Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 72

A DAY IN TI IE LIFE OF FREEHOLD BOROUGH THURSDAY, DEC. 16, 1999 PAGE 4 Five Star Cafe a critic's choice Freehold High's honor roll: Tim, Bruce, Danny i taurant and Bar, Brick, and the Breakers Hotel and Restaurant, Spring Lake, Kovak teaches stu-. dents all facets of cooking and res- taurant management. 1 "The food is so good and so are jj the prices," says Caroline Caldwell, I the court's assistant civil division manager. "But we don't want the 1 secret to get out, because it'll get crowded." Students rotate jobs weekly until they have performed all duties in-' volved in operating a restaurant By SHERI TABACHNIK STAFF WRITER There's nowhere Marion Cer-winski would rather eat lunch than Freehold High School.

But it's not the cafeteria food that lures the Superior Court employee to the school. It's the Five Star Cafe's menu. Along with fellow workers, Cer-winski patronizes the student-run restaurant often. "We get the menu on a weekly basis and put it up in the courthouse on the bulletin board," she says before tasting the chicken francaise served with angel rice. "Sometimes I buy an extra order and take it home for dinner." The Five Star Cafe, which seats about 30, is open to the public.

It is staffed by students enrolled in each of six regional high schools who participate for one period a day in the district's culinary arts program. "For the five years I've been here, about 95 to 100 percent of the kids have gone on to a culinary arts school," says Toni Kovak, the program's lead teacher. Along with Maura Zafarana, who was a chef at the Pilot House Res- ftdJ ft? English teacher Tom Cantillon, 38, says he decided to become a teacher after listening to Springsteen's lyrics. "Bruce made me aware that what matters the most is making a difference in someone's life," Cantillon says. "He changed my life." The 121-year-old school also shines academically.

About 86 percent of its graduating seniors attend college and its students achieve some of the highest SAT scores in Monmouth County, says Assistant Principal John Tague. The borough's high school offers the district's only medical science, computer science and culinary arts programs. "This school has so much to offer," says Parijat Sharma, 16, of Manalapan. "If I were to drop out of this (medical science) program I would definitely stay in this school." In 1925, the high school, which had previously occupied a Hudson Street building, moved to its current location at Broadway and Rob-ertsville Road. Students from throughout the district traveled to what was then the only high school that served the surrounding towns.

About 3,000 fans attended the school's football games and watched the winning teams parade down Main Street after each victory. The number of fans has decreased since the other regional high schools were built, but passion for the teams remains as strong as ever. "Go Colonials," students cheer. By SHERI TABACHNIK STAFF WRITER Administrators and teachers refer to the borough's high school as the best kept secret in the regional district, and according to students, nothing could be closer to the truth. "I wish everybody could come and spend a day here and realize how great it is," says Monica Gra-bowski, 17, a senior at Freehold High School.

Grabowski says the school has had such a positive influence on her life that she wrote all her college essays about it. Students and teachers talk honestly about life experiences. "When you end a relationship you should take a break," Heshy Moses says to the teen-agers in his psychology class. "You shouldn't jump from one relationship to the next. You should wait to find out what went wrong and what you want to do differently in the next relationship." Moses' comments spark a heated discussion among his students before he brings the focus back to Sig-mund Freud's philosophies.

But it's not just the relaxed atmosphere that fosters the pride students feel for their school. In 1967, Bruce Springsteen graduated from Freehold High School. Yes, there were other famous graduates former NBA player Tim Perry, and former NFL players Scott Conover and Danny Lewis, but it is Springsteen who students and teachers boast about. OIL These retailers keep lift1 tsar HI 'A- For many students, Half-Brothers make a world of difference Si1 IP THOMAS P. COSTELLO Staff Photographer At Freehold High School: Toni Kovak (top photo, left), lead teacher in the high school's culinary arts program, works with Kristina Scali, 16, a Manalapan High School junior, in the kitchen.

Heshy Moses (above) during his psychology class. Lauren LeBlanc, 1 5, a freshman, puts books back in her locker. KfiSEaaalalal lw, NOAH K. MURRAYStaff Photoaraprier Booterv, tries on some western Western (not cowboy) boots. I GARAGE DOORS GENIE GARAGE DOOR OPENERS VINYL ALUMINUM SIDING TRIM TUB 1 SHOWER ENCLOSURES SEAMLESS GUTTERS LEADERS (IN COLORS) DECKS PORCHES PATIO DOORS ROOFING STORM DOORS STEEL REPLACEMENT DOORS AWNINGS MIRROR SLIDING CLOSET DOORS Fi I' I VI? ym business in By ROYA RAFEI STAFF WRITER You can say that Larry Sorcher is following in his father's footsteps.

