The 56th Anniversary of the Groundbreaking Ceremony for Montville Township High School

MONTVILLE, NJ – The Montville Township Historic Preservation Review Commission [MT HPRC] and the students, faculty and staff of Montville Township Public Schools [MTPS] are working together to commemorate educational highlights from the Township’s 157-year history.

This week, the MT HPRC’s Facebook Page, Montville Historical Society - NJ , featured a “Montville Memory Spotlight” entitled: “Montville High Students Witness Historic Groundbreaking.”

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Researched and written by Montville Township High School [MTHS] alumnus Alec Grossman (2017), the “Montville Memory Spotlight” series has become a popular feature of the Facebook page. Grossman also maintains the Montville Historical Society – NJ for the MT HPRC.

Here is the featured “Montville Memory Spotlight” for Oct. 8, 2024:

Montville Memory Spotlight: Montville High Students Witness Historic Groundbreaking
On This Date: October 8th 1968

56 years ago today, Montville took a major step toward its future as ground was broken for the township’s new high school. On October 8, 1968, the entire student body of 196 gathered to witness the long-awaited event. Standing by as bulldozers had already started carving the outline of the school into the hillside on Horseneck Road, students, teachers, and officials marked the occasion with a mix of pride and anticipation.

Dr. Arthur R. Dermer, the school's principal, and Superintendent Nicholas C. De Vita took turns with the ceremonial shovel while cameras clicked. Though symbolic, the real work was already in motion, as the site—formerly part of Sunset Farms—began to transform. Ringed by hills with turning autumn leaves, the future school site was within sight of Montville's Central School, where the township’s first freshmen were temporarily housed.

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Students arrived in school buses and stood in a horseshoe around the only visible structure so far: the football goalposts. Two students, Karin Wilwerding and Kathleen Hogan, both 14 and student council officers, gave brief remarks on behalf of their classmates, thanking the officials and looking forward to what the new school would bring. Karin, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wilwerding of Lake Valhalla, noted that this would be her 14th school. Kathleen Hogan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hogan of Towaco, echoed her excitement.

Superintendent De Vita, serving as the master of ceremonies, introduced several key figures who had helped turn the vision of the new school into reality. Montville Mayor James Vreeland addressed the crowd, followed by remarks from school board president Fred Bauermann. The school board trustees—William Eckert, James Hile, Albert Anthony, Herbert Friend, and John Van Riper—were acknowledged for their efforts, along with Trustee Reinhard Siedenburg, who praised the dedication of the administrators, teachers, and students. Also present were board secretary Thomas Nolan and board attorney John Dorsey.

In addition to school officials, members of the wider community came to support the groundbreaking. Township Committeemen Fred Eckhardt, Peter Burkhart, and Kenneth Smock were in attendance, alongside Albert Witty, chairman of the Planning Board, and Paul P. Lubertazzi, head of the township’s Industrial Commission. Police Chief C. Richard Tomkins, former county school superintendent William H. Mason, and James Ward, representing the architectural firm Flatt & Poole, all lent their presence to the occasion.

Rev. Joseph D. Herring, vicar of the Church of the Transfiguration in Towaco, delivered the invocation, while Rev. Kenneth E. Schwengel, pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit, gave the benediction, offering blessings for the future of the school.

The $3.9 million high school was expected to open during the 1969-70 school year. The freshmen gathered that day, taking courses at Montville’s Central School, would be the first graduating class. With a planned initial enrollment of 1,216 and the capacity to expand to 2,000 students, the school promised to be a cornerstone of the community’s future. As the ceremony ended, the groundwork for Montville’s new chapter in education was officially underway, witnessed by those who would benefit from it the most—the students.

Through the MT HPRC Facebook page, Montville Historical Society – NJ , residents of Montville, Pine Brook, and Towaco can learn more about the history of the entire Montville Township community.

To help the community enjoy, explore and, in some cases, recall, the 56 ^th Anniversary of the Groundbreaking Ceremony for Montville Township High School, MTHS Principal Douglas Sanford and the district’s Public Information Officer and Coordinator of Special Projects, Susan Marinello, identified photos, newspaper clippings, and a program from the October 8, 1968 groundbreaking ceremony. Scans of these historic MTHS items will be added to the MT HPRC collection of historic photos and documents .

MTHS holds a complete collection of yearbooks, as well as a scrapbook that was compiled by teacher Cliff Welsh. Welsh’s scrapbook contains newspaper clippings ranging from 1967-1980.

Working with MT HPRC, MTPS is actively searching for additional historical items from the community. Particularly of interest are photos of the construction of each of the district’s seven schools. MTPS is collecting photographs , which will be shared with MT HPRC, through a Google Form . The direct link to the form for sharing photos is: www.montville.net/historicphotosmtps .

In addition to the collection of photographs, MTPS faculty and students have helped with several other MT HPRC projects.

In April, Brielle Cuccia (at the time an 8 ^th Grade student at Lazar) interviewed Math teacher Toby Cohen for the Montville Township Historic Preservation Review Commission’s Oral History project. Organized by Teachers Caitlin Mosera and Richard Crescente, Lazar’s LNN Studio was the site of the interview. Cohen shared highlights from her 50-year teaching career at Lazar! MTHS alumna Samantha Grossman (2017) wrote a feature story of the interview for “MontvilleTAP” .

In September, MTHS junior Zachary Quan was honored for his contribution to MT HPRC. During summer 2024, Quan compiled historical information from multiple sources into an organized electronic database of Montville Township History.

MT HPRC is also looking for volunteers and citizens who would like to participate in the Oral History Project .

Under the guidance of MT HPRC, MTPS is looking forward to sharing many more historic educational highlights.

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