The historic Woodside Cemetery in Dumont, NJ. It is the home of many ‘founding families’ of Bergen County, NJ., such as the Demarest’s, Hopper’s, Van Buskirk’s, Haring’s (Hering’s), Van Saun’s, DeBaun’s, Westervelt’s and Zabriskie’s. These are the families that dominated the farming industry in Bergen County before and after the Revolutionary War. It is one of the many historical cemeteries and graveyards in Bergen County, NJ.
My mapping of historical cemeteries and graveyards in Bergen County, NJ:
The inside of the cemetery in the historical section of the cemetery
The historical Woodside cemetery is the resting place of many of the founding families of Bergen County and the surrounding communities of New York State.
Lining the historical Main Street of Downtown Dumont, the older part of the cemetery holds the family plots of some of the original settlers who shaped this country from its beginning.
The Voorhis family plot
The Zabriskie family plot
The Brinkerhoff family plot
The Waite Van Bushkirk family plot
The Van Bushkirk family family plot
The large Demarest family plot
The Hasbrouck family plot (The Family who Hasbrouck Heights is named after)
The Blauvelt family plot
The DeBaum-Westervelt family plot
The Van Saun-Demarest family plot
The Demarest-Haring-Van Vliet-Vorhees family plot
The Demarest-Van Bushkirk family plot
The Brinkerhoff-Doremus-Demarest family plot
The Van Bushkirk-Hopper family plot
The grave of James Blauvelt DeMott
The cemetery is the resting place of many War of 1812, Civil War, the World Wars, Korean and Vietnam and the modern wars.
The cemetery is a place of respect and quiet contemplation. To see the contributions of these members of the community is to reflect on the history of Bergen County. These families and many people buried here have helped shape Bergen County and the State of New Jersey to what it is today.
I took a ride to Upstate New York in July to visit museums and historical sites in Orange County, NY that had been on my bucket list but most were closed on the sunny Sunday. I made a U turn on the local highway and stopped to visit the Hill-Hold Museum in Campbell Hill, NY.
The Hill-Hold Museum at 128 NY 416 in Campbell Hill, NY
After the tour of the house was over, I decided to stop at the Orange County Fair for the evening and get something to eat.
Being a frequent visitor of the Dutchess County Fair, I expect all the fairs to be of the size and scope of that fair. This one was much smaller but still had a lot to offer.
The entrance to the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown, NY
When I arrived in the late afternoon, the fair was rather quiet as it was the late afternoon and most of the demonstrations and entertainment would be later that evening.
Walking through the entrance of the fairgrounds past the rides and the concessions
Still there was a sizable crowd already at the fair riding the rides, playing games of chance and eating at the somewhat over-priced concession stands.
There were a nice variety of rides and things to do while I walked around surveying the grounds to what there was to do and experience.
Looking over the rides which were filled with families
The first tent I visited was the Livestock Tent and the petting zoo. While the fair did not have the livestock displays that the other fairs did or the 4H presence, the tent had friendly selection of animals to see and feed. They looked so happy to see humans with food.
Walking through the petting zoo
Walking through the petting zoo
The sheep and llamas were waiting by the edge of the pens for treat from a human hand. I found them inquisitive of us especially as we fed them.
Watching the llamas decor an ice cream cone filled with treats
The next tent I visited was the 4H tent with all the craft and food items on display. The judging had taken place and all the ribbons were on display.
Walking through the crafts tents
The Scarecrow Contest in the Crafts Tent
We even got to vote on a scarecrow. I thought that was interesting.
Nightmare Manor, the haunted funhouse
The preview of the movie “The Funhouse”
I next walked along the Midway past a whole series of rides and attractions. The first ones were the funhouse and the glory, the Nightmare Manor haunted ride. The lines were short so most people were getting in quickly.
The next thing I did was visit the grandstands where they were having a demonstration on Monster Trucks. This I had to see.
The Monster Trick Rally competition
They were offering rides to patrons before the show (which was a separate fee), so I got to see people driving around the field having a great time.
I did not want to stay for the show as those lines were getting long and I wanted to head home before it got dark. I left the ever growing line to head to the concession to get something to eat.
Stopping for dessert at Tootsie’s Fried Dough Concession
Someone had just walked by me with a steaming funnel cake and then I had to have one. The one thing I have to say about Tootsie’s Fried Dough is that everything is made fresh to order and the quality of the funnel cake was better than any one that I had at the Dutchess County Fair, which are always premade and soggy by the time you get them.
The Funnel Cake was made to order and out of this world
Yum! These were the best!
The last thing that I attended was the circus, which had just started at 6:00pm as I was leaving the fairgrounds. I decided to stay for the most of the show. I enjoyed the high wire acts and the acrobatic displays.
The high wire acts
These brothers from South America were extremely talented and do the most amazing tricks on the high wire.
The bicycle ride over the high wire
Skipping rope on the high wire acts
I really had a nice time at the fair. While it was not as big as either the Dutchess or Ulster County fairs that I attended in the past, there was a lot to see and do at the Orange County Fair.
The Bridgewater, NJ 4H Fair:
Going to the 4H Fair in Bridgewater, NJ was like a step back in time. I used to come here with friends after swim team practice as kids and we all used to garbage up eating our way through the Food Tent. After that, we would enjoy the fair.
The entrance to the Somerset County 4H Fair in Bridgewater, NJ
Walking into the 4H Fairgrounds was like stepping back over forty years as I had not been here since 1981. I even searched all the tents to find someone I knew (I did not know anyone).
The various displays of crafts, hobby cars, crafts and gardening tips
I first visited the Craft and Hobby tents with the displays of model trains, planes, automobiles and artwork. It was mostly families talking amongst themselves. The I next visited the Cow pens.
