American Revolutionary War Monument
The American Revolutionary War Monument is located on the side of Nutley High School on Franklin Avenue in Nutley, New Jersey. It was dedicated in 1965 through donations from the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is a bronze plaque on a boulder.

The people who served in the war from our very own town of Nutley were Henry Brown, Isaac Brown, John J. Brown, Manus Brown, Samuel Rutan Sr., Samuel Rutan Jr., Abraham Speer, John Van Riper, John Vreeland, and Michael Vreeland. Since these people fought against England for our freedom, to honor these soldiers our town has various streets named after many of them.

These people were so brave and courageous, we respect and honor them to this day. The saying on the monument should still be remembered, “ The pioneers of the past have shown us the way. And God helping us, we will show the way to the pioneers of the future.

The Civil War Monument
The Civil War was fought between the northern and southern states from 1861 -1865. The Civil War Monument, in all it’s glory, was dedicated in 1907 and sits in front of Nutley High School. It is a white-bricked monument with a plaque. The funds for this monument were raised by the students of the Nutley Public Schools. The dream of these hardworking students was achieved.

This Civil War monument is very important to our community. It honors the people of Franklin (Nutley) who fought in the Civil War. It also reminds us of the courage of these people in our beloved town. We will always remember the bravery of these men. Some of our streets are named after them.

Carl Orechio Fields
Carl Orechio was a man who was very active in the township of Nutley. He became Commissioner in 1956. He pushed for growth and development of the parks and recreation for the boys and girls of Nutley. One of his biggest accomplishments was when, as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, he planned for the creation of fields for children to have a place to play little league baseball.

He was a kind and generous man who brought many changes during the time he was commissioner from 1956-1968. The fields on Park Avenue in Father Glotzbach Park were dedicated to Mr. Carl Orechio

The Nutley Avondale Big Tree Memorial
Every year the people who lived in the Avondale and Big Tree sections of Nutley had a reunion picnic. People would buy tickets to attend the picnic and any extra money was saved. After a few years this money grew to a good amount so the picnic committee decided they would build a memorial to honor their Italian ancestors who lived in these areas.

The reason there were so many Italians in this part of town was because the Avondale section had quarries where many skilled Italian immigrants came to work in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They settled in the Avondale and Big Tree sections to raise their families. It continued to be a place for those of Italian heritage to live. Generation after generation stayed in the area and raised their families. The monument was a way to remember those that came before them.

The committee saw their dream come true when they dedicated this memorial on September 8,1996. To add a nice addition to the memorial, people had their names engraved onto bricks. Today there are about 625 bricks. It is located by the recreation center, so the whole town can appreciate it.

The Garden of Hope
The Garden Club started the Garden of Hope at Washington School with a group of students who were interested in gardening and making our school a better place. The Garden of Hope was dedicated to the people that lost their lives on September 11. There were three families in Nutley that had lost a loved one. The three people are Lt. Robert Cirri, Mr. Franco Lalama, and Ms. Dorota Kopiczko. These families attended the dedication.

Also in the Garden of Hope, a plaque was dedicated which reads: "Lest We Forget", Sept, 11, 2001, Washington School Garden Club.

The mayor of Nutley also donated two trees and two benches, which face the New York skyline. Some of the Garden Club members and people from the PTO spoke at the special event. The 5th graders sang the song “Edelweiss” in honor of the flower that grows in the rockiest of cliffs, high in the Swiss and Bavarian Alps.

The Garden of Hope is an area of hard work and dedication and will hopefully stay alive and well for years to come.

Mr. Walker Memorials
Mr. Walker was a beloved educator in Nutley who displayed love and concern for every child. Sadly, he died in May of 2000.

In the Nutley school system, Mr. Walker started out as a sixth grade teacher in Washington School, he was a basketball coach for the high school, principal of Yantacaw School for many years, and Assistant Superintendent for four years. Through the years he rarely missed a school event and was well known for his high five hand slaps and his interesting neckties. Mr. Walker was many things to many people including colleague, principal, mentor, friend, teacher, and coach. Mr. Walker often said, “If there is one thing that I would like to be remembered for it’s that all people have one thing in common--they are all humans and they deserve a certain amount of dignity and respect.”

