens ary at Morris Place and

East Twelfrh Avenue where a clinic was con-

Top Left: School Special trolley at crossover, SecondAvenue. Larry Ladritzen, motorman, taken May 16,

1935. Bottom Left: Central Railroad Station, Roselle(when the trains still ran) from a postcard postmarked1 906.

ducted. There was an afternoon Hebrewschool and a hall which was rented out for

parties.

The Labor Lyceum on Frank street was

sponsored byWorkmen's Circle. Lectures and

classes were given there.

ROSELLE EDUCATION

An article in the \Tew Jersey Journnl on

M"y 2L,I872, describes the OldWheatsheaf

Schoolhouse "located on the road leading

from the Wheatsheaf Inn to Roselle, a littlein from St. Georges... Probably for over I00years this building has been the center of edu-

cation for the district lying bet'ween Elizabeth

and Rahway.Although humble itt "ppearance

,

its history is interesting and worthy of pass-

irg notice. Mtty who have taught and have

been taught here are now occupying positions

of trust and honor in neighboring cities."

Along with its freedom from LindenTownship, Roselle acquired School #4, which

had been built for Linden in L876, by f.N.Meeker of Roselle, on the corner of East

Ninth Avenue and Chestnut Street. The cost

was $8700. The school was a two story,

wooden frame builditg, with central heating

but no plumbing, which provided grammar

and high school classes. After nearly twentyyears of use, th. school burned to the ground

on December l, 1903. There was little the

firemen could do as there was no water main

at that site. A bucket brigade was organtzed.,

using water drawrr from the school's outdoorpurnp, to no avail. Very little was left of the

school but the chimneys.

With the loss of the school, the students

continued their education in several houses

2L

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in the borough, while plans were made to re-

place the buildittg. A better location was

sought, as Ninth Avenue seemed too fat away.

Finally, land was purchased on Chestnut Street

between East Sixth and East Seventh Avenues.

A single house on the corner was moved offthe grounds to

^ new location at L47 West

Sixth Avenue. A new brick building, to be

known as Chestnut School was erected at the

cost of $60,000. Classes were held there at

the start of the school year, Septembef, 1905.

It served kindergarten through high school.

A t'wo room elementary school buildittg

on Grove Street opened in I904 on land do-

nated by Countess Marie Panciatichi. Today

the builditg is the American Legion Hall.

As Roselle changed from a rural commu-

nity to a well-developed suburb, the nutnber

of schooLs grew.

22

By L9I4., population growth made nec-

essary the construction of a separate high

school building. An addition was made to this

building in 1929. On |une L4, 1930, the

name of Roselle Fligh School was officitlly

changed to Abraham Clark High School.

Lincoln School (now known as Dr'Charles K. Polk School after a much respected

and admired black physician) on Warren

Street was built in I920 at a cost of $60,000

and enlarged in 1927 for $147,000.

Harrison School at the corner of East

Third and Harrison Avenues was erected in

L922 at a cost of $f 53,000.

Washington School at Washington and

Fifth Avenues was built for $173,000 in 1927 .

Witday School at Brooklawn Avenue was

built in 1953 at which time additions were

made to Washington and Harrison Schools.

Total cost of these projects was $I,092,000.

Locust School (now Leonard V. Moore

after a much loved educator) was built inL956.

Abraham Cl'ark High School was enlarged

in 1956 when the original Chestnut School

was razed. The large gym and lunchroomwere erected in its place. The cost of Locust

School and the addition was $I ,670,000.

Staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph ofChestnut Hill, x pilochial school, St. loseph's,was founded in f913. It is located on East

Third Avenue and houses students pre-kin-

dergarten to eighth grade. Roselle Catholic

High School for Boys was organrzed in 1959

utilizing the same buildittg. For the first year

it was'staffed by the Sisters. In f 960, Marist

Brothers became the teachitg staff. Roselle

Catholic became a regional school with a

building at Raritan Road and Pine Street inI96I.

A high school for girls was housed in St.

loseph's from L963 - 1983. At that time, Girls

Catholic was inco{porated into Roselle Catho-

lic and it became coeducational facility.

Top left: School No. 4 at Ninth and Chestnut about1880. Top right: Roselle High School students about1928 dressed up for a play.

23

Clockwise from upper left: A student pageant celebrating the New Jersey Tercentenary in 1964. Dr. Charles C.

Polk School (formerly Lincoln School). Leonard V. Moore School (formerly Locust School). Harrison School.

24

t

.NN.

