Clara Barton created New Jersey's first free public school in Bordentown and founded the American Red Cross. Does that make her noteworthy enough to be inducted into New Jersey’s first Hall of Fame class? You decide. 

Your district’s school children also are encouraged to participate by casting their votes, which will give them an opportunity to learn about the famous people who hail from the Garden State, or who have been affiliated with New Jersey. 

Thomas Edison, Althea Gibson, Vince Lombardi and Woodrow Wilson are among the final 25 nominees recently announced for the first class of the Hall, a proposed museum dedicated to celebrating leaders and legends associated with the state. Voting has been extended until March 15. 

So far, 25,000 people have voted. 

“We have so many big names from New Jersey,” said Bart Oates, former New York Giant captain who now heads up the Hall of Fame Board, “that it was difficult paring it down to the top 25. The list of those who didn’t make it, including Paul Robeson, Philip Roth, Count Basie and Bon Jovi, is just as impressive as those who did.” 

The New Jersey Hall of Fame will honor people who have made significant contributions to the state, the nation and in many cases, the world. It also will provide important role models for young people. 

Nominees in five categories include:

Arts and Entertainment: Abbott & Costello, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep.

Sports: Yogi Berra, Bill Bradley, Larry Doby, Althea Gibson and Vince Lombardi.

History: Clara Barton, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Walt Whitman and Woodrow Wilson.

Enterprise: Buzz Aldrin, Malcolm Forbes, Robert Wood Johnson, Mary Roebling and David Sarnoff.

General: Justice William Brennan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Toni Morrison, General Norman Schwarzkopf and Harriet Tubman. 

The public can vote online at the New Jersey Hall of Fame Web Site, or by paper ballot (available at supermarkets, diners and convenience stores throughout the state). For approximately two months each year, the public will be asked to pick winners who will be honored in a 50,000 square-foot museum planned for the Meadowlands. Plans to raise money for the building are in the works.