Has anyone noticed? We not only have great parks, but we have a lot of them by comparison to some of the other towns in the area. On the West End, there is one behind Vermeule Mansion and the Community Center (corner of Greenbrook Road & Clinton Ave) and one at West End School. Then we have the middle of town with Green Acres park (ENORMOUS, with a beautiful field, pond, walking path, basketball courts AND kids equipment). The entrance to Green Acres park is hard to miss: it's alongside the bridge on Rockview TERRACE near it's intersection with Greenbrook Road. But we also have the park at Stony Brook School on Grove Street going up to Route 22. And in the East End there's East End School at Oneida Place. I know there are tennis courts there, but I'm not sure if they're freely accessible.
It's a lot of parks and they're pretty well maintained. You can frequently see a resident Blue Heron (a HUGE bird that leaves a shadow like an airplane on the ground when he flies) in Green Acres near the pond, often up in a tree but sometimes also on the ground. All of them have some kind of field to play in--even the one behind the community center. And this is a great place to get out and meet other parents or residents... even in the cold!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Historic District
Fewer things are more captivating than the Washington Park Historic District. The homes from the turn of the century range from quaint to expansive and vary greatly in styles, but they're all a sight to behold.
On evenly numbered years, they do a home tour during the holiday season when all of the homes are decorated.
Some of the homes have been turned into multi-family units, but a large number remain single-family homes with many of them restored with careful attention to period detail.
The Washington Park Association is the main gathering of residents in the district to discuss issues and share ideas and resources. My own home is not in the district, but from the same era as many of those homes--so I have occasionally turned to them for potential restoration resources.
And someone put up photos of many of the district homes... take a look!
The district is located in the area of town between Grove Street and West End Avenue, south of Greenbrook Road; and is marked with signs that note when you enter the district.
On evenly numbered years, they do a home tour during the holiday season when all of the homes are decorated.
Some of the homes have been turned into multi-family units, but a large number remain single-family homes with many of them restored with careful attention to period detail.
The Washington Park Association is the main gathering of residents in the district to discuss issues and share ideas and resources. My own home is not in the district, but from the same era as many of those homes--so I have occasionally turned to them for potential restoration resources.
And someone put up photos of many of the district homes... take a look!
The district is located in the area of town between Grove Street and West End Avenue, south of Greenbrook Road; and is marked with signs that note when you enter the district.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
My neighborhood
I have lived in my current home for just over 9 years. It's near West End Avenue and Greenbrook Road. My "neighborhood" is small--maybe 2 blocks long and another block-and-a-half wide; but we all pretty well know one another at least by face and hand wave if not full-out by name (or more).
It's a dog group for sure. We met many of our neighbors either walking our dogs or our kids. Or just walking to get in shape (or digest dinner :) ). If I need a cup of sugar, I can call any one of about 5 people in the neighborhood without feeling funny. It's really nice.
We also used to live on a really short block of Grandview Avenue, and it was the same thing. In fact, we even knew people that lived around the corner and a few houses in. Back then, we had no kids and we didn't walk the dog. We just met waving hello as we all came and went... stopping to speak more when mowing the lawn or raking leaves, etc. We only lived there 18 months and I have to say that we knew that "family" of neighbors pretty well.
Jackson Avenue has (or at least had? I think they still have) such a tight knit neighborhood that they regularly had block parties and all kinds of stuff going on there that was awesome. One of their residents there said the nice thing was that even though things were going on all the time, nobody every felt any pressure or obligation to participate--and nobody ever thought anything of people "opting out".
I know that this is not abnormal in North Plainfield... and a major reason people stay. What you're surrounded by (and KNOWING what you have) is a huge comfort level--especially when you're surrounded by good folks. :)
It's a dog group for sure. We met many of our neighbors either walking our dogs or our kids. Or just walking to get in shape (or digest dinner :) ). If I need a cup of sugar, I can call any one of about 5 people in the neighborhood without feeling funny. It's really nice.
We also used to live on a really short block of Grandview Avenue, and it was the same thing. In fact, we even knew people that lived around the corner and a few houses in. Back then, we had no kids and we didn't walk the dog. We just met waving hello as we all came and went... stopping to speak more when mowing the lawn or raking leaves, etc. We only lived there 18 months and I have to say that we knew that "family" of neighbors pretty well.
Jackson Avenue has (or at least had? I think they still have) such a tight knit neighborhood that they regularly had block parties and all kinds of stuff going on there that was awesome. One of their residents there said the nice thing was that even though things were going on all the time, nobody every felt any pressure or obligation to participate--and nobody ever thought anything of people "opting out".
I know that this is not abnormal in North Plainfield... and a major reason people stay. What you're surrounded by (and KNOWING what you have) is a huge comfort level--especially when you're surrounded by good folks. :)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
You can't beat our access to mass transit
When we moved here, my husband and I worked in Livingston, NJ. The commute was very reasonable.
