PERTH AMBOY – Perth Amboy Firefighter John Siberry poses for a photo with a young girl beside the poster for the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon featuring Jerry Lewis.
*File Photo Courtesy of John Siberry

John Siberry had a very unusual relationship with many City Employees and Council Members. He was very opinionated and did not mince words. I myself had differences of opinions with Mr. Siberry, and I was not shy about making my opinions known to him. He was a regular attendee at City Council Meetings. The only time he would ever miss a meeting was if he was very ill and his wife put her foot down. So, when I heard about his passing, it did not surprise me because he had not been to a Council Meeting for around two years. Trust me, if he was able to attend, he would have been there.

Mr. Siberry had many tussles (not physically) with the Council Members – some more than others. There is one instance when I almost fell off of the bench at a meeting when Siberry announced that he agreed with then Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez. There was a discussion about pedestrian safety grants. Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez mentioned how many pedestrians cross in front of cars while ignoring traffic lights.  During the public portion at this meeting, John Siberry came up and said, “I totally agree with Councilman Gonzalez. A lot of residents cross in front of cars that have the green light.” Siberry then remembered when he was growing up, there was a slogan: “Cross at the green – not in between. Cross at the green, so you don’t get hurt.”

I have been to the Siberrys’ residence at least twice and that was to pick up some photos that he wanted in the paper. The funny thing is that when I went there, he did not talk politics. His face lit up, and he smiled when he talked about growing up in a diverse neighborhood. He would rattle off the last names of the people that were his neighbors and how they all got along. 

It’s kind of sad that we don’t have neighborhoods like that any longer. Honestly, how many families do you know who live in your square block? I knew who they were when I was growing up. Even though we had neighborhood playgrounds, some recreation facilities were a couple blocks over. 

Also, as I was growing up a lot of homes had porches which would be our social media communications. 

Siberry also showed me the awards and plaques he received as a career member of the Perth Amboy Fire Department and head of the Union.

Mr. Siberry was proud of the fact that he and the Fire Department participated in raising funds for the MDA and that he personally met Jerry Lewis.

So I decided just to remember John Siberry as the man who spoke his mind literally and figuratively, loved talking about growing up in neighborhoods that were diverse, but were more united than divided. C.M.