Clifton Merchant Magazine May 2013

Tomahawk Promotions

1288 main avenue

Clifton, NJ 07011

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPhila Pa 191PeRmiT No. 6438

Clifton Merchant •May 2013 3

May 2013• Clifton Merchant4

16,000 Reasons to RememberThe Meaning behind Memorial Day

Roll Call of Honored DeadMichael Tarlavsky, CHS ‘92, KIA ‘04

Clifton Vets, Living HistoryShare Stories of Service at WWMS

Avenue of Flags at City HallSee the Patriotic Display on May 27

Unforgettable PeopleLois Wienbrock Remembers Coach Bob

Putting Out HungerClifton Firefighters Host Food Drive

What’s Inside?7

12

28

34

38

40

42

Examining a Notorious NaziEyeball to Eyeball with Rudolf Hess

16,000 Magazines

are distributed tohundreds of Clifton

Merchants on the firstFriday of every month.

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Editor & PublisherTom Hawrylko

Business ManagerCheryl Hawrylko

Graphic DesignerKen Peterson

Staff WriterJoe Hawrylko

Contributing WritersTania Jachens, Carol

Leonard, Rich DeLotto,Don Lotz, Jack DeVries

1288 Main AvenueDowntown Clifton, NJ 07011

© 2013 Tomahawk Promotions

20 Johnny Ace inVietnam

Table of Contents


Free Hearing ScreeningsAt Montclair State’s Bloomfield Clinic

A Mustang in the ShadowsJosh Navanjo Undercover

Route 66 Road TripBill Walton Wrote the Book

1973 CHS ReunionParty Planning Mustangs

Moments of GraceChris de Vinck’s Essay

Lax Hair. Not FriendsCHS Junior Brendan Schreiber

46

50

52

56

66

8260 Infiniti Party at Fette

100thAnniversary

1913-2013

School #562


Memorial Day is a day to remember the� sacrificesmade�by�military�personnel.��

No�single�group�suffered�more�than�the�POW’s�taken�by�the

Japanese�in�the�Pacific�theatre�during�World�War�II.��As�many

as�80,000�Americans�fell�into�Japanese�hands,�including�six�from

Clifton,�between�the�fall�of�Wake�Island�in�December�1941�and

the�B-29�bombing�raids�of�Tokyo�in�August�1945�when�Japan�sur-

rendered.�

One�half�of�the�POW’s�never�came�home,�some�40,000�men�did

not� survive.� � Torture,� execution,� non-existent� medical� care,� and

other� forms�of�death�prevailed.� �They�died�on�prison�ships,�called

hell� ships� because� of� the� unspeakable� conditions;� on� the� Bataan

Death� March� where� they� were� worked� to� death� on� the� Burma

Railway,�or�in�Japanese�coal�mines�and�factories.

What�happened� to� the�Doolittle�Raiders�was�a�perfect�example�of

Japanese�POW�treatment.��

The� raid�occurred�on�April� 18,� 1942.� �Eighty�men� in� sixteen�B-25

bombers� attacked� Japan.� �Three�were�killed� in� action,� and� eight�were

taken�as�POW’s.� �Three�men�were�executed�as�“war�criminals.”� �Five

were� sentenced� to� lifetime� solitary� confinement,�where� one� died� from

malnutrition�and�one�suffered�a�mental�breakdown.��Eventually�four�men

returned�home�in�September�1945,�only�one�half�of�those�captured.

However,�even� these�atrocities�cannot�compare�with� the� thousands�of

POW’s�who�perished�by�drowning�when�prison�ships�were�shelled�and�tor-

pedoed—unknowingly�by�US�Navy�ships.

16,000Reasons toRememberBy Rich DeLotto

MEMORIAL DAY MAY 27, 2013

In 1925, Clifton’s Joseph V. DeLiberto who lived on Barkley Ave., served as a buglerwith the National Guard in Ossining, New York

In 1944 alone, over 16,000 POW’sperished in ship sinkings in the Pacific theatre.


In�early�1942,� the� International�Red�Cross� requested

that�the�Japanese�Navy�mark�the�ships�carrying�POW’s.

At� first,� the� Japanese� refused,� then� began� marking� all

their�ships,�including�those�carrying�only�weapons.

By�1943�the�Department�of�War�made� their�decision

—the�only�way�to�shorten�the�war�was�to�destroy�ship-

ping—therefore� all� ships� were� to� be� attacked.

Uncovered�at�the�end�of�the�war,�records�were�kept�by�the

enemy�of� ship�and�cargo� losses—guns,� ammo,�POW’s.

In�1944�alone,�over�16,000�POW’s�perished�in�ship�sink-

ings�in�the�Pacific�theatre.

It� should�be�mentioned� that� in� the�European� theatre,

American� POW’s� were�more� than� double� those� of� the

Pacific.��POW’s�died�at�the�hands�of�the�Nazi’s�at�about

a�5�percent�death�rate.��Nearly�10,000�Americans�died�in

captivity.��Twenty�military�cemeteries�in�Europe�hold�the

remains�of�more�than�one�half�of�these�men.�

This�Memorial�Day,�remember�the�men�and�women�who

paid� the� highest� price� for� our� country,� especially� the

POW’s.�Come�to� the�War�Memorial�Monument�on�Main

Ave.�on�May�27�at�11�am�to�honor�those�killed�in�action.

Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik

HappyHappyMother’s DayMother’s Day

from my family to yours...


2001 photo by Al Zwiazek


May 5 will be the 43rd anniversaryof�the�death�in�Vietnam�of�First�Sgt.

William� E.� Malcolm� Jr� (5/5/70),

101st�Airborne,�U.S.�Army,� the� last

man�from�Clifton�lost�in�the�war.

It� should� be� noted� that� Malcolm

served�at�President�Kennedy’s�funer-

al� as� Commander� of� the� 21-gun

salute�in�November�1963.�He�is�pic-

tured� here� at� President� Kennedy’s

grave.�On�November�22,�it�will�be�50

years�since�the�president’s�assassina-

tion,�and�50�years�since�a�twenty-one

year� old� Clifton� soldier� served� his

country,�first�in�peacetime,�and�seven

years�later,�then�in�war.

The Dwyer family moved toDelawanna from New York in� thelate�1940’s�during� the� famous�baby

boom�explosion.��The�neighborhood

did�not�take�long�to�notice�the�good

natured�kid�named�Matt.

VFW�7165�member� Pete�Carroll

still� remembers� coming� back� from

Germany� in� his�Army� uniform� and

talking� to�Matt� in� the� early� 1950’s.

“Just�the�nicest�kid�you�could�imag-

ine.��Lots�of�questions,�and�always�a

big�smile.”

People� from� Delawanna� always

remembered� when� the� Dwyer’s

bought�a�home�in�Nutley�and�moved

away� around� 1960.� � No� one� could

forget�a�kid� like�Matt.� �So�when�he

graduated�from�high�school�in�1964,�nobody�was�sur-

prised�he�joined�the�Marines.

PFC�Matthew�M.�Dwyer� Jr.�went� to�Vietnam� as� a

combat�engineer�in�May�1966�and�came�home�in�July

1967� as� a� corporal,� with� a� Purple� Heart� from� a� leg

wound.�Six�months�later,�he�received�orders�for�a�sec-

ond�tour.��Arriving�in�early�February�1968,�he�was�sent

to�the�3rd�Marine�division�during�the�most�famous�peri-

od�of�the�war,�the�Tet�Offensive.�On�February�28,�1968,

Dwyer�was�ordered� into�Khe�Sanh�by�helicopter.� �He

never�made�it.��Approaching�the�base,�the�CH-46�with

twenty-three� on� board� was� struck� by� ground� fire,

crashed�and�exploded.

In� early� March� 1968,� Marine� Corp.� Matthew� M.

Dwyer� Jr.� was� buried� at� East� Ridgelawn� Cemetery,

Clifton,�just�blocks�from�the�neighborhood�that�always

remembered�the�kid�with�a�smile.

Two Who Died in Vietnam


During World War II, communities across America createdhonor rolls to let friends, neighbors and passerbys know ofthose men serving the Armed Services of our nation. Thisboard was erected on what today would be the parking lot ofSchool 5 on Valley Rd. Pictured inset from left is Louis,Catherine and Bessie Lotz pointing to the name of their broth-er. Beginning on the following page and organized by the warin which they served, we have again published the name ofevery Clifton man who died while in service to our nation.



World War OneLouis AblezerAndrew BlahutTimothy CondonJohn CrozierOrrie De GrootOlivo De LucaItalo De MattiaAugust De Rose

Jurgen DykstraSeraphin FioriRalph GallassoOtto Geipel

Mayo GiustinaPeter HoroschakEmilio Lazzerin Joseph LiechtyJacob Morf, Jr.

William MorfEdwin C. PetersonRobert H. RoatAlfred SifferlenJames R. StoneCarmelo UricchioAngelo VaretoniMichael VernarecCornelius VisbeckIgnatius WuschingBertie ZanettiOtto B. Zanetti

REMEMBERING OUR HONORED DEAD

The poppy, still associated withMemorial Day, was inspired by thepoem In Flanders Fields writtenby Lieutenant Colonel JohnMcCrae of the Canadian forces in1915 before the United Statesentered World War I. Selling repli-cas of the original Flanders’poppy originated in some of theallied countries immediately afterthe Armistice. Disabled veteransmake these artificial flowers, andearn a small income after theirwork is sold by members of localveterans posts on Memorial Day.

Michael�A.�WallerDirector

James J. Marrocco CFSP, CPC

Manager, NJ Lic No. 3320

W W W.M A R R O C C O S.C O M

• Dino Primo Ambrosi• Michael Carbonella• Peter J. Chuprevich• Louis De Molli Sr.• Frank Thomas Derelitto• Vincent Gentiluomo• Samuel J. Kahwaty

• Emil Markovich• Joseph N. Nicastro• Joseph Peter Patti• Henry J. Scussel• Peter Senyshyn• Rudolph F. Sokasits• Leonard Tanzillo• Leonid Tomaczuk

The memory will live forever.Over the past year, we have hadthe privilege of serving the fam-ilies of many veterans. Inrecognition of the service theseveterans rendered to their coun-try, we would like to show ourappreciation this MemorialDay. In memory of their livesand their service, we recall...

470�Colfax�Ave.Clifton,�NJ�07013(corner�of�Broad�St.)

973-249-6111


World War TwoJoseph SperlingCharles Peterson Thomas Donnellan

Jerry TothFrank LennonJoseph CarboyJulius WeisfeldEdward LadwikIsrael RabkinPeter PagnilloHarold WeeksWilliam WeeksSalvatore Favata Herman AdamsEdward Kostecki

Charles Hooyman, Jr.Salvatore MichelliRichard NovakJames Potter

Adam LiptakJohn Van Kirk

Carlyle MalmstromFrancis GormleyCharles StanchakJoseph Ladwik

Karl GermelmannRobert StevensAlbert Tau

William ScottBenjamin PuzioJames Van NessGregory Jahn

Nicholas StanchakFrank Smith, JrCarl BredahlDonald YahnJoseph Belli

Edwin KalinkaStanley Swift

Charles LotzJoseph PrebolWalter NazarBenedict Vital

Thaddeus BukowskiLeo GrossmanMichael KasheyStephen Messineo

John JanekJohn YanickHerbert Gibb

William NalesnikJoseph SowmaBronislaus PitakHarry TamboerJohn Olear

John KoropchakJoseph NugentSteven GombocsThomas Gula

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Be sure to visit Clifton’s Avenue of Flags this Memorial Day, May 27, from 6am-7pm.



