Leading in the Poles

Peter Eagler is the Grand Marshal of the Pulaski Day Parade By Jordan Schwartz

Peter Eagler is about to live every Polonia’s dream. On Oct. 5, the Clifton City Councilman will lead nearly 100,000 like-minded individuals from the Tri-State area up Fifth Ave. in Manhattan as the Grand Marshal of the 71st annual Pulaski Day Parade.

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

The Pulaski Day Parade is the second longest running procession in New York City behind the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which began in 1762.

It’s been celebrated since 1937 to honor Kazimierz Pulaski, a Polish immigrant who became a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Eagler, 53, has been a dedicated member of the local Polish community since he was a child. Growing up in the Athenia section of town, Peter went to school at St. Stephen’s in Passaic and Paul VI in Clifton, all the while attending church picnics with his parents who were involved in the Central Polish Organization.

But Eagler wasn’t interested in just his own culture. In 1976, he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a degree in political science and Russian-area studies.

A year later, he took a job as a safety inspector for the New Jersey Highway Authority, but after a decade, Eagler became the director of Heritage Festivals at the Garden State Arts Center in Holmdel.

In 1990, the Cliftonite decided he could best help the diverse population of his hometown by becoming a lawmaker, and so he ran for City Council, a body on which he served until 2002.

Eagler was also a Passaic County Freeholder from 1996 to 2005, becoming the first Democrat to lead the board in 12 years when he was elected director in 1998.

From 2002 to 2006, the Greendale Rd. resident served as assemblyman from New Jersey’s 34th district. In 2006, he returned to the Clifton City Council.

Eagler has long been a friend to foreigners looking to make a new home in North Jersey, helping many who would call him with immigration problems.

But since being elected Grand Marshal last November, the councilman’s main focus has been preparing for this year’s parade.

“I try to attend as many of the local events as I can and I’m also helping to raise funds through the ad journal to defray the cost of the parade,” he said.

A Parade Banquet was held on Sept. 27 at the Marriot Marquis in New York.

On Oct. 5, the festivities begin with a 9 am mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a 10:30 am breakfast at the 3 West Club between 5th and 6th Aves.

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

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

According to polamcon.org, “Polish craftsmen, skilled in the production of potash, soap, tar and glass manufacturing, arrived at the first English colony in the New World at the invitation of Captain John Smith, who had become acquainted with them in Europe.

“Eleven years after their arrival, the Poles successfully led the first strike in the New World for equal rights. They had contributed so much to ensure the survival of the colony that when advised by the Governor that they would be excluded from voting in an upcoming election, said ‘no vote, no work.’ Such was their value to the colony that they were granted the right to vote.”

A Little Bit of Give and Take

Luis Perdomo and Iris Pallero are making it in America

by Joe Hawrylko

If there’s one thing that you learn from marriage, it’s that compromises are a way of life. After 16 years together, Irisdania Pallero and Luis Perdomo now know that sacrifices are sometimes necessary.

In 2006, Perdomo, then a supervisor at Mayer Textile, then on Brighton Rd. in Clifton, was presented with a formidable question: relocate with the business or find a new job. “They asked me to move to North Carolina,” he recalled while speaking from the comfort of his living room in his Sears Pl. home. “But it is kind of hard with all of my family that is here.”

His wife’s relatives from her native Dominican Republic were mostly in New Jersey, so uprooting his family would have been difficult. But at the same time, Perdomo knew his job opportunities were limited, since he never got a college degree after immigrating to New Jersey from Colombia in 1986.

Eventually, the couple reached a compromise: Perdomo would work part-time while attending Passaic County Community College to study technology, while Pallero temporarily supported the family as a social worker with the Passaic County Board of Social Services. “That was the idea since the beginning,” explained Perdomo, who said he had intended to go to school earlier. “But I was kidding myself for 20 years. When you start making good money, you forget about school. But at some point in your life, you realize that you need education.”

Now, almost two years later, the 47- year old father of two is on the verge of graduation. Perdomo will receive his associate’s degree in information technology from PCCC this December—something that he most likely could not have done without his wife’s financial and emotional support.

Given her arduous path to America, it’s easy to understand why Pallero was so quick to make sacrifices to help her husband obtain his degree. After all, if Pallero’s mother, Rafaela, had not made her own sacrifices, their family might have remained in the Dominican Republic instead of immigrating to the United States in November 1974.

For the first 10 years of her life, Pallero only knew about her mother from the stories her grandparents would tell her and some old, tattered photographs that were around their small house.

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

Pallero figured that her mother had left Villa Lobos, a little village of just 50 homes in the Dominican Republic, for greener pastures in the United States like so many others had done. It wasn’t until years later when Pallero immigrated to Paterson that she learned of her mother’s true motives.

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

Looking back, Pallero added that she really didn’t fully appreciate that sacrifice until she was much older.

