The newspapers at the time did not cover the story, but apparently there was also a school-naming contest at the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School as well.
Author and poet Laury A. Egan remembers it well. She was in the fourth grade at the time, and Tommy Masterson was another student in the elementary school. They both came up with the suggestion of Henry Hudson for a school name and there was a $25 prize for that. As a youngster she remembers, and laughs about it now, but she was hurt because while both she and Tommy had the same idea, he was the only one who got a prize and payment. She recalls Tommy Masterson getting the $25 since, she said she was told at the time, her family was in a “better financial situation” than his, so it would be nice to let him have the prize.
A former book designer, now an award winning writer and living in Highlands, Egan has written several fiction books, include Once, Upon an Island, Wave in D Minor, Doublecrossed, Turnabout, The Swimmer, A Bittersweet Tale, The UngodlyHour, The Outcast Oracle, Fog and Other Stories and Jenny Kidd. She’s also wrote poetry including Beneath the Lion’s Paw; Snow, Shadows, a Stranger; The Sea & Beyond; and Presence & Absence.
Several of her books are set in the Monmouth County and Bayshore areas; Turnabout focuses on Oceanport, Rumson, and Red Bank, Doublecrossed stretches from Millstone to the Atlantic Ocean off Sandy Hook, and Once, Upon an Island has scenes near the Shrewsbury River but it’s a novel and takes place on St. Croix. There are several local angle stories in Fog and OtherStories with the cover a photo of the old Highlands bridge
Egan has written ten novels a story collection and four volumes of poetry.
Even before it was decided that the site of Henry Hudson Regional School should be on the Trask property high in the hills of Highlands, students at Atlantic Highlands and Highlands schools had recommended such names as Scenic Heights High School, Valley View High School, or Marine View High School.
In the end, it was Thomas Hart who was presented with the $25 Savings Bond for being the first of seven students who came up with the name of explorer Henry Hudson, who set foot on land almost directly between the two boroughs on the Shrewsbury River in 1609.
The newly formed Board of Education with George Reid as president, suggested the contest be held for the students in all three schools in 1959 to come up with a name for the still being planned 7-12 regional school with Highlands. At the time, realtors were even suggesting the school be built in Middletown on Route 36 or other sites because there they said there were no sites large enough in either town to accommodate the school planned for six grades, 7 through 12…and at least 664 students…the number could go as high as 830 if necessary.
A total of 135 students submitted suggestions for a name. These also included Atlantic Coast Regional, Twin Towns Regional, Sandy Hook Bay Regional, Bay Side Regional, Marine View and Mount Mitchill, to name a few.
But when Mary Lou Daust, Bill Mahler, William Mercier, Mark Valetutto, Susan Phillips and Clarence Welch, along with Hart, all came up with the name of the Half Moon explorer, and the Board of Education thought that was the best name , all their names were tossed in a hat and Hart’s name was chosen for the bond. He was a fifth grade student at Atlantic Highlands elementary school.
It all took place in October, 1959, while the board of education was considering 16 acres on East Highland Avenue as the site for the new construction.
The first Henry Hudson Board of Education for the new facility was named by the County Education Commissioner, Earl Garrison, and in addition to Reid, included D. Adolph Busch, Anna Van Note, Dr. Thomas Ahearn and Samuel Brown from Atlantic Highlands, and Bill Feste, George Lahey, Doris Finlay and Alexander Bahrs from Highlands. Tess Horan of Highlands was the first secretary, shortly after, Harold Schaible became the first superintendent of the new regional district.
When the school opened in September, 1962, there were 682 students, 228 in grades 7 and 8, and 454 in grades 9 through 12. The largest class was 9th graders, with 139 enrolled; the smallest class was the graduating class, with 72 students enrolled.
In the end the new school district purchased the Trask property at one of the highest points of land in either borough. They acquired the 28 acres for $31,000.
