clifton merchant magazine - july 2009

Where are these Mustangs now?

1959

1949

1969

1989

1979

1999

Clifton Merchant Magazine • Volume 14 • Issue 7 • July 3, 2009

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C H S 2 0 0 9Threatening skies only delayed butdid not dampen the strides of about750 of our neighbors as they walkedthe field of Clifton Stadium on June26 to receive their diplomas... ontheir way to colleges, careers andjobs. In 10 years, we’ll be askingWhere are these Mustangs Now?

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STAFF WRITERS: Joe Hawrylko, Jordan Schwartz

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High school years can yield somewonderful memories. So for thesecond summerin a row, we’vemined the well ofpast CHS grads bycatching up withmembers of theClasses of ‘49, ‘59,‘69, ‘79, ‘89 and‘99. On the next 60 pages, you’llenjoy some back-in-the-day pho-tos and read what some of thoseMustangs have been doing sincethey threw their caps up in cele-bration at Clifton Stadium. ForMustangs who graduated on the‘0s, get ready—we’ll be writingabout you next summer!

The more things change... Above is the 1959 prom and below is the 1999 version.At the top left of the page is ’79 grad Andrea Bobby, a coach and teacher at CHS.

From left: 1949: Murray Abill, LeonoreCadorin Brenan, Clinton Sparr, Rita Pascrell, Robert Rento. 1959: Kathleen Farrell Donnel, Gerry Friend, Marie Giunta, Robert Leciston, Maryann Luipersbeck. 1969: Rich Pashman, Jayne Mohrle Alles,George Cowan, Janice Corsi, Larry Zwick.1979: Vicky Generalli, Dale Sprauer, Elaine Maroon, Mike Astion, Andrea Bobby. 1989: Michael Chomiak, Genia Filewicz,David Moore, Stefanie Liechenstein, Emil Dudas. 1999: Mary Choteborsky, Peter Bakarich, Kari Petrasek, Michael Graziano, Jessica Leigh Bear.

J U L Y 2 0 0 9

Where are theseMustangs Now?

C l i f t o n M e r c h a n t

On the cover...


When the Class of 1949 left CHS,America was a country in transition,just a matter of years removed fromWorld War II, a new era for the U.S.

President Harry Truman, who tookover when President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt passed away, was in themidst of his first full term inWashington. The first VolkswagenBeetle came to the U.S., but would notbe popular for some years to come.

The 1949 Mustang baseball squadwas the first team to take the field atthe new Clifton Stadium, ahead ofthe highly touted football team that

Story by Joe Hawrylko

Senior officers for the Class of June 1949: President Richard Levin, Vice PresidentJames Neyland, Secretary Gladys Vanden Heuvel and Treasurer Ronald Rossetti.

From left, Lorraine Agnello, Louis Andreotta, Catherine Martinelli, Murray Abill, Rita Pascrell and Robert Lesko.

’49 enjoys new Clifton Stadium


The 1949 baseballteam was the first touse the new Stadium.First row, from left,J. Savasta, D. Vasta,H. Scofield, G. Pasterchick, F. Pecci and K.Kurnath. Rear:Asst. Coach EmilBednarcik, J. Shaw,W. Tencza, E. Pami,J. Sammarco, L. Andreotta andCoach EdwardBednarcik.

From left, Frank Mocek, Gloria Peluso, Robert Rento, Olga Csaszar, Joseph Sidor and Basil Surgent.

was coached by Joe Grecco. ThePolaris, the CHS yearbook, notedMayor Walter F. Nutt threw out thefirst pitch at the stadium, which wasfinally built after years of delays.

Due to class sizes, PrincipalHarold J. Adams graduated twogroups of students in 1949; one inJanuary and one in June. Somenotable grads include Murray Abill, a

builder, ‘Ditch’ Malavasi, whocoached in the NFL, John Kostisin, abasketball coach at CHS andMichael Pelech, who you will readabout on the following pages.


For instance, running increases theforce of weight through the foot, saidClifton foot surgeon ThomasGraziano, MD, DPM, FACFAS.Common overuse injuries includeAchilles tendonitis or plantar fascitis.

Dr. Graziano is now doing a newout-patient procedure that takes about10 minutes to perform and can correctPes Planus, offering a quick return tonormal activities.

“It is done on an outpatient basishere in Clifton and can be performedon anyone from children to the elder-ly—as long as they fit the criteria.,” hesaid, adding: “Right now, we offer acomplimentary consultation to screenthese people.”

Dr. Graziano said the foot is themost used and abused part of ourbody. “We put our socks on, put ourshoes on and basically forget aboutour feet,” he said. “My goal is toeducate and treat patients, offering avariety of options.”

Pes Planus, also commonly known as flat feetor fallen arches, is a condition when the entiresole of the foot comes into complete or near-com-plete contact with the ground. In as much as 20 to30% of the general population, the arch simplynever develops in one foot (unilaterally) or bothfeet (bilaterally). It is a condition some peopleinherit or one which anyone, from children to theelderly, can develop from use.

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Michael Pelech wanted to followin Coach Joe Grecco’s footsteps.Coach was a center on the footballteam at Upsala College, a small pri-vate institution in East Orange.Pelech was a center on the footballteam at Catawba College, a smallprivate school in Salisbury, NC.

But the ’49 alum had to wait a fewyears before playing college ball.Upon graduating from CHS, Pelechweighed just 159 pounds, big enoughto share a high school line with futureLos Angeles Rams coach, Ray‘Ditch’ Malavasi, but not quite heavyenough for the next level.

“I tried to go to college rightafter high school, but I was toosmall and no one wanted me,” heexplained. So the Park Slope resi-dent went to work for the WestonBiscuit Company on Getty Ave. Hedelivered cookies, admitting in arecent interview, that he “ate a few”along the way.

But after a couple years there,Pelech was drafted into the Army.

From 1951 to 1953, he was an avi-ation mechanic stationed in Texas,Virginia and Alabama. The veter-an had a brief stay in Panama, but hewas lucky enough to avoid any sortof combat during the Korean War.

After two years of military workand two more eating cookies, Pelechhad bulked up to 180 pounds—bigenough to be offered a scholarshipto play football at Catawba.

“The coaches there were moremouthy than Grecco,” he said.

Pelech started all four years atcollege, while double majoring inbiology and physical education witha minor in driver’s ed.

“At first, it was tough to do allthat,” he said. “After four or fiveyears out of school it’s tough to getstudying again but after the firstyear, it was alright.”

While at Catawba, Pelech mar-ried his wife, BettyJean, in January1956. Following college, the couplestayed in North Carolina and theClifton native began teaching

A Foundation in FootballMichael Pelech learned a lot playing under Coach Grecco

Story by Jordan Schwartz

Above, Mike Pelech visiting teammate Jim Haraka in the hospital after he broke histhighbone during the 1948 season. From left, Coach Grecco, Ray Malavasi, Pelech andHaraka. Below, Mike and his late wife, BettyJean, in 2006.


Although Leonore Brenan now lives in Hamburg, NJ,Clifton will always be her hometown. There are too manymemories for her to cut ties with the city in which shegrew up.

“Oh, I still go down to Clifton,” said Brenan. “I stillhave friends down there. None of them were in myclass—they were a bit older than me—but I still go.”

The June 1949 graduate grew up in Botany Village,where she attended the now-defunct Schools 7 and 10,which used to house Clifton’s ninth graders. Brenan’sfather, Santo ‘Sam’ Cadorin, owned a prominent businessin Botany Village.

“Cadorin’s Market, on Parker Ave. and Exchange. It’snow a dentist’s office,” she said. “ He had a grocery storeand a lot of teachers used to come up and shop at his store.He started when he was a young boy and bought it andthen retired there in 1959 or 1960.”

Upon graduating from CHS, Brenan was accepted toWilliam Paterson for a six month nursing program.

After that, she was transferred to Passaic General tocomplete her three years of required training.

“From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to be anurse,” said Brenan, who studied at Passaic General withCHS classmate Claire Crudele Macaluso. “Actually, mygrandmother said, ‘What you want to do that for? You’llbe carrying bed pans. She didn’t want me to go in. It wastaboo, because we’ll see bodies and that was a no-nothen.”

During a break between semesters, Brenan went on across country adventure with her brother, Richard (whodied in Feb.) and her friend, Elda PraLevis, a ’47 CHSgrad.

“We had planned on it, but my mother told me I wasn’ttaking that trip alone,” said Brenan. “Guess I got to takemy brother. He was three years older than me. We took atrip to California with a southern route there and then anorthern one home.”

Memories for a LifetimeStory by Joe Hawrylko

biology and driver’s ed for the Winston-Salem ForsythCounty School System.

He also coached football, baseball and wrestling,but quit that after a few years because he was onlymaking 20 extra cents an hour.

Michael and BettyJean had three children: Karen,an insurance company manager; Kim, who works forthe National Security Agency; and Kevin, a represen-tative for a medical supplies company.

After 30 years of teaching, Pelech retired in 1987.He spent the next two decades traveling to every stateexcept Hawaii with his wife until she passed away twoyears ago.

Now the 78-year-old enjoys exercising two hours aday, attending classic car shows at least twice a weekand reminiscing about his days blocking for BobbyBoettcher and playing under the great Coach Grecco.“I was very lucky to be coached by him,” Pelech con-cluded. “He was kind of rough on you, but he made aman out of you. I’d do it all over again for him.”

Michael Pelech cont’d Leonore Cadorin Brenan at the 1949reunion, which was held on June 20at the Valley Regency. The inset isBrenan in the 1949 yearbook.

Clifton holds a special place in Leonore Brenan’s heart


The trio first went down to Georgia and then across theBible Belt and right on through to the Golden State. InCalifornia, Brenan went to visit a friend, who ownedFox’s Hardware across the street in Botany Village yearsbefore.

“We went to visit them and started talking about earth-quakes,” recalled Brenan. “And, by God, that night, did-n’t we have an earthquake? It wasn’t too bad, but the NewYork papers would really build that up, so we said we bet-ter call mom and tell her it was nothing.”

On the route home, Brenan came back through Nevada,Utah and Wyoming while driving east.

“When we were out in Wyoming, a woman recognizedmy name,” recalled Brenan. “She said, ‘Oh my God, myhusband used to deliver milk to your father’s store!”

She returned just in time for her next semester of col-lege at Passaic General and had plenty of memories fromthe adventure.

“It was 20-something days. We took our PontiacCatalina. We had no air conditioning and went aroundwith our feet sticking out the windows to cool off and weall took turns driving,” laughed Brenan. “I don’t evenremember the cost, but I don’t think it was much. Weprobably had $300 each or something like that.”

Brenan came home and completed her studies in 1952.She went on to work at Passaic General Hospital, whereshe was employed for 31 years.

“I took a brief intermission to have the children andwent back to work,” said Brenan, who has two kids,Kurt and Carol Walsh. She married her husband, Paul,in 1956. “Years ago, you could spend a lot of times withpatients. Before I left, I couldn’t wait to get out of therebecause you had no time with the patient,” she recalled.“We used to joke and sing together—it was wonderfuland you looked forward to going to work.”

Brenan, who worked in the orthopedic ward, said thelong hours and demands of the job made for long days.However, she believes new nurses may have it eventougher. “It’s definitely understaffed now,” she said.“Once the computers came in, it seemed like we hadmore work to do than when we did everything by hand.”

After working for Passaic General for 31 years,Brenan retired in 1983. She lived in Clifton until 2004.“My husband died in 1996,” explained Brenan. “I wasin the house for eight years, but it was getting too big.”

The 1949 graduate decided to make the move toHamburg to be closer to her son, Kurt and her fivegrandchildren. Brenan currently resides in a seniorcommunity there.

“There’s more people here my age,” she said. “We’rehaving a ball!”

Still, Clifton will always be home to Brenan. There’ssimply far too much to leave behind.

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The decision to become a pharma-cist was easy for Clinton Sparr. Hisgrandfather, William, and his father,Clinton Sr., ran Sparr’s Pharmacy,where Junior spent much of hischildhood behind the counter.

“I was born behind the pharma-cy,” recalled Sparr. “898 Main Ave.,in the cold water flat behind thepharmacy.”

The building was a second hometo Sparr, whose family also owned ahouse at Clinton Ave and Eighth St.in Clifton. By the age of 13, he wasworking behind the counter.

“I used to walk down to the cor-ner by the old White Castle withCamille Nahass. He was my bestfriend growing up,” said Sparr.“We’d take the bus down toPassaic. I’d work at the pharmacyfrom 3 to 6 pm, and Camille usedto work at Ral Plumbing Supplyfrom 3 to 6 pm.”

Sparr worked at the pharmacythrough graduation in 1949 until thefall of that year, when he attendedRutgers Pharmaceutical School. Heattended classes with many individ-uals who would go on to find greatsuccess, including Benard Marcus,the founder of Home Depot, withwhom he still remains in contact.

While at school, Sparr met hisfuture wife, Theresa, who worked atSB Penick, which was the largestimporter of botanicals at the time.

“The plant was where theShopRite in Lyndhurst is,” he said.“One of my classmates used to workthere in the summertime.”

The two dated after Sparr gradu-ated from Rutgers in 1953 and wedMarch 3, 1956, just before sparr wasdrafted by the United States Army.

“May 15, 1956, I was sent to FortDix for basic training,” recalledSparr, who was attached to the 4thRegimental Combat Team.“They’re drafting you as a soldier,as cannon fodder.”

Though he came in with a degree,Sparr entered as a grunt. It wasn’tuntil a position opened up that hegot a chance to advance.

“They said, ‘Can you type?’ and Ibecame the company clerk,” he said.“The Army is very well organized,whether you know it or not.”

Sparr was sent to Fort Devins,Mass., where he was attached to the562nd Medical Company,Ambulance Separate as the compa-

ny clerk. There, he learned manyorganizational and clerical skills thatwould later benefit his career.

Sparr was discharged from themilitary in 1958, and returned hometo work at the pharmacy.

However, in 1959, his fatherpassed away and the estate was sold.Sparr began his career as a reliefpharmacist.

“Back then, the pharmacists wereall independent,” he said. “Whenthey want to take a day off, I comein. At one time, I was working 112hours a week.”

Sparr worked many local busi-nesses, including ColonialPharmacy, the Clifton Pharmacy andJohnson’s Drugstore.

“Eddie Sudol and I went to col-lege together,” he recalled. “He wasthe founder of Colonial.”

Clinton Sparr in the backyard of his Allwood home. Sparr, a 1949 CHS graduate,has been involved in the pharmaceutical industry all of his life.

Clifton’s PharmacistClinton Sparr, a 1949 grad, is a familiar face in town



While doing relief work at theSheridan Court Pharmacy inEnglewood, his clientele includedcelebrities, such as Jerry Vale, LizTaylor and Tony Bennett.

There was also a fellow namedJack Roy, an aspiring comedian whoran a fledgling business, AmericanHome Improvement.

“He used to come in the store allthe time,” said Sparr. Some 10 yearslater, the Cliftonite saw Roy on TV,but under a different name—Rodney Dangerfield.

Sparr worked exclusively as arelief pharmacist until 1973, whenhis friend and fellow Cliftonite, SamCastronovo, informed him of a jobopportunity.

“He’s Bob Castronovo’s dad,” hesaid. “Bobby worked in Johnson’sDrug store as a counterman for me.”

