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Historic Preservation Committee

Recollection

  1. Name?

    Debbie Miller Spiller

  2. When and where were you born?

    All Souls Hospital, Morristown, NJ; September, 1948

  3. When did you come to Mountain Lakes?

    Around 1951-52

  4. Tell us something about your family; did your parents also live here?

    Father Harlee Miller

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

    99 Morris Avenue, then 7 Woodland Avenue (sold in 1966 for about $22,000!)

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

    Lots of yard and woods nearby to explore (before High School. Great paths in woods, etc.)

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

    The lakes, football games, GAA- blue team, gymnastics, July 4th at the Club

  8. 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?

    Kindergarten through High school in ML Ice skating Wildwood and the bid lake and the canal when possible.

  9. Where did you and your family shop?

    Yackarino's , Del's village.

  10. What were the roads and the lakes like?

    Less crowded, safer for kids, cleaner lakes. In winter after big snow and ice they blocked off North Glen for sledding. Lookout.

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

    Mr. Henry Ready - Music teacher, chair, Ms. Tomlinson - English. Coach Wilson!

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

    Gymnastics - High School during GAA, dancing in the cafeteria (summer) Swim, sail on Big Lake. Roller skating in Florham Park. Movies 35cents in Boonton Theatre.

  13. Are there ay special events that stand out in your mind?

    Christmas at St. Peters Church, 4th of July at the MLC

  14. Did your parents and the parents of your friends work nearby? In NYC or elsewhere? How did they get to work? How did community change over your time here?

    Father salesman in NJ, and NY, drove his Volvo P 1800, Mother interior designer- drove.

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

    Never had any conflict to know about he laws, but heard that Castelucci enforced them big time.

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

    More so after I left ML, appreciated it much more as unique and privileged.

  17. How did the world's events - WWI, the Depression, WWII, the Korean War, the assassination of JFK, Viet Nam, Watergate, etc - affect you and fellow ML residents when you were growing up?

    Reality of the world's problems and threats, ML was so sheltered and non-mixed nationalities.

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

    Peaceful, friends, walking usually, not driving everywhere you went.




 Oral Histories and Recollections