In the early days of December 1941, children in West Milford followed the familiar custom of writing letters to Santa, listing the surprises they hoped to find under the family’s traditionally decorated Christmas tree. Adults, meanwhile, followed the news of a war raging in Europe. Though concerns about the nation’s possible involvement existed, life in the township continued much as before. Children, absorbed in their own worlds, played outdoors in fields and forests, explored lakes and ponds, and enjoyed the simple pleasures of growing up in a rural community.
There were no organized sports programs in the 1940s, so children entertained themselves. Baseball was a favorite, and groups often gathered on vacant fields, such as the one at the corner of Macopin Road and Wood Street near Echo Lake. Teachers who lived nearby sometimes joined in. Kids also played volleyball, hopscotch, jump rope, hide-and-seek, Red Light!, jacks, marbles, and board games like Monopoly and Candyland. Swings attached to trees provided endless amusement. Girls received dolls like “Betsy Wetsy” and “Dy-dee” as well as art supplies, books, and pull toys, while boys favored construction sets, trains, Lincoln Logs, and model airplanes. Life was simple, active, and joyful.
West Milford remained largely rural, shaped by farming settlements and the iron business that operated until 1931. By 1941, many men worked in mills in Butler, reading the New York Daily News on the way to work, while homeowners subscribed to the Paterson Morning Call or Paterson Evening News and listened to radio broadcasts to stay informed. Most women were homemakers, though that changed after the United States entered World War II, when many joined the workforce to support the war effort. Children attended one of the township’s rural schools, often completing their education at eighth grade, with those pursuing high school sent to Butler High School. Class sizes varied widely, sometimes with just one or two students per grade.
As late as 1950, only 28 of the 215 members of Butler High School’s graduating class hailed from West Milford. The township’s 1940 population was 2,973, spreading across more than 80 square miles and including areas such as Newfoundland, Oak Ridge, Smith Mills, Apshawa, Echo Lake, Macopin, West Milford Village, Hewitt, Greenwoods Lake, and Upper Greenwood Lake. Summer homes around the lakes were not yet year-round residences.
In early December 1941, tension in the Pacific over Japan’s military expansion was on the minds of few in West Milford. Europe had been at war since Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and the United States had remained officially neutral while aiding the Allies. The standoff in the Pacific escalated after the U.S. imposed trade embargoes, especially on oil, to counter Japanese aggression in China and Southeast Asia.
That calm ended abruptly on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, killing over 2,400 Americans. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it “a date which will live in infamy.” Congress declared war on Japan, and days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, prompting an immediate U.S. declaration in response.
Everything changed after that Sunday. Christmas 1941 would be different. Children faced uncertainty, new responsibilities, and the reality of a nation at war. They learned to conserve, to adapt, and to make the best of what they had. Daily life carried a quiet tension, but also a determination to persevere. The children of West Milford grew up in extraordinary times, carrying both the innocence of youth and the lessons of survival during the early days of World War II.