The elder Castronovo was a super-vising investigator for the Division ofConsumer Affairs and set up an inter-view with Millicent Fenwick, a col-orful Republican politician and for-mer editor at Vogue, who was thenthe head of the NJDCA.

At the time, there was a contro-versy over the new profile cards,which held vital information aboutcustomers. According to Sparr,chain pharmacies believed that it

was an attempt to stifle the competi-tion’s business.

Fenwick wanted him to educatepharmacists on the program.

“She was funny,” he laughed.“She said, ‘No pharmacist has askedme my date of birth, and he betternot either.’”

Sparr was hired and began work-ing for the state on a per diem basis.In 1982, he was employed full time.

“More and more, they dependedon me to testify in court,” said Sparr.“But since I worked two days aweek, they operated around me.”

He held the position until heretired in July 2002.

“I’m 77 and they still call me allthe time!” laughed Sparr. “But Icontinue to work one day a week asa consultant.”

The 1949 graduate has no plansto fully retire, and still enjoys work-ing from his basement office. Healso helps coordinate the CHSreunions, which he has been doingsince 1999.

“I really enjoy doing this,” saidSparr. “To me, this is an ongoingchallenge.”Clinton Sparr from the 1949 Polaris.

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With the opening of the newhigh school just three years away,students from 1959 were a part ofone of the last graduating classesfrom what is now ChristopherColumbus Middle School.

However, in their short time atthe old high school, the studentsshared many special memories.

The Class of ’59 graduates wit-nessed one of the greatestFighting Mustangs triumphs in1957, when Clifton defeated theMontclair Mounties on the grid-iron for the first time in 11 years.

‘Of course, we carried homethe goal posts,’ said the Columnsyearbook writers about the 20-0drubbing. That same year, theClass of ’59 helped pay for thenew scoreboard at the stadium asa class gift.

The following season, Cliftononce again defeated Montclair enroute to the Section I, Group IVtitle, which the Mustangs sharedwith Teaneck.

It was the eighth title in thepast 14 years. The team featured

many standout athletes, includingGerry Manning, Bob Leciston,Bob Papa, Wayne Demikoff andRay Promin.

The Marching Mustangs werealso making headlines in the late’50s. Under the direction of SaulKay, the band marched for six and ahalf miles in the Tournament ofRoses Parade in Pasadena, Cal. onNew Year’s Day, 1959.

The Mustangs then watched thesecond-ranked Iowa Hawkeyesdefeat the 16th-ranked CaliforniaGolden Bears 38-12 in the Rose

The Marching Mustangs perform in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day, 1959.


Marching at the ’59Rose Bowl

Marching at the ’59Rose Bowl

From left, Edward Burke, Dolores De Graaf, Gerald Zecker, Jacqueline Falco, Paul Lebitsch and Marie Giunta.


Bowl. It was a fitting start to theirlast year at Clifton High School.

Next up was the senior ban-quet, which was held at Neptune’sInn in January.

In May, Clifton seniors cele-brated their graduation at theprom, which was held at theMazdabrook.

Then came the finals days inJune, which included the

Commencement Dance and ClassDay.

At graduation, students listenedto parting words fromSalutatorian Maria Deisler andValedictorian Donald Zaentz andleft Clifton High School to jointhe world as adults.

The Class of 1959 included anumber of individuals who would

later become recognizableCliftonites: Gerald Zecker, politi-cian and mayor from 1978-1982,and Gerry Friend, a long time cityattorney whose father was IsraelFriend, Clifton’s mayor from1973-1974.

On the following pages, readmore about students from theClass of 1959.

Above, Ray Promin eludes a would-be tackler as he runs towards the end zone. Atleft, John Scancarella drives towards the hoop against Ridgewood. Scancarella wasinducted into the CHS Hall of Fame in 2008 for basketball, baseball and football.

From left, Joanne Gursky, Raymond Promin, Maryann Luipersbeck, Robert Leciston, Paula Orlovsky and Charles Oremland.

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Just like his father, Israel, GerryFriend has dedicated his life toserving his community. The life-long Clifton resident has beeninvolved in local civic groups, reli-gious organizations and has servedas a councilman and city attorney.

“It’s kind of ingrained in thefamily,” said Friend. “It’s justdoing something for the communi-ty that’s been good to the Friendfamily for so many years.”

The 1959 graduate was born onWashington Ave., just across thestreet from School 3.

“Clifton used to end at ourstreet,” laughed Friend. “There wasno Paulison Ave. then. I grew up inClifton as Clifton was growing up.”

After School 3, Friend attendedthe Annex (School 10) beforeheading to the old high school,which is now ChristopherColumbus.

“We knew what overcrowdingwas,” he said. “There were 625 inmy graduating class, but after us, itwent up to almost 1,000.”

In his youth, he spent a plenty oftime at his family’s business,Friend’s Department Store, whichwas located at 232 Dayton Ave. inBotany Village. It was opened byhis grandparents, Nathan andFrieda, in 1902. Friend worked atthe store from eighth grade until heleft for law school in 1964.

“The city did the urban renewalin Botany and took the buildings,”he recalled. “I used to go to thestore everyday.”

After graduating from RutgersNewark in 1964, Friend attendedDickinson School of Law inPennsylvania. While there, he methis wife, Fran, in 1966.

Gerry Friend, a 1959 CHS alumni, at his Clifton Ave. law practice, Friend andFriend. The inset is Israel Friend, Gerry’s father and former councilman and mayor.

Following Dad’s FootstepsLike his father, Israel, Gerry Friend is a community man



“I was fixed up on a blind date,believe it or not,” he recalled. “Iwas taking the Bar review and theperson next to me, who later becamemy friend, said his wife had a friendand that was it. We married the nextyear.”

That same year, Friend joined theNational Guard and was stationed inJersey City. He was active from1967 to 1972.

“I enjoyed being in the Guard,”said Friend. “The battalion com-mander saw my abilities were inadministration and I became compa-ny clerk.”

When he completed his studies in1968, Friend returned home to workwith his father, Israel.

“My father was pushing for fourdoctors, but got three lawyers and abusiness man,” he laughed. Friend’sbrother Bill is still with the familypractice, and his brother, Herbert, isnow a retired superior court judge.Richard runs his own business.

“Friend and Friend was original-ly my father, Israel, and my uncle,Fred, who was the counsel for theBoard of Ed,” continued Friend. “Icame here with my father, my twobrothers and myself.”

Israel Friend served on thecouncil from 1969 to 1978, andwas Clifton’s mayor from 1974 to1975. Just like his father, Friendran and was elected to the City

Council, serving Clifton from1978 to 1990.

“When I did run for politicaloffice in ’78, that did cut bothways,” he said. “I had to convincepeople I was my own independentperson.”

Friend also served as the cityattorney from 1990 to 1994.

In addition to politics, Friendhas been active with the CliftonJewish Center for a number ofyears and is a past president. Hewas a trustee at the Boys & GirlsClub and is active in the RotaryClub.

“It’s about the community,” saidFriend “Back then, your life wasmore involved with your schooland religious services.”

And even as he enters his 43rdyear at the family practice, Friendsaid he has no plans of retiring.

“Clifton has been good to me,”he said. “I don’t have any plans ofleaving it right now.”

Friend’s 1959 CHS yearbook picture.


Kathleen Farrell Ashworth-Donnell was one of 12 students inWilliam Paterson College’s speechcorrection program when she gradu-ated in 1963. Her years at CHSprompted a long career in specialeducation and speech.

Miss Kerwin, Ashworth-Donnell’s speech teacher in junioryear, got her interested with aspeech on the Alaskan Pipeline.

“While visiting Alaska severalyears ago, I actually climbed on topof a section of the pipeline andcalled out her name,” she said.

The 1959 CHS grad also citedher Latin teacher, Mrs. O’Leary,history teacher Mr. Nicholas Perseland counselor Robert Schofield.

“Each day of my life, their indi-vidual attributes have played a part

in handling the twists and turns oflife’s journey,” said Ashworth-Donnell.

Following graduation fromWPU in 1963, Ashworth-Donnellbegan working in West Paterson inthe district’s first special ed andspeech classes. In 1968, shereceived her masters and joinedthe Paramus School District,

where Ashworth-Donnell workedfor 34 years.

“It became the model class forthe county,” she said, adding thatshe was named Special Teacher ofthe Year in 1992 by the SpecialEducation PTO of Paramus.

In 2002, Ashworth-Donnellretired, and she currently splitstime between her residences inBasking Ridge and Cape MayPoint with her husband, Brad.

Ashworth-Donnell still fre-quently returns to Clifton to visitfriends and family. Her son,Kevin, is a teacher at CHS and isknown to football fans as theVoice of the Mustangs.

Despite her new location,Ashworth-Donnell said she’ll alwaysbeen connected to Clifton throughfamily, friends and memories.

First in Special EducationStory by Joe Hawrylko


The CHS athletic teams had a greatdeal of success during the ’68-’69school year. Under the coaching ofEdward Zak, the cross country teamfinished 9-4 in dual meets and cap-tured the PVC championship.

The Fighting Mustangs, led byCoach Bill Vander Closter, went 8-1,earning a share of the conferenceand sectional titles. Gary Eckerearned All-County honors, while

end Steve Soroka made the All-Metropolitan team. Twelve of the22 positions on the All-PVC teamwere filled by Clifton players. Theseincluded Captain Rich Tate, JoeVrecenack and Bob Kurley.


Above, the Ski Club poses for a photoduring a busy day at Great Gorge. Atright, Dr. Einstein (Ralph Levy) lookson in horror as Jonathan (DennisZahorian) prepares to strangle Elaine(Grace Comito) in the CHS productionof Arsenic and Old Lace.

From left, Edward Bednarz, Nancy Lane, George Dudasik, Maureen Chambers, Gary Ecker and Esther Poller.

Mustang athletics shine in ’69


The boys soccer squad, coached by SeverinPalydowycz, won the conference for the thirdstraight year with a record of 10-4-2.

Senior goalie Roger Paradiso had sevenshutouts behind the defense of Salvatore Zito andEd Bednarz. Halfbacks Andy Lichter andBogdan Kowalski also contributed.

For the first time in its history, the drama clubtoured its one act play, Cupid on the Loose. Clubmembers also went on a field trip into New Yorkto see a Broadway production.

The school newspaper, The Hub, expandedinto a 10-page publication and won first place inthe Columbia Scholastic Press contest.

The Marching Mustangs performed at everyfootball game, held three jamborees, participatedin the Herald News Band Festival and capped offthe year with a trip to Washington D.C. in May.

A Brazilian foreign exchange student

From left, Jeffrey Gold, Eleanor Koester, Stanley Jakubczyk, Susan Sample, Michael Kowal and Steven Zubatkin.

Coach Bill Vander Closter with Captain Rich Tate.


named Oscar de Bouza attendedCHS for six weeks during the winter.He stayed with Steven Zubatkin’sfamily and received a class ringbefore heading home.

A film festival program was intro-duced by the English Department.Between Oct. 14 and 21, each grade

viewed two films illustrating theircommon readings. The seniorswatched Lilies of the Field andRequiem for a Heavyweight.

The Distributive Education Clubwas named Outstanding Chapter ofNew Jersey and Mike Kowal wasnamed Student of the Year.

The horseback riding clubattended the National Horse Showin New York City and the ski clubattended the New York Coliseum’sSki Show and took 10 trips to GreatGorge in McAfee.

After graduation, the Class of’69 entered one of the most memo-rable summers in American history.

On July 21, astronaut NeilArmstrong became the first man tostep foot on the surface of the moonas part of the Apollo 11 mission.

On Aug. 9, five people, includ-ing actress Sharon Tate, were founddead in Los Angeles. Cult leaderCharles Manson and his followerswere later convicted of the brutalmurders. A week later, Woodstockattracted about a half million con-cert goers to the rural town ofBethel, NY to watch performancesby the likes of Janis Joplin, TheWho and Jimi Hendrix.

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From left, Bogdan Kowalski, Roger Paradiso, Robert Kurley, Steven Soroka, Andreas Lichter and Joseph Vrecenak.


When Richard Pashman got into karaoke during the1980s, he figured it was an easy way to supplement hissales job. He never guessed that it would turn into hisfull-time business with his partner, Chuck Caccioli.

“We bought it and were doing one gig a week mak-ing a couple hundred,” he said. “I got laid off, andwhat do you know, I’m a real good salesman and wehad 30 gigs a week.”

Although his company, Sing Sing Karaoke, is nowin its 20th year of business, Pashman never imaginedhimself making a living from the entertainment indus-try. The 1969 CHS graduate envisioned himself hav-ing a long career in sales.

“I went two years to Edward Williams College atFairleigh Dickinson University,” said Pashman. “I mar-ried young and was a father. I had the first child ofClifton ’69, my son, Robert, who will be 39 in August.”

Initially, he tried to work and go to school, but thelong hours forced Pashman to drop out. He thenbegan a career as a salesman.

“I became too old right around the age of 41,” saidPashman, who was working for LevitionManufacturing when he lost his job. “I was makingtoo much money and I was salesman of the year. Twomonths later, they laid me off, which was a shocker.”

But by that point, he was already doing part-timekaraoke gigs to supplement his income, and Pashmanmade the decision to go full time with the job. It wasthe height of karaoke in the 1980s and Pashman want-ed to capitalize on its popularity.

“Karaoke right now is in a little bit of a lull, but italways bounces back,” said Pashman. “It’s somethingeveryone does. You don’t need to have great talent toget involved—a great majority that do it aren’t talentedpeople, but they have fun. They have more fun than thepeople that don’t, it’s great.”

Over the years, business has evolved for Pashman.Technology has changed and internet businesses emergedas a major competitor to Sing Sing Karaoke.

Richard Pashman, a 1969 CHS grad, in his store, Sing SingKaraoke, which is located in Elmwood Park.

The Karaoke Man Story by Joe Hawrylko


Richard Pashman helps aspiring singers

“It’s all about service, service,service,” said Pashman. “You canget a Web order karaoke machinefrom anyone in the county. But youdon’t know where it’s coming fromor when you’re going to get it.”

Illegally downloaded music hasPashman and others in his field con-cerned as well.

“It’s all legal, all paid for,” he said.“Piracy, of course I’m sure that’saffected our business also.”

The practice has probably hurt hissuppliers even worse. Pashman esti-mates that the industry that produceskaraoke discs has contracted to justtwo or three major manufacturers.

“You also see them dropping cer-tain things because they can’t getrights anymore,” he added. “Allkaraoke music is reproduced.”

Pashman prides himself on serv-ice. That means heading out on theroad for little problems, no matterhow trivial.

Pashman once went out for a serv-ice call when his daughter, Alyse, a1994 CHS grad, couldn’t get amachine working. It turned out thatthe hardware wasn’t properlyplugged in.

“I think we do more than ourcompetitors do,” he said. “We’reon call like doctors. If there’s anyproblems at our place, we prideourselves that the show must go on.If there’s a problem at a gig, I’mthere in 30 minutes.”

Pashman has also taken advan-tage of the Internet, and nowoffers a wide array of equipmentand songs on his website,www.karaokestore.com.

“Well, you know we’re not thecheapest, but I think we offer themost,” said Pashman. “We have awebsite, we advertise in Steppin’Out every month. It’s a goodentertainment magazine, so otherbar owners can see what we do.”

Though most of his business isthrough sales, Pashman does havegigs and rentals, which require apart-time staff. He also has a pro-fessional recording studio.

