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Page 3

Page 1   Our Government Churches

History of Harrington Park

Business and Transportation

This History of Harrington Park is from a booklet prepared in 1954 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Borough.

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Fire Department Our Schools

Special dates in HP History

ACKNOWLEDGMENT It would be impractical to try to mention all the individuals and organizations which have so cheerfully helped in the preparation of this booklet. It would be less than gracious not to thank them, one and all, and inconsiderate to overlook any of them. All the committee in charge of the booklet's preparation can say is many thanks to all those who supplied information, photographs, anecdotes and far from the least, labor.

Our Government

Harrington Township, from which Harrington Park was formed in 1904, was originally part of Old Hackensack Township from which it separated in 1775. Its earliest known settlers were the Harring family, and the earliest available reference to any individual is to Peter Harring who established a residence here in the early 17th century. A son, John, was born to the Harring family Dec. 20, 1633. Also prominently mentioned in early histories of the area are the Westervelts, the Blauvelts, the Ackermans, and the Ferdons.

In 1836, Harrington Township was reduced by half when Washington Township was formed.

Contemporary histories around 1880 say that nothing marred the rural seclusion of Harrington Township except the villages of Neuvy, Norwood, Rivervale and Randall, Closter, Frankfort, Demarest and Alpine. The area was served by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey and by the New York and Albany Rail Road.

The first reference to any school in these parts was one in 1726, but it was not until 1870 that there is any reference to a public school.

Harrington Park, now 50 years of age [Note: this was written in 1954] and in the prime of life, has had its share of growing pains. It weathered a stormy youth, marched off to fight the war to end all wars, cavorted in the devil-may-care days of Prohibition and felt the gnawing insecurity of the Great Depression. It assumed the responsibilities of young manhood when times were hardest, held firm through another war and then, more mature, surer of itself, took its rightful place in the council of communities.

The recorded history of Harrington Park began in 1904 with its incorporation as a borough, but to begin the story there would be like starting to read a book in the middle.

The region has a rich heritage dating back to the 17th century. Peter Harring, a north Hollander, built his home a few miles north of here, in the heart of a stream-laced forest long favored by the Leni Lenape Indians for the choice hunting and fishing it afforded. The Ackermans, Ferdons, Harrings and Blauvelts soon followed and the wilderness retreated westward from the plow and the axe. Harrington Township included all the land between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, to Rockland County on the north and Hackensack to the south, The tides of the Revolutionary War surged over the region.. Many battles and skirmishes were fought on land now dotted with modern homes and schools. The Baylor Massacre took place in 1778 in a barn on the Harring property in what is now Rivervale. A British forage party under  the command of Major General "No Flint" Grey surprised 104 Colonials as they slept in Harring's barn, put 27 to the sword and captured 40 others.

The section prospered with the advent of independence. Grist mills and saw mills accounted for much of the revenue. The first of a series of geographical changes that were to mold the northern part of Bergen County occurred in 1836. Washington Township was formed from the western half of Harrington Township. As the years passed, first one and then another borough broke off from the Township to make their own way and Harrington Township soon was no more.

Harrington Park took its first step along the road to complete autonomy on May 2, 1904, when Mayor John J. Bogert and Councilmen Hiram J. Angevine. William C. Herring, John N. Farrar, Herbert Quinting and Edward C. Striffler held the first meeting of the Borough Council in Borcher's Hotel on Tappan Road. A week later the Borough's by-laws were adopted. Many still are on the books including Article IV, Section 2 that says, "If no quorum be present at any meeting, these assembled shall have the power and are hereby authorized to send a marshal or any other person by them empowered, for the mayor or absent councilmen, or both." The Borough deposited its first recorded revenue at about the same time--$850 as its share of the assets of the Township.

Harrington Park already was a station on the railroad when the Borough was incorporated. It was a neat, little town of quiet, rustic lanes. The La Roches, Harriots and Demarests were among the respected families of the time. A small, attractive real estate brochure listed its virtues for the prospective property buyer. The Borough's biggest problem was what to do about stray dogs.

The Borough grew to the geographic size we know it today in 1907 when, after a court fight, Washington Township turned over the land west of Bogert Mill Bridge, extending to Old Hook Road. But, by comparison, its population growth was gradual.