Nancy�Shook�Garretson,�President

NJ�Lic.�No.�3657

Roy�B.�Garretson,�Manager


Thomas�J.�Garretson,�Director


Kevin�V.�White,��Director


Joseph�M.�Shook,�Sr.,�Founder

1924�-�2008


World War TwoRaymond CurleyHarry EarnshawJames HenryJohn Layton

Charles MessineoJoseph PetruskaBogert TerpstraJohn Kotulick

Peter VroegindayMichael SobolDonald SangAndew SankoGeorge Zeim, Jr.Robert Van Liere Vernon BrosemanHarold O’KeefeEdward Palffy

Dennis SzabadayLewis Cosmano

Stanley Scott, Jr.Charles Hulyo, Jr.Arnold Hutton Frank BarthJohn KanyoBryce Leighty

Joseph BertneskieSamuel BychekLouis NettoDavid Ward

Edward RembiszLawrence ZanettiAlfred Jones

Stephen BlondekJohn Bulyn

Gerhard KadenWilliam LawrenceRobert Doherty

Samuel GuglielmoRobert Parker

Joseph MolsonStephen KuchaJames De BiaseDominick GianniManuel MarcosNicholas PalkoWilliam SlyboomHerman Teubner

Thomas CommiciottoStephen Surgent Albert BertneskieCharles GashPeter Jacklin

Peter Shraga,Jr.John Aspesi

Micheal LadyczkaEdward MarcheseRobert Stephan Roelof Holster, Jr.Alex Hossack



Siber SpeerFrank Klimock

Salvatore ProcopioHarry Breen

Gordon Tomea, Jr.Douglas GleesonFred HazekampHarold Roy

Andrew Servas, Jr.Francis AlessoWalter BobzinVincent LazzaroJohn Op’t HofJoseph Sondey

John ZierPeter HellrigelSteve Luka

Arthur Vanden BreeHarold BakerHans Fester

Patrick ConklinJohn Thompson

Thomas Dutton, Jr.Harold Ferris, Jr.

Donald FredaJoseph Guerra

Edward HornbeckWilliam HromniakStephen PetrilakWayne Wells

Vincent MontalbanoJames MilesLouis Kloss

Andrew KacmarcikJohn Hallam

Anthony LeanzaWilliam Sieper

Sylvester CancellieriGeorge WorschakFrank Urrichio

Andrew MarchincakCarl AndersonGeorge Holmes

Edward StadtmauerKermit Goss

George HuemmerAlexander YewkoEmil Chaplin

John HushlerEdgar Coury

Robert HubingerWilbur LeeVito VeneziaJoseph RussinErnest Yedlick

Charles CannizzoMichael BarberoJoseph PalaganoWilliam HadrysJoseph Hoffer, Jr.Joseph PiccoloJohn RobinsonFrank TorkosArthur MayerEdward JaskotGeorge RussellFrank Groseibl

Richard Van VlietBenjamin BoykoHarry CarlinePaul DominoJohn Fusiak

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World War TwoLouis Ritz

William NiaderAlfred AipleMario Taverna

Sebastian De LottoMatthew Bartnowski

John BogertJoseph ColluraMatthew DanielsJames Doland, Jr.Walter DolginkoPeter KonapakaAlfred MasseroniCharles Merlo

Stephen MiskevichJohn PtasienskiLeo Schmidt

Robert Teichman

Louis VuoncinoRichard VecellioRobert HegmannErnest Triemer

John Peterson Richard Vander Laan, Jr.

Stephan Kucha‘Gigito’ Netto


Memorial Day Weekend CeremoniesSunday, May 26• 7 pm - Volunteers decorate the area around the War Monument in Main Memorial Park with American Flags

Monday, May 27• 6 am - Avenue of Flags Set-up at City Hall• 8:15 am - Fire Dept. Memorial at the Brighton Rd. Firehouse• 9 am - Memorial Day Parade, Hepburn Rd. • 9:30 am - Allwood Memorial at Chelsea Park• 11 am - City Wide Memorial Service at Main Memorial Park • Noon - Military Order of Purple Hearts at the Clifton Library• 12:30 pm - Post 347 Memorial at the Clifton Rec Center• 2 pm - Athenia Veterans Memorial on Huron Ave.• 6 pm - Avenue of Flags Take Down at City Hall

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We Honor America’s Veterans


Korean WarDonald FrostErnest HausslerWilliam KullerJoseph Amato

Herbert DemarestGeorge ForneliusEdward Luisser

Reynold CampbellLouis Le SterDennis Dyt

Raymond HalendwanyJohn CrawbuckErnest HagberyWilliam Gould

Edward FlanaganWilliam Snyder

Allen HillerArthur GrundmanDonald Brannon

Vietnam WarAlfred Pino

Thomas DandoWilliam SiposBohdan Kowal

Robert Kruger, Jr.Bruce McFadyenCarrol WilkeKeith Perrelli

William ZalewskiLouis Grove

Clifford Jones, Jr.George McClelland

Richard CorcoranJohn Bilenski

Donald CampbellJames Strangeway, Jr.

Donald ScottHoward Van VlietFrank MoormanRobert Prete Guyler Tulp

Nicholas CerratoEdward DeitmanRichard Cyran

Leszek KulaczkowskiWilliam MalcolmLeonard BirdJohn France

Stephen Stefaniak Jr.

Nov. 8, 1961Plane CrashRobert De VogelVernon GriggsRobert MarositzRobert Rinaldi

Raymond ShambergerHarold SkoglundWillis Van Ess, Jr.

Passaic County Clerk

Kristin Corrado

Honor Our Veterans!God Bless America!

US Army/Special Forces Captain Michael Tarlavskywas killed in Najaf, Iraq on Aug. 12,2004 and buried with honors inArlington National Cemetery on Aug.24. Tarlavsky, CHS Class of ‘92, wascaptain of the Swim Team and enlist-ed in the Army in 1996. He served inIraq and Afghanistan and was award-ed the Bronze Star. He is survived byhis wife Tricia, son Joseph, his parentsYury and Rimma and a sister, Elina.The Veterans Alliance engraved hisname on the Downton Clifton MainAvenue War Memorial in 2004— thefirst name added in 34 years.

To volunteer in decoratingMain Memorial Park for theMay 27 ceremonies, callMayor James Anzaldi at973-470-5757. To help outwith the Avenue of Flags,turn to page 38 for details.

May 2013 • Clifton Merchant20

Johnny AceA Degree in Life from the USMC

By Joe Hawrylko

Clifton Veterans

Clifton Merchant • May 2013 21

Now look at the photo of those Marines in Vietnam.

Clifton’s Johnny Ace, the 19 year old kid with the machine

gunner’s bandolier across his sinewy body, embodies those

traits and more. Lean and steely-eyed, he has swagger, looks

a little scary and is ready to lead.

Ace was the Platoon Sergeant in charge of three squadrons

and two rocket crews, some 50 men. He was under the com-

mand of Lt. Abel Daredes who was perhaps six years older.

They were leading the men of Company F, Second Battalion,

First Marine Division, back in 1967.

“I always covered ammo for the gun teams. Everybody

takes turns. That’s so if you get caught in the field with your

pants down, you got some ammo.” On more than one

instance, Ace would need not only those belts of machine

gun ammunition but also all of his Marine Corps training to

get him and his men back home alive.

Looking back on his time in the jungle, and the meritori-

ous service which earned him the Navy Commendation

Medal with the Combat “V”, Ace has remorse for the lives

of young men left on the battlefields and in the rice paddies

of Vietnam. Perhaps too he is sorry about the shaky years

after his return to civilian life and the failed marriages.

But as far as being a Marine, Johnny Ace has no regrets.

“When I’m making decisions in life,” he continues, “I take

into consideration, subconsciously, the same things I’d make

in the field, only in a civilian way.”

Now 65 and retired from the commercial real estate busi-

ness and after almost two decades as a lonely cross country

trucker, Ace lives with his fourth wife in Arizona.

But looking back to the Marines and his time in Vietnam,

he said the enlistment was the first right move he made. “I

would take my experiences from the Marine Corps—not

only Vietnam, but my four years in the Marine Corps active

duty—and say that it was the best thing that I ever did for

myself. I was heading to jail the way that I was going.”

Now look at the inset of that young Clifton boy on this

page.

Marines put a lot of stock in bearing. One of the 14Marine Corps Leadership Traits is defined as: The wayyou conduct or carry yourself. Your manner should reflectalertness, competence, confidence, and control.


That’s Clifton’s Johnny Ace, (also pictured below

today), the kid with a mischievous smile in 8th grade at

Woodrow Wilson Junior High School, the year before he

dropped out and tried to enlist.

Ace was his birth name. “No kid-

din’. That was my father’s name. He

left when I was two.” He does not

remember his dad but like the lines in

a Johnny Cash song, he has no great

love for his namesake. “Ace was a lit-

tle hard. Try being called an acehole

all the time.”

He was raised by his mom and

stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus

and Evelyn Motyl on Graham Place in

Acquakonack Gardens. He recalled

good times growing up in what was

then called the Veterans Barracks.

Ace went to School 5 on Valley Rd. and ran with the

Nobles and the Bolero Boys—for the landmark bowling

alley where Fette Ford is today. Some of his old street

corner pals included Jimmy Brittan, Rich DiOrio, John

Henry, Bobby McDermett, Richie and Mike Brechko.

Ultimately, Ace wasn’t cut out for school. He

dropped out at 17, and took up a dead end job at a facto-

ry. With few prospects to improve his lot in life, Ace

made the choice to enlist in the Marines one afternoon in

the summer of 1965 while in New York City with some

friends.

“There was five of us and we all wanted to join the

Merchant Marines,” he recalled. “We went down to the

New York harbor and they said ‘We’re not hiring any-

body,’ One of the guys was like why don’t we join the

Marine Corps and so we did.”

Though Ace had filled out paperwork in New York, he

was still only 17 at the time, and needed his mom’s

approval to go.

“I just said I am going,” he

recalled. “She had to sign for me to

get into the Marines, and I said I am

splitting out of here if you don’t.”

Ace’s parents eventually signed,

and he went off to Parris Island for

boot, graduating in December of

1965. The Cliftonite was then

assigned to Fox Company, 2nd

Battalion, 2nd Marines out of Camp

Lejeune. Ace would spend the next 11

months getting combat ready.

“It was good for me,” he recalled.

“I learned to read a map, I learned to

call artillery. I learned all that stuff

that you would use in the field but that you’d never get

if you went to boot and then to Nam. That’s why I was

able to pick up rank. I knew the inner workings. Most

guys were going through boot and getting shipped out

right away. At least I knew what to expect and what I

had to do. I believe that saved my ass. That and my

grandmother’s (Anna Levendofsky) prayers, of course.”

Ace received his orders in the fall of 1966, and spent

23 days in November at sea aboard a transport before

arriving in Da Nang, Vietnam.

One of the first things that Ace noticed upon landing

was the notoriously brutal weather.

“The heat was always there,” he said. “The only thing

you had for it was the monsoon season, when it would

rain for 30 days straight. Sometimes it was a blessing if

you’re in a fire fight. Rockets or bullets would

My husband Eric and I areproud to support LaurenMurphy in her 2014 cam-paign for Clifton CityCouncil. If you would like tojoin us in her progressivecampaign please contact herat [email protected].

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be dampened. Most of my feet, the skin fell off. Your

feet are always wet. It still bothers me to this day. I’ve

got dead nerves under my toes.”

Over the course of his 13 month deployment, Ace

estimated that he participated in 10 major operations,

eventually taking over the lead of the platoon at just 19

years of age. Eventually, his paperwork was sorted out

and he was attached to the 1st Marines.

“Major fire fights and all that stuff, I remember very

clearly,” he said. “We were in combat just about every

single day because we had the helicopters. The average

infantry man in Vietnam spent 240 days in combat out of

13 months. In World War II, they spent about 40 days in

combat out of four years. The whole thing was mobility.”

Ace said that the harsh weather conditions, booby-

traps and constant ambushes took a mental toll on him

and his comrades. In a June 1967 letter home to his mom

and dad, Ace wrote bluntly about the action, some of the

conditions and the things he saw. It was later published

that year in a local newspaper.

The booby traps and mines took most of the Marines.It’s not a pretty sight, Mom. Especially when it’s yourgood buddies getting it out there. I watch them fall and

try to help but I have to keep my men going cause if wedon’t find Charlie in a hurry he’ll only get more of us. Sowe have to kill him and everyone who sympathizes withhim. They are all no good, Mom. I shoot everyone ofthem I see.

But despite the killing and chaos going on around him

in Vietnam, Ace said he tried to do his best to stay

focused in the field and complete his 13 month tour.

