MHS Gridiron Work Hard To Help Community

Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 11:03am  |  COMMENTS (2)

IMG_1534-MHS-football-carwash.jpg I got my car washed on Saturday by the Montclair Football Team. It only cost five dollars (but i donated an extra five) and wow, did these guys do a good job. The car sparkled! I spoke with Pam Reilly, the Gridiron Club’s Media Co-Chair, and she filled me in about some of the other MHS Football team’s plans.

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White Powder Letters, Again

Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (8)

suspicious mail FBI.jpgHere come the hazmat suits again. In the past week and a half, 11 letters containing suspicious white powder have arrived at various offices in north Jersey, including Clifton and Wayne. Most have been mailed to government offices, but some were sent to private firms. So far, nothing hazardous has been found. From the FBI:

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Lost Car Dealerships of Montclair

Monday, Jul 27, 2009 4:14pm  |  COMMENTS (11)

clairidge lincoln mercury.jpg
West Caldwell freelance writer and blogger Steve Maginnis recently posted an interesting set of pictures to Baristanet’s Flickr page: The Lost New Automobiles Dealerships of Montclair, New Jersey. Although some, like DeCozen, have relocated, others, like the Ford Dealership on the Montclair-Glen Ridge border, simply went out of business. Maginnis generously agreed to letting us feature his photographs on our site.

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Harvard Street Neighbors Protest Subdivision

Monday, Jul 27, 2009 2:55pm  |  COMMENTS (72)

Signs have sprouted on front yards on Harvard Street in Montclair to protest the prospective building of a second home at #44. The owners of 44 Harvard asked the planning board, and received, a variance to subdivide the 100-foot wide lot into two 50-foot lots. One of the 50-foot lots, #44A, was listed for sale 18 days ago. Although neighbors appealed the variances, both locally and at the county level, and lost, they’re hoping their protest signs will discourage would-be buyers. Steve Hockstein writes:

The opposed neighbors (roughly 90% of the block’s residents) have decided to voice our opinion about the proposed plan with the hopes that prospective buyers will give consideration to the neighborhood before shoehorning in a new house on a block that’s pretty densely developed as it is.

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Watsessing Park Getting Artificial Turf

Monday, Jul 27, 2009 12:09pm  |  COMMENTS (4)

The Watsessing Park Conservatory holds a public meeting tonight with representatives of Essex County to discuss plans to install artificial turf in two parts of the park. The county plans an artificial turf soccer field with lighting, bleachers and fencing in the open field where Bloomfield Avenue intersects the Garden State Parkway South entrance and for artificial turf on the interior of the track located on the border of Bloomfield and East Orange along Glenwood Ave.
Tonight’s meeting, at 7 pm, will be held at the Watsessing Park Senior Center Building at Conger Street, near the IHOP.

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A Wonderful Day for Garden Envy

Monday, Jul 27, 2009 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (1)

Visiting local gardens is always a treat. The Open Garden Days are just one aspect of the Cornucopia Network’s many initiatives. It’s helpful to see how others manage to coax a tomato crop out of a small plot of land, and learn the secrets of other people’s composting routines. The luscious grapes and peaceful fountain pictured here and in the jump come from a beautifully nurtured garden on Bruce Road, one of the gardens on the tour. Gardener Pat Kenschaft has been opening her well-tended Montclair garden on Gordonhurst Road for years. This year left her feeling especially cheerful about the whole event and she was kind enough to share her write up of the day with us.

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The Suburbs Were Rocked, Indeed

Monday, Jul 27, 2009 8:44am  |  COMMENTS (6)

buddy guy at Wellmont.jpg
What a weekend for music in Montclair, with blues icon Buddy Guy literally running up and down the stairs of the Wellmont and a surprise visit by Run DMC of Run DMC at Montclair High. Michael Reitman, who caught Buddy Guy’s performance, sent this photo and writes:

Bluesman and seminal Blues guitarist Buddy Guy rocked The Wellmont.
Buddy wowed the crowd, and this image was taken, quite literally, while he was roaming the stairs between the mezzanine and the lobby during the show. Traditionally it’s part of his act to mingle with the audience, he has a wireless set up on his Stratocaster, so he continually plays The Blues while getting up close and personal.

And over at the Rockin’ the Suburbs, a student-organized event to raise money for a recording studio for Montclair High School, a surprise visit by Run DMC electrified the crowd.

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Shredding Paper, Not Dignity

Sunday, Jul 26, 2009 10:00am  |  COMMENTS (77)

At first I just tried sorting them a few at a time and feeding them carefully into my cute little Staples shredder. That got old fast. Then, as I regarded the quantity of documents I was looking at, I thought, ‘how about a nice cozy fire in the fireplace?’. That’s nice and cozy in the middle of winter — less so when it is 90 degrees out with 89 percent humidity. But I had 12 or 13 big cardboard boxes of tax papers, medical papers, insurance documents, prospectuses and more, from 1989 to 2000. I needed a bigger solution. I recalled reading about trucks that come to your home — in fact, someone told me they had a big shredfest over at Hillside school about a month ago, and it was free. That would have been great but I need shredding relief now. So I Googled “industrial and residential shredding trucks” and voila! I randomly chose one, called, and even though the $125 price tag was not cheap, it was worth it. I made an appointment for this past Friday, and I must say, I was completely satisfied with the process from start to finish. Take a look!

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High-Flying Salute To The Tuskegee Airmen

Sunday, Jul 26, 2009 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (15)

IMG_9703-tuskegee-airman-copy-2.jpg Montclair – what a wonderful town. A person could just be on line at Whole Foods, buying a few groceries, and notice that the person standing on line nearby is someone very special–someone whose life and accomplishments signal an extraordinary chapter in America’s history. Take a closer look at his hat.

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Day Trip: Bethel Woods

Saturday, Jul 25, 2009 7:46am  |  COMMENTS (2)


Did you miss Woodstock? No matter. Now you can experience it (including film of the famous Michael Shrieve drum solo) without the rain or the brown acid, and with the benefit of indoor plumbing. The museum — an interactive, psychodelic, multi-sensory experience — is definitely worth the day trip. And the countryside that surrounds the museum is spectacular. Go today if you don’t have other plans: it’s Give Peace a Chance Family Day, which includes a festival and admission to the museum for two adults and up to four kids for $30. On the anniversary weekend, August 15, the Bethel Woods Music Festival will feature some of Woodstock’s original acts, including Jefferson Starship and Country Joe McDonald. Everything you need to know about visiting the museum is here.
The guy talking at the end of the slide show is museum director Wade Lawrence.

Featured Comment

I was very glad to see this post. The running in the street around here drives me crazy, mostly because the the majority of the runners I've encountered (not every runner)seem to think that it's their right to take up half the street when what they are doing is in fact illegal. And let's not be silly. Yes, concrete is hard on the joints, but the pavement isn't that much better. It's not like the roads are made of track rubber.
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