Our Montville

Bader Farm, A Montville Township Tradition

Bella Goldie Bader came to Montville Township in 1907 and since then, generations of Baders have  tended to the family's farm at 290 Changebridge Road.

    A mostly commercial and residential area, this part of Pine Brook may seem a strange location for a farm, but the area was once a thriving agricultural community.  While the other farms have been developed over, Bader Farm remains. It is now run by Bella's great-grandson, Ivan, his wife Jean, and their two sons, Sean and Ian.

"I'm a dying breed, the Last of the Mohicans," noted Ivan, with some humor.

  More seriously, he called it "wonderful" and an "honor" to keep up the family's tradition, which started in 1892 in Roseland. "I'd like to see the farm stay here after me and forever," said Ivan.

The Story of Towaco

Hat tip to Christina Renfer and Terry Cavanaugh    

A TOWACO RESIDENT GAVE THIS WRITING TO ME AS A MATTER OF INTEREST.  AT THE NOVEMBER 21st TCA MEETING,  MEMBER DAVE VIRKLER READ THE NARRATIVE TO THE MEMBERSHIP AND CAPTIVATED THEIR INTEREST. WHEN READING, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IT WAS WRITTEN IN 1951 AND THE REFERENCES ARE OF THAT TIME.  TRY TO IDENTIFY THE PRESENT DAY LOCATIONS. 

 

THANK YOU – CHRISTINA RENFER

 

 

We think this was written by Mrs. Walter Read (Gertrude) circ 1951. She lived on the hill behind the post office.

 

Backyard Baking in Montville

Cookin' up the history - This spring, dozens of Montville third-graders are expected to troop across Elizabeth Menzies' patio to learn about local history.  Just steps from the Menzies' back door is a 230-year-old out- kitchen -- a small stone structure built by one of the township's early settlers. Menzies has donated the tiny building, which she once used as a shed, to the township as a historic site.

The 12-by-14-foot kitchen has stone walls, a brick oven in the shape of a beehive and a small iron crane that was used to move cooking pots to and from the fire.  Out-kitchens were often found in the South, where they were used in the summer to keep the home cooler. They were not commonplace in New Jersey and would have been built by a family of some means, said Kathy Fisher, chair of the Montville Township Historical Society.  Fisher believes it may be one of only a few stone out-kitchens left in the county.  See Star Ledger.

How The Tourne Was Saved

In the late 1960's the quality of the Rockaway River below the Jersey City Reservoir began to deteriorate badly.  What made matters worse, because of the lack of a modern sewer system, the "trickle" was often brown and disgusting!  The odor in Lake Hiawatha was frequently repugnant and it was often said  apocryphally that it caused the paint to peel from the doors.

Mystery House in Towaco

I have just come into possession of this Magic Lantern Slide of a home in Towaco that I cannot identify. I have contacted the President of the Historical Society and she also does not know it where it stands or stood. Is there somewhere on the site that you could display the picture and see if anyone recognizes it? Thanks.

Linda Wurzberg Weisholtz