“Everybody counted the days. When you’re with

infantry company, if you make it to three months, you

got a pretty good shot of making it out of there. We lost

many guys because they were new,” he said. “I used to

go by month when I was still in the field. When I was

supposed to be out I really wasn’t even thinking about

home... I was thinking about staying alive. At one point

I am still in the field on my last day and they send a

chopper in for me and take me out. I didn’t think about

rotating. If you think about it, it may take away from

your attention span that you need to keep your ass alive.”

When he was discharged in October of 1967, Ace

was nominated for the Bronze Star, and ended up receiv-

ing the Navy Commendation Medal, which is one of the

most prestigious honors in the Navy.

In 2001, Johnny Ace with some of hisClifton family which includes PatriciaMotyl, Larry Motyl, Jane Motyl, Lois AceUhleman, Joseph Gebbia, ArnoldUhleman, Susan Ace, Tammy MotylGebbia, Joseph Motyl, Christian Motyl,Jake Gebbia and Lisa Uhleman Bisher.


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The following is an excerpt the Commanding General

of the Pacific Fleet Marine Force wrote about Ace:

As a Platoon Sergeant, on 7 September, he led asquad of swimmers across a river and, despite a heavyvolume of enemy fire, skillfully deployed his men, forc-ing the enemy to withdraw. Again, on 14 September,when one of his squads was pinned down by a numeri-cally superior Viet Cong force, Sergeant Ace unhesitat-ingly led a relief unit to the besieged Marines andforced the enemy to abandon numerous packs andequipment and flee in panic and confusion.

“The award is one thing. It’s the faith that your guys

have in you. The trust you platoon commander puts on

you, those are the most rewarding things,” said Ace.

“My guys never questioned me, and my platoon com-

mander never questioned me. That was worth more to

me than anything, any commendation.”

The former Marine did his best to return to civilian

life, but had his fair share of troubles adjusting.

Eventually Ace did find solace on the road as a truck

driver for Filigree Foods.

“Most of the time, I used to run the 48 States and

Canada,” he said. “I liked it because most of the time, I

was by myself. I didn’t wanna deal with people, so it

worked out real well. Being alone when I was on the

truck was no responsibility as far as I was concerned.”

But what Ace didn’t realize that was his aversion to

people wasn’t just a personality quirk—it was PTSD.

He only realized that after two back surgeries derailed

his trucking career, and he started to develop depres-

sion from lying about the house.

“I was diagnosed in 1984,” he recalled. “Everything

I did I thought was right until I went to the VA in 1982

or 1983. I told them I’ve got these problems. I told

them exactly what happened: nightmares, flashbacks,

my temper... they put me in a program and gave me

medication. I still do the same thing to this day. It

keeps me stable.”

“They had just made it a disability in 1983 or 1984,”

Ace continued. “I didn’t know what it was. I just

thought it was normal stuff. Probably the worst part

was the depression. That’s what sent me to the VA to

start. I can deal with flash backs. I can deal with

dreams. Depression? It will make you kill yourself. I

am not a suicide guy, but I know a lot of guys who have

pulled the trigger because of depression.”

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Since being diagnosed and undergoing treatment,

Ace’s quality of life has improved dramatically. He

eventually recovered enough to return to work, and

spent many years working in commercial real estate.

But even though it has been decades, Ace still finds

himself thinking like a Marine. “I have an office at

home where I have all my stuff from the Marine Corps

in there,” he said. “I draw strength from that... War

time experience gave me the mentality that everything

can be figured out tactically. It’s when emotions get

involved is when stuff gets messed up.”

While the war ended on April 30, 1975 with the Fall

of Saigon and the formal reunification of Vietnam into a

communist state, Ace knows that his struggles against

PTSD and depression will be a battle for the rest of his

life. “It’s a dull pain in your mind that doesn’t go away,”

Ace continued. “I can go two weeks without a dream,

but then I will wake up in the middle of the night soak-

ing wet, I smacked my wife... I just don’t know when

this stuff is gonna come up. It ain’t my fault. I try the

best I can. It is just something that stays with you.”

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In Berlin, Dr. Gregory Zipf Met the InfamousNazi Rudolf Hess... and his Clifton Bride!

TreatingThe Prisoner

Clifton Veterans

By Joe Hawrylko

In the center of the photo above, that’s Dr. Gregory Zipf at the Berlin Wall. He was an Army opthamologist in Germanyfrom 1982 to 1985. While there, Zipf treated the infamous Nazi, Rudolf Hess, pictured before his death and during WWII.

When Cliftonite Gregory Zipf accepted his health

professional scholarship, he knew that it would entail

him serving three years for Uncle Sam. What the

opthalmologist didn’t know was that he would be

shipped to Berlin, Germany, where he would not only

meet his future wife, but would also come face to face

with one of the most infamous Nazis from World War

II, Rudolf Hess.

Prior to enlisting, Zipf was a standout football play-

er at CHS, where was a part of the undefeated team

that won the state championship prior to his gradua-

tion in 1973. He then attended Notre Dame


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before going on to the Pennsylvania College of

Optometry in Philadelphia.

There, as a part of his agreement with the government,

his final three years of school were paid for in exchange

for three years of military service with the Army.

“Senior year, they sent me to Letterman Army

Hospital in San Francisco, and then when I graduated,

they sent me to San Antonio for overseas training,” he

said. Zipf also did his basic in San Antonio, TX. “Then

they sent me to Berlin on Sept. 1, 1982.”

At that point in time, tensions were still extremely

high in Germany due to the Cold War.

Following the end of World War II, the occupying

powers in Germany—the United States, Britain, France

and the USSR—divided Berlin into quarters, each being

governed by a single country.

Eventually, the Cold War progressed, international

relations worsened and the Soviets absorbed their territo-

ry—dubbed East Germany—into the Eastern Bloc, ulti-

mately constructing the infamous Berlin Wall to keep out

Russia’s enemies.

“We were always on constant alert because they were

always thinking the Russians were coming over,”

recalled Zipf. “About my third or fourth night there,

they put me up in the officers apartments. About 4 am,

the whole building started shaking. I looked out and it

was tanks rolling on by.”

But outside of occasional drills and shows of military

prowess, life in Berlin was relatively quiet. Most days,

Zipf would go to work, see his patients and then end up

with buddies over at the local officer’s club.

“They took Hitler’s hotel, where he hung out in World

War II, and we made that into our officer’s club. It was

an absolutely awesome building,” he recalled. “The

whole bottom floor was a gigantic bar. We’d have happy

hour on Fridays, and everyone would come, from gener-

als to colonels, all the way down. Everyone would come

drinking in their fatigues. You were drinking a 16 ounce

German beer for 25 cents. Any kind of drink was maybe

40 cents. We had a huge buffet too, all you can eat.”

Another ever-present reminder of what had transpired

in World War II was the looming presence of Spandau

Prison, located in West Berlin.

“Spandau dated back to the 1500s. It kind of looked

like a castle or fortress,” recalled Zipf.

After the Nuremberg Trials, some of the highest rank-

ing Nazi officers were imprisoned at Spandau, including

Karl Dönitz, Konstantin von Neurath, Baldur von

Schirach, Albert Speer, Erich Raeder, Walter Funk and

Rudolf Hess.

Of those seven, Hess was the only one still incarcerat-

ed when Zipf was in Germany, as he was serving out a

life sentence. Hess was primarily known for two things:

being Adolf Hitler’s right hand man while in power, and

his bizarre capture in 1939, when Hess secretly flew over

to England to negotiate a peace treaty and was instead

taken into custody.

As an Army doctor, Zipf had only heard stories about

Spandau and Hess from other soldiers that he had cared

for. But in late August of 1984, the Cliftonite wound up

caring for the man known as The Prisoner.

“I was actually on optometrist on call to the emergency

room. It was a Friday. Back then, Fridays were great.

You’d get out of work in the afternoon, go home and then

go to the officer’s club,” said Zipf. “On the way home,

my beeper went off. I stoped at the PX and I called in and

they said, ‘Oh, we’ve got an emergency. Go home, get

your dress uniform, and then come back to the hospital.’

What the hell? So I get my dress uniform and run back

and the internist is there waiting with a limo and they said

‘Hop in, we’re going to Spandau, we’ve got an emer-

gency. I just thought, this is going to be crazy.”

Clifton’s Sandra Palinkas and Greg Zipf were marriedon June 15, 1984 in Berlin, where they met.


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“It was in the summer. We were

having our big festival at the

German American Folk Festival on

our base. We’d set up gigantic tents

like they had at the Clifton picnic,

food, sausage, beer... just a great

time,” he laughed. ‘That’s where I

was supposed to be and here I am at

prison and I can’t believe it.”

Zipf arrived at Spandau and pro-

ceeded passed the big iron doors at

the front gate, but the guards there

stopped him.

“I just had my Army ID and

couldn’t get in,” he said. “You had

to have your ID signed by all four

governors (from each Allied coun-

try). The internist was having a fit.”

Eventually, the needed represen-

tatives were contacted and Zipf was

allowed access. He went into the

main building to a small clinic, and

a few minutes later, in walked

Rudolph Hess.

“It was a total shock. I never

thought we were involved with the

prison. I always thought if they had

a problem, they’d bring in a special-

ist,” he said. “The crazy thing about

it was, while I am looking at him,

the French, the Russians... all of

them are looking over my shoulder.

They had me there to determine if

he was having a retinal detachment.

If he was, everything would go

crazy. They’d have to close down

whole sections of the city to get him

out of the prison and over to the

British hospital.”

It turned out that Hess, who

already did not have vision in his

right eye, was actually suffering

from macular degeneration, which is

an aging of the eyes and not serious.

After the session was over, Zipf

went back out to meet his friends at

the officer’s club.

“I told them, ‘I just happened to

see somebody on the way here,’”

laughed Zipf. Eventually he let on

that he was at Spandau, and every-

one realized where Zipf was.

“Everyone was kind of flipping out.

It was kind of amazing.”

Zipf returned to treat Hess twice

more. The Cliftonite was later ques-

tioned by authorities after Hess tried

to get an early release by claiming

that the American doctor had told

him his vision was failing.

In August of 1987, Hess was

found hanging in his cell, reportedly

dead of suicide at the age of 93.

In addition to his run in with The

Prisoner, Zipf remembers his time in

Germany due to meeting his wife,

Sandra Palinkas, whom he was

introduced to in February of 1983.


“My buddy, who was an infantry guy, we were talking

and he said ‘My girlfriend said there’s this girl that just got

a job in finance and she’s from New Jersey. Do you want

to invite her the next time we come to the officer’s club,’”

he recalled. “The next week, we go in there and she’s sup-

posed to come at 7. About five to seven, I’m looking

around and said I wouldn’t mind meeting that blonde over

there and he said, ‘Oh, that’s her.’ I asked her and said

north or south. And she said, oh my dad is originally from

Clifton. I thought my friend had set me up.”

But it was true—Sandra’s father was originally from

Kulik St. in Botany Village, and her aunt and uncle lived

on the same street as his parents. Sandra ended up in

Berlin because her father was a career military man who

was stationed in Germany after earning a Purple Heart

and Bronze Star in World War II.

Zipf and Sandra quickly hit it off and began dating

regularly. “We had our first date and from that point for-

ward we were seeing each other. Then a year and a half

later we were engaged in 1984,” he said. “We had a dou-

ble wedding. If I didn’t get married there, then I could-

n’t bring her back as my wife. We were married on June

15, 1984 at Berlin City Hall. We had the reception at the

officer’s club.”

On Nov. 3, 1984, Zipf returned home to Clifton to

have a ceremony with family. They were wed at St.

Brendan’s Church, and the reception was held at the

Knights of Columbus on Main Ave.

Eventually the two moved to Pompton Plains, and then

settled in Washington, NJ, where they have lived for 26

years. The Zipfs have two children: Eric and Stephanie.

Greg and his brother, John Zipf, a former Clifton cop.


Eighth grade students at Woodrow Wilson MiddleSchool will be celebrating an early Memorial Day with

their 13th annual Veterans Teaching History program.

Eighth grade teachers Jennifer Lanzerotti and

Vanessa Gaba coordinate the May 17 event, which will

bring in area veterans to share their experiences with

the young teens. The veterans will also enjoy a lunch-

eon and then a special concert.

Veterans who served in war or peace from any era

are invited to volunteer and share their stories of serv-

ice. To participate, leave a message and phone number

at the WWMS main office: 973-470-2350.

