Mrs Buchen's 4th Grade Class and Matawan Past and Present (1971)

A dear reader provided me with a copy of Matawan Past and Present: A Look at Our Town, prepared by Mrs Dorothy Buchen's 4th grade class (1970 - 1971) at Strathmore Elementary School. The paperback contains 114 pages of local history and then-current information about local businesses, government and society.

History: Burtina Place, Keyport

Burtina Place and Octavia Place, which are located between Green Grove Avenue, Maple Place, Hurley Street and Van Dorn Street in Keyport, are named after the daughters of Burtis Ashburn and Julia Mary (English) Aumack, of Union Beach.

Burtis was born 2 May 1892 in Raritan Township, NJ and died in Mar 1973 in North Brunswick, NJ. He was a furniture salesman in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 enumerations of the US Census.

Julia was born 25 May 1892, also in Raritan Township, and died 6 Sep 1960 in Newark, NJ. She was a public school teacher for 42 years in Monmouth County, 20 years in Union Beach, including as a principal.  She married Burtis in 1913 and had two daughters before 1920. (See Julia's obituary in the 15 Sep 1960 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 3, cols 1-2.)

A neighbor told me that Burtis Aumack built a small neighborhood in Keyport in 1933 and named two of the new streets after his kids. Real estate listings and local papers indicate that development began in 1929 and continued through the 1930s and 1940s into the early 1950s. *

I'm unclear how a furniture salesman ended up building homes, but Burtis was certainly well respected in the area: he served on a police committee that was established when the Borough of Union Beach was established in 1925, according to an online borough police department history. (Perhaps there is a "construction" connection in the fact that Burtis was on "Strother's Builders" bowling team, as recorded in the 5 Feb 1953 edition of The Matawan Journal?)

The Union Beach Board of Education named Julia as Acting Principal of the Florence Avenue School, according to the 19 May 1955 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Burtis and his wife traveled from New York to Southampton, England in July 1938 aboard the S S Normandie and returned from Le Havre, France to New York in August 1938 aboard the S S Ile de France. (It was during August 1938 that Britain's Neville Chamberlain sent an emissary to Czechoslovakia to seek a resolution to the Sudeten Crisis. Chamberlain himself met with Adolf Hitler in September 1938 and ceded the land to Germany, in an attempt to appease Hitler. The beginning of the Second World War loomed - a dangerous time to take a vacation.)

As for the girls for whom the streets were named: Burtina Mae Aumack attended West Chester Teachers College in the mid 1930s and worked for years as a teacher. Like her mother, Burtina was enumerated as a public school teacher in the 1940 Federal Census. She was mentioned as working at Keyport High School in school yearbooks from the late 1950s and early 1960s, and again in the Red Bank Register in September 1963. She retired with a pension from the Keyport Board of Education in January 1980. Burtina was married to Captain George W Parcels, commander, New Jersey State Police Patrol, Garden State Parkway, according to the 23 Sep 1963 edition of The Red Bank Register (pg 3 col 5).

Her sister, Octavia (Aumack) Mahawage made several sea voyages to South America, served in education adminitration, and died in Columbus, Ohio in August 1990.

Julia Aumack's brother, Eugene V English, was killed in an automobile accident on Route 35 in Holmdel, according to the 19 Jul 1945 edition of The Matawan Journal. Burtina Parcels' son Burt was also killed in a car crash, just 3 years ago. (See 7 May 2010 edition of the Barnstable Patriot)

I found the following references to Burtina Place in The Matawan Journal beginning in 1945 and Octavia Place in 1951.

• Mr and Mrs Joseph Shumock, of 3 Burtina Place, were the proud parents of a newborn daughter, according to the 18 Jan 1945 edition of The Matawan Journal. 
• Mr and Mrs George Boyce, of Burtina Place, were the proud parents of a newborn son, according to the 5 Jul 1945 edition of The Matawan Journal.
• Ms Dorothy Boyce hosted a shower at her home on Burtina Place, according to the 6 Sep 1945 edition of The Matawan Journal.
• George Raymond Boyce, son of Mr and Mrs George E Boyce, of Burtina Place, was engaged, according to an announcement in the 13 Jun 1946 edition of The Matawan Journal.
• Mrs Joseph Shumock and her children Harold and Judy, of Burtina Place; William Conway, of Green Grove Avenue; and Mrs Peter TenEyck of Matawan were visiting Mrs Shumock's and Mrs TenEyck's relatives in LaBelle, Missouri, according to the 31 Jul 1947 edition of The Matawan Journal.
• Mr and Mrs Vanderbilt Boyce, of Burtina Place, were the proud parents of a newborn daughter, according to the 13 Oct 1949 edition of the Matawan Journal.
• Mr and Mrs Charles Herriger, Jr, 5 Octavia Place, were the proud parents of a newborn daughter, according to the 28 Jun 1951 edition of The Matawan Journal.

