October 18, 1992

It was just another routine meeting of the Township Committee. The five members at the Sept. 28 session discussed ordinances and resolutions, while about 100 residents, including the members of several winning Little League teams, squirmed and grunted. The clock ticked, the ball teams received their awards and smiled for photographs and finally Richard R. Anderson was given a few minutes to speak. Mr. Anderson, a 72-year-old retired engineer and amateur historian, read from a copy of an agreement, executed on July 16, 1684, between "Iraseeke of Wickaton, Sachem on ye one p'ty, and William Leeds & Daniell Applegate of Middletown on the other p'ty." Iraseeke, the Indian chief, had leased the property, some 2,000 acres in what is now Middletown and a few acres in neighboring Holmdel Township.

EDWARD W. MUNSTER admits that he will "take advantage of anything that gives me name recognition," even if it means having a campaign worker don a Herman Munster mask to distribute literature for the Republican's campaign in the Second Congressional District. His opponent, a mustachioed man in casual clothes has been knocking on doors in the district, asking homeowners and business people if he can put campaign signs on their properties. The people are often surprised that the district's incumbent Congressman, Sam Gejdenson, puts up his own signs, starting with drilling the holes into the ground. "Nothing works better than me knocking on doors," he said.

In this recessionary economy, most shopping center developers are gun shy. Indeed, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported only 552 shopping centers under construction last year, compared with 1,008 the year before. Against that backdrop, building a 200,000-square-foot center in Danbury, Conn., is a gambler's move. But it looks like the Conroy Development Company of Greenwich and Ceruzzi Properties of Westport, joint developers of the new center, have won their bet. They got four big operations to lease the entire space.

"MY God, what's happening to the world!" Nolan Miller is quite serious. "The magic!" he adds. "The glamour! The star quality! It doesn't exist anymore!"

President Bush and Gov. Bill Clinton both say they will rein in health costs and provide health insurance for 35 million uninsured Americans without raising taxes for anyone. But experience suggests that such promises are unrealistic, that health-care costs eventually explode even if they are artificially controlled, and that some new taxes are likely if the Government guarantees health insurance coverage for all.