So there I was. A journalist who has won a few awards for in depth reporting, uncovering more than a few areas of plans and programs elected officials would rather have kept quiet. A journalist with a few questions.
There I was, a resident of a borough where in the last few months officials have earned a reputation for not disclosing lots of things about numerous major projects going on for a little town all at one time. A resident with a few questions.
Planning changes on the very ground the local church has on the market, one of the biggest pieces of property in town, regionalization of schools that could mean millions in savings over time, lawsuits that are not yet resolved, major parking problems only looking to get worse as more construction is approved, yet doing away with its parking committee…the list goes on. A concerned citizen with a few questions.
There I was, a journalist, a resident, a concerned citizen who has covered governing bodies, planning and zoning boards, the harbor commission, boards of education and more for the best part of seven decades and has always been able to interact with all those who headed these councils, boards and committees. I’m a journalist who can remember when the press was not only welcomed at every meeting, but even had a table up front directly in front of the action, just to be sure we heard every word.
When this borough had the likes of Dick Stryker, Mike Harmon, Helen Marchetti, Bob Schoeffling, Randy LeGrice, Pete Donoghue, Ev Curry, Fred Rast and more at the helm…I covered them all…not only did we reporters sit right smack in front of them, but they even accompanied us all back to the Shore Casino or another popular watering hole to rehash the meeting and answer any more questions…if we still had any.
But now, things are certainly different. The Mayor sits quietly by, the council members mumble nary a word, and the new to Atlantic Highlands borough attorney calmly and politely tells me I haven’t got the right to ask a question of the very people who are elected to spend the money the taxpayers raise for them.
Haven’t got the right to ask a question? What about precedent? How come what has worked for nearly three quarters of a century that I know about personally is now taboo? Sure, the attorney told me, I can ask questions of the paid employees, but not now, either. She specified the days and times they were available, just in case I didn’t know.
Does she think I and everyone else should ask the paid employees rather than the elected officials because the elected officials really don not know the answers and do not want to admit it?
It’s one thing for the paid attorney to say I can’t talk, but downright shameful that every member of council appears to be so frightened by my questions, or of the attorney, that they didn’t raise a single eyebrow, dare to challenge the opinion, or even apologize for a resident who explained she’s spent her life asking questions and it’s the only way she knows to get answers and learn more.
Mark Fisher is another frequent and intent listener at every meeting. He can’t ask questions either, so it’s nice to know I’m in good company. He’s more clever, though, and can word things that manage to eke out a little more information than I can get.
But sometimes you can ask questions, the attorney then ruled. For instance, when the regionalization attorney appeared via zoom for the longest period of time the taxpayers have ever been able to see him in action, it was okay to ask him questions. Not that only one or two members of council even did that. But we the public could ask him lots of questions and learned first hand he really does not know, like he said, a lot about financing, what with labor being his specialty in law.
Were it not for questioning from former Mayor and financial wizard Mike Harmon, we might never have known that all the statistics, all the research, all the compilations he made himself out of interest in the borough and presented at the last meeting of the governing body, didn’t even get so be passed on to the attorney handling the regionalization for Atlantic Highlands. He didn’t know or think about Mayor Harmon’s figures, so he apparently didn’t even listen to that meeting’s recording. But we wouldn’t have known that, had it not been for some questions from the public.
We would not have known, were it not for Mr. Harmon’s questions, that two weeks before the mediation that is costing both towns money and excluding Sea Bright as too insignificant to be a part of it, that they don’t even know what figures they’re talking about…or if both towns are even talking about the same set of figures.
These are the things that questions bring out.
It was refreshing to see Mike Ciano, a man I met for the first time after that meeting, stand up and read a prepared statement referring to that ruling on not asking any questions. Mr. Ciano simply told the borough council he is going to continue asking them, he has the right to know, and he believes they have the right to give him answers. He even read the words of the law that says what has to take place at every meeting, and further quoted Webster’s definition of discussion, meaning “a back and forth,” which involves an ask and response in case anyone did not know.