“The first recording person wasa bride, who recorded somethingfor her husband and played it attheir wedding,” said Pashman. “Istill have their thank you note.”

These days, he doesn’t personal-ly attend most gigs. Instead,Pashman keeps busy in the officeduring the day, updating music cat-alogs and completing other tasks.

He also passes time by helpingcoordinate the Class of 1969reunions, the most recent of whichtook place on June 13.

Though he no longer lives inClifton, Pashman still has closeties with the city.

“I married two Clifton alumni,”laughed Pashman, who wed hissecond wife, Fran, 15 years ago.“She was married to HarryConway, and we’re still friends.We used to live in the MiddleVillage apartments, right acrossfrom the stadium, when we werekids.”

His two step-children, Krystaland David graduated CHS in 2000and 2002.

“Their grandmother was LilianConway,” said Pashman. “She hasa room at the Clifton Library onPiaget Ave. dedicated to her. Sheworked at the old library for manyyears.”

Looking back, things may nothave turned out how Pashmanplanned , but he’s still happy withthe end result.

“I’ve lived a bit of a soap operalife,” he laughed. “I might as wellkeep it simple.”

Richard Pashman’s photo from the1969 Rotunda.


Larry Zwick has been working forSiemens IT Solutions and Servicesat Hoffmann-La Roche on theClifton/Nutley border for the past11 years. He does inventory con-trol to keep track of the company’sIT equipment.

Zwick grew up in MontclairHeights and attended School 14 forkindergarten, School 16 for first tosixth grade, Woodrow and CHS.When he was in ninth grade, theadministration introduced track atthe junior high and Zwick signed up.

“I had been playing Little League,but I went with trackbecause I thought itwas less political,”he said. “You get byon your own per-formance.”

And perform hedid. Zwick was sogood that he earned anathletic scholarship toFairleigh DickinsonUniversity, where he was a physicsmajor for two years before switchingto business.

In college, the track star got inter-ested in cars, and after he graduated,Zwick sold vehicles in Montclair forfive years. He then went to work asan insurance agent with Prudential inCedar Grove for 12 years beforereturning to the auto industry withInfinity and Saturn in Denville.

Zwick figured selling cars wasn’tgoing to work out, so he went back toschool to study computers and that’show he got the job at Hoffmann. Theformer Lincoln Park resident movedto Barnegat a few years ago afterreuniting with his second ex-wife.

Now in his late 50s, Zwick stillcompetes in track events. He’s wonState championships for eight of thepast 10 years in 200 and 400 meterraces for his age group. The Cliftonnative won the Eastern Regional 400meter championship last year andqualified for All-America status inthe event in 2007 and 2008.

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Forty Year ReunionThe Class of 1969 gathered at the Holiday Inn in Hasbrouck Heightson June 13. Here are some of their stories...


Larry Zwick.


This unidentifiedwoman enjoys a drink at the

reunion on June 13.

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Zwick has an older brother, Steve,who graduated CHS in 1967 and twochildren, Alex and Kirsten, whowere both recently married.

Jayne Mohrle Alles was raised inthe Lakeview section and attendedSchool 11 and ChristopherColumbus. At CHS, she wasinvolved in the history, Spanish andpsychology clubs, and was a mem-ber of the Keyettes and yearbook.

Alles went to Trinity InternationalUniversity in Deerfield, Ill., graduat-ing with a BA in Spanish/secondaryeducation. “I went to college think-ing I was going to study socialwork,” she said. “However, due tothe wonderful Spanish educationfrom Ms. Mastroberte and Mr. Rilliat CHS, I excelled in collegeSpanish and a professor encouragedme to study Spanish.”

But Alles never felt proficientenough in teaching the languagebecause she never had the opportuni-ty to study abroad. So, in the mid-’80s, she switched careers, studiednursing and received her certificationin 1990. Today, she works as aschool nurse at MontagueElementary School in Montague, NJ.In her spare time, Alles enjoys travel-ing. In fact, she’s been to all 50 statesand every province in Canada, not tomention the Bahamas and Mexico.

Her husband Chuck, to whomshe’s been married for the past 37years, graduated CHS in 1968. Heworks for Fidelity ForwardingInternational, Inc. on Rt. 46.

They live in Byram Township,Stanhope in Sussex County andhave three children: Chad, 33;Christen, 29; and Lauren, 27.

Nadia Kotlar Dubanowitz grew upin the Lakeview section of town,where her father still resides.

She attended St. NicholasUkrainian Catholic School inPassaic up until the eighth gradebefore transferring to ChristopherColumbus.

Dubanowitz studied elementaryeducation at William PatersonCollege and has been teachingeighth grade math at CCMS for thepast 19 years.

The ’69 CHS grad lives inAllendale with her husband of 36years, Joe. They have four childrenand two grandchildren.

Eleanor Koester Masters spent herchildhood on Beverly Hill Rd. inAllwood, attending School 9 andChristopher Columbus.

At CHS, she was a member ofthe future nurses club and a self-described soccer team groupie.Masters graduated fromHackensack Hospital School ofNursing in 1972 and now works asa nurse in the Neonatal IntensiveCare Unit at Niswonger Children’sHospital in Johnson City, Tenn.

She is divorced with three sons,David, 32; Chris, 29; and Tim, 26,and one granddaughter, Katelyn.

Masters’s brother, Dave, gradu-ated CHS in 1972 and now lives inFairbanks, Alaska.


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Janice Corsi grew up where Groveand Broad Sts. used to meet, up theroad from the Clifton Casino, arestaurant that was torn down tomake room for Rt. 19. She attendedSchool 5 and Woodrow Wilson.

At CHS, Corsi was a member ofthe choir and Spanish club. She tookcollege prep courses and ended up atTombrock College, a small privateschool in West Paterson.

Corsi studied elementary schooleducation, but when she graduated,there were few teaching jobs avail-able, so the Clifton native took a

position in the insurance industry andthat’s where she’s remained for mostof her career. The ’69 grad lives inToms River and works in SpringLake for the company that manufac-tures the Fendi line of watches. She’sthe president’s executive assistantand also handles human resourcesand insurance matters.

Corsi is married with twostepchildren and five grandchildren.Her two brothers live in Oceanportand Springhill, Fla. The formerCliftonite loves to dance, read andfocus on her religion.

“I have become very spiritualsince 2001 and have become a born-again Christian,” she said. “Forthat I am most grateful. Without amoral compass and an understand-ing of the goodness of God, this lifewould be too hard and harsh.”

Diane (Ristagno) Harris spent herearly years at School 2 andWoodrow before her family movedto Allwood and she transferred toChristopher.

“Although I thought of myself asa bit shy, I had lots of happy, silly,yet responsible friends like RichPashman and Nora Ralosky, whoalways drove around in a car withflowers painted on it,” she remem-bered.

During her junior year at CHS,Harris became engaged to a marine,whom she later married and had twogirls with. The ’69 grad didn’t go tocollege but has still had a successfulprofessional career. She worked asa switchboard operator and

From left, Jayne Mohrle, Nadia Kotlar and Janice Corsi.


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receptionist before becoming theproprietor of a fish market andrestaurant in Basking Ridge.

After nine years there, Harrismoved to Philadelphia and workedfor Jones Apparel Group in the pay-roll department.

She now works in accountspayable at Sanofi AventisPharmaceuticals.

Almost three years ago, she wasmarried again to a retired weldernamed Ed Harris. The couple pur-chased property in Virginia on theChesapeake Bay to be used for vaca-tions and retirement.

Harris has one-year-old twingrandchildren, Chase and Faith.

Fred Powasnick remembers a sim-pler time.

“Before shopping malls, beforeWillowbrook, there was Mondayand Friday nights hanging out inPassaic,” he said.

“The stores were open till 9 pm,there were three movie theaters (fiveif you include Clifton and Allwood)and a slice of pizza and a soda wouldset us back an alarming 25 cents! Nosales tax!”

Powasnick grew up on KnappAve. and Comfort Pl., attendingSchool 12 and Columbus.

At CHS, he was involved in thedrama club, concert choir and bands,and after graduation, he skipped col-lege to take over the family business.

Today, Powasnick is the presidentof Grove Maintenance Corp. Theydo seal coating, striping, buildingand grounds.

The ’69 grad lives in Nutley butvisits Clifton everyday.

“It has such a strong sense ofcommunity for a city its size,” hesaid. Powasnick has been marriedfor 36 years and has two childrenthat are 34 and 30 years old.

Patricia (Dertzo) Ehrich grew up inAthenia, attending School 6 andWWJHS before getting involvedwith the psychology, Spanish andfuture teachers clubs at CHS.

After graduation, she went toWilliam Paterson College (thenknown as Paterson State) andmajored in history. Ehrich is now apublic librarian working in the refer-ence department and lives with herhusband, Bill, in Monroe, NY. Shehas two grown children and onebrother and visits her hometownthree or four times a year.

John Luzzo was an Athenia boy,who attended School 13 andWoodrow. He played football and

did electrical work in high schoolbefore studying business manage-ment at Montclair State.

Today, Luzzo is a sales managerin the electronic security industry.He also referees high school footballand teaches electrical courses atMorris County Vo-Tech. TheParsippany resident enjoys travelingand attending sporting events, con-certs and Broadway plays.

Eugene Sadowski grew up inLakeview and went to Schools 8, 9,11 and 12 before graduating toChristopher and CHS.

As a teenager, he delivered news-papers before school started and thenworked at a grocery store in theafternoon.

After graduation, Sadowski want-ed to serve his country, so he joinedthe Navy during the Vietnam War.

Today, he lives in Cherry Hill andis a coordinator for a clinical trialpackaging company in Mt. Laurel.

From left, Diane Ristagno, Fred Powasnick, Patricia Dertzo, John Luzzo and Eugene Sadowski.


You’re driving down the highwayat 55 mph on a rainy summer daywhen you glance up at your rearviewmirror to see a tractor trailer fastapproaching in the left lane.

As you brace for the tidal wave ofwater about to be splashed onto yourwindshield by 18 massive wheels,you begin to wonder about the condi-tion of the truck’s driver.

Is he at the end of a marathon 16-hour shift? Is there a flask tuckedinto his shirt pocket? Is he haulinghazardous materials improperly?

George Cowan’s job is to makesure the answer to all of these ques-tions is No.

For the past 35 years, the ’69Clifton High grad has been a safety George Cowan with his wife, Susan. The inset is him as a senior at Clifton High.

Keeping the Roads SafeGeorge Cowan is a safety investigator for the USDOT



Jimmy SturrJimmy Sturr && hishis OrchestraOrchestrain Passaic’in Passaic’s Third Ws Third Ward Parkard Park

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investigator for the United StatesDepartment of Transportation.

“We regulate trucking and buscompanies on safety,” he said. “Wedo audits to see if they are in compli-ance with federal regulation and theycan be fined for violations.”

The DOT agency for whichCowan works, the Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration, isresponsible for decreasing the num-ber of accidents, injuries and deathsinvolving large trucks and buses.

It does this by enforcing regula-tions on the length of a driver’s shift,how hazardous materials are trans-ported and driver drug and alcoholuse.

Cowan took the job right aftergraduating Seton Hall University.The criminal justice major consid-ered law school before being offeredthe government position.

“You meet so many different typesof people,” he explained. “It’s a fieldrelated job, so you’re not in an office.You’re constantly moving around.”

But once he gets home, Cowanlikes to stay put. The 58-year-oldlives just a block away from wherehe grew up on Mt. Prospect Ave. inAllwood.

Out the window of his house, hecan see St. Andrew the ApostleSchool, where he attended gradesone through eight.

“It was convenient,” he said. “Icould walk to school and my par-ents were members of the parish.”

But when Cowan reached ninthgrade, he decided to transfer topublic school and Woodrow Wilsonbecause he wanted to be with moreof his friends. He chose SHU notonly for its religious affiliation butbecause he wanted to live at homeduring college. There, he met hiswife, Susan Ryaby, who grew up inClifton but went to Pope Pius.

After marrying in 1975, the cou-ple lived in West Paterson for twoyears before moving to their currentaddress on Luisser St. in Clifton.

“If you move around, you canadvance a lot quicker at my job, butI just chose to stay here because it’shome,” said Cowan. “It’s whereveryou feel comfortable at night.”

His three children, Annie,George Jr. and Mike, all playedsports at CHS and Jr. has evenreturned to coach the varsitylacrosse team.

Cowan was eligible for retire-ment two years ago, but he has noplans of riding off into the sunsetjust yet.

“I enjoy what I do,” he said.“My wife is still working as a firstgrade teacher in Montclair, so Ihave no reason to retire.”

“If you move around, you can advance a lot quicker at my job,but I just chose to stay here because it’s home,” said George

Cowan. “It’s wherever you feel comfortable at night.”

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In 1979, China invaded Vietnam,Jimmy Carter wrestled with a rab-bit and 782 students graduatedClifton High School.

One of those seniors was AndreaBobby, who, after being voted themost athletic girl in the class, wenton to coach both tennis and swim-ming at her alma mater.

She led the girls tennis team to aleague title in the fall of ’78 with anindividual record of 17-2.

On the track is where CarlWilliams shined, earning first teamAll-County honors with five firstplace finishes. The boys finishedfourth at the NNJIL meet.

But the ’78-’79 athletic seasonbelonged to the wrestling squad,which went 12-4 and capturedCounty, District and Regionalchampionships. The Mustangs wereled by seniors Ron Nichols, VinnieViola, Stan Sarentino, Rich Timm,Mark Feinberg and Jim Williams.

The CHS Marching Band cele-brated its 40th birthday by playing atYankee Stadium in October for theWorld Champs’ final home game.

The 110 members were alsoinvited to play at Giants Stadium inthe first annual Garden State Bowland were the only band in the con-ference to create a new halftimeshow for each home game.

The drama club performed theplay Jabberwock on Nov. 17 and18. The cast of 32 was directed byMr. Dennis Zahorian and fundrais-ing boosters for the play talliedmore than $1,000, the most everaccumulated in the school’s historyup to that point.

The Audio-Visual Aides Clubworked the lights and sound equip-ment for the play, while the StudentCouncil Association put together theprograms for the show. Members ofthe SCA included President ChuckRanges, Vice-President CharlotteKlein, Treasurer Joyce Amico and

Secretaries Gina De Sordi andDonna Fischer. Ranges now ownsand manages two restaurants inFlemington and Branchburg.

Jon Garrison, Glenn Carlson, EricKaspriski, Bob Ventiniglia and GregSkiba count time before taking the field.


From left, Andrea Bobby, Matthew Grabowski, Ruth Walton, Chuck Ranges, Charlotte Klein and Ed Shanley.


Marching Band is 40 in ’79

The SCA also sponsored HatDay in late October. Studentswore different types of hats,including ones that were in styleand others that definitely were not.

The Great American SmokeOut, in cooperation with theAmerican Cancer Society wasanother major event. Buttons weresold, stickers and decals were dis-tributed and posters were put up inthe halls. The Crime PreventionProgram was created to show stu-dents the need for everyone to beresponsible for his/her actions.Guests spoke about the issue andmovies were shown.

The concert choir received a sil-ver medal for its performance atthe Florida World Music Festival.The choir, conducted by MissRosemary Fransisco, also spon-sored social events such as theHalloween Party.

