Ten Years Old(er)

Happy Birthday Amanda - 10 years old today!

Kramer Portrait

We finally received our framed family "renaissance portrait" from Kramer Portraits. I wrote about our experience at the Kramer Portraits studio in Hillsborough back in January.

We couldn't be more pleased with how the finished product came out. The portrait has the look of an oil painting with the detail of a photograph. The detail and quality can be appreciated even from across the room. The snapshot below doesn't begin to do justice to the actual item. And the best part? They were able to turn back the clock on my hair loss about five years!

To see one of these portraits for yourself, stop into their studio at Mountainview Plaza on Route 206 South. They have many examples of their work up on the walls of their showroom.

They are not responsible for this Kramer portrait, however.

Tickets Still Available

We still have tickets available for Autism Awareness Weekend at Trenton's Sovereign Bank Arena. Join us for a performance of Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus on Friday May 29 or Saturday May 30.

A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sale will benefit Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism research, awareness, and advocacy organization.




Click on the picture to view and print the flier - then call to reserve your tickets. Please mention the flier to ensure Autism Speaks receives their donation.


See you at the show!

Millstone Boro - 115 Years Young

I couldn't let another May 18 pass without acknowledging the anniversary of the formation of Millstone Boro, which officially seceded from Hillsborough Township on this day in 1894.

As one of the leading villages of Hillsborough, Millstone played a significant part in the township's, and Somerset County's, history for 150 years. As the county seat during the American Revolution and a center for commerce right up through the industrial revolution, Millstone's importance to the region has been estimable.

Yet - unlike the plentiful information regarding Manville's secession in 1929, an admittedly unsuccessful search of contemporary and historical accounts has turned up no clues regarding the reasons for Millstone's separation. Why split from Hillsborough? And why in 1894?

East Millstone, by comparison, broke away from Franklin Township in 1873. At that time, the Delaware and Raritan Canal had been well established for forty years, and was at the peak of its importance. There was also a thriving railroad and railroad works in the hamlet. Millstone benefited from the canal and railroad also, but by 1894 Millstone's railroad, the Mercer & Somerset, had been gone for 15 years, and the canal was already entering its decline.

So what was it?

I still don't know - but I know one thing. East Millstone was an independent borough for less than 75 years, rejoining Franklin in 1949. Millstone is at 115 and counting.

What do you think Hillsborough people? Is it time for Millstone to come home?

Still Looking

On March 31, I posted a picture of an historic Hillsborough home with the questions, "where is it, where was it?"



The answer to the first question is easy - the house is no longer standing. The second question is more difficult - but before I get into that question, I am hoping someone will recognize the building and let me know where it stood. I don't want to let discussion of its location prejudice anyone's memory.

Here's one more fact - it was one of the most historically significant houses in Hillsborough when this photograph was taken. In fact, this photo was part of a depression-era Works Progress Administration survey of historic structures. It was the only residence in Hillsborough included in the survey!

Tagged - You're It!

The Manville Borough Council is still considering a proposed ordinance that would make property owners responsible for cleaning graffiti from their buildings. Similar laws have been deliberated in towns and cities across the nation - from Wichita Falls, to Brockton, Massachusetts. What all of these laws have in common is that they end up punishing the victim, rather than the perpetrator.

Business owners and landlords who have had their buildings defaced with graffiti are victims of a crime. The goal should be to encourage the victims to come forward and report acts of vandalism - not drive them away with punitive fines and remediation timetables.

The logical conclusion to these types of laws is that graffiti vandalism will not be reported - necessitating a "graffiti task force" of police officers or code officials, or, perhaps, some type of vigilante "Keep Manville Clean" citizens' group to report on their neighbors.

The point is that all of this effort will go into finding and punishing the victims of graffiti - while the real vandals roam free.

Fourth Annual Art Exhibition

On the evening of May 14, the multipurpose room at the municipal complex was transformed into Hillsborough's public art gallery as the Cultural Arts Commission presented their Fourth Annual Art Exhibition.

This year's show was a transformation in itself - with entries limited to teens and adults, and works submitted not only by our own talented high school students, but also by students in our neighboring towns.

Cultural Arts Commission Chairman Bill Bochinski welcomed the participants and guests, many of whom were on hand to witness the unveiling of the first painting in the new Hillsborough Public Art Collection - an oil painting of Assemblyman Peter Biondi.