Then I started working in Manhattan. Again--excellent options. I could catch the express train in Dunellen OR Plainfield. I could catch the bus in multiple places in town. Or I could drive up to Sears on Terrill Road and try to catch the express bus (I'm bad for being on time) or catch the local if I missed it with a VERY short walk (I am NOT a walker).
You can catch a bus for local places relatively easily--including Bridgewater Commons Mall. In fact, after reading the 822 route schedule I realized that it travels RIGHT past my house (which after 9 years I'm only noticing now that I look for it).
I have lived here and commuted easily to Livingston, Holmdel, Union (in Union Co.), Madison, NYC (midtown and downtown), Readington and New Brunswick. And with the occasional missing of the express bus or train--always at an hour or less in travel time.
If you're interested, the following bus routes (that I know of) run right through town and links to their schedules with a map:
59 (Plainfield to Newark, through the Borough, includes stops at Dunellen, Plainfield, Westfield, Garwood, Cranford and Elizabeth train stations plus some service to Union Co. College in Cranford)
65/66 (Newark, Mountainside, Somerville--which runs through town and stops at Dunellen & Plainfield train stations)
114/117 (114=Bridgewater Commons to New York with stops at Somerville, Dunellen & Plainfield train stations; 117 is the Express into New York City-Penn Station and runs only on Route 22 with a stop at North Drive, North Plainfield and in front of Sears Auto Center in Scotch Plains)
822 (the Plainfield & North Plainfield local with stops at the K-Mart shopping center; and Plainfield & Netherwood train stations)
And the train line closest is the Raritan Valley line. Here is a line directory listing the stops with transit connections and facilities available. And here's the PDF for the Raritan Valley Line train schedule.
Here's a link to the NJ Transit website.
Then I started working in Manhattan. Again--excellent options. I could catch the express train in Dunellen OR Plainfield. I could catch the bus in multiple places in town. Or I could drive up to Sears on Terrill Road and try to catch the express bus (I'm bad for being on time) or catch the local if I missed it with a VERY short walk (I am NOT a walker).
You can catch a bus for local places relatively easily--including Bridgewater Commons Mall. In fact, after reading the 822 route schedule I realized that it travels RIGHT past my house (which after 9 years I'm only noticing now that I look for it).
I have lived here and commuted easily to Livingston, Holmdel, Union (in Union Co.), Madison, NYC (midtown and downtown), Readington and New Brunswick. And with the occasional missing of the express bus or train--always at an hour or less in travel time.
If you're interested, the following bus routes (that I know of) run right through town and links to their schedules with a map:
59 (Plainfield to Newark, through the Borough, includes stops at Dunellen, Plainfield, Westfield, Garwood, Cranford and Elizabeth train stations plus some service to Union Co. College in Cranford)
65/66 (Newark, Mountainside, Somerville--which runs through town and stops at Dunellen & Plainfield train stations)
114/117 (114=Bridgewater Commons to New York with stops at Somerville, Dunellen & Plainfield train stations; 117 is the Express into New York City-Penn Station and runs only on Route 22 with a stop at North Drive, North Plainfield and in front of Sears Auto Center in Scotch Plains)
822 (the Plainfield & North Plainfield local with stops at the K-Mart shopping center; and Plainfield & Netherwood train stations)
And the train line closest is the Raritan Valley line. Here is a line directory listing the stops with transit connections and facilities available. And here's the PDF for the Raritan Valley Line train schedule.
Here's a link to the NJ Transit website.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The library system
Honestly, the thing I get the most use out of in this town is by far the library. From the time my son was an infant, they had activities for us to do on a regular basis--FREE OF CHARGE!
As my son grew, the activities changed... but there were always activities. He's now 5-1/2 years old and it continues. We've had foster children of varying ages (up to 12) and they have also found lots of great things to do at the library. One of them came home with a little clock made out of an old CD.
I can search the entire library system's collection online and if it's in ONE of the branches, I can place a hold on the book and have it sent to my local branch (which will call my house when it's ready to pick up, and will tell me how long they'll hold it for). I can't even begin to tell you how much money that has saved me (and taken away from Amazon and Borders :D ). I can renew books online, too. As I understand it, you can renew over the phone, too--but I'm a computer person.
The North Plainfield branch has the children's library in the basement, but it's actually very bright as they have windows to the outside. There are some toys there to occupy kids while you seek out books that you might want to read to them at home (or find books for yourself--since there's a parent section down in the children's library to help you help your children in a variety of ways). They also have DVDs and books with CDs and these other little storybox things that I haven't delved into yet--but you listen to the story.
They run a reading program over the summer with prizes--for all ages. They also run reading help programs for the younger grades during the school year. This spring they also had some caterpillars turn into butterflies--and the lifecycle was on display in the children's library. It was great to follow that week by week.
And for the adults/young adults, there's a book club and so many magazines to peruse (and plenty of room to sit and review them). DVDs, CDs... lots of great stuff. And there is access to a variety of online databases--many that can be used from your home by entering your library ID number. Genealogy, auto reference, science articles, etc. Currently there are 13 different categories of databases available. If you go to the "General Reference & World News" you'll find a free online program for learning another language called Mango--which you can also use online.