Our third President, the one who wrote the Declaration of Independence spelling out so many rights, said it so many times in so many ways. His firm belief, right up there with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, is the necessity for people having the right to know. Many times you don’t get the answers unless you ask the questions.
Thomas Jefferson over the years said:
Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government;… whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” Or;
Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government;… whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” Or;
“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories. Or;
“The information of the people at large can alone make them the safe as they are the sole depositary of our political and religious freedom.” Or;
“Though [the people] may acquiesce, they cannot approve what they do not understand.” or;
Then of course there is Jefferson’s most famous quote about an informed press and what are its results.
“If I had to make a choice between government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter”
There are fewer and fewer newspapers around, but more Facebook, TikTok, blogs, on line media and so many areas that reach so many people if questions could be asked and answered at the Atlantic Highlands meetings. My own blog, VeniVidiScripto, reaches tens of thousands of people, both in and out of the town, county, state, nation and continent. Through this, letters, e-mail, telephone and in person, people ask me to tell them what I know which they have not been able to find out through questioning.
The people know they have the right to know. Why doesn’t the paid attorney or the elected leaders who listen to them with nary a question of their own?
Former Atlantic Highlands Mayor Dick Stryker is a wealth of information about many things, but he’s particularly spectacular on the history of his hometown of Atlantic Highlands in decades past. The Baseball Alerts being one of them.
This photo of the Atlantic Highlands Alerts, the baseball team, contains not only several of his relatives, but also other well known names in the borough.
The Alerts made headlines during their seasons in the early part of the 20th century, notably around 1914-1915.
It opened that year’s season on May 3, at the Alerts field in Leonardo where they had also just built new seats. The lineup for the opening game included catcher George Jordan, Pitcher Mel Johnson, first baseman Cy Stryker, second baseman Nat Crawley and Wiliam Woodward on third. Sterling Stryker was short stop, and Jack Stewart, Raymond Stryker and James Flannigan were outfields.
They were in a series of three games for the championship of Monmouth County later in the season, when newspapers reported they won the first of the trio on a Sunday afternoon when they defeated the Colored Giants of Red Bank on their home field on Beech street. That score was 12-4 with the Alerts scoring in just about every inning of the game, and the Giants scoring in two innings on errors
That was also a game when a Mechanic Streey resident, Harry Thomas was a spectator and was hit in the face by a foul ball, badly injuring his lip, another fact reported in the local papers.
Sterling “Dutch” Stryker
The batteries for both teams include Sterling Stryker and William Woodward for the Alerts and Edward Wilson and Clifford Green for the Giants. Stryker struck out five and allowed six hits. Wilson struck out seven batters and allowed 12 hits,
Th Alerts also scored another victory in Red Bank when that town’s Orioles lost their first game of the season being shut out 11-0 by the Alerts with the newspaper reporting the visiting Alerts “were superior in every department of the game.”
Th Alerts also defeated the Ramblers of New York when the New Yorkers came to Melvin Rice’s filed and met up with Sterling Stryker pitching and Joe Engle catching for the Alerts.
The Baseball team in the photograph is comprised of Back row, from Left, Mel Johnson, Ray Stryker Sterling Stryker Dan OKES, officials Plavoie and F. Poughkipsie, Al Burns Joe Comminsky, and front row, Percy Hauser, Bill Woodward, Joe Stryker, who was mascot of team, Cy Stryker and Walter Bils.
You could tell from the applause, the crowd and the standing ovation for Diane Berg that she’ a well-known and well-loved borough employee at the Atlantic Highlands Borough Hall.
Berg was honored by Mayor Gluckstein and the Council as the Employee of the Month at Thursday’s meeting of the Mayor and Council,
The Utility Collector for the borough is also a beloved and busy homebody as well, as was evidenced by her husband, children grandchildren, and all the family turning out for the brief ceremony at the Council meeting.
