Images of America: Roebling IN THE NEWS!

Residents' pride, town's past evident in book on Roebling By Judith Rusk BCT staff writer June 18, 2001 FLORENCE - Paul Varga lives in the same house where he was born in the township's Roebling section back in 1932, when the John A. Roebling Steel Mill was enjoying its heyday here. His father, Mickey, was a Hungarian immigrant, one of hundreds who came to work for the plant that made the steel-wire cables that hold together the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and other suspension bridges. Using his memory of what the industrial village was like during his childhood, Varga joined his wife, Loretta, and five other township residents in organizing a photo collection and brief written history of the Roebling family, village and business from the 1800s until the steel plant's sale in the early 1950s. Writing as the Friends of Roebling, the group - Rose Menton, Michelle Scott, Dan Roth, Joseph Varga, Joseph B. Varga, Loretta Varga and Paul Varga - published their book, "Images of America: Roebling," on May 14. "I was one of the people who knew all the pictures that were presented to me," Paul Varga said of his contribution. Roth, 34, moved to the village in 1992 and thirsted for knowledge about the rich history of his new town. He joined the Roebling Historical Society and last year became interested in Arcadia Publishing Co.'s series of books called "Images of America." "I see these books all the time in the local-interest section of the local bookstores," said Roth, who led the project. He called Loretta Varga, president of the Roebling Garden Club, to pitch the idea of a Roebling pictorial history book for the series, and she loved it, motivating him to follow through, he said. The seven friends belong to the historical society, but stressed the book was not a society project. They put together a proposal for the publisher last spring that included 20 photos, captions and brief essays on village history. "In July of 2000, they called and sent a contract and said they'd love to have that," Roth said. The months leading up to the January deadline were filled with long interviews, research and hours of photo collecting, Roth said. The photos in the book come from 21 private collections, he said. The final product has 128 pages and more than 200 photos. "I just think Roebling was one of the first company towns that really provided for its workers, and the public should know about it," said Scott, 47, of Florence. Scott said the book has helped her in her job. She teaches at Holy Assumption School here. "You can link Roebling to events that happened worldwide," she said, adding as an example that Charles Roebling's son was one of the Titanic's ill-fated passengers in 1912. "Once you live in Roebling, you never leave it," said Loretta Varga, 68. "You have such an experience." The book includes a pictorial journey through the religious, sports and entertainment lives of Roebling residents, the war effort at the steel plant, the mill and its workers and the Roebling family. Arcadia Publishing, based in Dover, N.H., published the book. The company has published more than 1,000 titles about regional and town history in the United States. "Images of America: Roebling" is available at several local stores and major bookstores. It also can be ordered directly from the Roebling Garden Club or Arcadia Publishing. All proceeds benefit the garden club. For more information, log on to the Friends of Roebling Web site at www.roebling.org. Monday, June 18, 2001 Return to Home Page