Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake
T H E PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
VOLUME 30 ISSUE 28
RACKING UP A VICTORY
PASCACK VALLEY
WESTWOOD
Westwood scouts power to bronze with their sporty new downtown base for bikes Youth at the 25th anniversary Sept. 11 observance, Montvale. Credit: Anthony DeRosa.
NEW
BY JOHN SNYDER EDITOR@THEPRESSGROUP.NET
See HEROES on page 164
TRIBUTE TO ‘OUR IRISH ROSE…’
Friends, family dedicate a bench, release balloons, and raise many pints to P.J. Finneganʼs matriarch Rose Marie Farrelly BY JOHN SNYDER EDITOR@THEPRESSGROUP.NET
GENERATION SALUTES 9/11 HEROES Across the Pascack Valley, this yearʼs Sept. 11 observances carried a responsibility that grows with each anniversary: helping those too young to remember the history understand what our communities lost—and, in terms of solidarity—gained. This year, young people stood at the fore, rendering salutes, songs, and c a n d l e s against the darkness. They also represent a renewed promise to generations yet to come: the Pascack Valley will never forget. Beyond their contributions, speakers reflected on family, friends, and neighbors lost, the courage of those who responded, the need to honor and support those still falling ill, and the American
SEPTEMBER 21, 2026
Troop 98178’s scouts celebrate their new downtown bike rack, and Bronze Awards, with Mayor Ray Arroyo, Councilmember Cheryl Hodges, and Council President Lauren Letizia at the Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek Post Office Building on Sept. 13. Postmaster Gabriel Ali, Councilmember Erin Collins, and Borough Administrator Durene Ayer also helped the project along but were unable to attend. John Snyder photo.
Y
BY JOHN SNYDER EDITOR@THEPRESSGROUP.NET
Westwood T OBY KALMAN found two bicycles blocking a downtown restaurant entrance one Friday while out with friends. She moved them out of the way and spoke to the kids who had left them there. OUNG
The riders needed somewhere to park, she explained. Without a designated place to leave their bicycles, they werenʼt entirely to blame. That problem became a Girl Scout project. On a humid Sept. 13 afternoon, after a rain shower slightly delayed the proceedings, Toby and her fellow members of Troop 98178
gathered at the Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek Post Office Building to celebrate their solution: a new silver-colored, tubular grid-style bike rack, paid for with troop funds raised primarily through cookie sales. They brought bikes, too, and a small army of supporters.
Continued on page 18
Luke Farrelly held a pint of Guinness in one hand and wiped his eyes with the other. Around him, outside P.J. Finneganʼs, were people who had come to remember his wife, Rose Marie, with whom heʼd built the business and so much more. They brought photographs and stories. They raised their glasses. And they dedicated a bench beneath the pubʼs front window, its plaque reading: “In Loving Memory of Rose Marie Farrelly. Our Irish Rose – Loved by All.” The sunny Sept. 13 gathering brought family and friends to the downtown mainstay owned by Luke, a place their son Desmond described through its occasions: weddings, engagements, birthdays. People met here, celebrated here, and stayed connected. His mother had helped build that life with his father. “Sheʼs built in the walls,” a friend emphasized.
See ROSE on page 64
‘NURTURE NATURE’
B ck in time...
Temple Pledge Group #19 Rainbow Girls install officers Sept. 8 at the Masonic Temple in Westwood, with a “Nurture Nature” theme setting the tone for a term of service. PAGE 24
Let’s take an imaginary ride through the Pascack Valley and picture the countryside as it appeared in those last few years before modernity knocked on our door. PAGE 4