School is done. The year is already half over. Suddenly we find that July Fourth is upon us. Looking at the calendar and a long weekend ahead, memories of July Fourths past have come to mind. Don’t know if anyone keeps formal records of these things, but I do know that they have been marching down Bogert Road in River Edge in the July Fourth parade for at least 55 years. I know because buried deep in our attic are some pictures from a parade back then. We also have some shots from a parade, circa 1963. Those were different times. A sense of optimism and possibility prevailed. This sense can …

For many years it was a church. Years later it is still a cathedral of sorts but now for chocolate lovers. It’s Critchley’s Candies, a heart-warming place there on the hill at the convergence of River Edge, Kinderkamack Roads and Lincoln Avenue. Critchley’s first set up shop at that location in 1956 when the Grace Lutheran Church, a longtime fixture at that spot, moved into their new quarters on Fifth Avenue. Fast forward several years into the future and the place continues to be a magnet for the lovers of candy and those looking for a place where business is still transacted on a civilized …

Growing up here many decades ago, we were aware of a number of places around town that had notorious connections to them. One of those places was spot familiar to me. It was a building located on the southeast corner of Kinderkamack Road and Tenney Avenue. A large mansion-like house once stood there. In its time it must have been quite stately. But the time I got to know of it, the place had become quite run down and dilapidated. It was the home of Annette Laurence and Juliette Laurence  Douglas, two elderly sisters who were my baby sitters back then in the 1950’s and 60’s. Originally it was …

In recent years, a frequent topic of conversation locally has been of the crowding in local public schools. At times, some long time citizens and observers of the local scene can become a bit amused and confused when the issue is raised, for they can recall a time when the community built a new public school to address this borough’s growing school age population. But that school did not last. The school was the Hollie M. Davis School. Located at the far end of Eastbrook Drive at its intersection with Coles Court, it was a seven room elementary school built at a cost of $250,000. “Hollie M…

Does River Edge have an all-time favorite son? Some communities have an immediately identifiable figure associated with it – say, a musician, political figure or writer. For example, say Abe Lincoln and Springfield, Illinois ought to come to mind. Lucille Ball is still associated with Jamestown, New York these many decades removed from the place, and Mark Twain will always be associated with Hannibal, Missouri. Locally, to me, the first River Edge name that comes to mind is that of Bill Paultz. Bill Paultz was a basketball player. He played professionally with the New York Nets of the old …

They’ve been at work at the corner of Kinderkamack Road and Howland Avenue for the last little while – cutting down trees, building retaining walls, creating bus stop cut-out area, and, ultimately, widening the roads in order to accommodate a traffic light at the corner of this busy intersection. It was not that long ago that the installation of a traffic light was a big deal in town. It was as late as the mid-1950’s that River Edge was, in fact, a three traffic light town Back then all three lights were located on Kinderkamack Road (There was also a traffic light along Route 4 where the …

A few months back, in a discussion about River Edge’s longest standing businesses, we mentioned the telephone building which stands along Kinderkamack at its border with Oradell. Recently (before the hurricane) the building’s profile increased when it became a backdrop for a picket line of striking Verizon workers. Normally, it’s a pretty quiet spot – one that could easily be overlooked. It is, however, a building with an interesting history, and one not without a bit of controversy. The “Telephone Building” was built by the Bell Telephone Company in 1928. It was an exchange office –a central…

The run-up to Hurricane Irene and its aftermath have prompted some locals to look back in time at River Edge’s history at what are considered the most notorious of our community’s worst natural disasters. It was more than a century ago, but many old timers still point to 1895. The community, then called Riverside, was but a year old, having come into its old as part of the borouoghitis movement of that time (which led groups of residents to unite to form boroughs from within and among the many townships that were the prevalent form of local government then). On July 13, 1895 a tornado struck …

It may not be archeology as one thinks of the Acropolis, the deserts of the Middle East or in the Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde near the Four Corners in the Southwest U.S., but there are some interesting artifacts in our own midst too. For example, at the corner of Kinderkamack and Continental, the First Congregational Church has many stories to tell. After all, a church has been on that corner since 1897. One story that especially intrigued us involved a wall, an archeological story of sorts. The location was once the site of the Old Brown Stone Tavern – used as an early stage coach stop. …

July’s hot spell got us to recall what it was like around these parts in the days before air conditioning was commonplace. We’re old enough to recall how folks locally would search for cool places way back when. For example, there once was a time when the locals went to local “beach clubs” to cool off. It was after the end of availability of the Hackensack as a place to swim and before the opening of the Swim Clubs in the early 1960’s. Places such as the Old Mill and Arcola in Paramus and the Oritani in Hackensack just across the Coles Brook from River Edge (at the site of the Home Depot …

