Enduring the time of COVID-19 Pandemic.

Yesterday I participated in a Zoom Virtual Funeral.  25 members of family and friends gathered together on the Internet to celebrate the life of a Veteran who passed away recently while living in the Veteran's home in Paramus, NJ.

This was photographed in the Residents' Office of Fellowship Village in Basking Ridge, NJ. There will be a fully Mass sometime in the future when it will be safe for all. Photo of Betty Fasciana.

Ron Whalin

Kiwanis November 25 Program: Byron Arison presented “My personal experiences on The Manhattan Project: The Making of the Atomic Bomb.”

Byron Arison (right in the photo) spoke at the November 25 luncheon meeting of Kiwanis held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. On the left in the photo is his wife, Arlene Peterson.

In his talk, Byron told how, after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1943 with a Bachelor of Science degree, he was immediately hired by DuPont as a chemist at the TNT plant in Kankakee, Ill. He was transferred first in March of 1944 to the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago and then in October to the Hanford Engineering Works at Hanford, Washington. During this period, he was part of a group that installed uranium into one of the reactors designed for the production of plutonium.

The audience was fascinated by this account of that critical period of time at the close of the Second World War. After a brisk Q&A session, everyone enthusiastically applauded this entertaining presentation.

Kiwanis November 18 Meeting Program: Patricia Swan, Executive Director of the Lantern Hill CCRC in New Providence presented Opening a New Chapter of Life.

Patricia Swan (left in photo), Executive Director of the Lantern Hill CCRC in New Providence, spoke with Kiwanis at the November 18 breakfast meeting at Charlie Brown’s Fresh Grill in Chatham Township, NJ. Patricia was welcomed by Sharon Johnson (right in photo), President of the Kiwanis Club.

Patricia’s talk was about Opening a New Chapter of Life. Most people are reluctant to leave their house and move into a residential community because of the perceived loss they will experience. However, evidence shows that those courageous seniors who move to a CCRC experience many benefits, including improved fitness, nutrition, risk (falling) avoidance and social and spirituality benefits.

Her talk ended with a chart showing the really good news that seniors feel the best of their lives as they age and living in a CCRC enhances that experience. After an active question and answer session, the audience applauded this opportunity to learn more about Continuing Care Retirement Communities.

Please visit the Lantern Hill website to learn more: http://www.ericksonliving.com/lantern-hill/welcome-lantern-hill.

Kiwanis November 11 Meeting Program: Ron Nicola, lawyer and public defender presented an overview and assessment of the Public Defender System.

Ron Nicola, public defender in several New Jersey municipalities spoke to Kiwanis about the Public Defender System. Ron (right in the photo) is a resident of Chatham and practices law in Chatham. He was introduced by Kiwanian Caesar on the left.

The talk provided a fascinating look into the operation of the New Jersey Public Defender System. After a brisk question and answer session, the audience enthusiastically applauded this informative talk.

Kiwanis November 4 Meeting Program: Joe Gonsalves, Senior Director of Healthy Living talked about adult programs at the Madison Area YMCA

Joe Gonsalves, Senior Director of Healthy Living, spoke at the November 4 Kiwanis luncheon meeting. Joe (right in photo) and Susan Sheeley (left in photo) spoke about adult programs at the Madison Area YMCA.  Topics included Community Mental Health Initiative, Parkinson’s disease Program, Cancer Survivor Support, Diabetes Prevention Program, and Enhance Fitness.

To learn more about these programs, visit the YMCA located on Kings Road in Madison, NJ.

Also, Please visit the :YMCA website: http://www.madisonareaymca.org/

Kiwanis October 28 Meeting: Alan Robertson gave a Travelogue on Rome, Malta and Sicily

Kiwanian Alan Robertson (left in the photos) gave an interesting talk on Rome, Malta and Sicily illustrated with beautiful photographs. In the photo on the right is Joan Frey. This was presented at the October 28 breakfast meeting at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. The audience enthusiastically applauded this entertaining program.

Kiwanis October 21 Breakfast Meeting Program: William Sullivan Samay of Merrill Lynch made a presentation

William Sullivan Samay (center in photo) of Merrill Lynch made a presentation on how to look at investments when interest rates are very low. He was introduced by Jerry Cunningham (right in photo). Sharon Johnson, President of the club is on the left in the photo.

Will gave an overview of possible investment alternatives in this period of very low interest rates. 

Kiwanis Hosts Pasta Dinner on October 8, 2014 at Chatham High School

Kiwanis October 7 Luncheon Program: Caesar Sweitzer presented photos from his recent trip to Kenya for safari and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

Caesar Sweitzer (left in photo) gave a fascinating luncheon talk to Kiwanis at Charlie Brown’s on October 7. The subject: his recent trip to Kenya for safari and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. He was introduced by club president Sharon Johnson (right in photo).

Caesar stands beside trail marker at peak.

Caesar with the cairn he built for his friend.

After an active Q and A session the audience enthusiastically applauded the inspiring program. To learn more, visit Tusker Trails website http://tusker.com/

Kiwanis at September 27, 2014 Madison, NJ Bottle Hill Day

Kiwanis sold Holiday Nuts at the 2014 Annual Bottle Hill Day festival in Madison, NJ.

Kiwanis September 30 Meeting Program: Valerie Tomaro from Tomaro Honey in Chatham gave a presentation about honeybees and bee keeping.

Valerie Tomaro (left in photo) of Tomaro Honey in Chatham presented a PowerPoint presentation at the September 30 breakfast meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. She was introduced by John Eyre (right in photo), President of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis. Valerie and her husband manage a bee keeping business in Chatham.

