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Historic Preservation Committee

E-mail Recollection

  1. Name:

    Carol Diane Shute Noble

  2. Mailing address:

    Buena Vista, CO

  3. When and where were you born?

    Hackensack, N.J. 1941

  4. When did you come to Mountain Lakes?

    1944

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

    We moved to Mountain Lakes from Bogota, N. J. There were 9 of us, my grandparents, Mable and Jacob Mack, and my brothers, Leslie and Richard (who attended St. Thomas Choir School in NYC and later graduated from Blair Academy and from Cornell University and Lehigh University, respectively. Richard (Dick) married the former Rosemary Drake from Mountain Lakes. My sister, Janice, graduated in 1949 and married George Wilson, who was the basketball coach at Mountain Lakes for 25 years. (There is a memorial to her at the volleyball courts, I believe.) My brother, Edgar Alan (Al,) graduated from Mountain Lakes in 1953 and then from Lehigh University. I graduated from MLHS in 1959, in the first graduating class in the new school. I attended Bucknell University for 2 years; I then worked for Warner Chilcott for a year before getting married at St. Peter's church in 1962. Our family attended St. Peter's. My Dad was on the Vestry for several years.

    My father, Leslie E. Shute, worked for Socony (Mobil Oil) for 38 years, retiring in 1959/60, I believe. He commuted to NYC, first by train and ferry and later on via bus or motor pool. He was head of distribution for the Mid-west region.

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

    1944-1958: 71 Hanover Road, 1959 - ? 348 Morris Avenue My parents also lived behind my sister on Larchdell Way for several years. I lived there for a few months after our twins were born, while my husband was in school to prepare to move to Boulder, Colorado with IBM. He was one of the first 100 employees there.

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

    71 Hanover was one of the Hapgood homes (stucco) When my family purchased it, it had a huge crack down the center of the wide steps leading up to the front door. hen my father saw it, he thought my mother and grandmother were crazy, but my mother, Adelaide Shute, was an amazing decorator and turned the house into a show home. My grandmother was well known for the beautiful gardens she kept up around the house. She also was an excellent cook and made most of our clothes.

    My mom, who was a well known and respected realestate agent, worked for Lydia Klintrup on the Boulevard. Her agency was later bought by Mrs. Becker, who turned it over to her son, Bob. It then became Coldwell Banker, and Bob is now one of the vice-presidents of the company. My sister, Janice, was manager of the real estate office for a few years and was also a top salesman for the agency.

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

    Would you like me to write a book or keep it brief? Even though Mountain Lakes was a little wild at times, it was a wonderful place to grow up - safe! We had lots of parties at the house after sports events. Our house was always open to visitors and guests. I'm even told that my Mom offered housing to her clients who were delayed in access to the homes they purchased from her. For a while, after some of the family had gotten married and left home, we had schoolteachers - and later family - living on the top floor.

    Early on, I remember the coal truck backing up and dumping coal into the basement before we got the new furnace. I visited the house in 1999, during our 40th anniversary, and the basement was still unfinished. It still smelled the same.

    I'll add more to the memories in a later edit. There are just too many to record right now.

  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?

  10. Where did you and your family shop?

    Dells Village - my brother, Al, was a checker there at the grocery.

  11. What were the roads and the lakes like?

    They were mostly maccadam. Mostly I remember when a snowstorm (1950"s) closed all the roads except for one lane down the Boulevard and my Dad and I walked to St. Peter's to go to church. I played the organ (not very well) but there were only a few people who showed up that morning.

    We loved the lakes - except in August when they purged. Mostly we swam at Island Beach and sometimes at the ML Club. In my high school years, they opened swimming at Birchwood.

    The Club used to have a big 4th of July celebration - and would throw a greased watermelon in the lake. Whoever retrieved it would receive $5. One year I won it. The next year I tried again - and almost drowned. It was rather scary, because I was there without any friends and no one would have missed me. I came up out of the lake sputtering and gasping - but everyone was paying attention to the contest. I was being trampled by the other contestents.

    One year I went out on the lake in a canoe with one of my boyfriends to watch the fireworks. Many of the homes around the lake would light flares so that most of the lake was surrounded by lights. The fireworks weren't as spectacular as they are today, but it was wonderful.

    I had several friends who lived on the lake - one used to have parties (and some of us used to go skinny dipping! One year some of the guys got word of it and parked at the club and turned on their headlights!)

    In the winter we would always watch for the flag to go up to signal that it was save to ice skate. One time I skated from the small lake to the big lake via the canal - and my foot went through the ice. Luckily it wasn't deep (Again, I was alone! - Not too smart!)

  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 favorite teacher was Mr. Davidowski. We never knew what a good education we were getting at the time. We took it for granted! The schools were excellent at college preparation - (for those who decided to apply themselves when they got in college, that is!)

    My piano teacher was Mrs. Bomboy on Ball Road. She died several years ago. She'd probably be amazed to know that I have 20 students of my own!

    There weren't many individuals that I can credit for having an impact on my life - but families were important - and PEOPLE KNEW WHERE YOU WERE AND WHAT YOU WERE UP TO! (They probably knew more than I knew they knew!)

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

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

  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?

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

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

  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?

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




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