* Land records show 3 and 8 Burtina PL were built in 1929; 1 Burtina PL in 1931; 7 Burtina PL in 1951. 3 Octavia PL was built in 1948; 4 Octavia PL in 1951; 10 Octavia PL in 1953; 9 Octavia PL in 1989.

Wright's Law - NY Times

I listen to podcasts on my commute. Occasionally I come upon a really good one. Wright's Law is a wonderful and touching story about a teacher. I highly recommend this New York Times piece.

Eleanor Van Brakle, Teacher (1869 - 1956)

Public School, Matawan, NJ

I purchased a post card this week of the old Matawan High School on Broad Street. The image is of the building before the 1908 addition, suggesting that the photo was taken between 1895, when the building was built, and 1908. You can see an image of the building in 1909, after the addition was constructed, in Around Matawan and Aberdeen, by Helen Henderson, pg 118.

The post card was addressed to an Eleanor Van Brackle of Keyport. Someone named Mary, perhaps her student or a fellow teacher, thanked Ms Van Brackle for the "postal" (post card or letter) and "the lessons you sent". The card is postmarked October at Keyport, but the precise date and year are illegible.

I found the following about Eleanor in the census and local newspapers:

The 1870 Federal Census showed Ella Van Brackle (2) in the Matawan household of her parents, Thos E (34) and Elizabeth (30) Van Brackle. Thomas was a farmer. Also in the household were Ella's elder brother Frank Van Brackle (4), (her uncle?) George Van Brackle (28), and (her grandmother?) Ann Van Brackle (60).  Note: Thomas and Elizabeth had another son named Frank born about 1863 who died 18 Dec 1864 in Matawan.

The 1880 Federal Census showed Eleanor Van Brackel, age 11, daughter of Thomas (44) and Elizabeth (39) Van Brackel. Thomas listed no occupation. The family was living on Broadway in Raritan. Eleanor's siblings were Franck (14), Mary (8), Fred (7), and Thomas (2). Note: Son Fred was born 22 Sep 1872 in Matawan.

The 1900 Federal Census showed Eleanor Van Brakle born Aug 1869 in New Jersey. She was living with her parents, Thomas (Dec 1835 NJ) and Elizabeth (Nov 1840 NJ) Van Brakle, and sibling Frank Van Brakle (Feb 1868 NJ), in Raritan. Her parents had been married 39 years and her mother had four surviving children from among the six she'd borne.

The 1910 Federal Census showed Eleanor Van Brakle, age 40, born in New Jersey to NJ parents, single, living on Warren Street in Keyport. Her occupation was listed as teacher, high school.

The 1920 Federal Census showed Eleanor Van Brakle, age 51 NJ, as vice principal in a high school. She was living on Holmdel Turnpike in Holmdel and was listed as the sister-in-law of the head of household Charles I Young (50 NJ) and his wife, Mary (48 NJ). Charles owned a farm.

The 1930 Federal Census showed Eleanor Van Brakle, age 61 NJ, as a teacher at a school. She was born in Matawan to parents born in Holmdel. She was still living with Charles and Mary. Note that Mary was also born in Matawan to Holmdel parents and is very likely Eleanor's sister.

The 19 Jun 1936 edition of The Matawan Journal (pg 3 col 3) contained a society piece saying that Donald Van Brackle, of Crown Point, NY, was visiting his aunt Eleanor Van Brackle to attend a class reunion at Rutgers University.

The 1940 Federal Census showed Eleanor Van Brakle, age 71 NJ, living at 138 Main Street in Keyport. She was not employed and was not seeking employment.

The 27 Feb 1941 edition of The Red Bank Register (pg 23 col 4) said that Eleanor Van Brakle was elected to the board of trustees of the Keyport Free Library in the position of treasurer.

The 3 May 1945 edition of The Red Bank Register (pg 20 col 3) said that Eleanor Van Brakle was re-elected secretary of the missionary society at the First Baptist Church in Keyport.

The 18 Sep 1947 edition of The Red Bank Register (pg 17 col 4) said Eleanor Van Brakle attended a meeting of the Women's League of the First Baptist Church of Keyport.