The second annual Gong Show,a takeoff on the popular TV series,attracted a standing room onlyaudience on Dec. 6.

Emcees Mike Agnello andLeigh Herman introduced suchacts as “The Dolly Parton Sisters”and “King Tut.”

The quiz team was a new clubarrival during this school year. Its

members practiced trivia drills andgeneral knowledge every week.

Students from CHS attended theDistributive Education Clubs ofAmerica’s Northern RegionConference at Montclair StateCollege on Jan. 11. About 2,000students from 41 high schoolscompeted in the areas of marketingand distribution.

Alan Stein and StevenJanowsky were co-valedictoriansin the Class of ’79.

They were joined in the topseven by John Carpinelli, AneliseSiber, Leslie Garrison, SherylLappin and Nancy Sawicki.

From left, Anelise Sieber, John Carpinelli, Leslie Garrison, Carl Williams, Susan Walters and Rosemary Trinkle.


Mark Feinberg controls an opponent, Brian Zubatch as Dolly Parton at the Gong Show and Nancy Bartlett in Jabberwock.

It’s been 30 years since they graduated, but VickyGeneralli and Elaine Maroon Sinisi are still burnt upabout not being selected as best friends in the 1979Rotunda.

“We should have won best pals and this should proveit,” laughed Generalli. “But those two other girls won.Elaine always laughs at me because I always say that,but 43 years later, we’re still friends.”

The two have been pals since they were five yearsold, growing up in the shadow of School 16.

Today, they’re entrepreneurs and neighbors.Generalli owns Chelsea Square on Valley Rd. inMontclair and Sinisi runs Little Shoebox, which is justaround the corner on Bellevue Ave. Though they’vemoved on, their ties to Clifton remain strong.

“Many of the friends we had then we’re still friendswith now,” said Generalli. “Linda Lioy Basales, RobinHole Jordan and others.”

Holster Park was the local hang out, and sometimesadventures would bring them to Bond’s Ice Cream,which was then located behind Styertowne.

“We would bike ride everywhere,” said Sinisi. “Wewould even come here (to Montclair). Parents didn’tcart their kids all over then.”

Elaine Maroon Sinisi and Vicky Generalli in front of ChelseaSquare, Generalli’s store, which is located on Valley Rd. inMontclair. On the facing pages are yearbook photos forGeneralli (left) and Sinisi.

Still Best FriendsVicky Generalli and Elaine Sinisi are neighbors in Montclair

Story byJoe Hawrylko

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When they became of age, the duowould frequent local watering holes.

“We used to hang out at theGrande Saloon,” said Generalli.“The drinking age was just 18 atthe time.”

Sinisi also worked at the iconicClifton bar for several years fol-lowing college and met her hus-band, Danny Sinisi, a 1980 CHSgraduate, while working at Saloon.

Sinisi’s father, Gabe Maroon,is a part of Clifton history. Hishot dog and ice cream stand,Gabe’s Drive Inn, later becameHot Grill after he sold it in 1961.

Following the conclusion of highschool, both friends moved on fromClifton but stayed in touch. Thoughthey initially started at differentschools, Sinisi and Generalli gradu-ated from William Paterson togeth-er in 1984.

“We were on the five year plan,”quipped Generalli.

Following college, Generalli andSinisi followed different career pathsbefore starting their own businesses.

Generalli went back to school atMontclair State to get her certifica-tion to become a school media spe-cialist and worked in the MontclairSchool District for 12 years.

“I knew there was something elseout there for me,” said Generalli,who had a home-based baby clothingbusiness. “I had always wanted tohave my own business.”

But life as a librarian and a par-ent put a damper on those dreams.That was until Generalli’s friend,Sandy Kelman, announced that shewas planning on selling her store,Chelsea Square.

The two met in 1984, whenGeneralli first moved to Montclairfor her job and to raise her son,Danny, who is now 22.

“She basically trained me to take itover,” said Generalli. “She wantedme to have it. It was almost like herbaby.”

In 2001, Generalli purchased theshop from Kelman, the originalowner who managed the store for25 years. In 2004, Sinisi opened upLittle Shoebox just around the cor-ner on Bellevue Ave.

“It runs in my family, being acrazy entrepreneur,” laughed

Sinisi. “For a while, I had a lin-gerie shop in Fashion Highlights inRichfield Village.”

Sinisi also worked evenings asa bartender for some time whileraising her children, Olivia, 14,and Lia, 10.

“I didn’t know anything aboutshoes,” she laughed. “One day, Ijust called StrideRite.”

At the end of July, Sinisi willrelocate the Little Shoebox toValley Rd. directly across thestreet from her best friend.

“She’s now moving to the maindrag. She’s 602 and I’m 601,”said Generalli. “We sometimeshave lunch together.”

And now that they’ll be neigh-bors, there will be more timetogether. “It’s fun, we alwayshave a lot of laughs,” said Sinisi.“It gets us through the day.”


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For the first 15 years after highschool, Dale Sprauer was a self-described burn out. He fell into thedrug scene and put off going to col-lege in favor of living at home andworking at Casey’s Nightclub, nowBliss Lounge on Allwood Rd.

After a decade there, he moveddown the shore in 1989 to work onthe Night Hawk, a party and fishingboat in Belmar.

“Then I woke up and realized Ihad to go back to college,” saidSprauer.

In 1994, the ’79 CHS gradreturned to his parent’s house onPassaic Ave. in Delawanna andbegan taking classes at PassaicCounty Community College.

He later transferred to WilliamPaterson University, where he dis-covered a program that wouldchange his life.

It was a study abroad opportuni-ty in South Korea and Sprauer, whohad recently struck up a long dis-tance relationship with a Koreanwoman he met online, decided totake full advantage in 1999.

Despite being a bit older and awhole lot more American than hisclassmates, Sprauer completedthree semesters at Korea Universityin Seoul.

He had studied general sciencein the States, but when the formerMustang got to Asia, all the scienceclasses were in Korean, so he hadto switch to a humanities major.

WPU told Sprauer he had to gra-date from an American school, so

he completed his final 12 creditsonline at Thomas Edison StateCollege in Trenton.

In 2002, the Clifton native fin-ished his graduate work atSookmyung University in Seouland got a job teaching English.

Sprauer returned home for sevenmonths in 2005 to take care of hissick mother, Anne Moschella. Heintended to move back to NewJersey, but after his mom passed

Dale Sprauer, in the center, with his students at Buin Middle School in Bucheon,Korea. The inset is Sprauer in the 1979 CHS yearbook.

An Asian EducationDale Sprauer learned in Korea, teaches in the Philippines


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away on Halloween of that year,the youngest of four brothers decid-ed to go back to Korea.

Upon his return, Sprauer met aPhilippino woman and, after sometime together, they moved to hernative country in January 2008.

Dale and Hillel Sprauer marriedin August of last year and now livein Angeles City, where the Englishteacher works at a private languageacademy.

“It’s very different here,” saidthe former Clifton resident. “It’s alot slower paced, a step back intime. Sometimes it’s aggravating,sometimes refreshing.

“There are a lot of retirees herebecause it’s quite affordable,” hecontinued. “The house I boughtonly cost $37,000. The same houseback home would be $400,000. Alot of the time, the water and elec-tric go out, but all in all, it’s notbad.”

The teacher recently accepted ajob offer from a school system in

in Shenzen, China over one inUtsunomiya, Japan.

That’s worlds away fromNewark, NJ, where Sprauer wasborn and attended kindergarten andpart of first grade.

Disappointed in the public edu-cation their son received in Newark,his parents moved to Delawannaand enrolled him at St. Clare School

on Allwood Rd. He went therethrough eighth grade, attended PaulVI in ninth and transferred toClifton High.

“When I entered CHS, there werea lot of classes I had already taken asa freshman, so I got to skip those,” heremembered. “Paul VI was uniformand tie, but CHS was more relaxedand the students were friendlier.”

Sprauer with his wife, Hillel.

37July 2009 • Clifton Merchant

When physicians in the Seattlearea need a blood or tissue sampletested for cancer, transplants, orrare diseases, they send it to theUniversity of WashingtonReference Laboratory, one of thelargest clinical labs in the country.

That’s where Michael AstionMD, PhD manages about 150employees as Director of ReferenceLaboratory Services.

The 1979 Clifton High Schoolgraduate is also a professor in theuniversity’s Department ofLaboratory Medicine.

Not a surprising list of accom-plishments for a guy whose onlygrade lower than an A at CHS wasin shop class. In fact, he wasranked in the top 15 out of nearly800 students.

But don’t get the wrong idea; asa child, Astion wasn’t holed up inhis room studying all day. Instead,he was outside playing with hisMontclair Heights buddies.

“Kids weren’t supervised thesame way back then,” he said. “Wespent a lot of time at Holster orRobin Hood Park playing whateversport was in season.”

When he wasn’t throwing theball around, the School 16 alumwas hanging out at his dad Julian’sluncheonette and candy store, theCarousel on Market St. by School 9.

Still, academics always camefirst and that dedication paid offwhen Astion was accepted toCornell University.

Managing the LaboratoryMike Astion is a professor at the University of Washington


Michael Astion, MD, PhD, today.


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“I knew I was interested in sci-ence when I started college, so Itook different courses like chem-istry, physics and biology,” heremembered. “I thought I couldcould do better in biology and itwas more interesting to me.”

After graduating college in1983, Astion received a scholarshipto a combined medical and gradu-ate school program at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.

“The idea was that MDs werenot doing as high a quality of sci-ence as the government wanted,”he said.

Astion completed the program inDecember 1989 and began the firsttwo years of his clinical pathologyresidency at UPenn before transfer-ring to UW for his final year.

“My spouse had an opportunityin Seattle and I was looking totransfer to my first faculty opportu-nity,” he said.

The doctor met his wife,Jennifer, at a gym in 1987. She’s aBrown University graduate and agraphic artist from Philadelphia.

The two were wed in BucksCounty, Pa. in April 1990 andmoved out to Washington the fol-lowing year.

In March 1993, Astion joined theuniversity’s faculty and he’s beenthere ever since.

In addition to teaching physi-cians, residents and medical stu-dents about lab testing, the profes-sor also researches how to decreasemedical mistakes in the lab.

“The biggest error is mislabelingof specimens,” he explained. “Weare trying to get rid of every manu-

al process and instead use comput-er interfacing.”

Astion returns to the GardenState on a pretty regular basis tovisit his parents, Julian and Adele,who live in a retirement communi-ty in Cedar Grove.

The Washington resident israther proud of his roots.

“It’s good to be from NewJersey,” he said. “Public school pre-pares you for life. When you look atthe top of some of these medicaldepartments, you almost always seea public school graduate.”

Michael Astion, CHS, Class of 1979.


Peter Scheffer knows that no mat-ter where you go in the world,Clifton is never too far away.

Scheffer and Tom Brandl, a CHS’75 grad, grew up together onLuddington Ave., playing ball inthe front yard and serving as altarboys at St. Paul’s R.C. Church.

The last time the two saw eachother was when Brandl graduatedthe Naval Academy in 1979. Butwhile Scheffer was serving inAfghanistan in 2005, he ran into hisold pal, who had become a colonelin the U.S. Marine Corps.

“It was a real uplifting momentduring my tour of duty there,” saidScheffer. “Naturally, I gave him abig hug and then a proud salutesince he outranked me.”

The 1979 Clifton High alumdeployed to Afghanistan in 2004 aspart of Operation EnduringFreedom. After receiving theBronze Star Medal on his final daythere, Scheffer returned home inOctober 2005.

“The most exciting time of anydeployment is when you comeback,” he said from his home inPlatte City, Mo. “I remember thefeeling that I had went from joy tosadness when they loaded the flag-draped coffins on the plane with us.I was going home and I no longerfelt good about it. I realized some-one sacrificed a heck of a lot morethan I did.”

The following December,Scheffer took a job as a professor at

Georgia Military College and signeda five-year teaching contract.

However, during the school year,the veteran was contacted by repre-sentatives from an internationalpeacekeeping operation, headquar-tered in Rome, that works very close-ly with the U.S. State Department.

They asked if he would be inter-ested in serving as the Director ofOperations for a small, 15-personField Inspection Team in the HolyLand to work peace treaty issuesbetween Israel, Egypt and thePalestinians in Gaza.

“Naturally, I accepted and Inegotiated with the college tovacate my post at the end of theschool year,” said Scheffer.

The West Point graduate flew toCairo in August 2006 and made hisway across the Suez Canal and intothe Sinai Peninsula, where he lived

on a small compound along theIsraeli border.

His duties involved planning,coordinating and overseeing all ofthe inspections throughout thepeninsula. Scheffer spent morethan two years there before return-ing to the States on Nov. 1, 2008.

“I had enough of the MiddleEast at that point, having fulfilledover five years (including my mili-tary time) in the region,” he said.“It’s a tough place and to tell youthe truth, I missed our country.”

The retired Lt. Colonel is now afaculty member at the Army’sCommand and General StaffCollege in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.

He teaches courses inMultinational Operations,Interagency Operations, JointOperations, as well as AfghanMilitary Operations and Culture.

Thirty Year ReunionStory by Jordan Schwartz

Lt. Colonel Peter Scheffer (at right) is awarded the Bronze Star Medal on his lastday in Afghanistan (October 2005). The inset is Scheffer as a senior at Clifton High.


The Class of 1979 will be getting together at the ParsippanyHilton on October 10. Here are some of their stories...

A few years ago, Ruth WaltonFrey went on a raw fruit, vegetableand nut diet. She stopped usingproducts that contained anythingthat she felt was a health risk,changed to a non-fluoride naturaltoothpaste and began a search forthe right soap.

“I wanted something that wouldnot add any toxic substance to myskin,” said the School 1 alum. “Ihad invested so much into my diet,that I didn’t want to have thelargest organ in my body, my skin,absorb anything potentially dangerous.”

After many months of research,Frey finally found a soap she want-ed, but it took five months to shipfrom Florida. This is when shecame up with the idea to open hervery own business, Roo & YooOrganic Soap in Maplewood.

“The business is relatively new,but the response that I have seenfrom customers has been very posi-tive,” said the married mother of two.

“The soon to be completed Web sitewill add another option for viewingand purchasing the product line.”

Rosemary Trinkle Baran wasborn and raised in Clifton, whereher family has lived since the1840s.

She left 26 years ago to pursue ahotel management career that tookher to five states.

Baran met her husband inAtlanta, but with the birth of a childand the sudden death of her father,she returned to New Jersey inSeptember 2001.

These days, she enjoys stayinginvolved with her daughter’sschool at St. Andrew’s.

Sharon Kozinn grew up onHaddenfield Rd. and attendedSchool 16 and WWJHS before get-ting involved with yearbook,French club and the communityservice club at Clifton High.

She went to Ithaca College buttransferred to Montclair State,

where she majored in home eco-nomics with a concentration infamily and child studies.

After college, Kozinn got marriedand moved to Southern Californiafor about a year and a half beforereturning to New Jersey in 1985.

Today, she is a real estate agentwith Coldwell Banker in Hillsdaleand lives in River Vale.

Kozinn has been married for 25years and has two children. Herolder son is a senior in college andher younger son is graduating highschool and starting RutgersUniversity in the fall.

The Clifton High School Class of1979 will be holding its 30threunion on Oct. 10 at theParsippany Hilton. Tickets are $89and include a buffet dinner andcash bar. For information, e-mailorganizer Sharon Kozinn [email protected].