This fine near-life-size portrait was created by local artist Kevin Murphy, who conceived the idea for the transformed art show and the public art collection.

Artist Kevin Murphy and Assemblyman Biondi unveil the portrait as Hillsborough mayor Frank DelCore looks on.

Student award winners, who received gift certificates to art and photo supply stores, pose with the Biondi portrait.

Judges from the professional art world - seen here conferring with Chairman Bochinski - intended to award one student a $1000 commission to create the next painting for Hillsborough's art collection. As it turned out, there were so many deserving entries that it was decided more deliberation was necessary before choosing a winner from so many excellent candidates.

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For more great photos of the event, click here, and follow the link.

Keep Out the Filth

Hillsborough Township officials were right on this week with an entreaty and a proposal to keep the filth out of Hillsborough.

Following the NJ Supreme Court ruling May 7 forbidding municipalities from enforcing buffer-zone laws designed to keep convicted sex predators from residing near schools and playgrounds, Mayor Frank DelCore called on the state to enact legislation either allowing town-established buffer-zones, or mandating state-established zones.

In a uniquely related story, the township committee introduced an ordinance designed to keep contaminated soil out of Hillsborough. As reported in the Courier News, any large quantity of soil brought into the township will require registration with the engineering department and be subjected to testing if the source of the soil is unknown. This is an important measure considering Hillsborough's recently revised zoning ordinances allowing outside storage of materials at businesses in the vicinity of Roycefield Road and other locations.

Calling All Art Lovers

The Hillsborough Township Cultural and Arts Commission 4th annual Fine Art Exhibit will take place Thursday, May 14, 2009 at the Municipal Complex.

The highlight of the evening is sure to be the unveiling of the flagship piece of the township's new Public Art Collection - a near life-size oil painting of Assemblyman Peter Biondi.

Click on the image to view and print the flier.

Second Wind for Alternative Energy

Hillsborough's alternative energy advocates may be getting their second wind. The township committee recently introduced an amendment to last year's windmill ordinance that would allow the use of vertical-axis wind turbines in addition to traditional horizontal-blade windmills.



The main advantages of these systems are that they can be mounted on top of existing poles and other structures and don't interfere with bird migration.

Of course the disadvantage of wind-powered electricity is that it isn't always windy! Still, can you picture one of these egg-beater shaped devices at the top of every utility pole in Hillsborough? Quick, someone call Guiness!

Shared Service a Good Idea

Montgomery Township's recently announced municipal budget includes the transfer of its emergency dispatch operation to Somerset County - a move that is likely to save the town hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Hillsborough would do well to examine such a transfer of its own dispatch operation. With potential savings of $300,000 to $400,000, it might even be possible to ADD a police officer to the force as well as pass along savings to the taxpayer.

With a police force as lean as Hillsborough's, the addition of even one officer can make a huge difference - something I am sure Chief Kaminsky recognizes and would appreciate.

Wide Open Spaces

Where are Hillsborough's "wide open spaces"? West of Starview Drive? Up on the mountain?

How about right in the center of town.

The Hillsborough Township Committee is seeking a federal grant to help pay for its portion of the development rights to the 162 acre Van Nuys farm on Hillsborough and Willow Roads. The cost to preserve the property as farmland is $3.6 million, of which the township's obligation is about $1.8 million. But with a federal grant for $1 million, Hillsborough will need to use only $800,000 from its open space trust fund for the purchase.

The grant will come from the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program - a name that definitely conjures up visions of wide open spaces!

Circus Fundraiser at Sovereign Bank Arena

[Saturday performance just added!]

We've reserved an entire section of seats for our friends, neighbors, and any and all who would like to help us raise money for autism research. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sale will go directly to Autism Speaks in the name of Hillsborough's Hope.

Please follow the simple instructions on the flier to order tickets by phone or mail. You must order your tickets through this offer for Autism Speaks to receive the donation.



Click on the picture to view and print the flier.

Autism Awareness Day at TD Bank Ballpark

It was great seeing so many old friends - and making some new ones - at the Somerset Patriots Autism Awareness Day at TD Bank Ballpark.

Thanks to all who stopped by our table - even if it was just to get out of the sun for a few minutes!

For more information about Autism Speaks and Walk Now For Autism, click here.

Are You Reading?

