Mayor Wilbur Fredericks with retiring Road Department employees at their retirement party 60 years ago at Pine Village Grove in Oak Ridge. From left are Fredericks, Theodore Sisco, Thomas Cahill and Clarence Bossard. (File photos by Ann Genader) Looking back: Retirement party in 1965 Clarence Bossard, who started his job with the West Milford Road Department in 1936, remembered when he and his colleagues... Columns 26 Feb 2025 | 10:11
ICE1 West Milford farmers who worked at the Echo Lake ice business are, first row from left, Martin Decker, Edward Decker, Walter Whritenour, Norman Fredericks, superintendent Arthur Kane, Henry Fredericks, Issac Morse, M. Sisco and Charles White. In back row, from left, are Charles Vreeland, Frank O’Dell, Daniel Morse, Ernest Fredericks, Raymond Fredericks, John Kimble, Lewis Sisco, Frank Price, Ernest Zabriskie, Robert Babcock, Thomas Cahill and M. Fredericks. (Photo courtesy of Ann Genader) Looking back: Smaller ice companies Along with the large-scale winter ice businesses at Greenwood Lake and Lake Hopatcong, smaller operations existed at some... Columns 19 Feb 2025 | 10:02
A photo taken nearly 100 years ago at the Mountain Ice Co. business at Greenwood Lake shows workers and a building where the ice was stored. (Photo courtesy of Ann Genader) Looking back: Ice harvesting Before the invention of refrigeration, ice from North Jersey lakes initially was the main source for keeping food fresh.... Columns 12 Feb 2025 | 10:58
A bridge usually covered by water is visible in the Oak Ridge Reservoir in Jefferson on Nov. 18. The water level was lowered for maintenance work and does not reflect the effects of the drought. (Photo by Nick Horton, www.thepathfinderstudios.com) Sussex County History Today: ‘Ghost bridge’ reappears Much of history is subtle and it usually takes some digging in the library to understand the situation. In most times, monuments... Columns 15 Feb 2025 | 05:07
The note on a cake honoring school nurse Eileen Upton, right, in 1973 says, ‘Congratulations to someone special.’ The cake was presented by Marshall Hill School PTA president Charlotte Steifel. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Doctor, nurse who cared for community The kindness, concern and care that two medical professionals showed for families living in West Milford 50 years ago and... Columns 05 Feb 2025 | 11:29
The late Henry ‘Al’ Shelleday of Mount Laurel in West Milford with some of his radio equipment in the 1950s. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: A radioman in WWII When enemy warplanes dropped bombs on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii and dragged this country into World War II on Dec. 7,... Columns 29 Jan 2025 | 12:29
From left, Gilbert Terhune, Wilbur Fredericks and Robert Little are sworn in to council terms in the 1960s by the township clerk, George Eckhardt. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Mayor fought builders There were just 2,501 people living in year-round homes in West Milford when the United States became part of an ongoing... Columns 22 Jan 2025 | 08:42
Artist Barbara Welti Van Der Sluys in 1989 exhibits some of her oil paintings of the North Jersey area. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Recalling a champ When he read the “Looking Back” column last week about the memories of Barbara Welti Vander Sluys, whose family home and... Columns 19 Jan 2025 | 06:20
A portion of Wanaque Valley before the Monksville Reservoir covered the land is shown in a drawing by Barbara Van Der Sluys, who grew up there. (Photo courtesy of Ann Genader) Looking back: Before the Monksville Reservoir The landscape visible along Greenwood Lake Turnpike (Passaic County Route 511) from the bridge connecting Ringwood with the... Columns 08 Jan 2025 | 10:15
Looking back: The death of Lisa McBride For 34 years, law enforcement officials have been unable to determine who killed Lisa McBride nor identify who was responsible... Columns 24 Dec 2024 | 02:27
Looking back: St. Joseph Parochial School There were 10 or 12 self-sufficient original communities in West Milford between the 1800s and 1950s. Along the way, the... Columns 13 Nov 2024 | 02:23
What do we do now? The last few years have left many isolated and lonely. No doubt the outcome of the election has left some fearful of the... Columns 04 Nov 2024 | 12:11
The proposed jetport layout. (Photo provided) Looking back: Fight against Jetport plan When Gov. Richard Hughes proposed construction of a jetport on Bearfort Mountain in West Milford and Vernon or at Bowling... Columns 16 Oct 2024 | 03:25
State officials considered Bearfort Mountain in West Milford and Bowling Green Mountain in Jefferson the best locations for a metropolitan jetport in 1964. (Photo provided) Looking back: Jetport proposed in 1964 People who enjoy the natural beauty of Bearfort Mountain in West Milford and Bowling Green Mountain in Jefferson might have... Columns 09 Oct 2024 | 02:53
Richard DeKany Sr. Looking back: West Milford’s second pharmacy Not long after John Michalka opened his West Milford Pharmacy business on Union Valley Road in 1950, it appeared that West... Columns 18 Sep 2024 | 09:06
