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The
Pascack Adventure
The
John
C.
Storms
Museum
is a treasure house of yesterday’s objects. Each
artifact represents a story, an idea or a way of life in
the
Pascack Valley.
Generous donations by several members of the Pascack
Historical Society made possible the professional
restoration of the player piano. Built in 1920, it is
currently in top working order. The collection of piano
rolls provides a musical remembrance of the "old days".
Below are but a few of the treasures that illustrate
daily life in the
Pascack Valley,
whether it be in trade, industry, transportation,
leisure or homemaking. |
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The Country Store and Post Office |
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What was life like in the
Pascack
Valley
when it was a rural farming area? The
Pascack
Historical
Society
Museum
includes an early general store with
artifacts of the variety of interesting
merchandise that would have been for sale.
These stores often included the village post
office and so does the general store at the
museum. |
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The Carpenter’s Workshop |
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Before builders’ tools were powered by
electricity, all of the carpenter’s work was
done with hand tools. For his craft, he used
an assortment of saws, hammers, drills and
other tools. The carpenter’s workshop at
the
Pascack
Historical
Society
Museum
exhibits a collection of tools that he would
have needed. |
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How to Make Money: The Wampum Machine |
The only existing Wampum machine is in the
permanent collection at the
Pascack
Historical
Museum
in
Park Ridge.
Although the Native Americans traded among
themselves with wampum before the arrival of
the Europeans, making it was a slow and
arduous task. Later, most of the wampum was
made by farm families primarily from October
to April. In 1869, two brothers, James and
David Campbell, invented and constructed the
drilling machine that made the task easier
and faster than it could be done by hand.
Conch shells from the West Indies were
imported through
New York
and brought up the
Hudson River
in small boats. Both white and dark blue
shells (called black) were used. The black
wampum had considerably greater value than
the white.
The Museum collection highlights early
examples. Wampum is still made today. Also
in the collection is a pair of wampum
earrings made recently in
Maine
. |
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TRANSPORTATION |
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The solid wooden horse displayed in the
Museum once stood outside Van Buskirks
Carriage Repository in Westwood to advertise
the sleighs, buggies, saddles and other
equipment available at the livery stable.
The Museum’s sleigh was winter’s mode of
transportation. Also displayed is a mid 19th
century buffalo robe once owned by Elizabeth
A. Campbell, niece of James Campbell, one of
the inventors of the wampum drilling
machine. |
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LEISURE |
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Back in the late 1800s when the Museum
building was originally the chapel, one
corner of the room boasted a collection of
over 200 books. It became the first
circulating library in the area and was
promoted as a way to improve the mind.
The Ellen Berdais Hall houses a 19th
century player piano that came from the home
of a prominent Hillsdale businessman and was
manufactured by the Strauch Brothers,
New York City
, in 1893. This is the model piano which
won the highest award at the Colombian
Exposition (at the Chicago World’s Fair) in
1893. The piano is currently being repaired
and is expected to return shortly. |
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HOMEMAKING |
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The Tice Quilt is a very unique item
made from the wedding dress of Sarah Cadmus,
who married Abraham Delamater on September
6, 1800 in
Woodcliff
Lake.
The quilt is an example of the British
“double strike” copperplate printing process
developed by Joseph and Mary Ware in
Crayford
,
Kent,
England
, circa 1770. |
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COSTUME COLLECTION |
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The Society’s clothing and millinery
collection chronicles the history of dress
from the 18th century through the
present day. Acquisition and preservation
of antique wearing apparel is high on the
Society’s priority list. |
