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I would readily say that most people in the state of New Jersey never heard of the town of River Vale. Of those that have heard of it, very few even know where it is. Of those who have heard of River Vale and even know where it is, there are only a handful of people who knew this quiet little town as do those of us who grew up there during the 20s, 30s, and 40s, before the town's population "took off" after World War II. Included in these three decades are what we refer to as "The Depression Years". This is the era that I will endeavor to cover in my recollections of River Vale.
I will attempt to break down this writing into two sections. One being "places" and the other being "people". I might add some personal observations also!
"Places"
For a town that is about three miles from North to South and a mile or a mile and a half from East to West, there were many places that could capture the interest of a young boy with an adventuresome (and snoopy) nature such as myself.
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Kessler/Conlin Estate |
THE KESSLER/CONLIN ESTATE
There were several estates throughout the town that surely should not go without being recognized. The largest and most impressive of those being The Kessler/Conlin Estate. This was a huge three story wood frame house on the site of the present Edgewood Country Club.
The house was constructed by Julius Kessler, who was one of the first mayors of River Vale and the owner of the Kessler Whiskey Distillery. The estate covered over 300 acres and at one time had many "wild" non-native animals wandering throughout the fields and wooded areas of the estate.
Sometime during the 30s the place changed ownership from Kessler to a Mr. and Mrs. Ben Conlin. Mrs. Conlin was the daughter of Mr. Kessler's business partner, Mr. Brady. About the year 1944, my friend Bob Castello and I became friendly with Don Conlin, the son of the Conlins and we spent every day of our summer vacations at the estate. For two young fellows who hardly got out of the boundaries of the Pascack Valley, this was something that really had us in awe. The major rooms in the house were huge with ceilings that I would guess were 12 feet high. As you moved through the heavily carpeted rooms, you had the feeling that you could easily have been in the company of New York's finest social set, who also spent many hours being entertained in the very same rooms.
There was even a "card room" all done in natural wood, possibly a teakwood or something similar. Each and every room in that house just smacked of elegance. It could have been from a Hollywood movie set like "Gone With The Wind" or something of that sort. On the estate, there was an indoor swimming pool (unheard of in those days), a pool room, a bowling alley, a separate maid's quarters, a kitchen that could have come from a small New York City hotel, that elegant card room that I mentioned previously and best of all was the hospitality and charm that Mrs. Conlin offered to these two local urchins.