The Borough made far-reaching decisions during the next few years, prior to World War I. The Board of Health was established by ordinance, the fire and police departments were organized on a voluntary basis and contracts were let for street lighting and street paving. Little was accomplished during the war years and in the immediate post-war period. Harrington Park, like communities the length and breadth of the nation, concentrated on winning the conflict. But, as the world righted itself, so did the Borough. The building code was adopted in 1922, the zoning ordinance was passed the following year and gas mains were installed in 1925, all in expectancy of a building upturn. The Borough's first full-time policeman, Robert E. Burkhardt, was appointed in 1927 and a motorcycle was purchased to help him patrol the growing community. A year later Burkhardt, who resigned last year [1953] as police chief, was named acting chief.

Harrington Park turned its eyes to the west during the late 1920s and mapped plans for the most ambitious building program in its history - the development of the Park Section. In 1927 the Council authorized the expenditure of $110,793 for road grading and construction, sidewalks, curbs and drainage, but withheld final approval. There already were signs that all was not well with the nation's financial citadels. The ominous black clouds that had been forming over Wall Street cut loose in 1929 and washed away the savings and dreams of millions in a sea of crumpled ticker tape. Harrington Park felt the pinch of the Depression as attested by municipal emergency relief rolls for the years 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934. During that period the unemployed were put to work repairing roads and clearing lots. The hardest year was 1933 when 130 persons were in need of help at one time. To ease the situation a cooperative community garden plan was adopted and the unemployed raised their own crops.

In 1932, in the middle of this trying period, the Borough Council made a move considered by many to have been ill-timed and advised. It gave the go-ahead signal for the $110,793 Park Section development program, and obtained temporary loan bonds at six per cent interest to finance it. The next year saw the Borough with its back against the wall, financially. No funds were available for dependency relief. Municipal employees took a voluntary 10 per cent salary cut. The Closter National Bank refused to lend the Borough any more money. At that time the Borough owed the bank $136,350, including temporary improvement bonds for $104,000. In all, the Borough had contracted for $168,226 in improvements between 1927 and 1933. Chief Burkhardt went unpaid for three months and an attorney threatened to sue the Borough over a three-year-old bill for $2,500. The harried Council took steps to remedy the situation, even going so far as to discontinue the telephone in the police booth to save $3.50 a month. Just before the end of 1933 the Council put into effect a new zoning ordinance. It was the product of a two-year study and it outlawed, among other things, six-story apartment houses.

The Borough's indebtedness to the bank as 1934 began was $113,000. To gain time for a better real estate market on property in the Park Section, the Council issued a refunding bond to cover the debt. Of the total debt, $91,830 was assessed against 70 plots in the Park Section. Thus, the Council hoped to collect $91,830 from land then valued at about $74,000. The Borough did manage, however, to lower its debt by $16,000 between 1931 and 1934.

The Council waged an uphill fight to trim its debt to the bank during the 1930s and early 1940s. Strict economy was the watchword as the nation headed into World War II. Building activity increased. The Council replaced its one-man assessor with a Board of Assessors in 1938.

But, the war caught up with the Borough and it was forced to mark time until peace was restored. The post-war period was one of prosperity. A building boom straddled Harrington Park. Property sales zoomed in the Park Section and north of Harriot Avenue. The upsurge that began in 1944 still is in progress today, particularly on the Borough's eastern fringe. It accomplished wonders for the Borough's books.  The final payment on the $113,000 bond issue was made in 1949 and the Borough was debt-free for the first time in decades. The payment injected virility into Harrington Park, attuning it to the tempo of the times and its next 50 years of life.

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Churches

Community Church Prior to the year 1898, Harrington Park offered no facilities for organized worship. At this time, Annie Lou Marks, the late Mrs. H. D. Demarest, appreciating the need for religious education, circularized the town in an effort to establish a local Sunday School for children. Dr. William T. La Roche, then the local dentist, donated the use of his office, located on the present site of the La Roche home, as a meeting place for this group. Miss Marks' first Sunday School class consisted of eight adults. Within a year, the program was enlarged to include occasional afternoon services conducted by the Rev. Dr. Alfred Ward of Closter.

