editor’s letter
update
W
elcome back, Montclair, to the new
school season. There have been a
lot of local developments since our
last Back to School issue, not least
of which is the hiring of Dr. Kendra
Johnson, the new Montclair public
schools superintendent. Get to know her better by reading
our interview with her, and learn why she says that
“Public education has to extend beyond the classroom.”
“Starring: A New Generation of Performers” gets at the
same theme: going beyond academics, and addressing stu-
dents’ needs and interests. Ayla Schwartz, 11; Valentino Musumeci, 18; Collin
Kelly-Sordelet, 23; and KC Schlossberg, 28; are all products of the Montclair
school system (Schwartz is entering Glenfield Middle School). They credit the
unusual number of performance opportunities and the instruction they received
as helping them land roles on Broadway, TV and in films. (Only one of them,
though, got to point at Michael Keaton running through Times Square and
recite the line “Why is he naked?”) Find out who on page 26.
In dining out news, Bloomfield has a recently-opened restaurant, Braun’s
Tavern, that has received critics’ kudos; find out what you should order in our
review, “Seasonal and Sensational.” And in a town where building space comes
at an unusually high premium, “Don’t Call it New Constructions shows how
an old house can be replaced by a new one without being torn down first. ■
CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
8
BACK TO SCHOOL 2018 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
In our May issue, we
asked readers for help
identifying the high
school students pictured
on the back page. We
have been told by the
gentleman in the image at left, future Montclair
police chief Roger Terry, that the photo was
actually taken during the class of 1968’s junior
prom in ’67, and that his prom date was Laura
(Wright) Frank, who now resides in Florida. The
class’ 50th reunion will be held the weekend of
Oct. 20. “I can tell you we are going to throw one
heck of a reunion,” promises classmate Denise
Riordan, who is on the Reunion Committee, along
with Marcia (Coleman) Williams, Mark Menton,
Lonnie Brandon, Ed Scheibel and Liz (McGilvray)
Hemminger. Organizers are planning a weekend
of celebration, which will include an evening at
Tierney’s Upstairs; a nostalgic tour of Montclair
High School; a lunch at the Furlong Fieldhouse,
followed by an MHS football game; and a fete at
Glen Ridge Country Club Saturday night. For more
information, go to the Montclair (NJ) High School
Class of 1968 50th Reunion Facebook page.
correction
In our al fresco dining roundup “Everything
Tastes Better Outside” (May 2018), Joanne Ricci
was incorrectly identified as the co-founder of
Raymond’s in Montclair. She is a co-owner of
the restaurant.