Educational foundation event to host 3 authors
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

Kevin Coyne

FREEHOLD - Three authors Freehold Borough can call its own will appear at the Cornerstone Caffe, corner of East Main and South streets, to raise funds for the Freehold Borough Educational Foundation.

Kevin Coyne, Frank Argote-Freyre and Carlo DeVito will appear at the cafe at 7 p.m. March 13. The evening will offer a panel discussion, a question-and-answer session and book signings.

The event is also an "opportunity for residents to learn more about the educational foundation, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to planting seeds of educational excellence through creative and innovating teaching, student development and enhanced community and school partnerships," according to Jean Holtz, who serves the foundation as chairwoman. "This is the first in a series of special community presentations in association with the foundation."

DeVito, who has lived in the borough for almost 12 years, has written 14 books on a variety of topics, including "Ten Secrets My Dog Taught Me," "East Coast Wineries" and "D. Wayne, The High Rolling and Fast Times of America's Premier Horse Trainer." His latest book, published in 2006, is "Wellington: the Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York."

Carlo DeVito

The book tells the story of the Mara family, which has owned the football Giants since 1927. Wellington Mara became one of the patriarchs of the modern National Football League.

According to a New York Daily News review, "At its core the book is a biography of Wellington and the entire Mara clan, but it also paints a vivid picture of the rise of the NFL. Add in some New York history and you have a compelling read."

DeVito said he loves living in the borough and is happy to be participating in the event to give something back to his community. He and his wife, Dominique, are the parents of twin boys, Dylan and Dawson, who are 8 years old.

Coyne is a columnist for The New York Times and the author of several books, including "Marching Home: To War and Back With the Men of One American Town," which tells the story of six men from Freehold, Stu Bunton, Warren (Jake) Errickson, Jim Higgins, Bigerton (Buddy) Lewis, Bill Lopatin and Walter Denise, who went off to serve in World War II and returned home to a community that was undergoing social, political and economic changes.

Frank Argote-Freyre

"My family has been in Freehold since before the Civil War," Coyne said. "Freehold really is a very accurate microcosm of America. What makes it different from many other small towns has always been its racial diversity."

Coyne teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, New York. He and his wife, Jane, are the parents of three children, Laura, 15, Alice, 13, and Ricky, 7.

Coyne said he is happy to be able to help the educational foundation.

"I believe the foundation is a very good organization and I support it. My kids are in the school system. This program is a reminder of what an interesting place the borough is. The borough did not produce Bruce Springsteen by accident," he said. "The town is an interesting, diverse, culturally rich place. It will be nice to see people gather to see this event happen."

Frank Argote-Freyre, a history professor at Rutgers University, recently had his first book, "Batista," published by Rutgers University Press. The book about the life of the former Cuban president was a "labor of love" for Argote-Freyre and took years of research, including several trips to Cuba.

Argote-Freyre said he tried to dispel some of the stereotypes of Fulgencio Batista, who is considered a crucial figure in Cuban history. These stereotypes include "pawn of the United States government," "right-hand man to the mob" and "iron-fisted dictator."

Batista's government was overthrown in a revolution that was led by Fidel Castro in 1959.

Argote-Freyre and his wife, Carrie, are the parents of two children, Amanda, 10, and Andrew, 7. He said he is looking forward to the March 13 event.

"This event focuses on the positive aspects of living in Freehold. It's a wonderful place to live and to write," he said, adding that he hopes the event will do several things, including strengthening the relationship between the three authors, bringing other writers in the community to the forefront and helping to bring attention to the "fantastic work" the educational foundation is doing for students in borough schools.