. On preserving Sayreville's unique past
ANTOINETTE ISABELLA Guest Column
Sayreville's history is one in which industry was an instrumental aspect of the town's growth since the 19th century, and it still maintains its industrial assets to this day. Driving within the town of Sayreville provides evidence of compatibility - housing and industry coexisting in virtual harmony, in a region of tree-lined streets and cozy parks. Along with other businesses, Sayreville's many sand-and-clay sites were a boon to the economy during the 1800s and 1900s, and although the mining of this natural resource has ceased, industrial enterprise is still thriving.

What has set Sayreville apart from all other towns in the state, however, is what was unearthed from a former sandand clay field - amber. Yes, amber, with inclusions of hundreds of fossilized specimens from the Cretaceous period, some 94 million years ago when this region was tropical - the age of the dinosaur. The fossil specimens encapsulated in the amber gave the paleontology community a treasure trove of organisms so exquisitely preserved and varied that the site is considered one of the most important paleoecology sites in North America. The amber from this site embalms the greatest diversity of Cretaceous life ever found.

It is hard to comprehend that Sayreville is where the following were all captured and preserved: the oldest fossil ants dating back 92-million years; the world's oldest mosquito, oldest moth, oldest mushroom, bee and biting black fly ever to be found in amber; the oldest recorded feather of a terrestrial bird in North America; and the only known bouquet of miniature flowers preserved in amber from the Cretaceous period, from an oak tree that lived 90 million years ago. Many of the specimens had cellular structure intact, infinitesimally detailed as to even provide fragments of DNA of the organisms. These finds are remarkable and have enhanced the understanding of the formulation of these life forms and how they have evolved. The digging on this site has produced hundreds of pounds of amber with inclusions that continue to be evaluated and researched in the botanical and entomology labs of universities and museums.

This site within the town of Sayreville is set apart from any other town in the United States by the extraordinary classification of having the oldest amber from the New World and the third oldest in the world.

What is most exciting is that Paul Nascimbene, a scientific staff member from New York City's American Museum of Natural History (which houses much of the collection) will be a guest speaker at September's meeting of the Sayreville Historical Society. Mr. Nascimbene is expected to speak about the amber and to display samples of the amber. Check the society's Web site, www.sayhistory.com, for more information, confirmation and contact numbers. If you are interested in learning more about the amber, please attend the historical society meeting on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sayreville Senior Center, Main Street.

So there it is. Sayreville's claim to fame. And yet in spite of the intrinsic value of this particular site, development is inevitable unless it is purchased as open space/preservation. Can it be? Will it be? Well, perhaps, if more join the movement already started by Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-19) and the governing body of the borough of Sayreville to facilitate the preservation therein, this site will be given the safeguard it deserves.

For the moment, at least, the site is at rest, virtually motionless except for the occasional winds that blow gentle breezes through the weed and brush. During these moments when the sweet goldenrods sway, the years are suddenly turned backward, and the field seems to come to life again as the hub of activity that it once was. I can vaguely hear whispers of human voices coming from the field and the clang of metal shovels tossing sand and clay upon the mule-drawn wagons as each man, woman, and animal toiled to the point of exhaustion. It does break my heart to know the evidence of this site's past will one day be totally erased, and the whispers of the sounds of the past will be deafened by the sounds of garage doors opening, house alarms, automobile engines and the conversations of those who have no shred of knowledge as to the treasures buried beneath the foundations of their homes.

To quote one very prominent professor, "This site is the richest collection of fossil flowers of any age in the world … Additional excavation and work would potentially provide unprecedented information regarding early insect, flower interactions … Its scientific value has not yet been fully exploited." And to quote the motto of the Sayreville Historical Society, "Preserving the Past to Serve the Future." May this site exist as a source of unraveling the mysteries of the origins of species and as a reminder of the origins of this town of Sayreville.

Antoinette Isabella

Sayreville

member Sayreville Historical Society