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Christmas at the Walther House at the Presby Iris Gardens (2024) | Montclair, New Jersey
The Walther House at the Presby Iris Gardens The Presby Iris Gardens in Montclair are world-famous. They are a very important part of Montclair history. You can see my photos of the Iris Gardens from 2015 and 2023. The beautiful Walther House is now decorated for the holidays! Frank H. Presby was one of the founders of the American Iris Society and the gardens were named in his honor. The iris garden is deeply embedded in Montclair history. The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens are the result of the collaborative efforts of the Town Council, Parks Commission, the Garden Club of Montclair, and the American Iris Society (A.I.S) under the supervision…
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You Deserve A Break Today: McDonald’s Commercial (1970-1980s)
You Deserve A Break Today McDonald’s is struggling nowadays in the fast food market. Perhaps they should drop that idiotic campaign and extremely stale “I’m lovin’ it” and go back to this classic from the 1970s, with a new cast, of course. Oh, right they can’t, because for some stupid reason they abandoned the rights to the song. An excellent review from Eater: McDonald’s Drops ‘You Deserve a Break Today’ Slogan; Here Are Some of Its Best Moments After decades using “You Deserve a Break Today” as its central advertising slogan, fast food giant McDonald’s has “abandoned its trademark” for the phrase. Burger Business reports that although the move is…
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Christmas at The Force Homestead Museum In 2024 | Livingston, New Jersey
Force Homestead Museum in Livingston, New Jersey The Force Homestead Museum is a historical site located in Livingston, New Jersey. The homestead has been undergoing renovations, but we visited when it was decorated for Christmas! History According to the Livingston, New Jersey website: The Force House, as it is now known, was originally built in 1745 by Theophelous Ward. The large room with the area above was the entire house. Samuel Force, of French Huguenot origin, purchased the house in 1777 for his son Thomas, who was born in 1758 and served in the Revolutionary War. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war on the British ship…
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J.T. – An Unforgettable Christmas Special (1969)
J.T. Was A Holiday Special That First Aired in 1969 It was originally shown as part of the CBS Children’s Hour. . That was a Saturday children’s show. It was so successful that CBS quickly aired it in prime time. It was rerun by CBS many times during the 1970s and 1980s. This film won a prestigious Peabody Award. J.T. Is Unforgettable This is the story of a young boy in gritty 1960s Harlem in New York. He has started doing petty thefts and is not responsive to his mother’s frustrations with his behavior. J.T. steals a transistor radio, is inattentive in school, and generally has a rotten attitude. He…
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Fosterfields – A Living Historical Farm | Morristown, New Jersey
Fosterfields The farm is located in beautiful and historic Morristown, New Jersey. The farm is a gorgeous place where after you enter the Visitor’s Center, you can roam around farm buildings, through the woods, and see how farms were run in the “olden days.” There are also school field trips. General Joseph Warren Revere was the grandson of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, who bought the property in the 1800s (which had been a working farm since the 1760s) and built the Gothic Revival main house, The Willows. Around 1881 Charles Foster bought the property and renamed it after himself! His daughter, who was around four years old at the…
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The Famous Sunnybank Collies | Wayne, New Jersey
Albert Payson Terhune Ran Sunnybank Kennels Albert Payson Terhune wrote the famous classic Lad A Dog. It was originally published in 1919. He lived in a home called “Sunnybank” in what is now Wayne, New Jersey. He raised “rough collies” at the in his famous kennels. According to See Passaic County website (where you can see photos of the long-gone house: In the late 1860s, Reverend Edward Payson Terhune and his wife, Mary Virginia Hawes, purchased several acres of land on Pompton Lake in Wayne, NJ, where they built a three-story home with a central gable, attic, cellar, and expansive veranda; the large porch hearkened to Hawes’ Virginia heritage. Hawes…
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Bahrs Landing Is Still Standing in 2024 | Highlands, New Jersey
Bahrs Landing Has Made It Through Much Adversity For Over 100 Years Bahr’s Landing Restaurant and Marina is a legendary place situated on Sandy Hook Bay in Highlands, New Jersey. Bahrs Landing is still open after more than 100 years! They survived all the terrible storms of the last two decades, including Superstorm Sandy. They survived Covid. Superstorm Sandy Bahrs Landing sustained considerable damage in October 2012 from Hurricane “Superstorm” Sandy, which destroyed many other businesses in the area. It is open year-round, and the owners were determined to re-open quickly: 100th Anniversary How did it all start? On the Bahrs Landing website, it states: Founder John ”Jack” Bahrs, the…
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The Funky Town of Red Bank, New Jersey
Red Bank Is A Great Town Red Bank, New Jersey is an interesting town only five miles away from the Atlantic Ocean. It is perched on the Navesink River which is a very important part of the town. The town has many interesting stores, including branches of Tiffany’s and Restoration Hardware. But what I really enjoy are the interesting shops that are NOT chains, and have been in Red Bank for many years. The eclectic offerings include an old-school record shop, a comic book owned by a famous filmmaker, a classic arcade shop, and many antique stores. Jack’s Music Shoppe Jack’s Music Shoppe has been a Red Bank mainstay for…
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Late Night Local TV And Fabulous Saturday Night Discomania in the 1970s
I Really Miss Local Television Programming I really miss 1970s television. Not just the great shows that were in prime-time, but late-night LOCAL TV – which simply doesn’t exist anymore, except for local news in the afternoons and evenings. This video is an audio of a broadcast aired in the middle of the night, right before The Late Show, which was a show dedicated to old movies. CBS would broadcast old movies under the banner The Late Show, followed by the Late, Late Show. These have nothing to do with comedy. In a future post, I will discuss this. But let’s get down to the subject at hand. The first…
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The Historic Red Mill Museum Village 2024 | Clinton, New Jersey
The Red Mill This may be the most photographed building in New Jersey. The little town of Clinton in beautiful Hunterdon County is the home of The Red Mill, a very important building in its day. The Mill sits on the south bank of the Raritan River. The Red Mill was used to make many things over the years; including wool, peach baskets, talc, and graphite. The property changed ownership multiple times. Then a group of investors known as the “Red Mill Five” sprang into action: The story began in 1960, when the Red Mill Five, spearheaded by James Marsh and Monroe DeMott, finally succeeded in buying the landmark Red…
