IN THE KITCHEN WITH BRUCE WASK

Some people think that love stories are only for the young. Bruce and Ginny Wask proved that wrong by discovering each other later in life and beginning a life led to not only a true passion for one another but for the community. (Oh, and Bruce also developed a quick passion for Ginny’s chocolate chip cookies, which only fueled the flame.) The Wasks were both widowed. Fate brought them together, and they were married in September, 1993. They lived in Maplewood, but during Ginny Wask’s first marriage, she’d had a farm in Pennsylvania and really liked the rural area. “So,” said Bruce Wask, “We decided that when Ginny’s daughter, whom I adopted, graduated from Columbia High School, we were going to move to the Sussex County area.” A financial planner, Wask had plans to open an office in Hackettstown, so they looked for a home within a 20 mile radius in 1994. Ginny is a lover of older homes — those built in the 1800s or earlier — so they started their search in Hope, , found the perfect home in Fredon. Bruce Wask was always drawn to running...especially coaching running. He started coaching track, when he started working at Columbia High School after he got out of the Army in 1969. He was a long-time coach for Columbia High School, helping runners excel. Once in Fredon, Wask couldn’t help but follow the Kittatinny’s cross country and track program. Soon Wask, wearing what has become his trademark burnt orange fleece, was a staple on the sidelines. Soon after the Fredon Fire Department came to the Wask’s home in an emergency when he fell off a ladder, both Wasks became instant supporters of the department. It was during a fundraiser Bruce Wask for the department he met Jamie Fiscus, a Kittatinny runner, and her family. “I’d say it was her hard work and determination that drew me to support the Kittatinny running programs.” Wask met more and more Kittatinny kids and was eager to lend an ear to their questions. Then Wask learned about The Bears Youth Running Club, a grass roots feeder program to Kittatinny and other Sussex County High School running programs. “I was asked to help coach, and I was happy to give my two cents,” Wask said. He joined the coaching staff in fall of 2006. The program includes elementary and middle school kids from all of the Kittatinny feeding area and also around the county. It’s goal is simple: teach kids the many physical and mental benefits of the sport of running. Every Monday and Wednesday in the fall, Wask volunteered his time to the Bears program. And then, when the fall program ended, he volunteered to keep it going during the winter of 2006-2007, spawning what quickly became referred to as The Polar Bears. Because Kittatinny doesn’t have an indoor track program, Wask took it upon himself to recruit high school kids to join The Polar Bears, keeping their winter training going and teaching them such events as hurdling and sprints at the new Fedon Rec Center on Route 94. He even personally covered the cost of the Rec Center rental fee. “Now I’m 66 years old I know what I want to be when I grow up, I want to be a track coach,” Wask laughs. He’s available every single Saturday at 9:30 am at the dam by Paulinskill Valley Road to take any kid who wants on a trail run, give them his two cents and above all, tell some stories and instill in them his love of the sport. He’s inspired many adults as well, encouraging people like Jackie Kaufman, of Fredon, to work though the marathon training pain and successfully cross the line of her first marathon last year. Wask volunteers to drive interested kids to Olympian Joetta Clark’s track and field camp each summer. He also volunteers at X-Treme Running Camp every August. Professionally, he’s a Certified Financial Planner with an office on the same property as his home. He and and his wife are involved in raising funds, for not only the Fredon Fire Department, but also the EMS. He’s equally passionate about doing whatever he can for the Fredon Fire Department, about putting in his daily run on the Paulins Kill Trail and about thoroughly enjoying his wife’s chocolate chip cookies. Ginny Wask’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookies 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 cup butter (2 sticks) 1 egg 2-1/4 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 package (12 oz.) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream sugar, brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Add egg. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Add to creamed mixture. Dough will be stiff. Stir in chips. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned (centers will be soft).