Spring 2023 Issue

4
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Spring 2023
From the Editor
In the Spring 2022 issue of the magazine, I announced that throughout the year we’d be
highlighting the local music scene. Seven issues and nine months later, I was pleased that we
had accomplished what we set out to do: shine a spotlight on all things music in our area.
We wrote about (and photographed) local bands—a lot of them. We also featured people who
teach music, who sing, who play instruments and who record others playing music. My goal was
to offer a variety of stories from all different aspects of the industry.
Just like music itself, I wanted there to be something for everyone.
I will admit, it was quite an enjoyable summer for me, hanging out with musicians and attending
all those concerts and gigs. Throughout the seven issues, we featured quite an assortment of
musical talent.
By late fall, when I was about halfway through the final production work for the Holiday issue,
I received an email from a man over in Lake Shawnee. An avid reader of the magazine, he liked
seeing all the stories about local musicians and thought maybe he fit into that category. (Not
his own story, mind you, which could be a bestseller.) Instead, he was pitching the story of his
friendship and musical collaboration with another local musician. The duo had just released a
five-song EP on social media.
Included in this initial email was a short version of how the two met and their bios. And yes,
after reading through the email, I was calculating how I would manage to get this story into the
last issue of 2022. I really wanted to get their story out there.
But 24 hours later, I realized it would take a Herculean effort to research, interview, write and
photograph the pair before the impending deadline. The story, I reluctantly decided, would have
to wait.
So, we begin 2023 where we left off in 2022, with a story about two local musicians—whose
own story is just beginning—Vern Miller and Jeiris Cook. (See Ellen Wilkowe’s story on page 22.)
Thanks, Vern, for reaching out.
While music was a theme throughout last year, an emphasis on some of our local businesses
and businesspeople will be the theme for this year. We will feature at least one business or
businessperson in each issue.
First up is AAA Dock & Marine, a family-run, fourth-generation dock construction business here
at Lake Hopatcong. (See Ellen Wilkowe’s story on page 26.)
Throughout the year we will also continue to spotlight some of the small, historic places of
worship that can be found in the region, beginning with Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika’s story about
Byram Bay Christian Church in Hopatcong, which has roots dating back to the early 1900s. (See
page 18.)
Also in this issue is a comprehensive and detailed account of Princeton Hydro’s Water Quality
Report for Lake Hopatcong. Mike Daigle breaks down the data
and translates scientific terminology into layman’s terms. (See
page 12.)
Writer Melissa Summers has a profile on recently retired
County Commissioner Kathy DeFillippo (see page 32), who has
spent most of her adult life in the service of others.
As I look past this issue to the rest of the year, I see a few holes
that need filling, stories that need to be written and told. That’s
your cue, readers, to reach out to me with your own story, or that
of a loved one, a neighbor or a colleague.
Everyone has stories to tell, not just the musicians. —Karen
ake Hopatcong News
RETIRING FROM PUBLIC LIFE
LITTLE-KNOWN COMMITTEE
GETS RESULTS
INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING THE LAKE REGION
SPRING 2023 VOL. 15 NO. 1
Striking A Chord
Jeiris Cook and Vern Miller, both from Je ferson, have embarked
on an unusual musical journey together
DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY
BUILDING DOCKS FOR FOUR
GENERATIONS
ON THE COVER
Jeiris Cook and Vern Miller, both
Jefferson residents, are writing and
recording original songs together.
—photo by Karen Fucito
KAREN FUCITO
Editor
editor@lakehopatcongnews.com
973-663-2800
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Michael Stephen Daigle
Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika
Melissa Summers
Ellen Wilkowe
COLUMNISTS
Marty Kane
Heather Shirley
Barbara Simmons
EDITING AND LAYOUT
Maria DaSilva-Gordon
Randi Cirelli
ADVERTISING SALES
Lynn Keenan
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Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849
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