He runs Al's Bootery, a shoe store at 23 W. Main St. named after his father, who started the business in 1945. After starting out as a traveling shoe salesman, Larry took over the reins at Al's in 1972. His is among a group of well-established businesses in downtown Freehold, some of which have been handed down from generation to generation.

Down the street from Al's Bootery is Ballew's Jewelers, which bears the owner family's name. The jewelry store opened in 1885, becoming Ballew's in 1922. The store was run by Sarah Ballew, the first woman gemologist in New Jersey, before it was handed down to her son, James. The store is now run by James' son, John, a former Freehold councilman. A few blocks away on Monmouth Avenue, Carl Steinberg runs Freehold Furniture in a former farmers' exchange building.

Steinberg inherited the business, which started as Steinberg's General Merchandise on South Street, from his father, Jack, and uncle, Abe. Another downtown fixture is Breeches, a men's clothing store, also on West Main Street. Though Breeches doesn't have the family history of Al's or Ballew's, the shop is run by a husband-and-wife team. Owner Teo Screpka started at the store as a tailor. After six years, he bought the business and has been running it since with his wife, Lisa.

These owners all say they offer a personal service to their customers, allowing their little shops to compete against the mega-stores and By SHERI TABACHNIK STAFF WRITER When it comes to learning about American history during the 1960s, students enrolled in Heshy Moses' social studies classes have no problem. All they have to do is watch their teacher live his life. Moses, 50, who has been teaching at the borough high school since 1972, is a self-proclaimed hippie and still has his long hair to prove it. Moses' good friend, Stan Koba, 48, occupies the room across the hall. Koba began teaching social studies in the borough in 1973.

Just about every year, when graduating seniors vote for their favorite teacher, one of the two men receive the award. "The kids love them," says Monica Grabowski, 17, a senior. "They're the teachers to get." Although Koba has long since cut his hair and shaved his beard, he says the way he relates to his students hasn't changed. "I love the kids," Koba says. "That's the reason I'm still here.

Heshy and I feel like we can help them make a difference." One way the two affect students is through their music. In 1974, they formed a singing group called Half-Brothers. The men, who incorporate their music into lesson plans, play at bars and clubs at least three times a week. "A good day of teaching is like a good night of singing," Moses says. "They're both a natural high." After losing friends in the Vietnam War, Koba wrote a song called "Price to Pay." He uses it to teach students to value their freedom in this country.

"A lot of people gave their lives for us to be here," Koba says. A discussion about whether the students would be willing to fight for their country ensues. Each May, Moses plays "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. "I want the kids to remember the Kent State massacre," the history teacher says. Some of the assignments include 1 etaffine the salad har.

servina cus-. tomers, baking, cooking, washing dishes and ordering food for future meals. "I cook dinner for my family all the time. I even cooked Thanksgiving dinner," Lacey Sigman, 16, a junior at Manalapan High School, says as she arranges rice and vegetables on a plate and hands it to Dave Mechlowicz. Mechlowicz, 173 a senior at Marlboro High School, I sautes the chicken before other students serve it to customers.

The classmates hope that working in the Five Star Cafe will help them get accepted to a culinary arts i college. VI. 'Hit 1 if )'t the family malls. On this Tuesday, for example, a customer comes into Al's Bootery for a pair of black boots. Sorcher 1 helps the customer with the boots and engages in friendly conversa--' tion that covers everything from a 1 mutual acquaintance to the college plans of the customer's son.

"My son said to me, 'Dad, why would you want to buy cowboy the customer tells 1 Sorcher. "Well, let's correct him on one thing. These are not cowboy Sorcher says. "These are Western boots, because a lot of people who wear boots are not cowboys. Western boots are high shoes, that's all." Spend a little time "with Sorcher and you begin to notice a pattern.

He sells western boots, drives a truck, and wears a hat to work, the type you'd probably see businessmen wear in Texas. "Yeah, I'm probably a cowboy at heart," he admits. "If I had a wish, I'd go back to the late 1870s for a month and see what that was like when' the West was just beginning and railroad was going West." 1 Another reason these mom-and-pop stores have survived, the owners say, is that they've learned to adjust to the consumers' changing lifestyles. When Al's first opened, the store sold just about everything, including ice skates. Now, Sorcher has decided to narrow his wares to adult shoes, specializing in men's boots.

At Breeches, Screpka rents tuxedos and offers some casual clothes. But both Sorcher and Screpka say their businesses will not likely be transferred to their children. Sorcher's children have pursued ij other careers. -J own backyard. warm.

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