The Pulis House and Pond Sometime In the early to mid 50s, my wife Elaine’s father John Oldenburg rented a house on Ramapo Valley Road and opened Bergen – Passaic Engineering and Surveying. Soon after, he accepted a position as Borough of Oakland Engineer and became close friends with Milt and Aggie Pulis. Before moving to Oakland in 1957, Elaine recalls frequent trips to the Pulis home with her brother John and mother Betty, who would later become the Valley School Nurse. . One of Elaine’s special recollections is of the top of a massive concrete piling that came up from the basement and ended flush with Pulis’s living room…
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In Memory of an Oakland Star
In Memory of an Oakland Star March 20, 2014 marks the 19th anniversary of the passing of Sidney Kingsley, a Broadway luminary who lived in Oakland from 1935 until his passing 60 years later in 1995. Mr. Kingsley was a writer, producer and director of nine Broadway plays including The Patriot and Men in White for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1934. He married Madge Evans, a star of stage and screen, in 1939. Together they eschewed the lights and glamour both Hollywood and New York preferring instead the quite, pastoral life they found in the fields and mountains of Oakland with their 250 acre estate. That estate…
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True and Tragic Story of Downtown Oakland
How Did Downtown Oakland Go From This to This? Ladies and gentlemen, lend me your ears and hearts as I will tell you a true and tragic story of downtown Oakland. It is a story that will bring tears to your eyes for what was and now lost and the decline of what is and what remains. I will tell you a very sad, tragic truth, a truth of the destruction and decline of our historic downtown. Up until the late 1950s, Oakland was truly a Mayberry, a backwoods section of Bergen County. Route 208 wouldn’t arrive to Oakland for several years although it was planned and approved during the…
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History of the Van Slyke Castle
Oakland, NJ Hike into History Take a hike. Depending on your tone of voice it can be good advice or a condescending suggestion. In this case it is very good advice because Oakland offers its residents a great opportunity to enjoy outdoor exercise, take in some beautiful scenery, and wander down wooded paths that lead you through local, regional and world history. The hike detailed here starts just off Skyline Drive and is approximately five miles, start to finish. It will take you up through the Ramapo Hills to great vistas where you can visit the ruins of what has been called “The Oakland Castle”, “The Van Slyke Castle” or “Foxcroft”.…
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Email Conversation About the Hansen House and Oakland in the 1930s and 1940s by Those Who Lived It
My name is Sonya Hansen. I Just found your wonderful article about Oakland. I was especially excited to see the picture of the Neilsen house. Alf Neilsen was my uncle. My parents Dagny and Hans Hansen brought life into an old building that was about to be torn down. They were able to purchase it for 3,000 dollars for back taxes. We had wonderful neighbors, Pulis, Boone, and Bredimus. Frank Ahlers ran the gas station across the street from us, but I never cared for him. Grumpy, mean old man as far as I was concerned, but I digress. There are five of us, that used to live right there,…
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Memories of Oakland from the 1930s and 1940s
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Ed & Elaine Zindel Remember Old Oakland
Ed & Elaine Zindel Remember Old Oakland Pleasureland and the surrounding area was a kid’s playground like few others. The primary recreational features were the yet unspoiled Ramapo River and Pompton Lake which provided quality fishing, swimming, boating, and ice skating. We also fished Muller’s Brook, Mitchell’s Pond and Delmar’s Pond for the beautiful wild trout which flourished there. Potash’s Island, which we accessed from Island Terrace, was a great place to explore and had some of the best waterfowling and woodcock flights that I have ever seen. Rotten Pond, which was a poacher’s paradise, was a stiff walk from Pool Hollow, but we fished it relentlessly; by day and…
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History of Crystal Lake
History of Crystal Lake This picture is from the 1950’s. I recall the brook running down into the Lake behind Rockaway under the bridge that goes over Lakeside Dr; along with the Large body of water known as the Ramapo River running from Mahwah and Upstate NY. So I called in someone elder than us, as per my 90 year old grandmother, the inception of the lake was in the 50’s at that time the bodies of waters were known as creeks and small ponds around Oakland and the adjacent towns. She further professed the Damn was built in the 60’s a few years after a major flood. I hope…
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Connie Monks Discusses Former Stores
Connie Monks Discusses Former 4 Stores on RVR Note: Until the mid 1950s, there were 4 stores on RVR directly across from the Coppertree Mall. The Oakland Military Academy was located on the site of the Coppertree Mall until 1963 when it was demolished. Those stores were moved to what is now Elm Street in the 1950s. Constance Williams Monks Oh boy you bring the memories flowing. To the left was Mr. Proskeys antique store. Next was Vic the barber and the the Green Spot luncheonette. The one farthest to the right was a bunch of things. In the forties my brother Bert had a bike shop. He was a kid…
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Vernam Spring
Vernam Spring Just read your postings on the Vernam Spring. A great piece of Town History! Quite a few things even I didn’t know about the place!. As a child growing up in Oakland I remember the Spring house very well. It was my favorite place to hang out, especially in the hot summer time- it was always a bit cooler up there next to that cold Spring water. Mrs. Vernam was long gone by the time I was a youngster, but my father remembered her very well. When I was growing up, the Spring and nearby ponds were used as a Goldfish Hatchery. But the water proved too cold…