26

BOROUGH HALL BUILT

In September, f 909, the council decided

that suitable land should be purchased upon

which a Borough Flall, Fire Flouse, and

lockup building could be erected. At that time

town meetings were held in either the Tiernan

Building on First Avenue or the Wheatsheaf

Inn on St. Georges Avenue at the opposite

end of Chestnut Street. On November 5,

1909, the purchase of a lot f 00 x I80 feet on

the west side of Chestnut Street between Sec-

ond and Third Avenues for the sum of $3600was autho rtzed.

One set ofplans for the new Borough FIa[

suggested a builditg with a Spanish type ofarchitecture , but instead, plans with a colo-

nial design) somewhat like Carpenter F{all inPhiladelphia) were chosen. Built of brick anC

28

reinforced with iron beams, the new build-

ing was dedicated in November, L9l I, and

served the community for sixty-six years.

Borough Hall also served as a movie the-

ater in the twenties and thirties. Silent mov-

ies and vaudeville acts entertained the resi-

dents on Tuesday and Saturdty nights and

Saturd"y matinees.

Upper Left: St. Joseph's School. Lower Left: Plans for proposed Mediterranean style Borough Hall. Upper Right:poiters advertising movies outside of Borough Hall. Lower Right: Program for Borough Hall movies.

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29

ROSELLE LIBRARY

The first circulatirig library in the boroughwas run by the Clio Club srarring in l8g 9.Itwas open to the public upon payment of asmall fee. A printed catalog of 600 titles wasavailable .

In early L9L4., a committee was formedto canvass the residents to determine interestin a new public library to be financed by sub-scription. The fees would be 50 cents permonth or $5.00 per year. Finding public in-terest, th. library was established on March28, L9L4. A $1000 bequest from RichardKipling gave impetus to the library forma-tion. The Clio Club library of 1500 bookswas turned over to the new public library.

As the result of a referendum on Novem-ber 6, l9L7 ,the Iibrary became the Free pub-lic Library. Its first location was the LevineBuilding on second Avenue near chestnutStreet.

Land for the presenr building was pur-chased in L926. The Roselle Memorial Li-brary was built in r9z7 with federal funds.The cost was $45 ,455 ofwhich $25,000 wasa fcderal loan and $20 ,4Ss a federal granr.

OTHER CHANGES

After the Roselle casino burned down ih1916, the members decided against rebuild-irg at the old location and purchased theChilvers properry at Rariran Avenue and pineStreet. This farm with its farmhouse was con-

Ab Roselle Public Library, November 5, 1982. upper Right: st. warburga's orphanage offered shelter tochi 1925-1960.

30

s€*" &Lw R s,-s *sFes\ s ** R $*$"tu, F{, "$"

verted into the Roselle Golf Club which was

organrzed in L9L7 . Six holes were open to

play on August 4 , \9L7 .

planter with "Roselle" on it has been erected

on the triangle where the Wheatsheaf Inn

stood.

BylgIT,theWheatsheaflnn, still apopu- Wheatsheaf Road still meanders through

lar gathering place, found itself in the way of the borough from Aldene to St. George Av-

progress. Built long before Roselle was enue as it did in colonial days. Today, how-

planned, Chestnut Street was aimed direcdy ever, its path has been interrupted by the new

at the inn, and the growing automobile traf- streets laid out in more recent times.

fi.c was becoming ahazard. Rather than tear Earlyinthis century,women's suf6ragewas

it down, it was decided to move the building much discussed throughout the nation. Citi-out of the way. One section, which originally zens in Roselle took sides in the conflictwhenhad been a one room schoolhouse located a Roselle branch of the N.I. Association Op-across the street and not needed after the posedToWomenVotingwasorganizedwithopening of old School #4, had been added to 375 enrolled. The first meeting was held atthe inn as a restaurant and dance hall. This the home of former Mayor Charles W.part was split off and moved a few hundred MacQuoid" in 1914. In a short time there werefeet along Wheatsheaf Road, to become ^ 700 members. There was support also forsingle story bungalow. The larger, trvo-and- suffrage in Roselle. In February, 1914, an

one-half story original section was moved, Equal Suffrage League ofWomen was orga-minus its huge fireplace and chimney, just far nized. When an amendmenr to the N.]. Con-enough to be out of the way of the extension stitution to permit women to vote was de-ofChestnutStreet.Itbecameaprivatehome. feated by a 50,000 majority, in Roselle itThe moved portions still stand today. A brick passed by five votes.

3r

world war I saw 222 local men enrer thearmed service; thirteen of whom never re-turned. Streets such as K"plan, Dretz,Cristimi, Bartlert, Dermody, Flory Robins,cox and wenz Streets, were named in theirmemory. Bronze plaques on the Roselle Me-morial Library list their names as well as thenames of residents lost in subsequent wars.

