Mayor Maria Harkey cuts the ceremonial ribbon to open the Wyckoff Bakery in West Milford in 2000. With the mayor are Ashley Leskanic, Cheryl Dyak, Amanda Miller, Lauren Muglia in a bunny costume and Frank Accurso, the owner. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Bakery store memories Bakery businesses have come and gone throughout the years in West Milford, leaving memories of delicious baked goods with... Columns 02 Jul 2025 | 02:30
Annie Bown, the first female special police officer in West Milford, is second from left in this early 1950 photo. Some of the other officers shown are Richard Struble, Bill Perry, Vincent Meyer, Pat Squitieri, Jim Gray and Len Spano. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: 1st female special police officer The Rev. Jed O’Connor, a former Franciscan priest in the Catholic Diocese of Paterson in the 1980s, was one of the last people... Columns 25 Jun 2025 | 02:17
Ethel Tintle Kochka and her husband, George, on their wedding day at St. Joseph Church, Echo Lake, in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Her sisters serving as the bride’s attendants are Irene, standing; Cecelia, seated; and Marie, by a basket of flowers. (Photo provided) Looking back: Tintles were early Echo Lake settlers When 50 families came to the United States to work in the iron mines of Ringwood and Charlotteburg, John Peter Tintle Jr.... Columns 18 Jun 2025 | 11:45
Some Rhinesmith children were born in this house in Stonetown in the late 1800s. The photo was taken in 1949 by Harry Rhinesmith, who was born there in 1892. (Photo provided) Looking back: Rhinesmiths lived at Stonetown The late Mary Maud Rhinesmith Fredericks (1888-1980) is an example of strong women who faced obstacles while living in a... Columns 11 Jun 2025 | 12:08
Visitors look at home heating products displayed by Mayor Wilbur Fredericks at the Community Fire Company of Newfoundland and Oak Ridge Country Fair, which ran annually from 1950 to 1994. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Mayor Fredericks and the fair Businessmen looked to the annual Community Fire Company of Newfoundland and Oak Ridge Country Fair as a prime source for... Columns 04 Jun 2025 | 11:00
Interior of a Morris County iron mine, 1859. (Photo courtesy of Ron Dupont) Sussex County History Today: Route 80 blues This week, this column was written by my friend Vernon historian Ron Dupont. Sinkholes on Route 80 in Wharton have caused... Columns 24 May 2025 | 11:19
Members of the Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Department march in a parade along Route 23 in Newfoundland en route to the 1962 country fair, organized by the Community Fire Company of Newfoundland and Oak Ridge Fire Company No. 1. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Newfoundland Fair For 44 years, the Community Fire Company of Newfoundland and Oak Ridge Fire Company No. 1 organized an old-fashioned country... Columns 28 May 2025 | 11:20
John F. Mathews (1871-1934) of the Apshawa section of West Milford, with three of the five children born to him and the late Martha Gormley Mathews (1882-1958). From left are Verina Agnes, Anna Elizabeth and Albert Vincent. They are in front of the family farmhouse on Weaver Road about 1905. (Photo provided) Looking back: Mathews family history The surname of an area family sometimes is spelled with two tt’s while others use just one. Ancestors of the Mathews family... Columns 21 May 2025 | 12:24
Kathleen Mazza with her third-grade class at Marshall Hill School in 1985. (File photo) Looking back: West Milford in 1985 West Milford had administrative changes in 1985, with Township Manager Jack Terry, Recreation Director Gary Webb and Treasurer... Columns 14 May 2025 | 11:27
West Milford Police Chief John Moeller, left, and Capt. Jack Ryan check the teletype machine at Police Headquarters. which was in the balcony of the current West Milford Museum, in the early 1950s. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Early police communications In the 1930s, the New Jersey State Police’s Statewide Police Teletype System was developed to provide instant communications... Columns 07 May 2025 | 11:42
Noble Rhinesmith and his wife, Lillie MacGregor Rhinesmith, are pictured when he served as chairman of the Township Committee. He was a committee member from 1940 to 1957. (Photo courtesy of Ann Genader) Looking back: Rhinesmiths were early settlers Some ancestors of the Rhinesmith family, one of the earliest families to come to the United States from Germany, settled... Columns 30 Apr 2025 | 10:58
Nathan Sanders, standing at left, is honored as the township’s oldest living man during West Milford’s 125th anniversary celebration in 1959. He was born in 1871. Laura Cole Sisco, seated at right, was the oldest resident. She was born in 1868. Seated at left is Adrienne Wooley, secretary to Township Clerk George Eckhardt. Standing, from left, are Noble Rhinesmith, a former mayor, and his wife, Lottie. Welfare Director Henry Vreeland and his wife are in the middle and Hans Widmann, event chairman, is at right. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Stable boy, then stagecoach driver Nathan Francis Sanders (1871-1971) was a descendant of one of the West Milford’s earliest colonial families. The Sanders... Columns 20 Apr 2025 | 03:04
Relda Vreeland was a founder of the Macopin Volunteer Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary. She congratulates fellow officers after an election in 1965. From left are treasurer Leslie Weeden, first vice president Vreeland, second vice president Mrs. John Kachler, president Mrs. Walter Bal, secretary Mrs. Walter Bilenski and sergeant at arms Mrs. Ernest Giannini. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Memories of Relda Vreeland To have been one of the lucky people who had a lifelong friendship with Relda Vreeland is my special treasured gift. Relda,... Columns 16 Apr 2025 | 11:37
The Charlotteburg Hotel was still standing in the remains of the iron-producing community in the 1940s. (File photo) Looking back: Early settlement in Charlotteburg Traveling northwest on congested Route 23 past the north gate of Smoke Rise and crossing a bridge that separates Morris and... Columns 09 Apr 2025 | 11:29
Police Chief John Moeller, left, and Capt. Jack Ryan, who became chief when Moeller retired, at the desk of the first cramped police quarters. It was in the balcony of the former Methodist Episcopal Church that was the first West Milford Town Hall. The building now is the West Milford Museum. (File photo by Ann Genader) Looking back: Police involved in shootout A year before Jack Ryan was hired as West Milford’s second full-time police officer in 1942, lone lawman John Moeller may... Columns 02 Apr 2025 | 11:54