“Vets come in and talk to the students for about 30

minutes, and then everyone goes to the auditorium

where the bands plays and we have an assembly in their

honor,” said Lanzerotti. “There’s poetry that students

have written, and the chorus sings too. We allow veter-

ans to speak if anyone wants to. A couple have spoke

in the past, but not many. And then they march out.”

This is the first year that Lanzerotti has been in

charge of the program, which she estimated has been

around for over 10 years.

“It’s really student driven,” she said. “The HSA

pays for the luncheon, but everything else is in

By Joe Hawrylko

Woodrow WilsonStudents Honor Veterans

with Fanfare & Conversation


house. The students are responsi-

ble for creating invitations and

sending them out. They help cre-

ate the program too.”

The day starts with a brunch for

the veterans. Afterwards, the vets

go to 8th grade classrooms to talk

about their experiences and field

questions from the students.

After that has concluded, the

veterans parade into the auditori-

um, where the band plays and stu-

dents recite poems for their guests.

“Sadly, many of our WWII veter-

ans are dying, so it is becoming

increasingly important to pay tribute

so they are not forgotten,” said Gaba.

Donald Gross, a woodshop

teacher at Woodrow Wilson, is also

one of the participating veterans.

Gross, who hails from North

Bergen, enlisted in 1973, hoping to

use the GI Bill to go to school at the

end of his service.

Gross did his basic training in

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and

was assigned to the 541st Engineers

of the 549th Battalion. For the

duration of his service, Gross was

stationed in Schwetzingen,

Germany. After returning home,

Gross went to Montclair State,

where he studied graphics and elec-

tronics. For many years, he worked

for Reader’s Digest.

However, Gross saw changes in

the industry and then one day he

was ordered to prepare a job so it

could be outsourced overseas. “I

didn’t serve this country to send

jobs out of the country. I quit.” he

said. “I still stand by that.”

In 2006, Gross met with former

CCMS Principal Bil Hahn and was

hired as the woodshop teacher. He

learned about the veterans program

in 2007, and has been participating

since. “I met a lot of friends

through this,” said Gross.

“Veterans like to talk and tell sto-

ries, and share what they’ve been

though. I enjoy doing it.”

Ashley Cordeno, Don Gross, Isaiah Buonafina, David Buonafina, Jennifer Lanzerotti, Vanessa Gaba and CharlesClayton. At right is Don Gross while in the Army, who was a corporal in 1976.

Al Zwiazek, Frank Smith and Bob Cirkus participated in last year’s program.


On May 27, the campus of

City Hall at 900 Van Houten

Ave. will once again be deco-

rated in red, white and blue, as

more than 1,500 American

flags dot the landscape.

Known as the Avenue of

Flags, it is one of the largest

exhibits of Old Glory east of

the Mississippi River, and it’s

all put together with the help of

several generous volunteers.

The Avenue of Flags was

the idea of Walt Pruiksma,

who in 2002, floated the idea

to a group of old soldiers and

sailors. The concept was sim-

ple: on Memorial Day, Flag

Day, Independence Day,

Patriot Day (9/11) and Veterans Day, volunteers get up

at the crack of dawn to put up the flags, and at the end

of the day, they return to take them down.

By Veterans Day of that year, more than 300 flags were

up on the grounds of City Hall. With each passing year,

that number slowly grows. Today, the Avenue has sur-

passed 1,500 flags and is coordinated by John Biegel.

There are even maps and volunteer guides available to

help donors locate where their flag is displayed.

The public is invited to sponsor a flag to honor a vet-

eran, living or deceased. The $100 donation includes

the flag, pole, sleeve, name plate and ground socket.

The necessary form for a flag can be found at

www.cliftonnnj.org by clicking on links and looking up

Avenue of Flags. Volunteers are also needed.

For more information or details on how to help,

email [email protected] or call John Biegel at

973-519-0858.

Clifton Veterans

Avenue of Flags


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It was supposed to be a busy couple of days in 1986.My sister was getting married on Saturday and my hus-

band Bob was “giving her away.” And on Monday

night, Coach Bob was being honored at a dinner for his

sports related contributions to the youth in Clifton.

At this point in time Bob was quite ill battling lung

cancer, and unfortunately he did not get to partake in the

festivities. He passed away the day before the wedding

and three days before the dinner. He was 52 years old.

Bob began coaching children before our own chil-

dren were old enough to play, and continued to coach

after they graduated high school.

He coached basketball for our church league. He

then turned to Little League Baseball when Delawanna

had its own division. While in that division he held the

office of vice president and president. He coached foot-

ball for Delawanna and a city team for young boys, and

later American Legion baseball.

He was fondly known around town as

Coach Bob. I was usually known as

Coach Bob’s Wife.

Some of Bob’s proudest moments

would be seeing a CHS Mustang athlete

that he had coached playing either foot-

ball or baseball. And of course, watching

his own children playing. We had two

children—his daughter played softball

and his son played football and baseball.

Bob also had two children from a previ-

ous marriage.

Bob received a few accolades over the

years for his efforts including the Gil

Hodges Award from Post 8, Citizen of

the Year from the VFW, recognition from

the City Council and our Congressman.

The dinner to honor him in 1986 was

a culmination of all his achievements.

There were 400 people scheduled to

attend, so there wasn’t any way to cancel

at such a late date. Besides, how could I

not acknowledge so many people that

thought enough of him to attend?

It was bittersweet to say the least. Our minister said

she had never spoke to such a large congregation and

surely wouldn’t again. The most touching moment was

when the host asked for every young man that had been

coached by Bob to please stand. It was mind boggling!

Dozens of kids stood tall. My heart burst with pride.

It’s been almost 25 years, but hardly a day goes by

that I don’t think of him. We were married for 23 years.

We have two grandchildren that are involved in sports,

a CHS grad who played basketball, baseball and bowl-

ing. Another Mustang, graduating next month, who

plays volleyball, basketball, and softball. I can only

imagine how proud Bob would be of them.

Unforgettable PeopleRemembering Robert Wienbrock

Editor’s Note: Do you have an unforgettable per-son in your life? They can be living or deceased.Let us know in a short essay and perhaps we’ll useyour story. Be sure to include your phone number.E-mail [email protected]

by Lois Wienbrock


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Food Drive

By their sworn duty and because they want to,FMBA Local 21 members have long supported

their community. In addition to fighting fires and

responding to calls for ambulance service,

Clifton Firefighters do charity work.

That includes annual fundraisers for

Toys for Tots and a coat drive to bene-

fit St. Peter’s Haven. Recently when

they heard the shelves were low at St.

Peter’s Haven Food Pantry on Clifton

Ave., they’ve organ-

ized a May food

drive. Firefighter

Steven Turi is the

coordinator for

this campaign. He

said that Local 21

decided to get

involved after they

learned that the

pantry shelves tend

to get a little bare

over the summer.

Putting OutHungerHelp Clifton Firefighters Collect Food

to Fill the Pantry at St. Peter’s Haven


Since the fight against hunger is

a 365 day battle, Turi rallied his fel-

low firefighters around the cause.

“We became first responders

because we want to help others in

our community. In an emergency,

it is easy for us to see who needs

help and it is easy for people to call

on us for help. But there are times

when needing help is not so obvi-

ous to others,” explained Turi.

Turi and the other firefighters

turned to St. Peter’s Haven, which

has also has a long history of help-

ing Cliftonites in need.

Since 1986, the Haven has been

providing food and shelter to

At left Firefighter Steven Turi, andon this page Derek Cotten, Cpt.Ryan Fitzsimmons, and Lt. GaryTufaro. On our cover: Lt.Dominick Gallo, Jeff Escalante,Lt. Billy LeGates, Brian Reilly,John Warchola and Edward Polak.



We have been serving the area for over 12 years specializing in family well-

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Food Drive

the region’s most needy individu-

als. Today, more than 300 Passaic

County residents utilize the facili-

ties each month.

And the need to keep the shelves

filled is an ongoing operation.

“Schools and civic organiza-

tions, a lot of those types of groups

take off for the summer, so that’s

why it is an important time to get

food,” Reverend Peter DeFranco of

St. Peter’s Haven offered as to why

donations slow down now.

“Thanksgiving and Christmas, we

get the most food, and then we dry

up in January and Feb and then

things start up again.”

In addition to food and shelter

the pantry also provides seasonal

items such as school items in the

fall, turkeys for Thanksgiving,

Christmas toys and coats for cold

weather.

The food pantry is open Tuesday

through Thursday, and on

Saturdays from 9 to 11:30 am.

Clifton’s bravest will be collect-

ing canned and dried food and

other non-perishable items

throughout the month. Collection

stations are at each fire station:

Station 1, 69 1st St., Station 2, 7

Dumont Ave., Station 3, 180 Mahar

Ave., Station 4, 144 Main Ave.,

Station 5, 51 Brighton Rd., and

Station 6, 1202 Van Houten Ave.

To arrange a pick up, email

[email protected]. For

info, visit www.fmba21.org or call

St. Peter’s Haven at 973-546-5020.

Staff workers at St. Peter’s Haven help fight hunger year round. Call 973-546-3406 to volunteer or donate. From left, Giovanni Bellina, BarryRochester, Yiset Bellina, Elizabeth Zapata and Rev. Peter DeFranco


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Better Hearing Month

Armed with a Bachelor’s Degreein Communication Sciences and

Disorders from Pace University in

2010, Deidra Ramos-Perez consid-

ered a number of career options

then took some sound advice.

“I took Intro to Audiology during

my second year at Pace and I fell in

love,” the 24-year-old Dutch Hill

resident recalled how she discov-

ered her calling. “I found it inter-

esting how the field encompasses so

many different disciplines.”

Now in her third year of the four

year Doctoral Program in Audiology

at Montclair State University,

Ramos-Perez is on track to be a

Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.). She

attends classes at MSU’s state-of-

the-art facility on Broad St. in

Bloomfield. The program is the

only of its kind in the Garden State

and one of 70 nationwide.

Audiology is the study and treat-

ment of hearing loss. Ramos-

Perez, who attended School 15 and

Woodrow Wilson Middle School

before graduating from Eastern

Christian High School in 2006,

originally went to Pace considering

a career in teaching.

“Actually first I wanted to be a

chef,” she admitted. “My father is

a chef.” She fulfills her desire to

teach by instructing Sunday School

at Hope Reformed Church at

Burgess Pl. and Third St.

Once at Pace, Ramos-Perez

found audiology more to her liking.

It was one of her professors, Dr.

Abbey Berg, Ph.D, who helped put

her on the path towards a career in

audiology.

“I was two years in and she

asked if I was available for an

internship at Columbia New York

Presbyterian,” she recalled of the

internship which turned into a job.

“She got me that internship. She’s

always been there for me.”

Dr. Berg, along with her boss at

Columbia Presbyterian, Dr. Maria

Olmeda-Jenkins, have both become

important mentors for Ramos-

Perez, and ultimately influenced

her to enroll at MSU.

“I don’t know if I would be so

passionate about audiology

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without those two,” she said. “Dr.

Berg, who got me my internship,

told me to apply there.”

The Broad St. facility which is

within an office park, is not only a

teaching center but also a hearing

clinic. The public can come for

hearing testing, auditory processing

disorder testing, complete hearing

aid services, custom earmolds, bal-

ance testing and auditory brainstem

response testing.

“My program, in my class alone

there are just 10 people. It’s a very

small, tight knit program,” she

explained of the Doctor of

Audiology program. There are just

over 40 people in the program.

After graduation, students from

this field are offered a wide variety

of opportunities for employment.

One of the most popular fields of

employment is pediatrics, either at

a private practice or in a hospital.

“Hackensack has a great pro-

gram,” added Ramos-Perez “One

of the professors at Montclair is the

head of the newborn area over

there.” Given her inclination to

teaching, Ramos-Perez said she

envisions herself one day working

at a busy hospital.

“I really like the medical field. I

love being in the hospital,” she

said. “I love that whole dynamic.

You’re working on a team with

EMTs, doctors, occupational thera-

pists. I like being a part of that

whole cooperative.”

Ramos-Perez said she would

also like to do charity work and

help low-income individuals get

care for their hearing problems.

“I would really like to do a hear-

ing mission,” she said.

