By Chris Rotolo
MIDDLETOWN – Hubbard Avenue was nothing more than a dirt path when River Plaza Elementary School was erected along the banks of the nearby Navesink River.
A century ago, the doors to the schoolhouse opened for the first time, allowing the community to lay eyes on a then state-of-the-art facility that featured two classrooms and a recreation room located in its basement.
“It was like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting,” said Diane Lenartowicz – the school’s third principal – to a congregation of past and present students, families and staff members during a Dec. 8 celebration of River Plaza’s 100th anniversary.
Before unsheathing a commemorative sculpture on the school’s lawn, which depicts two seated elementary-age children sharing a book with one another – a work funded through donations collected by the River Plaza Parent Faculty Association and board of education members Barry Heffernan and president Frank Capone – the school’s current principal, David Whitman, took the audience back in time to a similarly chilly afternoon in 1922.
“After speeches and a flag-raising ceremony, the public was invited inside to inspect the new building,” Whitman said.
“Let’s think about that for a moment: Exactly 100 years ago tomorrow (Dec. 9), a group of people stood exactly where we’re standing right now, and had a similar event to what we’re having right now,” he said. “River Plaza is proud to be the oldest active school in Middletown.”
According to Lenartowicz, the original River Plaza Elementary School, which at the time cost taxpayers a mere $35,000 to construct, opened inauspiciously: Students were unable to begin classes until the furniture was delivered Jan. 15, 1923, more than a month after the school’s completion.
“Maybe there were supply chain issues,” quipped a parent in the gallery, making light of another potential historical parallel.
There were 60 students enrolled in the school’s inaugural class, which was presided over by Principal Mary Brasch, a Middletown resident who also served as a teacher of third- and fifth-grade students. Little Silver resident Mary White was named the assistant principal and she, too, shouldered an additional role as a first- and second-grade educator.
By 1926, Middletown’s population growth began to manifest in its schools, causing the community to grapple with overcrowding concerns. At River Plaza, the community elected to have approximately 100 students attend classes part-time.
Three years later, taxpayers adopted a plan to expand the township’s educational footprint, including the addition of two new classrooms on the River Plaza campus. In 1949 the school was once again expanded by two classrooms, and has experienced several other additions over the last seven decades.
“Warren G. Harding was the president in 1922, and though we really don’t think about him very often, he had a very famous quote when it came to education. He said ‘Every student can be a successful learner.’ And what we’re doing here today, more than anything else, is about our students,” Middletown Mayor Tony Perry said in an address to the audience.
“It’s reminding them that our community, and this building, for the last hundred years and for the next hundred years, will be a place to grow, to learn and become the citizens we need to remain a successful town, state and country.”
An archeologist by trade, Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-13) said he took a special interest in this historical commemoration, particularly an event that would take place the following morning. On Dec. 9 the school community came together to dig up and open a time capsule that was buried in 1997 to celebrate the school’s 75th anniversary.
“When we think about historical architecture, a lot of the time we think about George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon, or Abe Lincoln’s log cabin. But history was undoubtedly made here,” said Scharfenberger, who appeared at the event with Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn (R-13) to deliver a commemorative proclamation. “We’ve had tens of thousands of students come through this school over the years, and think about how many of them have gone on to do incredible things.”
“History is a little tough for kids to understand sometimes. Yesterday was a long time ago. But I think, as time goes on, they’ll look back on their time at River Plaza and realize how special it was,” Scharfenberger added.
River Plaza’s 100th anniversary was also recognized by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4), who sent the school an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
The article originally appeared in the December 15 – 21, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
