100th Anniversary
Committee formed
to chart events
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer
Red Bank residents and visitors to the borough can expect some fun and interesting events in 2008 as Red Bank celebrates its 100th anniversary.
The 100th Anniversary Committee was appointed last week by Mayor Pasquale Menna, and among the appointees is his predecessor, former Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr.
With his birthday falling on the same day as the day the land that makes up Red Bank was purchased from Native Americans, it’s no wonder McKenna was appointed to the committee.
The borough will celebrate the centennial in 2008, marking 100 years since the borough was first incorporated, but McKenna said the municipality’s history actually goes further back than that.
“The history really goes back to the 1600s,” said McKenna. “I really think we should be looking at a retrospective of the history of Red Bank commerce and residents all the way back to then, not just the last 100 years.
“We have a very rich history, and this is a very unique opportunity for us.”
Joining McKenna on the committee is another former mayor, Michael J. Arnone, as well as George Bowden, chairman of the Red Bank Historic Preservation Commission, who is well known for his extensive knowledge of the history of Red Bank and the surrounding area.
Bowden said last week that he is preparing a list of recommendations to have on hand when the committee first meets, though a date for its first meeting has not been chosen.
“I want to stress what was going on back in 1908,” he said. “In the early days of Red Bank, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was very common to have annual Fourth of July parades, with every building on Broad Street and Front Street completely decked out. They would have the horse-drawn fire engines. It was really a big event. I would very strongly recommend a centennial parade, around the time of the Fourth of July. I think it would be very fitting to have an old fashioned parade like that.”
Bowden said that he would like to see as much interaction among the people of Red Bank as possible, in such ways as sponsoring garden and home tours at century houses in the borough.
“We have a great heritage in the town,” he said, “and I’m looking forward to having the historic fabric put back in front of the people again.”
Also on the committee are Marie Gagliano, Paulette Roberts, Maeble Harrison, Riverview Medical Center President Timothy Hogan, Menna (as an ex-officio member) and artist Evelyn Leavens.
Leavens, 82, has lived in Red Bank her entire life, except for a few years during her childhood when her family moved to Europe.
Leavens is an artist and art teacher, and she believes that it will be in that capacity that she will be most useful to the committee.
“Although the nostalgia is still with me of the old Red Bank,” she said, “the old shops, the old houses, I think Red Bank is progressing and developing nicely.”