2 Bloomfield Seniors Pen Crowd-Pleasers In County Writing Contest

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A pair of seniors in Bloomfield each penned crowd-pleasers in an annual county writing competition, with one selected as a winner and another as an honorable mention.

Essex County officials recently announced a list of top entries for the 2022 Essex County Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest. They included two from Bloomfield:

Joseph Mazoine – Bloomfield resident Joseph L. Mazoine wrote “Lunch with Mrs. Roberts,” which was selected as one of the winning essays. After graduate school, Mr. Mazoine took a job with the NJ Commission for the Blind where his supervisor was Mrs. Edna Roberts. On his first day of work, they went out to lunch so they could get to know each other better. Mr. Mazoine immediately was impressed with his supervisor’s passion for her job and the close relationships she had developed with the commission’s clients. A few years after Mrs. Roberts retired, he was in the midst of planning to have lunch with his former supervisor when she passed away. Mr. Mazoine still has regrets for not staying in touch and continuing their friendship. “I promised myself that going forward I would never delay telling the people I care about how grateful I am to have them in my life,” he writes.

Paula Zaccone – Bloomfield resident Dr. Paula R. Zaccone wrote “The Medical Menace,” which received an honorable mention. Written as a poem, Dr. Zaccone tells the story about getting a colonoscopy and not having faith in her doctor or the hospital. Several days after getting the procedure, she was not feeling well and went to the hospital; the doctors there told her not to worry. When her symptoms worsened, she went to a different hospital, where she was admitted into the intensive care unit for several days and was told she had internal bleeding and was anemic. “For wellness, be thoroughly informed and on guard, / Even when being treated by a practitioner who is alleged to be of high regard. / It took a third set of nurses and physicians, and a second hospital to result in my benefit, / And I am forever grateful that I survived to tell of it.”

The Legacies Writing Contest encourages Essex senior citizens to write essays about the people and events that have influenced their lives. Overall, the county named four winners of the contest and four honorable mention recipients.

Selected as winners of the 2022 Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest were Newark resident Maryam Bey who wrote “Experience is the Best Teacher,” Livingston resident Susan Levine who wrote “Finding My Way through the Woods,” Bloomfield resident Joseph L. Mazoine who wrote “Lunch with Mrs. Roberts” and Irvington resident Ruth C. Steele who wrote “Not College Material.”

Receiving honorable mentions were Maplewood resident Marie Walton-Jackson who wrote “Reflections,” East Orange resident Carol T. Jenkins who wrote “My Little Blue Bank Book,” Nutley resident Rosemary Valese who wrote “Cabbage Patch Doll Blessings” and Bloomfield resident Dr. Paula R. Zaccone who wrote “The Medical Menace.”

“Our Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest is a unique way for our older population to share their life’s stories and describe the people and events that helped to shape their lives,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“Our seniors’ stories make you laugh and they touch your heart,” he added. “They provide us with a different perspective on historical events and what our society was like.”

According to county officials:

“Sponsored by the Essex County Division of Senior Services, the Legacies Writing Contest was started in 1996 and was part of a national contest which encouraged senior citizens to discover the joys of writing while sharing their stories with others. Although the national contest was discontinued in 1998, the Essex County Division of Senior Services continued to sponsor the Legacies Writing Contest on a local level. Entries are judged on the writer’s ability to engage the reader with humor, emotional impact or rich descriptions. Winning stories were selected by a committee of volunteer judges and staff from the Essex County Division of Senior Services.”

The Essex County Division of Senior Services offers a range of services to eligible older adults, including adult protective services, provides basic transportation services, administers adult day care centers, offers counseling services for caregivers, provides home delivered meals and offers visiting nurse services. For more information, call 973-395-8375.

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