It Must Be in the Water

It Must Be In the Water

You never forget the town you grew up in and I certainly never will.

The train tracks running down the middle of Main Avenue, the neighborhood kids I grew up with, the games we played, and the teachers we respected are what shaped us into what we are today.

I administer a Facebook group of people who grew up there and my generation always says how lucky we are to have grown up in a city like Passaic, NJ.

To me, what is really even more amazing is the endless list of celebrities that have come out of our small town. Some were merely born there and some left at an early age or they grew up there before their celebrity life. I have no explanation so many have been successful only that it must be in the water.

I will just name a few that were probably born or born and raised in Passaic and you will see that there must be something special about my hometown.

I’ll take you back to my early years when I used to read the Herald News, our daily newspaper. Of course, I immediately would go to the sports page looking for a story about a game I played in hoping my name was mentioned. I also would read a sports column written by a gentlemen name Augie Leo. Augie played for the New York Giants at one point. I think that was the first inkling I had that we lived in a special town.

The list of celebrities from our town includes Avatar actress Zoe Saldana, novelist Mitch Albom, Dick Vitale of basketball and announcing fame, Loretta Switt, who could be seen stacking books at the library in her early years, actor Paul Rudd, Comedian Joe Piscopo, Steely Dan’s founder Donald Fagen, Singer Joey Dee, the famous Shirelles, one of the first girl groups, Oakland Raider Jack Tatum and when you add the creator of Gilligan’s Island, Sherwood Schwartz you already have an impressive list. I do however have to add my friend Alan Rosenberg of TV fame or I may not ever be able to go home. The list has just a few “celebs” and I can name many, many more who you probably know; but I might be accused of name dropping if I list them all.

Many from my hometown want to claim Larry Storch of F-Troop fame. However, Larry was born in New York and his character, Corporal Agarn was from Passaic in the show only. Recently Passaic honored Larry at a ceremony for his portrayal as a Passaicite on TV.

Passaic was a sports town, so I had my brush with “fame” as I was growing up, especially in my teenage years. I first realized this while walking down Main Avenue one day and was greeted by 3 people in a row, all of whom I didn’t know, but they knew me because I was a decent baseball player and they had seen me play. That was my brief taste of celebrity, and it ended there for the most part. I guess I just didn’t drink enough water.

I’m not sure if there are other towns except for big cities like NY and LA that can boast such a record of celebrities, so I’m claiming the record for my hometown.

If you ever visit Passaic, I have one piece of advice; don’t drink the water unless you want to become famous.

Postscript: Former Mayor of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Tom Swisstack grew up in the same town. He drank more water than I did.