Cedar Crest Residents Launch Literary Magazine

Former newspaper reporters, illustrators, professors, and social workers are just a few of the contributors to Crest Crest’s new literary arts magazine, “The CC Villager.” The content in the quarterly publication is entirely the work of residents at the active continuing care retirement community in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.

Last year, David Greenwood came up with the idea for the resident-run magazine and put together the editorial board of residents which includes Greenwood, Jay Ludwig, Sophie Murray, Janice Rubin, Pat Thaler, Walter Weglein and Doris Woolf. The board selects the creative writings and illustrations for each issue as well as oversees subscription sales, advertising, printing, and finances.

“Our objective was to provide a creative outlet for residents,” said Greenwood. “Our intent is to provide material that the residents will find intriguing and thought-provoking.”

An anonymous resident donor paid for the cost of publishing the inaugural issue, which allowed the editorial board to distribute the Fall, 2016 magazine issue free of charge to residents, family members, and friends. The magazine was well-received and currently has more than 100 subscribers. The third issue, Spring, 2017, will appear in the last week of March.

“The CC Villager” features creative writings, stories, opinion pieces, poems, memoirs, essays, humor, drawing, and illustrations.

Contributors include award-winning journalist Janice Rubin, newspaper reporter Walter Weglein, illustrator for Fortune and Saturday Evening Post Don Trawin, former Dean at New York University and children’s book author Pat Thaler, former advertising art director and water color artist Eli Rosenthal, professor emeritus of theatre and communication at William Paterson University Jay Ludwig, NYU professor and World War 2 veteran Burt Schacter, among others.

A single copy costs $5.00, and a subscription for six quarterly issues costs $20.00.” For more information, including advertising rates, contact David Greenwood at greenwood.david2@gmail.com.

Cedar Crest is one of 19 continuing care retirement communities managed by Erickson Living. The scenic 130-acre campus is located in Pompton Plains, New Jersey and is home to over 2,000 residents and more than 180 resident-run clubs and groups. For more information, visit www.cedarcrestcommunity.com.

Photo 1: Editorial board for The CC Villager from left: Doris Woolf, Janice Rubin, Jay Ludwig, David Greenwood, Sophie Murray, Pat Thaler (not pictured: Walter Weglein)

Photo 2: The CC Villager cover by Eli Rosenthal