Former mayor Fred Eckhardt, who served Montville with pride and love for decades, has
passed away.
See
Eckhardt reflects on years of service to the township.
When the 77 year-old Eckhardt, who died of natural causes on Tuesday at his home, first became Montville mayor in 1972, he sought to uphold Montville's agrarian roots while modernizing the community. Over the next 17 years of his tenure as mayor, the rural township blossomed into an affluent suburb under Eckhardt's leadership and a master plan was established to control growth and preserve open space. Photo courtesy of Daily Record.
"Fred didn't want (the township) to develop in a haphazard fashion," said Robert "Doc" Purnell, a former mayor who served on the township committee with fellow Republican Eckhardt for 15 years. "What he wanted to do was present a town that was very nice to look at and very comfortable to live in. ... He set the groundwork for the future of Montville Township."
Current Mayor Deborah Nielson said Montville's recent national accolades — the township was twice named by Money magazine as one of the top 100 communities in the United States — are a testament to Eckhardt. "It's a top-rated town in large part due to Fred's efforts over the years". See Daily Record.
See also "Fred Eckhardt, longtime Montville mayor, is dead at 77" Star Ledger.
Donations may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and/or Special Olympics.
Continue reading "Montville Mourns Fred Eckhardt" »
As if Yankee fans in Parsippany needed another reason to root, root, root for the Rockies, did you know that many of us grew up drinking milk from the family of Colorado General Manager Dan O'Dowd? Longtime Parsipany residents fondly remember O'Dowd's Dairy. How could we not? The name was stenciled on the milkboxes that sat outside our front doors. Two or three times a week, we would hear the lid shut and knew the milkman had come and gone.
Continue reading "Memories of O'Dowd's Dairy" »
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.
Continue reading "The Story of Towaco" »
Gerald Gemian remembers searching in vain for his fellow soldiers
at the World War II Memorial inauguration ceremony three years ago in Washington, D.C.
"I had a big sign with my name on it, and the islands that I fought on, and nobody recognized me,"the 84-year-old recalled on Wednesday. "Everybody in my company is gone." See Daily Record. Discuss on Montville Blog.
Continue reading "Montville VFW Keeps a Memorial Day Tradition" »
In the late 1960's the quality of the Rockaway River below the Jersey City Reservoir began to de
teriorate 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.
Continue reading "How The Tourne Was Saved" »