Ramos-Perez recalled seeing the

hearing aid manufacturer Starkey

use its non-profit foundation to

donate hearing aids to a school in a

low income neighborhood in the

Bronx.

“All this money is coming in,

and they use it to give back to the

community and have audiologists

go out and fit hearing aids. That

would be an excellent way to uti-

lize my education and give back.”

While that option may lay in her

future, these days Ramos-Perez

remains busy. During the week,

Ramos-Perez is at the audiology

center. In addition to the clinic

time and classroom work she does

at MSU, her internship which

piqued her interest in the field of

audiology has turned into weekend

employment at New York

Presbyterian.

“We’re under the supervision of

an audiologist,” she explained.

“Basically we go into the nursery

rooms and test all the babies that

are born the day before. Usually

we wait until about 11 hours.”

The small probe emits a tone

that is able to detect if the sounds

are being properly received and

processed by the brain. “It is the

little things like that which make

me feel blessed to be in this field,”

said Ramos-Perez. “The science of

audiology is a gift and I am so

proud to be practicing it.”

Despite the pace and the long

hours, she loves the career path she

has chosen.

Cliftonites Deborah Verderosa (left), graduate advisor and Joann Kuebler(right), administrative assistant, with Fredi Jarmel, MSU’s clinic director.For more on the services of the center on Broad St., call 973-655-3934.

Free Hearing Screenings:For Better Hearing and SpeechMonth in May, the MontclairState University Center forAudiology & Speech-LanguagePathology will offer free hearingscreenings from May14 to 24by appointment at the Center’soff-campus clinic at 1515Broad St., Bloomfield. To sched-ule a time, call 973-655-3934.

Better Hearing Month


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Beating Cancer

In late January, Brendan Schreiber was snowboardingwith friends when he noticed a lump under his armpit.

After a few doctor’s visits, on March 1 he got the news:

Lymphoma. Since then, he has undergone surgery to

remove two large tumors, and began an aggressive round

of chemotherapy.

Throughout it all, the CHS Junior has been doing all

the stuff a Clifton teen does. He continued to work and

attend school. That cleared him to return to the lacrosse

field where he plays on defense for the Mustangs.

After a few rounds of chemo, Schreiber began to lose

his hair so he went for the buzz cut. In a show of support,

his teammates decided to make a statement of friendship

and went and buzzed their heads as well.

Photo by Quinci Peri


On April 7, the entire Varsity

team, along with some junior varsi-

ty members and even one member

of the junior program gathered at

teammate Joe Cupoli’s house.

They lined up and fell under the

clippers of Anthony Bianchi of Pal

Joey’s Salon in North Arlington,

who donated his time.

Three hours later, more than 20

lacrosse players were bald.

Brendan’s mother, Stephanie, came

to witness the event.

Schreiber, who had treatment all

day Monday, arrived at the Varsity

game midway thru the first quarter

to find the stands and fans dressed

in purple clothing, purple streamers,

and purple bandanas to support the

Cure for Lymphoma. Schreiber,

who works at the Venetian in

Garfield, played as if nothing was

out of the ordinary. It was not until

halftime when his teammates

removed their helmets that he saw

all of the shaved heads.

As of April 26, Schreiber was

still strong and had one chemo

treatment left. His blond hair has

begun to grow back—white—as he

is pictured on the facing page.

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selling food and snacks to benefit their

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Interesting Jobs

In late 2003 Josh Naranjo was a pretty average Ohio State Buckeye.

Studying music performance and business management information

systems, the former Marching Mustang tuba player was only a few

semesters short from graduating and entering the work force.

But at the end of the 2003, a lightening bolt of opportunity hit. He

decided to drop out of school to pursue a career as a personal body

guard. It was a risky decision, but one that has come to pay off.

Ten years later, Naranjo, now 31, it seems what some may have

considered foolhardy had turned to good fortune. Over the past

decade, Naranjo, who still calls Clifton home, has visited almost 50

countries on every continent except for Antarctica while serving as

personal body guards for artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Mary

Kate and Ashley Olsen, Sum 41 and others.

Naranjo is also an aspiring entrepreneur, and one of three owners in

Kros International USA, a company that sells uniquely designed uri-

nals that cut down the wait line at restrooms at entertainment events.

Since there is no clear path to becoming one, Naranjo charted his

own path to the personal body guard industry. While still in Ohio

Mustang Suit in the Shadow

Clifton’s Josh Naranjo got Nick Carter’s back.


State, be began making the move by doing part time

security at Nationwide Arena, which is the home of the

Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL.

Naranjo would network with the personal security

outfits that would come in during concerts. Hang around

enough and eventually, a job opportunity appeared.

Soon thereafter, opportunity prevailed. The 2000

CHS grad became the man in the middle.

“The Brittney Spears Dream Within a Dream Tour

came through at the end of 2001, and I was the liaison to

her security and our security,” he said. “I spent quite a

bit of time with them. One of their security guys, I made

a connection with. He was from New York and I’m from

New Jersey. So basically I just pursued that. They saw

that I wanted to get into it, to break into the industry.

Eventually, he took me under his wing as my mentor.”

Over the next couple of years, Naranjo had an unpaid,

on the job training program as he was traveling around

the country to do various jobs with the outfit.

Eventually, he got his first crack at personal security in

January of 2005, when he was assigned to the Olsen

twins of Full House fame, Mary Kate and Ashley.

“You’re no longer responsible for an arena or a stadi-

um,” he explained. “You’re now responsible for two

individuals. You’re now on somebody’s personal time.”

Unlike venue security, personal security is no punch a

clock and go home. Naranjo’s work mirrored the life of

the celebrities he was covering. Hours fluctuated

depending upon their appearances or performances so he

spent a lot of time standing by waiting for the next move.

But that never posed a problem.

“They lived in the city. It was close so I can go home

to Clifton every night,” he said. “You’re basically there

from the time they get up to the time they go to bed.”

“Certain people have security guys up from 7 am to 4

am,” continued Naranjo. “If they decide they want to be

up early, you just sleep whenever you can in the car.”

Naranjo worked for the Olsen twins for about a year

before moving on to other opportunitys. In 2007, he

started to work for The Backstreet Boys. He has traveled

with the group on and off since then, going on three

world tours: Unbreakable, This Is Us, and the NKOTB-

SB tour with the New Kids on the Block.

“With the Backstreet Boys, we went to Vietnam. I’ve

been to China four or five times now,” he said. Naranjo

said that he’s been to 48 countries on his travels. “I’m

blessed. I didn’t think, coming from Clifton, that ‘s be

going to any one of these places.”


When on tour, each guard is assigned to one per-

former, and Naranjo paired up with singer Howie D. In

2011, Howie D went on a solo tour to South America,

and the Cliftonite went as the star’s personal body

guard.

“Howie and I hit it off. His mother is Puerto Rican

and my mother is Puerto Rican. You become part of

that family,”said Naranjo. “Howie D of the Backstreet

Boys, he likes to go sight seeing. He’s adventurous,

likes to try new foods.”

While the ability to see many new countries is a plus,

eventually, life on the road becomes tiring.

“Three months straight, you do begin to miss your

bed,” said Naranjo, who still lives in Clifton. “You

miss your friends at home, your family. Granted, you

do make friends in these other countries. But you miss

your friends, and you miss food from home.”

Currently, Naranjo is on a three week tour with

Emblem 3, the group which achieved fame on the

show, Xfactor. But when he’s not traveling around the

globe, the Cliftonite invests his time into his business,

Kros International USA, Inc. The company sells cross

sectional urinals which are rough about the same size as

a normal portapotty, but can hold four people at once.

The urinals are popular across Europe, which is

where Naranjo first saw it being used.

“My business partner is a Dutch international, and he

told me to take a look at it when I was over in Holland

last year during Queensday,” he recalled. Naranjo

immediately liked what he saw, and became a business

partner this past February. “This is my entrepreneur

side coming out. What I really want to deal with is

increasing the participant experience.”

Ultimately, Naranjo would like to add in token

machines to his company’s product line.

“It would be used at venues for beer and food,” he

said. It is designed to cut down theft and streamline

services.

Naranjo and his partners are now in the process of

attending trade shows to make headway into industry in

the United States. Though he has a lot on his plate at

the moment, the Cliftonite is very happy with the direc-

tion his life is heading.

“I still think that I wouldn’t have had the opportuni-

tys I have had today if I had not left school in 2003,”

said Naranjo. “I feel I have learned a lot too culturally.

It’s a unique opportunity that I don’t think you’d get to

experience every day.”

Interesting Jobs


As a young boy growing up in Clifton, Bill Waltonused to watch the Route 66 TV series and thought to

himself one day, I’m going to do that. So in the summer of 2009, the 1966 graduate of

Clifton High finally got around to doing the drive, taking

a 38 day road trip in his red 1968 Cadillac de Ville with

his good friend Sal Santoro.

Afterwards, the two compiled and edited more than

8,000 photos and 125 pages of journal notes into a book,

Route 66, The People, The Places, The Dream. That

book caught the attention of Jay Leno, who flew out the

two to Los Angeles on April 6 to tape a segment for his

book club show.

It’s still a lot to process for Walton, 65, who original-

ly just wanted to knock off a childhood dream off of his

bucket list.

“It just has an atmosphere, almost a mystique. A lot

of Europeans say if you really want to see the US, you

have to drive Route 66,” he said. Known as the Main

Street of America, Route 66 originally ran from Chicago

to Los Angeles. “What that mean is so much of what

Europeans see of America is movies and television, and

movies and television take place in big cities.”

“The places on Route 66 are blue collar people,”

Walton added. “It is shop owners. They’re part of the

mystique. So many of the people that we met along the

highway were wonderful. Some of them we would

spend hours talking with.”

Though he had always wanted to take the journey

down Route 66, Walton never seriously considered the

trip until meeting Santoro though the Cadillac Club of

North Jersey, which Walton founded in 1991. His obses-

sion with Cadillacs started when he was a young boy

growing up on Greenland Ave. in Clifton.

“Ace & George’s was a block away on Madeline Ave,

and for many years the owner, George Balkjy, he was a

Cadillac driver,” Walton recalled. “It was not a Cadillac

neighborhood. It was a Chevy/Ford neighborhood, so I

would remember when he would drive by.”

Years later, the CHS 66 grad would end up working

for the owner of Ace & George’s. “He had this ‘59 sedan

with these giant tail fins and bullet lights,” said Walton.

Clifton Author

Route 66 Road Trip Leadsto Jay Leno Gig

By Joe Hawrylko

Bill Walton (far right) is a CHS

1966 grad who went on a road trip

down Route 66 with friend, Sal

Santoro, and wrote a book about it.

The two are pictured with Jay

Leno. On facing page is Walton

with his niece Allison Hoey who

did artwork for the book.


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“I got to drive that thing when I started working for him

in 1965, sometimes doing deliveries.”

Decades later, Walton drives his own Caddy, a red

1968 de Ville. It was this classic that the former Mustang

took on the road in the summer of 2009.

Planning for the trip started in 2008, when Walton

retired after teaching middle school music and elemen-

tary school for 37 years in the

Bergenfield school district.

Walton and Santoro compiled a list

of landmarks, museums and cities

they wanted to see along the way,

hopped in their car and set out for

Chicago to start their trip, which

lasted 38 days and took them

across the heartland of America.

“We envisioned this as our

retirement gift to ourselves,” he

said. “We had zero responsibility.

We got in the car and just went.

We didn’t even know when to tell

our wives when wed be home!”

The trip allowed them to expe-

rience parts of America unlike

anything around here.

“Those of us who live in suburban New Jersey, we

don’t get to see the sky like they do out there,” Walton

added. “Arizona, New Mexico, even Texas, it is all flat.

You can see in miles for all directions there is all this

stuff and nothing blocking it. They have trains a mile

and a half long and you can see the whole thing. There’s

no building obstructing it.”

By the time they returned home over a month later,

the two had more than 8,500 photos and 150 pages of

journal entries between the two of them. Eventually,

Walton and Santoro whittled down the photos to 500 and

showed their collection friends in the Club. “People said

you should write a book, you should have a PBS special

and we were laughing, just, yeah right,” he recalled.

