(rshsdepot) Just another depot aficionado...or When bear drops by parade, the other guests make tracks

[jdent1_@_optonline.net]

Just another depot aficionado...

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1211690178261250.xml&coll=1

When bear drops by parade, the other guests make tracks

Sunday, May 25, 2008

BY LESLIE KWOH AND KEVIN COUGHLIN

Star-Ledger Staff

Morris Plains' Memorial Day parade had an unexpected - and uninvited

- - guest yesterday: a black bear that wandered to within a few dozen

yards of a group of spectators and gave some nearby commuters a good

scare.

The parade was winding down along Route 53 shortly after 11 a.m. when

police officers spotted the bruin - which they said appeared to weigh

about 250 pounds - walking along the train tracks about 30 yards away

from the festivities.

While most of the 2,000 or so parade watchers and marchers had

already dispersed, the bear caught at least several dozen by

surprise. At one point, the bruin jumped onto the train platform,

frightening about 25 people who bolted for cover inside the station,

police said.

"My husband yelled, 'Run!'" said Kathy Montuoro of Morristown, who

was waiting with her husband and two children for a train to take

them to the Yankees game.

Pat Wald, of Morris Plains, who had been at the parade, said she, her

son and grandchildren spotted the bear as they made their way back to

their car.

"We threw everything in the car and jumped in," she said.

Others say they experienced a much closer encounter.

Wayne Jennings, of Morris Plains, had just rounded a corner at the

train station when he saw police officers bolting along the tracks.

He said he assumed they were chasing a couple of misbehaving

teenagers.

"Then I turn and see a bear," he said. "I could have ... hit him, I

was so close. I never saw a bear run that fast."

The bear eventually hopped a fence and scampered across a parking lot

into woods, where it was last seen, police said.

Morris Plains Police Sgt. Lou Mautone, one of the officers who gave

chase, said he was surprised the bear had wandered into an area with

so many people. The bruins, while not an unusual sighting in Morris

Plains, tend to shy away from large crowds, he said.

"We've had bears in town before, but never during a Memorial Day

parade," Mautone said. "We were concerned the bear wouldn't have an

escape route because there were people everywhere."

Afterward, some town officials said they were flattered by the

unexpected visitor.

"Even the bear wanted to come to our parade," said Morris Plains

Councilwoman Sue McCluskey. 
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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1735
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org