Dear Editor,
My day was saddened when I found that yet another fire has claimed a part of Hackensack's treasure. I am among those who have felt a strong desire to voice a need for some sort of historical commission (such as the one that Teaneck enjoys- with oral interviews of people like the late George Scudder). Had he not left a legacy of his own initiative, we would all be the poorer. In the case of Mr. Scudder, and now with the destruction of yet another part of Hackensack’s history, the effort to preserve structures as well as memoirs, anecdotes and factual documents of our collective memories presses on me once again. The lack of a commission of such a kind brings to my mind the outworn cliché that we (those of Hackensack's past and present) are yet “a day late, a dollar short” in each of the two cases. How I would love to hear the recorded voice of Mr. Scudder, for each generation carries its own special cadence in rhetoric, style and usage.
Mr. Editor, your commitment here is deeply regarded by me. I hope you will continue to heartily pursue whatever little fragments and threads of history that are still remaining, particularly of the years just after the two wars. Postwar Hackensack was both pastoral and urban, a reminder not only suggested here by me, but also one that your dear sister recently voiced so eloquently.
My personal thanks once again.