Valerie gave a very interesting talk about behavior of honeybees, how they are raised, and many other topics. They sell products made from the honey and honey combs. They give talks to local schools and other groups. The audience enthusiastically applauded this entertaining presentation about a “green” local business.

Visit their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tomarohoney

Kiwanis Installation Dinner at the Madison Hotel September 16, 2014

 Happy Social Hour

 (L to R) Steven Joan and Michael

 Herb Shirley and Dave

Bert and Karen

 Officers

 John and Steven

 Joan and Steven

Nancy and Steven

 Monty and Steven

 Steven and Karen

Steven and Bill

 Sharon and Steven

 David Mutchler earned the Zeller - Michael presents

Sharon, Christine Bellofatto (Inductee) and Marc

Kiwanis September 9 Meeting Program: Len Resto presented the history of the Morris & Essex Railroad running through Chatham and how it affected Chatham development

Len Resto (left in photo) presented the history of the Morris & Essex Railroad running through Chatham and how it affected Chatham development. John Eyre (right in photo) introduced Len to Kiwanians at the September 9 regular luncheon meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. The presentation included many interesting stories about how the railroad and the station changed over the years. Members of the club enthusiastically applauded the entertaining program.

Kiwanis September 2 Meeting Program: Marc Litwack spoke on the "Kiwanis 100th Anniversary"

KIwanian Marc Litwack (right in photo), Past President of the New Jersey District of Kiwanis International, gave a talk on the early history of Kiwanis International. He was introduced by John Eyre, President of the Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club. This presentation was made at the September 2, 2014 luncheon meeting of the club at Charlie Brown's in Chatham Township.

Kiwanis International will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2015. Marc provided an interesting and informative description of the organizations early, turbulent years from 1915 until the end of the 1920s. By that time Kiwanis had about 1400 clubs and 100,000 members. After a question and answer session the audience enthusiastically applauded the presentation. He reminded us that at the end of life, we should reflect on how much we have served.

To learn more, please click here to visit website http://www.kiwanis.org/kiwanis100/

Kiwanis August 19 Meeting Program: Stu Shippey, a licensed Extra Amateur Radio Operator (Call Letters: KA2HZP) presented "What is a Ham? - How they are involved in emergencies and other tidbits."

Kiwanian Stu Shippey (right in photo), licensed Extra Amateur Radio Operator (KA2HZP) gave a fascinating presentation titled "What is a Ham? - How they are involved in emergencies and other tidbits" at the August 19, 2014 Kiwanis meeting. He was introduced by his wife Karen (left in photo).

Stu showed a PowerPoint presentation with links to videos, log files and other interesting items. He set up interesting posters and demonstrated portable amateur radios, powered by a large battery. He covered the history of radio using a YouTube video narrated by Walter Cronkite.

Stu jumped back into his early hobby of amateur radio after visiting the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He showed a video titled “ARRL at 100: A Century of Ham Radio”. Click here to see the full-length video.

After an active Question and Answer period, the audience enthusiastically applauded this interesting and educational presentation.

Kiwanis August 12 Meeting Program: Karen Brodsky, MLS, Director of the Library of the Chathams, Demonstrated “Apps for iPad"

Karen Brodsky (right in photo), Director of the Library of the Chathams, was introduced by Karen Shippey (left in photo) at the August 12, 2014 Kiwanis luncheon meeting held in Charlie Brown’s  restaurant.

Karen provided a live demonstration of 18 iPad Apps. Many Kiwanians have iPads and the members of the audience learned a lot from the presentation. To learn more about the Library of the Chathams, please visit the library website.

Kiwanis August 5 Meeting Program: William Ferdinand, professional gemologist of Ferdinand Jewelers in New Providence, NJ Spoke on Operation Bling?"

William Ferdinand (see photo) of Ferdinand Jewelers in New Providence spoke at the August 5, 2014 Kiwanis lunch meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Twp. His topics were "What is a Gemologist? and “What is Operation Bling?". Operation Bling Foundation’s mission is to give sparkling jewels to cancer patients during their hospital stay, bringing them cheer and pleasure. This inspiring story captivated the audience. To learn more, please visit the website: http://www.operationblingfoundation.org/

Kiwanis July 29 Meeting Program: Chatham Borough Councilman Len Resto spoke on the Environmental Commission, Sustainable Jersey and Green Fair.

Len Resto (right in photo) spoke at the July 29 breakfast Kiwanis meeting which was held at Charlie Brown’s Restaurant in Chatham Twp. He was introduced by John Eyre (left in photo) who is President of the club.

Len gave a PowerPoint presentation which included the history, membership and activities of the Environmental Commission. He mentioned that there are several nature trails in the Borough - click here to view maps.

Several very nice nature photos taken by Dick Plambeck were included in the talk.

Len wrapped up the talk by asking the members of the audience to “Get Involved!” He also suggested a number of areas where help is needed. The audience applauded this interesting and informative talk.

Kiwanis July 22 Meeting Program: G. David Scott spoke on "Market Street Mission"

David Scott (right in photo) spoke on “Market Street Mission” at the July 22 Kiwanis breakfast meeting held at Charlie Brown’s Restaurant in Chatham Township, NJ. Gary Arnesen (left in the photo) introduced him. David gave an inspiring description of how the organization helps people recover their lives. The audience enthusiastically applauded the work of this organization. To learn more, please visit their website at http://www.marketstreet.org/