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Historic Preservation Committee

E-mail Recollection

  1. Name:a

    Christine Graunas

  2. Mailing address:

    Highton, Victoria 3216, Australia

  3. When and where were you born?

    New York, 1947

  4. When did you come to Mountain Lakes?

    At a year old (1948)

  5. Tell us something about your family. Did your parents also live here?

    My parents lived in New York when I was born; my father had been in the war. They bought the house with GI Bill funding and we moved out from the city.

  6. Where have you lived in the Borough? In which houses?

    30 Howell Road (@1948-1957); 25 Reynold Road (1957-1964); 23 Crestwood Drive (l left when I went to college in 1965; my mother remained there for a few more years).

  7. What do you remember particularly about the houses and properties where you lived?

    The 30 Howell Road house was a lovely house, with elegant panelling and a lot of the original details; don't know if these still remain. When I was young we rented out the top floor, but then an ordinance was passed that rentals were no longer allowed. We left that house because it was really too big for a family of four (my grandmother lived with us at the time). When I was little we still had a 'Boonton 8" telephone exchange, and a party line. The Crestwood Drive houses had really been almost summer cottages at one point and were very simple, but have all been added to now, I imagine.

  8. What are some of your special memories growing up in Mountain Lakes?

    I remember the big ice storm sometime in the 50s - the power was out for days and it was cold - we cooked and kept warm by the fireplace - very exciting when you are little. It was a pretty town, with a lot of very nice places to play - a good place to be a kid in. The Christmas decorations were fun - we'd drive around and look at them at Christmas time. At that point there was still countryside beyond Dell's village (Boonton Township?) and you could drive out there and purchase fresh corn on a summer evening.

  9. Where did you go to school? What particular memories do you have from your school years? Are there any special stories you associate with that time of your life?

    I went through the Mountain Lakes school system - kindergarten at Lake Drive school; Wildwood (it was new then) for grades 1-2; back to Lake Drive for 3-4 (I think); Briarwood for 5-6; then the High School (that was new then too - it was the baby boom years). I seem to remember I walked to Lake Drive school from 30 Howell Road for kindergarten - but that may not be true! Used to walk to school or ride bikes. By high school, senior year, a few kids had cars, but it was a big deal for a teenager to have a car then. There were some truly excellent teachers in the high school when I was there (Mr MacDowell, Mr Davidowski, Clarence Wiggins, Mrs McCullough) - probably the best thing about my years in Mountain Lakes - that and the good friends made with whom I am still in touch. We had a wonderful high school chorus, and then there was the 'GAA (Girl's Athletics Association) show' - a big deal for the girls, very competitive, leading to mass adolescent hysteria - a mixed bag, that, but an important memory!

  10. Where did you and your family shop?

    At Dell's Village - there was a small supermarket; in Boonton and Denville; for important stuff we'd go to Morristown; it was a big deal when the Short Hills Mall opened; for REALLY big stuff, we went to New York. 'Two Guys from Harrison' was one of the first big discount stores anywhere, out on Route 46 somewhere (late 50s/early 60s?).

  11. What were the roads and the lakes like?

    Much the same as now, I think - although in pre-snow tire days driving in heavy winters used to be a challenge, particularly on some of the hills.

  12. Are there any special people you remember who contributed to the life of the town? Why do they stand out in your mind?

    My mother, Betty Graunas, was the town clerk for many years and was very involved with the life of Mountain Lakes. She thought very highly of some of the mayors and councilmen at that time, who gave their time voluntarily as a public service - also of the volunteer fire department, and the town crew, who were very hard-working guys. I have personal recollections of some of the police officers also; there was one particular officer, a Sargeant Castellucci, who scared the willies out of most of us teenagers. Since I was then dating the son of the mayor and we were well known to all the town cops, you can imagine that we had to be on our best behavior...

  13. What did you do for fun formal recreation, sports and entertainment in general?

    When I was a kid winters were really fun; we skated on the lakes, and did a lot of sledding. Summers of course we swam in the lakes, and sailed and boated. We used to just spend a lot of time wandering around town. It was a big event when Birchwood Lake opened. We also used to go to the Tourne, and ride bikes. When I was a teenager we'd take the bus into the City.

  14. Are there any special events that stand out in your mind?

    The 4th of July Fireworks over the lake used to be fun (do you still do that?); I also have pretty strong memories of the Memorial Day parade (I was in it for years, first as a Brownie and Girl Scout, then as part of the High School marching band - we were at the point probably the worst marching band in New Jersey, but we enjoyed ourselves). I remember a house near us burning down in the 50s, on Morris Road - children actually died, it was terribly shocking.

  15. Did your parents and the parents of your friends work nearby? In New York or elsewhere? How did they get to work? How did commuting change over your time here?

    My father used to take the train to New York; I used to walk to the train station to meet him from 30 Howell Road when I was very small (it was a safer world). We used to go count the cars on the freight trains. Later he used to drive to Holmdell - he worked for Bell Labs. My mother worked for the town as the Borough Clerk for many years.

  16. How did various laws affect the way people lived?

    All I remember was dog licenses!

  17. Did you have a sense of Mountain Lakes as a unique place in its lifestyle, its homes, as a community?

    You won't like this - I was very aware that Mountain Lakes was a 'special place' although I probably didn't realise how 'special' - and I personally wanted out. I realise what it cost my folks to live in a town like that, with its beauty, architecture and its good schools - yet its isolation and exclusivity (at that point there were no Jews, no blacks, and Catholics weren't really welcome to a lot of people) weren't very pretty. We didn't play in Boonton park when we were little, because the kids from Boonton hated us and would beat us up. That's the dark side.

  18. How did the world's events -- World War I, the Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the assassination of JFK, Viet Nam, Watergate, etc. -- affect you and fellow Mountain Lakes residents when you were growing up?

    Naturally I remember Kennedy's assassination - I was in high school at the time - but beyond that and comments above I am ashamed to say world events didn't affect me much then - I think though that that is not uncommon for youth. I do remember some lecture by a rabid 'anti-communist' at Briarwood school at some point in the very early sixties, which was probably fairly well received - Mountain Lakes politics were very conservative - at one point there were only 17 registered Democrats in the town.

  19. What made living in Mountain Lakes special to you, as you think back over your life here?

    To sum up, in one sense I was of course very privileged. It was a very nice town, with excellent schools, no real crime to speak of except the occasional domestic argument (my mother was also the court clerk and the 'policewoman', so I knew, although she didn't tell me names...) wonderful facilities, and lovely houses that I am glad are being preserved. On the other hand, I am afraid that I really do have to say that growing up in a place like that can give you a very warped view of the world. I wonder if this has changed since the 50s and 60s - or if it is even more extreme. Wrapping a wall of privilege around yourself can be a very dangerous thing.




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