Lanes Mill Students Sing Praises of America, Veterans

Did you know that the rock that is the symbol of Prudential Insurance was actually inspired by a rock in Kearny that is the largest rock in New Jersey?

Did you know the world’s largest pickle bar – more than 20 feet of pickled tomatoes, pickled peppers, pickle slices and more – is in New Jersey, at Harold’s Deli in Edison?

Did you know there’s a battleship resting in a cornfield in South Jersey that is used for Naval training exercises, that the first dinosaur skeleton was found in Haddonfield, and that the country’s oldest weekly rodeo is held in Cowtown, near Woodstown in South Jersey?

Did you know that for 10 years, Lanes Mill Elementary School students have been performing a tribute program each spring?

Nearly three dozen fourth-graders at the school took to the stage in the school’s all-purpose room on Friday for the 10^th annual program.

The first program, held in the spring of 2002, in the wake of the events of 9/11, honored the firefighters, police and emergency responders caught up in the events of that day – those who lost their lives and those who searched for victims, according to Cathy Heuser, who teaches gifted and talented students at the school. From there, the program evolved into honoring military service personnel and veterans of the armed forces, she said.

The program also includes a selection of patriotic and New Jersey-centric music that the students sing, mostly a capella.

“They’ve put a lot into it,” said Robert Varela, a Purple Heart-decorated veteran who served in Vietnam for two months before he was wounded in combat.

The students in Lori Copman and Heather Schubauer's classes began preparing for the show in January, said Heuser and Amy Scott, a basic skills instructor who works with Heuser to coordinate the program. They memorized 13 songs, from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “I Like Jersey Best” to Bon Jovi’s “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”

But the song that drew the most reaction was the students’ performance of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”

“That last song they sang is a real tear-jerker,” said Patrick Lundy, another Purple Heart-decorated veteran who served in Vietnam for four years. “I was here last year and they do an excellent job saluting the veterans.”

“It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve heard them do that song, it always gets me,” said Heuser, dabbing tears from her eyes.

“I’m so proud of what our school system is doing to keep our kids informed about the veterans,” said Harold Liberatore, department commander of the New Jersey American Legion. He spent time with several students afterward, answering their questions and drawing awed responses when he told them there are 54,000 American Legion members in the state.

“That’s only American Legion members,” he said, noting there are thousands more veterans in the state, many of whom belong to other veterans organizations, from the Disabled American Veterans to AmVets to Veterans of Foreign Wars and more.

“How many of you have grandpas who served?” he asked, and several hands shot up. Most of the students had grandparents who served in Vietnam and Korea, but one girl said one of her grandfathers, who has since passed away, served in World War II.

“We can’t forget those,” Liberatore told the children. “It’s thanks to them that I am here, and that others are here.”

“I’m so proud of what our school system is doing to keep our kids informed about the veterans,” Liberatore added.

Clair Pohlman, who has been coming to the performances for several years, represents that era. Pohlman, who just turned 90, served in the 45^th Infantry and fought in Sicily and Italy, moving through Rome and assisting with the invasion in southern France. The Purple Heart-decorated veteran was wounded by shrapnel during heavy mortar fire in 1944.

“It was fabulous,” he said of the students’ performance. “I’m very gratified that the school and the students take time to honor the veterans.”

Ramon Gonzalez of Neptune, who has been coming to the Lanes Mill students’ performances with his wife, Dolores, since they presented their program at the American Legion in Brick several years ago, praised the program and the school.

“I love being with kids who think the way I do, who have a love of country,” he said. “I wish all the schools were teaching our students something like this.”