There were plenty of smiles and happy faces besides Donna’s this morning when Gem’s House of Bagels opened its doors at the former Katz Confectioners on Bay Avenue in Highlands and owner Donna could greet all who patiently waited for the new eatery.
The owner of Gem’s House of Bagels in Keansburg…sister of the owner of the other seven scattered around the area, and a staff with equally large smiles and happy faces was eager to meet all the folks who have been patiently awaiting the opening, giving morning coffee-goers another option in addition to the Highlands Café at Washington Avenue for great breakfasts.
Donna’s showcase looked spectacular this morning, filled with all varieties of bagels and other pastries. There’s also a refrigerated showcase with some spectacular cream cheese spreads, including walnut raisin, vegetable and even jalapeno.
She also offers chicken and other salads, muffins, croissants, turnovers, some fascinating egg combinations and sandwiches. Only a table for sit down though, although Gem’s offers catering and there were also a lot of folks stopping in for takeout.
Great luck to another new and very happy business owner in Highlands.
AHES Students and their families from the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School raised more than $14, 800 in support of the American Health Association during their 2025 Kids Heart Challenge program sponsored by the American Heart Association.
That was one of the highlights in the monthly report prepared and read by Henry Hudson Regional High School Senior Juliana Werdann at this month’s meeting of the Board of Education. Werdann contacts each of the three schools in the district monthly and reports on major activities, achievements and programs of each. Her reports are on the regular agenda of each month’s regular meeting, following reports from the district superintendent, business administrator and board attorney.
Juliann Werdann on the right and instructor Dawn DeSanto
Werdann’s report indicated more than 128 Atlantic Highlands elementary school students registered for the Kids Heart Challenge with 20 students and their families completing Finn’s Mission, a program supported by the Heart Association that includes videos, tests, and paths to follow for brain and heart health. Finns Mission helps students earn badges, learn hands on CPR and recognize signs of stroke.
Werdann noted that through the active participation in the Heart Challenge, the school plays a vital role in promoting cardiovascular wellness both within the community and nationwide in contributing to scientific research and education.
Since 2012, the local school has raised more than $209,000 for the American Heart Association because of the support and dedication of not only the students, but staff and families as well.
Students in the Highlands Elementary School also set a new school record for funds raised for the Kids Heart Challenge raising more than $6,000 for this year’s program, an achievement that earned the school $500 in physical education and wellness equipment.
As I said, it’s the little things every day that keep you happy. Love the signs on the bulletin board in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church on Route 36 in Highlands. They’re clever, make you stop and think and keep up with the seasons.
This week, it’s the Irish who are being remembered with the Dia Duit at the bottom of the message. Hopefully it will still be up there Saturday when thousands will be descending on Highlands for the biggest St. Patty’s Day parade around.
Because of the parade, even mass at OLPH has been changed to 5:15 on Saturday to ensure people have time to find their cars and get to church.
Dia Duit, by the way, is the most common way to say “hello” among Irish nationals who speak Gaelic. The greeting literally means “may God be with you.”
Communications High School students Ava Majeski and Sloan Dougherty got a taste of municipal council meetings as an assignment from their journalism foundation instructor recently, and learned it isn’t necessarily all business at local meeting. Meetings are both interesting and fun, they agreed. Journalists
Communication High School, one of the schools in the Monmouth County Vocational School district, is the only high school in the state dedicated exclusively to communication and media arts.
Located in Wall Township, the high school offers a rigorous academic curriculum at the honors level, focusing intensively on journalism, film, publishing, commercial art, computer programming, TV broadcasting, and audio production.
In addition to fostering partnerships with community and industry experts, the school’s aim is to prepare students not for college but also to thrive in their future careers. Towards this end, hands-on learning with industry-standard tools and experiences give students experiences and portfolios that distinguish them in this rapidly changing industry.
Majeski a freshman student from Holmdel, and Dougherty, a freshman from Atlantic Highlands, were assigned by Journalism Foundation instructor Wayne Woolley to ‘cover’ the meeting as part of their overall program which also includes slide presentations, classwork, newspaper updates and video presentations.
Both students read the New York Times, primarily on line, as well as Inkblot, the school’s student-produced publication, which appears both in print and digital and covers activities, events, and opinions at the school.
Mayor Lori Hohenleitner welcomed the students to the meeting, and the young women, seated in the front row, followed the agenda from the opening Call to order and Silent reflection and Pledge to the flag, to the rousing chorus of ‘The Rattlin’ Bog” sung by the elected officials honoring Irish American Month on the Feast of St. Patrick.