Eleanor Van Brakle (2 Aug 1869 - 2 Oct 1956) is buried at Green Grove Cemetery in Keyport, according to Distant Cousin. (Image of her gravestone)

The First Baptist Church of Keyport had an Eleanor Van Brakle Girls' Guild, according to the 19 May 1960 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Fear Overcomes Wisdom

Superintendent Healy made it very clear at last night's Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District board meeting that he feels that his job hangs in the balance when test scores fluctuate in district schools and he will therefore move heaven and earth to see that those statistics are favorable to his ongoing and prosperous employment. Board President Kenny then repeatedly told the public that his board would only consider 1) Mr Healy's presentation that night and 2) confidential discussions the board conducted in executive session when they voted on the personnel array later that evening.

After standing in the hallway for 2 1/2 hours listening first to Mr Healy and then to a long line of teachers, staff, parents, and other members of the public, I saw the writing on the wall and went home in disgust. Mr Kenny had outlined his guidance to the board on how they should weigh their vote, and it didn't include listening to the public. (Feel free to post a note if the outcome of the vote was unexpected.)

I've come to realize that emotion, not reason, moves today's agendas, and no amount of intellectual argument will change anything. Lies and misrepresentation can be exposed eloquently but to no avail. And poor decision making will never be amended or reversed as a result of well-timed guidance. The fearful, more prevalent than normal in these uncertain times, lust for power. They do not seek wisdom but comfort, and none can be found where they are looking.

Matawan-Aberdeen School District - 2012-13 Draft Calendar, June Meeting

The 2012-2013 MARSD Calendar is available in draft version at the district's website. The calendar provides the planned holidays, training days, parent-teacher days, testing, and the days that the school year is expected to begin and end.

The regular meeting of the school board is scheduled for 7 pm this evening at Crest Way. Regular is probably a misnomer as teachers are expecting word on the board's reconsideration of its plan to  reassign many teachers out of and into Lloyd Road Elementary. Sources tell me that the board plans to stand its ground on the matrix. And who said there would be no fireworks this year?

History: A Salute to Our Teachers, Matawan

In the good old days, we saluted our teachers for their service and offered them our support where we could. We recognized that the future of our children was largely in their hands. This Matawan Bank advertisement appeared 50 years ago this week in the 7 Sep 1961 edition of The Matawan Journal.

Nonunionized Labor Gets No Holiday

There is lots of talk about teacher salaries and benefits in New Jersey but little discussion of the status of non-unionized labor in our schools. Anyone who has been following the school budget fights in Monmouth County in recent years knows that janitors, cafeteria workers, and substitute teachers have been outsourced in many school districts, but we hear little about their fates under the new systems.

Local school boards are finding further savings by sharply cutting the salaries and benefits of instructional aids. They are considered paraprofessionals and are often qualified as substitutes and in some cases have years of experience with our children. They aren't certified teachers, but they've been mentored by teachers and have lots of experience in the classroom. I just heard that one district is cutting its instructional aid salaries by a third and eliminating their free medical coverage. Another is trying to find highly qualified candidates to work with elementary school special education students at slightly over minimum wage.

The grim truth is that nonunionized school employees can be unable to afford monthly health insurance costs of over $1,000 when their salaries have been cut. And some who have been outsourced have had to move in with relatives to make ends meet.

So go ahead and be mad about your taxes. Then realize we have effectively abandoned people who worked with our kids to squeeze an extra few dollars out of local school budgets, then invited lesser qualified people into our schools. Happy Labor Day.

Christie Hedges His Bets

I got a slick ad in the mail recently from Better Education for Kids, Inc with headlines like "It's time to reject the narrow interests of the teacher's union." and "Reforming New Jersey's public schools begins with you." NJ Spotlight provides a nice rundown on this new 501(c)4 political organization. The organizer is a school choice activist. The organization is sponsored by a couple of NJ hedge fund managers who live in Christie's neighborhood and support Christie's wife's local charity, according to HedgeFund.net.

Brace yourselves -- the political nonsense is only going to get worse as these so-called independent organizations get rolling. American democracy is up for bid. Christie is certainly hedging his bets.

Jets Stadium Beckons Matawan Fan

Matawan resident Andrea Riemen is vying with 13 other candidates to have the honor of singing the national anthem on Fan Appreciation Day at the Jets' new stadium in the Meadowlands on 23 October 2011, according to APP. Riemen is a music teacher at the Harmony School in Middletown.

