Water dowser “Charlie” Decker demonstrates how he finds a place where a well water supply could be abundant. Seen in a 1950s photo from left are: Peter Gillen Jr., Peter Gillen Sr., Charles Decker, Anna Romlein Struble, Parrick Gillen, Corky Struble, Floyd Struble Sr. (
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When people purchase a home in West Milford today, there are established, approved commercial water supply companies in place to provide them with a adequate potable water supply. This wasn’t always the case. Before there were water companies, people had to find a place on their property where they could dig a water-producing well. After much digging and little water flowing into a hole that was dug, they often had to refill it with soil and begin digging somewhere else with hopes of finding a precious water supply. They had no choice but to keep searching until they succeeded.
Finding the location of an underground water vein was not an easy task. Sometimes a site would only yield a small amount of water and after some unsuccessful digging it had to be abandoned with the search for water on another part of the property continuing. There were rare people known as water dowsers who seemingly magically could identify places where there was underground water. Charles “Charlie” Decker of Apshawa was one of those people. A deeply religious Catholic in the St. Joseph parish, he attributed his “magic” as “a gift from God.” It was around 1938 when he became aware of his ability to find underground water sources. He said a stranger stopped by his Macopin Road farm asking for a drink of water and enlightened him.
Like his neighbors, Charlie had a dry well during one of the hottest, driest summers that anyone could remember. He did not have water to give the visitor. The man did not tell Charlie his name and he was too polite to ask for it. The stranger suggested that Charlie use a “divining rod” or “dowser” to locate a new water source for his farm. He looked for and found a V-shaped peach tree branch, held it in front of him and started to walk around the property. As directed, Charlie, doing the same, started walking with his twig. It gradually started to twitch, left his control as he walked, suddenly pointed to the ground and stopped moving. The stranger left, without leaving his name or any personal information and was never heard from again. Charlie, as suggested by the stranger, dug a well that yielded a generous water supply for his family. He continued to successfully find well locations for hundreds of others locally and as far as West Point N.Y. for more than 40 years. When commercial excavating equipment became available and replaced hand-digging for wells, there were requests from contractors for Charlie to suggest the best places to find water and he was successful in helping them too. He and his wife Jennie Mathews Decker had seven children, but only one of them, Edna Decker Blanke, inherited his ability to find underground water veins, he said.
Charlie Decker was born Aug. 2, 1895, in Paterson, NJ. and died in August 1968 at age 73. He was a thin man of average height whose responses to questions usually was “yup” and “nope.” Much like Gary Cooper, a film star of long ago, he was manly, hard-working, got things done, and most important, was kind, thoughtful and helped others. He was a retired custodian at St. Joseph School, long suffering after his accidental injury while putting up a school basketball fixture. Charlie died in 1968 and is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery, Echo Lake. The five daughters born to him and Jennie Mathews Decker were Edna Blanke, Louise Decker, Gertrude Thompson, Frances Crum and Nancy Hirshberger. His sons were Leonard and Everett Decker. He had a sister, Sadie Mathews and four brothers, Edward, Richard, John and Clarence Decker.