The Class is also planning a 50thBirthday Party for fall 2011. E-mail [email protected].



The CHS Class of 1989 was the firstto have a junior prom, all-school peprallies eighth period, mid-term andfinal exams and third and fifth periodlockers. They were the first to playfootball for Coach Kaplanovich,receive college credit for high schoolcourses and enter CHS underPrincipal Aaron Halpern but gradu-ate under Principal Robert Mooney.

After 25 years in charge, Halpernresigned and was replaced byMooney at the start of the ’88-’89school year. The new principal wasa Montclair State College grad with18 years of education experience.

In sports, the girls volleyballteam went 15-8 to capture its thirdstraight league title. Senior captainGenia Filewicz earned first teamAll-League and second team All-County honors.

The boys bowling squad wontheir division, county and section

with a record of 100-19 (including10 shutouts).

Emil Dudas and Mike O’Sheamade All-League and All-County.Dudas had the top county series of698 and O’Shea compiled the high-est league average (197), top game(290) and top series (705).

The hockey team, under second-year coach Tom Danko, won a staterecord 25 consecutive games en

route to a Division championship,before suffering its only defeat in thesecond round of the State playoffs.

Four seniors were ranked amongNew Jersey’s top 20 scorers: leftwing Darren Groh, center MikeChomiak, left wing GeorgeKwiecinski and defenseman JohnSpurdis.

Senior pitcher Diane Besser ledthe softball team to a 24-1

Robert Mooney (left) replaced Aaron Halpern as CHS principal in the fall of 1988.

Mooney replaces Halpern in ’89Story by Jordan Schwartz

From left, Eileen Hudziak, David Carlet, Debra Betza, David Moore, Samantha Schlossberg and Michael Chomiak.


season, which included a leaguecrown and the program’s first of 10County championships.

The school play was NeilSimon’s The Prisoner of SecondAvenue. It starred Chris Taylor andSandra Lucignani and featuredEileen Hudziak and JessicaSherman.

The top news events during theschool year were the election ofPresident George H.W. Bush, theterrorist bombing of Flight 103 overScotland and the United Statesreturning to space with the shuttleDiscovery.

Locally, Clifton voted for anelected Board of Education, therewas a drought watch and Garden

State Parkway tolls were raised to35 cents.

In national sports news, OrelHershiser and the Los AngelesDodgers beat the Oakland A’s inthe World Series and Joe Montanaled the San Francisco 49ers to aSuper Bowl win.

The country was watchingRoseanne, The Cosby Show andThe Women of Brewster Place ontelevision and going to the moviesto see Rain Man, The AccidentalTourist and Working Girl.

And the Class of ’89 was listen-ing to “Lost in Your Eyes” byDebbie Gibson, “The LivingYears” by Mike + The Mechanicsand “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul.

Pitcher Diane Besser led the LadyMustangs to a County title in 1989.

From left, Stephanie Comment, Emil Dudas, Carla De Luca, Darren Groh, Genia Filewicz and Brad Huber.


Jeffrey Kracht’s interior designwork began as a child, rearrangingfurniture at his grandmother’shouse. Three decades later, hisresume includes the Chelsea Hotelin Manhattan and his own companyrun out of his McCosh Rd. home.

“Interior design was a naturalthing that came to me,” said Krachtin the well-decorated living room ofhis 82-year-old center-hall colonialrevival. “When you have a passionfor something, you should do it.”

The fourth-generation Cliftonitenever diverted from his chosen pathin life. As a 13-year-old at WoodrowWilson Middle School, Krachtdecided he wanted to be an interiordesigner and so he signed up for artand drafting courses so he couldassemble a portfolio for college.

“From age eight to nineteen,Jeffrey was exposed to many stylesof architecture, decoration and fur-nishings on several trips toEurope,” explains his Web site,jkinteriorsasid.com.

Antiques fill every corner of hishome and family artwork hangs onthe walls.

Kracht’s cousin has donated anumber of pieces to the NewarkMuseum, the Montclair Museum andthe Metropolitan Museum of Art.

But one hobby wasn’t enough forthe honor roll student growing up,and so he became involved in a laun-dry list of extracurricular activities atClifton High.

“French Club, Key Club, Knightsof Pythagoras, spring track, concert

band, concert choir, Madrigals,marching band,” read Kracht, 37,from a note card he keeps tucked inthe pages of his 1989 yearbook. “Itwas a big high school, but I saw lotsof the same people all the time,” heexplained. “That’s why art, gym andstudy hall were great because you gotto see different people.”

After graduation, Kracht studiedinterior design at Trenton State

Jeffrey Kracht sits in the living room of his colonial revival home on McCosh Rd.

Designing a Life for HimselfJeffrey Kracht was one of the first state certified interior designers


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College (now The College of New Jersey). During histime there, the School 2 alum interned at GreenbaumInteriors in Paterson. It was a furniture store anddesign studio and Kracht helped the designer presentmerchandise, research, accessorize display cabinetsand price items.

Shortly after earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in1993, the Cliftonite worked a year as an assistantdesigner at Norellen Stokley Interiors in Ridgewood.

The following 12 months were spent at K.T. Scott, aretail showroom in Fairfield, but Kracht wanted to starthis own company.

So, in January 1996, the 24-year-old launched JKInteriors, a residential, hospitality, retail and commer-cial interior design firm.

“When you’re young, you sort of go for stuff,” saidKracht. “My mom told me I didn’t have enough expe-rience, but I proved her wrong.”

The entrepreneur did all the work himself, frommeeting with clients to measuring the project space.

His largest ongoing endeavor was a five-year over-haul of the Chelsea Hotel in New York, where a lot ofthe rooms were used for fashion photo shoots andmusic videos by the likes of Justin Timberlake andMissy Elliot. But Kracht still gets excited about select-ing tiles to match a suburban kitchen or picking the per-fect paint color to brighten up a bedroom.

Kracht with his grandmother, Florence Pannicke Ploch onhis prom day, June 2, 1989.

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JK Interiors graduated to a limited liability companyin 2004 and in December 2006, its owner became oneof the first in New Jersey to be certified by the InteriorDesign Examination and Evaluation Committee, whichis part of the State Board of Architects.

This new accreditation came about because NewJersey began recognizing interior design as a licensedprofession instead of just a trade.

With the success of his business, Kracht was able torealize his dream of homeownership when he pur-chased a one-family house in Upper Montclair twoyears ago.

The ’89 grad works out of the second floor office ofhis home and so Clifton was a perfect location becausemany of his clients reside in North Jersey.

The city also holds emotional significance for Kracht,who represents the third generation of his family to beborn in Clifton. Born two weeks early in 1981, Jeffreyentered the world at Dr. Lou Bertolotti’s office on GroveSt. (now Dr. Foukas’), two doors down from what wasKracht’s great-grandparent’s Ploch’s farm house.

His mother, a CHS Class of ’54 grad, taught atSchool 16 until her first son, Stephen (Class of ’85), wasborn. The elder Krachts still live in town on Rutgers Pl.

Jeffrey Kracht’s class at Grove Hill Nursery School in 1976. Front row, from left, Kracht, Carrie Fisher, Jamie Visotsky, Debbie Betza,Juliet Behnken, Tricia Yannarelli, Darren St. Laurent and Michael Harrington. Middle row: Mrs. Gagliardi, David Moore, DanaSchwartzbard, John Renta, Jennifer Jacobus, Stephanie Comment, Todd Novack, Brad Huber and Mrs. Kennedy. Back row: AndrewDi Domenico, Tracie Fiorentino, Harold Rypkema, Stephanie Lichenstein and William Baksa. Not pictured is Linda Onarevole.


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Leonardo DaVinci sent NoraCalato to Arizona. In the fifth gradeTalented and Gifted Program atSchool 9, the Clifton native did areport on the Italian renaissance manand his work inspired Calato tobecome an architect.

“He’s just such an incredible indi-vidual,” she said. “He helped societygo from a period where knowledgewasn’t explored to one in which itblossomed with so many incredibleworks of art and buildings.”

During one of her first band class-es freshman year, MarchingMustangs director Bob Morgan wentaround the room asking what every-one wanted to be when they grew up.

Calato, who played the flute andpiccolo, told her teacher she wantedto be an architect and he advised herto check out Arizona StateUniversity, one of the best schools inthe country for that field.

The former Harrington Rd. resi-dent fell in love with VirginiaPolytechnic Institute at first, butchanged her mind during a Februarytrip to Arizona. “We were having asnowstorm back home but the weath-er there was gorgeous and I got totan,” she remembered. “I thought Icould do that.”

Halfway through college, a pro-fessor told Calato that as an architect,she’d be doing someone’s draft workfor 10 years before getting a chanceto be in charge of a project.

“I wanted to be involved out thereon the site, making things happen, soI switched over to engineering,” shesaid. “I’m glad I made the change.”

After graduating ASU, Calatowent to work for a small subcontrac-

tor before taking a position with hercurrent employer, McCarthyBuilding Companies in Phoenix, inJuly 1996. She worked on a numberof projects, ranging from a prisoncomplex to a Hyatt resort, beforeMcCarthy tapped her as SouthwestDivision Training Manager.

Calato is responsible for trainingall levels of employees in the entireregion, including Arizona, Nevada,New Mexico and Utah. She alsoinstructs new hires at the company’scorporate headquarters.

“I’m traveling the country, meet-ing tons of people and instantaneous-ly helping them,” said the ’89 grad.

“I love building but there are upsand downs with every project so itmight be a few years before you seethat project. But you can train some-one and see if they get it in an hour or

two so it’s instant gratification.” Inaddition to her involvement in train-ing, standardization and integration,Calato was also one of the foundingleaders of the firm’s HighPerformance Building Committee,also known as the “Green Team.”

The committee teaches McCarthypartners about sustainable buildingpractices and has encouraged severalto become LEED AccreditedProfessionals, like Calato.

The engineer has also served onfour committees for the U.S. GreenBuilding Council’s Arizona Chapter,for which she is Past President.

On Oct. 15, 2005, Calato marriedfellow Sun Devil Travis Gallion andthey now live in Tempe with theirkids—well, sort of. “All of our chil-dren have fur,” she said. “We havetwo dogs and six cats.”

Nora Calato with her husband Travis Gallion on Oct 21, 2008 atMount Etna, Sicily, Italy at the highest peak they allow visitors.

Training Future EngineersNora Calato works for McCarthy Building Companies



Kristen Binaso has appeared ontelevision, been quoted in publica-tions and interviewed on radio. It’sprobably the last thing she expectedto do with her pharmaceuticaldegree from Rutgers.

“If you asked me in 1989, ‘Whatdo you want to do?’ I couldn’t haveanswered this,” she laughed. “Mycareer has been pretty interesting.”

Binaso is a director for theAmerican Pharmacists Association(APhaA) in Washington, D.C. Herjob is to travel the country andinteract with the media, essentiallyacting as the mouthpiece to thepharmaceutical industry.

“I’ve got a lot of extensivebackground in dealing with sena-tors on The Hill, legislation andmedia training,” said Binaso. “I’mthe spokesperson for theAssociation. I’m specificallytrained to handle media inquirieson a variety of topics.”

The 1989 CHS grad began hercareer with CVS, where sheworked for 12 years. Binaso start-ed as a pharmacist and was quicklypromoted to the corporate office.

There, her job was to recruit forthe company through student lead-ership seminars, lectures and otherevents. “Apparently, I have thenatural ability,” said Binaso, whodid not study public speaking.“Pharm school is extremely chal-lenging, almost like going to medschool. Typically, you don’t see the

light of day, so you don’t find manypharmacists who took a minor.”

Eventually, she took a better offerwith RiteAid and was put in chargeof the entire California division. “Iwas running their stores there,” shesaid. “I was commuting betweenCalifornia and New Jersey for a yearand decided to come back.”

The Voice of PharmacistsKristen Binaso is a spokeswoman for the APhaA


Binaso in 2007, when she appeared on CNN to discuss the passing of Anna NicoleSmith. An autopsy revealed that Smith had a number of drugs in her system at thetime of her death.


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Binaso returned home and beganworking as a pharmacist at Targetand then ended up getting a callfrom the APhaA. She was hiredand began working in Washington,D.C.

“For me, it’s pretty logical. I’vedone presentations and I didn’tneed notes in front of me. I justhave a brain that works that way,”said Binaso.

“There’s certain ways you needto talk to them and walk aroundthings that you might not want totalk about.”

Working with the APhaA hasgiven Binaso the opportunity toappear on various media outlets.When Anna Nicole Smith passedaway in 2007, she was invited tospeak about circumstances sur-rounding her death.

“It was interesting being on apanel about Anna Nicole Smith,”said Binaso. “We’re trying not toscare consumers and patients whoare on these medications.”

More recently, she’s been mak-ing rounds as an advisor on SwineFlu, which the World HealthOrganization recently upgraded topandemic classification.

“Swine Flu—we call it H1N1—I was on Fox for that,” she said.

“The media wants to cause a panicand we jumped on the opportunityto say that there’s no shortage ofmedication. One reporter was get-ting a little frustrated because Iwould not give into the panic.”

The WHO raised the alert levelprimarily because of the highpotential for transmission of thedisease. Binaso said she may alsoappear on TV to talk about MichaelJackson’s recent death.

“Part of it is training, part of it iscommon sense work,” said Binaso.“You’ve got to make it so that peo-ple will understand. I’m reallyproud of my work in the media.”

“The pharmaceutical industryreally is striving to make healthcare better in this country,” shecontinued. “The public doesn’tunderstand. I try to make myfriends and family understand thisis why it’s like that.”

Part of Binaso’s job entails a bet-ter line of communication betweenthe pharmaceutical industry

Binaso in high school.


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and its consumers. That includeseverything from users satisfactionwith a product, right down to how aperson interprets the warning labelson a prescription.

A recent study that Binaso wasworking on focused on the warninglabels on prescription bottles. Shesaid the results were startling.

“A large percentage thought,‘Well, I can drink alcohol. I just can’tdrink martinis,” she said. “I wouldhave never guessed that. That’s partof the thing as pharmacists that we’retrying to figure out, because some ofthe public doesn’t get that.”

Binaso’s work forces her to keepirregular hours and travel often.On days that she must report toWashington, she boards an Amtraktrain at 6:30 am to be in the officeby 9 am. Work will often takeBinaso to various destinations onthe east coast, where much of thepharmaceutical industry is situated.Living in her hometown makesBinaso’s commute easy.

“Clifton, in my opinion, is areally great place to live,” she said.“ It’s really convenient to get to thecity and everything else.”

Binaso still lives in the Albionneighborhood where she attendedSchool 5 and later, WoodrowWilson Middle School. She wasalso part of the inaugural ninthgrade class at CHS.

“We were the first of four yearhigh school, so that was a bigadjustment for a lot of people,” shesaid. “But I think it worked outpretty well.”

Remaining in her hometownmeans that Binaso still sees manyClifton locations that were a part ofher memories: the Allwood Theatre,Bruno’s Pizzeria, Carvel and more.The people who made those memo-ries are still around too, such as JeffKracht, Nora Calato, MichellePopovich and Frank Ranu. “Wewere big on going to movies. Theold theater on Clifton and Main, weused to go to that one,” said Binaso.

“We didn’t go to stuff in Wayne;we had to stay more local. I didn’treally go to Mario’s because thatwas too far down.”

