More interesting bits from the Pages of Rahway
Submitted by Al Shipley, city historian and Rahway Library Research Consultant
Women to Cross Children
In August, 1954, for the first time in the city’s history, women were appointed to serve as school crossing guards. The 15 women received a yearly salary of $800.00 plus the cost of uniforms.
After their first week of work, the department received numerous complimentary comments concerning the performance of their duties. Acting Police Chief, Lawrence Coman, remarked, “Their use has proven entirely satisfactory.”
1940’s Pop Songs written by Rahway Man
Song writer, Eddie Seiler, (1911-1952) lived on Main Street when he was writing such well-known pop songs as “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire,” “Till Then,” and “When the Lights go on Again.”
The songs were made popular by artists including The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, and Kay Starr.
Homes and Businesses get Address Numbers
In June 1897, an ordinance was passed to number all homes and buildings in the city to coincide with the establishment of a free mail delivery system. The ordinance also specified that street names be posted on corners. During the same year, a few streets were given new names.
In July 1936, every home and building was given a new address number. The change was necessitated by the great number of homes that were built in the years following World War I.
Meteors Fall over Rahway
On September 27, 1900, a large meteor was seen traveling towards the Linden border. It exploded with terrific force causing neighborhood houses to shake. Sulfuric fumes could be detected in the air for hours.
A meteor fragment weighing 25 pounds was uncovered in April 1906, in Hazelwood Cemetery while cemetery caretakers were digging a grave.
On March 14, 1936, Rahway residents were awakened at 2:45 a.m. by a flaming meteor that illuminated the entire eastern sky. Police headquarters was flooded with calls. It was believed the ball of fire fell into the ocean.
Replica Home of Abraham Clark Planned for Rahway
A proposal was made in 1927 to construct a replica of the home of Abraham Clark somewhere in the city of Rahway. Clark was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and is buried in the Rahway Cemetery.
Although the Sons of the American Revolution of New Jersey and several descendents of Clark supported the plan, the home was never constructed in Rahway. A duplicate structure was eventually built in Roselle on the corner of 9thAvenue and Chestnut Street in 1941.
Streets Sprayed for Bugs
In August, 1952 trucks began rolling down the streets of the city spraying insecticide with the hopes of eradicating fleas and mosquitoes which at the time were thought to be a possible cause of polio. The spraying continued over the next few summers.
Many of Rahway’s elder citizens remember running behind the trucks thinking it was a good way to prevent mosquito bites.
Unisphere Marked Jaycee Square
Dedication of Jaycee Square took place on Saturday, October 10, 1964, on the triangle at St. Georges Avenue, Pierpont Street, and Forbes Street. A sculpture of the unisphere, patterned after the giant Unisphere at the New York World’s Fair Grounds, was unveiled during a public ceremony. The sculpture stood on the triangle until the early 1970s.
Hullabaloo Dance Club in Rahway
The Hullabaloo Dance Club opened in Rahway on September 8, 1967. Billed as a place where teens aged 16-20 could socialize with music and dancing. The club was part of a national chain that operated 50 clubs in 20 states. Admission to the venue, where only carbonated soft drinks were served, was $1.50. Hours were 8:00-11:00 on Friday, Saturday, and holiday evenings
Unfortunately, problems developed with the teenage crowds and the club closed in three months following the Thanksgiving weekend.
The building that housed the club stood on the west side of Irving Street near the corner of Broad Street. It was razed during one of the expansion projects of the former Rahway Savings Bank.