But the two friends changed their minds, and spent the

next two years writing, editing and

designing their self published

book, Route 66, The People, ThePlaces, The Dream, which was

released in July 2012. Walton’s

niece, Cliftonite Allison Hoey, did

the book’s artwork.

Walton and Santoro were

happy completing their book, but

definitely did not expect their

brush with fame that brought them

to Los Angeles. The two are fans

of Jay Leno, and decided to sub-

mit their book for review for his

bookclub.

“We didn’t hear from them, so a

couple months go by and I sent

them a letter. About a month ago,

I get a call: Sal? ‘No, this is Bob’ Oh, this is Jay Leno,”

he laughed. Leno apologized for not reviewing the book

promptly and invited the two friends out to LA to tape a

segment for his website, www.jaylenosgarage.com.

“I don’t know whether we were more excited to be

interviewed by him or see his collection. Visit

www.rt66cadillacguys.com to see more photos and sto-

ries or to purchase the book.


Arts & Music

Clifton’s Yuri Turchyn brings his

blend of Latin, Jazz and World Music

to Trumpets Jazz Club and Restaurant

in Montclair on May 5 at 7 pm. His

Grupo Yuri Jazz has played at world-

class jazz festivals, concerts and clubs

throughout the NY/NJ metropolitan

area. Visit trumpetsjazz.com or call

973-744-2600.

The Theater League of Clifton is

staging the French comedy BoeingBoeing by Marc Camoletti on May

10, 11 and 12 and May 17, 18 and 19

at the Aprea Theater, 199 Scoles

Ave., Clifton. Ticket prices and times

at www.theaterleagueofclifton.com

or by calling The Theater League’s

Box Office at 973-928-7668.

The Clifton Community Band pres-

ents the 12th annual Lollipops and

Roses Intergenerational Concert on

May 18 at 2 pm at Clifton High

School, 333 Colfax Ave. Tickets are

$7; children free. Proceeds will ben-

efit the Clifton Education Foundation

and the Clifton Community Band.

Email [email protected] or

call 973-771-3751.

The Hamilton House Museum, 971

Valley Rd., celebrate Thomas

Jefferson 270th Birthday April 6 at

noon with a luncheon typical of what

our third president might have served

his guests. Tickets are $22.

Reservations only: 973-744-5707.

Paramus Catholic High School pres-ents Little Shop of Horrors, a hit

broadway musical by Howard

Ashman. Showdates are May 3 and 4

at 7:30 pm, and May 5 at 2 pm.

Tickets are $10 for students and sen-

iors, or $10 for adults. Family rate is

$25. Call 201-445-4466.

From top, Yuri Turchyn leads Grupo Yuri at Trumpets on May 5. TLC presentsBoeing Boeing on May 10-19 with John Fraissinet, Danielle Petrucelli, KarolScott, Louis Balsamo, Kodi Milde and Susan McDonald. Face to Face is anexhibit of art by CHS students at the Clifton Arts Center which opens May 8.


Face to Face, an exhibit and sale

by CHS art students, will run from

May 8 to June 1 at the Clifton Arts

Center. The theme comes from the

idea that a child’s first drawing is

almost always his or her face. The

student artists of CHS and the CHS

Annex have taken on the challenge

of creating portraits head-on,

exploring as many art media, styles

and interpretations as the human

imagination can conjure. A recep-

tion open to the public will be held

on May 9 from 6 to 8 pm.

Donation is $3. CHS Music

Department student will perform at

the reception. Exhibiting artists

will also be present to discuss their

art. Regular gallery hours are from

1 to 4 pm, Wednesday through

Saturday. Group tours are available

by appointment. For more info, go

to www.cliftonnj.org or look up the

Arts Center on Facebook.

The Passaic County SeniorCitizen Art Exhibition is open to

those age 60 and over. There is no

fee to enter but entries must be

show-ready and participants are

limited to one exhibit. All entries

will be displayed June 10-28 at the

Passaic County Senior Services

office, 930 Riverview Dr., Suite

200, Totowa. A reception and an

awards ceremony is on June 28 at 2

pm. Free; call 973-569-4060.

Impact 100 Garden State is offer-

ing $133,000 in grants. Proposals

from non-profit groups that have

programs or projects in Passaic,

Morris, Somerset and Sussex coun-

ties may apply. Applicants must

offer services in arts & culture, edu-

cation, environment, family, health

and wellness. Letters of intent must

be filed by May 10 with grant appli-

cations due on June 10. More details

at www.impact100gardenstate.org.

Be Part of the 7/13/13 Garage Sale. There’s a City-Wide Garage Sale on

July 13, rain or shine, to benefit the Clifton Arts Center. The fee is $25 of

which $10 will be used by the Arts Center to obtain a garage sale permit

and $15 is a tax-deductible donation to Clifton Arts Center Inc. “The goal

is to initiate a new ‘signature fundraiser’ for the Arts Center and strength-

en our connection with a larger cross section of our community,” said Jeff

Labriola, Clifton Arts Center Advisory Board Chair. “Bring out your

treasures from the attic and basement and make some lucky deals on

7/13/13.” The CAC will provide advertising and a listing of all participat-

ing home addresses on its website three days prior to the event. For info,

email [email protected] or call 973-472-5499.


Business & Commerce

Fette Automotive Companies cut the ribbon on its new

Infiniti facility at the intersection of Routes 3 and 46 on

April 18. The state-of-the-art building encompasses

more than 22,000 square feet and houses sales, service

and lots of high end vehicles. “It’s Infiniti’s flagship

model. The building is the only one of its kind in the

New Jersey District. Frankly you could even say the

great New York area,” said Fette Infiniti Executive

Manager Pat Murray. “It’s a total luxury environment.”

Part of the treatment that Fette Infiniti customers can

expect is complementary Starbucks and snacks, a free

hand car wash, and if necessary, a free loaner vehicle.

“There’s a three lane, enclosed service reception area,

which is a pretty big deal,” said Murray. “The customer

pulls into the third lane and we have their free loaner

there. They don’t even have to go outside.”

Construction on the new building had been taking

place over the past year. The financing for the project

was done by Valley National Bank, which has had a

business relationship with three generations of Fettes.

Started as a Ford dealership in 1952 on Main and

Madison Aves by his grandfather Henry, the Fette deal-

ership moved to its present location in 1977. John

worked with his dad, Larry, until his death on May 9,

2008, and has since taken over the helm. Over the

years, the family expanded the landmark building and

added other lines. Today, Fette sells Ford, KIAs and

Infiniti. In fact the new dedicated facility was added

because Fette’s Infiniti sales had been so high. “Over the

last two years, we’ve had so much growth that we ended

up as 12th in the nation (out of 214 dealerships) for

Infiniti new car volume,” he said. “We outsold Lexus in

our market area, which is unheard of.”

Visit fetteinfiniti.com or call 973-473-3100.

On April 18, Mayor James Anzaldi, North Jersey Regional Chamber Executive Brian Tangora, Valley National FirstSenior VP Thomas Sparkes, owner John Fette and his wife, Kristin, and Assemblyman Thomas Giblin cut the ribbon andstart the party for the opening of the new Infiniti facility. (John Agnello Photography)

The Passaic County 200 Club Valor AwardsDinner will be held on May 7 at 5:30 at The

Brownstone, 351 West Broadway, Paterson. The

event honors outstanding police, fire and EMT offi-

cerss for their acts of heroism in the past year. In

addition, the Club presents five $2,500 scholarships

to the family members of those serving public safety

in Passaic County. The Club is an organization of

individuals who stand ready to provide financial

assistance to the families of law enforcement, fire

and EMS personnel. Within 48 hours after the death

of a public safety officer, the club presents a $10,000

check to the family of the deceased to help them get

through the difficult times ahead. For more informa-

tion about the Club to become a member or a spon-

sor, call 201-450-1271 or visit www.pc200club.com.


NOC Autobody of Clifton isoffering a $500 scholarship for

high school students who have

been diagnosed with Autism

Spectrum Disorder or Asperger

Syndrome is now being offered

thanks to NOC Autobody.

Applicants must complete a form

and provide documentation of their

disorder, their acceptance of into a

school, and a written letter of rec-

ommendation, a personal essay of

up to 1,000. Applications must be

turned into NOC Autobody, 574

Van Houten Ave., by May 31. Be

sure to keep a copy of your applica-

tion. For info, call 973-594-1005.

The Boys & Girls Club of Clifton,will host the 34th annual North

Jersey Regional Chamber of

Commerce Career Exploration Day

on June 6 at the Club. Students will

meet at the Club for breakfast at

8:30 am, and will then accompany

their sponsor to the sponsor’s

workplace. The event still needs

sponsors at the cost of $5 per stu-

dent. To help out, call Debra

Lesnick at 973-773-2697, ext. 20.

On April 25, Boys & Girls Club Director of Education Debra Lesnick hostedMayor Jim Anzaldi and PSE&G President Ralph LaRossa in a face off againstyoungsters in a game of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.” They compet-ed in five categories: science, technology, engineering and math —with someClifton-area trivia for good measure. LaRossa also announced that PSE&Gprovided Boys & Girls Clubs of NJ a grant for after-school programming.


Clifton Milestone

In the heart ofAlbion, Clifton’s

School 5 on the

M o u n t a i n s i d e

marked 100 years

of service on April

9. Former stu-

dents, teachers and

parents returned

home to see old schoolmates and teachers at 6:30 pm

in the School 5 auditorium

Coordinated by Physical Education teacher John

Silva, he narrated a power point presentation of the

history of Clifton and School 5. Those in attendances

were also able to walk around and view the historical

photos, documents and yearbooks that were on display

in the auditorium while enjoying some snacks.

After the presenta-

tion, the 200 or so

guests toured the

school and sat in their

desks in their former

classrooms, often meet-

ing their ‘old’ teachers.

“Despite genera-

tional differences,

there remains a connection between the students who

attended the school,” said Silva. “School 5 is truly an

amazing place. I am blessed to be employed here

amongst such dedicated and hardworking people. I

also want to mention that our current students did a

wonderful job at the parent assembly the next day,

April 10. The students performed songs from the past

and recited historical facts from the previous decades.”

100thAnniversary

1913-2013

School #5


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100thAnniversary

1913-2013

School #5

More photos of the School 5reunion, at cliftonmerchant.com.


Good Neighbors,Great Rates

Thomas Tobin973-779-4248

Bill G. Eljouzi973-478-9500

973-772-8451Ro o f ing • S id in gS eamless Gu t te rs

Additions • Alterations


Class of 1973

The Class of ’73 reunion committee, from left, Philip Read, Bruce Rissmiller, Bernice Knowlton Mekita, Diane NatonickGoode, Valerie Watterston, Pete Garnevicus, Doris Pohle, John Orlwosky, and Lori Struck DeSilva.

It was the height of the babyboom generation’s coming of age.

The graduating class of Clifton

High School in 1973 – a bell-bot-

tom-wearing, long locks crowd --

was a hair under 1,000 strong.

In those days, John Orlowsky

was steering his maroon 1965

Chevy Impala Super Sport, with

283 cubic inch engine, into the stu-

dent parking lot alongside CHS. There, the music com-

ing off all those car stereos included “Dream On” by

Aerosmith, just in time for summer, as well as tunes by

the Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, and Rod

Stewart.

Today, Orlowsky is steering something entirely dif-

ferent. It’s a group of alums putting together this year’s

40th reunion of the Class of ’73, many of whom are still

firmly planted in their old home-

town but others who hail from

such places as the Jersey Shore and

Pennsylvania .

All were just close enough one

late February day to make it to

Mario’s Restaurant for a strategy

session for the big gathering now

set for Nov. 9 at the Bethwood in

Totowa.

“I use to play New Year’s Eve in there,” said

Orlowsky, a keyboard player whose band

“Counterpoint” hit many such venues as the Bethwood

in the 1980s.

The highly organized Orlowsky – who had a hand in

the successful 35th reunion – came with his 4-inch-thick

binder, packed with emails and reunion documents sort-

ed with page tabs.

From Bell Bottomsto Baby Boomers

1973


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Always a cool place to chill.70 Inch HD TV plus 8 more Tubes!


Class of 1973

“This is Vol. 1. Vol. II is in the truck,” he quipped.