Majesti said this is the first municipal meeting she has attended and found it interesting; Dougherty, whose father is Council president Brian Dougherty, has been to other council meetings in Atlantic Highlands and also indicated it was interesting. Both also noted newspapers in print are decreasing in numbers and being replaced by the more easily accessible virtual media.
Mayors It sounds like Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon is the one person who might well be able to get the Sea Bright regionalization question at least discussed by all those involved.
At least she is the only one who is suggesting immediate action so everyone can be prepared should it be approved for the question to be put to the public.
Broullon appeared at tonight’s Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education meeting and heard discussion led by Sea Bright resident Charley Rooney, Atlantic Highlands resident Mark Fisher and Highlands resident Karen Jarmusz all reminding the board of education of promises made two years ago and wondering what is happening now to further getting the regionalzation question on the ballot so residents can vote on whether they want Sea Bright to become part of the present two-borough district.
Sea Bright has consistently pointed out their entry into the district would mean bringing in a small group of students that current schools could well accept and also bringing in $2 million as a third borough to finance the school’s $28 million a year cost to taxpayers.
Rooney also pointed out during the meeting that both Highlands and Sea Bright already indicated they favor regionalization. He noted that Shore Regional district got a resounding defeat at their special election last week trying to get a $51 million bond issue approved and is facing serious problems with their teacher contracts that cannot be settled until the Sea Bright issue is settled.
Henry Hudson Board chairman Rich Colangelo pointed out, with explanations from the board attorney Jonathon Busch, that the board of education cannot address Sea Bright or discuss the issue with them until the Commissioner of Education makes a decision on whether Sea Bright does have the right, as three appellate courts have upheld, to seek leaving the Shore Regional and Oceanport districts and becoming part of the newly formed Henry Hudson district.
When Mayor Broullon stood up during the public portion of the Hudson board meeting she calmly stated, “there’s no mystery, let me explain.” She then told the board and residents present at the meeting that she recently made calls herself to Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner, Sea Bright Mayor Brian Kelly and Colangelo and suggested they all meet at Highlands Borough Hall for a quiet, informal discussion to talk about what needs to be done; she suggested they could then be in a position to formulate some cohesive arrangement so the board can be ready to move to the “second step” once the Commissioner’s decision is announced.
Atlantic Highlands Mayor Lori Hohenleitner
“I know in my heart there’s a way to make this work,” the mayor said.
Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon with Sea Bright Mayor Brian Kelly
While Colangelo noted he cannot speak with Sea Bright on the issue, he has agreed to attend the meeting and hear the viewpoints of the mayors.
The Highlands mayor confirmed after the meeting that the meeting has been set for the mayors and Colangelo to meet in Highlands, but declined to say when it will be, other than “soon”
Every once in a while, actually even more often than that if you stop to think about it, you have a day when you think it is difficult, nothing could go right, only bad things are going to happen and there’s no hope. Then you wake up and realize it’s all in the way you look at things.
If you look for the flower to die rather than appreciate the blooms in their colorful glory, then you’re missing out on the hours of sheer beauty in that flower.
If you rush through the supermarket picking up the one or two things you need and pass up that opportunity to share a couple of minutes chatting with a friend you happen to see, you’ve got to stop and wonder if what you were in such a hurry for was really all that important it couldn’t want five or ten minutes.
So there are several people I have to thank today for giving me an entirely new perspective on things. They made it perfectly clear that it really does feel good to stop and smell the roses.
The Atlantic Highlands post office was one of those places where today three different folks I met made my level of happiness soar and made me realize it truly is the little things that make the big difference.
This particular post office has not been my favorite. It’s one of the places where the American flag isn’t lowered on days ordered by the President or Governor if it’s a day the office is closed….but the flag remains on staff.
It’s an office that opens later than the Highlands or Navesink offices or is closed for lunch rather than workers covering hours for each other . But today was different.
Late afternoon, with no one waiting in line, Todd, the clerk on duty, took the time to share a laugh, share a story, explain one of the postal service’s many ways of sending letters in great detail, and in general, made a few minutes that would otherwise simply be lost in time and space, a lot more memorable and fun.
Even that got better half an hour or so later when I had to go back to the post office, be greeted by the same good-natured Todd, and retrieve something. Not only did he remember what it was, he knew exactly where it was and lost no time in making light of something that, unretrieved, could have been quite serious.