An employee for the borough since 2019, Ms. Berg had previously been employed at Valley Bank for 23 years. Mayor Gluckstein described her as “the first woman you see” when you come into Borough Hall and praised her for her diligence, personality, cooperation, and knowledge of her position and the borough.
The bergs live in Keansburg and Mrs. Berg is retiring from her position with the borough in April.
This week’s full moon, the last full moon of winter, is known as the Worm Moon, not a very pretty name considering the reason it is called that.
As the last full moon of the winter season, this full moon in tradition, legend and lore signifies the ground is warming up and that means robins are returning from their winter migration south. The robins know that softened turf means plenty of worms for their diet and they’re eager to be back in the North for the warmer months.
That is the reason the Farmer’s Almanac for decades and other sources have always given for the Worm Moon name. However, more research has turned up that in the 1760, Capt. Jonathan Carver visited the Dakota and other Native American tribes and wrote that the name Worm refers to a beetle larva that begins to emerge from bark thawing on tree and other winter hideouts.
Each of the full moons has more than one name affixed to it, but the Worm Moon seems to have more than its share.
Since it generally appears within the 40 days before Easter, it is also called the Lenten Moon. It is called the Sap or Sugar Moon since it’s at the time of year to tap maple trees for their syrup. It is also known as the Crow Moon because of the crows who caw loudly and clearly signifying an end to winter.
It is known to some tribes as the Crest Moon because the snow that melts during the day turns to ice and creates a crest on the snow as it freezes. Some tribes call it the Sore Eyes Moon because of the glare of the blinding sun during the day reflecting off melting snow.
Whether name you prefer, it’s a brilliant bright light in the sky for the next few days before it begins to wane.
April’s full Moon rises on April 5 and is known as the Pink Moon, since it is the time of year when flowers begin to grow and the earth is colored with pink and other calming hues. It reaches its peak just after 12:30 a.m. the night of April 5, and it is bests seen from an open area as it rises just above the horizon. That’s when it will be at its largest and may also look like it has a golden color. Because of its proximity to Easter, it is also known as the Paschal moon, and this year it is the first full Moon of the spring season. Easter is always the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon.
As a follow up, no decision was made by the Land Use Board in Highlands last evening concerning the Sea Grass application.
The matter is continued until the next Land Use meeting on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at which time residents will be given the opportunity to ask questions and give testimony.
Have not yet had the opportunity to get the Highlands’ Mayor’s point of view on this, but I was stunned to hear last night at the Atlantic Highlands council meeting that at this stage of the game, and I am beginning to believe it’s all one big game for some people, Atlantic Highlands is going to hire an expert who knows about regionalization finances.
Heck, the attorney they hired, Matt Giacobbe, has been telling them and the public for months he doesn’t know finances. Wasn’t that a clue to anyone, including himself, that he should not be handling this question of how much money Atlantic Highlands can save by regionalizing the schools with Sea Bright? What has he been doing all these months he’s been too busy to come to meetings, only appearing via phone or Zoom in that executive meeting with the governing body last month.
He was gracious enough last night however, to attend a public meeting via ZOOM, and answer questions to the best of his ability. He also spoke on the issue of hiring an expert to delve into the finances. Was it because he is uncomfortable with the figures? Wait… after months, only now he is uncomfortable?
If the Richard Beneke of Riverdale, NJ is the expert he retained, presumably with borough approval though I haven’t seen that action at a council meeting yet, and if he is the expert on educational matters as Mr. Giacobbe said last night, he doesn’t include any of that in his resume. That the firm Mr. Beneke heads are financial analysts and have been hired in many different municipalities across the state and beyond for redevelopment and other issues is doubtlessly impressive. But his resume of impressive work loads don’t include any schools, any regionalizations, or anything that even shows he is familiar with this area, although there was one personal job in Middletown and the railroad station in Aberdeen.
