New Jersey- a great place to be from. My mother was from Hackensack, my father from Hoboken, and they moved on up to Ramsey, Franklin Lakes, and Saddle River to raise my sister and me. It looks pretty but it is textbook rat race with congested highways and shopping malls to feed the mania for conspicuous consumption never too far away. And you get so little for so much money for the honor of running that race. But, oh yes, I will grant you those great schools. The local truck farms were fading when I was growing up so now it's only ironic that the license plates still spout the words "The Garden State" although now reduced mostly to over-fertilized and poisoned displays of manicured lawns, conspicuous gardens, and, apparently, the sin of orange mulch.
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Jay, thanks for the write-up that captures many aspects or River Edge. Our family had a home there for 40 years and its uniqueness becomes apparent only in hindsight and with a perspective that forms after having lived in many locations throughout the US.
The town's history is more interesting than even most long-time residents appreciate. The River Edge town emblem shows the date of 1693, a time when the town was populated by Dutch farmers and prior to 1674 it was part of New Netherland. The place names and many street names point to this history: Kinderkamack, Van Saun Park, Bogart Road, Voorhies Avenue, Zabriskie-Steuben House...
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Grew up in North Hackensack and then Bogert Road, River Edge. Wonderful town. Wonderful dances for the teen agers at the local Congregational Church on Continental Road. Roosevelt School and Hackensack High School graduate. Father on the Board of Education (Frank Barnwell) when the new high school was built.
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Grew up in River Edge and stayed there until college in NYC, then moved to Oregon for the past dozen years. Very small town, but at least while I attended, cherry Hill and River Dell schools provided a much better education than the schools I’m seeing in Oregon today. I always felt like the place was too small....
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I grew up here and returned here after living elsewhere. In fact I live very near where this picture is of. Not sure what part of Kinderkamack Rd. you claim is not pedestrian friendly but that's a minor issue. Our little town has stayed pretty much the same my whole life. Small and friendly, neighbors know each other, block parties, town celebrations etc. I'm proud of my roots here, glad my parents chose this town for us to grow up in. Lots of very good memories here.
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I may live in Denver, but I'm very proud to be from River Edge, NJ. Bravo to the NY Times for sharing just a bit about this lovely 'burb.
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