People of the 1930s
Mother Mary Joseph
Mother Mary Joseph (1885- 1956), who was born Mary E. Dunn to Mr. and Mrs. John E. Dunn Sr. (Margaret Donovan) in Boonton, New Jersey entered the Caldwell Dominican Community in 1902. As a young sister, she taught at elementary and high school levels.
Mother Joseph was elected Mother Superior of the Caldwell Dominican Sisters in 1927 and re-elected in 1933. Due to her involvement in the creation of Caldwell College for Women at the time is was suggested that she be permitted to run again for re-election. She was indeed re-elected for a third term on the first ballot!
In 1927, Mother Joseph sought permission to erect a junior college in Caldwell, however, the request was denied as the Bishop felt the need for a woman’s college was already met by the College of Saint Elizabeth at Convent Station.
Mother Joseph never abandoned her dream of a college. On June 21, 1939, the Bishop announced that a college for women would be opened in Caldwell by September. Mother Joseph and her Council had done the impossible. They had created the College amidst the Great Depression and war. The college officially opened on September 22, 1939, as Caldwell College for Women, with thirty-four students. By 1947, the college’s enrollment had increased to 170. Just as it is now, the faculty and student body were a close-knit community. The spirit of the family was nurtured by the creation and fostering of many Dominican traditions.
After the blessing of the cornerstone for Raymond Hall, the Honorable Alexander P. Waugh a lifetime resident of Caldwell and dear friend to the sisters, spoke of the sisters and Mother Joseph, “Dominicans were not standing still. Great things were happening…Mother Joseph’s name was legendary in the Caldwell Community. She knew what Almighty God wanted her to achieve – and she knew how to obtain material to achieve those objectives. That quiet, able nun on the hill was a mental match for anyone in the Community.”
At the age of 71 Mother Joseph Dunn passed away on Good Friday, March 30, 1956. As the foundress of Caldwell University, she has left behind a legacy of carrying and passing on the torch of truth through education and the zeal for the Church, marked with the Dominican spirit.
For more information, read Caldwell University.
Frank 'Din' Makosky
Frank ‘Dins’ Makosky, (1910 – 1987) born in Boonton, Frank graduated from Boonton High School in 1930 and is believed to have earned 16 letters - 4 letters each year in football, basketball, baseball and track. According to Franks son, he was offered 17 athletic scholarships but did not accept any. He continued to play baseball in local leagues, married and worked locally at Dixon Brothers delivering ice.
Shortly after his first son (Frank) was born, he was scouted by the New York Yankees. He played for their farm team the Newark Bears from 1934 through 1936. Towards the end of the 1936 season, he then was brought up to the parent team. The Yankees wanted him to pitch batting practice. His son Frank remarked “They were going to play the NY Giants in the World Series and the Giants had a great pitcher Carl Hubbell. He threw a pitch he called a "screwball" and the Yankees knew that my father's "forkball" acted much like Hubbell's screwball so during batting practice my father threw nothing but forkballs”. The Yankees won the 1936 World Series.
He made his Major League Baseball debut with the New York Yankees in 1937 as a pitcher. In 26 career games, he had a 5–2 record, with a 4.97 ERA. He batted and threw right-handed. Frank played on the same team as Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Lefty Gomez to name a few.
In 1938-39 he played with the AAA Kansas City Blues. In 1940-41 he played for the AAA Milwaukee Brewers. In later years, did some relief pitching for the Newark Bears in 1945-46. In the late 40s he pitched for the Madison Colonels.
Nickname
According to his family they believe the nickname ‘Din’s was given to Frank by his classmates in sort of a perverse way because he was so quiet. “The word ‘din" means loud and boisterous”, Frank Jr said. He was inducted in the Boonton High School Hall of Fame in 1996.
To learn more, read Baseball Reference.