Don Everett Smith Jr. - Hawthorne

It is almost cliche for writers to say, This book is not a solo work but a collaboration, and it is. There are so many people who have helped make this book a reality and they will forever be in my gratitude.

First, the project would not have even been brought to my attention without the help of writer and fellow Hawthorne resident Theresa Foy DiGeronimo.

Second, Tom Frawley and the rest of the librarians of the Louis Bay II Public Library in Hawthorne were kind enough to lend me photographs for this project.

I would also like to thank former editor of the Shopper News Rebecca Koeting, for giving me the first opportunity to write a story about the deaths of Judge John and Jane Van Winkle which really gave me a taste of Hawthornes amazing history.

I would also like to thank historian, writer, novelist, and speaker Linda Zimmermann (not only for the Foreword) and Albert Stampone, editor of Main Street magazine, whose friendship and constant encouragement played a part in this book.

I would also like to thank Henry Tuttman, the current owner of the Van Winkle home, who has helped in my quest for the Van Winkles and Manchester-Hawthorne history.

Also, thanks go to my colleagues and coworkers at the North Jersey Media Group, specifically Pascack Valley Community Life in Westwood, and the Community News / Gazette in Fair Lawn.

I also would like to thank author Edward Smyk, Mary Jane Proctor, and the rest of the Passaic County Historical Society at Lambert Castle in West Paterson for the help provided for this book.

This could not have been completed without the help of Denise Keegan of Cliffside Park. Simply put, it was her friendship and technical know-how that helped complete the manuscript.

Also a big thank-you goes to other Arcadia authors such as Elaine B. Winshell, coauthor of Arcadias Fair Lawn book, who took time out of her volunteer work and teaching to offer me advice, and Howard Lanza, author of Garfield and his own Gateway to the Past (a guide to Cedar Lawn Cemetery) for his advice and his love of history.

Of course, this book would not be here had it not been for the photographs provided by the following people: Albert DiNicola; Barbara Crowley; Edna Hascup of Margate, Florida; Sylvester Utters grandson and his wife, Donald and Gertrude Gray; the friends of Thomas Malcolm, Grace DeKnight and her daughter in law Betty Ann; Hawthorne Gospel Churchs Pastor Howard Van Dyk and Linda Hanowitz; Judy Magna and her video Hawthornes Journey to its Centennial were both valuable resources; Kim Spaccarotella, her family, and her video the History of Hawthornes Schools were valuable resources, as well; Lois Stammer; the late Mayor Louis Bay II and his daughter Barbara Donahue; archaeologist and writer Edward Lenik; Al LaBarre for the map of North Paterson; Richard Soderbeck, American LaFrance fire engine restorer in Jackson, Michigan; Wesley Dunn of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and James Remeter of Oklahoma; Mary Krugman of Montclair; Bonnie Faber and John Lasz of LAN Associates in Midland Park; Connie Fink of Illinois; Brian and Tracey Galloway Gaehring; William and Joan Patterson; Patricia Florence; Alyssa Barkenbush; Hawthorne police chief Martin Boyd, and the honorable mayor of Hawthorne Fred Criscitelli.

Also, I know for a fact that this book would not even be here today had it not been for the encouragement of the Northern New Jersey Christian Writers Group and their prayers, so it is with a thank you, I also share this book with the newspaper reporter Chris Sagona and Louise DuMont author and speaker.

And of course this book would not even be here today had it not been for editor Pam ONeil, who consistently allowed me to bounce ideas off of her and helped me keep things consistent.

Finally, I would like to thank members of my family: parents Don and Jean Smith, my brother David, my in-laws Donald and Karen Holmes, Michael Holmes, and my grandparents-in-law Tunis and Garberdina Nywening.

And of course, thanks go to my wife, Laura, whose love and support always brings me back from looking into the past to looking ahead to the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Though born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Don Everett Smith Jr. was raised in Bergenfield and educated at the Christian School in Hawthorne. It was here that his history teacher Daniel Brown said to him, Without writing we would not have a history or history books. For the next several years, Smith pursued a love of writing, history, and comic books. After marrying Laura Holmes of Wyckoff, the couple settled down in Hawthorne with their cats; Bobby, Merlin, and Banjo. When the opportunity to write Hawthorne was presented, Smith jumped at the chance to work on a book about his town. Hawthorne is his first book. He has written for Main Street Magazine , Pascack Valley Community Life , and the Shopper News and is employed as a reporter for the Gazette and Community News in Fair Lawn. He is working on his first novel and a screenplay or two. His work has also appeared in Renaissance magazine, the Writers Post Journal , and Youth Worker magazine.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bailey, Rosalie Fellows. Pre-Revolutionary Dutch Houses and Families in Northern New Jersey and Southern New York. New York: Dover Publications, 1968 (Reprint of 1936 edition).

Clayton, Woodford W. History of Bergen and Passaic Counties . Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1882.

Hawthorne, New Jersey. Borough of Hawthorne, New Jersey: 50th Anniversary Souvenir Book 18981948 , published in 1948.

Hawthorne, New Jersey. Hawthorne Tercentenary Souvenir Book , published in 1964.

Hawthorne, New Jersey. Borough of Hawthorne, New Jersey: 75th Anniversary Souvenir Book 18981973 , published in 1973.

Heusser, Albert Henry. The History of the Silk Dyeing Industry in the United States . Paterson, NJ: Silk Publishing Company, 1927.

Krugman, Mary Delaney. Goffle Brook Park Historic District . Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, January 2002 (Revised March 2002). Prepared for Please Save Our Parkland Committee, Hawthorne, New Jersey by Mary Delaney Krugman Associates, Montclair, NJ.

Krugman, Mary Delaney. The John W. Rea House . Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, April 20, 1999. Prepared for Please Save Our Parkland Committee, Hawthorne, New Jersey by Mary Delaney Krugman Associates, Montclair, NJ.

Lenik, Edward J. Indians in the Ramapos . New Jersey, The North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, 1999.

Magna, Judy. Hawthornes Journey to its Centennial . Hawthorne, New Jersey. A video produced by the Louis Bay II Library, 1999.

Spaccarotella, Kim. The History of Hawthorne Schools . Hawthorne, New Jersey. A video created and produced by Kim Spaccarotella, 1999.

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MANCHESTER AND EARLY HAWTHORNE

Some 15,000 years ago, a glacier cut a path through the northern part of what is now New Jersey and most of New York state. The glacier scraped and scarred the hilltops and covered the rocky landscape with... rock and soil debris, local archaeologist Edward Lenik wrote in his 1999 book, Indians in the Ramapos . The ice scoured the ridges leaving bare rock or a thin mantle of soil while valleys and side slopes... were filled with deposits of sand, gravel and boulders. In some places the deposits blocked rivers and streams to form ponds, lakes and swamps. Later, after the glacier receded, trees took root in the fertile soil and the Leni Lenape and other Indians settled here, according to a Hawthorne 50th anniversary publication.