Lecture on Television Pioneer Allen B. Du Mont Tuesday

Historian Phil Jaeger will give the presentation at the West Caldwell Library on Tuesday, May 21.

Every wonder how the television was invented? Well, here's your chance to find out.  Historian Phil Jaeger will present a lecture on Allen B. Du Mont, an electrical engineer and inventor who developed a durable cathode ray tube in 1931 in the garage laboratory of his Cedar Grove home. This invention led to Du Mont selling America's first television sets in the late 1930s.  The lecture will be offered Tuesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the West Caldwell Public Library, at 30 Clinton Road.  In 1944, Du Mont founded TV station WABD in New York City, which soon became the flagship station for the Du Mont Television Network showcasing such personalities as Jackie Gleason, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, and Mike Wallace. Du Mont TV …

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Celebrating the 43rd Earth Day Around the Caldwells—Share Your Pics!

Here's a look at what local children did to show appreciation for our planet—upload your Earth Day photos.

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Library Seeks Vendors for Collectibles Fair

West Caldwell Public Library to hold third annual sale on May 11.

Calling all collectors.  The West Caldwell Public Library seeks vendors for its third annual Collectibles Fair. The fair will be held on Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the library, 30 Clinton Road, West Caldwell. The fee for a six-foot table is $20. Space is limited so early registration is suggested. Applications are available at the Reference Desk. Collectibles are defined by the library as items that are gently used and in good condition and are “one-step above garage sale items and are not new products or hand-made crafts.”  Admission is free for shoppers on the day of the fair.  Set-up for vendors will be on Friday, May 10, from 4 to 6 p.m.

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Former Washington Student Publishes Book About Penguins (Video)

Melissa Guion visits West Caldwell Public Library to read and talk about her new book, 'Baby Penguins Everywhere.' Guion shows Patch how to draw a penguin in 30 seconds.

Melissa Guion was clearly tickled to be back at her childhood library Wednesday reading to a roomful of pre-schoolers.  The author and illustrator of the newly released Baby Penguins Everywhere (Philomel, 2012) told the curious young readers how she grew up in West Caldwell and attended Washington Elementary School. She said she played on the playground there and planned to drive by after the program to see if it still looked like she remembered. Baby Penguins Everywhere is Guion's first book in a three-book contract with Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Books. It was selected for The Original Art 2012 exhibition at the Society of Illustrators.  The book tells the story of a lonely penguin who comes upon a magical top hat. When the penguin …

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Teresa Akersten

8:28 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013

Melissa tweeted me that she rang the doorbell of her former house in West Caldwell yesterday and the homeowner recognized her from picture on Patch!   more ›

'Baby Penguins Everywhere' Author Returns to Childhood Library

Author/illustrator Melissa Guion will read her book at the West Caldwell Public Library Wednesday.

Author/illustrator Melissa Guion will return to her childhood library Wednesday to read from her new book, Baby Penguins Everywhere.  Guion will be reading and talking to children at the West Caldwell Public Library at 4 p.m. In addition to Baby Penguins Everywhere, which was selected for The Original Art 2012 exhibition at the Society of Illustrators, she will read other penguin books and children will create a penguin craft.  “I can remember going there as a little girl, it's going to be crazy to go back as an author,” Guion posted on her Facebook page. “I wonder if they'll make me pay my fines?” Baby Penguins Everywhere is Guion’s first book. In the story, when a magic hat discovered by a lonely penguin produces baby penguins, one must …

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James Caldwell High School Theater Arts Club Perform 'Puppets and Poetry'

High schoolers put on production for your young children at West Caldwell Public Library.

James Caldwell High School teacher Christina Astorina and members of the high school's Theater Arts Club performed Puppets and Poetry at West Caldwell Public Library on Saturday. Children ages 3 to 6 enjoyed a "Punch and Judy" puppet show and worked with Astorina and the students to write their own sonnets. 

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West Caldwell Library to Hold Bedtime Math PJ Party

Free program introduces young students and their parents to Bedtime Math.

Imagine a nightly math problem becoming as common as the bedtime story.  That is the goal of BedtimeMath.org, a New Jersey-based non-profit that delivers daily math problems via email for parents to share with their children. The West Caldwell Public Library is hosting a Bedtime Math Pajama Party on Tuesday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m., to introduce local students and parents to Bedtime Math. Children are invited to put on their pajamas (optional) and come make their own dominoes, solve tangram puzzles and participate in other math games. Participants will get their own Bedtime Math calendars and stickers to bring home. The program is designed for students ages 6 through 9.  The West Caldwell Public Library is located at 30 Clinton Road in West …

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'Olmsted Parks in New Jersey' Author Kicks Off Grover Cleveland Park Centennial Celebration

Author of book on Olmsted Parks to speak at West Caldwell Public Library Sunday.

The celebration of Essex County Grover Cleveland Park's 100th anniversary kicks off this weekend with the first in a series of talks. Jeanne Kolva, author of Olmsted Parks in New Jersey, will speak at the West Caldwell Public Library on Sunday, March 3, at 2 p.m. Kolva will discuss Grover Cleveland Park, which along with numerous Essex County Parks, was designed by the famed Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm founded by the son and stepson of the creator of New York's Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted. The 41-acre park is situated in the boroughs of Caldwell and Essex Fells. The Essex County Parks System became the first county park system in the country with the creation of Branch Brook Park in Newark in 1895, according to Essex …

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Lincoln School Wins Library Card Contest

Four Caldwell-West Caldwell elementary schools compete to have the most library card sign-ups.

Lincoln Elementary School students blew away the competition in the recent Caldwell and West Caldwell Library Card Sign-Up contest. The challenge, created by the libraries to encourage students to access their local libraries, pitted the four Caldwell-West Caldwell elementary schools against each other. Students had a little over a month to register for library cards or fill out a form indicating that they were already cardholders.   Lincoln came out on top with 72% of students registered for their own library cards. Wilson Elementary School came in a distant second with 52% and Washington and Jefferson followed with 50% of the students registered for library cards.

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Schools Compete in Library Card Challenge

Caldwell and West Caldwell public libraries encourage students to sign up for their own cards.

Caldwell-West Caldwell elementary schools are competing to see which school can hold the largest percentage of students with library cards by the end of the month. The winning school will be awarded with a special assembly presented by a favorite performer and paid for by the Caldwell and West Caldwell public libraries. The challenge is a way of encouraging the young readers to take advantage of their hometown libraries’ many resources. Students were reminded that library cards give them access to a wide selection of books, including mysteries, humorous stories, fantasy and non-fiction books on everything from sports and science to drawing and hobbies. But libraries are about much more than books, they were told. Movies, music, magazines …

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