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Pat Kramer, Longtime Paterson Mayor, Dies At 90
Lawrence Francis "Pat" Kramer, who spent almost his entire life in Paterson, the city where he served as mayor for 12 years, died on Thursday, Aug. 24. He was 90 years old.
Kramer grew up on East 42nd Street and 18th Avenue, and attended what is now John F. Kennedy High School. After graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kramer ran on the Republican ticket for mayor, and was elected in 1966.
Kramer's first term of mayor was from 1967 to 1972, before he was asked to head up the Commission of Public Affairs. Following that stint, he ran for mayor again, serving from 1975 to 1982. H…
Belleville Post Office Renamed For Korean War Hero
When he was 20 years old, Private Henry Svehla charged an enemy position during a battle June 12, 1952, near Pyongony, Korea. The young rifleman “inflicted heavy casualties,” according to a narrative prepared by the Army, but didn’t emerge unscathed: a mortar round detonated nearby, causing serious wounds.
Svehla, however, kept leading the charge anyway, until he was killed when he threw himself on a grenade that had landed near his comrades.
Svehla, who was born in Newark and lived in Belleville, was recognized at the time for his bravery during the Korean War, earning a posthumous Distin…
