July 19 Program: Dr. Joe Murphy spoke on “How to be Healthy”

Dr. Joe Murphy, Chatham Chiropractor and member of Kiwanis gave a talk on five essential components for being healthy.
1.  Nutrition: Eat a high fiber, low fat diet containing 30 % protein (mostly fish and chicken), 50 % carbohydrates (mostly composed of vegetables) and 20 % fats.
2.  Exercise: Regular exercise, 30 minutes 3 times a week. 20 minutes aerobic...walking, swimming, etc...10 minutes strength weights.
3.  Rest: You need 6-8 hours of sleep, not resting on a couch, per night. A person needs 3 to 4 hours of continuous sleep for the brain to rest.  Lying on a couch rests the body, not the brain. Use a firm mattress.
4.  Have a Good Mental Outlook on Life:  Waiting for happiness is not an option.
5.  Use Health-Care Providers:  Go to doctors and exercise people who are trained and you can relate to and understand.

Joan May with Dr. Joe Murphy

July 12 Program: March of Dimes Foundation.

Started in January of 1938 by President Franklin Roosevelt as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) to combat Polio, with which he was afflicted.  After the Foundation funded research that led to vaccines by Salk and Sabine, and the virtual elimination of Polio, the mission was changed to Fighting Birth Defects, and eventually to Improving the Health of Mothers and Babies.

The North Jersey Chapter of March of Dimes, located in Pine Brook, sent its Community Director, Jacqueline (Jackie) Kelly, to bring us up to date,  Ms. Kelly brought with her, Gina Ihne to share in her presentation.  Our speakers were introduced by Herb Ramo.

Much of the current effort and research is focused on reducing the number of premature babies, for they often suffer from birth defects and conditions like Cerebral Palsy and Autism.  It is particularly severe in the inner cities, where pregnant mothers don’t have (or don’t seek) the pre-natal advice and treatment that could make a difference.  In Camden, Jersey City, and Newark, support groups are formed, consisting of 8 to 12 pregnant women.  They are advised on the importance of pre-natal care, and encouraged to participate in “The program”. The results have been very positive.  Conclusion: It works!

The Program is aided by the participation of medical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, and by the financial support of those leaders and volunteers who conduct the successful fundraisers.  The first of the “Walk for a Cure” fundraisers was the Foundation-sponsored Walk-America in 1970.  It has continued to this day, and is now called, March for Babies.

At the conclusion of the program, President Dick Plambeck presented our traditional Kiwanis pens as a token of our appreciation.

July 5 Program: Janice Piccolo gave an update on the Chatham Farmers Market

Janice Piccolo, Manager of the Chatham Farmers Market, gave an update on the very successful weekly event, which is held 8:00AM to 1:00PM every Saturday until November 19 in the railroad station parking lot. Janice previously managed the Madison market for 15 years. Now in the fifth year of operation, the Chatham Market serves multiple purposes for the community.

Some key ingredients are environmental activism, farmers directly sell source verified consumer confident products, encouraging volunteerism (25 volunteers on the Market committee), a chance to meet socially with your neighbors, nutrition and good health, a venue to publicize programs like the Mayors Wellness Program and the “know your numbers campaign”, civic support for local not-for-profit service organizations (27 visited last year), a gathering space for enjoying entertainment like the Chatham Brass Band and other artists and performers.

The Chatham Market belongs to organizations like the Farmers Market Coalition of the United States and New Jersey Council of Farmers and Communities. They try to maintain the New Jersey farmer’s land to avoid urban sprawl and help farm families earn a living by farming.

Volunteers, dressed as corn and tomato marched in this year’s Independence Day Parade. Janice offered a volunteer badge to anyone in the audience.

Many special events at the Market were listed on complementary bookmarks handed out to members.

Visit the Chatham Farmers Market website to learn more. The Market also has a Facebook Page.

Announcements at Kiwanis July 5 Meeting

Dick Plambeck announced that Sharon Johnson and Gary Arnesen will co-chair the Pasta Dinner fundraiser. The next Board meeting is Wednesday, July 20 at the Methodist Church. District Convention will be August 19-21. He passed around thank-you notes from ECLC graduates and an invitation to a Boy Scout camp open house. Mal Kitson was given a standing ovation for managing the hugely successful Kiwanis march in the Independence Day Parade. He thanked Mary Anne Maloney and Nancy Boucher for managing the decoration of the Lady Liberty and Chatham Band floats. Karen Shippey made a very nice flame to sit at the top of Lady Liberty’s torch. There were many marchers. Click here to view the YouTube video (shot by Stu Shippey) of Kiwanis floats and marchers. Nancy reported that $390 in supermarket gift certificates have been collected from Kiwanis members to give to the Eric Johnson House. She also announced that members can contribute their loose pocket change (deposit in the container at the check-in table) to go to the ELIMINATE project. Karen Swartz reminded members to bring in items to donate to Eric Johnson House.