By 1903 the increased attendance and interest convinced the members of the group  that the establishment of a church in town was desirable. Consensus of opinion led to the founding of the Dutch Reformed Church in Harrington Park, located on Columbus Avenue.

Application for the organization of a church was made on January 13, 1908, at the church building of the Reformed Church in America at 25 East Twenty-second Street, New York City.

First meeting of the new church was held in the Harrington Park Chapel on March 3, 1908, at which time 20 members were received by transfer of certificate and 9 upon confession of Faith in Christ.

The first Consistory was elected March 16, 1908, and consisted of William K. Van Ostrand, Howard D. Demarest, Frederick G. Harris and Gustav Siese.

First organization to be founded in the church was the Ladies Aid Society which is still active today. The members held their first  bazaar on June 20, 1902, in Dr. La Roche's office and thereafter the bazaars were held in the School House on Hackensack Avenue.

Among the charter members of the Ladies Aid were Mrs. Howard Demarest, Mrs. John J. Bogert. Mrs. Garrett Eckerson, Mrs. James Eckerson, Mrs. William Herring. Mrs J. H. Harris. Mrs. J. F. Hallenbeck. Mrs. Arthur Taylor, Mrs D. A. Ward and Mrs. John Van Saun.

The church building and parsonage stand on property which was originally part of the La Roche Estate. According to the agreement this property would revert to the estate unless used for religious purposes. The chapel was dedicated on Christmas, 1904 with the Reverend Clift officiating. The parsonage was not built until 1909.

In 1922 the Rev. Henry M. Cox became pastor of the church where he stayed until 1916. While he was pastor an active Missionary society was organized. The pastor's wife organized the Junior Willing workers for the young people of the parish.

The Rev. Thomas Adams was pastor from 1917 to 1922 and the Rev. Paul G. Thyholdt served from 1923 to 1926. It was during his service that the Sunday School addition was built.

The Sunday School addition, erected in 1924, was financed by the Sunday School through various social functions. The new kitchen was a Ladies Aid project of 192. It was paid for by a matured building and loan fund and many fund raising activities such as dinners luncheons, food and apron sales.

For the next 22 years the church was served by the Rev. John G. Gebhard Jr., who took over in 1927.

A Ladies Aid project of 1937, with the help of donations from friends was the purchase of the Hammond organ which was dedicated in the memory of Mrs. Louise S. Demarest. This ceremony took place Sunday, November 28, 1937. The presentation was made by Mrs. J. F. Hallenbeck and the unveiling by Charles Howard Russ, grandson of Mrs. Demarest.

The organ chimes were a gift from the Howard Demarest family. The bell was a gift from Miss Annie La Roche and the bulletin board was given by the Mante family, former residents of the town. Some of the pews were given by Louis La Roche.

In 1949 the Rev. Wilhelm K. Haysom became pastor of the church which is now known as the Community Church of Harrington Park. His wife is the former Minnie Berger of Scarsdale. They have two sons, Alan Lewis and Richard Arthur.

Our Lady of Victories

The Catholics of Harrington Park met at the Post Office on Sunday, Oct. 2, 1910 to form an Association of Catholics of Harrington Park with the view of promoting a church fund for the establishment of a Catholic Church.

Officers were elected on October 9 of that year as follows: Spiritual Advisor and Custodian of Funds, the Rev. James T. Delehanty;  president, H. J. Steinhoff; vice-president, Mrs. W. J. Naughton; secretary, H. J. Herles and treasurer. Mrs. James F. Gleason. The Board of Trustees was Mrs. H. O. Steinhoff. Miss L. Quill, George J. Senior. Edward Dumphy and Mrs. E. W. Walters. there was a charter membership of 46.

The first mass was heard in Harrington Park on Nov. 6, 1910 in the parlors of Mrs. E. W. Walters home. Father Delahanty was the priest in charge with 85 persons present. Included among them were delegations from the Dumont and Hackensack Councils of the Knights of Columbus.