Today’s families in search of fun and amusements routinely head to Disney or Universal Studios as if it were just around the corner. It’s quite different from those days when an amusement park was in fact just around the corner here in town. These days, local amusement parks include the likes of Six Flags, Jenkinson’s, Seaside Heights, Wildwood, Ocean City, Dorney Park and Hershey Park. Once upon a time it was Palisades Amusement Park that was a popular local destination. So was Bertrand’s Island along the shores of Lake Hopatcong. But for some there was little need to venture out of River …

A recent annual Old Timer’s Day at Yankee Stadium triggered a flood of memories. Most of these mental images from the past were set in the Stadium – the old original one before it was “renovated” in 1976 (It was never quite the same after that). Others came via the TV and radio (Mel Allen, Phil Rizzuto, Red Barber and later Frank Messer & Bill White). But some occurred right here in River Edge. Locally, baseball has longtime been a springtime focus in town. Little League has nurtured and developed generations of ballplayers. Babe Ruth and High School have been prominent here over the years as…

There’s an old mailbox situated on the outside of the American Legion Hall at Veterans Memorial Park. At first sight one is immediately aware that this mail box is different. It tells us that it was built in 1951. From the looks of things, it served our community well for many years and has withstood the test of time. These days it has a different look to it - painted in red and white stripes and blue stars. It no longer collects mail. Instead it is used as a place to collect retired, old and tattered American flags. There is a sign at what used to be the mail drop reading “Deposit old …

Some of us will again gather at Veterans Memorial Park, pausing from our long weekend to recall those who lost their lives in pursuit of freedom for our country. For me one of the highlights of our town’s observance is the enthusiasm and reverence displayed by our young Scouts (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and Brownies). They gather at the corner of Elm and Wales and march a few short blocks accompanied by veterans, our police and firefighters, public officials and the River Dell marching band, among others. Another highlight for me is the often inspiring vocal rendition of the Star…

The year was 1961 – Maris and Mantle led the Yanks; “The Alvin Show”, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, and “Hazel” were top programs on television; “Breakfast at Tiffany’s was a box office success in the movies, and the music of The Beach Boys and Andy Williams’ “Moon River” were top selling 45’s. It was also the year that the River Edge Swim Club first opened. This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Swim Club. Today the pool is a fixture in the community – so much so that it at times appears taken for granted by some. But it was not always that way. According to our Borough’s History, during …

Each Spring, a diverse army of volunteers descends one weekend upon the Hackensack River to clean it up. A variety of boats, volunteers from boy scouts to Senior Citizens prowl the banks and the river itself. They come back with assorted debris from cans and bottles to full size home appliances and a lot in between. As the river is cleaned, one cannot help but pause to contemplate what it was decades ago at a time before such a committed clean-up effort was made necessary. Through the first decade of the 20th century the river local was a source of food and fun. Shad and herring were caught …

Its stately buildings still stand on the top of the hill at the corner of Bogert Road and Howland Avenue as a reminder of its distinguished past. But it’s still hard to fathom that it’s been eleven years since the church there ceased to be called the Cherry Hill Reformed Church. That church that is no more can trace its earliest origins in the area to just before the Civil War. As the area’s first house of worship, the church spent close to a century and a quarter occupying the position of our River Edge’s foremost religious institution and spiritual heart of the community. Before that time, …

Change is inevitable. But the fact is that over the last few years our town has seen some long time businesses go away. A few weeks back, we took a look at some of the businesses that are still fondly recalled though no longer around. We’re among those who still tend to refer to the Foodtown or even the A&P building (not Total Wines). Just across the way, that empty weeding lot is still fondly recalled as the site of Huffman-Koos or to those who can remember Huffman & Boyle or even as the Cherry Hill Shopping Center.  Babylon’s new spot is still affectionately referred to by many as “The …

We don’t maintain a formal list of “endangered” landmarks or institutions locally. But if we did, such a list would be headed by two important institutions – one a building; the other a civic group. Both go back decades, and both have played important roles in our community’s way of life. The American Legion building at Memorial Park, long time home of the Sgt. Scott Brown Post 226, was first chartered in 1932. For years, the Post has represented the best of community service. It was in the aftermath of World War II that the group hit its peak. One local history describes the post building as…

A lot of folks are working very hard these days to bring back the Hackensack River. For too many years, the river was so marginalized and abused that it was hard to imagine what it was like clean in its heyday. Once upon a time the Hackensack was a source of food, drinking water and recreational site that made the area a favorite summer resort. In fact, the river and its role are reflected in our municipal seal (created in 1957). There’s the anchor and the use of aquamarine as its color, both to represent the water and the role of the river in our community’s origin and history. Little known…