In the 1950's, a different kind of war was being waged, and that was the Cold War. Leagues began to be more involved in civil defense programs. They established new frontiers in health care, and there was nationally increased involvement in public affairs, with 11 states establishing State Public Affairs Committees (SPACs). We followed the drumbeat and set up in 1953 a Speech Therapistprogram at Kessler Institute. The next year, in 1954, our League assisted theVisiting Nurses Association in establishing a Physical Therapy program, and in 1955-1956 the League helped provide funds for the salary of a Psychiatric Consultant for the Children's Aid and Adoption Service. 

The spirit of help in the health and therapy fields continued for JLOSH in the mid 1950's as  CAMP HOPE was established as a pioneer day camp for retarded children. This was a group effort between the Montclair-Newark League and ourselves. The Helen Keller Movie was a project in 1957 that resulted in the League donating an audiometer to the Newark Eye and Ear Infirmary and a Braille typewriter to the Red Cross. Ever hear of Meals on Wheels? In 1958-1959 our League financed a six-month pilot project to get this feeding program for homebound people up and running in East Orange, and the League in 1959 staged its first telethon, to benefit Mental Health, with the cooperation of the Montclair-Newark League. Closing out the decade of the 1950's, our League helped start an organization that continues to be a vital part of our community today, the Millburn-Short Hills First Aid Squad. 

By the  1960's, the international arm of the Junior League was experiencing a subtle change in that more women were working outside of the home and a greater ethnic mix of women were joining Leagues across the country and world. This change required volunteers to work in more complex jobs and that heightened level of experience resulted in more League members being asked to serve as representatives on national and international commissions.

At home, JLOSH was involved in setting up the  Baby Clinic at the Children's Aid and Adoption Society and then staffing that clinic. In 1960-61, our League worked in concert with the seven other New Jersey Leagues in publishing the children's guidebook called "Away We Go!" which highlighted places of interest in New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia. Rounding out the remaining years in the 1960's, the League helped donate the necessary equipment and volunteers to set up a new service called Music Therapy Project at New Jersey Orthopedic Hospital.

In the  mid-1960's, the League undertook the financial responsibility of creating the New Jersey Historical Gallery, which involved training League members as docents to educate school children about our state's history. The United Community Fund Research project was set up in 1967 and lasted two years, when the League allocated $9,000 to pay the salary of a research director. At the end of 1969, UCF recognized the new position as a necessary one and took over the financial obligations for funding the research director's job.

The Cora Hartshorn Arboretum School Extension Program was launched in 1961 when the League undertook the financial responsibility of renovating theStone House and establishing a nature education program. Other programs offered by the League during the 1960's included granting the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra monies for a series of ensemble concerts in the East Orange school system and a Pre-School Vision Testing Program that was held in conjunction with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind.

In 1969, the  Orange Community School was the focus of our attention, when the League published the school's brochures and granted monies for a Sponsor a Child Fund. It further helped the school by allocating money for teachers' salaries to staff a summer camp, and helped design and equip its playground.

The 1970's have been categorized as a period of great "narcissism," when the Me Generation came into being. However, if you glance at any history of the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills, it doesn't take long to see that our League had its hands outstretched to the community, taking on projects involving day care, ecology, music, family counseling, alcohol awareness, child abuse and pre-school education. The Association of the Junior Leagues International (AJLI) at that time was also changing its own focus to promoting voluntarism, rather than the Junior League's "individual purposes" and the result was that more work than ever before was being done in public affairs, particularly in the area of child health.

One of the first big efforts of our League occurred in 1971, when we allocated $21,000 as the local share for matching funds under Title IV of the Social Security Act, to coordinate day care services in Essex and West Hudson counties. The result was the  Day Care Coordinating Council of Essex County, a true example of a more sophisticated volunteer activity, since it involved hiring staff and incorporating the effort into an independent agency with headquarters in Newark. The project evolved after League volunteers conducted a comprehensive survey of 156 childcare centers in Essex County.

On a smaller scale, two projects in the early 1970's addressed the issue of arts in our area as well as teenager awareness of drugs. The League sponsored the  Teen Arts Festival at Millburn High School, and purchased the film entitled "Drugs Are Like That" for viewing and discussion led by trained League volunteers in the Millburn school system. Also in the early 1970's, a community relations project was launched for the Millburn Community Fair, when the League sponsored "May Fair 70," which was also a fundraiser for the League's Community Trust Fund.

Public affairs activities on ecology were in the forefront during this time period, with the League becoming involved in obtaining a section of the  East Orange Water Reserve as a site for the Essex County Environmental Education Center. After hiring an urban consulting firm to produce a report on the future of the reserve as a community resource, the League published those findings and distributed the report to members of the New Jersey State Legislature, and to the municipalities involved. A slide show was also made of the reserve to highlight the importance of saving this open space for recreational and educational purposes. The East Orange Water Reserve remains open today.

Family Counseling was established in 1973 with the Millburn Neighborhood Association to foster better family communication skills. The League also established a speaker's bureau to explain the project to the community. Eastlea, aGroup Foster Home, was the next project to catch the attention of the League in 1974-75, when the League renovated and equipped the facility in East Orange. It also provided volunteers for the home, and later, in 1987, the Provisional Class returned to Eastlea to raise funds for further renovations.

In 1977, the  Alcohol Information Office was opened at St. Barnabas Medical Center, in cooperation with the National Council on Alcoholism. The League provided both financial and volunteer support and provided community education about the center. Parents Anonymous was also a project supported by the League in 1977, when it began this joint project with the Family Service and Child Guidance Center. The purpose was to offer intensive but informal counseling to neglectful or abusive parents.

The Suburban Essex Arts Council was established in 1978 with the League's help as an independent arts council, to coordinate artistic endeavors and to promote the arts in towns the League served. It merged with the Arts Council of N.W. Essex in 1983 and is housed at Montclair State University under its current name of theArts Council of Suburban Essex.

IMPACT was a project launched in 1978 to provide a comprehensive educational study on the issue of family problems, environmental concerns, health care and the arts. It provided a forum for the community to assess the quality and quantity of these programs within our community. 

Lastly, the 1970's also ushered in the Junior League on television, when Communities on Cable was established out of the Central Presbyterian Church in Summit. The Summit League joined with us in providing funds to buy television equipment for the cable effort, and then trained volunteers to produce programming. The Leagues originated the bi-weekly community affairs program called "TV Millburn."