The cow pens
The cow pens
The cows were getting their afternoon feeding
I next visited the Sheep tent and they were in the middle of having their lunch as well not paying too much attention to us humans.
The sheep were enjoying their lunch when I got there and stopped for a second to see what I was doing
They all went back to feeding
There was a llama tent as well and they seemed very welcoming to human interaction
While walking around the fair, I could see the dark clouds coming in the distance. I had thought the storms were not coming until that evening, so I hustled through the rest of the tents.
Walking down the Midway of the fair with dark clouds in the distance
Entering the Poultry Tent
There were all sorts of varieties of chickens, ducks and geese to visit at the fair.
The prize chickens in their pens
The chickens were eating their lunch and pecking away
The highlight of the 4H Fair to me as a child was the Food tent with all the hot dogs, hamburgers, fried dough and funnel cakes and the popcorn and cotton candy for dessert.
The Food Concession tent
The Food tent
Just as I was deciding what to eat for dinner, there was a panicked announcement over the loudspeaker that they were closing the fair due to incoming storm clouds and lightening.
Everyone made a mad dash for their cars and I actually felt for all the concessions, who had all this food to sell and now how to shut down quickly. Some of the patrons had a ‘screw it’ attitude and kept eating probably until they kicked them out of the tent.
It started to rain while I was in the parking lot and I just checked messages on my phone and worked on blogs until most of the traffic got out of the parking lot. Then I drove into Bridgewater and had dinner at Joe’s Pizzeria at 1938 Washington Valley Road in Martinsville.
Joe’s Pizzeria at 1938 Washington Valley Road in Bridgewater, NJ
I had been coming to Joe’s since I was five and the pizza has not changed on bit since then. The next and the current owner both use the original Joe’s recipe for tomato sauce for the pies and calzones. Dinner here is another step back in time to my teen years. The inside of the pizzeria has not changed much in 35 years.
I was in the mood for a sandwich but I did not see any on the menu. They no longer make them so I ordered the Sausage and Pepperoni Roll. When it came out, it looked like a small pizza folded over. They made it fresh for me.
The Sausage and Pepperoni Roll with a side of red sauce
The roll was stuffed with a half pound of sweet fried sausage and spicy pepperoni, tucked in a pizza dough shell and baked to perfection.
It was the perfect meal for me covering both lunch and dinner. This could have been shared by two people.
The food here has been excellent since I started to come here in the 1970’s and has not changed since.
The dining area has not changed much since I was a kid
There’s more fairs to see and many more experiences to be had at them.
I had never heard of the Hill-Hold Museum and I happened to come across it when I saw a sign on the local highway that the museum was open that day. I thought it was a very interesting home and grounds with historical homes and buildings. Some came from other parts of Orange County, NY.
There are group tours on the hour with the last tour at 3:00pm. I took the last tour by myself with the tour guide and got a one on one tour of the house and grounds. The tour takes you into a step back in time to an agricultural society that no longer exists and times were slower and more structured.
The Hill-Hold Museum
The estate in the background
The Hill-Hold Museum:
A Farm for Two Centuries. This stone farmhouse was built in 1769. This museum reflects the life of the Bull-Jackson family spanning over 200 years. Hill-Hold Museum has circa 1830 Furnishings, a one room School House, a historic 1870 barn, Goosetown Gift Shop, picnic benches, and parking (Museum website).
The house on the estate grounds
The Mission Statement:
(From the museum website)
The Friends of Hill-Hold and Brick House Museums serve to preserve and enhance the preservation of history in Orange County, by maintaining, furnishing and operating programs at both these exemplary 18th century houses. These museums include portraits, memorabilia, photographs, and furnishings pertinent to them, the county and the past ages that touched each house (Museum website).
The front of the Hill-Hold Museum at the start of the tour
History of the Hill-Hold house museum:
(From the museum website)
Visit Hill-Hold museum and see what life was like on a Hudson Valley farm in the 1830s. This was still the era of candlelight, fireplace heat, homegrown food, and homespun clothing. The stone farmhouse was built in 1769 with wide plank floors, handsome paneling, and huge fireplaces (Museum website).
It was the home of a prosperous farmer, Thomas Bull, and his family. Original furnishings range from a prized old mahogany sideboard to made-on-the-farm pieces. Most of the rural family’s needs – food, clothing, fuel came directly from the farm. The property was gifted to the County in 1968 by Eleanor Jackson and the house went through an extensive restoration in the 1970’s to return it to how it appeared when it was originally built in the 18th century. (Museum website).
The Hill-Hold farm served the Bull-Jackson family for more than two hundred years. Now visitors are welcome to tour the farm. As we wander through Orange County, reveling in its rolling farmland scenery, we can go back to when the early Americans brought the gracious living and energetic husbandry to this unique part of the Hudson Valley (Museum website).
The Parlor-sitting room on the first floor was once a bedroom
We started the tour in the formal parlor, which the tour guide told me was once a bedroom along with the Living Room before the house was expanded. The house is filled with Bull family heirlooms that were donated back to the house by distance family members.
The family portrait’s in the Parlor-sitting room with the family piano that was used in the evening for entertainment
The portrait below is of the last member of the Bull family to live in the house before it was donated to the State of New York.
A portrait of the last family member to live in the house
The room was used by the family for entertainment, relaxation and for every evening activities. The room was used for pursuits such a sewing, needlepoint, conversation and with a piano in the room, evening activities with the family. With so much going on the farm, people retired in the evening early as the morning brought a lot of work on this working farm.
The spinning wheel by the fireplace
The Dining Room again was a former bedroom that was expanded for a formal eating as the both the house was expanded as well as the family. Breakfast and a late lunch/supper were served in this room. The Dining Room table, chairs, sideboards and china were pieces that part of the house donated back by the family.