Both sections of the library offer old books or magazines to buy for close to nothing (near the entrance to either of them) and there are plenty of free magazines, sheets and flyers available to learn more about what the area has to offer--be it businesses, classes, gov't resources, you name it.
Oh... and the Woodland Room (upstairs) is a gem for local history and genealogy research. It's also a nice, quiet spot for small meetings or tutoring.
The adult AND children's libraries have computers connected to the internet. Children's library cards have to have a special mark on them that is checked when they sign up for use to ensure there is a parental permission slip on file saying they're allowed to use the internet. But there are also terminals without internet access that allow you to browse the library system holdings and calendars.
Last, we are free to attend events at other branches of the library system. I noticed that some of the more popular programs require you to enter your library card number to register, but it's a rare occasion. :)
As my son grew, the activities changed... but there were always activities. He's now 5-1/2 years old and it continues. We've had foster children of varying ages (up to 12) and they have also found lots of great things to do at the library. One of them came home with a little clock made out of an old CD.
I can search the entire library system's collection online and if it's in ONE of the branches, I can place a hold on the book and have it sent to my local branch (which will call my house when it's ready to pick up, and will tell me how long they'll hold it for). I can't even begin to tell you how much money that has saved me (and taken away from Amazon and Borders :D ). I can renew books online, too. As I understand it, you can renew over the phone, too--but I'm a computer person.
The North Plainfield branch has the children's library in the basement, but it's actually very bright as they have windows to the outside. There are some toys there to occupy kids while you seek out books that you might want to read to them at home (or find books for yourself--since there's a parent section down in the children's library to help you help your children in a variety of ways). They also have DVDs and books with CDs and these other little storybox things that I haven't delved into yet--but you listen to the story.
They run a reading program over the summer with prizes--for all ages. They also run reading help programs for the younger grades during the school year. This spring they also had some caterpillars turn into butterflies--and the lifecycle was on display in the children's library. It was great to follow that week by week.
And for the adults/young adults, there's a book club and so many magazines to peruse (and plenty of room to sit and review them). DVDs, CDs... lots of great stuff. And there is access to a variety of online databases--many that can be used from your home by entering your library ID number. Genealogy, auto reference, science articles, etc. Currently there are 13 different categories of databases available. If you go to the "General Reference & World News" you'll find a free online program for learning another language called Mango--which you can also use online.
Both sections of the library offer old books or magazines to buy for close to nothing (near the entrance to either of them) and there are plenty of free magazines, sheets and flyers available to learn more about what the area has to offer--be it businesses, classes, gov't resources, you name it.
Oh... and the Woodland Room (upstairs) is a gem for local history and genealogy research. It's also a nice, quiet spot for small meetings or tutoring.
The adult AND children's libraries have computers connected to the internet. Children's library cards have to have a special mark on them that is checked when they sign up for use to ensure there is a parental permission slip on file saying they're allowed to use the internet. But there are also terminals without internet access that allow you to browse the library system holdings and calendars.
Last, we are free to attend events at other branches of the library system. I noticed that some of the more popular programs require you to enter your library card number to register, but it's a rare occasion. :)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Attitude is everything...
There are plenty of people ready, willing and able to gripe about the things that are wrong--no matter where you are. Some of those people will even attempt to get involved and motivated to effect change. Kudos to them for that because we certainly need these people. I've been one of those people here.
No person, place or system is perfect. Don't misconstrue the rest of this blog. It's not meant to be a "nothing's wrong--look, everything's beautiful" blog.
But no person, place or system is completely devoid of value, either.
My goal in this blog is to identify--and hopefully exploit and build upon--the things we DO love about our community. Share them with people who may not know about them yet.
Let's try to identify and share the things we appreciate and enjoy here--the things that keep us here. I'm not saying to forget about the things that need repair--not by a longshot. I'm just saying that we have to temper the negative with the positive or it becomes a completely negative experience. And that's no way to live. It's certainly no way to grow a connected and supportive community. Honestly, if we can manage to connect in a positive manner, we may become strong enough to effect positive changes that have been difficult to bring about in the past due to in-fighting and negativity.
We have forums to gripe about things.
We need a forum to appreciate things.
Here ya go...
No person, place or system is perfect. Don't misconstrue the rest of this blog. It's not meant to be a "nothing's wrong--look, everything's beautiful" blog.
But no person, place or system is completely devoid of value, either.
My goal in this blog is to identify--and hopefully exploit and build upon--the things we DO love about our community. Share them with people who may not know about them yet.
Let's try to identify and share the things we appreciate and enjoy here--the things that keep us here. I'm not saying to forget about the things that need repair--not by a longshot. I'm just saying that we have to temper the negative with the positive or it becomes a completely negative experience. And that's no way to live. It's certainly no way to grow a connected and supportive community. Honestly, if we can manage to connect in a positive manner, we may become strong enough to effect positive changes that have been difficult to bring about in the past due to in-fighting and negativity.
We have forums to gripe about things.
We need a forum to appreciate things.
Here ya go...
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