The first fund raising event was a dance and bazaar which was held on November 4 and 5 as the first step towards raising the fund to build the church. The bazaar was held in the Norwood School Hall, tickets costing twenty-five cents good for both nights. A stage left from the Harrington Park Station at 8 p.m. and every half hour thereafter to accommodate the people getting to the hall, the fare being ten cents. The stage was loaned by H. J. Steinhoff.

In the early notes of the organization it is interesting to note that tickets were sent to the Hon. Woodrow Wilson, who returned them with regrets on his inability to attend. However, tickets were purchased by Robert A. Sibbald, Robert Conklin, S. Wood McClave, John R. Ramsey, James Devine Jr. and John S. Mackay of Hackensack.

Net profit from this first event was $577.11. Many more functions were held to raise funds to build the church, notably among them an Ice Carnival on Feb. 11 1911, run by Patrick Henry Maley.

The original plot of ground given by Mrs. Laura Skinner on July 11, 1911, was 145 by 150 feet on the corner of Harriot Avenue and Dawes Road, which is now Lynn Street. One of the first gifts to be received was a copy of F. Von Defregger's "Madonna" which was donated to the church by Mrs. S. Carman Harriot.

The first pastor of Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Church was the Rt. Rev. Andrew Schonhart who served from Sept. 8, 1912 to June 19, 1948.

Richard Rother was the first person to be baptized in the church. This event took place Sept. 8th, 1912, by the Rev. Father Schonhart.

The first confirmed class was accepted by the Rev. Andrew O'Connor in September 1911. The class included: Francis Anthony Block, Marie Bertha Block, Agnes Cecelia Block, Jennie Elizabeth Beahm, John Joseph Beahm, Eugene Francis Bender, George A. Christiansen, John J. Cook, Rose Margaret Lang, Otto Joseph Lang, James John Martin, William Joseph Naughton, Joseph Aloysius Rother, Mary Elizabeth Rother, John Senghaus, Edward Anthony Senghaus, John Paul Sirus, Jerome Joseph Sirus, Thomas Andrew Schlett and John Joseph Walters.

Following Father Schonhart's departure in June of 1948, the Rev. Thomas Mansfield served the parish until June 23, 1949. During the Service of the Rev. James McAvoy who served from June 1949 through Feb. 1,  1952, the new Rectory was built. This was in 1950.

The Rev. Thomas K. Burke served from Feb. 1, 1952 until June 27 of the following year. During his stay many improvements were made to the grounds and the interior of the church. The church itself was painted from brown to soft grey and green.

The Rev. William S. Sesselman, present priest in charge [1954], started his service on June 27, 1953.

St. Andrew's

The first service of St. Andrew's Mission, Protestant Episcopal Church, was conducted on Palm Sunday evening, March 29, 1925, at the Harrington Park Tennis Club. Canon William J. White, then Diocesan Missioner for Bergen County conducted the service before an altar constructed by Franklyn Rogers from a discarded packing box.

Altar linen consisted of a tablecloth loaned by Mrs. Horace Jones who also supplied her family Bible. A wooden cross was provided by Canon White and Mrs. Frank Cook loaned altar vases and candlesticks. The offering was taken by William Keely, who used his hat as the alms basin.  Mrs. Leland Krake accompanied on the piano the 25 persons present

Immediately following this first service of the Mission the following executive committee was appointed by Canon White with the approval of the congregation. This committee consisted of Harry Grumpelt, warden; Mrs. Lester Bower, clerk; and Mr. David Crockett, treasurer. Other members of the committee were: Mrs. Krake, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. J. Thomas Keel, Joseph Sunden, Frank W. Cook and David C. Rogers.

The property committee with Grumpelt as chairman and the building committee with Rogers presiding selected the present plot on which to build a church. The cost of the property was $900 which was a gift of the Board of Missions of the Diocese of Newark. The building, of sectional construction, was obtained at a cost of $2,500.

On May 10, 1925, Bishop Wilson Stearly, the Bishop Coadjutor, confirmed the first group of communicants from Harrington Park in the Norwood Church. The first group consisted of Helen Grumpelt, Alice Fitzgerald, Juliet Miller, Mary Sturm, Mrs. Helen Keel and Franklyn Rogers.

