Newarker Wins County Senior Essay Contest

Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and the Essex County Division of Senior Services recognized the writing talents of seven Essex County residents during the annual Essex County Senior Legacies Writing Contest Celebration Luncheon on Friday, May 25. The Legacies Writing Contest encourages Essex senior citizens to write essays about the people and events that have influenced their lives.
 
“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,” DiVincenzo said. “Our seniors’ stories make you laugh and they touch your heart. They provide us with a different perspective on historical events and what our society was like,” he added.
 
Victoria Berutti from Montclair was presented with the Director’s Award for her story “Our Flight to Freedom.” Winning stories and their authors were “Carry On” by Montclair resident Catherine A. Ashman, “The Colored Water Fountain” by Newark resident Vivian Dumashie, “Rescue Me” by Bloomfield resident Jack Pignatello and “A Life Lesson, Plus One” by Millburn resident Toby Stein. Honorable mention stories and their authors were “Good News” by West Orange resident Rosemary Sideboard Hughes and “One, Only One?” by Short Hills resident Gwen Toub. This year, 88 seniors submitted stories in the competition and about 300 seniors attended the annual awards luncheon, which was held in the Essex County Hospital Center in Cedar Grove.
 
Dumashie’s piece,  “The Colored Water Fountain,” was recognized as one of the winning stories. Every year, she recalled how would accompany her brother and cousin from Harlem to their grandparents’ home in South Carolina, where they would live for the summer. The train ride south was long, they always finished their packed lunch early and would arrive hungry and thirsty. The summer when she was 8 or 9, they arrived at the train station and their uncle had not arrived to pick them up. Looking for a water fountain, the station manager directed them to a back alley where the “colored” water fountain was located. Being from the North, they did not know what “colored water” was, so they sat in the hot sun until their uncle came.

When they asked him what “colored” water was, he just said they would go to their grandmother’s house for “real good water.” “I’m always talking about my childhood and always thought about entering, but this is the first time I did. My drama coach at Bethany Baptist Church, Donna Holmes, inspires us to tell our stories as part of our ‘Sankofa Elder Tellers’ group. She encouraged me to submit my story this year,” Dumashie said.

“What happened that summer going to my grandparents’ house had an impact on me. We were growing up during the Civil Rights era and we should remember things like this so they don’t happen again,” she said.
 
 
The Essex County Division of Senior Services offers a wide range of services to eligible Essex County senior citizens.  For more information, please call 973-395-8375.