BLACK RESIDENTS PROSPER

S ome black Rosellians became

32

entrepeneurs. Among them were Albert andLogan Pulley who ran the Pulley Taxi Ser-

vice in the twenties. There was also the Tho-mas Ashby Taxi Service. George Merritt de-livered ice in a horse-drawn wagon. MarthaBeltz was a caterer for private parties. E,arl

Adams, x world-class bicyclist, was proprietorof a bicycle shop in Roselle Park.

A L92I graduare of Howard UniversiryMedical School, Dr. charles c. Polk movedto Roselle in L924. For over fifry years hetreated white and black patients in his officeon East Seventh Avenue.

There were also Bernard Burdett, an aw-ning-maker and ]esse Eatman who was thefirst black to h-:come a postal worker.

The lust-A-Mere Lite rary Club wasfounded in L920 by six black women whowished to study and discuss literarure. Theclub, with a membership limited to rwenty is

still in existence todag but has expanded its

goals to providing scholarshipt to needy stu-

dents and books by black authors to the pub-

lic library.

KKK IN ROSELLE

In L926, newspapers carried a report of700 Knights of the Ku Klux Klan marching

in the borough. A cross fotty feet high was

burned. The parade formed on a vacant lotnear the Gordon Street bridge. Again in 1939.,

the KKK returned and burned a twelve footcross. Two robed men distributed literature

at Locust Street and First Avenue.

THE BOROUGH GROWS

Roselle's growth has been influencedlargely by transportation factors. As the com-

irg of the railroad created its first surg€, the

town grew again when the line was extended

Upper left: Chestnut Street about 1940. Below left:Bachman-Veghte coal wagon about 1930. Upper right:Malin's Store on Chestnut Street. An important empo-rium for generations of Rosellians.

to Plainfield. The emergence of the family car

and the prosperity of the 1920's produced

another population leap in the borough.Roselle's population in 1925 was 9.,L76. Itgrew 60% in five years. There were 35 gro-

cery stores, 12 ice cream parlors, seven

butcher shops and only three vacant stores.

THE ABRAHAM CLARK HOUSE

On September 27 ,1939., a drive was be-

gun by the Daughters of the American Revo-

lution and the Sons of the American Revolu-

tion to raise funds to build a replica ofAbraham Clark's house. The original house,

lcoated about West Tenth Avenue and

V\Iheatsheaf Road, burned down in 1900. The

replica was erected at the corner of Chestnut

Street and West Ninth Avenue. One thou-sand people attended the l"ytrg of the cor-

nerstone on November 12, L940. Standing

on land which was once part of Clark's farm,

it contains a small museum and the records

of the state Society of Sons of the American

33

Revolution. Near the corner, is a granite boul-

der bearing a bronze plaque to the memory

of Abraham Clark, placed there in L9I9. ItIists a brief account of his accomplishments.

On Raritan Road near the Roselle Shopping

Center, is a smaller stone that bears the ini-tials AC and RC and the date L737.This was

placed there as a boundary marker for the di-

vision of property of Abraham and Richard

Clark.

WARINANCO VILLAGE BUILT

About 1940 ) a large garden apartmentcomplex was built on St. George Avenue ad-

jacent to Warinanco Park. Named Warinanco

Village, it is now known as Oak Park Apart-

ments.

WORLD WAR II BROUGHT CHANGES

Fifiry-eight Roselle men fought and died

in World War II. Their names are inscribed

34

on a memorial plaque on the Roselle Public

Library.

During World War II, ffiffiy residents kept

chickens to supplement the rationed meat.

There must have been too much poultryscratchirg around on the main streets because

in August, L945, Mayor George I{. Burt re-

quested that' chicken dinners be served forthe next few Sundays expecially in homes on

Chestnut Street. During December, 1945, th.Borough Council and Board of Health an-

nounced that action would be taken against

residents who still harbored chickens and tur-keys.

Post World War II government loans

brought street after street of new homes and

Above: Replica of the Abraham Clark House atChestnut Street and West Ninth Avenue. Above Right:Houses built through efforts of Heard AME Church,

ii

the opening of the Garden State Parkway inthe }.950's brought Roselle into easy reach

of most job markets. IyI*y residents migrated

from ]ersey City and Bayonrle. Wood"'s EndApartments, Lockwood Village and theRoselle Shopping Center were erected about195f . Roselle passed the 20,000 populationmark for the first time.

Among the houses erected at that time(1947) were twenty Cape Cod Cottages forblack residents built through the efforts ofFleard A.M.E. Church. They are located onEast Eighth Avenue.

