Message from Councilman Matt Adams | February 9, 2024

Celebrating the beautiful diversity of our community starts with celebrating our deep multi-cultural history.  

My colleagues and I are committed to celebrating local history so that Scotch Plains continues to serve as a shining example of what it means for people of all races, faiths, genders, creeds, and sexual orientations to build a community where everyone is welcome.

Our little slice of the world is a microcosm of the American experiment.  We have people from all corners of the globe.  It is what makes Scotch Plains an ideal place to raise children, and one of the many reasons I chose to settle and raise my children here. 

As members of the Township’s governing body, my colleagues and I want to preserve our cherished history in every way possible.  In recent years we have reverted the name of our local national treasure, Shady Rest, to its original name in honor of the rich history of the site as the first Black country club in the United States.  We have funded restoration and upkeep of our various landmarks, and we have bigger plans for those cherished places to be announced.

I recently had the great pleasure of attending the celebration of global cultures at McGinn Elementary School, along with a group of other community leaders, at the invitation of the school’s administration. I was blown away by the many volunteers who discussed their distinct cultural identities, as students moved from classroom to classroom to soak it all in.  

It seemed as if every corner of the globe was covered, from Asia and the Far East, to Europe, Africa, and everywhere in between.  Volunteers, mostly parents of McGinn’s diverse student population, spoke of art, recreational activities, food, languages, and architecture, complete with PowerPoint slides, maps, souvenirs from travel, and traditional outfits.  Students asked amazing questions about grandparents, world history, natural resources and more, showcasing the tremendous job that our community’s educators are doing.  

As a local leader and parent of three school-aged children sitting in these rooms of inquisitive students, committed volunteers, and other guests, I listened intently.  It was as if, after more than 30 years since I last sat in an elementary school classroom, I had the opportunity to return to my childhood. It was truly a day filled with learning.

One of the most poignant lessons that I learned was about the Kramer Manor neighborhood. Although I had heard the story many times, it was told to the assembled McGinn students in a powerful way that allowed me to learn new details about the neighborhood’s founding.

As we know, Kramer Manor is a neighborhood of about 100 households on the border of Fanwood off Martine Avenue.  During the evils of segregation, it served as an all-Black enclave for residents determined to live out the suburban dream in a flawed society that had not yet accepted their inalienable right to do so.

The story of Kramer Manor is one of a Jewish real estate developer from New York City having family ties to an inter-racial marriage, and the beautiful relationships that were forged between the neighborhood’s Black founders and the owners of Kramer Realties, Inc.  It is fitting that multiple houses of worship reflecting the cultural diversity of the neighborhood’s founding still stand in Kramer Manor.

Over the ensuing decades, the Kramer Manor neighbors bound together to push back on segregation and fully integrate into our community.  That perseverance, against all of the odds that stood in their way, must be shared and preserved for future generations.

At the gateway to Kramer Manor on the Scotch Plains side sits Kramer Manor Park, a sprawling green space that serves as a hub for this historical neighborhood.  Because it is municipal parkland, it is under the control of the governing body and our Recreation Department. 

To adequately teach future generations of the story of Kramer Manor, I am calling upon the Recreation Department, Recreation Commission, and Township administration to create a permanent educational monument marking the historical role of Kramer Manor in our community, befitting the significance that it holds not just in Scotch Plains, but in the history of our nation.

We cannot stop at Kramer Manor; there are many other places in our Township like it.  We need to celebrate all of them.  We need to carry their stories to future generations so that the history of our community is preserved and protected forever.  Look for more updates from the Mayor and Council on our exciting and long overdue plans to honor and preserve our Township’s history.