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

And even today, Pallero still hasn’t forgotten everything that her mother, Rafaela, did for her. Her mother brought her here, and then pushed her through her teenage years, making sure she had life goals.

“I was the first to graduate from college in my family. It really didn’t sink in for a while,” said Pallero, who attended Rutgers New Brunswick, graduating in 1988 with a bachelor’s in psychology. “My mother always emphasized how important it was.”

However, another motivating factor to go to college was a summer job. “I had a job at a factory with my aunt,” recalled Pallero. “It was tough. Eventually, I said, ‘I can’t take this, it’s not me.’” She also met her future husband in 1988, after they were introduced through a mutual friend. Their paths here were similar. Much like his wife, Perdomo immigrated here with nothing.

“I guess when you’re down there, you really think you can come here and collect dollars off the trees,” said Perdomo, who, in 1986, left his native city of Cali, Colombia to come to Paterson. “But you pay a price—not seeing your family and leaving behind 25 years of your life.”

When he settled in Paterson, Perdomo was an immigrant with skills in hands-on labor and limited English. However, he began studying the language at night classes, eventually beginning to work at Mayer Textile in 1988, a job that Perdomo held until 2006.

“You never know when you’re going to be on the other side of the table,” Iris said of her husband’s unexpected unemployment.

As a social worker for nearly 20 years with the Passaic County Board of Social Services, Pallero regularly deals with individuals who are in similar situations to what her husband faced as an immigrant.

“You also get a lot of people who have been to college and got their Ph.D,” she added. “You never know where you’re going to be.” Born into poverty herself, Pallero is naturally sympathetic to the plight of the less fortunate. “I’m there to help them get rid of the barriers preventing self-sufficiency,” she explained.

Perdomo also believes in helping others and giving back to the community, having coached soccer for nine years with the Clifton Stallions Rec and Traveling leagues.

“At first, it was probably just to make sure my daughters had someone who really knew the game,” explained Perdomo, who played semi-pro soccer in Colombia. “Second, we all have a teacher inside of us. Like I said before, I am happy to be giving back to the society that gave me a lot.”

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

“The other day, I saw my daughter (Jazamine) walking down Van Houten Ave. to practice,” said Perdomo, now the Stallions U-10 girls traveling team coach. “She’s doing the right thing and not getting into trouble. I’m proud.”

Karma seems to have rewarded the couple, who now enjoy the benefits of their hard work and sacrifices. They purchased their two-family home on Sears Pl. in Botany Village in 1993, moving from Elmwood Park. “We were looking for a better place to raise a family,” Pallero explained, citing Clifton’s diversity.

And she might not be done yet. With her husband set to graduate, returning to school for an advanced degree is a consideration. “It’s still on my mind,” she said. “I have called Rutgers about it. I want to go for my MSW (Masters in Social Work).” If she does return, Pallero knows her husband will be there to help her pursue her dreams.

However, no matter what she achieves, in Iris’ mind, she wouldn’t have anything if it wasn’t for her mother’s sacrifices back in the 1960s. “If it wasn’t for my mother, God knows where I’d be,” she laughed. “Probably in the Dominican Republic, with three or five or ten kids or something.”

Family, Religion Above All Else

The six-member Aref clan attends daily mosque services

By Jordan Schwartz

When you visit the Aref family of West 1st St., you’re greeted before you enter the door.

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

Ahmad, who attends School 4 right across the street, is the eldest of four young children and his father, Said, says he’s beginning to take on some of the responsibilities of caring for his three siblings.

Crossing the threshold of the Aref home, you’re welcomed by the sights and scents of Palestinian culture. Ahmad and his sister, Hadeel, 6, bounce up and down on the couch watching a Middle Eastern children’s television program, while their mother Fatima, 26, prepares dinner in the kitchen.

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

“Family is very important,” explained Said, 31. “It’s kind of number one in everyone’s life. Every time you do something, you ask someone in your family first. They’re always there for you.”

Said’s father, Mohy Iddin, first came to the U.S. in 1954, when he lived for a brief time in Columbus, Ohio. In the early ’60s, he moved to Puerto Rico where there was a growing Arabic community, but Mohy Iddin returned to Palestine in 1977 when his wife, Fada, gave birth to Said.

Aref was born in the small town of Turmos Ayya, just outside the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. He was the youngest of six children and enjoyed playing soccer growing up.
“It’s a different culture and it’s sometimes dangerous,” he said. “I wasn’t part of the fighting but life was not normal.”

Aref said he knew three people who were killed before immigrating to the United States in 1995. But he didn’t leave his homeland to escape the violence, rather to follow his siblings and take advantage of the educational opportunities America had to offer.

Said attended Clifton High School for one year so that he could improve his English. He said he experienced some prejudice during his time there.

“During the morning rush hour traffic in the hallways, I’d hear derogatory comments, but I was peaceful and wouldn’t respond.”

Following graduation, he studied international business at Montclair State University. After earning his degree, he got a job in White Plains.