During the 1960's and L970's, spacious

Victorian homes were razed t,r make way forapartment complexes. The pleasant) tree-linedstreets were attractions sought by urbandwellers anxious to find an accessible loca-tion with suburban virtues.

Pinewood Hall on W. Second Avenue) a

!i'

large senior crtrzen housing complex was builtin L97L allowing long-time residents to re-

the borou ut the care main- !. 4.r {

a private e. The lib y was i'5 )i Tenlarged; a new Borough Flall replaced the

1910 model in L977, md outlying plots ofland were dedicated to commerci aI/light in-dustrial use for a wider tax base.

A large town house development was builtin Smith's Woods at the corner of RaritanRoad and Pine Street. It is known as

Westbrook Woods.

PRESENT DAY ROSELLE

Roselle's population is abovt22,000. Lo-cated near a major airport, the N.I. Turnpikeand the Garden State Parkway, the boroughencompasses light industry, stores and busi-nesses) single and multiple farnily housing.There are rnany churches of a variety offaiths.The schools include a public high school, a

35

Roselle community center, shaffer Avenue (formerly congregation Emanuel synagogue).

parochial high school, three prim ary schools

and two middle schools and a parochial gram-

mar school.

The form of government remains that ofa borough with a mayor and six members ofcouncil, one from each of five wards and one

elected at large. The police deparrmenr is

staffed by about 45 men and women. Thereis a paid and volunteer fire department. TheDepartment of Public Works is responsiblefor keeping the borough clean and neat, withthe assistance of volunteers.

Some of the through streets are the re-sponsibility of the l]nion Counry Board ofChosen Freeholders. The Board of Education,an autonomous bodg operates the publicschool system. Medical emergencies ar€

36

handled by either the Roselle Volunteer Am-bulance Corps or the Roselle Fire Depart-ment. \4lhile there are no hospitals in RoseHe,

nearby cities have some of the best equippedmedical facilities in the country.

With the ambiance of a small rown,Roselle remains a quiet, attractive place inwhich to live surrounded by rrees, gardens

and active churches.

ROSELLE'S CI.AIMS TO FAME

:t Roselle is first village in the world to be

lighted by Thomas A. Edison's incandescenr

lights. First Presbyterian Church is firstchurch to be so lighted.

:t Dr. Robert Williams, who lived at thecorner of Locust Street and West Seventh Av-enue, discovered Vitamin B-I in f 9I0 whenhe saved an infant dying of beri-beri in thePhillipines by administering a few drops ofrice bran syrup. In L934 he invented a pro-cess to make the vitamin synthetic"lly.

fl An elopement scene enacted for the

Vitagraph moving picture concern was pho-tographed at the Roselle Central Railroad sta-

tion on March 5, I9I5.

fl New ]ersey's first |unior College was

established at Abraham Clark High School

on September 30, L933, for the benefit ofunemployed men and women. The collegeutilized unemployed professors as teachers.

It was opened as an emergency measure withfederal aid. The college became Union Col-lege in Cranford.

!t Watson Stillman Flydraulic Works onAldene Road built a bathysphere for Dr. Wil-liam Beebe which established a new world'sdeep sea diving record af 2500 feet belowsea level on August I5, L934.

fl Mrs. Olive Bond Polkwas selected New

]ersey State Mother of the Year in L967 forthe American Mothers Committee.

fl Henry Such Smifr, local invenror, de-

signed a highway barrier which,would reduce

damage to automobiles collidirg with it. Itis installed on the Willis Avenue bridg. in NewYork.

JI Roselle produced three outstandingprofessional football players: Leo Disen d,JeffRichardson and Roosevelt Grier. Disendstarred for the Green B"y Packers and the

New York Giants in the forties. Richardson

was an outstanding end in the National Foot-ball League in L969. Grier, t I95l graduate

of ACHS, played for the New York Giants.FIe later was one of the "Fearsome Foursome"for the Los Arg.les Rams.

JI The Van Court Inn was featured in a

Broadway play, "Forty-five Minutes FromBroadway".

fl Lafayette was said to have visited the

Wheatsheaf Tavern in 1825.

:t Archer Cole (19L7 - L994), prominentlabor leader, was a Roselle resident for overthirty years.

jl Sol Marcus, composer of "I Don't Wantto Set the World on Fire ," grew up in Roselle

and attended public schools here.

!t The lead singer of the Platters, TonyWilliams, attended Roselle schools.

fl A former Roselle residert, Dr. HaroldDelaney, received the first Ph.D. fromHoward University and worked on the Man-hattan project.