I'd like to get a sense of how many readers are reading the version of this blog at MyCentralJersey.com. They don't show me the stats over there, so it is hard for me to determine how many people are seeing the blog excerpt in the newspaper, and then going to their computer to read the rest of it on the web.

If you have read Gillette on Hillsborough over there, would you be so kind as to go back using this link www.mycentraljersey.com/ggillette and hit the "recommend" button?

Let's see if we can get it up to a respectable number!

"I Swallowed My Crown"

I discovered this month that Google returns 951 hits when searching the phrase "I swallowed my crown".

Now that I have had that not-so-singular experience, I figured I should make it 952.

O.K. Google - start crawling.

P.S. It's nothing to worry about - it will pass. Your dentist may want you to retrieve it - to use it as a reference to make a new tooth - which will save time. It's really up to you. If you find it, I would advise boiling it - you KNOW where it's been!

Bypass Can Wait

To be clear - my opinion is that the 2 segments of the Route 206 bypass project that are scheduled to begin next - Amwell Road to Hillsborough Road, then Old Somerville Road to Amwell Road - should be the LAST to be built.

These segments constitute the actual "bypass" - a project that is tied into the redevelopment of the original Route 206 into a downtown "main street". With the recession in the commercial and residential real estate markets, this development is still a long way off.

While we wait, the difficult and expensive part of the 206 rehabilitation - from Brown Avenue to Old Somerville Road - can provide real benefits now. Not just in reducing traffic, but in other areas such as correcting flood control issues that plague the highway.

What's One-Sixth of 206? Less Than You Think

In a recent news story, Somerset County Freeholder Peter Palmer discussed the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority's proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2010 which includes $19 million for a portion of the Route 206 bypass project. This money would be used for the stretch of highway running from Amwell Road to Hillsborough Road - or, in other words, just one-sixth of the project.

Mr. Palmer pointed out that the first third of the bypass - from the Somerville Circle to Brown Avenue was already complete, leaving just two-thirds remaining. I have to disagree. While the rebuilding of that part of Route 206 was much needed and is well appreciated, it does not BYPASS anything, hence, it is not part of the bypass.

Mr. Palmer also acknowledges that funding has yet to be found for what I believe to be the most important part of the project - the section from Brown Avenue to Old Somerville Road. This segment of the Route 206 reconstruction - also not really part of the "bypass" - is estimated to cost upwards of $43 million. I believe this is the most worthy part of the project still to be built - an improved highway that will stand on its own whether or not the real bypass is ever built. Without it, the bypass essentially becomes, at worst, another "road to nowhere", or, at best, a faster path to the traffic jam!

Danger: Asbestos

By the 1950s there were 5000 men employed at the Johns-Manville plant. None of them ever saw a sign like this:

Johns-Manville had a reputation as an excellent company that cared about its employees, offering good wages and working conditions, and other benefits - including annual physicals and chest x-rays.

The problem was with the asbestos fibers which would cover workers and their clothing, and which would sometimes fall like snow in Manville. Once breathed into the lungs, the asbestos remained there permanently- causing lung scarring and cancer.

Beginning as early as the 1920s, Johns-Manville was aware of the health risks of asbestos - even going so far as to demand that a 1933 Met Life study of the issue be amended. They also withheld all of those x-rays from their employees.

As recounted in Jon Blackwell's excellent book Notorious New Jersey, Johns-Manville's director of Health rationalized keeping employees in the dark about their grave condition:

"As long as the man is not disabled it is felt that he should not be told of his condition so that he can live and work in peace and the Company can benefit from his many years of experience."

When the lawsuits began in the 1960s, company directors tried to argue that their knowledge of the dangers of asbestos was recent. Internal documents and correspondence proved otherwise.

When the president of the company was asked why he would let his employees "work until they dropped dead" rather than inform them of their condition, his reply was, "We save a lot of money that way".

Come to Manville

When word got out that Johns Manville was moving their asbestos manufacturing plant from Brooklyn to Hillsborough, real estate speculators immediately gobbled up all of the farmland in the vicinity. They staked out tiny lots and cleared the most primitive of roads. And waited for the people to come.

They didn't have to wait long.

Prospective employees and their families flocked to the site - encouraged by the prospect of owning their own home in the New Jersey countryside. Developers ran special excursion trains to Hillsborough. Not just from New York and Jersey City, but also from Scranton and the Pennsylvania coal country, where laborers were eager to get out of the mines and work in the most well-appointed and modern factory of the day.

