Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

Look what I found on my bedroom A/C today! I set the cell cam to its highest resolution and snuck up on it.

I got within about 3 feet of the bird. It heard the camera clicks and turned toward me before it flew over to 417 Main.

I photographed an identical bird in the same spot 8 years ago. It was identified as a red-tailed hawk. I couldn't see the tail in these pictures, but I did see it when I video'd it two minutes later on top of 417 Main. It was red.

Too bad for that last shot that the window was dirty on the outside. I can't clean it unless I learn to fly. Maybe I can teach the hawk to clean it.



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http://cgi.ebay.com/GREAT-letters-notes-Patterson-NJ-Hackensack-New-Jersey-/320637359665?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa779d631


There are some familiar-sounding surnames in this.


Description:

This is a very interesting handwritten autograph book from the 1880s-1890s owned by a girl named Kate Vreeland from New Jersey, I believe.  It is filled with many poems, a couple drawings, and many notes/letters written to Katie from her classmates.  Most the classmates also signed their full names, dates and their hometowns, which are overwhelmingly from New Jersey especially Hackensack and Patterson, New Jersey.

Other classmates are from Columbus, Ohio,  Maywood NJ, Westwood NJ, New London CT, Leonia NJ, Passaie NJ, Hoboken NJ, Newark Valley NY, Brooklyn NY, Mount Vernon NY, East Orange NJ.  It would be interesting to figure out who these individuals are and what school they were attending together.  Nice piece of New Jersey history that is a very unique record.  Practically of the writing is legible in good shape.  Some fraying on the more fragile pages and the pages are loose from the binding.  Individual pages would look great framed as folk art, especially the pages with drawings.

I've typed out most of the locations and names below as best I can make them out, but only typed a couple of the poems and notes:

1890 First page says A merry Christmas to katie from Ida

Jan 3 91 JC Coore? Patterson NJ

2-23-93 Kate Vreeland [owner] In my album I invite you to write but tearing out pages I deem impolite

March 23, 1891 ...FS??Graham

Charles Post Oct 1891 Hackansck NJ

Jennie Mabie? Hackensack 1891

J.W. Paton Columbus Ohio Oct 1891

Oct 1891 Remember me long remember me forever remember the fun we have had in school together, your griend and schoolmate Emma Price, Maywood NJ

Ida Kirby

Katie-I've looked your album through and through to see what others have written for you and now I'll write that others may see the simple words remember me, your friend and schoolmate Albertha Westervelt, Hackensack, New Jersey

Dear Katie When our life in school shall be at an end please at times give a though to your loving friend, Addie Bates, Hackesack NJ 1891

Dear Katie...Fruit is soft as soon as ripened...love and kisses soon grow cold young....Minnie M'Nulty Westwood NJ 1893

I am here today and gone tomorrow Josephe E. Burr, New London, Connecticut

Nelson Taylor Leonia NJ 1891

Ellie B. Jarger Passaie, NJ 1893

Charles Westevelt Hackensack, NJ 1890

Emma

Lelia Hunt, Newark, NJ 1893

Ida Westervelt, Hackensack 1890

Lena F. Voorhis Paterson, NJ

When you get married and live up stairs for mercy sake don't put on airs-Etta

J.H. Vreeland, Hackensack, NJ 1889

Emma M. Daniels, Hackensack, NJ

M. Weggant, Hackensack

Mrs. J.S. Hoover? Patterson, NJ

George Mercier, Hoboken, NJ

Round went the album...Alice Bratt

I wish you had a husband...Sophie J. Lindsay 1894

G.F.? Grismond, Leonia, NJ

Man's love is like scotch snuff...woman's ...is like french brandy, Clara Jones 1894

Stephen Louis Wygart, Hackensack, NJ

Our lives are albums...Nelson Haas 1891

Miss Alice Louisa Ackerman, Newark Valley, Tioga Co, N. York 1891

Cheerfulness is the daughter of employment, Minnie Hetzel, East Orange NJ

In sailing...Carrie 1892

Aura D. Trowbridge? Hackensack 1891

A cheeful disposition is the best umbrella...Muriel Holdridge, Mount Vernon NY 1891

I write not for beautyI write...Ada MacNeil 1892

Our lives are...Eva Huyles? 1891

J. Ferry B. Brooklyn 1893

To the Ripples follow...so may God's blessings...Chris Mookes

Mrs. M. H. Coores, Paterson NJ



Could "Huyles" be "Huyler"?