37

REMEMBERIATG

Ruth Elliot Nessel was born in L920.She remembers roller skating and sleigh ridingon Seventh Avenue. M*y wealthy residents

p atro nrzedher father' s drycle anin g e stablish -

ment, sending chaffeurs to pick rp their cloth-itg. One of Mrs. Nessel's most pleasantmemories is the Abraham Clark High Schoolannual senior trip to Washington. The class

went by train and stayed in a hotel for several

days.

Born in f 907 . Miss Ethel Pulley movedinto her present house on East Eighth Av-enue when she was three years old. As she

was growing up, there were woods across thestreet where she used to play. Spruce Streethad not yet been created. When it snowed,children sledded on the walnut Streer bridge.With a good headstart) one could sled all theway to Third Avenue. Among her MissPulley's favorite rnemories are the Sundaytrolley rides she took with her father all theway to Bound Brook.

Memories of Roselle in the 40's and 50'swere shared by Barbara Grundy and CoraLee Roberts Paden. Many weddirg recep-

tions were held on the rop floor of thefirehouse at chestnut Street and, East EighthAvenue. There was an A&P at the corner ofEast Ninth Avenue and spruce Street. on St.

George's Avenue, also known as the "high-

38

wayr" were many stores includirg Monash'sDepartment Store, Dave's Grocery Store, a

chicken market and the Southern CountryStore. Everyone had prescriptions filled in a

pharmacy at the corner of Warren Street.

Milk, eggs and ice were delivered to thehomes. The wash was dried on clothes linesand curtains on stretchers.

After the Thanksgiving Day football game,

there was a turkey rror at the high school.

|ames Dunn of East Tenth Avenue was

born in Roselle in 1916. He remembers whenhe fell into an excavation as a small boy andwas rescued by his mother. Mr. Dunn also

recalls a soda factory on Morris Street between

Twelfth Avenue and St. George's Avenue.

A vegetable and fruit wagon whose pro-prietor was Sam Colucci, father of the recentmayor, was recalled by Mr. Dunn. Duringthe depression, Mr. Colucci gave food toneedy people.

Helen Williarns Holt was born in f 908on East Eighth Avenue. She rernembers thenames of all the families who lived on herstreet: B altz, Lee, Tucker, Dunn, Flebbons,Conover) Wocdg Hairston, Ashby, Wilmore,Pulley and Brown.

Mrs. Ffolt has memories of attending themovies at Borough Hall and seeing MaryPickford and Fatry Arbuckle; ,

Dorothy Wilde Bowers Drewniany was

born in L924.Among her memories ofRoselle is the Van Court Inn, where promi-

nent people spent their weekends. The inn

was scheduled to be the site of Mrs.Drewniany's wedding reception in 1943, but,

just before the event, the inn burned down.

She celebrated at the Ehzabeth Carteret Ho-tel.

A member of the first kindergarten class

at Washington School, Mrs. Drewniany re-

calls World War II army personnel being trans-

ported on the railroad near Washington

School to Staten Island where they embarked

for Europe. German prisoners of war came

on the train from Staten Island on their way

to Fort Dix for internment.

Born in 19I4, Dr. Arnold f. kvine, now

a retired dentist, was a 1932 graduate ofChestnut School. FIe remembers paying five

cents to view silent movies at the Roselle Bor-

ough Hall.

Grace Wildag after whom the school was

named, was Dr. Levine's school nurse. V\Ihen

Dr. Levine became the school dentist, she as-

sisted him in the examination of students.

Miss Wilday served in World War I; Dr.

Levine served almost five years as a captain in

the air force during World War II.

The first public library was located in the

Levine building on East Second Avenue for

fifreen years. Surplus books were stored in

the basement. A liquor store presendy occu-

pies the library area.

I{arold Gushin's family came to Roselle

from New York in 1906. A member of theRoselle Board of Education from 19521964, Mt. Gushin was born in 19I5. He at-tended Lincoln School when it was a woodenbuilding at the corner of Warren Street andTwelfrh Avenue.

Mrs. Lillian Gushin moved to Rosellein L920 at the age of six. FIer memories in-clude roasting potatoes in bonfires at the cor-ner of Chestnut Street and Second Avenne.She attended Chestnut School and was gradu-ated with her husband in 1933.

The Gushins can remember St. George'sAvenue when there were three bakeries, twodrugstores, three kosher butcher shops, anddelicatessens. Mushka's Ice Cream Parlor and

Benny the Barber's were also part of the busythoroughfare. Mr. Gushin also has memo-ries of t'wo large clothittg manufacturers onChandler Avenue and a farm bounded by St.

