The Alternative Press

WESTFIELD, NJ - On September 19, at 6:30 p.m., the Westfield Historical Society will host an event at Echo Lake Country Club to induct 10 new members into the Westfield Hall of Fame. Tickets are $50 each and include cocktails and light fare. Mayor Andrew Skibitsky will introduce the event, and Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick will serve as master of ceremonies.

Lee M. Hale, head of the Hall of Fame committee, credits the genesis of The Hall of Fame to the late Ralph Jones, otherwise known as Westfield’s “town historian.” This will be the fourth group of honorees to be inducted.

“The process began five years ago,” said Hale. “Folks would submit the names of residents they thought made viable contributions to the town of Westfield. Nominees are recognized and honored for being accomplished in their field, as well as having made a significant impact on the town, state or nation. The first year, we inducted 10 people, followed by six, and then five.”

This year, these 10 people will enter into the Westfield Hall of Fame:

Bob Bauer     1918-

Bob Buck     1914-2007

Charles Clark     1753-1821

Bill Clotworthy     1926-

Charles Codding     1866-1925

Grover Connell     1918-

Sam Downer, Jr.     1760-1848

Dr. Gerry Glasser     1932-

The McGinley Family     1920’s-50’s

(Ed Jr. Ed III, Gerry, Rick)

Bob Rooke     1981-1994

 “The Westfield Hall of Fame is a wonderful way to honor Westfield citizens, past or present, who have made significant contributions to Westfield, the state and nation,” said Nancy Priest, president of the Westfield Historical Society. “The committee has done a wonderful job of honoring their legacies by inducting each of them into the Hall of Fame.”

To date, Westfield has installed 21 exemplary men and women into the Hall of Fame:

Three of its Mayors—Garland C. Boothe, H. Emerson Thomas and Charles P. Bailey

Anne Revere, movie star

Dr. Charles Philhower, school administrator

The Welch Family, multigenerational family and business people

The artists Harry and Wende Devlin

The famous painter of Russian royalty Sigismund Ivanowski

The sportsman-horseman Robert Fairbairn

The Pearsall Family, Westfield land developers

Miss Emma Bridges

Robert Hoffman, Edwin Ellsberg

William Reeve, who gave his home to Westfield for the Westfield Historical Society’s headquarters/museum

Jeff Torborg, who caught three no-hitters in the big leagues

Bobby Clotworthy, winner of Olympic bronze and gold diving medals

Charles Apgar, who helped defeat the Germans in WWII with his submarine surveillance

Charles’ daughter, Virginia Apgar, developer of the 10-point system for measuring an infant’s physical condition minutes after birth and saved millions of children

Gary Kehler, voted the all-time #1 High School Coach in New Jersey

Charles Wallace, philanthropist and inventor of the controlled feeding of chlorine gas sterilizing drinking water—thereby eliminating typhoid fever and dysentery in the civilized world.

The 2012 Hall of Fame Committee members included Lee Hale, Wally Brown, Sherry Cronin, Rich Elbert, Bill Foley, Jane Francz, Michael LaPlace, Roger Love, Don Mokauer, Virginia Rorden, Lowell Shantz and Ed Wittke Jr.

To obtain tickets to the Westfield Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Echo Lake country Club, contact The Westfield Historical Society at 908-654-1794. For more information about the Westfield Historical Society or to become a member, call or send an email to info@westfieldhistoricalsociety.org.