Patricia O'Keefe Retires; New Principal Sought for Lloyd Road Elementary

The online podcast of the 27 June 2011 MARSD Board of Education meeting includes the following interesting pieces of information:

O'Keefe

• Ms Patricia O'Keefe has announced her retirement as Principal at the Lloyd Road Elementary School. (The job is already posted online.)
• The district has hired two new Vice Principals -- Mr Michael Wells at MRHS and Mr Mark Van Horn at MAMS. Mr Wells begins his duties 1 July 2011; Mr Van Horn on 1 August 2011.
• The Board has participated in two mediated sessions of negotiations with the Matawan Regional Teachers Association (MRTA), on 27 April and 6 June 2011, and plans to attend a third session on 8 August.
• The Superintendent of Schools and the Mayor of Matawan (on behalf of both Aberdeen and Matawan) each recognized Kathleen Eovino for her years of dedicated service to the community through her work in the school system and on the board of the Matawan-Aberdeen Public Library. The student representative likewise praised her service and thanked her on behalf of his fellow students. Ms Eovino, in turn, recognized the service of teachers in our district. She also recognized the library board for their efforts. She received a well deserved standing ovation from those in attendance.

Matawan Shoots Its Hoops in the Foot, Comes Out Lame

Parents and students were out in force at the most recent BOE meeting, according to APP, to show their support for a sports coach dropped from the lineup at Matawan Regional High School. It seems he said a bad word, or at least that's the word. My word. The school's laydown story is that the job is open to all comers and each year there could be a new coach, and, gosh, this is the year that happened, so take it in stride. Well, that simply doesn't pass the sniff test. Don't tell me that a guy who's been coaching in the district for four years in a row is coincidentally sidelined this year, by chance. I don't have a horse in this race but I hope the school will reconsider the matter. Let the man formally apologize and get it over with. Play ball!

Secret Agent Dogs Listen to the Page

This week, third graders at Ravine Drive Elementary made the news. Their Listen to the Page online feature (warning: it takes a few moments for the page to load) is discussed in some detail at The Independent. The project is in its third iteration. Personally, I enjoyed Secret Agent Dog. What a wonderful story and the art work was great! Max, Dexter, and of course Fluffy the not so fluffy dog!! Great job.

This Week in the Media: Gov Christie and Teachers

I occasionally go to Google News and search Christie to see what the world thinks of our governor. I was looking today to see what was being written about Christie's teacher-tenure reforms. Here are a few excerpts from articles, most about education reform. It seems no articles about teachers or unions can be written without at least a nod to Christie. The articles below give you a flavor of what's being said this week:

NJ.com - Governor Christie Continues Assault on Teachers Unions at Town Hall Meeting in Cape May County

Virginia Gowen, a nurse at Lower Township Elementary School, was one of those applauding. She walked out halfway through the town hall meeting, she said, because she was upset at how Christie portrayed teachers.

In her district, where 54 percent of the elementary school students receive free lunches, Gowen said Christie is oversimplifying the jobs of teachers, who often have to deal with troubled, ill children.

"He’s just totally demeaning what I do at work,’’ Gowen said.

Businessweek - NJ Gov Sends Education Proposal to Legislature

Christie announced seven new bills that include basing teacher evaluations equally on student performance and twice-yearly classroom observations, granting tenure after three years of effective reviews, and creating a system of merit pay that rewards teachers who work in failing districts, specialize in hard-to-staff subjects or whose students demonstrate measurable improvement. . . .

Other bills in the package would protect young, accomplished teachers from layoffs by eliminating seniority protections for veteran teachers; allow districts to strip tenure protection from teachers rated ineffective; and make it quicker and less expensive to fire ineffective teachers. . . .

New Jersey Teachers Union spokesman Steve Wollmer said research shows that it's not effective or fair to judge teachers based on student test scores, in part because there are many factors that contribute to student achievement that teachers can't control. He also objected to the idea of merit pay, saying that it would create competition among teachers rather than foster a collegial environment that makes a school community thrive.

The merit pay proposal, he said, "is a classic case of the governor and his staff not understanding how a school works."

Wollmer said the idea of eliminating seniority protection for veteran teachers during layoffs is a thinly veiled attempt to decrease a district's bottom line by replacing experienced teachers with less expensive novice educators.

"Why is experience a liability in education -- it's not," he said.

The only proposal on which the governor and the union agree is speeding up the administrative process for firing a teacher. The union favors a quicker approach in part because it pays the legal bills while the case is pending.