The docs included updates on the number of CHS

alum who had made contact via the group’s website,

www.chs73alumni-cliftonnj.net. The early numbers

were promising, with 188 already likely to reunite from

7 pm to midnight Nov. 9 at the Bethwood for an “elite

buffet” with prime rib, cocktail hour, and a DJ banging

out hits from the era. Call sheets were passed out, to

drum up more attendees.

The hunt for lost alumni could be daunting, with

committee member Bruce Rissmiller at times tracking

down classmates by scouring obituaries of their parents

to pinpoint addresses decades later.

Then came a somber moment, with word that as

many as 58 classmates had passed away, and some 222

others who could not be located, known on the excel

sheets as MIA, for missing in action. Still, many more

emails and phone numbers had been collected since the

35th gathering, setting the stage for a large turnout.

When Orlowsky reminisced about his ’65 Super

Sport, committee member Lori Struck DeSilva chimed

in: “That’s what I had. Oh, my God. I loved that car!”

“A ’66 Mustang Comet, turquoise blue,” Valerie

Watterston said of her first set of wheels.

“Blue 1967 MG Midget,” Philip Read said of his.

At one time or another, the committee members all

knew of one another. The familiar faces included Carol

Thorpe, who took accordion lessons as youngsters at the

same locale as Orlowsky but didn’t connect again until

the class’ “50th birthday bash,” a reunion tied to that

milestone.

Rounding out the reunion committee are Doris Pohle,

Pete Garnevicus, Bernice Knowlton Mekita, Diane

Natonick Goode, and Fred Sloan.

“Everyone brings something unique to the table,”

said Orlowsky, whose career in custom software design

sent him on international excursions to England, France,

and Malaysia. In fact, he first met the woman who

would become his wife on the United Kingdom trip.

The topic soon shifted to enticements. There would

be a “Free to Me” drawing that will enable one alum to

get a refund of the $80 ticket price.

Reaching into his briefcase, a half-joking Orlowsky

pulled out a flyer from a well-known Clifton institution.

It appeared there might be a replay of the 35th

reunion – when in a surprise mode, the wait staff deliv-

ered White Castle hamburgers to tables of CHS ’73

alums to reignite some of those long-ago memories.

“Anybody want to have a 50-50?” said Orlowsky as

he pulled from his briefcase a roll of tickets left over

from the 35th and no doubt will be put to use again for

the 40th on Nov. 9.

Some from the Class of ’73 from top left: Philip Read, Bruce Rissmiller, Bernice Knowlton Mekita, Diane Natonick

Goode, Valerie Watterston, Pete Garnevicus, Doris Pohle, John Orlwosky, Lori Struck DeSilva and Cheryl Paicer.


On March 17, Cliftonite JessicaMarkovich was crowned MissNew Jersey USA Ambassador in a

regional pageant in Toms River.

Now, the Cliftonite, who attended

CHS and graduated from Queen of

Peace in 2008, will be competing in

the USA Ambassador national event

in Tampa, Florida, during the from

August 1 to 4.

For Markovich, this is her first

major win since she started compet-

ing in pageants as a freshman at

Clifton High. The former Mustang

became interested in competing

after the school invited a former

pageant winner to come speak.

“She was actually the title holder

for National American Miss. Mr.

Baker (the guidance counselor) was

like, you need to talk to her, this girl

sounds like you,” she recalled.

Eventually, Markovich was intro-

duced and a few months later she

was off competing in her own pag-

eants. And while she is an experi-

enced competitor, the March 17 win

was Markovich’s first win in a seri-

ous event.

Markovich and the other partici-

pants compete in interview, stage

question, evening gown, casual

wear categories, and optionally, in

photography and talent.

“If your talent scores higher than

your casual wear, it replaces it, “ she

explained.

After being declared Miss New

Jersey, Markovich decided that her

platform will focus on the fight

against bullying.

“Actually, while I was in high

school, I was picked on quite a lot,”

she said. “I was bullied pretty badly

while I was a freshman.”

Markovich is currently studying

early childhood education at

William Paterson University, and

would like to eventually get her

Master’s to become a counselor.

The Cliftonite’s goal is to inspire

young teens who were bullied in the

same way that she was as a fresh-

man at CHS.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a

while. Obviously, I love kids, but I

do want to continue school and get

my Master’s while teaching,” she

said. “I want to help kids who were

like me... when I was in school, the

counselors did try to help, but

according to them, there was bigger

issues than bullying at the time. I

want to be the counselor that I didn’t

have.”

For more information about USA

Ambassador, visit www.usaambas-

sador.com. If you’d like to contact

Markovich regarding publicity

work, call 201-953-9294 or email

[email protected]

Jessica Markovich is Miss NJ USA Ambassador—Next Stop Tampa

Cliftonite CrownedBy Joe Hawrylko

Clifton People


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Events & BriefsSince 2010, Clifton Cares has

been supporting our service men

and women stationed overseas. To

date, over 3,000 packages have

been shipped to troops in Iraq and

Afghanistan. Filled with cookies,

candy, gum, beef jerky, powdered

drink mixes and small sizes of toi-

letries such as shampoo, soap and

deodorant, more donations are

always needed. Money for

postage ($14.85) is also needed. To

donate, visit Lizz Gagnon at the

City Hall Tax Office. Make a

check payable to Lizz Gagnon and

earmarked Clifton Cares.

Team Awesome’s Beer Pongfundraiser at the Rock Bar is on

May 18 at 9 pm. Team Awesome

is a group participating in the Relay

for Life at Clifton Stadium on June

8. Door fee is $5 per person, and

$10 per team, which entitles you to

drink specials. For info, visit

www.relayforlife.org/cliftonnj.

The Second Annual Clifton PBA36 Freedom Roast—a motorcycle

run and pig roast—is on June 9.

Register at 7:30 am, and the police

escorted ride departs at 10 am from

The Motorcycle Mall, Washington

Ave., Belleville. The ride will end

in Clifton, where participants will

feast on pig. Those who register by

June 1 pay $25; after is $30. Ride

passengers pay $15. Food and

drink only price is $25. Proceeds

from the event will benefit Adopt A

Soldier, the USO, and Wounded

Warriors. Make checks payable to

Clifton PBA Local 36, Freedom

Roast, PO Box 1436, Clifton,

07015. For info, call officer Wayne

Stine at 973-332-6279 or officer

John Kavakich at 973-885-5238.

St Paul’s Leisure Club meets in

the church basement in Downtown

Clifton on the second and fourth

Wednesday. The next excursion is

to Camp Hope on June 5. For info,

call 973-546-7690.

The Red Hat Angels, a team walk-

ing in the June 8 Relay For Life at

Clifton Stadium, has a fundraiser

on May 15 at Bruno’s Restaurant,

Clifton Plaza. Mention Relay when

dining in or ordering out and

Bruno’s will donate 20 percent.

The Richfield ChristianReformed Church hosts a free

open faith forum every Saturday at

10:30 am. It is a casual meeting in

which people discuss faith, spiritu-

ality and current events. Meetings

are in the parsonage at 267

Pershing Rd. For more on the

forum, call 973-632-1305.

The Dutch Hill Flea Market is on

June 1 in Weasel Brook Park from

9 am to 6 pm. Vendor spaces are

$35 in advance and $40 cash on the

day of the event. Food vendor

space is $100. There will also be a

free concert from 4 to 6 pm, featur-

ing Bobby Valli of the Jersey Boys

and JT Carter, the former founding

member of The Crests. For rates

and info on this event or the Dutch

Hill Residents Association, call

George Silva at 973-470-0679.

The Coalition for Brain InjuryResearch hosts a beefsteak on June

7, 6:30 pm at the Clifton Boys &

Girls Club. With entertainment by

Uncle Floyd, silent auctions and

50/50 raffles, tickets are $50.

Proceeds benefit the search for a

brain injury cure. Info, call Dennis

Benigno at 973-632-2066 or

[email protected].

Eighth grade science teacher Jill Hayes at left, co-coordinated the third NJASK Pep Rally at Christopher Columbus Middle School on April 26. Studentsgot charged up to take the state’s standardized testing on April 29 with musi-cal chairs, multiplication facts game and a video with test taking tips. “Ourgoal is to have the students feel excited and confident for test day,” said Hayes,who worked with eighth grade social studies teacher Mary Keenan. Hayes ispictured with students Yasmina Zaynoune, Nacin Adams and Albaroluis Vargas.


Events & Briefs

Former Ramsey Mayor RichardMuti will speak at an anti-gun vio-

lence panel at the Clifton

Democratic Club meeting on May

13 at 7 pm at the Allwood Library,

44 Lyall Rd. Muti has authored

four books and has more than 100

publishing credits on public policy,

law, politics and government. He

has also spent 19 years as a trial

prosecutor, and has taught at three

New Jersey Universities. Muti’s

fourth book, Essays for my Father,is out June 17. To attend, or for

more info, call Club President John

D. Pogorelec, Jr. at 973-778-1604.

Project Graduation registration is

on May 14 and 16 at 7:15 am and

then from 6:30 to 8 pm, and on May

21 and 22 from 6:30 to 8 pm.

Tickets are $55, thanks to the CHS-

PTSA picking up $25 off of the

ticket price, and donations from

Mustang Clifton Pride, CASA, and

the St. Philips Knights of Columbus

so far this year. Only cash or

money order is accepted. Project

Graduation is an overnight drug and

alcohol free event that takes place

after graduation on June 28. At 10

pm, they board buses which will

caravan up to a party venue where

they will be locked in from 11 pm

till 6 am. Chaperones are still need-

ed. Inquire about volunteering at a

meeting on May 13 at 7 pm in the

Media Center of CHS. Call

Maryann Cornett at 973-779-5678.

Students and teachers atWoodrow Wilson Middle Schoolare supporting one of their own

who has cancer. The unnamed stu-

dent was given $2,800 by teachers,

who raised the money following a

district-wide dress down day. On

April 10, a fundraiser was held at

Grimaldi’s Pizza, and another

$1,000 was raised. The website,

www.childhoodcancersociety.com

also gave $1,000, and arranged to

have the student meet former NJ

Devils defender Ken Daneyko.

Donations are still be accepted at

the school. Call Forrest Elliott to

help out: 973-479-2350.

A breast cancer fundraiser spon-

sored by 58 Pearledrivers will be

held on May 19 from 4 to 8 pm at

329 Lakeview Ave. The event will

feature makeovers, massages,

refreshments, vendors and more.

Tickets are $10 and proceeds will

benefit Susan G. Komen

(ww5.komen.org) a breast cancer

foundation. Call Sandra Hamlin-

Rivers at 570-850-1484.

AARP 4192 meets on May 10 at

noon at the Masonic Lodge on Van

Houten Ave. The group is collect-

ing items for veterans. There is also

a luncheon at the Mountainside Inn

on June 7, and a regular meeting on

June 14, where members will cele-

brate AARP’s anniversary. There is

also an Atlantic City trip on May

14. Call 973-471-4271.

The St. Peter’s Haven TrickyTray will be on May 23 at The

Bethwood, Totowa. Tickets are

$45. This fundraiser is one of the

Haven’s largest events during the

year. Gift donations are needed.

Call 973-546-3406 or email

[email protected]

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will

host its ongoing market fair, start-

ing on May 4 and 18. Vendors are

also needed. Prices are $25 if

bringing a table; $30 if renting a

table. Future dates at www.saint-

petersmarketfair.com. For more

info, call 973-886-5105.

The Woman’s Club of Allwoodmeets on May 13 at 7:30 pm at the

Allwood Community Church, at

the corners of Merrill and Chelsea.

Club members will be presenting

their antiques. Call 973-778-5276.

Colleen Murray of thePhenomenal Grandmothers is the

curator of a display of prom and

bridal artifacts on display at Main

Memorial Library on Piaget Ave.

The exhibit will be on display

through June and is accepting pho-

tos and more. Call 973-253-9579.

The Passaic-Clifton UNICO andSante Fe Salon will hold a

fundraiser on June 2 at the Clifton

Boys & Girls Club in honor of Jill

Stolarz Rubio, above, who passed

away on March 27. Rubio was a

loving wife to husband Willie and

mother to three daughters. All

money from the fundraiser will go

towards the family to offset any

expenses. Any additional money

will be put in a trust for the children.

The event will start at 5 pm. Tickets

are $45 and includes beer and soda.

