The first official meeting of Newark Landmarks - NL (previously known as the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee) was held November 26, 1973, at the Plume House, one of the oldest buildings in Newark. The formation of the group grew out of a series of small, informal meetings organized by Donald T. Dust, a former newspaper reporter who was then the editor of the Greater Newark Chamber of Commerce magazine. NL picked up where an earlier effort, known as the Historic Sites and Buildings Committee and based at the Newark Public Library, had left off in the early 1960s.
The original NL board consisted of 11 trustees, some appointed by Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson and the Chamber of Commerce. Dust was the first chairman of the board. The other members of the original executive committee and their positions at that time were Samuel Miller, director of The Newark Museum; Bernard Schein, director of the Newark Public Library; in 1974 Alfred Schapiro, director of city planning; Bernard Grad, partner in a Newark architectural firm; Joseph Aramanda, president of a real estate and mortgage company; Rev. Joseph Jaremczuk of St. James Roman Catholic Church; William M. Ashby, a retired social worker; Dr. E. Alma Flagg, an assistant superintendent of schools; Rev. Doris Belcher of St. Stephan's United Church; and Harlyn Thompson, first dean of the School of Architecture at Newark College of Engineering. Several of the founders are now deceased or gone from Newark. Dr. Flagg served the longest period of any trustee, from NL's founding in 1973 until 2006, when she had to retire after moving to South Jersey.
After becoming incorporated as a private, nonprofit organization in 1974, NL became fully independent of city government and the business community. Later the board was reorganized and all the trustees were elected by dues-paying general members.
Since Dust, the other heads of the board have been Edward Nebb, a bank executive; Elizabeth Del Tufo, a community activist and tour leader; Douglas Eldridge, a newspaper reporter and city official; Victoria Snoy, an advertising official of Prudential Insurance Co.; Rose Spears, a retired federal official; and William Mikesell, an architect. At various times the organization has employed four directors: Margaret Manhardt, Anthony Vacca, Dust, and Eldridge.
This nonprofit citizens' group has weathered many strains and is still the only private organization devoted entirely to saving and promoting Newark's past. Supported by dues from more than 200 members, contributions from foundations and businesses, and gifts and bequests, NL pursues its work through a tiny staff, volunteers, and consultants.
The most important, most persistent work has been the nomination of significant sites for the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. Thanks largely to the efforts of NPLC, six different districts and more than 69 individual places -- houses, churches, factories, statues, parks, and cemeteries -- are now on the official registers. Two dozen of them display NL plaques, which quickly inform passersby about their importance.
As NL moves into its sixth decade, it is looking forward as well as backward -- planning more nominations, plaques, and projects, and always preparing for new battles to save endangered buildings or neighborhoods.