Mike Harmon asked some terrific questions, as he did at the last council meeting, armed with facts, statistics and about six inches of paperwork. But it was shocking once again that all the information both he and Erwin Bieber, another financial expert and a Sea Bright councilman who gave reams of information at earlier meetings and held discussions immediately following the last council meeting with Harmon, wasn’t even shared. Council members listened attentively to Harmon last month, it seemed, but apparently did not think about it once the meeting was over. They’re hiring a financial analyst, but they had one, perhaps two, in their midst, for nothing, and they didn’t even share that information with the attorney they also hired. After that was brought to their attention last night, whoopee, they’re sharing all Harmon’s hard work and figures.
Are all the elected officials in Atlantic Highlands falling under the spell of educators who don’t even want to think about Sea Bright joining in? Are they specifically stalling with this issue which has been around for years, just so the school boards can put it up for a vote and forget about Sea Bright? Heck few board members even bother coming to council meetings to learn about the money. But they haven’t shown any advantages in education of not joining with Sea Bright. Nor have they shown any advantages in education if they just regionalize the three schools that share so much as it is.
Speaking about finances … If the delays, the expert hirings and the meetings continue, pretty soon the cost of experts coming in to look at it all will cost far more than what Highlands and Atlantic Highlands would save just by joining their three schools into a district.
And by that time, Sea Bright is liable to say, “hey, you made it clear you don’t believe we can save you money…we’re outta here.”
Charging progress by the borough on the school regionalization issues has been “a massive failure” and telling the attorney “someone needs to have the figures,” former Mayor Mike Harmon assailed the lack of accuracy, cohesiveness, and lack of public records on student population numbers during last night’s meeting of the Borough Council.
Council’s special attorney for the regionalization issue, Matthew Giacobbe, appeared via ZOOM at the meeting, answering questions, admitting lack of knowledge, and giving no assurance the mediation session on March 30 will resolve the cost sharing and/or savings between Atlantic Highlands and Highlands.
The labor attorney, who several times both at this meeting and in the past has indicated he is not a financial attorney but rather specializes in labor, did say with the approval of the borough he has retained a financial expert to review the figures. Giacobbe said he is “not comfortable with the reports” to determine the financial aspects of regionalizing the three schools in the two boroughs as well as the three schools plus the borough of Sea Bright being a part of the regionalization.
Giacobbe also said the three boards of education in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands are pursuing their plans to put the question of regionalization on the ballot between the two boroughs as well as Sea Bright or any other borough if they want to and are able to join sometime in the future.
Harmon, a financial professional, challenged the attorney on a number of issues, specifically on the precise numbers for students in each of the schools. While Giacobbe quoted state records, he said, that showed a total of 731.5 students in the three schools as of October for the 21-22 school year, Harmon cited statistics provided that showed a different figure and quoted references that indicate Giacobbe’s figures were an estimate, “not exact.”
“I don’t know how they came up with the numbers,” Harmon told Giacobbe and the council, “someone needs to have the figures.”
Earlier, in response to another question as to whether the two boroughs were all working on the same figures, Giacobbe gave a long response of the differences between the Kean and Porzio reports done by the school boards and the boroughs, but admitted he does not yet know what figures the mediation will address, hence the reason for retaining a financial expect, Robert Beneke. Harmon expressed shock that two weeks before a planned mediation the attorney nor the councils have the figures to be discussed.
Sea Bright has not been invited to the mediation which will be attended by the attorneys for Atlantic and Highlands, each borough’s mayor and council president and, administrators. He reiterated it would be “premature” to have Sea Bright at the mediation, since that borough is being challenged by both Oceanport and Shore Regional schools. Sea Bright students would be leaving those schools to join the new regional district. The attorney did not indicate if he is aware Sea Bright has adopted a resolution they would underwrite the cost of any legal challenges they face because of the regionalization without either Highlands or Atlantic obligated to pay any portion of it.