Courier-Post Online - School Boards Confront Great Uncertainty

In 2010, there were 2,055 candidates running for 1,619 available school board seats, the New Jersey School Boards Association reported -- 60 percent of them incumbents seeking re-election.

This year, 2,222 candidates hope to fill 1,612 seats -- the first increase in candidates since 2006. But only 49 percent are incumbents.

The Christian Science Monitor - Why NJ Teacher-Tenure Reform Plan Matters to the Rest of America

Moves to weaken traditional job protections for teachers are gaining momentum around the country. Tenure reform bills were recently signed into law in Florida and Tennessee, and are being considered in Illinois, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and several other states. Delaware and Colorado passed such laws last year. . . .

Tenured teachers have due-process protections when a school district wants to fire them; districts can more easily remove untenured teachers.

NJ.com - Meet the "Anti-Christie" - CT Gov Dannell Malloy

Connecticut Governor Dannell Malloy is seeking givebacks from the unions on the same scale as Christie, but he doesn’t blame public workers for those cushy contracts. He blames the politicians in both parties who signed them.

“Do I think the unions have made mistakes? Yes,” he says. “But every mistake they’ve made has been in concert with the governor and the Legislature. So let’s be honest. I don’t see the unions as the bad guys here. I’m not trying to scapegoat anybody, or blame anybody.”

Union leaders, who backed Malloy against Republican Tom Foley in November’s election, say Malloy’s respectful tone will make it easier for them to sell concessions to their members.

“With Tom Foley, we would have been the menu,” says Lori Pelletier, secretary general of the state’s AFL-CIO. “With Dan Malloy, we’re at the table.”

Compare that with the hissing and snarling that passes for conversation between Christie and, as he calls them, the “union thugs” he constantly denounces. . .

Will Malloy’s liberal approach to the crisis succeed? That depends a lot on the unions.

Malloy needs $1 billion in givebacks to make this work, a staggering sum that the union says works out to about $20,000 per worker.

If the unions don’t budge, Malloy vows massive layoffs and program cuts.
“I’d prefer to downsize over time,” he says. “But if I have to do it overnight, I will.”

The New York Times - Christie Takes Conservatism Beyond Fiscal Issues

Mr. Christie had little political experience to define him when he ran for governor in 2009; . .. During the campaign, the state’s deep financial trouble took center stage. Mr. Christie focused on the state’s high taxes, played down his opposition to abortion, and aligned himself with President Obama on subjects like education reform and promoting wind and solar energy. And the new governor was a blank slate on some issues, like global warming.

In office, he eliminated the state’s Office of Climate Change, cut funding for clean energy programs and eliminated New Jersey’s share of financing for a 10-state greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program that is anathema to many conservatives.

. . . In November, Mr. Christie went further: He revealed that he was skeptical that human activity was responsible for climate change. . . . On March 11, he pulled New Jersey out of a multistate lawsuit aimed at curbing greenhouse emissions from power plants, and on March 24, he said he might also withdraw entirely from the cap-and-trade program.

in January, the governor addressed a large anti-abortion rally in Trenton, saying, “This is an issue whose time has come.” . . . In September, he vetoed state support for family planning clinics, a move strongly backed by anti-abortion groups because some of the clinics performed abortions. Last month, after the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a much smaller appropriation for family planning, backed mostly by federal dollars, he vetoed that, too. Mr. Christie also applied for federal money for abstinence-only education . . ..

MARSD Special Action Meeting

The BOE met this evening at 1 Crest Way. The board quickly retired to Executive Session to hear recommendations on tenure from school administrators. There was considerable hand-wringing in the mostly empty room as principals waited their turn to present their cases to the board.

The meeting finally reconvened for a presentation by Dr. Debra Sheard and Mrs. Michele Ruscavage on how the high school will help incoming 9th graders make a successful transition from MAMS. The Freshman Initiative will use core curriculum, team teaching, attentive counseling, closely situated classrooms and lockers, a positive attitude, and strong parental involvement in all aspects of the initiative to improve the students' academic and time management skills, attendance and behavior, thereby increasing the rate of student promotion to 10th grade. 

The budget and finance section of the meeting was too complex and too quick to be informative to the casual observer and the board had already spent considerable time on the tenure issue.As far as instructional assistants are concerned, they of course aren't tenured. Instead, they receive RIF notices each year and must await job renewal offers that come in May or June.

