Retirement, replacement, and reward
The Bayonne Board of Education (BBOED) meeting on Wednesday celebrated Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Robert Craig’s career after he announced his retirement in a letter to the superintendent on July 1, writing “I have been blessed over the years to have worked with some of the best and the brightest. I move on to the next chapter in my life, a time to be spent with my wife and family.” His retirement will be effective September 1, exactly 46 years after starting work at the Bayonne School District September 1, 1970.
The board voted unanimously to replace him with current Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, and Hudson County Freeholder, Kenneth Kopacz. The board voted 7-1 to appoint Administrator of Assessment, Evaluation, Federal and State Programs, Denis Degnan, to Kopacz’s position.
Rain can’t stop the Renaissance Fair
Bayonne’s first annual Renaissance Fair kicked off on Saturday, July 30. Despite some rainy conditions that started early, organizers made sure entertainment carried on. “We had well over 1,000 before the rain, but many stayed and the show went on under the tents,” said President of the Bayonne Theater Company and one of the lead organizers of the fair, Adam Semanchick. Luckily, they came prepared and made the best out of the bad weather.
Musicians, performers, and actors alike came under the tent to perform for smaller audiences. Semanchick says that a Renaissance Fair can continue through the rain, unlike carnivals, because it is centered around the theatrical experience and community that can easily be shielded from rain. Semanchik looked at the bright side of things. “The intimate setting under the tents made for a more hands-on show.” And he also looks forward to next season. “We have big plans for next year, maybe an extra day.”
SilkLofts gets classic advertisement print
SilkLofts, the luxury loft apartment building on Avenue E and former Maidenform factory, was presented this week with an iconic print from former summer factory workers and children of former vice-president of the factory in its heyday.
On Wednesday, Kenneth Rosenthal, 78, and Joan Rosenthal, 75, presented a print of their mother’s painting of Maidenform’s iconic ad, “I Dreamed I Was A Work of Art” to be hung in the lobby of the building.
Maidenform’s advertising campaigns were enormously successful. The print presented at SilkLofts was one of many in the widely-praised “I Dream” ad campaign.
The siblings’ visit to the site of the old factory is their first in a long time. “We expected to find a derelict building here,” said Kenneth, “We found a beautiful building with the name ‘Maidenform,’ just as it always was.”
Maidenform at its peak was one of the largest employers in Bayonne. It was converted to office space for the company in 1990, then sold in 2007, and was bought and converted by developer Doug Stern starting in 2009.