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John Dandola's West Orange History Connection As a writer and historian, John Dandola has worked closely with museums both here and abroad, but he comes by his connection to West Orange history naturally. His Italian ancestors moved to town prior to 1890. The arrival of his Irish ancestors in the area predates The Revolution and it is generally held that at least one served as a representative in the region's colonial government. When his Irish grandmother was deemed eligible for the D.A.R. and invited to join, she chose to politely decline remarking, "I think I'd be more comfortable serving tea to those ladies than sitting and sipping it with them." It is her husbandJohn's maternal grandfatherwho served as the model for his West Orange barber-turned-sleuth character. Like that character, he had also worked as a personal messenger boy to Thomas Alva Edison and even appeared in a 1913 photo with "The Old Man." John and his wife, Patricia (who he has known since they were eleven years old), live in a house commissioned by his family in 1923 and built by the grandfather of a high school classmate. Needless to say, John Dandola's roots in the community run deep and his vintage photo collection of the town is more extensive than any otherpublic or private. As an historian and therefore as an educator, John's newest concern is the internet because so much of the information found there is unchecked and unsubstantiated. This is particularly evident in the area of local history. John's advice is that if you need verification on any local history matter, contact a known expert in your area. Feel free to contact John with any questions about West Orange history. In May of 2006, John unveiled a local history geared for children entitled Greetings from West Orange, New Jersey. Still, a great many readers and a great many New Jersey librarians, have repeatedly asked him to undertake a proper, accurate, literate, and thorough history of West Orange since none exists. That project has been delayed indefinitely until the current administration has left office (to find out why, click on "Author Interview" below). "My career and all respect for my career have always been outside of the town's borders where no politicians would ever dream to attach themselves to, steal, or erroneously feel any claim on work which is solely mine," John explains. "That is why my ground rules for any West Orange speaking engagement are simple: No politicians allowed." Wikipedia Warning Open information systems such as Wikipedia (an online "encyclopedia") start off with all good intentions but allow people with little knowledge or training to come along at any time and ruin the content of accurate listings because they think it makes them appear superior and worse, yet, makes them think that they have been "published." The worst pest in this regard is someone who goes by the moniker "Alansohn." For someone who doesn't live in West Orange, "Alansohn" seems to think he knows more than the local experts but time and again he proves that he doesn't. Such individuals have even been known to change perfectly correct punctuation or belligerently demand unnecessary verification of plain, simple, well-known facts just so that they can post their names as having made a "correction." It is entirely too time-consuming to track down or reason with such offenders and the end result makes Wikipedia neither a very accurate nor a very reliable source for information. Unfortunately, it keeps spewing out across the internet Author's Bio | West Orange Mystery Novels | Author Interview | The Present West Orange Outlook | Home Copyright © 20002009 John Dandola, Ltd. All rights reserved. |
"Fact and fiction mingle in [Dandola's] third mystery that uses West Orange as a
setting during World War II.... New Jersey readers don't realize how much history is in their backyards." "Jersey Ink" The Star-Ledger February 1, 2008. |
