Hillsdale New Jersey | Memories Of My Hometown | When I Grew Up In NJ

Hi Everybody



                         



I grew up in Hillsdale and lived in a home that my father and grandfather built many years ago way back in the late 1940's. My grandfather was a builder in town and some of his other homes are still standing in there original form. I guess they were built well. Some other homes he built were in Oradell as well as Westwood. One of the homes that I got to see before it was torn down was in Oradell and it had a very identifiable look to me. He had a very identifiable style. The home above is one of his homes that is still standing in Hillsdale.


                             
 
 
This is where my father built his house out in the middle of the woods on the eastern side of town across from Beechwood Park on Hillsdale Avenue. 
    

After the main house was built he started adding a Living Room in the picture on the right above.
Below is what it looked like just a few years ago when it was listed for sale as a condo alternative. 


I can remember watching through my bedroom window, my mother answering the front door on Halloween one year and with her quirky sense of humor, that I'm sure I have inherited, she asked the kids, Trick? Or Treat? and they answered of course Treats! And with that she pulls out a hatchet and says Trick! 

The kids tore off down the driveway to their parents waiting for them.

Needless to say this didn't go over to well with the parents waiting out in the street for the kids to come back from collecting the candy. My mom thought it was hilarious as she scared them silly for a Halloween Trick.... This was way back in the 60's before all the paranoia of this new age we live in took hold. It was a much more innocent time.

I thought it might have been a little on the edge as well but it sure did make me laugh. I knew she was just kidding around. The police showed up and didn't think so though. They had to check it out of course.  

Now we live in this politically correct world and this would never be tolerated I'm sure and she would have ended up in jail or at least brought into the station for questioning.  

              


Growing up in Hillsdale was a wonderful experience as it was a very quiet town having many wooded areas for kids to play in.

Downtown Hillsdale looked very different than it does today but is still a great family town.

Here's a picture of downtown the way I remember it. Even though this was taken in 1987 it stayed like this for a long time. Rumor has it that my grandfather was also a participating architect along with family friend, John Ollie who completed the design of the traffic booth. It has become the iconic symbol of downtown Hillsdale.

                 

A few years after the picture above was taken, Hillsdale decided to move the traffic booth to the corner of Hillsdale Avenue and Broadway in order to improve traffic flow through town. The picture below is the way it looks today.

                 

As you can see the traffic booth is no longer in the center of Hillsdale Avenue.


Lisa and I both went to Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale even though Lisa grew up in River Vale.

This is where we met. 

                                    

The towns share the High School and it has changed quite a bit through the years.

Below is the way it looked when we went there.


                            


And the way it looks now after it's recent renovations. Kind of looks like the Jetsons School...

Uh Oh I'm dating myself.....


                       

 
I have lived here all my life and seen many changes throughout the town. Much growth has taken place since I grew up of course.


These are just some of my fond memories. I hope you have enjoyed my rambling down memory lane today. It will always be my Hometown!

Thanks for reading and have a great rest of the weekend!