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Students learn contributions of city's immigrants
Thursday, May 10, 2007 By MEREDITH MANDELL HERALD NEWS |
Passaic History: A community of immigrants
(please enable pop-ups)PASSAIC -- Here's something you may not know.
Lush purple grape vines once grew in vineyards throughout Passaic, courtesy of German immigrant Alfred Speer, a vintner whose sprawling mansion sat on River Drive.
The name of the public housing complex on Aspen Place pays homage to Speer, an immigrant industrialist who came to the city in the late 1830s and is also credited with publishing Passaic's first newspaper, "The Item."
Then, there's Vreeland Village, another public housing complex on Sixth Street. Hartmann Michaelson, who changed his last name to Vreeland, was among the first Dutch immigrants to settle along the Passaic River, in what was called "Acquackanock Township," a bastardized American Indian name. He came around 1678, along with other ambitious fur traders, pining for beaver and muskrat pelts.
Speer and Vreeland were among the many immigrants in Passaic who made their mark on the city's rich history, as former city historian Mark Auerbach told a group of gifted sixth graders Wednesday morning in the Children's Room at the Reid Memorial Library. Barbara McHugh's class from the Learning Center on Wall Street listened to Auerbach's lively discussion about the city's forefathers (and some foremothers, like the Shirelles) in preparation for an assignment for school: to create a scrapbook about the city's history.
VIDEO
 KEVIN R. WEXLER / HERALD NEWS
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The students, wearing "Save the Reid" buttons, also were paying homage to a library they hope will stay open, despite a city plan to close the 104-year-old building.
"I want every resource possible available to them," said McHugh, whose students frequent the library to do research and get help from the librarians. "They value this library as a resource."
Among dozens of student-made posters that now hang in the library in support of keeping the building open, one reads, "The Reid is a place for a future generation of readers, the future stars, don't close the Reid."
"We were all over the socioeconomic map -- but we were all one family," Auerbach said, pointing out that the Reid Memorial Library was a gift from Scottish immigrant and textile magnate Peter Reid to the poorer immigrant communities from the east side of town who worked in his factory.
Immigrants initially flocked to the city for its ideal industrial location on navigable waters along the Passaic River, allowing ships to transport iron, ore, lumber and manufactured goods in the early days, he said.
Auerbach, 59, showed the class old commemorative posters by The Passaic Herald newspaper, circa World War I, touting loyalty and the strength of the city's labor force. The Reid Library was among the landmarks portrayed.
By the way, did you know that Passaic was home to Acheson Hardin, manufacturer of nearly 90 percent of the world's daily production of handkerchiefs?
Next time you look at the bottom of an old Coca-Cola tip tray, you might see Passaic's name: The trays and other collectibles were manufactured by Passaic Metalware. Of course, Passaic earned a reputation for its woolen mills: at one point Botany Mills was home to 2,600 looms, the largest factory of its kind in the country, according to Auerbach.
While most children in the room could not speak a word of Dutch or Hungarian, many understood the important contributions immigrants of the past made to the city's industrial and cultural well-being. Their parents today, who hail from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Poland, among others, are repeating that history.
"We are all immigrants and we have all come here to seek opportunities," said Steven Cazares, 12.
"It's so cool that Passaic has a lot of history," said Jenny Mercedes, 12, whose parents are from the Dominican Republic.
"The things we learned in history -- that George Washington's army crossed our bridge!" added Shayna Polanco, 12.
Reach Meredith Mandell at 973-569-7107 or mandell@northjersey.com
Update
In April, the Herald News asked readers whether Passaic's Reid Memorial Library should be repaired and kept open or closed permanently, as the city library board has proposed.
Out of the total 1,549 votes cast, 1,371 were to keep the library open and 178 to close it.
About 500 votes to keep Reid open came from the students and staff of Lincoln Middle School.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, the Library Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting for the public to speak on the plan to close Reid Memorial Library.