But as much as Clifton hasstayed the same, it’s changed. It’sbecome much larger and muchmore urban. Some stores and loca-tions that were a part of her child-hood are long gone.

“Some sections have remainedexactly the same, like Allwood,”said Binaso. “But I rememberpulling into the shopping centerwhere Big Lots is (Clifton Plaza). Iremember when Acme was there.”

Still, on those few, relaxing freedays that she has, Binaso enjoyscoming back home.

But she’s not tired of her busylifestyle yet.

“Honestly, right now, I’m nottired of it,” said Binaso.

“I’m just a giant sponge. I’mvery happy where I am. I’m privi-leged and I’ll do it for as long as Ican, that’s for sure.”


Stefanie Liechenstein’s job hastaken her around the globe, anddemands creativity, logic andresponsibility. It’s a dream job thatcombines all of her talents.

“My parents still don’t knowwhat I do. It’s kind of hard toexplain,” she laughed. “I’m respon-sible for all functions for all of ourclients, North and South American.I manage that team and get to travelto some interesting places.”

“It’s a very fast-paced, constant-ly changing industry,” continuedLiechenstein. “There’s a lot ofthinking outside of the box, beingcreative and looking for newthings. I think it’s an interestingway of catering to my creative side,as well as my analytical side.”

The 1989 CHS grad attendedRutgers University and graduatedfrom there in 1993 with a businessdegree. She began her career atMorgan Stanley, spending sevenyears with the company doinginternal auditing, corporate treas-ury and bank relations.

She moved to Goldman Sachs in2000 and eventually ascended upthe corporate ladder to her currentposition as Vice President ofGlobal Operations.

“On a business level and on apersonal level, I’ve visited about 20different countries,” she said.“India was an interesting place andso was Russia. My favorite hasbeen Western Europe.”

A majority of Liechenstein’stravel is within North and SouthAmerica, though she occasionally

works in Manhattan. But unfortu-nately, one of the days that she wasin the office was 9/11.

“I think I had first hand, eye wit-ness experience to something youcan’t even really articulate,” saidLiechenstein. “When I saw pic-tures on the news, in no way did itportray the magnitude of what wenton there at that time.”

Though she now lives inManhattan, Liechenstein still fre-quents her parents’ MontclairHeights home.

“I’ve definitely noticed changesand it almost makes me sad,” saidLiechenstein. “All the develop-ment on Rt. 3, I feel like there’sfewer trees. And you see all themom and pop stores turning intobig stores and the Hope Depotscoming in, it’s a little sad.”

In high school, Liechenstein per-formed with the Mustang Band,playing the flute and piccolo.

“I just think I have a natural tal-ent,” said Liechenstein, who alsoenjoys history and art. “People inClifton might remember me. Iplayed piano since I was a littlegirl. I did recitals in School 2 andsolos in front of large audiences.”

When she’s not working or travel-ing the world, Liechenstein enjoysrunning in Central Park or bike rid-ing. She regularly goes for 30-milerides through the city’s boroughs.

However, with her work andtravel schedule, free time doesn’tcome very often. But Liechensteinis up to the challenge.

“I’m never bored here,” she said.“I’m probably overstimulated.There’s so much going on.”

Stefanie Liechenstein with fellow ’89 grad, Jeffrey Kracht, on arecent Christmas night. At left, Liechenstein as a senior at CHS.

The Global ExecutiveStefanie Liechenstein is a vice president at Goldman Sachs



William Cannici was appointedCHS principal during the Class of1999’s senior year. In this role, hebegan wing competitions, broughtback the teacher skit at the holidayassembly and renewed school spiritand pride, according to The Rotunda.

One of the most popular classes atschool, CAST, welcomed Mr.McCunney, who taught the course inthe brand new state-of-the-art studioon the second floor of the East Wing.

The Marching Mustangs spent aweek in Canada competing in theCalgary Stampede SnowbandCompetition. CHS earned a goldmedal with honors.

The Concert Choir competed atMusic in the Parks in Hershey, Pa.,where they received top marks. InMay, the choir performed atCarnegie Hall, while the Madrigalstook the stage at Lincoln Center inWashington D.C.

The Drama Club presented ArthurMiller’s The Crucible on Nov. 20.Jessica Bear played the lead charac-ter of Abigail Williams.

The musical was Sweet Charityby Neil Simon and was presentedMarch 12-14. Bear once againplayed the lead.

A talent show was held on March26 with acts including a wrestlingskit, singers, breakdancers andmerengue dancers.

The Homecoming Dance was held on Oct. 3, 1998. From left, Eddie Timmons, Julissa Batista, Jason Torres, MercedesSanchez, Francisco Carrasquillo, Adela Diaz, Queen Danielle Bril, Greg Szczygiel, Allison Russo, Anthony Latona, LauraSalerno and Paul Yaremko.


From left, Meryl Ashkenazi, Michael Graziano, Narisa Ratana, Chris Luczun, Jen Carlo and Ken Gerlach.

Partying like it’s 1999

In sports, both the boys and girlsbowling teams took first place atthe Passaic County tournament.They were led by seniors KenGerlach, Justin Lopchuk, LambertVan Beveren, Joe Lahiee, AmyPasternack, Robin Jo Paci, MeganDoczi, Aimee Saltzman andMichelle Katuba.

The Lady Mustangs softballteam lost their sixth game of theseason, snapping the program’sincredible 67 game winning streak,but the girls still went 23-5 andwon the League and County titlesbefore losing in the sectional final.They were led by co-captains JenCarlo, Megan Doczi and Bobbi JoGonnello.


Jessica Bear as Abigail Williams in The Crucible, an unidentified student doing awrestling skit at the talent show and the Concert Choir at one of their performances.

From left, Amy Pasternack, Thomas Rachelski, Megan Doczi, Raul Shah, Bobbi Jo Gonnello and Justin Lopchuk.

If you’re a New York Times best-seller, a Washington insider or aveteran sports writer, there’s achance your next book will be edit-ed by Mary Choteborsky.

The CHS Class of 1999 grad is anon-fiction book editor for CrownPublishing in New York, a sub-sidiary of Random House, thelargest book publisher in the world.

“I do everything from acquiringbooks, evaluating proposals fromauthors, developing the idea, editingthe full manuscript and guiding it topublication,” she said. “It’s about ayear long process. It’s almost likebeing a project manager.”

Choteborsky, who turns 28 thismonth, has worked with formerSpeaker of the House NewtGingrich and his daughter, JackieGingrich Cushman, on their book,5 Principles for a Successful Life.

She’s also edited New York Timesbestseller The Green Book byElizabeth Rogers and ThomasKostigen, and this month,Choteborsky is publishing TheBeckham Experiment, a soccerbook by Sports Illustrated senior

writer Grant Wahl. “I was the idealeditor for that project,” she said.“My knowledge from playing for-ever and having my father guide meas a soccer fan and coach helped meediting the book and guiding thepublicity and marketing plan.”

Choteborsky, who grew up inDutch Hill, played for the CliftonStallions before graduating to theLady Mustangs varsity squad.

The senior captain midfielderwas a member of the first everClifton girls team to reach thePassaic County final.

Choteborsky also found timeduring high school to work at CityHall in the housing and communitydevelopment departments.

“That was my first taste of goingto a job everyday, even if it was justfor two hours after school,” sheremembered. “ I learned aboutClifton and local government. Iliked that inside look.”

As a high school student,Choteborksy wasn’t sure what shewanted to be when she grew up.She considered becoming a teacheror even Clifton City Manager, butone CHS instructor helped steer herin another direction.

“My English teacher, Ms.Candace Redstone, and I justclicked,” the senior wrote in theJune 1999 edition of CliftonMerchant Magazine. “We get alongso well that we talk outside of theclassroom. I can talk to her aboutanything and she has a lot to offeron about a million different topics.”

After receiving her diploma,Choteborksy enrolled at BarnardCollege in New York, where shebecame an English major.

Mary Choteborsky’s 1999 senior photo.

Editing BestsellersMary Choteborsky works for Crown Publishing


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“I really wanted to be in thecity,” she explained. “I didn’t wantto go to the middle of nowhere tolearn about the world.”

Choteborsky’s first job out ofschool was with HarperCollinsPublishers, where she stayed fortwo years before switching toCrown in August 2005.

She worked closely with theBarack Obama campaign last yearon the book, Change We CanBelieve In.

“That was a really cool experi-ence to, in some way, work withthat huge machine that was at theheight of its operation,” said theClifton native, who credits herupbringing for some of the successshe’s had with her career.

“Because CHS was such adiverse place, you kind of met peo-ple from all over and I think thatalways helps because today, I’mtrying to reach a large populationwith the books I’m selling,” saidthe ’99 grad.

Choteborsky, who lives withtwo roommates on New York’sUpper West Side, said, giventoday’s economy, it’s hard to pre-dict her professional future, butshe’d like to stay involved in books

and media for a long time. “Younever know what form book pub-lishing is going to take in thefuture,” she said. “Making sureI’m at the forefront of that is defi-nitely a priority.”

Mary Choteborksy with Newt Gingrich, John Stewart and Campbell Wharton in thegreen room at the Daily Show before the Speaker appeared on the show to discusshis book, 5 Principles for a Successful Life. Wharton is the book’s publicist.

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In your typical romance movie,there’s always that one girl who gotaway. Luckily, Paul Puzio’s storyhas a cliche ending.

The 1999 CHS graduate first methis future wife, Kari Petrasek, dur-ing high school.

“He sat behind me in Mrs.Hartman’s anthropology class,”said Petrasek. “I had a boyfriendfor the last two years of highschool. Paul and I were friendlyand hung out once in a while, butthen I went away to college and wedidn’t really speak.”

Even in the waning days of highschool, Puzio couldn’t bring himselfto make a move.

“My mom threw me a goingaway party the night before I left forcollege,” said Petrasek, who attend-ed West Virginia University. “Paulcame over and gave me a card thathad $50 in it. What kind of highschool kid has an extra $50 lyingaround?”

Puzio went to Bergen CountyCommunity College and then trans-ferred to Penn State. He didn’t see

Petrasek at all after graduation, eventhough the two both worked forfinancial companies in New York.

Puzio finally ran into his formerclassmate in February 2006, nearlyseven years after they last spoke.

“I used to go to the gym rightafter work and take the bus fromthe Port home all sweaty andgross,” said Petrasek. “I glanced

over and saw him, so I put my headdown and we didn’t talk. I saw himthe next night, the same exact time,same exact situation, and I’m like Ican’t do the whole pretending Idon’t see you thing.”

“Usually, I just take the park andride from Clifton,” said Puzio. “Butthat one day, I decided to take thelate train to the bus.”

Kari Petrasek and Paul Puzio reconnected on a bus ride from New York City afternot seeing each other since high school. The insets are them as seniors at CHS.

Love in the Big CityPaul Puzio and Kari Petrasek found love on a bus



Year Round DevelopmentallyAppropriate Curriculum 6 Weeks to 6 Years


The two connected, shared somelaughs and became bus buddies,sharing the commute home eachwork day. Eventually, it seemedlike there might be a bit more to therelationship.

“He started becoming a regularat the house and would come overfor dinner,” said Petrasek. “I didn’tknow if he liked me, but he says heknows I didn’t like him in thebeginning.”

Puzio made his intentions clearwhen they went out to dinner atOsaka on Market St.

“That was kind of our first date,”said Petrasek. “We just laughed andlaughed and laughed. That’s when Iknew I liked him.”

However, before their relation-ship could progress, Petrasek had tocut ties with the man she was cur-rently seeing.

“It was in my Jeep when shebroke up with him,” laughed Puzio.

“I always liked her from a longtime ago. She was the one that gotaway,” he continued. “I thought I’dnever see her again. So much timepassed and so much stuff happenedbetween then and now.”

Puzio and Petrasek officiallybecame a couple on April 1 of thatyear. Towards the end of 2008,Puzio began to think about spend-ing the rest of his life with his for-mer classmate.

“My head was going to explode, Ihad so many ideas,” he explained. “Ihad the ring, but I held out for awhile. It’s like a ticking time bombwhen you hold one of those in yourhand. You want to make it elaborate,but sometimes it doesn’t work. Youwant to do a surprise, but that mightnot work.”

Puzio even went as far as carryingthe ring around for a week in thecity, unsure of when to propose. OnNov. 20, 2008, he finally settled on asuitable location.

“He met up with me and somefriends for happy hour,” sherecalled. “He was acting reallystrange. They’re like, he’s actingreally cold tonight.”

The couple took the bus back toClifton together, stopped atPetrasek’s house and then went toget his car at the train station nearthe Board of Ed building.

“It was so cold that night and Iwas already in my pajamas,” saidPetrasek. “We get there and starttalking around 10 pm. Ten turns into10:15, to 10:30 and I’m like,‘Alright Paul, let’s go.”

Puzio left to warm up his truckand returned with a large, blue box.

“We’re sitting there in this littleVolkswagen Beetle and I’m in mypajamas and I just say, ‘Oh my God,is this for real?” she said. “He hastears in his eyes and he goes,

‘Carebear, I love you, will youmarry me?’ and I said yes.”

The moment was so sweet thatPetrasek wanted to relive it twice.

“She got out of the car and said,‘You have to ask me on one knee,’”laughed Puzio. “So I got out andwe did it again. I slept like a rockthat night.”

The two immediately went toPretrasek’s house to share the news.

“I said, ‘Dad, did he ask you?’and he said, ‘No, he told me!’” shesaid. “He went in to ask him theday before and walked out before Isaw him.”

With the most nerve-racking stepof marriage out of the way, Puziocan focus on the actual event, whichwill take place on July 10, 2010 atthe Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge.

The young couple’s biggest prob-lem now is trying to find a place tolive. A home requires a significantdown payment, and if they were torent, they’d need to find a landlordwho will accept their pug, Tank.

And since both work in NewYork City, their residence must bewithin a reasonable commuting dis-tance. It’s made the search difficult,but the couple doesn’t seem to mind.

“We’ll do whatever is going towork with our situation,” saidPetrasek. “But if it wasn’t for work-ing in the city, we would have neverreconnected.”


Thank you Clifton for thesupport you have given ourJulia and the Young Family


Peter Bakarich III decided hewanted to be a civil engineer whiletaking AP Calculus as a senior atClifton High School.

“I thought it was interesting,” hesaid. “I always had a knack formath so I wanted to see what elsewas available for me in that field.”

So, after graduating CHS in1999, Bakarich, who is also knownat “PJ”, enrolled at Stevens Instituteof Technology in Hoboken. “I knewthey had great business contactsafterwards,” he explained. “It hadeverything I wanted; I playedlacrosse there for a year and it wasclose to home. It just felt right.”

Bakarich, who grew up onWashington Ave. and attendedSchool 3 and ChristopherColumbus, also played midfield forthe Mustangs lacrosse team, playedsaxophone in the band and was apeer mediator.

In May 2004, the Clifton nativereceived his bachelor’s and mas-ter’s degrees before venturing outinto the real world.

Bakarich got a job at J. FletcherCreamer & Son, working in theheavy highway construction divi-sion down at Port Newark.

After a year there, he switchedcompanies to Weidlinger Associatesin New York.

“I wanted to work in the city andget more design work,” he said. “Iwas doing more management workbefore. I work on roadway recon-

struction jobs and do some sitework.”