Said’s Muslim faith is very important to him and so he would take time every day at work to stop and pray — something that his co-workers may have taken a greater interest in following 9/11.

“I never experienced prejudice because of that, but people around me did,” he said. “I always tell my wife, ‘Don’t put yourself down.’ No one is above the law so just call the police if there’s a problem. Don’t do it the street way.”

Six years ago, Aref began working with his brother, Hamed, as an accountant at H.M.A. Accounting and Tax Services on Main Ave. The firm is mainly Muslim and so salah, or ritual prayer, is no problem during the day.

The Arefs attend services at Omar Mosque on nearby Getty Ave. on a daily basis, especially during the recent Ramadan holiday.

The family’s location is convenient for other reasons as well.

“Corrados is right here and the malls are not far away,” said Fatima, as she brought me a glass of orange juice and a neatly folded paper towel on a golden serving tray. Ahmad, meanwhile, stared curiously at my notepad.

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

The Bard of Duch Hill

Imagery of Clifton wins Jim Gwyn prestigious poetry award By Jordan Schwartz

For most people, a morning train ride into the city is a time to relax. Many commuters will read the paper, sip a cup of coffee, or catch some extra Z’s before a long day at work.

But James D. Gwyn, 59, isn’t most people. For the Bard of Dutch Hill, the daily trip across the Hudson is for poetry.

“I try to write something every day,” he said. “I find a spot on the train facing forward and write until I get to New York, which usually gives me a lot of uninterrupted time.”

However, Gwyn wrote his poem, “The Burning Bed,” at an adult school workshop.

“Usually I’ll go through seven or eight drafts, but every once in a while there are poems that just come right out like this one.”

The piece won the Cliftonite first prize in the 2008 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest sponsored by the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College. He’ll be reading the poem at the Paterson Poetry Center on Nov. 8.

“The poem is really a dream sequence and speaks to the difference between illusion and reality and how it is easy to confuse the two,” said Gwyn.

“The Burning Bed” also references some famous Clifton locations that have caught fire over the years, such as the mattress store, the Pirogi Factory and Lee’s Hawaiian Islander.

“All on Lexington Ave!” writes the poet. “And what was left, defying all odds? The Hot Grill!?”
Gwyn has been crafting poems since he was a teenager growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario in Medina, New York.

“It was just a way to capture ideas, thoughts and feelings,” he said.

Gwyn majored in creative writing and English literature at Binghamton University, studying under Basil Bunting, a British modernist poet.

Following graduation, the aspiring writer traveled the country, taking a number of odd jobs from picking strawberries in Oregon to working as a bank teller in Rochester.

Gwyn returned to Binghamton in 1975 as a part-time grad student, during which time, he survived by tutoring blind students, driving a taxi cab and delivering pizza.

While at grad school, the poet got a call from someone who worked for a magazine publisher in New York City. The friend helped Gwyn get a job in the industry and he’s been in Manhattan ever since.

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

“I’ve done everything except run the press,” joked Gwyn, who today works as a senior project manager in marketing and publication services at The College Board in New York.

But the Dutch Hill resident still finds plenty of time to write. He’s had his work published in several chapbooks and anthologies over the years, but he’s never been honored with anything as prestigious as the Ginsberg Award before.

“I think it’s one of the most fantastic things that ever happened to me,” he said.

2008 CHS Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee: Gymnast Alicia Mazepa

By Jordan Schwartz

Alicia Mazepa won’t be able to attend the Clifton High School Athletic Hall of Fame Luncheon on Oct. 19, but she has a good reason — she’ll be in Dubai. The gymnastics and track inductee works as a freelance choreographer and dancer traveling the world putting together shows for conventions held by large companies such as Reebok, Subway and Panasonic.

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

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

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

She was also named to the winter track All-League and All-County teams on two occasions, breaking a number of indoor track records and becoming ranked among the best pentathlon athletes in the country.

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

Outdoors, Mazepa broke nine school records and finished third in the long jump at the state Meet of Champions. She also competed in the triple jump, high jump and hurdles.

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

The Cliftonite broke into the entertainment business when she auditioned to be a dancer at the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. She not only got the gig, but also found an agent who booked her in her first commercial.

Since then, she’s danced and choreographed for Beyonce, the New York Knicks, the Victoria Secret Fashion Show, the MTV Video Music Awards and SNL.

Mazepa recently bought a home on Graham Pl. near WWMS where she lives with her Boston terrier, Roxy. The CHS alum says she’d like to open a dance school in the Basking Ridge area by next year.

“I’d probably teach there at first because I’d want it done my way but eventually I’d like someone to take it over,” she said. “My goal now is to just keep working because it’s not an easy industry to be in.”

Good-Bye Yankee Stadium

By Jack De Vries

On Sept. 21, the fans came for one last time… to sit under its white façade, walk on its warning track, and visit its ghosts. They came to Yankee Stadium on Sept. 21 to see one more win – a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles – and take with them as many memories as they could.

