In The News
Quarry Education Open House Draws Thousands
Jun 9, 2008 

On Saturday, June 7, Tilcon New Jersey’s Mount Hope Quarry in Rockaway Township welcomed about 2,200 local residents to its annual Quarry Education Open House. The blazing heat did not stop residents from coming to learn about the 560-acre historic quarry, take bus tours of the site, view and climb on enormous mining equipment, and enjoy refreshing cool drinks and grilled burgers and hot dogs. The event lasted from 9:00 to 3:00 and guests were reluctant to leave because they had so much fun.

Although he was unable to attend, Rockaway Township Mayor Louis Sceusi issued an official proclamation naming June 7, 2008 “Tilcon Day” in appreciation for the company’s generous support of “many community, social, and civic events in the Township of Rockaway” and for being a “welcome neighbor.”  

Volunteers at the welcome table handed out durable, eco-friendly fabric tote bags constructed of recycled PET plastic, and packs of wildflower seeds that the families can plant to beautify their surroundings. Information packets were also included to teach the visitors about natural resources, aggregates use in everyday life, minerals in New Jersey, and how to identify rocks, quarry safety word games. According to the Mineral Information Institute, every American born will use 3.7 million pounds of minerals, metals, and fuels in their lifetime.

More than 125 employee volunteers and their families turned out to help as traffic control, tour guides, welcome table, grill masters, refreshments, and children’s activities, and arts and crafts. Equipment operators helped children and their parents on and off huge haul trucks, loaders of all sizes, excavators, and paving equipment as they explained how the equipment operates, how much it can hold, and why they enjoy their jobs. There were tables for sand art, rock pals that children could decorate and bring home, Polaroid snapshots of kids in a model haul truck, a “Wheel of Fortune” with questions aimed at participants based on what they learned on the tours. Entertainment included a three-piece ragtime band, caricature artists, face painting, and more.

Perennial favorites included guessing the weight of the giant tire, supplied by McCarthy Tire, which offered a $150 mall gift card to whoever guessed the closest to the actual tire weight. Children of all ages marveled at the ten-and-a-half-foot-tall tire, which is an actual tire used by the large front-end loaders in the quarry. Many children climbed inside the tire for a close-up look. Others piled into the scoop of a front-end loader to see how many children it could hold.

Vendor booths from companies that supply mining equipment such as heavy construction machinery, blasting supplies, seismograph services, and petroleum products had representatives available to answer questions from interested guests. Tilcon also invited a representative from MSHA (Mine Safety and Heath Authority) the regulatory agency that governs mining and quarrying, to share with the public the reasons that trespassing on mine property can be hazardous. The Rockaway Township Police, and local fire and rescue squads all were on hand as well to spread their messages of public safety. Company engineers and environmental experts, and human resources representatives discussed their functions with the public and took applications from interested candidates.

Special surprise appearances by BIGFOOT, the Original Monster Truck from Bridgestone/Firestone, and the Flintstones added to the day’s fun. Everyone was excited to see the Monster Truck and its driver Ron Bachmann, who gave out signed photos.

Mayor William R. Steenstra of the Borough of Bloomingdale in Passaic County, and members of the Borough Council, made a special trip to the Open House to present Tilcon NJ President George Thompson and Vice President Vince Gallo with a large trophy thanking them for the company’s many monetary, material, and labor donations to make the borough’s new firehouse a reality. The Bloomingdale Public Safety Complex was dedicated in December.

Hope and Steve Blumenfeld of Rockaway bring their kids every year. Hope said” “the kids can’t wait to come every year. I’m always amazed at the size of the place and the Open House has more to do every year. It’s always so organized.” Matthew 10, loved it and said “there is so much great stuff to do and I have a lot of fun. I loved the Monster Truck the best and the other trucks are great!” His sister Dana, almost 13, said “I enjoyed the bus tour. I learned so much.”

Tilcon has an award-winning record for building and paving such projects as the Newark-International Airport runways, Route 80, and the Willowbrook Mall Pavement Rehabilitation, and recently won the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s Quality in Construction Award and the New Jersey Asphalt Pavement Association’s Rutgers Award of Excellence for the repaving of East Main Street in Rockaway Borough, among several other projects. The company has won numerous construction, aggregate and asphalt supplier, and safety awards from national and state associations, and awards for excellence in community relations and quarry beautification from the National Stone Sand & Gravel Association.

Tilcon NJ, part of Tilcon New York Inc., is a division of the Oldcastle Materials Group, and operates quarries, asphalt plants, and construction materials recycling centers across northern New Jersey, serving the central and northern New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island markets. The company has applied innovative operational techniques to become one of the largest producers of granite in the United States and the highest volume, single location, producer of bituminous concrete. The facility is considered one of the elite hard rock quarries in the United States.