Kiwanis Marches in 2011 Chatham Independence Day Parade

June 28 Program: Jim Peck, Executive Director of Cora Hartshorn Arboretum

Jim Peck, Executive Director of Cora Hartshorn Arboretum in Short Hills spoke on nature areas in New Jersey. An expert on New Jersey parks, he entertained the audience and left us with ideas for New Jersey places to visit. This talk was an encore performance of his excellent February 22, 2011 program.

Jim is pictured on left (with Kiwanis President Dick Plambeck) wearing his 50-million-year-old New Jersey shark’s tooth fossil necklace. He has visited all USA states except North Dakota. He has written a monthly article for a local newspaper for about seven years.

He showed a photo of a recent visit to the arboretum by a couple who had carved their initials in a Beech tree more than 50 years ago. The two were high school sweethearts in 1960. The heart and initials are still at the same height because lower parts of the tree don’t grow higher over the years.

He reminded the audience about some of places described in his February talk. He travels to specific places with a mission to see and learn about something in particular. He travels light, without climbing or special hiking gear.

Big Brook in Colts Neck has a lot of fossils – he found his shark’s tooth there. Visitors should take kids there because they get excited.  Island Beach State Park is one of his favorite places, anywhere. Palisades Park along the Hudson is also nice.

Great Swamp is where the Passaic River begins. The Swamp has Wildlife Management and Natural areas. He showed a winter photo of Great Falls at Patterson. It has the largest volume of water flowing over a waterfall east of Niagara Falls. He described the geology of the Palisades near Patterson Falls and the historical use of the falls to drive local industries.

He showed a photo of the Eastern USA’s oldest old-growth trees located in Bear Swamp West near Millville, NJ (the South Jersey town has a glass factory).  They are Tupelo trees that are hollow and can grow in water. Go in the winter to avoid insects and better see the size of the trees (no leaves). A lot of mistletoe lives in the same area.  Driving and walking to this site takes a long time.

Franklin, NJ is one of the two places in the world (somewhere in Africa is the other) with highest concentration of minerals. Jim showed photos of the Franklin Mineral Museum and nearby zinc mine (with another museum where you can tour the mine). It is the fluorescent mineral capital of the world and many NJ school children have visited the site. (Nancy Boucher mentioned that the local Kiwanis Club helped run the museum.) You can buy Franklinite samples there.

He also described the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ. Also, he showed a photo of the Bamboo Forest in Rutgers Garden.

Jim is looking for donations and volunteer workers to support a boat-building outreach program for kids from Milburn and Union. He showed photos of the project which helps children build 12-foot skiffs.

We ran out of time before Jim ran out of places to talk about. It was a great program and we will have to ask him back again. Jim emailed us the following list of places he described and others we could visit.

Places in Jim's talk

Cora Hartshorn Arboretum, Short Hills
Sandy Hook
Hackensack Meadowlands
Snake Hill (in the Meadowlands)
Crooked Swamp Cave
Cheesquake State Park
Sunset Beach, Cape May
Wildcat Ridge (north Jersey)
Delaware and Raritan Canal
Pine Barrens
                Pakim Pond
                Apple Pie Hill
                Town of Chatsworth
                Pygmy Pine Forest
                Greenwood Wildlife Management Area boardwalk
                Canoe to Wading River
Buttermilk Falls, Delaware Water Gap
Helmetta Pond, Helmetta,
Fossil hunting in Big Brook, Colts Neck
Palisades Park
Island Beach State Park
Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Great Falls, Patterson
Bear Swamp West – near Peek Preserve in Millville
Franklin Mineral Museum
Sterling Mine
Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Kiwanis Presents Graduation Awards to ECLC of New Jersey Graduates

Dick Plambeck, President of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis is pictured left, rear row in above photo with some of the ECLC 2011 graduates. Kiwanis presented graduation awards to all 23 graduates of ECLC at the June 16 ceremony.