During this final game, they cheered one last time for their heroes, past and present, in “the House That Ruth Built.” They breathed the smells of the great stadium. They ran their hands over the concrete walls, saying farewell to an old friend.

And, one last time, they looked out on the emerald grass and brown dirt field, taking a mental photo to last a lifetime.

The great Yankee Stadium, an arena second only to the Coliseum in Rome, will soon be no more.
And when it’s gone, Clifton loses a bit of its own past.

Yankee Stadium, which opened April 18, 1923, is just 12 miles from the city. For generations, Cliftonites have made the trip over the George Washington Bridge and up the Major Deegan Expressway to the stadium.

Sal Sperlazzi, 94, then of Passaic, took another route to Yankee Stadium to see Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and others.

“As a kid, I’d hitchhike down Paterson Plank Road to the ferry,” he says, “cross the river and take the subway up. I’d sit in the bleachers ’cause we didn’t have money in those days. We’d get home the same way.”

While fans have memories of the stadium, the Yankees have their own remembrances of Clifton.
The builder of Yankee Stadium, team owner Col. Jacob Ruppert, loved hosting beefsteaks in his brewery, catered by Clifton’s legendary beefsteak inventor, Hap Nightingale. Later, many Yankee stars, including Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra, would also enjoy a Nightingale beefsteak.

But Clifton’s history with the Yankees goes beyond food – back to the time of the stadium’s birth.

David vs. Goliath

In 1923 – just 11 days after Yankee Stadium opened – Babe Ruth and the Yankees journeyed to Clifton to play an exhibition game against the Doherty Silk Sox, arguably the greatest white semi pro baseball team in the country.

When Yankees manager Miller Huggins told his players about the Clifton game, the Babe was quoted as saying, “Fine. That is one ball park I like to play on.”

He wasn’t kidding. Twice as a member of the Boston Red Sox, Ruth played at the Doherty Oval behind the large mill on Main Ave., earning $5 from owner Harry Doherty for a home run. Wanting more prize money, Babe looked forward to his game in Clifton.

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

With the Yankees leading 9-6 in the ninth, Babe whacked a majestic home run that traveled nearly 500 feet over the Oval’s fence and beyond, bouncing onto the Erie Railroad tracks. The homer so thrilled the 15,000 fans that they rushed the field to personally congratulate Ruth… who had to be rescued by police.

The next year, the Silk Sox got their revenge as pitcher Harry Harper clouted a ninth inning homer to beat Ruth and the Yankees, 6-5.

It was the last time the teams would play against each other but not their final meeting.
Throughout the following decades, the Yankees continued their relationship with Clifton – the most famous being with the opening of a 40-lane bowling alley in the Styertowne Shipping Mall on April 28, 1958, owned by future Hall of Fame players Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra. Many of their Yankees teammates were frequent guests.

But there is one date that unites Clifton to Yankee Stadium forever – the celebration of “Clifton Day” at the stadium 41 years ago. The event, attended by more than 4,000 Clifton fans, was part of the city’s “Golden Jubilee,” recognizing Clifton’s first 50 years of existence.

Traffic Jams and Mantle Blasts

The Clifton Day celebration took place April 30, 1967, during the Yankees’ doubleheader against the California Angels. Heading into the date, New York was 8-5 and just a half game out of first place. Unfortunately, the Yanks would finish that year in ninth place at 72-90 – its once great dynasty old and crumbling.

But on that beautiful April day, the future of the team, city, and stadium looked promising.
Clifton’s famous crooner Frankie Randall (who cancelled appearances on English TV to be part of the festivities) would sing the National Anthem, Clifton Mayor Joseph Vanecek was to throw out the first ball, and the famous Clifton Mustangs Marching Band was scheduled to perform the Star Spangled Banner, as well as entertain between games.

Also planned by Clifton Day organizer Terry LaCorte was a reunion of the Doherty Silk Sox – most who had not seen each other since they battled Babe’s Yankees in the 1920s.
However, some of the festivities never took place.

Vanecek arrived at the stadium on-time, but many of the Clifton fans – journeying to the stadium on 30 chartered buses – got stuck in a massive traffic jam on the Major Deegan. So did the Marching Mustangs, traveling in four buses of their own.

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

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

But the day quickly improved, especially on the field. In the first game, Clifton fans watched as Mickey Mantle smacked a home run, the 498th of his career, off Angels’ pitcher Minnie Rojas, to power New York to a 4-1 win. Fans also saw Whitey Ford pitch one-run ball over seven innings, with reliever Dooley Womack getting the victory.

Between games, Vanecek and Randall were interviewed on TV by Yankees broadcaster Rizzuto.
“That was such a thrill for me,” says Randall, “because guys like DiMaggio, Rizzuto, Berra, and (Tommy) Henrich were my idols growing up.

