'Hills And Valleys' Documentary Chronicles Wayne's History

WAYNE, NJ — Oreo cookies, the Little League World Series, and George Washington.

All of these completely separate things have one thing in common: Wayne, New Jersey.

It is those well-known, or not-so-well-known facts about the township that are making their way into "Hills and Valleys: A Journey Through Wayne, New Jersey."

Paul Bastante, a Wayne native, is producing the documentary chronicling the history of the township, from before then-Gen. George Washington made his headquarters at the Dey Mansion during the Revolutionary War in 1780 to the present. The trailer was released on YouTube Thursday.

"There is a lot to Wayne, from 'Mad' Anthony Wayne, the town's namesake, to the historic homes and beautiful lakes," said Bastante. "The Mountainview section of town used to be called Mead's Basin and was home to the iron and brick industries."

Wayne's beginning date back to the late 1600s when Arent Schuyler and others purchased 5,000 acres of land from the East Jersey Company from the English government.

There are also little known facts about Wayne Bastante learned of while filming.

"The man who invented Oreo cookie cream is from Wayne," Bastante said. "The 1970 Little League World Series Champions were from Wayne. There's just a huge amount of history here that needs to be told."

Bastante, a Butler native, has made documentaries about Bloomingdale and Pequannock through his production company, Silk City Films. Those films were well-received by the people in those communities.

"They are serious films," Bastante said. "I live that place while I'm shooting and Wayne is going to take about five months to complete."

But beyond producing quality films, Bastante Silk City Films try to better the positive opinions of the community with their films.

"When you search for Wayne on Google right now, you get a lot of information about flooding," Bastante said. "We endeavor to raise the positive profile of a community for the people who are living there. There is a lot more to Wayne than just flooding."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com