Sonya Remembers Ruth and Didi Nielsen and the Nielsen House Nielsen House located on the site of the Post Office Parking Lot Across from the Ponds Church Ruth and Didi They were sisters, but you never said….Ruth or Didi…it was always the Ruth and Didi. Ruth committee suicide at 57….four years later Didi died of cancer. Neither married… we could only speculate on why Ruth killed herself. She was a nurse, and she died from an overdose. After Ruth died, Didi was alone, she was teaching math in Butler High., I don’t know why she decided to retire so young, perhaps then you could retire with a pension at that…
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Once There Was Indians All Over This Place
“Once There Was Indians All Over This Place” By Kevin Heffernan That wonderful and memorable quote is directly from a sign that was once proudly displayed from the flagpole for generations in Bush Plaza. Flagpole at Bush Plaza The quote and depiction of an Indian of an unknown origin form a tearful lament, a proud but sad reminder of Oakland’s past and a vehicle for the questions as to why they left, when did they leave and where did they go. It is tearful lament because it weeps for the despicable and shameful treatment of primarily the Dutch toward the Lenni Lanape Indians and then continued by the British. It…
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Memories of Oakland by Bradford Boone
by Bradford Boone Memories of Oakland may be slightly shaded these days. What remains, however, are a multitude of impressions treasured by a young man who lived through the depression era in a quaint, bucolic village cradled in the Ramapo Valley. Yet, the roads, grasslands, ponds, trees and buildings that lent their charm to the tranquility of yesterday have all but disappeared. That was yesterday, but yesterday’s gone, and changes over the years have all but obliterated the Oakland of my youth. Oakland of my Youth Fortunately, memory is a unique resource. It brings pleasure upon recall and reaffirms the joys of better times. It embraces the spirit and inspires…
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Pleasureland Past and Present
Pleasureland Past, Present,… As the Borough of Oakland considers the future of the Pleasureland property, The Journal offers a multimedia presentation covering Pleasureland’s past and present …including photos, music, and videos…for those interested in reading about the infamous event, you can click here. ….Otherwise, enjoy the better memories…. click to enlarge “Our annual family ‘picnic’ was held at Pleasureland, or Suntan Lake! Our parents would take us to all these cool places, like Wild West City, or Fairy Tale Forest, or The Land of Make Believe! (I’m tearing up, here!) We had no cable television, so Saturday morning TV consisted of Wonderama! (If you got up REAL early, you had…
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Installment #1 – Mother Nature, Men Without Good Maps
Oakland History Reconsidered Recap of Oakland History Presentation Installment #1 Mother Nature, Men Without Good Maps, the Brits, the Dutch and Indians Ramapo Mountains The history of Oakland really begins with Mother Nature. A few billion years ago when the earth was forming, the forces of nature created the Ramapo Mountains which originally were as tall as the Alps. However, since their original formation there have been 5 Ice Ages. The ice, about 5 miles thick, literally wore them down to their current size and height in the course of advancing and receding. The same Ice Ages also created the Palisades along the Hudson River and the wide valley between…
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True and Tragic Story of Downtown Oakland
How Did Downtown Oakland Go From This to This? Oakland was truly a Mayberry 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…
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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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Cal Bickford -Growing up in Oakland
Growing up in Oakland: 1948 – circa. 1960 THE MOVE TO OAKLAND My family moved into town during the fall of 1948. Up to that time we had lived in a new home that our parents built in a new development during 1940 in suburban Fair Lawn. My parents needed room. Both of them were avid gardeners as you will see below. Also, the houses were so close together that you could talk to your next door neighbor through the bedroom windows. We had looked for homes in the western part of Bergen County, primarily Mahwah, Oakland and Franklin Lakes, settling on an old 1800’s farmhouse that was to become…
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An Ode to Our Doty Road Bridge
An Ode to Our Doty Road Bridge The current Doty Road Bridge has no soul and offers nothing to augment our wonderful memories. Made of the latest technology of steel girders wrapped in concrete, it is unable to recall Oakland’s glory days or even to inspire new ones. So sad. Is there a person among us that doesn’t have a fuzzy warm memory of the Doty Road Bridge? Is it just crossing it a thousand times? Or walking astride its beams to Pleasureland? Or perhaps it’s having a beer or two or three at the Pleasureland Pub, Auggie’s or Angie’s to some, at the foot of the bridge. Lee Eramo-Mouacdie…
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History of the Oakland Indian Sign
History of the Indian Sign – 1930s Hanging from a bracket in the public square is a sign: “Oakland, Bergen County, N. J. Established 1869“. The legend is topped by a portrait of one Chief Laopooh and the words, “Once There Was Indians All Over This Place.” The sign was the donation of Robert T. Sheldon, a resident of Valley Road; Oakland people assert that the ungrammatical construction was insisted upon by Mr. Sheldon, who, they recall, said it was a quotation from some author.
