Here are a few of the 4,000 suggestions submitted in responce to the governor's search for a new slogan. They were printed in the paper this morning.

"NJ: A Pleasant Place to Live, Work and Play."

"What's It To You?"

"Big Hair, Big Heart, Big Fun."

The State That Looks Like George Washington."

"Leave Your Heart in San Francisco & Take Your Wallet to New Jersey."

"Home of the Free, the Brave and the Best Shoppers on the Planet."

"Great Place to Visit, You Just Can't Afford to Move Here."

"Three-quarters of the State Is Really Nice."

"Most of Our Elected Officials Have Not Been Indicted."

"We've Got Three Really, Really Big Roads."

"If Living Here Were Easy, It Would Be Another State."

"We Don't Need No Stinkin' Slogan."

"The Traffic Will Kill You, Have a Nice Day."

"New Jersey: You Got a Problem With That?"

Oops! I meant Forbes

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5696874/

I remember driving through N.J. on the turnpike, on our way to Ohio, from visiting family in N.Y. and R.I. When we heard we were bing transferred to Jersey, from Ohio, I was heartbroken. Thought it all looked like the turnpike(I was very young!) We lived in Scotch Plains,t patriccio, for 8years, our eldest graduating from Scotch Plains -Fanwood. After again going to the midwest, this time Columbus, then opn to Kalamazoo,MI. we came back to Mt. Lakes, in Morris County. Beautiful area, and here our youngest graduated.
I have fond memories- and lots of friends still living there!

Hi capecod... I'm an '89 grad of SPiFfy High! What years did you live in town? My parents moved there in '74 and still live there. Trish

Great slogans! I especially like the "What happens here gets buried here."

I just looked it up -- New Jersey has nine of the top 100 wealthiest counties per capita in the U.S.: 7. Somerset, 10. Morris, 13. Hunterdon, 21. Bergen, 42. Monmouth, 79. Mercer, 91. Sussex, 92. Union, 99. Middlesex.

NJ gets a bad rap, for sure. The two choices we had for Governor however imply that some of the negatives are well deserved.

But,As correctly pointed out, NJ has many, many positives. The NJ public school system is among the best in the country and some districts, like Millburn/Short Hills maintain average SAT scores level above 1,200.

MelJ, i hope you return to this board and thread.
Ah...KRESGE'S!!! Right up there with the carousel (at Almanessen?) and the shoe store where they used to xray feet? Anyone else (warning, you'll be dating yourself!) recall the days when kids would get their feet irradiated in that machine, for shoe sizing? No wonder i walk funny!!
I was trying to think of a NJ slogan for that. Maybe
NJ makes you glow, right down to your toes ???
Also, some of these towns of which we've all such fond memories, have their own web sites with reminiscence-filled message boards. Great for a laugh, and the occasional sentimental tear.

Hi Trish,
We were there from 1968 till 1976-our back yard backed up to S.P-Fanwood high school field- hop over the fence, and we were at all the games! Old Farm Rd.- a great place for transferee's, most our age with young kids, a mixture of native New Jerseyan's and we transplants. I used to sub as a school nurse, at both the elementary school, where my youngest attended and at Park Jr. High, where the eldest was at the time.The latter goes back for reunions - she graduated in '76, then went on to Hartwick College. Still have friends there,though many have moved on, and some retired. It holds fond memories!!

CaliNurse--I DO remember that shoe store, but I can't recall which one of three: Endicott Johnson, The Log Cabin or that place in Woodbury Heights (on the right side, just before the Telford Inn and after Southwood Shopping Center) It was a man's name. I hope you come back on because this will drive me crazy trying to think of it!!

How 'bout this more sentimental slogan:
"New Jersey: a great place for old memories"

MelJ, darn, can't find Woodbury history/ personal message board I posted to about 6 yrs ago. However, here's a link with scenes of yesteryear, that I think you and every other NJ person would enjoy:

http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/allIm...gType=postCard

The shoe store was on Broad Street, but can't recall exact name. However, If recall is accurate, it was near and on same side of street as another store with a man's name--Leeb's (or Leib's) appliance store.
They were our neighbors , so we were invited to saw our first ever color TV there-- when "Peter Pan" was first on TV. The color was a bit off, and Mary Martin's suit occasionally changed from green to orange!

Mel, please feel free (if comfortable with that) to post your email address here and I'll send that web site URL when I find it, and/or more memory stuff that might be boring to other Fodies.

