Vernam Spring – Kanouse Spring Water Co. ….another business giving employment to more than a dozen people was the Knouse Water Supply and Bottling Co. In 1912 Andrew Spear (Drew) as he was often called, leased his sawmill property to the Kanouse Spring Water Co. The old sawmill which was located off present day Long Hill Road had originally been built before the Civil War era by Henry I. Spear, Andrew’s great grandfather. The mill which was located approximately a quarter mile below the natural spring, known then as the Remington Vernam Spring, was situated in such a way that the water would run by gravity down the grade and…
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Oakland’s Stream House
The Vygeberg Farm Office Building (Oakland’s “Stream House”) A Brief History Built in 1902 as the office building for the dairy farm operations of Edward Day Page, a millionaire businessman whose Oakland estate at its height was variously described as either 600 or 700 acres in size. Page was a founding member of the Sons of the American Revolution. Three of his ancestors fought at Concord Bridge, and some two-dozen others served in the Revolution in state militias or in the Continental Army. Page served at various times as councilman and mayor (1909 – 1911) in Oakland, and was at the time of his death (Christmas Day, 1918) a member…
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The Relatively Recent History of the Wigwam
The Relatively Recent History of the Wigwam by Those Who Lived and Remembered It – As of 3/7/2014 The Ramapo Wigwam as it was officially called was opened around May 1966 by my parents and the Parettes as partners, it was to be an Old Fashioned Ice Cream parlor. My mother ran a contest in all grammar schools to actually name the store. The winner received a prize. If my memory serves me, doubtful at our age, but it was to open around time of the opening day baseball parade. Work was started in 1965 to do total renov. Inside of it. I do remember Mrs. Frank was one of…
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The Proskey Home
Sue Proskey March Ethel Proskey This is my grandmother, Ethel Proskey‘s, well house and the back of her house. The well was operational when I was a kid, but there was a barberry bush at the entrance to keep kids out, and a climbing rose on the end that needed pruning every year. According to records, the house was built in the later 1700s. You can see the chimney that was for the dining room fireplace. To the right (out of the picture) there was a 2 sided firebox for cooking/baking. In the kitchen there was cooking area, in the “summer kitchen” or back hall-there were baking ovens.
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The Mystery and History of Rotten Pond
THE MYSTERY AND HISTORY OF ROTTEN POND (RAMAPO LAKE) by Ed Zindel Feb 2015 When I reflect on the impressive list of local angling opportunities that I enjoyed in my youth, the finest warm water fishery was undoubtedly in an impoundment known as Rotten Pond (Rottan? Pond); located on the Oakland – Wanaque border. Furthermore, due to the abundance of large fish in this lake, it was also the most exciting fishing resource that was accessible to me during those cherished years. From the time I overheard the first whispers about this mountaintop fishing hot spot, the origin of the name “Rotten Pond” (as it was referred to by locals) was a…
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The Last Outhouse
The Unfairest Oakland Tax of All What you are about to read is true and factual as improbable as it may seem. And it’s even official as codified into law. Said another way, you can’t make this stuff up. On occasion some laws pasted by our elected officials seem just downright silly particularly when viewed in a distant retrospect. Thoughts come to mind like ‘What were they thinking?’. Or, they just couldn’t be serious! But when it comes to taxes in general or a particular tax on a particular item held or used by only a portion of the population, one knows that they were serious even though we seemingly…
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West Oakland Memories
West Oakland Memories Published: December 31, 2008 WEST OAKLAND MEMORIES By Bob Blumenthal It was a magical time, and I was lucky to be a part of it. For fifteen summers I experienced a “high” that no drug can induce. Who knew that the summer of 1948 would change my entire life? I was an eight-year old city boy who was accustomed to the fumes of buses and the clanking of garbage cans. Then, one day, my parents decided to spend the summer in a place called the West Oakland Bungalow Colony. As I sat in the back seat of a ‘48 Dodge, I took in the sights. After crossing…
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Known as The Colony
The Colony Fifty years from now, what will the children of Oakland be remembering about the time, the people, and the place. For Saul Weitz, Bob Blumenthal and George Cohen, fifty years have come and gone, and the memories remain. As Spencer Tracy might say, “I can tell you the memories are still there- clear, intact, indestructible, and they’ll be there if I live to be 110.” The trio are on a mission to find others who can recall the bygone days of Oakland, specifically to what was, and is, known as The Colony. For those unfamiliar with the term, The Colony refers to a development of housing on the…
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Oakland Powder Mills Explosion, Sept 1901
Oakland, NJ powder mills explosion, Sept 1901 Submitted by Tim Taugher EXPLOSION IN POWDER MILLS KILLED FIVE Three Houses at the Oakland (N. J.) Works Were Blown Up. Many Were Injured-Badly, and the Families in the Village Were Panic-stricken – Boiler First Exploded. OAKLAND, N. J., Sept. 12. – Three explosions occurred at tht works of the american E. C. and Schultze Powder Company at this place at 1:30 this afternoon. Five persons were killed, two probably fatally injured, and many others badly hurt. The first explosion was the blowing up of a boiler, which caused the two others. Smokeless powder is manufactured at the works, which are in charge…
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Rotten Pond (Ramapo Lake) Dam
Ramapo Lake Dam Ed Zindel ARTHUR G. PULIS AND THE ROTTEN POND (RAMAPO LAKE) DAM On October 10, 1927 Mr. Arthur G. Pulis, owner of Oakland Beach and Oakland Grove, penned a letter to the New Jersey Division of Water expressing his “anxiety” over the safety of the Rotten Pond Dam. Included were concerns for his downstream cabins and their inhabitants as well as “the increasing number of new bungalows placed on both sides of the Ramapo”. Just two weeks later, on October 24, 1927, a state engineer performed a safety inspection on the Dam and promptly responded with a letter ensuring Mr. Pulis of its safe condition. Mr.…