“When I was asked to perform at Yankee Stadium, I couldn’t say no. Though I did miss singing there, it was still a great day – they took me in the dugout and in the press box, a real nice tour. Clifton Day became one of the most exciting times in my life.”

On the field, the Silk Sox held their reunion with players like Clifton’s “Bibbs” Raymond and Benny Borgmann in attendance.

Ironically, Raymond was once signed by the Yankees and went to spring training with the club in 1925. Later that season, he “jumped’ the team to go back and play with the Silk Sox. A combination of homesickness and not being able to break into the starting line-up caused Raymond to return to Clifton – something that angered the Yankees, who believed Bibbs had a future with the club.

Borgmann had his own history at Yankee Stadium. In the 1920s while a member of the Silk Sox, he tried out on the field and was offered a contract with the Boston Red Sox, in town to play the Yankees.

However, Borgmann, who would eventually be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, refused to report to spring training so that he could complete his lucrative basketball season. For his actions, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned him from organized baseball, and it took Borgmann years to earn his reinstatement.

But on that special day at Yankee Stadium, all was forgotten by Borgmann and Raymond, who watched the game from the mayor’s box. Between games, memories were made for the 145 Marching Mustangs, led by drum majorette Barbara Williams and Jubilee pageant beauty queen Susan Sisco.

Behind a banner that read, “Clifton Golden Jubilee – Fifty Years of Progress,” the Mustangs marched in formation to the center of the field where they performed five songs, including Peter Gunn. Each selection was announced by Yankee Stadium announcer Bob Sheppard.

The Herald-News reported, “All tunes were well-received by the audience.”

Besides the traffic, the only black mark on the day was the Yankees’ loss in the nightcap to the Angels, 4-2, with Mantle accounting for both New York runs with a two-run double.

Clifton Fans Say Good-Bye

In 1993, Brian Reilly saw his first Yankees game at age 10 with his Clifton Western Division Little League team. Since then, he’s been hooked.

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

As he got older, Reilly began to watch Mattingly more at the stadium. “As soon as I got my license,” he says, “I started going to about 10 games a year.” At 19, Reilly took a big step as a Yankees fan – becoming one of the stadium’s legendary “Bleacher Creatures.”

“I have what I describe as ‘an emotional attachment’ to the Yankees,” Reilly says, “and a seat in Section 39 of the bleachers for the past six years.” Along with Clifton friends Joe and John Pecora, he attends about 20 games a year. Known for their game-starting “Roll Call” (the Bleacher Creatures chant each starting Yankees player’s name until he waves), Reilly and his fellow Creatures are famous for their serenades of opposing right fielders.

“If I was Trot Nixon,” Reilly laughs, “and I heard some of the songs we sing, I’d go home and cry.” A recent Montclair State University graduate who works at DeLuxe Formalwear on Main Ave., Reilly says his best moment came in the 2004 American League Championship Series Game 1 against the Boston Red Sox. “(Boston’s) Curt Schilling was pitching but we were doing the “Who’s your daddy?” chants to Pedro Martinez,” he says. “There was a point in the game when the Yankees had bases loaded and Hideki Matsui hit a single. Gary Sheffield slid, scored and pumped his fist in the air.

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

When the Series turned sour and Boston came back from a 3-0 deficit, Reilly learned something about his girlfriend Krystina. “That’s when I saw she was a keeper,” he says. “I was so upset during the four games the Yankees lost, I’d leave the house without talking, just to take a walk. I couldn’t sleep for a week because I was so upset. But she stayed with me, even though we’d only been together for a little bit.”

On Sunday, Sept. 21, Reilly attended the last game at Yankee Stadium. “I told my friends that I needed to take my own car because I didn’t want anybody rushing me out that night,” he says.

“You could tell the game was going to be special – Spike Lee was in the bleachers filming us. I remember looking around and thinking that this was where Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio played.”

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

A Fan's Memories of Yankee Stadium

By Jordan Schwartz

My first trip to Yankee Stadium came on Thursday, July 22, 1993. Just a 10-year-old boy, I sat with my mom, dad, and sister in the lower level down the left-field line. In the bottom of the seventh inning, my favorite player of all time, Don Mattingly, scalded a 2-1 pitch off Doug Linton into the right-field seats for a three-run homer. It was the 200th of his storied career, and the Yankees went on to beat the California Angels, 12-1.

Exactly 15 years later, on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, I attended my 42nd and final game at the old Yankee Stadium. Accompanied by just my sister this time, we sat in the upper deck, down the left-field line. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Yankees scored four times to put away an 8-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The Bombers are missing the playoffs this fall for the first time since the year in which I went to my first game, but during that decade-and-a-half span, I was fortunate enough to see my share of Yankee Stadium magic.

The Yankees were 35-7 in games I attended at the Stadium. That’s right, 35-7. Five of the seven losses were by one run, another defeat was by three, but New York brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, and the only blowout loss was when they were no-hit by six different Houston Astros pitchers on June 11, 2003.

