River View East: End of an Era

Anyone from Jersey knows we all have our favorite places for hot dogs. Italian hot dog? For me it was Dickie Dee's. A hot dog truck dog? I would go to JR's on Franklin Avenue in Nutley. If you wanted something really special, it was Rutt's Hut. For my husband, however, growing up in Elmwood…

Hercules Proposal Meeting on March 1st

I regularly post about the importance of preserving our historic spaces in New Jersey. From historic Morristown to the Battle of Trenton, we understand why we need to fight for these important locations. Well, the same can be said about our open spaces. We are lovingly known as "The Garden State." During the 80s, however,…

Saying Goodbye to The Manor

This week all of North Jersey was shocked to hear The Manor in West Orange will close this summer after 66 years. That magical location has been the location where many wonderful memories were made. From New Year's Eve black-tie dinners, to weddings, to proms, almost everyone from North Jersey has a story. All those…

Hercules and the Trees

"They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot. ~Joni Mitchell It feels like an everyday fight here in Jersey. Our remaining open spaces are constantly under assault. Paving paradise to put up a parking lot. From a decades-old fishing club space, to preserving open space in Princeton, to attempting to keep a community garden…

The Need for Trees

We interrupt Italian Heritage Month for this important announcement from The Land Conservancy of New Jersey... Volunteers Needed for Tree Planting We had a great day planting trees at Nancy Conger West Brook Preserve. Twenty people came out to help create a young forest on the site where a dilapidated barn used to be. But…

A Want for Italian Immigration History Education

New Jersey is home to one of the largest collection of Americans of Italian descent in the entire country. Yet, if you ask any child if they learn about this important part of history, they would know very little. Luckily, there's a solution to the problem. A few years ago, the Italian-American Heritage Commission developed…

Italian Heritage Month 2022

I always heard a saying growing up. "There are two types of people. Italians and people that wish they were Italian." I agree completely. We grow up around three main concepts. Faith, family, and food. Sundays were extra special. We would start the day at church. Then head to the cemetery to plant flowers and…

Destruction, Degradation, and Death

Over the years I have shared my love of the Jersey Shore regularly. It seems like everyone has their favorite beach they visit year after year. For my husband and I it is Wildwood Crest. When my husband was just a boy, his family would vacation at the Pan American every summer. When we began…

Roxbury Mourns Former Fire Chief

One week after the nation commemorated the twenty-first anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Roxbury Township lost one of its own to 9/11-related illness. Former Roxbury Fire Chief Jeff Poissant passed away after a long battle with cancer attributed to his work at the World Trade Center site after the attacks. Roxbury Fire Department…

9/11: Twenty-One Years Later

"Where were you on 9/11?" For those of us who were witnesses to history, we remember every minute of that day. We can describe in detail every moment and every feeling. If you put that question to an entirely new generation, they have no answer. They weren't born. Just like if someone asked me where…