One of his projects involvederecting security bollards at all ofthe local airports. These are con-crete pipes that stick out of theground to control or direct traffic.

Bakarich has also done site workfor Rutgers University, but most ofhis work takes place in the five bor-oughs. The Hoboken resident seeshimself staying in the engineeringfield, but getting into more of themanagement side.

To that end, he is enrolled in adoctoral program in engineering atColumbia University.

Bakarich said Clifton’s diversityis helping his professional life.

“Working in the city for an engi-neering company, everyone has dif-ferent backgrounds, and so CHShelped me get a better understand-ing of the different cultures that areout there,” he said.

Peter “PJ” Bakarich III today and in his 1999 yearbook picture.

Engineering a CareerPeter Bakarich III is a civil engineer in New York City



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St. Philip’s Knights of Columbusis holding its Third Annual GolfOuting on July 16 at Farmstead GolfClub in Lafayette. Entry is $125.The K of C Beefsteak follows onJuly 17 at St. Philip’s auditorium at7 pm. Tickets are $35. Call DeanPeragallo at 201-452-9303 or [email protected].

Accordionist Wanted! The DeBellis Music Center alumni orches-tra is looking for a new member.Rehearsals are once a month. Call973-482-9051 or 973-471-5168.

CHS boys soccer coach JoeVespignani hosts camp Aug 17-21at the high school field. The highschool boys camp (ages 13-18) is 9am to noon and costs $135. Theteenage girls camp (ages 13-18) is3-5 pm and costs $100. The co-edyouth camp (ages 3 1/2 to 12) is5:30-7:30 pm and costs $95. Visitvespignanisoccercamps.com.

Lady Mustang soccer coach StanLembryk’s camp is open to boys andgirls ages 4 to 18 years old. The campwill run from July 20 to 24, from 9 amto noon. Coach Lembryk’s assistantsinclude Clifton alumni and U.S.National Team members Chris Karczand Nikki Krzysik. Registration is$120 and includes a free t-shirt andball. E-mail [email protected].

Clifton boys soccer coach Joe Vespignani, third from left, is holding camps thissummer. He is joined here by, from left, Liz Kutchar (Asst. Athletic Trainer) DanChilowicz, Andy Piotrowski (Boys Freshman Coach), Fred Bido (Boys JV Coach),Rick LaDuke (CHS A.D.) and Art Vespignani (Boys Associate Varsity Coach).

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Donate blood and receive a$20 ShopRite card. ThePaulison Ave. ShopRite is spon-soring a blood drive from 1 to 8pm on July 6. Donors willreceive a complimentary giftcard and must be 17, weigh atleast 120 pounds and be in goodhealth. Call Greg Surgent at973-471-0868 or visitbloodnj.org for details.

Cliftonite Ernie Miller (above) haslaunched ITeenNJ, a new multi-media zine that provides print andonline resources for teens and parentsliving in the greater Bergen/Passaiccounty region. For more info, go toiteennj.com or call 973-707-8317.

The Parkinson’s disease supportgroup will meet at PreaknessHealthcare Center, 305 OldhamRd. in Wayne, on July 16 at noon.Mike Patterson of Clifton will bethe facilitator at the meeting andneurologist Dr. Louis Chodosh willbe the guest speaker. RSVP bycalling 973-904-3979 or write [email protected].

UNICO hosted a Flag Day bene-fit beefsteak for burn victim JuliaRose Young on June 14. Stillrecovering in a protected environ-ment at Shriner’s Children’sHospital, Julia was unable toattend, but her father, Jerry, waspresent to see about 300 peoplegather and raise more than $13,000for Julia’s recovery. The eventincluded dinner, live music byClifton band Brookwood, a trickytray and other raffles. Donationscan still be made to Julia YoungTrust and sent to the Passaic-Clifton UNICO at 1360 CliftonAve., Suite 152, Clifton, NJ 07012.

One World, Different Music,Song and Dance held its first pres-entation, “Exploring Africa,” onJune 13 at the Clifton Library. ThePhenomenal Grandmothers andColleen Murray designed the event.More than 30 children and adultslearned about the changing tradi-tions in Africa. To donate books toa new school being opened inKenya, call 973-253-9579.

The Clifton Stamp Society meetsat the Senior Center on the CityHall Complex on July 6 and 20 andAug. 3 and 17 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Call 973-470-5956.

The First Annual Jimmy HoeyMemorial Golf Outing is July 20at Greenbrook Country Club inNorth Caldwell. The CHS studentdied in 2008 and the monies raisedwill be used to fund a scholarshipin his honor. The day of golf andfood costs $250. [email protected].

The Van Houten Avenue StreetFair is Sept. 13, 11 am to 5 pm.Live music, plenty of entertainmentfor the kids. Vendors can call 973-473-0986 or 973-202-8578.

The Boys & Girls Club 38th annu-al golf tournament is at the UpperMontclair Country Club on Aug. 3.The 3rd Annual B&G Club AlumniFundraiser Beefsteak is Nov. 13 from6:30 to 11 pm. Returning this yearwill be the induction of Club Alumniinto the newly created Alumni Hallof Fame. Call 973-773-0966.

The Passaic County 200 Clubbeefsteak is on Sept. 17 at theBrownstone in Paterson. The Clubis an organization of business peo-ple, public safety professionals andothers who provide financial assis-tance to the families of emergencypersonnel who die in the line ofduty. Visit pc200club.org.

Donate school backpacks to St.Peter’s Haven. The 2009 goal isto distribute 350 fully loaded back-packs to the children in theHaven’s programs. Donate by July15. Call 973-546-3406.

Justin Mozolewski, 32 Troop 8Boy Scouts and friends cycledfrom Sandy Hook to Island BeachState Park on May 30 to raisemoney for Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center’s researchfund to fight GIST cancer.

Investors Savings Bank took over the American Bank branch at the corner ofClifton and Fourth Aves. on June 14. Pictured are Nancy Iacobbucci, BranchManager, and Domenick Cama, Executive V.P., COO of Investors Savings Bank.


Show off your Ford at Fette onRt. 46. The Garden State RegionMustang Club is hosting the Aug. 8event from 5 to 9 pm. Registrationis 5-6:30 pm and the parking lot islimited to 125 vehicles. For moreinfo, call 973-697-8811 or 973-875-9615 or visit gsrmc.org.

Jack Kuepfer needs your help. TheClifton resident has spent the pastquarter century maintaining MorrisCanal Park on Broad St. but graffittiand vandalism is wearing him down.Volunteer (973-473-5176) or donateto Friends of Morris Canal Park,68 Merrill Rd., Clifton, NJ 07012.

Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin (at left) presents a Clifton Mustangs jersey to NJDevils’ Goalie Martin Brodeur (center) and Devils’ owner Jeff Vanderbeek (right).


CHS junior Emily Urciuoli wonthe state pole vault title on June 4with a Meet of Champions record12-6 jump at Frank Jost Field inSouth Plainfield. She beat outNicole Pompei of Hanover Park,who set the meet record in 2008.

Sign * A * Rama owner Mike Placko(at center) is proud to support the Clifton PBA & the Police Unity Tour


Clifton Adult Evening School onColfax Ave. changed its name onJuly 1 to Clifton Community School.

Historically, the school, whichopened in 1964, has always hadseveral missions, which remainstrue today.

One arm is the adult continuingeducation, which continues to thepresent time.

“Our course offerings are themost diverse that they’ve everbeen,” said Director John P. Lopez.

English as a Second Language(ESL) classes are something thathave always been offered.

Besides a registration fee, theseclasses are free to Clifton residentsand adults are able to get four hoursof instruction per week for 20weeks out of the year.

Child care services are availableto ESL parents with school-agedchildren. Tutoring is available tothese students as well.

“Our afternoon program for sen-ior citizens is as popular as ever,”said Lopez. “Seniors get similarclasses offered to them in the after-

An English as a Second Language class at Clifton Community School.

Clifton Community SchoolStory by Jordan Schwartz


noon for a substantial discount overthe night rate.”

Cliftonite George Swaryewskiteaches golf at night and piano/organin the afternoon. Fellow Cliftoninstructor, Daniel Bouadana, teachesvolleyball on Monday and Thursdaynights. “His class has a huge fol-lowing,” said the director.

City historian and CliftonMerchant Magazine contributingeditor Don Lotz will be teaching ahistory class this fall.

In addition, the school has start-ed before and after child care serv-ices on-site at Schools 2 and 13 andit will be expanding to School 3 thisfall. Also in the works is a chil-dren’s camp for next summer.

“With the name change, I’mstriving for more communityinvolvement to prove that learningis lifelong,” said Lopez.

He is the sixth director in theschool’s history, following CliffordSwisher, Tom Mullins, RobertStarling, Val Mayerzak and SandraSroka.

“I’d have to credit my predeces-sors for keeping really good classofferings,” said Lopez. “We have alot of physical education type activ-ities like yoga and pilates.”

For more information on theschool, call 973-470-2438 or visitits new Web site at cliftoncommu-nityschool.com.

Above, the popular volleyball class taught by Daniel Bouadana on Monday andThursday nights. Below, salsa and other dance classes are also available.

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Fred W. Henry, pictured above as achild in the third row, fourth fromleft, passed away last month. BobCsuka remembers his as “a loyal,compassionate, caring family man.”

The Clifton City Picnic is July 4(rain date July 5) from 12 to 6 pmat Main Memorial Park. Fireworksfollow at dusk at Clifton Stadium.The ticket office will open at 7 pm.

Downtown Clifton Salsa Night isJuly 10 at Clifton and First St. andevery Friday from 11 am to 6 pm thereis a Farmer’s Market, through Oct. 16.

The Free Summer SundayConcert Series at Main MemorialPark is at 7:30 pm. The lineupincludes The Teddy’s (July 12), Topof the Hill (July 19), John SomersDream Orchestra (July 26) andNick James Amarillo Band (Aug.2). Call 973-470-5680.

Historic Botany holds summerconcerts as well. Friday shows are6-9 pm in the Sullivan SquareTriangle at Parker and Lake Aves.and Saturday concerts are held inthe Village Square from 7 to 10 pm.The lineup includes Jimbeau and theRetrocasters (July 10), The MikeLuipersbeck Trio (July 17), JoeMarrero Band (July 24), Tex Doyleand the Country Thunder Band (July25 and Aug. 28), Chaz DePaolo(July 31) and Matt Roach (Aug. 7).Visit historicbotany.com.

The 7th Annual Clifton ArtsCenter Free Outdoor Concert fea-turing the Clifton Community Bandis July 11 at 6 pm on the City Hallgrounds at the Clifton Arts Center.Bring your lawn chair or blanket.Contact [email protected] 973-777-1781.

Eighteen-time Grammy winnerJimmy Sturr returns to Passaic’sThird Ward Park band shell, atPassaic and Van Houten Aves., onJuly 15 for a free concert at 7:30pm. Call 973-473-5111. On Aug.11, 3D Ritmo de Vida, a LatinGrammy nominee, will perform ina free concert at 6:30 pm. The bandname derives from the three D’s—dynamic, diverse and danceable—and their music is influenced bysalsa, reggae, soca, R&B, gospeland Caribbean rhythms. Parking isavailable, but bring a lawn chair.Call 973-365-5745.

Clifton’s Music Matador BobObser can provide a comprehensivelist of all free summer concerts inthe region. Send $3 (made to BobObser) to defray costs at 6 GrantAve., Clifton NJ 07011-3512.

The Greater Passaic Old Timers won the 1958 Clifton Midget League championship with a record of 6-0-1. Pictured at AlbionPark on Maplewood Ave., from left front row are cheerleaders Betty Henry, Mary Csuka, Scott Bleaken, equipment manager,Cheryl O’Connell, Cindy Bleaken, Cathy Devitt, Linda Babula and Carol Van Dillen. Second row: Larry Babula, SandyCrawford, Ron Grieco, Bob Csuka, Skip Csuka, Paul Van Dillen, Jack Synnott, Steve O’Connell, John Dewald, Walt Yungenger,James Kenny and Steve Synnott. Third row: Jeff Bleaken, Ralph Eastman, Craig Maher, Fred Henry, Jack Farina, John Ziemba,John Messlehner, Mark Devitt, Rich Kolodziej, Stan Kolodziej, Bruce Blaum, Mrs. Jean Henry, cheerleader instructor, and RuthBlaum. Fourth row: Coaches Sal Grieco, Barney O’Connell, Olly Henry, Ed Bleaken, Larry Babula, Andy Schimph, Tom Devitt,Mrs. Connie Bleaken, team mother and Steve Synnott. Rosemary Csuka and Dave Kenny were missing for the picture.


Gary Steele has always had aspi-rations of one day running for gov-ernor. And with the given politicalclimate in New Jersey, he believeshe can win over voters and bringpositive change to Trenton.

“We have a Democratic gover-nor that doesn’t appear to be wellliked by the state,” he said. “Thestate is also very hard pressed toelect a Republican governor. As anindependent, I’m not holding toeither of the parties and I feel thisyear is right.”

Most polls show Governor JonCorzine trailing Republican nomi-nee Christopher Christie. Somepundits have speculated thatChristie’s feuding with SteveLonegan in the primaries may havesoured some voters.

However, even with these fac-tors working in his favor, Steele isan independent candidate withoutmuch political experience. Butthat’s something he hopes willwork in his favor.

“I never ran before this,” saidSteele. “This is truly a David

Gary T. Steele stops by the Athenia Veterans Post on Memorial Day. Steele is run-ning as an independent in the upcoming gubernatorial election. Visit his campaignwebsite at www.garytsteeleforgovernor.com.

A Gubernatorial GoalGary Steele, a 1974 CHS grad, runs for governor


• A Strong National Security • Taking Care of Veterans• Mentoring Youth• Promoting Patriotism & Honor

Clifton Memorial Post 347 American Legion

The Four Pillars of Our Service Commander Lou Poles • Vice Commander Mike Gimon


vs. Goliath type of race. It’s going tobe a very uphill battle. But I don’thave all that baggage that mostpoliticians have.”

To overcome the odds, the 1974CHS grad is turning to his roots forvoting support.

He’s enlisted help from his broth-er, Tom, and family friend DorettaHalpern (whose father, Aaron, wasprincipal at CHS) to promote hiscampaign.

“There are some consultants thatare offering some advice on how togo about things,” said Tom, a 1975CHS grad. “But, for the most part,we’re doing it the American way.”

Steele lived in Clifton’s Atheniasection for nearly 40 years and hisfamily has plenty of history here.His father, Thomas G. ‘Buddy’Steele, was a Clifton Police Officerfor nearly 23 years.

Gary is a part of Clifton High’shistory, as he helped form its first icehockey team in 1972.

“I can still sing Nine Will ShineTonight,” Steele said, referring to theSchool 9 song. the grade schoolwhich he attended. “I played LittleLeague ball in Clifton and I was thefirst president of the Clifton IceHockey Booster Club.”

He’s counting on Clifton voters,whom Steele hopes will spread theword to friends and family. He’salready started to make publicappearances locally.

“We just started that. We weredown in Clifton for Memorial Day. Imarched in the Allwood Rd. paradeand stopped at the fire house there,”said Steele. “We also went by theAthenia Vets, which is right downthe street from where I grew up.”

He is also banking on supportfrom Kinnelon, where Steele haslived since 1996. He hopes to do thesame in Montvale, where his taxattorney practice is located.