Jersey Central train at Manville-Finderne Station in 1967.

It's Unanimous! Manville Wants Out

Prognostication is a risky business - one that I try to avoid. I certainly wouldn't try to guess the results of this year's school board elections, but I do have one prediction: the decision will not be unanimous.

You'd do well making that sort of prediction every year in Hillsborough, where outcomes sometimes come down to a handful of ballots.

Courier News, 19 April 1929

Every year except 1929, that is.

On April 18, 1929, each of the 243 voters who went to the polling place in Hillsborough's unincorporated village of Manville knew exactly how their neighbors would cast their ballots. In quite possibly the only unanimous decision in Somerset County history, the residents of Manville voted 243-0 to secede from Hillsborough.

Johns Manville Plant, Hillsborough Township, circa the 1920s

Manville's official incorporation had been 17 years in the making. Since 1912, when the Johns-Manville Company moved their factory from Brooklyn to the site at the confluence of the Raritan and Millstone Rivers there had been dissension between the new working-class population and Hillsborough's traditional farmers.

30 November 1912, Courier News

Most of that dissension centered on Manville's schools. For the most part, Manville's residents - many of them eastern European immigrants - were willing to put up with muddy, impassable refuse-laden streets and cramped, often unsanitary, living conditions. But what they would not put up with was inadequate schools.

Harmony Plains School circa 1913

Time and again between 1912 and 1929, Hillsborough's school board refused to build a decent school in Manville. The school children perpetually attended split sessions in inferior overcrowded buildings. Only after the school board relented in 1926 and added a polling place within its confines did Manville finally win two seats on that body.

But even two seats, or three, or four, were not enough to sway the majority. In 1926, Manville voters rejected a ballot question calling for a portable school, and in 1927 they rejected a more substantial school in an unsuitable location.

NJ State Senator Clarence E. Case

It took the influence of State Senator Clarence Case of Somerville and the backing of the Johns-Manville Company - who heretofore had stayed out of the local squabble - to finally achieve what Manville really wanted: a referendum on independence.

Who could have predicted that 80 years later the state of New Jersey would be studying the possibility of once again joining Hillsborough educationally with Manville?

Not me, I don't make those predictions.

"The Rock"

Speaking of "The Rock", I had the pleasure of attending a Devils game recently at Newark's Prudential Center. It really is a very nice facility - and it's still new, so it has everything that comes with that. It's clean, and shiny, and not run-down. A great place to see a game.

The location is also convenient. It's just a few blocks from Newark's Penn Station. In fact, you can see it through the window at the station platform - that's it with the green-colored display screen on the side.


The only real inconvenience was the schedule on the Raritan Valley Line. Now that weekend train service has been drastically cut, it was necessary to board very early and arrive hours before the game. Conversely, we waited over an hour for the return train to Somerville.

With so few trains running on Saturdays and Sundays, wouldn't it make sense to coordinate rail service with the arena on game days?

Happy 100th Somerville

Somerville celebrates its centennial today, April 16, 2009.

Festivities are planned throughout the spring and summer.

Check here for upcoming events.

Injurious to Newark? Ha Ha Ha

Did you read Newark Mayor Cory Booker's recent letter to Governor Jon Corzine concerning plans to update the Izod Center arena in the Meadowlands? Booker is outraged that money is being spent to upgrade that facility - in essence to bring it up to a standard where it can compete with Newark's new, state-of-the-art, Prudential Center - when the state is already in such serious financial straits. He contends that such an expenditure would be injurious to Newark and "further divide our state against itself".

He's joking, right? Nothing more profoundly divides our state against itself, or is more injurious to our well-being, than the enormous amount of all kinds of state aid that flows into Newark, and away from our suburban populations.

Look in the mirror, Cory.

Here's the letter.

Application Denied

They've done it again. Saved our tax dollars, that is. By rejecting Governor Corzine's offer to enter into a new state pension borrowing program, the Hillsborough Township Committee has saved our town $800,000 in interest payments on a $795,000 loan over the next 15 years.



The option to pay only 50% of this year's pension obligation with up-front tax dollars while taking a loan to pay the balance was never worth considering - although I am sure the committee gave it a good look to be sure. How is it ever possible to solve a fiscal problem by doing the same things that got you in trouble in the first place? It's like borrowing on one credit card to pay another - it never works.

Sorry Jon, this application is denied!

Tickets Still Available