The Tainted History of a Summer Pleasure Land: Posted on February 27, 2013 by Gregg Griffin No one today would consider the northwestern corner of Bergen County to be a resort paradise, but for the first half of the 20th century that’s exactly what it was. In researching the history of the Ramapo River I happened upon several sources describing Oakland as a summer resort town. From the early 1900’s through the 1960’s Oakland was home to a number of resorts located on the banks of the Ramapo River. The quiet town of Oakland would almost quadruple in size during the summer months to accommodate all of the incoming tourists from the urban centers…
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History of Sandy Beach and the Brick Factory
History of Sandy Beach and the Brick Factory Yes this is Sandy Beach, or what would have become Sandy Beach. My grandfather, Bill Ebert, and his partner Frank Stutz, built the park by hand, wheelbarrow and vintage pickup trucks from the old brush factory. The lake was formed by diverting a part of the Ramapo River near where “the Colony” was located at that time, off West Oakland Ave. The brush factory building became a beer garden, in the old German style, and the concrete picnic tables were all built one by one, by hand by my grandfather and his partner. I remember on hot summer weekend days in the…
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Antisemitism in Oakland
This interesting picture is what we call Jewtown Hey Ron, Considering that you and your family has lived in Oakland forever, I think of you often as THE SOURCE of Oakland info. Remember that I’m a relative newbie as I have only lived here since 1979. That said, I do have a question or perhaps a hypothesis that has been intriguing me for a while. It relates to the possible antisemitism in Oakland’s past. I’ll explain. My hypothesis starts with my possession of a photo of Klein’s Beach taken on 8/24/1932 by Mr. Bush. On the back in his handwriting is the following: “This interesting picture is what we call…
