Copy Of Lc Ridge Field Then & Now

cÜxáxÇàá RIDGEFIELD: THEN & NOW Jacobus Pond... Then

R.M.H.S….Now

Ridgefield: Then and Now is a collection of Ridgefield’s fine history and its present day outlooks. The Library Council has been working hard on this project by collecting data, taking pictures, and interviewing for the “then” sections. From Ridgefield’s ridges to its schools, you can say that it has a lot of history. The pictures above are of Jacobus Pond and Ridgefield Memorial High School. Many years ago where the high school was, there were many trees and the pond. The area was in a flood zone and thus formed this large pond. As developers would take over the land, the land would change into the school and the pond would vanish.

Acknowledgements Residents of the Ridgefield Community: Jack Lustman Frank Quintano Anthony Pope Rose Brockman Ann Pecorino Caryln Heath Emma Fernandez Florence Nolan Members of the Environmental Commission: Karen Riede Bruce Riede

Members of Library Council: John Cahill Yaritza Waddell Julia Endow Alison Kim Karen Kim Nato Ivanashivili Ruby Song Christina Choi Leonel Aguilar Ashley Vermeal

Ridgefield’s Then and Now

Culture Culture has been in Ridgefield for many years, starting with its painting from the many different artists, to the various clubs and society members. 

Art Ray Although it seems highly unlikely today, Ridgefield was actually known as an artist colony during the late 1890s and early 1900s. Back then, Ridgefield did not have all the houses and buildings like it does today. In fact, the whole area was only covered in trees and plains. Furthermore, people would actually take the ferry across the Hudson River and then walk all the way from Edgewater to arrive here. Some evidence of this period is Studio Road, where painters would go and build small temporary Ray houses with spare wood, to live in while they painted landscapes Ray and anything else they could see.

Some well-respected painters and writers that lived here were Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, William Sartain, Bernard Karfiol, Robert Martin, Manual Komroff, Alfred Kreymborg, Floyd Dell, and Frederick Rockwell. William Carlos Williams also visited the colony and Emma Goldman lived here for a short period of time. Man Ray had published one issue of a magazine called The Ridgefield Gazook which amazingly was considered the first “Dada” publication printed in the U.S. 

Clubs

About 70 years ago, the Exchange Club in Ridgefield played a crucial part in its culture. Much like a service club, it was also a social club to a certain extent. Having its own executives and business men, the membership was definitely exclusive. This club donated school supplies that were not being given by the Board of Education. With more people coming to Ridgefield, those who were Germans created “The Germania.” This one was originally meant to be a social organization, but this club played a significant role when the elections came around. Over time, this exclusive group slowly became less inclusive as more people came into Ridgefield. The “West Side Club” was also similar to “The Germania.” Political clubs such as the “Republican Club” were dominant. The “Wilkie Club” and the “Young Democratic Club” weren’t as dominant, but they did manage to somehow “keep their head above water.” There were also clubs such as the P.T.A. and the “Women’s Sewing Club.” Lastly, the American Legion was crucial. They held an annual parade that was important to the whole community. 

Delinquency It is said that in 1941 the borough of Ridgefield was fortunately free from crime, especially when compared to neighboring towns such as Essex or the Hudson counties. Ridgefield was believed to be more residential, with people taking “pride in their community’s activities including the whole work in cooperation with the police department.” There were no murders whatsoever. However, a few robberies, assaults, and rape cases had been recorded. If the law-breakers were caught, they were most likely from out of town. Robbers were rarely, if ever, from Ridgefield. In 1939, there was a rape case in which a married man had raped a girl. It is said that the girl had fought back and recommended to him that he read a Bible which she was carrying in her purse. There was also an incident where the well-known paintings of Mr. Neandross were stolen. Other than that, there were usual cases involving motor vehicles. The people involved in these incidents were from out-of-state or out-of-town. There weren’t murders like there are today; however, gangs and shooters were common.



Music

People listened to the radio for everything from the ‘30s on. The radio had news, stories, and music. The news consisted of breaking news, weather, and events. People listened to the radio to hear mystery, adventure, and soap operas. The music had live singing and dancing. The music people listened to was jazz, swing, classical, blues, pop and rock. There were many singers of the time, such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Glenn Miller, Perry Como, Artie Shaw, Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, and The Beatles.

Behavior of Local Teens The following content is according to several elderly residents of Ridgefield. (See the acknowledgments page) Teens were more polite back then. They weren’t allowed to curse or swear. Students were loyal to teachers, and stood up when spoken to. Teens were more respectful, and it was common to hear kids respond to adults as “Yes, Sir ,or Ma’am.” Throughout time, no one called adults by their first names, but called them "Uncle" or "Aunt." Parents were very strict with their children. In those days, parents needed their kids to help out, so it was common for kids to go to school for a just awhile, and then came back home to help out. Teens got their driver’s permit at 17 instead of 16, like today.

Change in Society The elderly members of Ridgefield told us some of the differences between the 1940s and 2009. 

Religion & Race

Ridgefield has had several nationalities: from early Dutch and English to the Irish, German, Italian, and Korean. There were few Koreans until about 75 years ago. The ethnic majority was English Neighborhood Reformed white, and a few Hispanics. The religious groups were Catholic, Jewish, Christian, and several others. Saint Matthew’s, a Roman Catholic church, was where many people went to school and attended church. The church was located on Grand then, and had one

Shaler AveThe Co-Op sign is still there, behind the Associated sign.

nun teaching two classes. Across from Saints Matthew’s was the English Neighborhood Reformed Church and its cemetery. 

Buildings & Roads There were no apartments or double houses back then. The roads were more colonial style, and dirty; also horses were common on the streets. There wasn’t much on Shaler Boulevard, except for a few stores. There were only four to five estate houses. The land near Wolf Creek, and where the high school is now, would flood. The Five Firemen Field would be flooded also, and would freeze in the winter. This area was popular for ice skating. The Five Firemen field is named that in memory of five Ridgefield firemen who lost their lives putting out a dangerous fire.



Activity

There were no buses running through Ridgefield, and no crossing guards. For the people with cars, the gas was 17 cents per gallon. There were no televisions, tapes, DVDs, computers, and cell phones. To have fun, people went to drive-inmovies. Also, people didn’t take as many security measures, such as locking their doors.

School The elderly members of Ridgefield told us other differences between the 1940s and 2009. Students only needed a basic education back then. Many women also didn’t go to college. The local people helped to make the school function; for example, the bell had to be hand-rung to work, and mothers would take turns cooking lunch at school. The girls had to wear dresses below the knees, and the guys had to wear collar shirts. There were no pajama pants allowed, or other inappropriate clothing. The grades varied from having 40 to 50 kids in each one. The boys and girls had separate gym classes. The kids didn’t live far away from the school, so they all walked and were never late. The kids had the basic classes, with electives like type-writing, home economics, and wood carving for boys, and sewing for girls. They played sports like basketball, baseball, football, stickball, handball, tennis, and did activities like the Senior-Plays. Today we have art classes, computer classes, film, and chorus.