My friend, Brad, caught a foul ball during that game, and from that point forward, we knew we were doomed.

I witnessed seven walk-off victories, including three in a row between Sept. 30, 2004, when a homer by Bernie Williams clinched the division, and May 16, 2006, when Jorge Posada’s game-winning blast capped a 14-13 comeback victory over the Texas Rangers—a game in which the Yankees had trailed 9-0.

But the biggest walk-off I saw was one of the most dramatic in franchise history.
When 2003 postseason tickets went on sale in late September of that year, I, like thousands of others, stared at my computer as Ticketmaster.com informed me that my wait time was eight minutes.

A half-hour later, a screen popped up presenting me with the option of purchasing four tickets to “ALCS Home Game 4.” I immediately snatched them up, not thinking that I would actually attend the game. But a few weeks later, the Boston Red Sox forced a Game 7, and I found myself skipping a Thursday afternoon class to drive from Syracuse to New York.

The excitement was palpable among the 56,278 people that attended the game with me on that chilly October evening. It was Pedro versus Clemens, Sox versus Yanks for the right to advance to the World Series, and I was there.

The anticipation quickly morphed into shock as the Bombers fell behind 3-0 in the top of the second, and by the time it was 5-2 Boston in the top of the eighth, the feeling turned to desperation. But then, as always, the rally started with Derek Jeter. A double. Then Bernie Williams singled him home. 5-3. Then Hideki Matsui doubled to put the tying runs in scoring position for Jorge Posada.

I clasped my numb fingers in front of my face and rocked back and forth in the right-field bleachers as the Yankee catcher battled with the tiring Martinez. After an agonizing five pitches, Posada finally lifted a fly ball to shallow center, as everyone held their breath.
Until it landed.

The stadium actually shook as Matsui scored the tying run, and I high-fived everyone around me. But there was still work to be done. The game continued on, knotted at five, into the ninth, the 10th, and finally the 11th. As Tim Wakefield got ready to deliver his first knuckleball to Aaron Boone, my dad and I turned to step up onto the bleacher so we could see better.

Just then, we heard the crowd roar and swung our heads around to see the ball land in the left-field seats for a pennant-winning home run. My dad and I turned to each other in shock, but we were too excited to be disappointed. We had just witnessed—sort of—one of the greatest moments in Yankee history.

The magic dissipated somewhat over the following five years, but I still took in my share of great Yankee Stadium moments.

I saw Clemens win his 350th career game, Posada homer from both sides of the plate, and Jeter pass Bernie Williams and then Mickey Mantle on the Yankees’ all-time hit list.

I’ve seen New York play every American League team except the A’s and White Sox, I’ve attended 10 inter-league games, and I’ve even had three dates at Yankee Stadium. The team was 2-1 in those games. I was 1-2.

So, as the House That Ruth Built closes its doors for the final time this year, it takes with it old memories of championships and fathers taking their sons to their first game.

But with a new stadium come new memories, and I can’t wait to one day bring my son to his first Yankee game at the ballpark across the street.

It’ll probably be July 22.

Clifton News and Municipal Updates

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

Woodham, the individual who lives directly across the street from the Post, was featured in our story last month, after she was told by the city that she had to repair her sidewalk on her own tab, despite it being damaged by a city tree.

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

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

“They refused to cut ours down, because they said they can’t cut down a live tree,” she explained. “But they said the mayor wanted them to cut the tree down. That’s what the DPW supervisor that was there with the crew told my husband.”

However, Mayor James Anzaldi denied those allegations in a phone conversation.

“Me? James Anzaldi? Absolutely not, I can’t authorize that,” he insisted. “I took a picture of the raised sidewalk and filed a City Manager sheet and showed them the picture on my cell phone—that’s it. The last I heard of it, they told me it was going to get done, but I don’t know anything about the tree.”

The mayor explained that the city has a tree policy, limiting the instances in which they can be removed.

“I know clogged sewer line—that’s one of them for sure,” recalled Anzaldi. “I think it would also include drain pipes, since some people have the pipe underground.”

The mayor directed further questioning to City Manager Al Greco, who noted that city policy allows for the removal of a live tree if it damages the concrete more than twice in a five year period.

“We had complaints on it before and had done it about three or four years ago,” said Greco. “We will always come out and cut the roots for the home owners without charge. Usually, they’ll get a contractor to lift the slab and cut the roots to save themselves a lot more money.”

While addressing Lake Ave., the city manager also noted that Clifton is currently in the process of searching for a contractor to remove the asbestos from the city-owned former American Legion Post and then demolish it.

The city would also like to hire a contractor to level 12 Arthur St. in Botany, a private home that has been in disrepair for several years. “We’re trying to get one price for both buildings. There’s a tax sale soon and I’m authorized to buy back the lien and purchase the house on the city’s behalf,” said Greco, adding that the lien is around $120,000.