The family dining room
The family China in the sideboard cub-bard in the Dining Room
The complete formal china set was displayed in the china closet as if ready to be used for a formal dinner party.
The sitting area in the Dining Room
The upstairs bedroom
We toured the master bedroom on the second floor of the home. Each of the rooms had fireplaces to keep them warm in the long winter nights with a canopy bed to keep the warmth inside. I could not believe how small people were at this time. This would have barely held one person today.
The canopy bed in the upstairs bedroom
The other bedroom would have been used by the children of the family. Now it contains sewing and weaving machines as well as spinning wheel to create the family clothing.
The second bedroom
The Sewing Room on the second floor with the oven/heater and family spinning wheels
Fabric and clothing was created in the home. Whether flax and wool, material was spun on the farm and the family wardrobe was created here.
The family spinning wheels
The sitting area on the second floor
The last part of the house tour was of the family kitchen in the main house. The Summer kitchen was on the other side of the garden outside. The main kitchen inside the house had the fireplace, cooking materials, the family pewter and everything you would need to cook a complete meal.
The family kitchen
The family table set for cooking
Items for bread and dessert baking, butter making, roasting and stewing and all the items needed to cook three meals a day. The bounty of the Spring, Summer and Fall had to supply the long winters when there was no grocery shopping available.
The equipment for washing clothes and other household chores
Wash Day was a whole day reserved for sorting, boiling, scrubbing and hanging clothing to dry. Until the more modern machines were invented in the 1920’s after WWII, this was the weekly ritual for the farm housewife or the staff.
The open hearth and cooking equipment
The cooking equipment
The family pewter set
After we finished the house tour, we explored the outer buildings which included a Summer Kitchen, a smoke house, the vegetable and flower gardens. These buildings were spread around the main house.
The Summer Kitchen
The inside of the Summer kitchen
This Summer Kitchen came from a different property but the use is still the same. As the warmer months of the Summer were upon them, cooking was done in a separate building to keep the house cooler.
Some of the cooking and baking equipment
The flower beds on the side of the house
The flower and vegetable beds on the side of the property and the smoke house
Outside the main house were the vegetable, fruit and flower gardens. Items used in the household for meals, decorations and entertaining.
The barn, the outhouse and the smoke house in the distance
The inside of the smoke house where meats once hung used for family meals
All the family meats were placed in here for cooking and smoking for the family meals. The process took much longer than it does today.
The well in the middle of the property
They also moved an old school house to the property and it was furnished as a complete turn of the last century school house. It was used until 1936.
The schoolhouse on the property
The inside of the school room
The classrooms of the 1700’s and 1800’s to today have not changed much. With the exception of modern heating and air conditioning, the class room set up has not changed much. There is still a board in the front of the room, chairs facing the teacher, who is in charge and books lining the walls.
The teachers desk and the furnace that kept the room warm in the cold months
Games and amusements that were used in recess
Wheels and bikes were part of the games children played at the turn of the last century
Before modern electronics took over starting in the 1970’s, bicycles, hoops and games such as tag and hopscotch were part of playground activities. Playing outside has not changed much throughout the centuries.
Looking over the grounds at the end of the tour
Before I left for the afternoon, I was able to tour the gift shop before the museum closed for the day.
The Goosetown gift shop at the museum entrance at the end of the tour
The Goosetown Gift Shop at Hill-Hold features books, gifts, toys, craft items, and souvenirs. The shop is operated by the Friends of Hill-Hold, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, which aids in the operation of Hill-Hold and Brick House museums (The Museum website).
It really is an interesting tour and a step back in time for a glimpse into the life of a Upper Middle Class farming family.
I enjoy coming up to Germantown to visit the Clermont Mansion at any time of the year especially at Christmas time. I came for a tour of Clermont in the Christmas season of 2019 (pre-COVID) to tour the home. The old mansions of the Hudson River Valley show their real beauty at this time of the year.
The Clermont Library decorated for Christmas
In 2020, the home closed like everything else for COVID and because of extensive renovations on the property and in the home, did not open again until June of 2023. I came up finally in July of 2023 for another tour of the home. The mansion looked very refreshed and bright on a blue, sunny afternoon. The grounds were in full bloom and everything looked so green.
The views of the river when you arrive
Walking around Clermont is like walking through a history book. To think you are walking around the very rooms that family members who wrote the Declaration of Independence, were Governors and Ambassadors from our country and who owned most of Upstate New York lived is really incredible. The Livingston Family did so much for the United States in the formation of this country is a testament to the family.
Once you arrive at the Visitors Center and pay for your tour, you will have time to walk around the exhibition of the history of the family in the old stables. Here you will learn about the family who built and lived in this wonderful home. The family lived here for seven generations and like most families over time when the money depleted, they had to move out. The last daughter of the family, Honoria, sold the estate to the State of New York as a park. The upkeep got to be too much for the family.
The Visitor’s Center display on the family
The family story boards in the old stables
The history of the estate and the Livingston family in the Visitor’s Center
The history of the estate
The tour 2019 was wonderful because of the one on one conversation I had with my tour guide, Molly. It was the same in 2023 when Aaron took me on a one on one tour of the mansion. We started in the entry hallway where the family hang many of the family portraits and the long hall lead to wonderful views of the Hudson River.
The Entrance Hall of Clermont
Just off to the right of the front entrance of the home (the front entrance faces the river not the back entrance where you start the tour) is the Receiving Room. This was the room in 2023 during my summer tour of the house. The Receiving Room is where guests would wait to be welcomed by family members or people would call on the family and leave their calling cards.
The Receiving Room was also used as a Music Room as well
The Receiving Room was decorated for the holidays in 2019 with more beautiful views of the river and a very interesting clock on the mantle that there are only two in the world. This clock represented the first balloon launch in France and this was the clock where the balloon went up. In France was the other clock with the balloon going down. I thought that was pretty interesting.