Lived in Westmont for 2 years in the 40's and Haddonfield from the late 40's until leaving for school in '58.
Mom and dad lived there in the same house until their deaths in '98 and '99.
M

Grew up in Morris county and moved down to Va about 8 years ago. I miss the food!!! Funny how there are no immigrants down here in Richmond to make all that good stuff.
Where we grew up, my parents called it the country. They grew up in New York and our little town of Kinnelon was the boonies. Now, it is just too crowded.(and Expensive!!!)

Mikemo, HADDONFIELD!! I recall going there with my parents in order to see the first ever covered mall which had recently opened--Cherry Hill Mall-- and being astounded by the indoor decoraton(fountains, trees I think)
For those of you feeling sentimental about NKJ in the 1940-1950s, I recommend the movie "Avalon" by Barry Levinson. Although it's specifically about a family in Baltimore, there are many scenes that recalled NJ --eg one of them at a swimming hole day outing, as they discuss it being sold to have suburban homes put up.

CaliNurse, "Avalon" is one of my favorite movies ... love it, as I do just about anything by Barry Levinson. I used to go to both Cherry Hill and Echelon Malls when I lived in New Jersey.

Ah, New Jersey. I've been living here for more than 30 years and still say it is the most corrupt state in the nation. Why, the last Governor was forced to come out rather than being prosecuted for criminal behavior!

Heading out the door in 5 minutes (got a condo in Williamsburg for the week), but just wanted to say...

Ernie's Shoe Post!!!

My grandmother lived in Haddonfield--I LOVED that town! I remember being so excited when Cherry Hill Mall opened. Bambergers, Wanamakers... and then came Echelon--2 stories. WOW, we were so impressed!

After high school graduation I worked for the phone company in Merchantville and used to go to Echelon on our lunch hour.

Remember Chubbies? The Pub?

Loved these slogans suggested!

Avalon is one my favorite movies as well. And it has tremendous relevance to the South Side Chicago of my youth.
We got the Big Hair rep as well.

capecodshanty, how did you like living in Kalamazoo- truthfully? Do you know that they just had 7 very rich donors give every single person who graduates from the Kalamazoo Public School system free college tuition into the distance future? You have to be in the system before Sophomore Yr H.S. It's called the Kalamazoo Promise.

Lots of the bucolic memories of Jersey sound like truck garden Michigan.

You should hear the slogans that went out re Gary, IN a decade or so ago when they were revamping and had the beauty contest. LOL! These Jersey ones were fun to read.

Hi JJ5,
I did enjoy it, as I look back on it. Loved our house,and older Georgian, bordering a park, not far from downtown, and since close to the elementary school, important to our then going into 5th grader. I did find it more difficult to assimilate into the community, but think that was bewcause it was an older neighborhood, with longstanding residents, and not a lot of transferee's! Lots ogf school problems beginning in Jr. High. so was pleased when we were transferred just before the freshmen year! I hadn't learned of the Kalamazoo promise, and I think that is just wonderful. Assume it will be to the State college system, which I know was excellent in K.- W>M>U> was there, as was the private Kalamazoo college, and we took advantage of many of their offerings. But the weather!!! It snowed from early November, and one year I remember 40 inches of snow on the back patio in early May!! Loved taking the Amtrak into Chicago- got to know it fairly well, and of course loved the shopping there.

Yes, the snow!

It used to get much more than IL but in the last few years, it has gotten less than IL and especially less than Northern IN.

Yes, it's for any State college/university in MI- Ann Arbor as well.

And I do think that your experience is usual, for IL as well. The Kalamazoo sized towns have lots of population that has not been mobile- and as friendly as they are, I don't believe it is extremely easy to socialize as much as in more mobile populations.

And some areas still have lots of school problems, with H.S. especially, but it has gotten better. The Kalamazoo Promise is mind-boggling in the implications it will make in that town and the lake areas near to it.

I took the Amtrack several times up and back in the late '80's.

Lest we forget, "MONEY magazine and CNN/Money spent months looking for Great American Towns -- where you would want to raise your children and celebrate life's milestones." Moorestown, NJ was chosen the #1 place to live in the US.

Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Shaq, Judy Blume, Arron Burr, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Frank Sinatra, Grover Cleveland, all New Jersey natives.

The light bulb, phonograph (record player), motion picture projector were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park laboratory.

New Jersey is the only state in the nation which offers child abuse prevention workshops to every public school.

The first baseball game was played in Hoboken.

The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick, in 1869. Rutgers College played Princeton. Rutgers won.

The first Drive-In Movie theatre was opened in Camden.

Modern paleontology, the science of studying dinosaur fossils, began in 1858 with the discovery of the first nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur in Haddonfield, New Jersey. The Hadrosaurus is the official New Jersey state dinosaur.

Parsippany has been named Tree City USA for 24 consecutive years.

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