The labor attorney did not address the question of how much money Sea Bright would bring into the new regional district, or how the mediator can address the question of Sea Bright’s inclusion without having them participate and present their figures on funds their inclusion would bring into the district. Apparently not under discussion during mediation is why bringing a third borough into the district with fewer than 60 students yet sharing the cost of the overall school budget would not mean considerably lower school taxes for both Highlands and Atlantic Highlands since three municipalities, rather than the present two, would be sharing in the educational costs for all pre-K through 12 students.
Giacobbe declined to opine, after saying he does not expect the March 30 mediation to resolve the matter without further sessions later, or whether the two boroughs’ positions on finance would be resolved in time for a vote in November. The boroughs could have a vote he said, however, the school boards have already indicated they are placing the question on the ballot and if it is approved, because of mediation, the “methodology “ for finances would be in place. He expressed his belief the Sea Bright issues would not be resolved “for several years.”
On the agenda is consideration of a conditional use for Sea Grass, a cannabis retail store planned for what is currently Chilango’s at the corner of Seadrift and Bay Avenues.
Not certain, but it appears it will be a long, involved and highly questioned land use board meeting in Highlands beginning at 7 p. m. Thursday, March 9 at the Community Center.
Conflict??
The truth is, however, the item on the agenda for Sea Grass NJ LLC to be considered for a cannabis Retailer license on property currently owned by Councilman Leo Cervantes should not even be considered.
That’s because, back in October, 2022, less than half a year ago, Councilman Leo Cervantes was one of the five council members who voted that they, including Mr. Cervantes, “supports the safe and appropriate siting of an adult use cannabis dispensary within the Central Business District for Sea Grass NJ LLC.”
So then, all of a sudden, according to the video Councilman Cervantes made and circulated, a short time after the resolution was adopted unanimously, including Councilman Cervantes’ affirmative vote, two men he did not know came in to Chilangos and said they wanted to buy his property specifically to put a cannabis dispensary.
Now it appears that very same license applicant who got approval for the safe and appropriate siting of a dispensary is seeking permission to buy Councilman Cervantes property and place it there?
Does anyone else see anything wrong with this picture? Does anybody else see a conflict of interest?
Questions
If that isn’t enough, the agenda packet includes at least eight comprehensive exhibits presented by the applicant and they in themselves draw a number of questions.
Hopefully, attendees at the meeting can ask:
Has anyone investigated to see whether a council-member can sell his own property for a cannabis retail business after he approved a cannabis license procedure for the borough?
Has anyone asked why the address of the property owner, who also happens to be a borough councilman is listed as Asbury Park, NJ? For that matter, has anyone asked why the councilman’s street address in Asbury Park is redacted?
Does anyone know that Chilango’s is on Bay Avenue, a county road, and is including parking across the street, also on Bay Avenue, property he also owns, as parking availability for the proposed cannabis business?
Does anyone know that since this involves pedestrians crossing a county road, not only is a crossing lane directed to be identified, but handicapped access for wheelchairs must be cut through the curbing, and warning signals must be mounted and lit?
Do you know whether the present Chilango’s has private collection for trash as a business, and are there similar and more stringent plans for better collections?
Does anyone know whether the Borough, since it is only permitted one retail license by state regulation, can make a recommendation for which it prefers?
Does anyone know whether voters can call for a special election to decide that?
Is the Chilango’s application as thorough and complete as the one already approved?
Does anyone know how the new Skate Park will be impacted by a cannabis license in Waterwitch?
Does anyone know whether Huddy Park is within the restricted area for a license at that location?
Ask THE Question
Hopefully, the Land Use Board will not waste everyone’s time, the cost of attorneys and experts, and will first ask its attorney at the onset of the hearing, for a ruling on whether it is a conflict of interest for a councilman to vote to approve a cannabis license for the town, then less than six months later, have an application by that very same name seek approval to put it on his property.