Autism Awareness Gets Bumped Up at MAMS

Matawan Aberdeen Middle School (MAMS) plans a hair raising time on Friday in support of autism awareness. For a small donation, teachers, administrators, and students can wear their hair in a faux-hawk or bumpit. I'm hearing the event has spread around the district like a virus. I wish the program coordinators good luck in their promotion!

History: Racial Conflict at Matawan Regional HS - Late Sept 1970

The front page of The Matawan Journal's 1 October 1970 edition contains reporting of racial tensions at the high school that eventually flared into riots and marauding youths. Some interesting materials for the African-Americans in The Matawan Journal series.

The reporting suggests at one point that the violence could have been caused by outsiders, possibly students or adults from rival schools stirring the pot before some important football games. At other times there are mentions that the violence was actually planned ahead of time or an unfortunate result of overcrowding at the high school. However it started, once there was violence, fear took over and rumors started to fly, turning things in the community even uglier.  The Journal reported many of the rumors without comment, which might not have been the best approach. Police and school officials seemed to take a reasonable approach once they caught up with events, but the news coverage suggests that neither had their ears to the ground on this.

There is a stark difference between that school district and its current iteration. We should be thankful that our kids get along and strive to do so ourselves.

On a technical note, the online scanned images for this paper are abysmal, so I retrieved the original newspaper from the library archives, photocopied the articles, and transcribed them below for the record.

Five Days Student Turmoil

Racial conflicts flared anew at Matawan Regional High School during the past week following an outbreak at a dance on Friday night. Monday and Tuesday were tense days and nights for police, school, municipal authorities and parents, but rain last night cooled things somewhat and all are hopeful that tensions will ease when school resumes Monday after being closed today and tomorrow for the Jewish holiday.

Non-students as well as students suffered in the resulting violence. Harold F Dolan, a former president of the Matawan Regional Board of Education, who sought to disperse a group of youths who entered his property on Atlantic Avenue at the height of the disturbances Friday night received a cut on the arm before he drove the youths off.

This same group of 30 young Negroes were reported by another Atlantic Avenue householder to have smashed a $350 picture window of his home and a woman reported her car was stoned and a window broken as she sought to turn into the driveway of her home. The offenders were reported as fleeing into the woods to avoid detection, but it was the opinion of school authorities they were some of the out-of-towners who had invaded the pep rally and dance the night before the first football game.

The ostensible cause of the disturbance was a quarrel between a white and Negro girl over a pair of shoes. But there were those who spurned this simple explanation of the incitement to the trouble. Stanley Pianko, deputy mayor of Matawan Township, confirmed last night he had spoken with township police about rumors that there would be trouble Friday. Mayor Hans Froehlich, after the outburst, was critical of the judgment of the school authorities to permit the dance to go on in view of advance indications that all was not well among the student body.

Last night Mr Pianko took strong exception to a daily newspaper report quoting John J Bradley, president of the Board of Education, purporting to censure Mr Pianko for not warning school authorities if he knew there was going to be trouble. "I don't buy that," was Mr Pianko's comment.

Township Police Chief Ralph E Wallace indicated his department was taken by surprise by the fact the affair was not restricted to Matawan students in that only two police officers, Sgt Theodore Lefkowich and Patrolman Rocco Polizzato, were assigned to be on hand.

"Anybody who had a buck could get in," the chief commented with respect to the reported attendance of outsiders from Red Bank and Freehold.

Sgt Ralph Medolla, on patrol with Patrolman William Andrews that night, reported receiving a walkie-talkie radio report from Sgt Lefkowich at 10 pm that rumors of trouble brewing had reached the officers on the scene. A call to go to the school cafeteria at 10:15 pm resulted in Sgt Medolla and Patrolman Andrews finding the doors to it chained, and they had to squeeze in through a window.

Two Girls in A Fight

Sgt Medolla did find the white and Negro girl embroiled, the white girl charging her shoes had been stolen. When the Negro girl denied knowledge of to whom the shoes belonged, the shoes were yielded to the white girl. This seemed to be all the provocation the adherents of the girls battling over the shoes needed as right away hostilities broke out and swept to every area of the dance floor.  Sgt Medolla reported seeing Patrolman Andrews surrounded by about 100 youths, mostly Negroes, then 15 black students "jumping him" with the officer trying to subdue the one leading the attack. The officer floored another who interfered, letting the main offender get away. The second one to attack the officer was taken into custody for resisting arrest.

Sight of a white youth cornered on a table top by 50 blacks led to a call by Sgt Lefkowich to borough police for aid. It came quickly so that an announcement by Sgt Medolla at 10:40 pm that the dance was over could reach a quelled group of combatants.

