Carteret church damaged in fire: This week in Central Jersey history, Nov. 27-Dec. 3

The historic St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carteret sustained damage in a two-alarm fire on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018.

"It's a substantial loss. There is significant damage to everything inside," said Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman.

Here's a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.

Five years ago

Nov. 29: It was reported Vincent Serpico, a Piscataway High School teacher, was fired because he repeatedly used the n-word and other profanity after he went "ballistic" and had a "meltdown" in front of his special education math class earlier that year.

Nov. 29: A new directive was unveiled by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal that restricted local law enforcement from participating in federal immigration operations.

Nov. 30: TGI Fridays on the Flemington Circle, closed on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, due to "business reasons," said Brian Conway, corporate communications and PR manager for TGI Fridays Corporate, it was reported.

Dec. 1: The Piscataway High School football team beat Ridgewood, 31-21, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Dec. 2: It was reported Craig Ferguson, who hosted "The Late Late Show" for a decade, would perform at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

Dec. 3: A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the $70 million Nestle Health Science's Product Technology Center at the Center of Excellence in Bridgewater.

10 years ago

Nov. 27, 2013: A bank robbery was reported at Columbia Bank in Edison.

Nov. 28: As the grand champion in the 2013 National Christmas Tree Contest, Wyckoff's Christmas Tree Farm in Belvidere would be the source of four Christmas trees that would be displayed in the White House during the holiday season, it was reported.

Nov. 28: In high school football, Dunellen beat Middlesex for the fifth consecutive Thanksgiving, 22-13.

Nov. 30: It was reported Gary Passarelli, 40, of North Plainfield, was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of John Niko, 35, of Raritan Township, in May 2013.

Nov. 30: Gilbert Gottfried's Gobble Show was presented at Brook Arts Center in Bound Brook.

Nov. 30: The New Dawn Experience '70s and '80s Theme Party, featuring Evelyn "Champagne" King, Colonel Abrams, Wall Street, comedian Willie Asbury, and WBLS jocks Lenny Green and Debi Jackson, was presented at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in the Somerset section of Franklin Township.

1998

Nov. 27, 1998: Six anti-fur protesters, members of the Animal Defense League, were arrested outside two Furs by Guarino stores, one in Green Brook, and one in East Brunswick.

Nov. 29: Jessica Melore, 16, of Branchburg, had returned to school two months after suffering a heart attack and having a leg amputated, it was reported.

Dec. 1: Karwin Brown, 19, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death on Friday, Nov. 27, 1998, of Trishawn Moody, 19, in the parking lot of Club Malibu in Scotch Plains.

Dec. 3: It was reported singer Anne Murray would perform on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 1998, at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

Dec. 3: The Rutgers men's basketball team beat Columbia, 84-49.

1973

Nov. 27, 1973: The maximum speed limit of 55 miles per hour went into effect at 1 p.m., replacing a 50 miles per hour limit that had been effect for about two weeks.

Nov. 29: After more than a two-year delay, a lawsuit brought by Plainfield residents fighting the city's proposed relocation housing for Myrtle Avenue formally went to trial in Union County Superior Court in Elizabeth.

Nov. 30: Plainfield fireman Allen Mitchell rescued 3-year-old James Crawley, who was found unconscious in his family's burning home in Plainfield. The child was under intensive care at Muhlenberg Hospital, it was reported on Saturday, Dec. 1, 1973.

Nov. 29: The Somerset County Park Commission was notified it would receive a $400,000 grant-in-aid from the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, Department of Interior, for acquisition of land in the Sourland Mountain Preserve, it was reported.

Nov. 30: "Steambath," Bruce Jay Friedman's dark comedy about shenanigans and other happenings in a public steam bath, opened for a 10-performance run at The Music Hall in Clinton.

Nov. 30: In the men's college basketball opener for both teams, Rutgers defeated Colgate, 71-49.

Dec. 1: It was reported faculty members at New Jersey's eight state colleges had voted overwhelmingly to strike unless contract agreement was reached with the state by Wednesday, Dec. 5, 1973.

1923

Nov. 27, 1923: In the first-ever Ku Klux Klan funeral ceremony in New Jersey, the body of Theodore L. Duryea, 59, of the Martinsville section of Bridgewater, was laid to rest in the Blawenbergh Cemetery, between Belle Mead and Millstone.

Nov. 29: The Plainfield Soccer Club eleven won 3-0 in an Eastern New Jersey League game in Bradley Beach.

Nov. 30-Dec. 1: The movie, "The Gown Shop," starring Larry Semon, was shown at Reade's Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.

Dec. 2: The bodies of Walter Smith and George Freeman, both of South River, were found floating into Sea Bright. Bobbing up and down about them were 40 cases of Scotch whiskey.

Dec. 3: A baby's skull and a few bones, found by a farmer near Greeley, Pa., believed to be those of Jimmy Glass, a child who disappeared more than eight years prior, would be buried in Jersey City, it was reported.

Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ history for Nov. 27-Dec. 3