WERE YOU ONE?

By Ricardo Kaulessar  Photo by Ricardo Kaulessar 

Reunions usually happen due to a shared experience: graduating from the same school, serving in the same military unit or working in the same job. But it is almost unheard of to hold a reunion for those who were born in the same hospital.

That is, unless you first came into the world at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital.

The legendary facility in Jersey City that for over 40 years, until its closing in 1979, had more than 350,000 babies delivered there was in the spotlight on May 16 when some of those “Margaret Hague Babies” – now full-grown adults – gathered at Zeppelin Hall in the cityâ€s Downtown section.

The event, organized by the Jersey City Medical Center and the LibertyHealth Foundation, was attended by over 200 guests including well-known figures such as former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, now the executive director of the Jersey City Employment & Training Program, who was born at the Margaret Hague in November 1957, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who was not born at the Margaret Hague.

McGreevey, 56, checked out a wall of fame of those born in the hospital that featured his photo. He then spoke to a reporter about the place where he first saw life just like the other two children of Veronica and Jack McGreevey.

“Jersey City has its own unique folklore and traditions, and Margaret Hague was that great maternal center that seemingly gave birth to at least half of New Jersey,” McGreevey said.

He also said that the Margaret Hague was one of the best examples of the public works projects built in the 1930â€s under the Democratic machine run by Jersey Cityâ€s longest-tenured mayor and political boss Frank Hague, who named the hospital after his mother.

Along with McGreevey, others who attended spoke about the space that has been a source of pride for decades for numerous Jersey City residents.

For Shirley Hardhouse, the affection for the Margaret Hague has been a family affair as her and two of her siblings along with several of her cousins were all born there. And 20 years after her birth, it was déjà vu with her daughter coming out of the womb in the same location.

“I remember that the nurses were wonderful, they were outstanding, they were kind,” Hardhouse said.
“They gave you flowers and they gave you diapers, both the paper and cloth kind. They gave you everything to take care of the baby.”

Hardhouse then said it was “mindboggling” that the Margaret Hague does not exist anymore as a maternity center for future generations and that many people like herself laments its absence. Currently, it is one of the remaining buildings of the old Jersey City Medical Center currently being converted into condominiums as part of the still-developing Beacon residential complex.

Mark Rabson, director of public affairs for the Jersey City Medical Center, said there was discussion about holding the reunion on the premises of the original Margaret Hague at some point in the five years since the idea for the reunion first took hold. However, the developer of the Beacon told Medical Center officials to wait a few more years for the renovation of the building to be completed.

But Rabson said the success of this first reunion, which saw many attendees wear t-shirts that proclaimed ‘Born at the Margaret Hague,†will probably lead to future ones being held at the actual location.

The post Born at the Margaret Hague first appeared on River View Observer.

 By Sally Deering         

Margaret Hague Hospital
Jersey City

If you were born in Jersey City from 1931 to 1979, chances are good you greeted the world from one of the many Art Deco delivery rooms at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital founded by Jersey City Mayor Frank “Boss” Hague and named for his mother.

The Margaret Hague – where celebs like Martha Stewart and Frank Sinatra, Jr. were born – was part of a cluster of hospitals known as the Jersey City Medical Center which were turned into condominiums called The Beacon several years ago with a new state-of-the-art medical center built to take its place just a few blocks away on Grand Street.

To celebrate the common bond shared by those who were birthed at Margaret Hague, the LibertyHealth Foundation, the philanthropic arm of JCMC has kicked off a T-Shirt contest with a $250 cash prize for a “Born at the Margaret Hague” logo/design to be used on T-Shirts and other items that will be for sale at the “Born at the Margaret Hague Reunion” held in May. The winning design will be featured on T-shirts and items like baseball caps and coffee mugs.

“The phrase ‘Born at the Margaret Hague†is almost synonymous with Jersey City,” Regina Andriolo, Executive Director of the LibertyHealth Foundation says.  “We are constantly discovering ‘Margaret Hague babies†in all walks of life, in all different parts of this country, and even abroad.  We are looking forward to receiving artistic entries reflecting that legacy and then incorporating the winning artwork as an integral part of the Margaret Hague Reunion in May.”

Contest Rules:
• Submission may be sent digitally or by mail. Files should be no more than 4MB.
• Design should be able to be reproduced on a cotton T-shirt and other items.
• Subject matter should reflect the history and legacy of the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital and/or Jersey City.
• Entries should be sent to margarethague@libertyhcs.org or mailed to LibertyHealth Foundation, 242 Barrow Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302; or hand-delivered to 44 Bright Street, Jersey City.
• Artists must be 18 years of age to enter and win the cash prize.
• Artwork submitted must be artist’s original work.
• By entering this competition, the artists grants the LibertyHealth Foundation exclusive perpetual license to use and reproduce images of the artwork.

A committee will select five finalists from all entries and then open the voting to the public to choose the winning entry. Voting will be done through the Foundationâ€s website where submissions should be received by 11:59 pm on Sun, Feb. 23^rd. Voting takes place through Mon March 3^rd and the winner will be announced Mon, March 10^th.

According to LibertyHealth, party-goers often start singing “Born at the Margaret Hague” to the tune of Bruce Springsteenâ€s “Born in the USA,” just to make sure everyone knows where they came from. Visit www.libertyhcs.org/Foundation to print an application that must be accompanied with your submission; or email MargaretHague@libertyhcs.org and request an application.

FOR MORE INFO:

LibertyHealth Foundation

242 Barrow Street

Jersey City, NJ 07302
201-377-6057

www.libertyhcs.org/foundation

Email: MargaretHague@Llibertyhcs.org

 

The post Were You Born at the Margaret Hague? first appeared on River View Observer.