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School’s Out for Summer! (1972)
School’s Out For Summer! I still remember the last day of sixth grade. We struggled through the half-day, getting our end-of-year report cards, and waiting with anxiety for the summer to start! Finally, our teacher smilingly said “You can go now!” and a bunch of boys went screaming out of the classroom, while the teachers laughed. My friends and I left more slowly because my mother was picking us up. No school bus for a change! Hooray! Almost as soon as we got in the station wagon, we turned the radio on and Alice Cooper started singing “School’s Out”! We started singing along and then rolled down the windows of…
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Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush (1985)
Running Up That Hill The first time I remember seeing and hearing the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush was on Saturday Night Live in 1978. She was a bit older than me but still a teenager and she sang very well and I thought she was talented in a quirky way. I’d never seen anything quite like it before and I didn’t know what to make of her. However, I was very impressed with her talent. After all, I still remember it all these years later. I’ve never seen that broadcast again. I bought a couple of her albums but then she seemed to fade away . . . Actually, she…
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Save the World by Swedish House Mafia (2011)
Swedish House Mafia Being of half-Swedish ancestry I couldn’t help but be intrigued by a group called Swedish House Mafia. This is such a striking video. The song is catchy but the story and visuals are what really make the video interesting. I love the heroes that save the day! You may also want to read my post on Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. Thanks for visiting New Jersey Memories!
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Look For the Union Label TV Commercial (1970s-1980s)
History Of The International Ladies Garment Workers Union This commercial for ILGWU (The International Ladies Garment Workers Union) ran in various forms throughout my childhood. The union had a long history. According to the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University: The ILGWU was formed on June 3, 1900, by eleven delegates representing local unions from the major garment centers in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Newark. These local unions’ memberships numbered about two thousand workers and were comprised primarily of Jewish immigrants, many of them socialist, who had recently arrived in the United States from Eastern Europe. Many had been active trade unionists before coming to…
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The Brainy Borough | Metuchen, New Jersey
The Brainy Borough As I wrote in my post about the Lake Hiawatha Firehouse, many New Jersey town names are derived from Native American words. For example, the very nice borough (sometimes spelled “boro”) of Metuchen is named for the Indian chief Metuching. Metuchen is located in Middlesex County, completely surrounded by the much larger Edison Township, like a hole in a doughnut. Just about 100 years ago, Metuchen had many intellectuals living and working in the town. The prosperous community of Glen Ridge had many intellectuals of their own and they decided that they were obviously a smarter town and they would claim bragging rights to the…
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Lake Hiawatha Firehouse | Parsippany, New Jersey
Lake Hiawatha Lake Hiawatha is one of several communities within the large township of Parsippany, New Jersey. Towns and areas with names of Native American origin are common in New Jersey The name “Parsippany” is derived from a Lenape word that means “where the river winds through the valley.” Lake Hiawatha has many streets named after Native American words: Iroquois, Mohegan, Oswego, Seminole, Navajo, and my favorite, Minnehaha Boulevard. The Firehouse The firehouse for Lake Hiawatha Parsippany District 4 is located on N. Beverwyck Road. It is staffed by volunteers. Many of the members have spent years dedicated to this cause. There WAS an interesting article in Parsippany Focus about…
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Shop-Rite Supermarket | West Caldwell, New Jersey
The West Caldwell ShopRite Supermarket Has A Unique Design The ShopRite Supermarket in West Caldwell, New Jersey is unique. That is why I included the hyphen in the title of this post, even though the hyphen is not used anymore. According to a January 31st article in The Chronicle of Higher Education: In American advertising lingo, rite makes mite. Or maybe might. The ShopRite grocery chain is the first rite I can remember. ShopRite is a postwar neologism; for a while in the fifties and sixties, the name was spelled with a hyphen (Shop-Rite), after which the logo lost its hyphen but kept the internal cap. Japanese Architecture I have always…
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Lambert Castle, Part 2 | Paterson, New Jersey
Lambert Castle Last week I showed you some exteriors of Lambert Castle in Paterson, New Jersey. This week I will show you some of the lovely interiors of the home. The stained glass window in the last photo was created in tribute to a Lambert daughter, who died when she was 24. Despite their wealth, the Lambert family suffered many tragedies. To read about the history of the building, click here. To read more about the Lambert family, read this. To read more about the Watchung Mountains, read here. 2022 Updates: …
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Lambert Castle, Part 1 | Paterson, New Jersey
Lambert Castle Lambert Castle in Paterson, New Jersey has an interesting past. Paterson, New Jersey had many silk mills, was known as “The Silk City” in the 1800s and has a strong labor and union history. Catholina Lambert owned one of the silk mills and built his home (known at “Belle Vista”) on the side of Garret Mountain, which is part of First Watchung Mountain. From his home, he could see Paterson spreading out below him and New York City was in the distance. You can see interior photos of this site in my post on Lambert Castle, Part 2. You may…
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Diners of New Jersey | Jersey Shore Edition
New Jersey Is The Diner Capital Of The World There are hundreds of these restaurants in the state, and they are an integral part of the New Jersey dining experience. Many of these establishments are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Jersey Shore The subject of the top photo is the Marvis in Wildwood, New Jersey. This week I am posting photos of establishments I have visited located near or at the Jersey Shore. Next is Princess Maria in Wall Township: In the Wildwoods, many of the buildings are in the Doo-Wop Style, or Googie Architecture. The top photo is an example of that. There is…
