The Little Falls Historical Society and You

The mission of the Little Falls Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and promote the history of the Township of Little Falls, New Jersey.

In pursuit of this mission the Little Falls Historical Society recently purchased an etching by Montclair artist Thomas R. Manley (1853 - 1938) which depicts a rustic scene in Little Falls ca. 1900. 

Mr.  Manley, an American Impressionist, was born in Buffalo, NY and moved to Montclair in 1893, where he joined a colony of artists that included George Inness, Frederick Ballard Williams, Charles Warren Eaton and Frederick Waugh.  

He resided at 97 Mount Hebron Road and maintained a studio in a converted barn on Dykes Lane in Montclair.

The woods and hills of the areas surrounding Montclair gave Manley ample subjects for his drawings and paintings.

In 1925 Manley had an exhibition at the Montclair Art Museum which featured 58 works including scenes of the Old Quarry, Upper Montclair, Davy's Pond, Bloomfield, Tow Path, Morris Canal, and the Old Mill, Cedar Grove.

Manley was one of the founding members of the Montclair Art Museum (1913) and in his own time was often called "The Dean of Montclair Artists."  His works are in the Montclair Art Museum's permanent collection.

Your help is needed in preserving the rich history of Little Falls.  The Little Falls Historical Society is actively seeking pictures, films, postcards, letters, business records, deeds, newspapers, annual reports, political ads, family trees, family stories or any type of historical documents pertaining to life in the Township of Little Falls to add to its collection.

If you have items to donate, please contact the Little Falls Historical Society's President John Veteri, Jr., at 973.865.3040 or write to: P.O. Box 1083, Little Falls, NJ 07424.

 

The Future of Community News Coverage - It doesn't look good

Bob Dylan once proclaimed that "something is happening here but you don't know what it is.  Do you, Mr. Jones?"  

 

Well there's something happening with our local media that could affect the future scope and  depth of Little Falls news coverage.

 

This past July, Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest news publisher, purchased the North Jersey Media Group (NJMG) from the Borg family which had owned it since 1930.

 

The NJMG, which publishes The Record, the Herald News, and 49 community newspapers including the Passaic Valley Today, announced on September 14th  that a restructuring of operations across its newsroom and sales department would mean the loss of 200 jobs effective, mid-November.

 

According to Richard Green, the newly hired NJMG editor and vice-president of content, "This is not merely a restructure, but a bold, ambitious vision to make North Jersey Media Group even more competitive in the metro New York City market."

 

While Bob Dylan noted that "The times they are a changin" the termination of so many NJMG staff members and the merger of community newspapers will seriously reduce the ability of the NJMG to provide in-depth coverage of important community issues.

 

There are changes coming and they don't seem to be good.

Lack of Transparency and Administrative Oversight

Transparency and administrative oversight seem to not excess in Little Falls.

 

In the past there has been over a years delay in the review and approval of Council meeting minutes.  For instance, at the Council's meeting of July 11, 2016 minutes from the regular meetings of October 2014, November 24, 2014 and December 29, 2014, as well as the minutes for the workshop meetings of November 10, 2014, December 8, 2014 and January 12, 2015 were approved by the Council.

 

While there has been a concerted administrative effort to prepare minutes for the Council's review and approval in a timely manner, the Township has still fallen short in meeting this objective.

 

According to the NJ Open Public Meeting Act, governing bodies are required to keep minutes and to make them available to the public for inspection and copying.  In addition, the Governor's Best Practices guidelines include a criteria for the timely posting of council agendas and minutes on the town's web site.

 

Failure to adhere to these guidelines is evident by the fact that the minutes approved by the Council at its September 12, 2016 meeting, which included minutes from sixteen meetings held between July 13, 2015 and April 25, 2016 have not, as of his date, been posted on the town's web site.

 

Administrative oversight to ensure compliance with governmental guidelines is lacking. 

 

In the interest of greater transparency it is time that the Mayor stopped allowing the fox to watch the hen house.

Let the candidates debate

It was four years ago this month when Little Falls’ mayoral and town council candidates last faced off in a debate.

The debate, moderated by the non-partisan Montclair League of Woman Voters, provided Little Falls residents with the opportunity to hear the Democratic and Republican  candidates discuss their respective programs for the future of the Township.

There is still ample time to hold a 2016 candidates forum before the November 8th election.  This would allow Little Falls residents to get to know the candidates first hand and to hear their positions on issues facing the Township.

A candidates forum is an example of transparency in government and democracy in action.

All that is needed to make it happen is the willingness of the candidates to participate.