August 28, 2026

Back in Time

Kristin Beuscher, columnist and president of the Pascack Historical Society, takes readers on a journey back in time through the Pascack Valley and Northern Valley’s rich history. Her “Back In Time” column offers a glimpse into the bygone days of these communities, shedding light on the lives of the people and the places that have shaped the area. With a keen eye for detail and a deep appreciation for local heritage, Kristin brings to life stories of the past, helping residents connect with their roots and gain a greater appreciation for the unique history of their towns.

How the Hillsdale railroad station would have looked at the time of the 1876 workers’ strike, although this photograph likely dates to the 1880s. This week, 150 years ago, railroad workers went on strike after months of not receiving their pay. They pulled the trains into the Hillsdale station and then disabled them, halting travel on the Pascack Valley line for five days. Colorized.

Stiffed on wages, railroad men stopped the trains

August 24, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—By August 1876, the railroad workers on the Pascack Valley line were fed up. For months, they had gone without pay. Now it was time to send […]

Featuring a view that looks up Third Avenue from Mill Street in Westwood, this postcard was mailed by a vacationer on Aug. 20, 1910. The sender tells a friend in Paterson, “I am having a very nice time. This is how the whole town looks‚ so clean and all one-family houses.”

A vacationer’s views in Westwood

August 15, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

In those years when warm weather brought scores of summer boarders to our countryside, thousands of scenes from the Pascack Valley appeared on postcards, like this one from Westwood. Views […]

A 19th-century view of the Demarest railroad station, with the hotel on the hill in the background. This luxurious resort catered to well-to-do New Yorkers at a time when the Northern Valley was a vacation destination.

The Hotel on the Hill in Demarest

August 13, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

DEMAREST, N.J.—The location of this 1880s photo should be easy to place—the Demarest Railroad Station has been a focal point in town since it was built in 1874, and it […]

John “Cal” Calvin Gardenier operated his livery stable in Hillsdale from the 1880s through the 1910s. Well placed to serve those coming and going at the Hillsdale station, it stood on Park Avenue near the railroad tracks, now the location of the Bank of America. The building was lost in a fire in 1930. Colorized.

Horses for Hire in Old Hillsdale

August 10, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

In 1909, the Bergen County Standard described Calvin Gardenier’s livery stable as “one of the largest and most successful business enterprises in Hillsdale.” In 2026, the majority of people have […]

Summer scene at the reservoir

August 3, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—In our photograph to the right, dated to around 1906, two men enjoy a moment of serenity and a lovely view at the newly created Woodcliff Reservoir. The […]

Westwood historian Helen Whalen honored posthumously as Hometown Hero

July 31, 2026 John Snyder

HACKENSACK—Among nearly two dozen recipients honored at Friday’s Fifth District Hometown Heroes ceremony at HACPAC, the Hackensack Performing Arts Center, was the late Helen Whalen, a longtime volunteer with the […]

An escape from the tenements

July 24, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

“Woodcliff, July 12. — Major Glenn, of the Volunteers of America, a warm friend of General Ballington Booth, has arranged to give a week’s outing in the country to mothers […]

RIVAL TICKETS: Ballots from Park Ridge’s first school board election, held July 20, 1894, show the competing People’s Party—dubbed the “Hayseeds” by its opponents—and Citizens’ Party, representing the borough’s newer commuter population. A six-way tie for the final five seats ultimately was settled by drawing the candidates’ names.

‘Hayseeds vs. Commuters’ in Park Ridge school election

July 19, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

PARK RIDGE, N.J.—Park Ridge broke from Washington Township and began life as a borough in 1894. With that came its own school district, and the first election of school board […]

‘Downtown’ Westwood in the 1870s. This view looks across the intersection of Railroad Avenue and Main Street (Broadway and Westwood Avenue) toward the Westwood House hotel, built in 1869. This location is now the Westwood Gallery.

Fury from above: The summer when ice wreaked havoc at Pascack

July 13, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

PASCACK VALLEY—Last week’s severe weather certainly put a damper on the Pascack Valley’s Fourth of July plans. A heat wave that saw temperatures soar into the triple digits was broken […]

The sale was widely advertised in New York City newspapers, an enticement for businessmen to bring their families to the suburbs and become commuters. For the convenience of New Yorkers, free rides by touring car went back and forth between Cresskill and the Dyckman Street ferry boats on the New Jersey side.

When the heart of Cresskill hit the auction block

July 7, 2026 Kristin Beuscher

CRESSKILL, N.J.—This week we go back 95 years to the creation of a Cresskill neighborhood. On July 9, 1921, a crowd gathered under a massive tent at the center of […]

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