Our next stop was the Library which seemed very homey and relaxing. It looked like a room that a family would want to spend their time in after a long day. The windows faced the river and the formal gardens at that time and let in a lot of light. The room was decorated with a elegant tree and looked like the family was ready to walk in and join us for the holidays.
The Library of Clermont
The Office/Library on the first floor
Next it was off to the formal Dining Room where the portraits of Margaret Beekman Livingston (a VERY distant relative of mine by marriage) and her husband, Robert Livingston hung. She had saved these along with the grandfather clock before her first house was burned by the British during the war years. It was set for Christmas lunch when the family would dine together.
In the summer months, the room was pretty plain with no set up on the table. The Dining Room has just had some renovation work so the walls and ceiling looked really nice.
The Clermont Dining Room in the summer of 2023
The Dining Room portraits
Margaret Beekman Livingston’s Wedding portrait in the Dining Room
Robert Livingston’s Wedding portrait in the Dining Room
We also toured where the food was prepared and prepped from the kitchen to the Dining Room, which was all done in organized fashion. I was told by the tour guide that for the most part the family lived here year round unlike some of the other mansions who only lived here during certain times of the season.
The Kitchen at Clermont
We took a walk upstairs to see the upstairs bedrooms and see where the third Mrs. Livingston lived. I thought it was interesting that she had two beds in her room in which neither was big enough to accommodate her. One was the main bed and the smaller one was a Day bed when she wanted to take a nap but did not want to mess up her main bed.
The last Mrs. Livingston’s bedroom until the 1960’s
We then toured what had been Honoria’s and Alice’s bedroom when they were children and then became the Guest Room. It still looked like a Children’s Room.
The Daughter’s/Guest Bedroom
Then it was back down to the formal hallway for the end of the tour. The one thing I have to say about Clermont is that it looks like someone’s home not some grand mansion like the Mills or Vanderbilt mansions that looked like they for a moment time or only for a season. This family lived here all the time.
The upstairs bathroom was one of the remodeling features
The family lived here until the 1960’s when upkeep of the estate got to be too much for the family and it was sold to the state. The New York Park is now maintained by the New York State Park system.
The Gardens:
The formal gardens were in bloom when I got there that weekend. Since the house opened in June most of the Spring plantings were already gone but the Summer plantings were in full bloom. There were three gardens on the property, two of which had been brought back to nature, the Wilderness Garden and the South Spring Garden and then the Walled Garden was well maintained and planted.
The Wilderness Garden was well-maintained and planted with natural plants
The South Spring Garden
The South Spring Garden has given way to nature
The Walled Garden was the most formal of all the gardens
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
In the Fall, I went back up to Clermont for the Ghost Tour and the foliage was amazing, but the rain knocked a lot of it off. Still the colors were glorious.
Clermont in the Fall of 2023
The formal gardens in the Fall
The formal gardens in the Fall
The gardens in the Fall.
The I toured the rest of the estate and saw the ruins of the other mansion, Arryl, that is on the other side of the parking lot and then saw the ruins of the Old House and the Root Cellar.
The Ice House
The Root Cellar
The flowers by the Root Cellar
View of the Hudson River
The History of Clermont:
The name Clermont derives from “clear mountain” in French and was inspired by the view of the Catskill Mountains across the Hudson River from the estate.
The front of Clermont that faces the Hudson River
The estate was established by Robert Livingston following the death of his father, the first Lord of the Manor was inherited by the eldest son, Philip Livingston, 13,000 acres in the southwest corner later named Clermont was willed to Robert. The original house was built around 1740.
The path leading to the main house
Robert Livingston of Clermont died on June 27, 1775 and the estate passed to his son, Robert, who was known as ‘Judge Livingston’ to distinguish him from his father. Judge Livingston was a member of the New York General Assembly from 1759 to 1768, served as Judge of the admiralty court from 1760 to 1763 and was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress of 1765. He married Margaret Beekman, daughter of Colonel Henry Beekman. Their son, Robert R. Livingston, later known as “Chancellor”, served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Judge Robert died about six months after his father, on December 9, 1775.
Burning and Rebuilding:
In October 1777, British ships sailed upriver from New York City in support of General John Burgoyne who was north of Albany. That same force had already stormed two forts in the Hudson Highlands and burned Kingston, New York. Major General John Vaughan led a raiding party to Clermont and burned Livingston’s home because of the family’s role in the rebellion.
The history of the ‘famous’ Robert’s of Clermont
Margaret Beekman Livingston rebuilt the family home between 1779 and 1782. Robert R. Livingston became the estate’s most prominent resident. Chancellor Livingston administered the oath of office to President General Washington, became Secretary of Foreign Affairs and negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.
Margaret Beekman Livingston
He also partnered with Robert Fulton in 1807 to create the first commercially successful steamboat on the Hudson River, the North River Steamboat (later known as the Clermont) which stopped at the house on its inaugural trip.
Robert Livingston in the famous Gilbert Sullivan painting.
The home’s final Livingston owners were John Henry Livingston and his wife, Alice. They added to the home and greatly valued the homes important historical role. The Livingston’s built second mansion on the property known as Arryl House, which burned down in 1909. The ruins of Arryl House are still visible at the south end of the property.
The burnt ruins of Arryl Mansion on the other side of the property.
The Arryl Mansion in the Fall of 2023
Alice Livingston was responsible for creating many of the landscaped gardens that are continued to this day. Following John Henry’s death, Alice turned the Mansion and property over to the State of New York in 1962 so that all the people of New York could enjoy it.
The landscaping around the old Ice House
The house is now a New York State Historic Site and was designated a United States National Historic landmark in 1972. It is a contributing property to another National Historic Landmark, the Hudson River Historic District. Although locate in the town of Clermont, its mailing address is in the nearby town of Germantown.
