M AT C H E S
matches
made in
M ntclair
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
With its many interest groups, activities, public spaces and clubs,
Montclair has a way of bringing people together. In tribute to the romantic
possibilities that springtime inspires, three local couples share how
they found each other, with the help of their hometown.
ERIN
&
ROBERT
ERIN:
“I grew up in Michigan. Ten
years ago, I moved to New Jersey for
an internship, and attended the St.
Paul Baptist Church on Elm Street.
On Friday evenings, I worked in the
youth ministry with kids in kindergarten through fourth grade, and
Robert worked with ninth through
11th-graders. Parents served their
kids food on Friday nights, and on
40 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2016
one particular evening, they had a
function that prevented them from
doing that. I ordered pizza, gave
Robert my credit card, and said ‘The
kids have to eat, so I’ll pay for it.’
And he thought that was so nice,
he said he’d like to take me out.”
ROBERT: “I was in a different time in
my life, especially professionally. Erin
has an MBA and is successful in
sports marketing. I figured, ‘With
guys lined up to date a pretty woman
like her, this is the only way I’ll get a
shot.’ We went out a few times in the
fall of 2010, but my mother took ill,
so I used all my energy to focus on
her and my younger