George Avenue, Ninth Avenue, Drake Av-enue and Chandler Avenue owned by MorrisNewmalr.

Mrs. Gushin taught at Lincoln School forsix years leaving when her first child was born.

Born on October 3, L909 in a house onFirst Avenue , Annabelle Mclntyre attendedChestnut School from kindergarten to thenvelfth grade. She recalls ice-skating wherethe Rainbow Gardens apartment complex istoday. She also sledded down the GordonStreet bridge. There was very litde traffic.Mrs. Mclntyre's father built a house on WestSecond Avenue in l9Il. He was one of thecharter members of the Second B"ptistChurch and she is the only living directdecendent of a charter member.

39

WEIEN IT F/RS T IIAPPENED/ATROSELLE

1880 First telephone installation in Miller Fox Moore,s home. General instal-lation of telephones IgBg.

r883 Roselle lighted by electricity.

1885 Roselle Post office established as an independenr office with Walter S.Mead as postmaster.

l89l Mains laid for ".ity water d,istribution". Previously water was obtainedfrom backyard wells.

f 894 Piped gas supplies started.

1898 Miss Grace Atkins of Roselle graduated from Women,s Medical Collegeof New York.

1903 Free mail delivery started with rwice a day deliveries.

r9l0 Boy Scouts organized in Roselle through efforts of Lewis Blasko of pineStreet.

L929 Pictures of nine previous mayors hung in Borough Council chambers,.Custom continues with all 22 mayors pictured.

L932 Marian rrebbons, first black college graduate from Roselle, earns bach-elor degree from Wilberforce College, Ohio.

1933 Roselle Band and orchestra Summer School opened byVirgil Bork. En-trance fee was $25.00.

1945 First National Bank of Roselle opened first drive-in teller in Union CountyL956 Roselle Lanes, Chestnut Street, is the first bowling alley in the country to

install Brunswick automatic pinsetter machine.

40

BOOSTERSln memory of Henry H. AlbersThe Alfano FamilyDon and Rosanne BaroneAnne BeemanEleanor H. BenbowRich and Debbie BiddulphThe BiddulphsKay and Bill BlackburnThe Breden FamilyCorinne and Kimberly BrownDorothy Kempson BurnsTom, Ronnie and Joan BullMr. and Mrs. John W. BurnsLucile and Leo CherniavskyLee and Ning Clemente, Roslyn

and HollyMrs. Doris J. (White) ColeMr. Raymond W. ColeClaire and Ted ConeMr. and Mrs. Ronald ConwayMr. and Mrs. Elwood C. CourtotElsie H. Parsons CoxJacqueline L. CraterRichard V. CraterDecks by DougBelle S. DowningMrs. John E. DowlingGeorge B. DrapeauDonald and Tanya EdwardsMr. and Mrs. Joseph Firkser

Fisherman's Choice Fishing ClubCarol FlanneryAudrey L. FleischmanTheresa F. FoxEstelle and Emmett FrazierRuth and Bill FrolichCatherine E. GallagherWalter and Carol Gawron Jr.Bobbi GormanRev. and Mrs. T.R. GoyinsDick and Marge GrayJack and Ruth GreeneDan Grobstein

Naomi Grobstein M.D. and PeterWalker

Sherry Grobstein and DavidLifschutz

Bill and Gerie GrushPatricia Dermody GrushThe Gurski Fami[Lillian and Harold GushinKen and Marie HagemannMr. and Mrs. Eugene T. Hahn Sr.Betty and Henry E. HamanRick and Linda HarrisonHeard A.M.E. ChurchPeter and Helen HeumannThe Heuser FamilyEleanor HintenachJane and Robert Hoffman and

FamilyWilliam and Johanna HowardPatricia HowarthMillie HowlettKathleen J. HughesMr. and Mrs. John E. JohnsonDarthea J. JonesElizabeth KernMrs. Joanette Hall KeyesJoseph KlemMr. and Mrs. Sidney KushnerThe Kuzenka FamilyDr. and Mrs. Arnold Levine

Top: Former Chilvers Farmhouseconverted to clubhouse for RoselleGolf Club. Bottom: BoroughCouncil and police department inthe late fifties.