The views from the back of Clermont to the Hudson River
(This information is a combination from the Clermont Website and Wiki and I give them full credit for this information. Please check the website above for more information on the site and its activities through their Friends site.)
The Clermont Grounds
The Fall in the Hudson River Valley is one of the most brilliant times to visit and the foliage is so colorful. The constant rain knocked a lot of it down already but all around the house their were still signs of the reds, golds and oranges. I came up for the Ghost Tours which the mansion resumed this year to sold out crowds.
The Clermont Estate in the Fall.
The river front of the estate in the fall.
The Hudson River in all its glory.
The Ghost Tour of the estate:
The Ghost Tour took us on a tour through the house to meet the costumed characters throughout the mansion. The mansion was decorated for the Halloween and with the lights dimmed, it gave the house an eerie appearance to it.
When I arrived at the estate, the house loomed in the distance in its it glories with the golden colors of autumn.
Jack-a Lanterns lined the pathways and lit the way to the house.
We were greeted with fresh Apple Cider Doughnuts and Apple Cider from a local farm in Kingston, NY.
We were also treated to old fashioned Halloween candy with Mary Janes, Tootsie Rolls and other treats.
We started our tour at 7:00pm at twilight with the lanterns lit and the house waiting in the distance.
The hallway was decorated for Halloween.
First we met an embittered Robert Livingston (who over acted)
We stopped in the haunted Living Room to talk to the maid.
We met the ghost of Janet Livingston Montgomery in the Parlor.
Then it was off to the Dining Room to meet the last inhabitant of the house, Janet Livingston.
Margaret Beekman Livingston guarding the Dining Room.
On the way to the kitchen, we met Captain Kidd, the Livingston children and the last owners of the house on the way out the back door to end the tour. The whole tour took less than an hour.
We exited the house through the kitchen and out the door to a moon lit night with jack-a-lanterns taking us back to the Visitors Center. The night had fallen in the early evening at the mansion as we were the second to last tour of the evening and the moon had come out giving the sky a ominous and spooky look about it.
The Christmas Open House: 2024
I visited again for the Christmas Open House in early December to see the decorations. I had not been there since 2018 and wanted to see how things had changed for the winter months. Everything was decked out for Christmas. The rooms were decorated but not in an over the top way as some of the other Hudson River homes.
The Clermont Estate at Christmas time.
The Clermont Estate at Christmas time.
The Front porch at Christmas time.
The Christmas tree on the porch.
Even the logs on the porch were decorated for the holidays.
The entrance foyer from the stairs.
Upon entering the front door, you could see the beauty and simplicity of the Christmas holidays in the early 1800’s before Victorian traditions took over and the house was overdone with decorations. Garland, Holly and simple pine trees adorned the rooms and welcomed everyone to the Christmas Holiday Open House sponsored by the Friends of Clermont. The home was nicely decorated for the holidays circa 1840’s.
Entering the Front Door at Clermont at Christmas.
The wreath was beautiful on the door.
Livingston Painting in the foyer
The Sugar Spun Clermont Sculpture.
Painting in the Foyer of Robert Livingston
Portrait of Margaret Livingston in the Foyer.
The holiday display.
The Office of Clermont
The Table Top tree in the Office.
The Library was set for Christmas morning with a large tree, homemade presents from the family and a morning of Christmas cheer. The views from the windows would have shown the beautiful views of the river.
The Library at Clermont
The Clermont Library at Christmas time.
The Christmas tree in the library.
The Library decorations.
Library decorations.
The Living Room was set for Afternoon Tea and for greeting guests who would have entered through the front door right off the main hallway.
The Living Room decorated for Christmas.
The Living Room was set for Afternoon Tea.
The portrait of Robert Livingston in the Living Room.
The portraits of Alida and Robert Livingston.
The Dining Room was not set for dinner but in anticipation of the holidays. The elegant runners, china, crystal and silver were off to the side awaiting the servants to set the table and prepare for Christmas dinner.
The Dining Room decorated for the holidays.
Holiday display in the Dining Room.
The Wedding Painting of Margaret Beekman Livingston in the Dining Room.
The family’s private bedrooms were decorated with garland and a small tree in the foyer.
Heading to the Second Floor of Clermont.
The view of the foyer from the upstairs.
The Livingston girls Bedroom.
The Livingston girl’s doll adorns the room.
The Christmas tree in the upstairs Foyer outside the bedrooms.
The Gingerbread House display in the Foyer.
When touring the kitchen which is located to the side of the house, the counters and tables were filled with all the delicious foods that would have been served at Christmas. Roasts, Trifles, Cakes and Pies would have been served by the staff for holiday get togethers and dinners at the mansion.
The Kitchen staff preparing the family’s Christmas dinner feast.
Preparations for Christmas dinner for the family.
Preparing Christmas dinner in the kitchen at Clermont.
After the Christmas Open House tour was over, the Friends sponsored Marshmallow roasting on the front lawn of the mansion and refreshments and talks up at the Visitors Center.
Roasting Marshmallows over the firepit on the mansion’s grounds after the walking tour of the mansion.
Christmas cookies, Apple Cider and Classic Candies in the Visitors Center ended the tour and the Open House for the day.
After the tour was over, I toured the gardens, which were dormant at the time and the grounds along the Hudson River. The views were just amazing and the gardens awaited the coming of the Spring when flowers would be blooming again.
The Garden Tours:
In the Summer of 2024, I took a special Garden Tour of the Livingston Gardens. A new Lead Gardener had been hired by the State of New York and she was starting to renovate the gardens. So we took a tour of the four gardens near the mansion. While we toured the estate grounds, we visited the South Spring Garden, the Walled Garden, the Children’s Garden and the Cutting Garden to see how they were progressing. The staff here is doing a good job bringing these gardens back to life to how Alice Livingston envisioned them.
