Clark and Garwood Year in Review: The Year in Videos

Time to look back. Here, our most memorable videos from the year. Keep reading this week for more of our "Year in Review."

May 31, 2011:

Clark residents lined Westfield Avenue for the town’s annual parade in celebration of Memorial Day. The Arthur L. Johnson Marching Band kicked off the parade, followed by the Clark American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, boy and girl scouts, and other Clark organizations, including the Deutscher Club of Clark and the Clark Republican Civic Association. The parade ended with a ceremony, listing the fallen heroes from Clark, and honoring Sgt. Michael Brattole, a Clark resident who served in Afghanistan before being sent home after a near-fatal injury.

June 3, 2011:

"All great people push themselves and others to do the unthinkable, to stretch the boundaries of what they think they can do," Phil Guido, class of 1979, told the classes of 2011 and 2012 at Arthur L. Johnson High School. Guido, a general manager for IBM, decided to return to Johnson to tell his career story – and bring with him a version of the company's famous artificial intelligence computer system "Watson" – as part of the IBM's call to service in honor of its 100th anniversary.

June 7, 2011:

Amongst the 217 Arthur L. Johnson graduates were seven sets of twins, comprising a solid 6.5 percent (double the census average) of the class of 2011. We decided to grill the Johnson class of 2011 twins in our video and learned lots about twin-life, including just how quickly one sibling was willing to rat out the other as “the troublemaker” and why sharing a car can almost tear them apart.

June 24, 2011:

Diplomas in hand, this year's graduates leave the halls of ALJ. Here, our video of the ceremony as the Class of 2011 crossed the stage and switched their tassels on Wednesday, June 22, 2011.

June 29, 2011:

On a cloudless, warm June morning, nearly 200 people packed St. Catharine Church in Spring Lake to pay their respects toArmy Sgt. James Harvey II, a 2005 Arthur L. Johnson graduate who was killed in action in the Ghazni province of Afghanistan on June 20, 2011.

Aug. 28, 2011:

As the Rahway River rose in the wake of Hurricane Irene, the Garden State Parkway southbound between exits 134 and 137 filled with water and was closed off for most of the morning.

Sept. 9, 2011: Clark Tower One Survivor Tells Her 9/11 Story - &

September 11, 2001 started as just another day working at the Port Authority for Clark resident Maria Bordas. She had started a new position. She was making lunch plans with a friend. Though unsure of the cause, after her office on the 65th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center shook, Bordas told her employees it was time to leave.

"My family says I was born that day," Bordas says. "It just wasn't my day to die."  Now, 10 years later, Bordas takes a moment to talk to Patch about her escape and how her life has changed in the decade since the terrorist attack.

Sept. 12, 2011:

Garwood didn’t lose any residents during the terror attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, but everyone in the borough felt the effects. On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Garwood came together to honor the first responders, mourn the victims and celebrate unity.

Sept, 17, 2011: &

Union County's MusicFest consisted of more than 40 food vendors, four stages, a county fair, a PS3 bus, a BMX show, and of course, some rocking music. From 90's band Collective Soul to up-and-coming Neon Trees, the festival promised something for everyone.

Sept. 28, 2011:

Jason Condit, the eight-year-old son of owners Bill and Lois, was diagnosed with cancer in September 2010, and his plight has inspired the community. The Sept. 25, 2011 car show and motorcycle run at the Clark Pool was a show of support for Jason and Jason's Friends Foundation, a nonprofit formed to help other children battling cancer.

Nov. 8, 2011:

Cheers arose around at the Westwood in Garwood as the numbers came out in favor of Democratic incumbents Sara Todisco and Louis Petruzzelli in the race for two borough council seats. The pair defeated a challenge for their seats from Republican newcomers Carol Ann Kearney and Steven Blaufeder.

Nov. 14, 2011:

More than 60 veterans and their families gathered in front of ALJ to honor those who have died in combat, but also to celebrate those who have made it back. The annual ceremony commemorates the veterans in the town who have served their country. “Our debt to the heroes can never be repaid, but our gratitude must last forever,” said Bill Duffy, commander for the Clark American Legion Post.