50's Nostalgia and Photos: Growing Up in NJ in the 50's and 60's

Introduction:

Most of the written material on this site appeared in my column, "Rochelle Park: Then and Now," a nostalgic look at growing up in northern New Jersey in the 50's, published by the Our Town newspaper. Those who think of Bergen County as a shopper's paradise, and come here to visit the malls in our area, may not recognize it in the stories I've written, but when I was growing up, it was mostly woodlands, meadows, and small rivers, and it was not unusual for an occasional cow to wander into our backyard from the local dairy. If you are old enough to remember those days, and have photos or stories of your own about growing up in New Jersey in the 50's and 60's , I would be happy to publish them here, and welcome any comments and suggestions you might have. E-mail me at skipvanlenten@fastmail.net.

Excerpts and Links to All Stories:

The Big Tree

"Clinging to the highest branches of the tree, I could hear Donny chopping away at the trunk, and feel it reverberating through my feet, barely covered by an old pair of P.F. Flyers. Then he stopped, yelled something like, "There she goes!" and ran off to the side to watch it come down." Open

Memorial Day, 2006

"I'm not sure I knew who Herb Score was at the time. I might have known something about him from the baseball cards I collected, but just the other day, I had to "Google” him in order to find out that he was a pitcher with Cleveland who started back in 1955, and made the cover of Sports Illustrated as Rookie of the Year.” Open

The Radio

“In those days, speakers were hard to get. They didn't come in pairs, and they weren't plugged into the back of a receiver, like they are today. More times than not, they were encased in a large hardwood cabinet glued together and reinforced with wood screws so long that it seemed like days before you could get them out.” Open

The Two-Bit Lunch

      "After a while, a woman came by walking her dog. Apparently she was surprised to find a couple of 6 year-olds out in the woods, so she asked if there was anyone with us.
      "Oh yeah,” I said, sensing trouble. “Our grandfather is with us."
      "Well, where is he?" she asked.
      I pointed toward the pools of stagnant water and tree stumps.
      "Out there in the swamp," I said, no doubt thinking this would cover my story and explain why he wasn't right beside us at the moment.” Open

The Sandpit

"If you've ever been to Caribou, Maine, you know that it is a land of rolling hills, and wide, flat riverbeds. In some ways, it is very similar to what Bergen County must have looked like in its early days, because if you drive over to Summit Avenue in Hackensack, and find a spot where you can look toward the west and have a clear view of the horizon, you'll see the same kind of hills you would see in Caribou. Open

Bill

“My favorite was tossing a PeeWee. A PeeWee is a small football, about one-forth the size of a real one, and if you could throw a spiral, you could toss it from one telephone pole to another with no effort at all.” Open

First Car

"When my father and I went out to take our first look under the hood, I could see that there was enough room around the engine to actually climb in over the fender to work. All of the parts were clearly visible; the distributor, carburetor, spark plugs, and alternator were all bolted to a simple 6-cylinder engine, and it only took me a few minutes to check the oil, air filter, and hoses before I took it out for my first drive." Open

The Cloakroom

"I have a coin jar that I keep on my dresser for loose change. The other day, I was surprised to find that I had a real silver quarter in my pocket, dated 1953. Unless you're a coin collector, or part of the older generation, you probably don't remember when all of our quarters were m

50's Nostalgia and Photos

Growing up in NJ in the 50's and 60's