As a veteran of what turned out to be one poorly conducted conflict, I have some serious questions about the present one, but this is not the place for debating that issue. I do believe we should support the troops that have been placed in harm's way on our behalf, especially those from our own state. My middle daughter's boyfriend's New Jersey National Guard unit has been moblized and will be heading for Iraq in the fall, and with this post I am passing on information from the unit's support group, which is soliciting donations.

The unit is Bravo Company of the 50th Main Support Battalion.
Bravo Company's families have created a "Family Readiness Group" which will forward needed non-regulation supplies to the men and women in the field, and also aid those family members left behind.

Yellow ribbon magnets for attachment to cars are available for a $5 donation plus $3.85 for priority mailing. Donations of any amount are welcome, and should be by check made out to "Bravo FRG" and mailed to "Bravo FRG, 50th Main Support Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, 479 West Clinton Street, Dover, NJ 07801.

Any and all support will be deeply appreciated.

Joe, this is a great way to show our support. My check is on the way.

Thanks a lot John. I appreciate it, and I know the troops will as well.

Reading all those memories of where we were during the riots, as well as the recent deaths of Brian Bowler, Rich DaSilva and Father Wickens got me thinking again of a subject I broached with you a while back -- an oral history of Roseville would be a nice project -- the Roseville we knew is fast becomming a lost world. We should really do something about that.

I agree, Joe. Finding the time to do it, however, is the rub. At the moment I'm scrambling just to keep my head above the water. I keep playing the lottery, though.

Seriously, I hope we can find a way to get such a project off the ground.

I'm currently under deadline to finish a book manuscript by the end of the year, and, although I have been procrastinating, will get myself going this week. I'm retired, work a few hours a week for my former employer, the state of NJ, part time, and should have some time once the current manuscript is done. We might want to start thinking about format -- if anyone has any ideas, please feel free to contact or comment.

Joe and John....
I think that is a terrific idea.
I don't believe there is any better transcript then the conversations all of us from the neighborhood have been having, on this website, since its beginning.
Just think about all of the topics we've discussed.
For example:
The Church
The Nuns
The Holloween Parades
The neighborhood stores
The Riots
The movie houses
Railroads
Branch Brook Park
The neigborhood bars
etc
etc
I believe if you go back and look at all of the discussions and memories shared by all of us you will find enough material to fill a trailor.
If there is anyway I can be of assistance please let me know.
Jeff

John C., Joe B. And Jeff S.,

I Think that a book about Roseville would be a fantastic idea! Please let me know if I can be of any assistance. I hope to see all of you at the N.J. Room of the Newark Public Library.

I think we have a lot of interest, potential organizational principles, and a real historic void to fill. If you look at all of the histories of Newark extant, except for Cunningham's work, they spend most of their time extolling 18th century WASPs and end around 1912, when the WASPS lost interest in the city.

Roseville gets nary a mention. There is definitely a need here. And Jeff is right --we already have a massive amount of raw data right here on this site, thanks to John. Weaving it together, with a consistent theme and organization, as well as supporting photos, of which there are a lot, apparently, is the key. There are also, as you well know, no doubt other sources in public holdings. There may well be grant money around to accomplish the task as well. I would envision this as a step above the usual town photo histories you see at the local Barnes & Noble, and more along the lines of that excellent history of Newark's Little Italy published by Rutgers.

By the way, there are directories of Newark published up into the 1950s available, in which, in case you forget, you can trace your family's moves around Roseville. I did, from 9th st to 11th st, to the next block of 11th st and finally to Roseville avenue between the late 1940s and 1960.

Now, all we need is the time. It needs a sitdown at Jimmy Buff's -- or, as you guys seem to prefer, Dickie Dee's