“We’re doing everything—grass-roots and, of course, word ofmouth,” Steele explained. “We’rejust trying to get our message out.”

“A bulk of the voters in the State

of New Jersey are unaffiliated. Nextis the Democrats and the last is theRepublicans,” continued Steele. “Ifwe can sway the independents tovote with me, I can win.”

The easiest way to sway those ofvoting age is to appeal to their pock-ets. Steele, a self-described socialmoderate and fiscal conservative,said his top priority is to reducespending. “It’s the whole state, thedirection it’s been going in for thelast 15 to 20 years,” he said. “Lookat the amount of spending that’soccurring in Trenton. $32 billion indebt they’ve incurred—any dimethat comes in goes out.”

The Steele family in 1980 at Buddy and Fern’s 25th wedding anniversary. Fromleft, Nancy, Buddy, Fern, Gary and Tom.


According to Steele, the budgetshortfall was exacerbated by theunexpected recession. As an entre-preneur, he believes his experiencecould prevent future disasters.

“Career politicians find it moredifficult to cut spending becausethey’ve never had to do that,” hesaid. “I’ve had my own firm for 19years now, and when you have downyears, you have to cut.”

“Governments are afraid that ifthey save money, they’re not going toget the same amount next year,”Steele continued. “I want to set up aplan with an incentive to save. That’swhat this economy is proving—noone is saving for a rainy day.”

Steele said that tax cuts aregood—and possibly necessary—butthe budget trimming must come first.Once that is done, taxes can be low-ered to stimulate the economy.

“They’re talking about increasingthe highest tax rate on the wealthiestresidents,” Steele said. “Corzinewants to raise it to 10.75 percent, Ibelieve. That chases people away.”

While he acknowledges that themiddle class is overburdened, Steelsaid that a raise on the highest brack-et has a trickle down effect that willresult in job losses.

“I grew up in the shadows ofHoffman-LaRoce,” Steele said. Thepharmaceutical giant is in theprocess of relocating. “How expen-sive is it to live in San Fran?”

Steele’s ultimate goal is to havethe annual budget reduced to $24 bil-lion. It was last at that level fiveyears ago. To get there, sweepingchanges need to be made. Steele hasa list of items he’d like to seereduced or cut all together.

“Over $500 million to the preschools, and no one in the constitu-tion does it say that the state has toprovide pre-school,” he said. “TheFeds are not mandating that, it’s thestate themselves. Corzine wanted tothrow $24 to $25 million more intothat this year.”

Steele would also like to reviewthe funding for School DevelopmentAuthority (formerly AbbottDistricts. “The Supreme Court ruledthat they’re going to get rid of desig-nated Abbott Districts and imple-ment a per student funding plan,” hesaid. “Last year, numbers forNewark were like $29,000 per stu-dent. I read that Mountain Lakes,one of the top in the state, spends$16,000 to $17,000 per student.”

Steele’s concern is that state fund-ing never reaches the intended tar-get: the children.

He would also like a review of theNJ Schools Development Authority(formerly the Schools ConstructionCommittee), which oversees the allo-cation of funding and construction ofschools. The SCC went bankrupt in2005 after just give years due to inef-ficient spending and planning.

“There was $7 billion borrowedwithout asking voters of the state,”he said. “I’d like to have theAttorney General go after thatmoney and get it back. If you get $2billion back, imagine how much wecan get for building schools?”

The theme of accountability per-meates throughout Steele’s platform.He wants politicians to be held liablefor their decisions and actions with-out expanding the government.

Steele wants voter-approvedspending, and funding divided equal-ly. “$8.8 billion a year—55 percentwas going to 31 towns,” he said. “Ifyou look at Newark, they probablyhave more ratables than any othertown in the state and they get moremoney. The whole intent of theincome tax in 1976 was to keep a lidor control on real estate taxes,” hecontinued. “The state keeps pullingmoney from the suburbs and puttingit into the 31 cities.”

He would like to also createincentives to invest in green energyfor local governments and home andbusiness owners to reduce depend-ence on foreign oil and create muchneeded jobs at home.

Creative budgeting is needed toescape this mess, and Steele said hisexperience makes him the best candi-date. “It’s getting to the point that whenmy children finish college, they won’tbe able to afford to live here,” he said.“I feel that I can make a difference.”

1376 Clifton Ave., CliftonRichfield Shopping Center • 973-779-TCBY (8229)

Daily Flavors: 973-779-3176July 2009 • Clifton Merchant 73

Theming, staging and then converting a decades-old dark and dankgymnasium into a bright and memorable dance hall is a much anticipat-ed event for the 8th grade classes at Christopher Columbus Middle School.And as in past years, CC art teacher Jeff Labriola and his cohorts of fellowteachers, parents and past CC students did not disappoint. This year’s col-orful and fanciful mardi gras theme—Midnight Masquerade—set the stage

for a vibrant transformation, much like the 8th graders who are moving on to CHS andother area high schools. Labriola noted that many positive things happen at CC and thestudents there should be lauded for their diverse accomplishments and contributions toClifton. On these two pages are photos showing the transformation of the gym by volun-teers and snapshots of the rising freshman at the dance on the evening of June 12.

Midnight Masquerade


“I just felt helpless.”There wasn’t any other way to

react when Melinda Coyne heardthe doctor’s diagnosis.

Her mother, Denise Palmer, hadessential thrombocythemia (ET),an extremely rare type of bloodcancer in which the body overpro-duces platelets.

Symptoms include hemorrhag-ing and clots in arteries, which canlead to a wide array of cardiovascu-lar problems and other issues.

There is no cure for ET. Instead,doctors simply try to mitigate thesymptoms.

Palmer started an oral chemocycle to slow platelet growth andbegan to suffer throat ulcers. She’salso developed glaucoma and nowhas mitral valve prolapse, which ismaking her heart leak blood.

Watching her mother’s healthdeteriorate before her eyes, Coynefelt powerless. Her mother’s faterested with doctors.

But when taking in the mail backin April, Coyne found the means tolend a helping hand in her mother’sbattle against ET: Team in Training.

“I don’t even know how I got it.Maybe they did a local mailing,”Coyne said. “But it was perfectbecause I took in the mail and therest was on me.”

TNT is an organization thattrains athletes for events that bene-fit the Leukemia & LymphomaSociety (LLS). Funds go towardsleukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkinlymphoma and myeloma research.

Coyne, who recently started run-ning again, signed up for a half

marathon (13.1 miles) in SanFrancisco. The event will takeplace on Oct. 18.

“I was a little nervous when Isigned up at first just because it’ssuch a huge commitment,” saidCoyne, a 2003 CHS grad. “I’mgoing to be spending time outside ofgrocery stores collecting money. I’mjust going to do everything I can.”

All participants must raise atleast $4,200, 76 percent of whichwill go towards cancer research(the other 24 percent covers theathlete’s expenses for the event).All donations beyond that thresholdgo 100 percent towards research.

TNT derives its name from thesupport system used to train ath-letes. Athletes of varying skill lev-els are grouped together and rely onone another for support and moti-vation.

Coaches are also on hand toassist in the training and there areseminars for nutrition, health and

injury. Teammates run togetherweekend mornings.

“They increase the mileageevery couple of weeks so weaccomplish our goal of reachingthat endurance level early ratherthan getting there right before,” shesaid. “The entire support system isgreat. There’s people who havedone it before and help you anytime of day.”

Though Coyne has been runningat least three miles daily, she hasbeen having difficulties in reachingher goal.

Coyne can’t make the earlySaturday runs with her teambecause she closes bar at Pub 17 inRamsey on Friday nights. TheMontclair State graduate has beenlooking for a job with regular hoursso she has time to run, but has beenunable to find steady work.

She’s also had injury woes, tak-ing about a week off to rest heraching knee.

Denise Palmer with her daughter, Melinda Coyne. In Oct., Coyne will be running ahalf marathon in San Francisco for Team in Training to benefit blood cancer research.



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“I went to the doctor. If I’m run-ning a half marathon, no way I’mgoing to risk injury,” said Coyne.“But no matter what, I’m runningunless I really physically can’t do it.It’s never even crossed my mind tonot do it.”

For inspiration, each team has amember who survived cancer.

“It was sad, because one of thetables had a picture of a 10-year-oldboy,” said Coyne. “He was their hon-ored teammate that passed away.”

The biggest inspiration wasMother’s Day, when Palmer learnedof her daughter’s plans.

“It was one of those really goodmoments. I had to stand there andread it to her,” Coyne said. “She hadtears in her eyes but she was happyand so thankful. It just completelycaught her off guard.”

That’s all the motivation Coyneneeds to make sure she reaches herphysical goal. Finding donors isproving to be more difficult.

Her uncle, Bob Vogel, got somecoworkers to pitch in as well. She’sreceived money from strangers,including one generous donation of$100 and an inspirational letter.

With the amount of support she’sreceived already, Coyne hopes toraise at least $6,000. She’s receivedmoney from friends, includingTheresa Van Ness and SeanMcElhinney, who will be cheeringher on in the Golden State.

But when she crosses the finishline, Coyne’s biggest fan will be athome due to health and financialconstraints. However, Coyne knowsthat her efforts will be appreciated—and not just by her mother. Eachexhausting step means one more lifemight be saved.

“When I got that letter in the mail,I immediately thought of her,” shesaid. “She was my main inspirationfor joining.”

Want to get involved or donate? Marathons aren’t the only events thatTNT has to raise money for cancer research. The organization also offerstriathlons, 100-mile century bike rides and hiking adventures. Athletes canpick their event and have a choice from several destinations. Last year, withthe assistance of TNT, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society contributedover $71 million towards research for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lym-phoma and myeloma.

Coyne has currently raised $700, just 17 percent of the required amount.She aims to raise $6,000. Corporate sponsors are also needed for the eventsand the TNT website, www.teamintraining.org. To donate, visithttp://pages.teamintraining.org/nnj/nikesf09/mcoyne. Coyne can also bereached by e-mail at [email protected].

78 July 2009 • Clifton Merchant

Timothy K Brown, LUTCF, CLTC973-928-14341006 Rte 46 [email protected]

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Amanda Di Angelo . . . . . 7/3Ray Merced . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/3Herbert Schwartz . . . . . . . .7/4Chris Torrao . . . . . . . . . . . . .7/4God Bless America!. . . . . .7/4Kayla Ann Ferro . . . . . . . . . 7/5Robyn Sue Lord . . . . . . . . . 7/5Frank Rando . . . . . . . . . . . 7/5Kayla Ann Snell . . . . . . . . . 7/5Lori Lill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/6Ron Curtiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/7

Angelo Grippo . . . . . . . . . 7/7Edward Sepulveda . . . . . . 7/7Jenna De Liberto . . . . . . . 7/8Joyce Sunshine . . . . . . . . . 7/8Kristi Schopfer . . . . . . . . . 7/10Anthony Zaccone . . . . . 7/13Alyssa Marie Misyak . . . . 7/14Ann Schamble . . . . . . . . 7/15Michelle Ann Snell . . . . . 7/15Derek Dobol . . . . . . . . . . 7/16Jessica Dobol . . . . . . . . . 7/16Joanne Gursky . . . . . . . . 7/17Carrie Szluka . . . . . . . . . . 7/18Alexander Razvmov . . . . 7/19Ryan Saccoman . . . . . . . 7/19Cocoa Saccoman . . . . . 7/19Ashley Jacobus . . . . . . . . 7/19Linda Portaro . . . . . . . . . .7/20Megan Suaifan . . . . . . . . 7/20Kaitlin Vinciguerra . . . . . . 7/22Harry Quagliana . . . . . . .7/23George Shamar . . . . . . . 7/23

Kayla Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/24Eva Gasporowska . . . . . . 7/25Kathy Valdes . . . . . . . . . . .7/25Joseph Lopez . . . . . . . . . 7/27Ornella Ganoza . . . . . . . 7/27Gina Oliva . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/28Amanda Fabiano . . . . . . 7/29Stephen Camp, Sr. . . . . . 7/30Mary T. Mancin . . . . . . . . 7/30Frances Greco . . . . . . . . .7/31

Herbert ‘Poppie’ Schwartzcelebrates his 86th

birthday on July 4.

Birthdays & Celebrations!send us your dates and names... [email protected]

Congratulations to Anna and Edward Smithwho celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on July 5.

Also, best wishes to Anna whose birthday is July 25.

Rich and SusanVan Blarcom

celebrated 30 years of

marriage on June 2.

Carol and Bob Van Der Linda were wed 58 years on June 10.

Congratulations to CHS gradGiovanna Modola

who also celebrated her 18th birthday on June 14.


1036

Happy 70th Birthday to Joyce Sunshine on July 8.

Maggie DiMolli graduatedAlliant International University,in Fresno CA, on June 5 with aPh.D. in Forensic Psychology.

Happy Birthday to Marie Angello on July 3.


Coach Vandy’s ashes spread atClifton Stadium: Robert ZekeKnight and I took Gilda VanderCloster to dinner on May 30, whenshe asked us to fulfill CoachVandy’s request to have his ashesspread on the Mustang footballfield. Zeke and I said it would be anhonor and on June 1, we venturedinto the stadium around noon.

It was very surreal because no onewas in the stadium except the two ofus. We said a few prayers and thenspread some good luck ashes from agreat legend of CHS football.

Coach had also requested thathalf of his ashes be spread atWallkill Golf Course, a publiccourse in Middletown, NY, wherehe had been club president and had

several holes in one. Gilda andtheir daughters handled this tributein mid-May.

Because Coach had three daugh-ters, he unofficially adopted threeboys, Dr. Robert Amoruso, Knightand myself. Bob played in 1963,Zeke in 1958 and I graduated in1957 before being inducted into theCHS Hall of Fame. All three of uswere lifeguards for Coach atBubbling Springs Lake in WestMilford, a favorite Clifton hang out.

In a final testament to his gener-ous spirit, Coach had his body left toscience, and that explains why thedelay in scattering his ashes.

Now I ask Clifton communityleaders: since the field is namedafter fellow legendary Coach JoeGrecco, should we not name thefieldhouse in honor of Vandy?

David ‘Moose’ Bosson, CHS ‘57on behalf of Mustang players & fans

973-773-2409

John Saffioti’s Artfully PouringStella on Tap

Dear Friends, I proudly invite you to Clifton’s most

charming tavern. Our draft beers are ice cold and always

poured perfectly. You’ll find a nice selec-

tion of wines and we serve delicious home

made dinners and sandwiches in a very

clean and meticulously restored “Post-

Prohibition Era” building.

Plus, if you are planning a party for

any special event—we can accommodate

private parties up to 50 people. From

drinks to food, I’ll work with you to cre-

ate an affordable and memorable affair.

We’re on a one way street so to get

here take Pleasant or Sade St. off of Van

Houten. I think you’ll enjoy an evening

at Heart of Athenia... John Saffioti

A Great, Affordable Place for Drinks & Good Food

The glory years and life of MustangCoach Bill Vander Closter, who diedMarch 26, 2007, was profiled in ourSept. 2005 edition. Just a few weeks agoon June 1, two of his former playersscattered his ashes at Clifton Stadium.


From the ‘Only in Clifton’ file of...

True & Amazing Tales

Major Credit Cards Accepted

July 2009_cover from TEMPLATE 6/25/09 1:09 PM Page 3

Tomahawk Promotions1288 Main AvenueClifton, NJ 07011

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clifton merchant magazine - july 2009

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