4L

Joyce Levine and Sam RafelsonTheodore LewisJoseph and Wilma LiugaJoseph and Joan C. LoGiudiceMr. and Mrs. Stan LynnikDiana and Murdock MacNeilLinda, Tom and Erin MacriBarbara MaherBrian MaherFrank J. Mannuzza and Carol

MannuzzaMrs. Anna MaynerDon and Julie McBride and FamilyEd and Dot McCrohanMr. and Mrs. Edward McGregorEileen McMahonRosemary McMahon

The Minio FamilyEileen L. MiceliShirley A. MorrisEleanor J. MulliganMarion NealeMrs. Elizabeth NierstedtRaymond and Joan NierstedtRaymond Joseph NierstedtMr. and Mrs. Harry O'ConnellJoseph R. O'ConnorMadeleine OglowitzSidney G. and Evelyn N. OlsonCatherine A. OftusoJames Patrick OrtusoJean M. OrtusoThe Ortuso FamilyMr. and Mrs. Joe L. Paden and

Family

Vincent and Bernice PaganoMary M. PainterDr. Nicholas F. PalmieriKevin and Lisa PapaWhitney E. and Dorothy E. ParkerVincent J. ParlapianoOttie PattersonMr. and Mrs. George PccinaRose M. PolitoDr. and Mrs. Herbert l. PullerPrall Funeral HomeRobert Radano Jr.Lottie RedlingBarbara Polk Riley-ScottThe Rokos FamilyThe Roselle Historical SocietyThe Roselle Park Historical SocietyRoselle Volunteer Ambulance

CorpsM.K. Ryan FamilyMayor and Mrs. Joseph F. SafarynJames and Maureen M. Scala Sr.

and FamilyShirley K. SchaibleMr. and Mrs. A. ServedioBarbara and Robert SforzaThe Sgroi FamilyMr. and Mrs. D.W. SilveyJeffrey C. SimmonsJim and Nancy SimmonsMr. and Mrs. A.L. SpezialeMr. & Mrs. Joseph E. StramatHelen G. Storms

Top: Railroadsteam engine.

42

station onBottom:

left looking east toward Walnut Street bridge.Road work in Roselle about 1875. Note oxen.

Note lattice work bridge for pedestrians and

Mr. and Mrs. Richard StotzAl meda Parsons-ThompsonCecilia E. TomkoWayne S. TomkoWilliam TurbettPatricia, William and Thomas

VanderzeeEmil C. VatterJane and Craig VecchioneElaine and Diane VenturaThe Vogler FamilyTheodore and Sylvia WeidemannViolet S. WilmoreAudrey H. WinlandMadison L. WomackDonald A. YorkeLeonard S. Zalesky

ROSELLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Central OfficeSandra B. ThomasJacqueline McConnellKatie LaMar-ColesRobert Radano

Abraham Clark Hlgh SchoolLula YoungKenneth HolmesPeter KowalskySally CorvinusDale FieldsCharles Chrebet

Top: Old Roslyn Theater buildinEon Chestnut Street next to RoselleLanes about 1951 . Now a parklnglot. Bottom: Ramblers Bicycle Ciubabout 1 886.

Delores LoftonRegina A. EdwardsJoanne GuestBarbara TedescoDebi GegnerCarole GraysonShirley and John MoxleyKaren WarnerJoAnn Reddick GuestSally Demarest BoydMrs. Barbara BernsteinJoseph KellyMeredith Rung-Sliwiak

George SliwiakKathryn Svare and FamilyMarianne MonacoMrs. Barbara R. LeveeneRenee CarterAndrew and JoAnn Roesch

Leonard V. Moore Middle SchoolRobert BriskiPeter MarkosThe Saks FamilyMarilyn WojtechMary OcelloCliff ParentLinwood StevensKim BakerJeanne GarnesAngela RobinsonJudy RoccoThe L.C. Canady FamilyEd EntenbergJ. CorneliaBarbara BecklerHubert R. McQueenPat HennessyKaren KentV. DunphyM. DullyFisher-Jennings FamilyJ. RiehlK. FarrellThe Shaub FamilyThe Acosta Family

43

Maryellen MoffittLarry and Millie JacobsEvelyn PhilliPsSteve SalcitoBobbi BridgesE. Jiminez

Charles G Polk SchoolDorothy MaynerSophia BenzingerJoyce BondBarbara BizubSyble BleiweisYvonne CherryMarilyn CourtHarold DeVesternKathy DietrichBarbara DiMarcoMae DumasPat and Walter FellnerArline FergusonTom HillCarol JacksonMark LudwigEdith MaynerJulie MazzaJudy SierackiLinda TortoriciSally WeilMaryanne YarussiJoan DorseyEllen Conti

Nancy RomanoEleanor TateJudith McQuillanMr. and Mrs. Charles Meadows

Harrison SchoolVeronica DeNoiaCarolyn CurtiMrs. lrene DeVesternRosalind LewisPatricia LightcaPKaren MeisterSusan MarinoLillian RaimoSarah SanfordLinda M. ZakrzewskiB.J. FranksRobert and Eileen SadlowMrs. Diane StePhensonBarbara MannoMarcella McCarthYDiane and Gerald JannuzzelliCarol J. Womack