Then came the problem of five police trying to disperse a crowd of nearly 500 out on the school lawn cursing and threatening. More borough police re-enforcements dissuaded at Atlantic Avenue and Little Street those who sought to turn towards the borough. Those who continued down Atlantic Avenue were the ones to become involved in the incidents there.

First aid ambulances joined police at the high school grounds. One white youth was taken to Riverview Hospital from a blow with a timber. A girl beaten at Third Street needed medical attention. Riverview Hospital reported treating a third Matawan student for hurts that night.

John Bolger, Spring Lake, a teacher at Lloyd Road School, visiting friends in Matawan Friday night, told police that as he came out to get in his car he was set upon by six Negro youths near the high school for no discernible reason other than that he must have been confused in the darkness for a white high school student.

One Negro youth told of being threatened by whites with a gun. The whites in a car got away, but the license was picked up by observers. But when the car was stopped in the borough, no weapons were found. However, the Negroes were insistent in their report of being threatened.

Police reported two Negro boys assisting a badly beaten white boy into the shelter of the school building to await first aid attention.

Three nights later, Monday, guns were reality.

But, in the interim, the Matawan-Middletown football game was played and blacks and whites on the Matawan squad gave no evidence on the playing field that there had ever been any disruption in the Matawan camp the night before. But there was a notable lack of black rooters in the Matawan stands.

Many Fear The Worst

Then came that Monday. On Sunday, the day before a moving van or two in Strathmore, then, at 10:30 pm, a call from a mother in tones of agonized fear that she would not be sending her daughter to high school the next day because she was believing a rumor that there would be new trouble.

Monday morning, more concerned reports came in. Councilwoman Patricia Wills cautioned of white boys armed heavily gathering at a popular hamburger spot. A store manager called in that there could be confrontations of whites and blacks in the parking lots of Acme, A&P, and Shop Rite that night.

A call came in the late morning about gunfire reported from the area of the high school. A call was received from a woman about a threat that the Cliffwood Beach area would be fire-bombed that night. Then there was a rumor Negro youth would throw Molotov cocktails into Strathmore homes that night in revenge for damage supposedly done to Negroes' homes in Cliffwood.

At 11 am there was a warning that a bomb was to be planted. A report was received that a bomb had been planted in the school. The school was emptied. In lunch hour, there was more trouble, whites and Negroes in separate knots, calling names and some fisticuffs.

White Caravan Of "War"

Later in the day, the area of the school at time to go home was swarming with police, patrol cars, ambulances. Three Negroes were taken in custody for loitering on the school grounds.

Then, the nightfall - the recollection of fears of the store managers that there would be mass fighting in the large parking areas of the chain stores. Tempers were heightened by word a 16-year white student, a junior at the high school was severely beaten about the face by Negroes. Verification of the rumors about the chain stores being sites of battle that night as police rounded up Negroes advancing at Cliffwood Avenue and Route 35 on the A&P lot with sticks and tire chains. Then a caravan of whites, 10 cars, 53 youths in all - a hammer thrown into the windshield of one car, a girl cut about the face.

Borough police with carbines and tin "war" hats intercepted the caravan, hustling them back to the council room at borough hall - the 53 held behind closed doors while the "riot" act was read them, some booked but not held.

Tuesday - dawned a chilly cooling-off day. Police were in the school, in the school area.

Tuesday night, a poorly kept secret, the rumble center to be at the Cat N' Fiddle. But Matawan Township and Madison Township police were there first, the roads of access blocked off in Cliffwood Beach, no rumble, the combatants could not make it. Three adults and a juvenile were taken into custody by Matawan Borough police for defiance of an officer's orders and having the makings of weapons.

Yesterday ... a new report in fear that homes in Cliffwood Beach were to be firebombed last night.. but last night it rained and nobody was out.

Mayor Irked At Cost of Unrest

Mayor Victor Armellino, Matawan Borough, expressed annoyance last night at the handling of the student disorders situation by the Regional Board of Education. He said he was aware all the added costs of it came out of the same taxpayers' pocket, be it school or municipal, but he felt that the extra expenses should come out of the school board's and not the municipal budgets.

Yesterday attempts were made to cool down the situation. A "rap" session between a panel of five from each the whites and Negroes was held. Dr John F McKenna, superintendent, said this morning he was somewhat disappointed in the resulst, that the session started off well enough but, as it ended, and in the student attitudes afterward, he felt "the progress we had hoped for" had not been made. Dialogue did continue, he observed.

