New York Sun, Oct. 1, 1895 — John J. Carlock, superintendent of streets, lives at Saddle River, and comes to Hackensack every morning on the New Jersey & New York Railroad from Hillsdale. He is driven to the depot by his daughter Serena, aged 18 years.
Yesterday Mr. Carlock was informed by his daughter that on several occasions, on her return from the depot, when she passed a certain house a man appeared on the roadside and insulted her by remarks and actions.
This morning, after driving past the place, Mr. Carlock alighted and, returning through the brush, secreted himself near the spot pointed out as that at which the man usually appeared.
Miss Carlock drove back, and the man, it is said, repeated his offensive conduct. Then Mr. Carlock jumped from his hiding place, alighted upon him, and thrashed him in a good old-fashioned rough-and-tumble method until he pleaded for mercy. The man finally crawled away, while Miss Carlock drove her father to the depot and returned home without being bothered.
She was alone on the return trip, but she was armed with a six-shooter, which she is capable of handling.
Author’s note: Four years later, Serena Carlock married Charles E. Haring and the newlyweds settled in Westwood, where they spent the rest of their lives. Charles ran the first hardware store in town, which was located at the corner of Westwood and Center avenues (later Woolworth’s, then CVS, now Valley Bank). The couple had two sons, Roger and Walter. Serena died in 1951 at the age of 80, a day shy of the couple’s 53-year wedding anniversary. She was a charter member of the Westwood Woman’s Club.