So when I tried to express enough thanks and met Yogi, the postmaster, I got an idea of why Todd likes his job and is so good at it. Yogi’s his boss, it would seem, but made it clear he doesn’t interfere with Todd’s business acumen. He knows he’s a great worker and knows he doesn’t need to stand over him to tell him how to do his job. There you go! A boss who has confidence in his employee. And it shows. Here again, Yogi didn’t just dash off back to his office, but stopped to share a few minutes of conversation, a couple of stories about doing business, and some great smiles that showed one of the parts of his job he likes best is keeping the customer happy…and he does that by ensuring that at least in this branch of the post office, the job is done right.
Leaving after a few minutes of pleasant conversation, I ran into…almost literally… a former councilman himself in a hurry to get somethings done. But Roy Dellosso did not just dash in and rush out; rather, he stopped to say hello, chatted long enough to hear about, and agree on, the excellence of the postal staff, and shared some highlights of a recent meeting. It only took a couple of extra minutes and Roy was in a hurry…but not so much that he couldn’t take the time to share the beauty of the day.
These were only three instances that highlighted the day, but it made me think of so many others that also happened that day….the neighbor who came out just to say Hi and stayed to make an adjustment on my car; the resident at King James Care Center who got everyone chuckling because she had her Bingo card memorized and could carry on a conversation without missing a trick.
There was the aid who laughed out loud at the photo of her little granddaughter sharing some ice cream with an elderly friend, laughter that brought more smiles to faces happy to hear such spontaneous laughter; the nurse who took the time to explain the extra precautions staff was taking to ensure a resident felt comfortable and assured.
There were the ladies at Portland Pointe who simply enjoy their quiet time of sharing prayers and thoughts with each other once a week and exuding confidence that with a bit of faith, everything always comes out right in the end.
Little things. Unexpected things. Unplanned. But all of them thoughts, ideas and words that managed to fit into even very business schedules .
And each one of those little things made so many others a bit happier and so much more wiling to share that same feeling with others.
Springpoint and Parker Health Group received the Excellence in Innovation Award from Leading New Jersey and Delaware for their Affordable Housing Wellness Initiative. The joint initiative introduced affordable housing residents to LivWell, Springpoint’s award-winning wellness program.
Launched three years ago by the Springpoint Foundation with support from Parker Health group, the initiative focuses on residential physical, intellectual,,emotional and social well-being and provides residents the opportunity to engage in experiences that support a high quality of live, lifelong development and an optimal sense of well-being. The award was presented during a “celebrating excellence in aging services ceremony last month, recognizing services that enhance the quality of life.
Portland Pointe on First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands
Portland Pointe on First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands is a Springpoint community, one of 19 similar communities Springpoint has. The Atlantic Highlands facility is under Paula Brescia, executive Director
The etching on the tombstone of Abraham Clark, one of the five New Jersey Signers of the Declaration of Independence, is a synopsis of the virtues and patriotic standards the Elizabeth born politician held.
Firm and decided as a patriot,
Zealous and faithful as a friend to the public,
He loved his country,
And adhered to her cause
In the darkest hours of her struggles
Against oppression.
Clark had such a belief in the colonies being capable of creating a nation of their own, without bowing to the tyranny of any King, that even when two of his sons, both serving in an artillery regiment during the Revolution, were imprisoned and tortured by the British, and he was a member of Congress, he declined to use his influence to give them any priority over any other imprisoned soldier. Both sons survived their imprisonment.
Born in 1726 in Elizabeth in a portion that is now Roselle, Clark was born on his father’s farm and was the only child of Hannah Winans Clark and Thomas Clark. Frail and with poor health in his childhood, he received a decent but minimal education and showed a great aptitude for math and law.
Though he never was certified as an attorney, Clark used his talent and excellent knowledge of the law to represent others without pay. At other times in his life he was a farmer, surveyor and politician and is recognized as much in many ways for his political actions after the signing of the Declaration than that historic act itself.
Clark, like his father, was heavily involved in politics all his life. He was a clerk in the colonial legislature and a sheriff in Essex County under the British Crown. He was a member of the New Jersey Council of Safety during the Revolution. He served in the Continental Congress and opposed the Constitution until the Bill of Rights was added.
It was in 1774 when Clark first got involved with the patriotic cause and was named a member of New Jersey’s Provincial Congress. With the First Continental Congress opposed to a war with England to gain independence, Clark was named, along with the four other New Jersey signers, to the Second Continental Congress with the directive to strive for and authorize Independence for the colonies.