Grace WildaY Middle SchoolThe Staff of Grace WildaY School

Darlene RobertoA. and J.ZengewaldMarsha L. GarelickMr. and Mrs. JosePh GiulianoMr. and Mrs. Robert MeYer

Bert Maynor and FamilY

Kathleen DarnowskiDanitza, lvan, Tatiana, Steven and

Nikola PalivodaMr. and Mrs. James BrazilBarbara and Robeft Sforza

Washingtotn SchoolMichael UlakiKathi PhilliPsDorothy VitkauskisPeggy BeatyBarbara GolabekPam CavanaghDonna MuldrowJudy FolkesDorothy HoPkinsEstelle MeltzerGerri BurnsVicki SpechtSteve WilczakSandy FeldmanJan MortellitoJo VincentiJoy WanatLynn LynnMildred BuydosPat ConwaYLinda GantzDavid ShoreYvette O'ConnorCarol KeaneJoanne Vicidomini

Roslyn TheatreProgram, SePt.6,1926

SPECIAL NOTICE TOOUR PATRONS

-Otif

of Picadvan

- slayling Labor D.Y. S.P-

tember 6th.

SCAI..E OF PRICES

t\{ATINEESAdultsC[ilJ;"; a;;J.; ir';;::i

EVENINGSAdultsChildren(under l2 Yrs.)

SATURDAYS ANDHOLID,\YS MATINEES

Adults 25cChildren(under l2 vrs.) l5c

START THAT ACCOUNTTODAY

THE FUTST NATICNALBANK

of Rosclle, New Je*eY

A Good B:rnh lor Good PeoPlc

WEEK COMIVTENCING MONDAY, SEPT. 6, 1926

Mor,dur, Tuesd,ry, ^SePtember 6th-7th

Double Feature DaY

SYD CHAPLIN in "OH! WHAT A NURSE"A sure cure for the blues !

-Added

Featur€-DICK TALMADGE in "THE NIGHT PATROL"

Fox News -

Marvels of Motion

W.dt "sdavrifhrra& Y September Eth-9thDouble Feature Bill

..THELosTBATTALIoN''withGASToNGLASSThis sensational photodrama throbs with every

known emotion of ther:".::,. pgsluvs-

..DOLLAR DOWX'' fCAtUTiNg RUTH ROLAND

Educational Comedy, "Weak but Willing"Fun From The Press

Friday, Saturd:r1', September lOth-l lthDouble Feature DaY

COLLEERomantic wrns a

beauty contest, gocd'

-Added

Feature-"MOTHER" witlr AN ALL STAR CAST

Our Gang ComedY, "BabY Clothes"Fox llews

- AesoP's Fables

Last Chapter of "The Phantom Policet'

25cl0c

35c25c

CHARLES BALL

GarageSatcs and Servicc lor

CHEVROLET

LOCUST STREETat First Ave.

ROSELLE, N. J.

C,I R WASHINGA SPECTALTY

Telepho,resRoselle 2 196-l 7 27'W--20 l9

LEHIGH VALLEYCOAL

The Best, Ask AnYoneWho Uses lt-

Also

Fireplace and' Wood

Artlt-ur S. Fitirst216 Chestnut Street

ROSELLE PARK

TelePhone [lc'selle l6{2

Polly's Tea and Tokenr

GIFT SHOP

147 Chestnut Street

44

Vl"pn',r;t/"rJl--/,rr,,rh//*"/,hun4'/ce/h.

e/ru'cuce tlt ur,*'a rft* f"*a-*r;"/ f"A*"nz*Ruth and William Frolich, co-chnirs

Dorothy Mayn er,'vice - ch nirJohn Florentino , trea.sot?'er

Anthony Amalfe

Anne Beeman

Vincent Belluscio

Ruthann Caruso

Sam Colucci

]osephine Connaway

Virginia M. ConfortiAnthony DeCarlo

E stell e Frazier

Belle DowningRon Ginsberg

Lindsay Greb

Suzane Greb

Cecelia Guthmiller

John GuthmillerCharles Helfrich

Helen Heumann

Millie HowlettEileen McMahon

Edith Mayner

Ioan Nierstedt

Christine Massaro

]oseph O'HalloranDelores C. Pinnix

Norman Pinnix

John RodrLgtrez

Helen Rokos

Iean Taylor

Joseph F. Safaryn

Michael UlakiCraig Vecchione

Ioan Darsey Young

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