North Jersey man celebrates his 100th birthday, at a 100-year-old country club
WAYNE — Al Kachadurian gripped the 8-iron, stared down the hole and zeroed in on his target as everyone else fixed their attention on him.
It was a moment that members of North Jersey Country Club will not soon forget.
The 327-acre club on Hamburg Turnpike is marking its 100th year in the township, and to open its centennial season, it requested that Kachadurian take an honorary chip shot before play started.
He was the only man up to the task — he, too, is turning 100 this year.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Kachadurian, who will celebrate the milestone on Friday. “I’ve been blessed with a beautiful family, and I was blessed that we came here on this beautiful day. I think it’s wonderful.”
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The ceremony began at 8:30 a.m. Saturday as club members, including Kachadurian, gathered in the rear of the clubhouse for a rendition of the national anthem, which was piped through a portable speaker.
Peter Robertiello, the club president, welcomed members back to the golf course and then invited Kachadurian to the tee box of the 10th hole to take his shot.
As his golf cart crept about 25 yards to the teeing ground, club members were overheard whispering to themselves that Kachadurian would without question sink the ball in the hole.
Wearing a Titleist baseball cap, zip-up sweatshirt, khaki pants and Velcro sneakers, Kachadurian squared his hips and pointed the face of his club to the 18th hole, which is adjacent to the 10th tee box. He cocked the club back, and in one stroke sent the ball sailing toward its intended destination.
Club members erupted in applause when it landed someplace in the fringe around the green.
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Kachadurian later said he felt no pressure — even as everyone’s eyes were directed at him. “I just didn’t want to miss it and fall on my butt,” he said. “I could’ve put it in the hole, but it didn’t go.”
Kachadurian, a former resident of Hawthorne who now lives at Cedar Crest Senior Living Community on Cedar Crest Drive in Pequannock Township, has played in big moments before.
In October 1947, the Paterson native helped to end a 32-game winning streak by the best college football team in the country, the Army Black Knights, when he intercepted a pass on the goal line. The Columbia Lions won the contest, 21-20, and according to one headline printed the next day, the upset rocked the “grid world.”
Kachadurian, whose parents escaped the Armenian genocide in modern-day Turkey, was also a baseball star at Eastside High School in Paterson. One of his teammates was Larry Doby, who went on the break the color barrier in the American League in July 1947.
For decades, Kachadurian owned a dry-cleaning business at the corner of Straight and Van Houten streets in Paterson. The building is now occupied by a Papa Johns pizzeria.
After the ceremony on Saturday morning, club member Michael Biase asked Kachadurian to use a Sharpie marker to sign the ball that he hit.
The ball and a custom-engraved plaque with Kachadurian’s name will be put on permanent display in the clubhouse, said Biase, who is in charge of the club’s newly formed historic committee.
Kachadurian was joined at the ceremony by his family, including his daughter, Janet Orwig of Montville, and his daughter-in-law, Pamela Kachadurian of Cedar Grove. He has a second daughter, Gail McCallion of Manhattan, and a son, John, who died in August 2016. His wife of 64 years, Janet, died in April 2011. He also has five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Kachadurian said his longevity is a mystery that has eluded even himself.
“I’ve asked that so many times, and I say there is no answer,” he said. “I get up in the morning, and I say, ‘Thank you, God.’ And when I go to sleep at night, I say, ‘Thank you, God.’”
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ man marks 100th birthday at North Jersey Country Club