Funds would be transferred from the city’s affordable housing account, and then Clifton would look to construct affordable housing on the site, in accord with the standards set by the NJ Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH.

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

“We mentioned the plan and asked if there were any suggestions or comments,” said Greco, adding that there were about 20 people in attendance. “There were no comments, no feedback.”


The Clifton Rec Center will continue to be in the spotlight for some time it seems. At the Sept. 22 Board of Recreation meeting, newly appointed Council Liaison to the Board, Mayor James Anzaldi, was answering questions regarding his opinion on whether or not the city needs a new center to replace the one on Main Ave.

Board member Tony Yannarelli, an outspoken supporter of a new center, asked the mayor point blank if he was in support of the Board’s 9-0 motion to recommend a new recreation center in town.

However, the mayor essentially reiterated his comments in our Sept. edition, saying that he is open minded, but thinks that current facilities are being underused.

“To be honest,” Anzaldi added. “I think much of what has happened has been twisted badly.”
However, some Board members expressed concern about the Council’s involvement.

“There’s nothing that the Council needs to be involved with at this point,” said Yannarelli.

The Board and Mayor Anzaldi were in agreement with one thing though: if the surveys come back against the project, it becomes dead in the water.

“If the survey is like no one wants this, why waste our time?” said Board President Doreen Delancy-Williams.

Mayor Anzaldi also reiterated his desire to improve existing services instead of adding new ones. He mentioned park adoptions or corporate clean-ups as an inexpensive means of remediation for the Rec Center and other facilities.

Despite disagreeing with the mayor’s proposal, Yannarelli said Anzaldi did bring some good change to the Board.

“The only thing he did accomplish is having Debbie (Oliver, of the Rec Department) tell us that there’s money left from the budget last year,” said Yannarelli, being sure to note that his opinions do not reflect those of the entire Board. “It’s about $28,000 to $30,000— somewhere in that area. It’s for fixing up items in the rec center.”

Another issue brought up at the meeting was the review of Clifton’s parks by an outside firm, to the tune of a $26,000 bill.

“They spent $26,000 on that,” Yannarelli said over the phone later that week. “If you go down to the parks yourself, you can see what the condition of those parks are. They spent $26,000 to tell them what it looks like because they haven’t maintained them for the past 20 years.”


The cost of using water is going up. Sewer user fees have increased from $1.39 to $1.92 per 100 cubic feet of usage based upon 2007 unbilled water consumption as provided by the Passaic Valley Water Commission. City Manager Al Greco said last year’s figures are being used instead of this year’s because the city needs to know exactly how much revenue it will be taking in. It can’t estimate how much water consumption will take place in 2008.

According to the city’s website, the rate change occurred because the figures given to Clifton by the PVWC for actual billing purposes in 2008 were significantly less than in 2006. The lower consumption figures meant that the original rate would not generate enough revenue to pay for sanitary sewer service.

A service fee of $20 per quarter will also be charged to each user. The city says it was instituted because all customers, regardless of consumption levels, are connected to and utilize the sewer distribution system.

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

Greco said when the City Council was reviewing the 2008 municipal budget, which is about six percent higher than in 2007, it appeared as if taxes would have to increase 10 percent and $1.2 million of services would have to be cut.

“The Council didn’t want to layoff anyone or impose a tax increase, so they decided to create a usage fee,” said Greco, who added that the city has put a freeze on hiring certain open municipal positions.

Before this year, the $7.1 million cost of providing sewer service was included in the total municipal tax bill. Greco said the usage fee is a fairer way of distributing the cost.

“We analyzed the structure and it turned out that the commercial side was paying 40 percent but using 60 percent of the service, while residents were paying 60 percent and using only 40 percent,” he said. “For smaller consumers, this benefits them because they’re paying less than if taxes went up 10 percent.”

But despite the fact that there is no increase in the local portion of the tax rate in 2008, Cliftonites are still paying more overall to the city because of this new fee.

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

“No money is being wasted but we are looking at privatizing some of our services such as the DPW and recycling,” continued the city manager. “We’re also looking at energy conservation in our vehicles and buildings and adding another court session to process tickets quicker.”

Local Boys Lost in Pacific

Four Cliftonites among hundreds downed with Juneau in 1942 War was raging in the Pacific in 1942 and it took a heavy toll on the U.S. Navy. Between Aug. 6 and Nov. 13, more than 5,000 men and 20 ships were lost, but the disastrous casualties began even earlier that year. Story by Jordan Schwartz and Rich DeLotto

On May 8, the USS Lexington was sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea. The USS Yorktown went down a month later at the Battle of Midway. The USS Wasp was lost 150 miles southeast of San Cristobal Island on Sept. 15. And several Japanese torpedoes struck the USS Hornet at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on Oct. 26.

But the loss that really hit home was the sinking of the USS Juneau at the Battle of Guadalcanal on Nov. 13.