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http://cgi.ebay.com/HERITAGE-LINCOLN-DEALER-NAMEPLATE-EMBLEM-BADGE-NJ-/130469333570?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e60940a42

Description:

You are bidding on a used dealer emblem from Heritage Lincoln/Mercury in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Removed from a late '80's Mercury Colony Park.

Uses double sided tape to affix.



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You may remember me wondering what this was when it appeared on Anderson St two years ago. You may also recall me making a video of it last year and the sound was off.

O for 2.

This year, I got it right. I headed straight for Holy Trinity as soon as I heard the band coming down Anderson. I also found out what it's all about.

It's called "Our Lady of the Cloud". It's an Ecuadorian New Year's Day tradition with a procession in which a figure of the Virgin Mary is held high as the crowd marches to the church. They sing and have instrumentation, but it sounds rather solemn and almost dirge-like. The story behind it, however, is anything but funereal:

http://www.traditioninaction.org/Questions/F030_VirginCloud.html


In this picture, the procession has just come onto Maple Ave from Main St:









The Virgin Mary figure is carried on the shoulders of the young men:









The procession approaches Holy Trinity (which, BTW, will celebrate its 150th anniversary this year). The doors to the school gym were open and I could hear music inside, so I'm guessing that's where the festival took place after church.









Women in native costume precede the statue. If you look closely, you can see some smoke. One of the women carried some sort of burning incense:









The procession stopped and started every minute or so for the entire route. They walked during the short song (or prayer?) and stopped when the band played. Then it took a long time to get everyone into the church:









Finally, the Virgin is carried into the church:









The band continues playing until the last person gets inside:









Besides the cell shots, I also took some video. The first one is the repeated song with the band starting to kick in at the end. The second one is the repeated instrumental. I'll be hearing that in my head for quite some time.



<a href="http://img521.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Mkg8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://img521.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Mkg8</a>



<a href="http://img703.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=M85d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://img703.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=M85d</a>

http://cgi.ebay.com/OLD-POSTCARD-ANDERSON-ST-BRIDGE-HACKENSACK-NJ-1904-/220715544052?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3363abedf4


You'd think the photographer would have come back at high tide to take a better picture.

There's one of these in the database, but this is a better image.


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I started the day off by getting locked out on the roof..........well, not really "locked" out. The wind had slammed the building's large metal roof door shut and it wedged tight - it could not be pulled open. Fortunately, I had my cell - I was out there taking pictures with it - and called the super. It took him a while and lots of effort, but he got it open.


From my LR window - footprints and plows:









The First Baptist Church's school:









Anderson Park:









Anderson Street:









Back home, I ran into the super, who's just thrilled to see me again:









Second Reformed Church parking lot:









I took the above photo in thigh-high snow:









A couple of "E" lot shots:















Back in my apartment, I heard the wind picking up again. Snow was blowing off my roof and off most of the other roofs in Hackensack. Minus the sun, this might be the coldest-looking picture I've ever taken:







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I took these pictures 8 months ago, but Santa asked me to wait until Christmas to post them, so here they are.

The most desirable view in this building would obviously be from the top unit closest to Anderson St, so that's where I shot from.

The French windows on the rounded corner area opened outwardly, but not wide enough to not be seen when I used my fisheye lens, so I moved over to the flatter conventional window to my right, which opened up and down.

However, the rounded "turret" area still stuck out far enough to be visible with the fisheye, so I finally wound up one more window to my right - the one that's circled in the first image below.

The second image shows the interior as I aimed toward the turret area. These first two images were taken with my cellphone and the others were taken with my grownup camera on slide film.

The third image shows what you can see of midtown Manhattan from that unit. Of course, the zoom lens makes NYC look a lot closer than it is. I really don't know how much - if any - of the Empire State Building can be seen from any of the other units..............maybe some from the unit below me, but I'd imagine that's it.

I had checked the train schedule before I left home and timed my visit to be able to get some pictures from that window of the main attraction for many of the building's future residents - the Pascack Valley Line commuter train, whose station is less than a block away.

The fourth picture shows the train crossing Passaic Street.

The fifth picture is the one I wanted - a microcosm of my neighborhood: the train pulling into the station, Anderson Street businesses, cars, Holy Trinity Church and School, Sears, apartment buildings, etc. You can even see the stores on Cedar Lane in Teaneck in the CVS/Teaneck Theater area.

I envy whoever occupies this unit. That person will be able to take this shot in all kinds of lighting and weather situations across the seasons.

But I got the first one.

It's what I wanted for Christmas.



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