For info, call 973-417-0731.


Sixth grade math teacher KimDreher was selected as the Clifton

Teachers’ Association Educator of

the Year on March 28. Dreher,

who works at Christopher

Columbus Middle School, began

teaching in Clifton in 2002. She

actually began her career in

Germany and moved back to the

United States in 1994. At CCMS,

she goes the extra mile both in the

classroom and for extra curricualr

activities. Among her favorite

projects are the annual Locks of

Love cut-a-thon, the Diversity

Dinner, and the St. Jude fundraiser.

Dreher will be presented with the

award at the CTA dinner on June 6. Kim Dreher was selected as the CTA Educator of the Year.

Prior to joining the Board of Ed in May of

2011, Commissioner Judy Bassford had no

experience on an elected body. But in the year

and a half since, Bassford became a student.

Taking courses through the NJ School Board

Association, she amassed 20 credits and is now

recognized as a Certificated Board Member.

“Education is really important to me. I am

not an educator—I only have a high school diploma—

but I am now a certified educated Board member,” she

said. “The Board is giving me a certificate to say that

I am one, which I am proud of.”

While becoming a CBM is optional, all local com-

missioners must attend mandatory seminars in three

topics: roles and responsibility, finance and student

achievement. “You get board credits for these things.

Some people chose to go to them and some don’t,”

she said “You become a better board member,

absolutely. Now I know which questions to ask.”

“When I get into something, I’ve got to jump into it

feet first,” Bassford added. “I have to learn about it as

much as possible, like I did with my son’s disability.”

In addition to her role as a commissioner, Bassford

is also an advocate for special education. She first

became involved on behalf of her son, Keith, a CHS

junior. Bassford is currently a senior parent consult-

ant and training coordinator at the Association for

Special Children and Families in West

Milford. She also formed Clifton Praise, a

parent support group that meets on the fourth

Monday of each month at the Allwood

Library.

However, after taking the courses, Bassford

said that she would like to focus on improving

student achievement in the district. Through

the courses, Bassford has met many commissioners

from around the state, which has given her different

perspectives on how to deal with education issues.

“It’s given me so many opportunities to meet peo-

ple from other districts and hear the struggles they are

having,” she said.

Bassford said Clifton’s most pressing issue will be

the district’s switch to the common core curriculum in

2014. It will include state testing online, and the dis-

trict will be working on upgrades to make sure that

each student can connect.

Bassford said that the information she learned at

the School Board Association will help her guide the

district as it navigates upcoming challenges.

“As a Board, we have to come together to make

tough decisions on how to get the district up to

speed,” she said of the nine member board. “It’s been

working well thus far, but I think we can do better.

There’s always room for improvement.”


Student of the Month

Family and culture are two of the most importantthings in Christian Patti’s life. For the CHS

Student of the Month, those two are often very inter-

twined.

Since he was a young boy, Patti has been

immersed in his mother, Ukrainian background.

Until the fifth grade, Patti attended St. Nicholas

Ukrainian Catholic school in Passaic, where he

learned to speak the language of his ancestors.

His mother, Daria (Halburda), is Ukrainian, and

her parents are immigrants from that nation. Patti

visits his grandparents who live in Clifton once a

week and speaks fluent Ukrainian with them.

Pretty good for a red-haired half Irish lad.

“I actively try to keep up on it,” he said of speak-

ing Ukrainian. “Especially through Plast. I speak it

with my grandparents.”

In addition to his involvement at St. Nick’s school

and parish, Patti is also a member of Plast, which is

a national Ukrainian scouting organization.

“I had been attending Plast since I was four or

five,” he said of his trips to upstate New York. “I

plan on being a member for the rest of my life.”

“Plast is a very cultural thing,” Patti continued.

He also attended Ukrainian Saturday school classes

in a Ukrainian Cultural Center in Whippany for

many years.

Christian Patti is a Proud Ukrainian & Volunteer

Family and Culture

By Joe Hawrylko

Name: __________________________________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________________State:____________________________________

Zip:______________________Phone:_____________________________________________

Email:________________________________________________________________________

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Student of the Month

“I have very close friends that I

met through Plast. You get people

frome Cleveland, Chicago, New

York... all up and down the eastern

seaboard. I have friends from

Canada and all over the world.”

Plast is how he fell in love with

volleyball, one of two sports he

plays at Clifton High.

The Student of the Month first

started playing on a club team with

Plast, and later went on to compete

on Varsity for two years at CHS,

where he is a captain this year.

Patti is also the captain of the

CHS swim team, and recently

wrapped up his fourth year in the

program, and the third on Varsity.

Outside of sports, Patti also vol-

unteers regularly. His time is pri-

marily spent between two groups:

Vovcha Tropa Plast camp, and

helping sisters at the St. Mary’s

motherhouse in Sloatsburg, PA.

Patti and his father, Joseph,

became affiliated with the house

because one of the sisters had pre-

viously belonged to St. Nicholas

in Passaic. What initially started

out as a favor has become regular

volunteer work. “We do a lot of

maintenance work for them.

Anything they need, really,” said

Patti. His dad and he also do vol-

unteer work at Vovcha Tropa, a

Plast camp in East Chatam, NY.

“My parents are involved there.

My mom is an administrator and

my dad is the head of facilities,”

he said. “It’s a camp for three

weeks over the summer. About

300 to 400 people from all over

the United States come.”

Patti had attended camp there

from ages seven to 16, and eventu-

ally became a volunteer.

“Now I am a counselor and the

main life guard,” he said proudly.

“We go every weekend from April

through June.”

“It’s fun to me. My father and I

have a good time and I get to spend

time around him,” Patti added.

“Counseling younger kids, you get

to see your work pay off later.”

Once he heads off to Rutgers

New Brunswick this fall, Patti

plans on making time to continue

his volunteering endeavors. He

expects to do club volleyball and

swimming for the Scarlet Knights.

As far as a major, Patti is still

undecided, but is leaning towards

something in engineering.

“I don’t want to be behind a

desk,” he said. “Just from volun-

teering, I’ve learned that I’d rather

be out in the field working with my

hands.” Who knows, it may even

lead him back to service in his

grandparent’s homeland, Ykraina.


Birthdays & Celebrations - May 2013

Richard Hango ................. 5/1Mike Szwec ..................... 5/1Samantha Cruz ................ 5/2Lou DeStefano .................. 5/2Jessica Perez .................... 5/2Jordan Lynn Bykowsky ....... 5/3Maria DeGraaf ................ 5/3Julia Komarczyk................ 5/3Irene Kuruc ...................... 5/3Margie Maloney............... 5/3Thomas Zangara .............. 5/3John Anderson Jr............... 5/4Spencer Flynn................... 5/4Jordan Kulesa................... 5/6

Russell Courtney ............... 5/6Dolores Hatala ................. 5/6Vanessa Laine Montesano.. 5/6Mary Domyon .................. 5/7Margie Hatala.................. 5/7Ashley Kulesa................... 5/8Jim Findlay....................... 5/8Dorothy Alburo................. 5/8Terry Capilli ..................... 5/8Alexandra Homsany ......... 5/8Rory Houston ................... 5/8Frank Lo Gioco................. 5/8David Peter Mosciszko ...... 5/8Matthew Nagy ................. 5/8

Christine Siluk .................. 5/8Thomas Steranko .............. 5/8Petey Pathos..................... 5/9Ray Zang......................... 5/9Joe Gore........................ 5/10Rebecca DeChellis .......... 5/11Brandon Gorny .............. 5/11Jessica Camp ................. 5/12Joe De Liberto ................ 5/12Michael Lonison.............. 5/12Donna De Liberto............ 5/13Jeff Reilly ....................... 5/13Michael Zawicki ............. 5/13Chuck Amucka ............... 5/14Alice De Liberto.............. 5/14Dorothy Brown ............... 5/15Earl Grosser Jr. ............... 5/15Victoria Leja ................... 5/15Fred Gurtman................. 5/16Mark McGuire................ 5/16Rosemary Canavan......... 5/17John Hawrylko ............... 5/17Vick Ascencio................. 5/18Jamie Antal .................... 5/18Michele D’Amico ............ 5/18Walter Hryckowian ......... 5/18Mariana Pineda ............. 5/18Becky Kuter .................... 5/19Jennifer Mulick ............... 5/20Ken Bender .................... 5/21Joe Murolo..................... 5/21Matthew Palladino .......... 5/21

88 Birthday wishes to Glory Read on May 8. Rocco Locantore & Graziella Spinella celebrate their firstanniversary on May 12. Alexis Raine Vandenberghe turned 2 on April 20. Zachary Liam Tomaikoturned 2 on Feb. 17. Happy 4th Birthday to Chloe Skye on May 14.

Birthdays & CelebrationsSend dates &?names...tomhawrylko@opton-


Gia Camille Genardi is 13on May 2 and her cousinBrianna Mayer celebratesher 23rd b’day May 29.

Danica O’Brien ............ 5/22Kage Lord.................... 5/22Danah Alburo .............. 5/23Jessica Bielen ............... 5/23MaryEllen Krattinger ..... 5/23Michele Perez .............. 5/23Donald Lopuzzo ........... 5/24Michael Santosuosso..... 5/24Brittney Abell................ 5/25Olivia Hryckowian........ 5/25Connie Paladino........... 5/25Derek Bykowsky ........... 5/26Alyssa Dalbo................ 5/26Kaylee Pinter ................ 5/26Jonathan Rideg............. 5/26Fred Antes ................... 5/27Steve Bielen ................. 5/27Kyle J. Magaster........... 5/27David J. Ricca .............. 5/28Anthony Alcalde ........... 5/29Valerie Gancarz ........... 5/29Anthony DeSomma ....... 5/30Rachel Gergats............. 5/31Christopher Ramirez...... 5/31Christopher Smith ......... 5/31Logan Thompson........... 5/31

Congratulations to Geneand Gloria Toma who cele-brate their 50th WeddingAnniversary on May 5.


Moments of Grace

And so it was for 23 years, my children

defining who I was in the house my

wife Roe and I bought 26 years ago. I

liked driving the children to the zoo. I

liked driving Michael to fencing les-

sons. I liked reading Treasure Island aloud to David. I

liked teaching Karen how to ride a bicycle. “Don’t letgo, Daddy!” Karen called out with nervous laughter as

she and I made our way down the street.

I didn’t realize that suddenly it would all end. Yes,

David went off to college to become a doctor. Karen

went off to college, and majored in English.

And Michael, well, he was the last, the youngest, he

was always around, then suddenly he was in college

and I walked up the stairs one night and found three

empty bedrooms.

It has been difficult for me to adjust to what is com-

monly called “the empty nest.” I call it an empty heart.

Where are my babies? What happened to the young

father who carried the little boy on his back as he

counted the stairs? What happened to the man who

pushed the little girl on the swing as she called out in

glee, “Faster, Daddy! Faster!”Somehow I think we human beings are built to say

good bye. We know how to nurture, to love, to build up

a home and a family and a place where routine and

Scrabble become hints of heaven, and we didn’t even

know it. And then it is all gone.

The games are tucked away in the hall closet, the

children grow up and fall in love, travel, set out for

other lives that cast long shadows back to where they

once knew the sound of their father’s voice.

Letting go is difficult, especially if what we must

relinquish is filled with our own inside sense for what

is good and conformable and safe.

But we are not creatures locked in time and space.

We grow old.

The earth revolves around the sun each 24 hours no

matter how much we wish we could hold back time.

But we remember the spinning wheels of a daughter’s

bicycle, and the laughter of a son’s voice when his

father made the pirate sound of Long John Silver.

At the end of the Robin Williams’ film Hook, one of

the lost boys in Neverland says to Peter Pan just before

Peter leaves, “That was a great game.”When I am close to my own end, I hope that I can

look up into the eyes of my children and whisper, “Thatwas a great game,” for it is in this game of living

among those we love where we do, indeed, find great-

ness.

Such greatness cannot be discovered unless we let

go of those we love and watch them blossom.

Essay by Chris de Vinck

Built to say Goodbye

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

Dad, can you help me with my English homework?Daddy? Did you see my baseball mitt?

Dad, I need a ride home. Can you come get me?

Clifton Merchant Magazine May 2013

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Transcript of Clifton Merchant Magazine May 2013