The first was the South Spring Garden which is closest the house. This was built when the stairs to the side of the home were built and one of Alice Livingston’s first gardens.
The South Spring Garden sign
The South Spring Garden in Summer 2023
The South Spring Garden being cleaned up in Summer 2024
The grown in wall of the South Spring Garden
The Root Cellar sign
The Root Cellar remains by the South Spring Gardens
The flowers in the South Spring Gardens
The sign for the Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden
The Walled Garden Statuary
The Walled Garden
Then we visited the Wilderness Gardens that were just beyond these and they also had been brought back to life by the gardeners. This was to be a transition from the formal gardens to the woods.
The Wilderness Gardens:
The Wilderness Gardens sign
The Wilderness Gardens
The Wilderness Gardens
The we visited the Children’s Garden and the Cutting Gardens which were the newest gardens on the estate. The Children’s Garden playhouse had just been renovated and the beds had been replanted.
The Children’s Garden with the Children’s playhouse
The Children’s Garden from the entrance
The Children’s Garden Garden
The Children’s Garden
The Cutting Gardens were created so that Alice Livingston could grow the types of flowers that would decorate the house at various points in the season. These gardens have been brought back to their original purpose and the flowers and assortments that have been planted are colorful and the fragrances are so nice. On a beautiful day, walking amongst the beds is so nice and relaxing.
The Cutting Garden
The Cutting Garden
The Cutting Garden
The Cutting Garden trellis
The bridge between the Walled Gardens and the Children’s and Cutting Gardens
The Gardens Tour was very informative. Alice Livingston’s love of flowers and how they accented the house were her pride and joy. The Cutting Garden were all the flowers that she used to decorate the house with and the Children’s Gardens taught her daughters responsibilities and knowledge of horticulture.
The biggest problem in recent years is how to maintain all these gardens. This takes a lot of effort and work to weed. plant and prune these beds and make them look nice. The new gardener hired by the State and her team of two staff and volunteers are doing a nice job cleaning out the old beds and replanting and pruning all the plants and bushes that were already there. You can tell by the pictures there is a lot more to do but the gardens are on their way back to their original look.
The Garden Tour in 2026: “Gardens and Growth-The Evolving Landscape of Clermont”
The Clermont Garden Walking Tour 2026:
I returned in the Spring of 2026 for the an updated walking tour of the gardens “Gardens and Grounds: Evolving Landscaping of Clermont”, where the State of New York horticulturalist who had just been hired to maintain the gardens, explained to us the developments and goals that the State wanted for the direction of the landscaping on the property. They wanted it brought back to the 1930’s blueprint of what Alice Livingston had originally envisioned for the estate when she returned from Europe.
Arriving to the Clermont estate for the walking tour
We started the tour with a history of the house and Alice Livingston’s return from Europe to create her famous gardens
The front of the mansion in the Spring of 2026
We started the tour at the Walled Garden which was just finished being restored. The back wall had just been finished and the site’s main horticulturalist explained that she was working with a group of volunteers to maintain the gardens.
The Walled Garden designed by Alice Livingston
The Walled Garden in the Spring of 2026
The inside to the entrance of the Walled Garden
The back part of the Walled Garden
The next garden we toured was the Wilderness Garden which included wildflowers and a fish pond
The Wilderness Garden sign
The back part of the Walled Garden leads to the Wilderness Garden
The entrance to the Wilderness Gardens
The lecture on the design and plantings of the Wilderness Garden
The colorful wildflowers that line the grass paths
The fish pond in the Wilderness Garden
We then followed the path and walked up and toured the Cutting and Children’s Garden. These colorful gardens once supplied the house with an assortment of fresh flowers. It also taught the Livingston girls the attributes of gardening.
The Cutting Garden and Greenhouse sign
The main Cutting Garden
The Cutting garden
The Cutting Garden in the late Spring
The in season flowers in the Cutting Garden
The Children’s Playhouse and Garden is next to the Cutting Garden
The Children’s Garden in the Spring
Touring past the old Greenhouses
Part of the former greenhouse
The tour through the grounds with my group
The pathway back to Clermont
Touring along the river
The former roadway between the house and the river
The South Spring Garden
Our last garden toured was the one closest to the house and that was the South Spring Garden of which Alice could see from her window. When the porch was removed from the home and Alice developed plans for other gardens, this garden went ‘native’.
The South Garden
The South Garden in bloom
The views from the South Garden
The flower planters near the South Garden
The planters filled with Spring geraniums
Walking back after the tour was over and looking at the beautiful grounds
Ending the tour that day with a walk along the river
It was a beautiful day to walk the gardens and the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Each time I take a tour of the gardens, I am amazed how different they seem. I love the different times of the year and how it changes these gardens.
Downtown Germantown during the Christmas holidays.
Downtown Germantown at the Christmas holidays.
Downtown Germantown for the Christmas holidays and church service.
After the tour in July 2024 for the Summer Garden tour, I revisited Germantown again to see what it was like during the summer months. It is a very active and historical downtown with nice restaurants and shops, a wonderful gourmet grocery store and beautiful historical churches. It is a nice place to spend the weekend when touring the mansions in Columbia and Duchess Counties.
Germantown in the Summer of 2024:
Downtown Germantown, NY in the summer
The town square and historical sign
The Inn downtown
The restaurant row of Germantown with Gaskin’s in the background
The Reformed Church of Germantown. For some reason the clouds started to roll in after a sunny day.
The church grounds across the street
Germantown is a small town that keeps changing as more people from the City move up to the Hudson River Valley. A lot of the buildings in town are becoming art galleries, furniture shops and new restaurants. With each season, there are more changes coming to the town.
