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BY TOM CLANCEY || PHOTOS BY MURRAY BASS
OF PASCACK PRESS
Children from the Pascack Valley and beyond enjoyed a day of fishing in the region’s namesake waterway on April 21, when Friends of the Pascack Brook hosted their 26th annual Kids Fishing Contest.
With recent rains causing the brook to swell, and its waters teeming with trout stocked by the Friends in anticipation of their signature contest, youngsters fished along its shores from St. John’s in Hillsdale to Brookside Park in Westwood. Later, they gathered in Veterans Park in Hillsdale to receive trophies and congratulations for their catch of the day.
The event is reminiscent of the region’s bucolic past as a countryside getaway for city dwellers, where fishing was once part of routine life in Pascack Valley communities. Members of the Friends recalled the contributions from founding members who have passed on, like Fred Winkler and Neil Hering, members of “The Greatest Generation” who helped start the organization to share their love of fishing that they carried with them from their time as kids living near the brook.
“We’re seeing Fred and Neil’s great-grandkids fishing there,” Friends Secretary Richard Correri told Pascack Press. “That’s what’s neat about it: that a lot of the guys who were our age, who were fishing before this contest started, and then they started going with their kids, now it’s their grandkids starting to come back. We have continuity with people from the beginning of the contest.”
And the contest also enjoys continuity with its supporters, public and private, businesses and citizens, who the Friends thank for their generous support. That includes Hillsdale and Westwood’s governing bodies, which give donations, and aid from both boroughs’ public works and recreation officials.
There’s also an element of discovery from new residents, who don’t know the history of the event, but hear about a fishing contest and come down to check it out. Friends member Tom Kirk told Pascack Press that the organization’s members enjoy helping newcomers experience the joy of hooking a fish—and their reactions.
“You can’t put money on that,” said Kirk.
At the end of the day, kids gather in Veterans Park in Hillsdale, by the historic police booth, to measure their catches and receive trophies, often named for generous sponsors.
There, the kids are encouraged to pick up the slimy, slippery fish and pose for a picture—and they often exhibit their own squirmy gestures, too.
“You just laugh all day at the reactions of the kids,” said Correri. “It’s such a great, great day for that reason for me.”
