Reminisces

Submitted by Marc D. Hasbrouck

Every Halloween, students from Midland School painted the windows of several stores. They were then judged and awarded ribbons. One year, a classmate, Patricia Holt, and I joined up and painted the window on Gallo's Drug Store. We painted a scary swamp creature emerging from a murky place. We won First Place!

Submitted by Skip Van Lenten

West Oldis was not a busy street when I was growing up, but we had our share of excitement. Besides the usual deliveries from Dugan's and Eugster's Dairy (Jack "the milkman" Nixon was everyone's favorite), the "scissor man" would come down and park in the street offering to sharpen knives and scissors, and every once in a while a truck full of fruits and veggies would slowly drive by. You could hear the driver yelling "STRAWberries, STRAWberries" all the way down the block. Aside from the Good Humor man, one of our favorites was the Whirl-a-Gig truck (or something like that) where you could be whipped around a small track inside for a dime, and then get a prize when you were done, usually a Chinese finger torture or a plastic ring. When the traffic died down 😊 we were out in the woods climbing trees, catching fireflies at night, or playing in the street, except when the town decided to repave the road by spraying tar over the existing surface, and covering it with gravel. For a week or so after that, you could hear the stones pinging off the wheel wells of the occasional car that passed by.

Submitted by Nancy Diaz

I remember going to the first Shop Rite in RP my mom when it was a small grocery in the little strip mall on Passaic St. The owners, Ben & Abe Glass, would welcome and greet customers at the entrance and help bag groceries. Hostess Cupcakes were $.10 a pack!

Submitted by Stephen Sanguino

My grandfather owned the barbershop on the ground floor of the small apartment building across street from 3 Railroad Ave. in the 1930's and 1940's. I believe that he sold it in 1947 or 1948. My father's family lived in one of the apartments in that building when there was an A & P also located on the ground floor with the entrance on Rochelle Ave. During a snowstorm in the mid 1950's my father and I stopped into the station and I remember warming myself by the potbelly stove. There were several older men talking in a scene just like out of a Vermont country store. Thank You for the memories

There were early homes and families in the area of 171-175 Rochelle Ave that are fondly remembered...

The Frank and Florida Jones Home

Joyce A. Tyson Mrs. Jones used to give me hot chocolate when ice skating. Nice lady.

Dawn Bassford Jackson - My mother was friends with her and we visited her in her house in the 50s and early 60s. She was a lovely woman.

Michael Vitez - I was able to get inside shortly after she passed. It had a large living room with a sunken floor. Unique design for the 20s. I believe architect Henry Ihnen lived there.

James Bohan - Remember it, and skating there. I think there was an old stone bridge, either to, or over the pond. Remember it by owned by a woman, maybe in her 70's at the time

Sandra Sulski - My friend Sandra Thurman and I spent some time there. Of course we skated there many times and yes there was a bridge we could skate under the island had concrete furniture(table and chairs). Mrs Jones would bring us water in a tin pitcher. The water tasted tinny. May be it was the well. There was an arbor we could sit under on a couple of steps to put skates on.

In the Spring we went to see if we could help Mrs. Jones. We had a tour of her home. Her husband was an African hunter and there were animal heads and skins all over. African drums and artifacts also. We were amazed. She would show us how she fed the squirrels from her hand out of her big windows that were over the patio. Yes. I too remember the he sunken living room.

She did like her cigarettes and beer. There were piles of beer cans near that shed and we thought she couldn’t have drank them all herself. Lol. She was a wonderful person and liked the kids being around.

Pauline Zeberl Sheridan - Next to me was 175 Rochelle Avenue owned (when I was in school) by the Alino Family. Before that Dr Shell and his family owned it and lived there. They later moved to Smoke Rise The house was set all the way back on the property with a small stream behind it. Just south of that was Mrs Jones house with the pond. There was another house , much smaller on that property north of the pond and west of the main house. There was a fire and the small house was destroyed. When I was a kid part of one of the walls of that house still stood with the concrete slab it was on and there was a stone fireplace in it.

Submitted by the Parker Family

This is our great grandfather William Colling. He died December 21, 1945, and at that time they no longer owned the Red Rock Inn House. His 5 children had all grown up and gotten married, his wife had died, and he was living in one of the big 4 family houses at the end of Central where it meets Rochelle Avenue. This photo shows him sitting on the front steps of his daughter Martha Parker's house which was built in 1927 - the house is still there at 236 Rochelle Ave. It's the "stucco" house right next to the gas station on the corner of Central and Rochelle (next to the current Red Rock Inn apartments).

Submitted by Diane Pal

The Loretta Shoppe was owned by my mother in law, Loretta Podles LePage from the late 40s into the mid 50s. It was located in the strip mall on Rochelle Ave. (326 1/2 & later at 324). Pictured are Mrs. Gilbert, Mrs. Hines & her sisters Alice Podles Weber Hobatuk & Stella Podles Slavinski & Alice’s sons Ted Weber & Rich Hobatuk. Courtesy of ‎Elayne Schnaars LePage‎

I remember Loretta’s well! My mother (Carol Brigham) shopped there regularly and often took me there after picking me up from school. I was fascinated by the sound of the box containing merchandise that she would pull out, rifle through, and then display for you to choose. Courtesy of Nancy Brigham Cyr

I remember as a little girl going with my Mom. Loretta was so kind. The days before credit cards and she had layaway.