Every semester for my Business Marketing, Management and Communications classes, I create one big Team assignment for my students. In a Commuter College, it is a lot tougher for students to get to know one another between their studies and their jobs, so I create these projects to foster learning, creativity and especially Teamwork.
This semester I taught International Marketing. This is a tough course to teach as you always have students of various age groups and various levels of industry experience. The Spring semester was no different. This makes the class more interesting yet more challenging to teach. I still challenge them and test them to see what type of future executives they will become.
I also taught Principles of Management and International Marketing which came with their own challenges. It was the amount of people in each class and what projects would they be working on. I knew the things I wanted to work on, I just had to figure out how to frame them.
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division.
Each business concept does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. concept is an acronym for Bergen Community College Paramus campus where I work. It came to me one night around 3:00am in the morning when I was trying to figure out a project for my students to work on.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Our Corporate site (created my one of my former President’s:
This semester I attempted one of the toughest and most extensive Team projects in all the historical projects I have created, taking the listing of the Daughters of the American Revolution created for Bergen County Historical Division for the “Bergen 250”and we took it to another level.
I challenged the students to visit all the cemeteries and graveyards on the listing (using my blog if needed), find the tombstones of the veterans of the Revolutionary War and photograph them. Next they needed to create a biography of each of the veterans.
From there, they needed to create a short video of that gravesite and put it all into a QR code so visitors can find them. It was a big challenge but I knew this class could do it. There was something about the personality of this class that would make it work.
I then planned a series of field trips so that the students could visit particular sites in a more formal tour. I asked a lot of the contacts who I have met over the years to help me out, so the students could see why this project was so important to the 250th Anniversary to both our County and our Country. It took a lot to plan and execute. I gave them six weeks to do the research and create other sections of the project.
A. They had to take the listing of all the veterans and their list of grave sites and play ‘detective’ to find the tombstones and then film and create the QR codes.
B. They had to create a special “250th Medallion’ that would be placed at each veteran’s tombstone to honor them on the “Bergen 250”. These pieces of art were very clever.
C. They had to create a “Farm to Table” fundraiser with three courses and an American selection of wines, one being from New Jersey. They also had to create the menu and the invitation to the event. The Teams created the menu, cost and budget to show how much they would raise for the event.
D. As an extra credit assignment, I had the Teams create a special “Halloween Tour”, with a special concession menu, tour script of the cemetery or graveyard of their choice and create the logo and advertising for it. Three of the four Teams created this.
Then I planned a series of field trips to visit the most important sites in Bergen County, some were tiny stand alone family cemeteries, some were historical sites and some were very important church graveyards with family plots.
I think this is where the students had the most fun. This is where the comradery of the class was created. As I took the Team out to many of the sites on their listings, the Teams got to see the concept of “Dark Tourism”, the desire to visit places were either bad things have happened, the site has an evil past or something to do with death. This has become a popular form of Tourism in the Twenty-First Century. (Think the 9/11 Memorial).
It was also a chance to get out of the classroom and get some fresh air and sunshine. These are some of the places our Team visited.
My Graveyard and Cemetery Team “Out in the Field”:
The first site I took my Team to was the Baylor Massacre site in River Vale, NJ, where the British had ambushed a battalion of soldiers and killed them. The site has a rather dark history from the war.
The irony about the site is that all my students were from Bergen County and none of them had been here before. I had taken my previous ‘Bergen 250’ class here as well as our next stop, the Haring Farm Cemetery just a few blocks away.
The Team picture at the Baylor Massacre site
We next toured the Haring Family Cemetery down the road on Old Haring Farm Road. This was one of the many examples of small family cemeteries that used to be placed at the edge of family farms, who wanted loved ones buried close by or the distance to the family church was too far away at that time.
Touring the Haring Family Cemetery
The Haring family is one of the most important and prominent Colonial families in New Jersey (and are very distantly related to me by marriage), so I felt this site was very important to visit to show the family dynamic of that era.
Our Team at the Haring Farm Cemetery at Old Haring Farm Court
We then went on our Team lunch at Pompilio’s Pizzeria in Downtown Westwood, NJ. I feel on projects like this to build comradary and for the students to start their projects, we need to ‘break bread’ with one another and get to know each other in a relaxed place. Plus the students seem to love free pizza and Coke. This lunch has started many successful projects.
Our Team Divisional at lunch at Pompilio’s Pizzeria:
Our Team lunch at Pompilio’s Pizzeria
We all had such a nice time at lunch and feel this is the best way to get to know one another. The food at Pompilio’s is also excellent. I always host the lunch with large Cheese Pizza and Coke.
My Executive Team at our lunch
Our next Field Trip was the Old Stone Church in Saddle River at 481 East Saddle River Road in Saddle River, NJ. This is one of the oldest churches in Bergen County and in New Jersey.
The Old Stone Church at 481 East Saddle River Road in Saddle River
This church has the most complete set of tombstones of Revolutionary War veterans and the church website has some of the most complete information on their veterans.
Our group picture at the Old Stone Church
Our next trip was to the First Reformed Church of Hackensack, the second oldest church in New Jersey and one of the most important for the Revolutionary War. Their graveyard has the most amount of Revolutionary War veterans in Bergen County.
My students outside the First Reformed Church of Hackensack at 42 Court Street
The historic outside cornerstones of the church with the original family founder names carved in the bricks
The family keystones
John Paulson keystone
Henry Berry keystone
Albert C. Zabrifky keystone
The Historic First Reformed Church pews and stained glass windows.
The first floor of the church and the inside pews
The alter
The view of inside of the church
The Revolutionary War artifacts
My student visit on the second floor of the church. The church’s artifacts are displayed in the cases here.
Tour of the church
The Child’s family windows
Voorhis-Lozier-Moore Windows
The Kraissi family windows
The Van Valen windows
The War years windows
The church is the second oldest church in New Jersey and one of the oldest in the country. We then walked outside to tour the historic graveyard in the back of the church. It had the most amount of Revolutionary War veterans buried in Bergen County, NJ.