The Juneau was laid down by Federal Shipbuilding Company of Kearny on May 27, 1940, launched on Oct. 25, 1941 and commissioned on Feb. 14, 1942.

The cruiser left for the Pacific Theater on Aug. 22 with 30 sets of brothers on board, including the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, the four Rogers brothers from New Haven, Connecticut, and the Weeks brothers from Delawanna.

The ship supported three actions at Guadalcanal: the Buin-Fasi-Tonolai Raid; the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands; and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, which is sometimes referred to as the Third Battle of Savo Island.

During the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 1942, the Juneau and other American ships became engaged with a Japanese force made up of two battleships, one light cruiser and nine destroyers.
During the battle, a torpedo hit Juneau on her port side causing a dramatic list, halting her movement and forcing a withdrawal.

About nine hours later, Juneau left the Guadalcanal area when a second torpedo struck the ship, causing an explosion that sunk the cruiser in 20 seconds.

Only about 100 of the nearly 700 men on board survived the sinking, but many of those sailors were killed by sharks or the elements as they waited eight days in the open ocean before being rescued. By that time, only 10 men were left alive. One of them was Frank Holmgren, 85, who is the last living survivor.

“We were only able to get three life rafts down,” remembered the Eatontown resident. “I can’t even swim, so I thought I was dead, but a life jacket got around me somehow. I’m one of the luckiest men in the world.”

Others weren’t as fortunate.

The sinking of the Juneau made headlines across the country because all five Sullivan brothers died. Three of the men were killed instantly after the second torpedo hit, while the remaining two perished while waiting to be rescued.

Two of the four Rogers siblings transferred to another ship before the sinking and so only half of the boys died.

But Clifton’s Weeks family wasn’t as lucky. On Jan. 11, 1943, William and Dorothy Weeks were notified of their sons’ deaths.

“Hard upon the telegrams came the Navy’s announcement of the names of the eleven warships lost in the hard fighting from October 21 to December 1 in the Southwestern Pacific,” wrote The Herald-News beneath the screaming headline “Local Boys Lost in Pacific.”

“It was earth shaking for the family to have this happen,” said Robert Weeks, who was 18 when his two older brothers were killed.

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

“I was so upset that I didn’t go to school for six months,” said the 80-year-old widow who now lives in Miami. “They kind of just treated me special because I was the girl and I was the youngest. I remember someone poisoned my dog and my oldest brother went to a pet shop and got me another.”

Mary eventually married and lived in Passaic with her husband who was an Army veteran of Saipan.

William Weeks, 23, was born on Christmas Day in 1919. His younger brother Harold, 21, came along two years later. The siblings grew up at 35 William St., graduating from School 8 and Clifton High. They were boy scouts and Herald-News delivery boys, while also attending St. Clare’s Church.

Mr. Weeks worked with his three sons at U.S. Rubber Company in Passaic.

Two weeks after Pearl Harbor, the two eldest sons enlisted in the Navy. Harold was engaged at the time, but the Weeks came from a long line of patriots. Their grandfather, Francis J. Wynne, was a Navy veteran of the Spanish American War.

Harold and William attended boot camp in Newport, Rhode Island for two weeks before joining the fleet.

William was assigned to the USS Macomb before meeting up with his brother aboard the Juneau, which operated in the Atlantic Theater for approximately four months before moving to the Pacific.

Robert Weeks enlisted in the service in July 1942, right after graduating CHS, but he hadn’t actually joined a fleet yet by the time his brothers were killed.

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

Robert spent the following 34 years in the Navy as a surface warfare officer. He retired in 1976 and currently lives in Austin, Texas.

But the Weeks were not the only Cliftonites affected by the Juneau tragedy. Two other city residents perished in the disaster.

Israel Rabkin, 27, of 119 Madeline Ave. was also killed. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Max Rabkin, owned the Rabkin Confectionary directly across the street from Ace and George’s Deli.

“My mother and father seemed to just age overnight after hearing the news,” said Israel’s sister, Hannah Gilbert, who was just 16 at the time.

Israel, who graduated CHS in 1934, liked to ride his motorcycle around town. In addition to Hannah, he had two brothers, Hyman and Aaron.

Three years ago, Hannah’s daughter surprised her with an 80th birthday trip to the Juneau monument in Alaska.

“It was quite emotional,” she said. “I took my finger and rubbed it over my brother’s name. It was my last tribute to him.”

Peter Pagnillo, 24, was the fourth city resident killed aboard the Juneau.

He was born, raised and schooled in Paterson, but moved to 43 Center St. in Clifton for six months before entering the service. Pagnillo was survived by his wife of a year, Josephine Pasetto, and parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pagnillo.

He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and three campaign medals. Three 19-year-old Passaic residents were also on the Juneau. They were Lawrence Edward Saxer, Edward Eustace, Jr., and Charles Kalinich, Jr.