The superintendent was inclined to blame much of the trouble on the over-crowded condition of the high school. He said that the pushing against one another in crowded hallways during passing to classes resulted, as he saw it, in irritations and provocative incidents, pupils accusing one another of offenses never deliberate or intended.

Upperclassmen Talks

The dialogue yesterday was between junion and senior students. Dr McKenna felt that with a lapse of four days of school being closed (today and tomorrow for the Jewish holy days) there would be a cooling off period that would provide a better atmosphere for approaches between ninth and tenth grade pupils on Monday. Dr McKenna blamed the spreading of rumors and the building up of minor things into inflammatory major reports as they were exaggerated from mouth to mouth for a lot of the trouble.

Last night the Rev Paul L Jackson, First Baptist Church, acting for the Matawan ministerium, addressed a large gathering of whites on the situation while Det Sgt Stanley Parrish, Matawan Township Police, was doing the same with a group of black students. A hopeful note came out of these gatherings.

Lt Det John McGinty said this morning there are only four juvenile complaints on file in the township and no charges against those 18 or over as a result of the week's disturbances.

While a junior varsity football game was called off Monday and a cross-country meet was moved out of town, school officials saw no occasion to do anything about the varsity football game to be held at Long Branch Saturday.

Jon Stewart and the Targeting of Teachers

Thursday evening's Daily Show included an amazing piece on the recent attacks on teachers. Jon Stewart's commentary was even discussed in The Washington Post. I've included the video below. I highly recommend it. He also interviewed Diane Ravitch on her new book The Death and Life of the Great American School System.

The Daily Show
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Matawan's Damned Dam Repairs

The Independent provides some important clarifications and additional details to the story about the upcoming dam renovations in Matawan.

In my recent blog article, prompted by an APP article about plans to renovate Lake Matawan and Lake Lefferts dams, I asked about the huge line of credit set aside by the state for these repairs. It seems the state established a line of credit based on the Borough's original application, but the current estimated cost is considerably lower. The Borough Attorney says interest will only accrue on the amount actually borrowed.

The Independent makes reference to the need for replacement of the spill weight in the Ravine Drive bridge. I wonder if that is some variation of the term spillway? You can read more about the Ravine Drive bridge in 5 August 1927 edition of The Matawan Journal. The front page article is called Plans Are Ready for Bridge on Ravine Drive.

The APP article made no mention of calls by some residents to drain the lakes rather than fix the dams, something The Independent reported in some detail. This is only the latest in a series of short-sighted efforts by those weary of high property taxes in New Jersey to save a buck at untold cost to the public good. I'm as upset as the next guy at high property taxes and the state of the economy, but use some sense and think about something besides your pocket book for a change. Luckily, the destruction of these two wonderful community assets is not on the agenda, not only because it wouldn't actually save any money to drain the lakes, but it would hurt revenues from lakefront ratables. Oh, and they provide community values.

Those who are truly tired of high taxes should press for municipal consolidation, which would save oodles more money than Governor Christie's goal of whacking away at the salaries and pensions of state workers and teachers. At the very least, a merger with Aberdeen could result in shared coverage of the costs of Matawan's dam(ned) repairs. Of course you'd have to convince our councils to merge and one of the Parties to step down from municipal control. That's probably the true obstacle to consolidation and lowered taxes.

Well, in any event, I recommend reading up on the dams renovation project. Repairs look to begin in mid- to late 2012, after assorted preliminaries are completed.

African Americans in the Matawan Journal - 23 April 1959

The New Jersey State Commissioner of Education ordered Madison Township Public Schools to hire Charles Williams, an African American living in New Brunswick, after the township refused to hire him in September 1958 solely due to his race. He submitted his application for employment in May 1958 and was considered and rejected for positions that he was qualified for at the beginning of the school year.

The case, based on his complaint filed in Mar 1959, was the first such anti-discrimination case to be heard in the state, according to The Matawan Journal of 23 April 1959. An effort to resolve the case before it came to a formal hearing failed. The Commissioner found probable cause to exist and the case was promptly resolved in Mr Williams' favor.

The commissioner's resolution included orders for the Madison schools superintendent to cease and desist with his discriminatory hiring practices, for the school board to promptly consider Mr Williams' application for employment, for the board to compensate Mr Williams for lost wages for the interim period between September 1958 and the date Madison hires him, and for the district to report back to the commissioner on their compliance with his various orders.