Because he was a beloved educator, students, teachers, and parents all wanted to keep his memory alive by naming something for him. The Radcliffe parents, teachers and children dedicated a hill to him in loving memory of his gift of making each person he met feel special. The Hill they dedicated to Mr. Walker is now known as "High Five Hill" and is located behind Radcliffe School. The PTO of Radcliffe School came up with the name for the hill and they purchased the wooden sign. Parents cleaned up the hill and planted trees, while the children planted flowers.

In front of Yantacaw School an evergreen tree was planted in Mr. Walker’s honor in October of 2000. The funds to pay for the tree and the accompanying plaque were paid for by the students, teachers, staff, and parents of Yantacaw School, who also planted the tree. Feeling sad to know Mr. Walker was gone and proud to have known him, all of the students and teachers at Yantacaw School took part in a moving dedication ceremony.

Students at the high school honored Mr. Walker by renaming the newly created fitness center the John H. Walker Fitness Center. The high school PTO named the main gym the John H. Walker Memorial Gym. The county softball field in Nutley is named "John Henry Walker, A Champion of Children Memorial Softball Field.

At Spring Garden School a plaque bearing Mr. Walker's name hangs at the entrance to the auditorium.
High Five Hill, the Yantacaw School tree, the John H. Walker Fitness Center, the gym, the softball field and the Spring Garden plaque, show how appreciated and loved Mr. Walker was to our community. Our dear friend, Mr. Walker was and always will be a part of each of us.

Memorial Trees
Around the town of Nutley it became a tradition to plant trees in memory of loved ones. Two trees in front of Spring Garden School have a special meaning to those students.

Mr. Stivala was a beloved teacher and principal. He taught 5th grade at Yantacaw and 6th grade at Spring Garden School. He was the head of Special Services for a number of years and later became a principal at Spring Garden. He brightened up each day for the children and teachers with a daily joke. He left behind five children, a wife and many grandchildren.

On the day of the Japanese Maple tree dedication, the children sang “Anchors Away”. This was because Mr. Stivala served in the Navy. Every school in Nutley has a flag from each branch of the military. Spring Garden was given the Navy flag because of their wonderful former principal.

In front of Spring Garden School a tree was also planted in memory of the late Kathryn Napoli Gonnella. An important person from Spring Garden School, Ms. Gonnella was a secretary at Spring Garden School for 39 years and she touched many children's lives. Ms. Gonnella never stopped smiling, and those who knew her will never forget her great personality.

William Berg
William Berg was a resident of Nutley for over 30 years. He had a business on the stock exchange in New York, was an active golfer, and a lover of dogs. Mr. Berg lived on Nutley Ave. with his wife, Rita and his memorial is in Memorial Park where he grazed his cow each day. The plaque states “he watched the park grow”. This park is the location of many monuments and a walkway dedicated to World War I veterans.
“Billy” Berg left money to the town in his will; it was used for other improvements to the park. The fountain was refurbished and trees were planted. The dogwood trees, known as “spindlewood” trees, were planted. These trees are a historical reminder of our town’s mills. The mill owners planted this type of tree many years ago to use them to make spindles for weaving.

Besides the beautiful park we now enjoy because of Mr. Berg we can also thank him for the clock in the tower of the Public Safety Building.

A boulder with a plaque was made into a monument for him. This was the town’s way of saying thank you and remembering his generosity.

Hall of Fame
The Third Half Club is an organization founded in 1939, to promote and support youth sports at any age.

The Third Half Club sponsors the Hall of Fame Memorial, a wall of plaques, which hang in the hallway of Nutley High School. There are over eighty plaques in the Hall of Fame. These plaques are there to honor the athletes who showed lots of dedication to Nutley Sports. The plaque has a picture of the athlete and the years and sports they participated in. Someone has to nominate an athlete to be considered for the Hall of Fame. Every year the Third Half Club holds a traditional dinner in which they give awards to all the new inductees of the Hall of Fame.

The Third Half Club gets some of its funds from selling football booklets and boosters and ads at the high school games. They raise money through dinners, membership and raffles.

The Third Half Club sponsors a basketball tournament. In this event, the elementary schools of Nutley try to win their way to the championship games by competing against each other. For over 60 years, the Third Half Club has been very a successful and important organization in our town.