As soon as Congress voted in July 1776 for the Declaration, Clark sent a copy of the document to New Jersey Militia’s General William Livingston, with a note directing the Declaration be published in all the colonies and armies, and also “which I make no doubt you will publish in your brigade.”
The ongoing challenges to his health did not deter Clark from remaining in the Congress and the New Jersey Legislature throughout the war, this in spite of the battles that were being waged near his home and family in Union County and concern over his sons imprisonment.
When the war ended in 1783, Clark returned to his home and served three years in the state legislature, and in 1786 he represented New Jersey at the Annapolis Convention.
The patriot lost a bid to serve in the Senate in 1788 but was elected as a member of the house of Representatives serving from 1791 and 1794. He authored the bill for the manumission of slaves, despite the fact he had three slaves but did not release them until the law was passed.
Although opposed to the Constitution without rigid amendments he felt necessary, Clark’s ill health prevented his attendance at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
However, once the Bill of Rights was included, the patriot approved the Constitution, though ill health prevented his being present for the signing. Only six legislators, including Benjamin Franklin, Roger Wilson and Robert Morris, signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Clark remained active in politics, although he lost a bid for Senate in 1788. He was then elected to the House of Representatives and served from 1791 to 1794 .
On Sept. 15, 1794, the signer of the Declaration of Independence suffered sunstroke while at his birthplace, where he had spent his entire life other than his service to the country. He died within a few hours at the age of 68, leaving his wife, Sarah Hetfield and ten children. Two months later, Nov. 15, 1794, Jonathan Witherspoon became the last of the five New Jersey signers to pass away.
Abraham Clark is buried in Rahway Cemetery. Abraham Clark High School in Roselle, and Clark Township established in 1864, are both named in his honor.
Other Articles on New Jersey Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Separation It isn’t an affair of church and state, but rather a nice cooperative effort and preservation of local history between the Highlands Historical Society and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School.
Historical Society president Sheila Weinstock was looking for a safe and secure place to keep all the memorabilia and records the Society has been collecting for several years. While the artifacts have always been under careful care during the years, the number of items collected has created the need for more space.
A society member who is also a member of the OLPH St Agnes parish noted the parochial school has been closed to regular classes for several years, but is maintained and used for several other reasons. At the suggestion there might be a classroom available for storage, Weinstein approached the parish with the idea.
The pastor, the Rev. Jarlath Quinn, was happy to be able to accommodate the local historical society and the two discussed the needs of the Society.
Weinstein said the result is the Society can now house all its memorabilia in a “Historical Society Room” at the school, keeping it secure let easy to access whenever it is needed.. The Society can also house items it needs for special events.
In gratitude for the parish supplying the secure room, the Society is making a monthly donation to the parish church.
“This has been a wonderful opportunity for us,” the Society president said, ,” we are sure our photos, papers, and everything we have saved are safe, convenient for when we need them, and gives us the opportu9nity to ensure all our items are preserved.”
Anyone having any memorabilia or photographs from Highlands they wish to donate to the Highlands Historical Society can contact Weinstein at HistoricalHighlands@gmail.com
St Pat’s Day The good nature, smiles, music and camaraderie of the Irish was loud and clear at this week’s meeting of the Atlantic Highlands Mayor and Council, falling on St. Patrick’s Day.
In addition to Council president Brian Dougherty proclaiming March Irish American celebration month, and the mayor and members of council leading a rousing 16 stanza version of “The Rattlin’ Bog,” with Borough attorney Peg Schaeffer wearing green, borough administrator Rob Ferragina also wanted the mayor to know it was also the 164th anniversary of Italian Unification day.
Each year, Italy celebrates March 17 as the day Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, Kind of Sardinia and Piedmont, became the first King of Italy.
However, it was a time when the unification was not yet completed: Veneto, Trento and Trieste were still under the Hapsburg Empire, and Lazio was governed by the Pope, who did recognize the Italian state.
There were 23 million inhabitants on the Italian peninsula at the time, but fewer than two million spoke Italian and a Sicilian and a Piedmontese could not understand each other’s language. Approximately 75 per cent of the residents could neither read nor write.
National identity continued into the 20th century primarily when the Italian sense of belonging was consolidated even further after World War II, and the news media kept the public informed of the excellence Italians brought to the worlds of sports, culinary pride, music, the arts, education, science, technology and so much more.
Even the Irish proclaim the excellence of the Italians on a daily basis!
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