2 South Orange Writers Win Awards In Essex County Contest – West Orange, NJ Patch

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — A pair of South Orange residents with a flair for the written word captured an award in the 2020 Essex County Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest.

South Orange residents Lorraine Kerry Barnett and Janyce Wolf were two of four winners selected during this year’s contest, which included entries from across the county.

According to Essex County officials:

“South Orange resident Lorraine Kerry Barnett wrote ‘The Fatality of Dreams,’ which was selected as one of the winning stories. While in college, Ms. Barnett was taking a summer literature course. One day, her professor asked her what she wanted to do after graduation, and she replied that her dream was to attend graduate school. Instead of support, the professor questioned her goals and told her ‘graduate school is not for everyone.'”

“He wanted me to know that there were limitations to what I should or could aspire to become,” Barnett wrote. This bias did not discourage Ms. Barnett, who four years later would earn her law degree from Rutgers School of Law and be sworn in as an attorney.

Essex County officials also offered a statement about South Orange resident Janyce Wolf, who wrote “The Day the World Changes.”

Officials said:

“[Wolf’s] story focused on the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and the grief and uncertainty it caused. ‘We can see the results of the 9/11 attacks in two ways. In many ways, the world is not a better place: wars, more surveillance, hucksterism, racism, economic instability. But individually people drew together, learned from each other, helped each other. Many people grew to know more about the world outside their own lives,’ Ms. Wolf writes. She sees many similarities – both good and bad examples – happening now during the coronavirus pandemic.”

Other winners included Montclair resident Rikke Beal, who wrote “Kikke Kissing Louis Armstrong,” and Caldwell resident Eva M. Ogens who wrote “Love in a Jar.”

Normally announced in May during Older Americans Month, the awards were delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Listening to our senior citizens read their stories during the awards ceremony is one of my most favorite events,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said. “The writers’ vivid recollections stir up great memories and share lessons they have learned during their lifetime.”