Nutley 1918 - First Memorial Day Parade
Nutley author Anthony Buccino will provide home front and overseas background on WWI
NUTLEY, NJ -- Mayor Dr. Joseph P. Scarpelli and the Board of Commissioners
announced plans for the Township’s 100th Anniversary Memorial Day Parade. The parade will be held on Monday, May 27,
2019.
Weather permitting, the Nutley War
Memorials Remembrance Ceremony will start at 7:30 am at the VFW Post 493. Following the Remembrance Ceremony, the
Township will gather to honor Nutley’s fallen firefighters at the Public Safety
Building at 10:30 am.
The Memorial Day
Parade opening ceremonies and welcome will begin at 11 am at the Park Oval.
The parade route is the same as previous years – Chestnut
Street to Passaic Avenue to Centre Street to Franklin Avenue, with the
reviewing stage in front of JHW Middle School.
Rev. Jill Fenske will offer the prayer at the opening ceremonies and
this year’s Grand Marshall is Edward Joseph Bennett.
“The Memorial Day Parade serves as a tribute to honor all of
our U.S. service men and women who selflessly and valiantly gave their lives to
protect our freedom and liberty,” said Mayor Scarpelli.
THURSDAY FILM PREMIER
The 100th Anniversary Memorial Weekend activities begin with the showing of the 1918 Memorial Day Parade movie at 7 p.m. on
Thursday May 23, at the
Nutley Public Library.
“Nutley 1918” is
the earliest known motion picture shot in Nutley. The film’s director and producer as one of
America’s first female filmmakers, Katherine Russell Bleecker.
“Nutley 1918” was found in 1960 after having been buried in
an abandoned barn.
Following its discovery, the former Nutley township
historian at the time, Ann Troy, sought out its restoration, and gave the
decomposed film stock to Bob Lee, president of the Essex Film Club.
“This film is a part of our history. Viewing what most likely is Nutley’s first
Memorial Day Parade on the week of our 100th parade is so fitting,” said the
Mayor.
HISTORIC WALK IN THE PARK ON MONDAY
Also on Monday May 27th the
Nutley Historical Society will
sponsor “A Walk in the Park”. The tour,
led by Nutley Museum director John Simko, begins at 9 a.m. at the Mud Hole
(near the intersection of Passaic Avenue and Vreeland Avenue) and travels along
the Third River.
Simko will discuss
the river’s role in Nutley’s history as a source for early industry, as
inspiration for world-renowned artists, as a symbol of civic pride, as an
important boundary marker, and as a fitting memorial to our war veterans.
Visit the sites of three former mills, tour the
pre-Revolutionary War Van Giesen homestead, find out why the Third River splits
in two, learn about the beginnings of our hundred-year-old Carnegie Library and
even older Town Hall, and walk through one of Nutley’s oldest cemeteries.
“A Walk in the Park” ends at eleven o’clock
inside Nutley’s first brick schoolhouse (now the Nutley Historical Society and
Museum) where refreshments will be served. The museum will be open and
tour-related pieces from our archives will be on display.
“A Walk in the Park” is free, but is limited to 30 people
and requires registration. You can
register for the tour by emailing johnsimko1014@gmail.com or by calling
973-752-8984 and leaving a message with your phone number or e-mail
address. You will receive confirmation
via e-mail or a phone call.
MEMORIAL DAY PARADE ON MONDAY
The Nutley Board of Commissioners will be inviting family members
of soldiers, both past and present, to march in the parade, and is collecting
names of those in our community who are currently serving. These names will be added to an already
existing banner which will proudly be carried throughout the parade, and then
displayed on the Nutley Park Oval fence outside of the Town Hall.
Special thanks to the Patriots Club for
placing American Flags on the veteran’s gravestones at the cemeteries in town
and to Nutley High School’s students and faculty for their
Wall of Honor which
salutes our fallen heroes.
“Memorial Day is a day we put aside to honor our fallen
heroes and pray that no heroes will ever again have to make the ultimate
sacrifice protecting our nation,” concluded Scarpelli.
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