One of the mainstays of the church, The Women's Guild was organized on March 29, 1925, with Mrs. Horace Jones as president. In September of that year the Rev. J. Foster Savidge, then rector of the Church of the Holy Communion of Norwood, was given charge of the Harrington Park Mission and on December 13 celebrated Holy Communion in the new building. Thirty persons were present. The Sunday School was organized in the fall of 1925 under the leadership of the Warden, Mr. Grumpelt. William B. Keely was superintendent  until his death in May 1933. Mr. Savidge continued to serve both his parishes and in addition, St. Paul's Mission in Haworth, until March of 1931. At that time Harold M. Wilson, then a graduate student and tutor at the General Theological Seminary and in Deacons Orders, came to direct the Sunday School and to take services other than Holy Communion. Mr. Wilson was ordained to the priesthood on Trinity Sunday of the same year and he continued at St. Andrew's for only a month longer.

From September 1931, the Parish was served by Nelson W. Mackie then a student of the Middle Class at General, who assisted Mr. Savidge. He became the vicar at St. Peter's in Livingston, NJ in June 1932. Charles Alfred Voegeli, a seminary student, took over Mr. MacKie's duties in September 1932. He was ordained to the Diaconate on Ascension Day, May 25, 1933, and was appointed vicar on June 1 of that year. Until his ordination to the priesthood on Advent Sunday Dec. 3, 1933, neighboring priests celebrated Holy Communion. He also served as vicar at St. Paul Mission in Haworth until the two parishes were incorporated in June 1935.

Ground was broken on July 25, 1934, for the Parish Hall which was erected by Ernest A. Prince of Rutherford at an expense of $5,750. E. S. Wood of Englewood Cliffs was the architect.

Dedication services were held Sunday, Sept. 23, 1934, with Bishop Coadjutor Benjamin M. Washburn officiating, assisted by Canon Leslie.

The Altar Guild which was instituted shortly after the start of the mission, originally consisting of two members, Mrs. Grumpelt and Mrs. Frank W. Cook. About the same time Mrs. Lee S. Buckingham founded the Sunshine Club for younger girls who were taught  how to sew, embroider, and to make fancy articles which were sold at a yearly sale and tea. Proceeds from the affair were turned over the the Altar Guild which purchased materials for new super-frontals, colored silk burses and veils, which were made by members of the Guild.

For Christmas, 1935, Alexander Ferguson designed, made and erected a baldachin over the altar and Mrs. Voegeli, assisted by Mrs. Alice M. Power and Miss Ruth Power, made the dossal and riddal curtains.

Under Mr. Voegeli's guidance the Acolytes Guild and the Young Peoples Fellowship were organized. The Acolytes Guild started in 1934, was kept active through the efforts of Arthur W. Brickman, Arnold Gallo, Kenneth J. Gmeiner, Lee W. Krake Jr. and Ronald Sandbach. The Youth Fellowship received Diocesan Charter Number 82 on April 28, 1935, at a District Service at the Norwood Church. In June 1937, Mr. Voegeli was made Overseer of St. Bartholomew's in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ. In June 1940 Mr. Voegeli was called to become Dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Beloved Physician at Ancon, Panama Canal Zone. He is now [1954] Bishop of Haiti. On May 26 1940, Wilbur Leach, a student at General Seminary, cooperated with Mr. Savidge in running the parish. This continued until June 1, 1941 when Mr. Leach accepted a call to the Mission field of North Carolina. About that time Bishop Washburn appointed Dr. Raymond D. Masters to be vicar of St. Andrews.

After Dr. Masters resigned in September 1943, Donald T. Oakes, a student at Union Seminary in New York, took over. He joined the U.S. Navy in the fall of 1944 when he was replaced by Warren Ward who is now serving in Providence. RI. The Rev. Robert J. Creech served as vicar from Sept. 1, 1940 until Aug. 31, 1947 when Mr. Savidge again stepped in to serve both his own and St. Andrew's pastorates. On January 4 1948 the Rev. Charles A Mosby was called as vicar of St. Andrew's Mission. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Hope King on Lynn Street had been acquired as a vicarage and Mr. Mosby and his wife, the former Mildred Estelle Dunbar, moved in with their two daughters, Patricia and Kathleen. Subsequently they have been joined by two more daughters, Deborah and Faith.

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