Boro plans celebrations for 100-year anniversary Centennial events to kick off on Jan. 1 at reorganization meeting BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer With the start of a new year comes time to reflect on memories of years past, and this year the borough of West Long Branch will be looking back on milestones and events of the past 100 years. PHOTOS BY DANIEL HOWLEY Pictures of West Long Branch throughout the years on display at borough hall. On Jan. 1, West Long Branch will begin a yearlong centennial celebration to commemorate its incorporation as a borough in June 1908. The Borough Council formed a centennial committee chaired by Councilwoman Barbara Ruane, and preparations for the borough's centennial year began almost two years ago. "It's such an important event," said Ruane last week. "The town is 100 years old, and we are trying to make [the celebration] as nice as we can." Festivities for the centennial will begin with a "kick-off celebration" at the borough's reorganization meeting Jan. 1, Ruane explained. Events scheduled throughout the year include a Borough Birthday Party, a Family Day Carnival, a House and Road Tour, a Community Day, Old First Tea and Museum Tour, and Summer Concert Series. The West Long Branch municipal building on Broadway. The borough's birthday party is scheduled for June 22, the exact day the borough was incorporated by Monroe Poole, the first mayor of West Long Branch. "Some of the events are going to be incorporated into our regular annual events," Ruane said. "For instance, the Michael Thorne Run will be incorporating the centennial into their events, as is the borough's recreation department. "The fireworks will also be more elaborate this year. The library is going to have a photo display for the entire month of June. "We also have a representative from the schools involved who will have something along the lines of a photo-history in the schools, as well as a few other ideas," she added. The centennial committee has also asked all borough organizations to be involved in the celebration. "Our fire department and first aid squad are having open houses," Ruane said. "The Shade Tree Commission is hosting Arbor Day events." The centennial committee is composed of over 30 people, and most of the members are involved in one or more of the organizations in the borough, Ruane explained. "[The centennial] is a way to get everyone involved," Ruane said. Each borough resident was mailed a newsletter asking that the community be involved in the centennial plans and events. The borough is also expected to mail a commemorative magazine in January to residents, featuring the history of West Long Branch. According to Ruane, the yearlong celebration is being funded exclusively through sponsorships and donations from private businesses and borough residents. Sponsorships for the centennial events are being sold through the borough and include incentives for businesses, such as having their names or logos on signs, banners, T-shirts, fliers and invitations at the events throughout the year. One of the larger events scheduled for the centennial will be the borough's Memorial Day parade, according to Ruane. She explained that the parade will feature floats made by different organizations of the borough, as well as marching bands from schools within the borough and also from surrounding towns. Large donors of the centennial will be given the chance to have a float featured in the Memorial Day parade, Ruane added. Monmouth University, one of the centennial donors, is hosting a cocktail party on May 17 to celebrate the borough's 10- decade milestone, according to Ruane, who said that an ad journal will be distributed at the event. Ad space purchased for the journal will help pay for the celebrations throughout the year, according to Ruane. "We have contacted the majority of businesses from the borough, and the rest of the donations are from residents," Ruane said. Stressing the fact that the centennial celebration is a community affair, Ruane said that Mayor Janet Tucci and other council members will be involved in the anniversary events. Founded in 1908, West Long Branch has been known throughout the years as Hoppersville, Mechanicsville, Shrewsbury, and at one time, a part of Eatontown. Residents of the West Long Branch section of Eatontown became dissatisfied with the amount of taxes they were paying without seeing any improvements to their part of town, according to the borough Web site. As a result, the freeholders authorized an election inMay 1908, which resulted in a 163-73 decision in favor of seceding from Eatontown and forming a separate borough. That June, West Long Branch was officially incorporated as an independent borough. Ruane and Tucci appeared before the Long Branch mayor and council at the Dec. 11 workshop meeting, asking if the neighboring city would like to take part in the borough's centennial. "This has been a couple of years in the planning," Tucci said at the meeting. "We just want to share with you what we are doing, and whatever Long Branch would like to participate in would be great." Ruane added, "Anything you would like to be involved in, we would be happy to have you attend." Residents interested in taking part in or volunteering for the centennial events can fill out a form located on the West Long Branch Web site at www.westlongbranch. org. Businesses looking to be featured in the ad journal, or anyone seeking more information on the centennial events, may call the borough at (732) 229-1756. West Long Branch centennial schedule Jan. 1: Reorganization meeting at borough hall January: Commemorative magazine March 29: "Old First Tea and Museum Tour" April 12: "House and Road Tour" April 26: Arbor Day events May 1: Historical video May 17: Cocktail party at Monmouth University May 24: Michael Thorne Run May 26: Memorial Day parade May 26: Community Day May 31: Franklin Lake Day June: Display at West Long Branch Library June 22: Borough Birthday Party July 4: Franklin Lake fireworks July-September: Summer concert series Oct. 11: Fire Department open house Oct. 31: Lions Club Halloween December: Holiday sing TBA: West Long Branch Day at Monmouth Park