Originally planned as a fundraiser for the Secaucus Emergency Fund, the town barbecue on July 24 was eventually revealed as a semi-surprise birthday party for Mayor Michael Gonnelli as well, complete with a birthday cake and the band The British Invasion playing the greatest hits from the 1960s.
“They’re my favorite band,” said Gonnelli with a grin.
Held in the parking lot across from Huber Street School, the event raised more than $5,000 for the Emergency Fund. Attendees enjoyed hours of great music along with a tremendous array of food and a beer garden from the Paterson Plank Inn.
“You couldn’t ask for a better night,” said Fire Department Chief Brian Schoch about the weather. “Unbelievable.”
The birthday festivities were planned in advance but kept hush-hush until being announced at the weekly summer concert in Buchmuller Park on July 16.
“They made the decision to keep it under wraps until a week before,” said Councilwoman Susan Pirro.
The barbecue chefs went through 400 burgers, 420 hot dogs, and 40 pounds of London broil, along with sweet and hot sausage, pulled pork, Teriyaki chicken, and much more.
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“He sets the tone” for the town, said resident Alicia Guibor. “I don’t see any other town that’s so supportive and has so many events. Every week in the summertime there’s something to do.”
A great town
“It’s really a wonderful event,” said Laura Beckmeyer. She sat at a table near the band with her husband Brian, who went to school with the mayor.
Brian’s cousin Ron Kosky also attended with his wife, Kris. Brian had a special reason to celebrate. “Today’s my birthday,” said the lifelong resident, raising a beer.
Not far away, Gil Corby spent the bulk of the evening dancing to the band. “My back is about this close to being thrown out,” he said breathlessly during a break between sets, as the group changed costumes from matching suits to colorful psychedelic attire.
Originally from Union City, Corby has lived in Secaucus for 11 years. “Secaucus is my favorite town I ever lived in, in Hudson County,” he said. “And I lived in every town. I lived in North Bergen, I lived in Jersey City, Bayonne. And Secaucus is the best.”
“It’s a great town,” agreed his friend and fellow actor, Joe Fedor, currently a resident of Weehawken. “I always like Secaucus, its friendly people, friendly atmosphere. I’m from Bayonne originally, which is like this, very family oriented. Always looking out for the little guy. That’s what I love about these towns. There are very few of them left.”
Archies to Zombies
The four members of the British Invasion are Lee Scott Howard on guitar, Bobby M on bass, Jeff Alai on drums, and Jon Wolf on keyboard, guitar, harmonica, and percussion. All four sing. Despite their name, they perform both British and American songs from the swingin’ sixties, spanning the Archies to the Zombies, with a heavy emphasis on the Beatles.
They will be playing for free on Thursday, Aug. 13 in Buchmuller Park for anyone who missed them or wants to catch an encore performance.
Food for the fundraiser was cooked and served on site by Maschio’s, who provide school lunches in town.
“School time is hard because you’ve got to follow regulations, certain portions of food, there’s a lot of rules you need to follow,” said Kevin Dyal, overseeing the barbecue. “Here? Go wild!”
His team brought 400 burgers, 420 hot dogs, and 40 pounds of London broil, along with sweet and hot sausage, pulled pork, vegetable burgers, Teriyaki chicken, pasta salad, garden salad, tomato salad, watermelon, and more.
“The pulled pork I pre-made and we heat it up here,” he said. “The London broil is marinated and gets cooked here.” All the other meats were grilled fresh on site.
A great place to visit
A photo booth at one edge of the parking lot offered costumes for residents so they could take home memories from the event. But Lukman Ahmed and Zac Stafford didn’t need extra dress-up. They were already neatly attired in crisp, white, button-down shirts, set off by a red bowtie in Stafford’s case.
“We dress like this all the time,” said Ahmed.
“I ride a Harley like this,” said Stafford, visiting from Houston, Texas. “There’s a ride in Houston. Actually it’s in a lot of cities worldwide. The distinguished gentlemen ride. You have to dress dapper. And you have to be on a retro motorcycle.”
Stafford was visiting on business and was invited to attend the event by Ahmed, who provides telecommunications work to the town. “I love this band,” said Stafford. “I was brought up on this music.”
Also spending time in Secaucus and enjoying the barbecue was 8-year-old Olivia Lee, visiting her aunt Alicia Guibor. A native of Taiwan, shy Olivia spoke practically no English but that wasn’t keeping her from having a blast this summer.
“She’s learning swimming every day,” said Guibor. “When she got here about a month ago she was snow white. Now she’s so dark. She loves the water. And she has homework; she has to document every day where she’s been, that kind of stuff.”
Now she can say she was in the local newspaper.
“Within less than 24 hours of arriving, she said, ‘I want to stay here,’” said Guibor. “She said she’s going back home next semester and she’s going to pack her stuff and move here. She wants to come back next year to stay forever. She loves it.”
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.