Barbara Banta was grooving up a storm on the dance floor, smiling broadly while showing off slick moves in her motorized wheelchair. Banta has lived in North Bergen her whole life and been a resident in the Terrace Apartments senior housing complex for eight years. This year she attended the town’s annual Senior Picnic in Schuetzen Park for the first time. The reason? Because the town got a new senior bus that can accommodate her wheelchair.
“I’m not sure if the old bus was equipped for wheelchairs,” she said. “It may have been but I didn’t inquire. But they got it in there, so I came. I follow the music, wherever it is.”
The dance floor was packed so tightly with seniors it was a wonder anybody could move. Yet move they did, enjoying a catalogue of hit songs from across the decades, both English and Spanish.
“When we party, look out,” said Banta with a laugh.
The banquet room at Schuetzen Park was filled for the annual event on Wednesday, Sept. 16, with many dignitaries from the town and county showing up to pay tribute. Staff from the Housing Authority took time off from work to volunteer and serve food to the attendees.
“Every year it gets bigger and better and it’s always a sunny day in here.” –Vincent Prieto
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“Picnic” is a bit of a misnomer, since the event is held indoors at banquet tables, with a stage and dance floor. “The first one we had was outdoors,” said Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who was 45 when he established the event in 1992. “But it rained, so we had to run in here. And I said we’re never going to do it outside again.”
Since then it has been held indoors, and it is always popular, with the town providing free busing to seniors. Food is offered at no cost, and wine and beer is included.
“Five years I came here before I knew that,” said Patricia Power, sitting with friends Randy Westwood, Evelyn and Jenny Martinez, and Joann Bourne. “I used to take the car but now I take the senior bus so I can drink.”
“I travel the 12 towns that call Hudson County home,” said County Executive Tom DeGise, addressing the crowd at the opening of the festivities, “and no one treats their seniors better than North Bergen does.”
Vincent Prieto, Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, echoed and amplified the sentiment. “I’m throughout the whole state, and I can assure you, nobody in the state treats their seniors like North Bergen and Nick Sacco does,” he said. “Congratulations. Enjoy. And let’s get dancing.”
Changes over the years
The name of Theresa Ferraro came up repeatedly during the event. The former public safety commissioner who passed away earlier this year was always a dedicated advocate for seniors. She was in charge of the picnic since inception and made sure everything ran smoothly.
This was the first picnic without her, and Sacco asked for a moment of silence in her honor.
He also recalled another solemn occasion, when the picnic was held on Sept. 11, the day of the World Trade Center attacks. “We didn’t know if we should cancel or not. But I felt it was better that we get together,” he said. “It was a very subdued occasion but a very patriotic occasion. When we said the pledge of allegiance everyone stood perfectly at attention. We knew that we were under attack. And in this room there was such a united feeling. I was proud to be an American with the people who were here that day.”
Larry McDonough has been attending the event for years. “My mother used to come to the senior picnic,” he said. McDonough has long been a regular at events in Schuetzen Park like the annual Volksfest, where he won a medal in the downstairs shooting gallery. He has seen the demographic of the community change dramatically over the years.
“We’re not getting an influx from Germany anymore,” he noted. “The Volksfest used to be three days. This year it was only one day. And it wasn’t outside with the beer tent, it was in here. Everybody’s coming from South America now. Even Germany’s getting immigrants.”
His friend Gil Pirosseno, attending the event with his wife and son, was himself a committeeman in the 1950s. He, too, has seen a lot of change in North Bergen. “It’s been improving,” he said. “The area is much cleaner. And recreation is good. There has been a lot of development.”
After the meal came the prizes. Trophies were awarded in a dance contest and the winners of a 50/50 walked away with cash in their pockets.
“Every year it gets bigger and better and it’s always a sunny day in here,” Prieto told the crowd.
Also speaking at the event were Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, Freeholder Anthony Vainieri, Sheriff Frank Schillari, Housing Authority Executive Director Gerald Sanzari, and Commissioners Frank Gargiulo, Allen Pascual, Hugo Cabrera, and Julio Marenco, the latter two addressing the crowd in Spanish.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.