Our Montville

Montville Mourns Fred Eckhardt

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.

Memories of O'Dowd's Dairy

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.

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.

Towaco Center Master Plan draws controversy

Critics object to building on Montville aquifer - The unveiling of a revised master plan for Towaco Center at Thursday's planning board meeting again drew concerns from those opposed to building over the township's primary water source, the Towaco Valley Aquifer.

"We're all for them putting in sidewalks and lighting and making modest improvements to existing properties, but to build on top of the main aquifer, the only drinking water that Montville has, will cause a major problem," said Towaco resident Michele Caron.

Caron, vice chairwoman of the township's environmental commission and member of the former Towaco Village Study Committee, voiced her concerns with commission members Hugh Merritt and David Cotter.  See Daily Record and discuss on Montville Blog.

Download towaco_center_master_plan.pdf

Montville VFW Keeps a Memorial Day Tradition

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.

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