C.W. Post Art Professor Tells the Story
of the Hackensack River
Signs placed along the Hackensack River Greenway will
share region's history.
January 21, 2000 - When people walk or run along the Hackensack
River Greenway in New Jersey later this year they will get a
dose of history, courtesy of Richard K. Mills, director of the
fine arts program at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University
in Brookville, N.Y. Mills has put together a series of 16 signs
that tell the river's story.
"The idea behind this project is that people should walk
along the greenway, come upon this art, poetry and history, and
get a better sense of the place," says Mills. "They
should fall in love with it and take care of it. I'm trying to
convince people to be stewards of the land."
Mills has spent about 19 months researching the area's history.
He has listened to the stories of senior citizens, introduced
children to the Greenway, and discovered artifacts and nuggets
of information long forgotten. The signs, measuring approximately
two feet by two feet, incorporate historic postcards, photos
and engravings of historic sites, newspaper articles, poems and
narratives. Mills used a computer to design the digitally-printed,
vinyl signs. They will be mounted along the Greenway three to
four feet off the ground on aluminum posts.
The Hackensack River Stories Project can trace its roots back
to Mills' long time interest in landscape painting. After building
a garden with his wife, Tricia, he began designing landscapes
and community gardens, interests that eventually led him to serve
on the Teaneck Parks, Playground and Recreation Advisory Board
and to volunteer with the Hackensack River Greenway Task Force.
As Mills worked along the Hackensack River Greenway, a 3.5-mile
stretch that runs through Teaneck, he became curious about the
area's history. He discovered how depleted the river's ecology
had become and he resolved to tell the story of the river's pollution
and ongoing recovery.
Mills took a sabbatical from C.W. Post in the spring of 1998
and worked full-time on the project for about six months. A self-proclaimed
Luddite, he bought a computer and took computer courses to master
the skills necessary to produce the signs. "I had my students
teaching me," he says with a laugh.
Mills also secured grants from a variety of organizations,
including the Puffin Foundation Ltd., Long Island University/C.W.
Post Campus Research Grant Committee, the New Jersey Department
of Commerce and Economic Development, New Jersey Office of Travel
and Tourism, New Jersey Historical Commission and Teaneck Rotary.
An exhibit at Fairleigh Dickinson University College Art Gallery,
Teaneck campus, will showcase the signs May 7 - June 2, and Mills
will give several lectures about the project in New Jersey and
at C.W. Post.
For more information about the Hackensack River Stories Project,
call Prof. Richard Mills at (516) 299-2464.
