Feel free to send any questions you may have about the Society, local history, artifacts, and etc. to our Answer Girl.

EMAIL: i...@pascackhistoricalsociety.com

Address: Answer Girl, PHS,
                P.O.Box 85
                Park Ridge, NJ 07656

YOUR NEIGHBORS WANT TO KNOW

Dear Answer Girl:

I hear people say LENNI LENAPE INDIANS and LENAPE INDIANS... which one is correct???

                                             Meredith F., Township of Washington

Answer: Dear Meredith: According to the chief of the Lenape Nation in Anadarko, Oklahoma the term LENAPE should suffice.  Lenni and Lenape mean the same thing- “original people.”

          Incidentally, the chief says SHE prefers the term INDIAN to NATIVE AMERICAN.

Dear Question Lady:

                  What is an ALGATE HOLE?  

                                                         Charlie M., Roseland, NJ 

Charlie: An Algate Hole is a hollowed out area in a fireplace wall which held tinder, pipes, tobacco, etc. it was designed to make it safe and convenient for the user.

Dear Answer Girl: 

I remember my grandfather talking about the Washingtonville Academy.  Where was it, if it really existed?

                                                         Thomas B., River Vale, NJ

Answer: Yes indeed Tom, it existed!   WASHINGTONVILLE was the name given to an area in River Vale that extended northerly from the intersection of Rivervale Road and Westwood Avenue for a couple of miles.  It probably originated as the name for an early school district, and the schoolhouse which stood north of the “ Four Corners’ was called the Washingtonville Academy in 1858.

Dear Answer Girl:

Who was the first medical doctor in the Pascack Valley?

                                                                  Kathryn B., Westwood

Answer: It was Dr Henry Neer who practiced in Park Ridge from 1865 almost until his death in 1911. He wore four hats: physician, dentist, pharmacist and veterinarian!  He invented and patented a pill-coating machine to help his patients swallow his homemade potions. We are proud to have Dr. Neer’s beautiful parlor stove on permanent display in our museum.

           What the heck is a tussy mussy?

                                                                      Cindy K., Montvale

Answer: Tussy mussies, despite their silly name, are beautiful hand held flower holders. They resemble the shape of a modern ice cream cone. The French created them during the 1700's and the Victorians in England popularized them. They can be made of gold, porcelain, silver, glass, pewter and even plastic today. They are filled with small clusters of flowers that are tied together. They are an art form and each one is unique. They recently made a comeback when Oprah Winfrey named them one of her favorite things on her TV program.

                                                                Stanley W., New City, NY

Answer: The Octagon House was built 1855-1860 by John J. Blauvelt, Jr. It has been modernized many times since then and has served as a private home, a restaurant and real estate office. A full history of the building is available in the Society's Katharine P. Randall Research Library if you'd like to stop by and see it for yourself.
 

Dear Answer Girl:

What is a “Butteryhatch”?

                                           Jared L., River Vale

Answer: A butteryhatch is the lower half of a Dutch door

Dear Answer Girl:

When was Westwood’s legendary Conrad’s Confectionery opened?

                                            Christie. S, Orlando, Florida

Answer: In 1928, but the first Conrad’s was in Oradell.  Our present day store was opened at 107 Westwood Avenue, Westwood in 1935 by Fred Conrad who emigrated from Germany in 1922 and attended classes in New York City learning the candy business.  At that time there were nine fountains in Westwood serving ice cram. When Conrad retired in 1960, longtime employees James Poultesos and Kenneth Fournier bought the business.
Pouletsos later became the sole owner of the store until his retirement in 1985.
Today, Pouletsos’ daughter Corinne and husband John Krachtus and grandson J.J. Krachtus own and operate this one-of-a-kind store.

Dear Answer Girl:

Where was “Stony Point” in the Pascack Valley?

                                              Anthony D., Old Tappan

Answer: “Stony Point” was the early name given to the locality in Old Tappan lying to the north of the Hackensack River in the immediate vicinity of Washington Avenue South and Westwood Avenue.  The former Collignon Chair Factory was in this area.  Originally called ‘Steen Point” by the Dutch, it was a natural point of land formed by the river and a brook and was noted for its stony soil.  The property is occupied today by “ Stony Point Farm” a small gardening business owned by longtime Old Tappan resident Richard Sunden. 

Dear Answer Girl:

What does Pascack mean?

                                                N.Y.B., River Vale, NJ

Answer: Pascack, or Paskack as it was more commonly written in former years, is an Indian word given to the area compromising the Pascack Valley and its stream of water, the Pascack Brook.

          Very few Indian words in this area have retained their original meaning, mainly because the Indians (Lenape) were gone many years before an interest arose in what the names meant or why they were used.  Much of the existing explanation, therefore, is conjecture and sometimes-pure imagination.  The Indian language was never a written one and had a variety of dialects.  The spellings found in early deeds and grants in New Jersey and elsewhere are purely phonetic in large variety.

          It has been accepted by many historians that Pascack comes from the word Pachgeechen which the Lenape Dictionary translates as “ where the road forks”, but perhaps other words in the dictionary come nearer to the pronunciation of Pascack and have general enough meanings to apply as well: Paschajeek, a valley; Pachat, to split; Packchack, a board.  Possibly Pascack means where the land is “split” by the river.  There we will leave it since one can only venture a probability with the information at hand.

(Incidentally the Pascack Valley officially consists of eight towns: Montvale, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Township of Washington. Hillsdale, Emerson, River Vale and Westwood. Many people mistakenly think that Old Tappan and Oradell are part of the Pascack Valley. WRONG! According to Bergen County authorities Old Tappan is in the Northern Valley and Oradell is in Central Bergen.)

Dear Answer Girl:

          What is the oldest house in Westwood?

                                                 Frances F., Westwood

Answer: The Haring House at 306 Washington Avenue is the oldest house in your hometown. Of Pre-Revolutionary war vintage, it is the sole remaining sandstone in the Borough.

Dear Answer Girl:

I was reading a book and the word  “baxters” were mentioned in conjunction with shoes?  What are they?

                                                      Ed H., Hillsdale

Answer: Baxters are wood strips or blocks attached to the sole of a shoe to protect the feet from mud and snow covered roads.

Dear Miss Girl:

          Did America’s first real motion picture “star” live in our area?

                                                    Helen W., Emerson

Answer: Yes Helen! Florence Lawrence was America’s first movie star according to movie historians.  She lived at 565 Rivervale Road in River Vale from 1913 through 1916. (the house is still there) She was known as the “Biograph Girl” and made movies at the Biograph Studios in Fort Lee.   We have photos and a biography of her at the museum. Stop in anytime and we’ll show you what she looked like!

Dear Q & A:

          I have an old chair that is supposed to be an original Bergen County Chair, circa 1840’s.  How can I verify this?

                                                       Anonymous

Answer:  Give our trustee Rick Riccardo a call at 201-391-0079. He’ll take a look at it for you and help you determine whether your chair is the real deal.  Rick may not have the answer, but he will surely know who does! 

                                                                Stanley W., New City, NY