Many of the veterans of the American Revolution were buried closest to the church, which was the tradition of the time to be buried as close to the church as possible. Their graves were marked by Revolutionary War medallions and American flags.
The Demarest-Voorhis Revolutionary War graves
General Poor’s grave
Albert Romin grave Revolutionary War veteran
The front part of the church by the Hackensack Green was the resting place of many of these heros
Our Team of Student Consultants picture inside the historic graveyard
It is also the resting place of General Enoch Poor, who died during battle, whose funeral was attended by General George Washington himself. We took this group picture by the General’s grave.
Our Team pictures with General Poor
Our last field trip and one of our most important was to the Old South Presbyterian Church in Bergenfield. This was the place of the Demarest family plot, which is currently under a full renovation.
We worked with Melissa Naylis, who is leading the renovation of the church and master carver, Bob Carpenter, who showed us how he is restoring the graveyard. He had led one of my previous classes when we visited the graveyard for my ‘Bergen 250’ project.
Master Carver Bob Carpenter leading our tour
The South Presbyterian Church and the Demarest family plot
The Demarest family plot
Melissa Naylis starting the tour with us
The students got to learn of the important history of the grave sites and why they are an important piece of the United States founding. The were the men who fought for our freedom and the wives and families that supported the effort.
Melissa leading the tour and introducing Bob Carpenter to us
Melissa Naylis explaining the work that is being done in the graveyard
Bob Carpenter explains his work
Some of the earliest tombstones in the graveyard
Bob Carpenter explaining the renovation
Bob Carpenter talking about the Demarest plot renovation
Pastor Glen from the Old South Presbyterian Church introducing himself to the students and joining us on this part of the tour.
Talking about the care of the tombstones
Talking about care of the tombstones
We then moved to tombstone of the founder of Rutgers University for a marble carving demonstration. Bob Carpenter wanted the students to know the effort into carving into stone and brought the tools of that era and a piece of marble for the students to use. The students got a kick out of this and some really enjoyed it.
Bob explaining the work of a marble carver
Describing the process
My students giving it a try
My student Amy, carving marble
My student, Walid, carving on marble
Demonstrating the process
After the demonstration, we talked about the work of the Demarest family and their contributions within Bergen County.
The founder of Rutgers University, John Henry Goetscheus and a member of the extended Demarest family.
Our Team picture after the tour
Taking a quick tour of the graveyard after the formal tour, the Blauvelt-Kipp family burial ground
I found that being ‘out of the field’ really exposed the students to not just to visiting parts of the county they had never seen but showing them how cemeteries and graveyards are part of our culture of respect and memory. They can be looked at less as religious standpoint but as a historical value of who we are and how it part of all of our pasts.
We also looked about how these sites could play a role of building Bergen County tourism by promoting these sites as a part of the history of our country. Not just during the Revolutionary War but as part of our cultural fabric.
On April 29th, 2026, the students made their formal Presentation of the project and showed off their research of the sites and their fundraising tools to support the restoration of these sites.
This was an amazing project that will benefit so many people from historians to researchers to people who love the Revolutionary War and its history to family members looking for loved ones.
It is my class’s contribution as well as other future and past projects to benefit the “Bergen 250” and the rich history of Bergen County, NJ. Our County has contributed so much to not just the building of the state but of the United States as well. It was one of the best projects I ran as CEO of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Our Executive Picture:
The “Cemetery and Graveyards” Team
Our Reception following the Presentation
Our Presentation was followed by a Q & A with many people we had met along the way from our visits “out in the field” who had come to see the final project and this was followed by our Corporate Team picture and then a reception in honor of the Student Consultants who made this important possible and come to life.
Every semester for my Business Marketing, Management and Communications classes, I create one big Team assignment for my students. In a Commuter College, it is a lot tougher for students to get to know one another between their studies and their jobs, so I create these projects to foster learning, creativity and especially Teamwork.
This semester I taught two sections of Business 101-Introduction to Business, which is the entry level course to the Business/Hotel Management School. This is a tough course to teach as you always have students of various age groups and various levels of industry experience. The Spring semester was no different. This makes the class more interesting yet more challenging to teach. I still challenge them and test them to see what type of future executives they will become.
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. concept is an acronym for Bergen Community College Paramus campus where I work.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Our Corporate site (created my one of my former President’s:
In the Spring of 2026, I partnered with American Dining Creations, our on-campus leasee of our dining outlets with both the main cafeteria on the second floor and the coffee shop and pizzeria on the first floor.
We created a project three years ago in my Spring 2023 class entitled ‘Feasting at Bergen Community College-Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner’ when they were finding that the students did not know we had a cafeteria. The project was a huge success and gave the company insights to the identity problems the students had on on-campus dining.
The project ‘Feasting at Bergen Community College’ Spring 2023:
This semester we tackled the issue of options for early morning quick dining. The coffee shop offered two options, egg bites and breakfast sandwiches plus pastries and bagels. I thought it could offer more by opening the pizzeria three hours early and offering a selection of breakfast themed pizzas, calzones and desserts that could transition to lunch. So I partnered with Jack, the manager, again and had the students create a new menu, set up the Social Media, create a new logo for the breakfast menu and plan an Opening Party to promote the new menu. The results were very interesting.
Next I had a mandatory field trip to the pizzeria where Jack described the current business and sales of Primo Pizza, our pizzeria on the Bergen Community College campus.
Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Field Trip:
Jack, the manager of American Dining Creations, on the morning of our tour
My 11:00am Team:
The Team Field trip to Primo Pizza
My Teams at the end of the tour
Our Team picture on the Field trip
I broke the class up into five teams and for the next six weeks we worked on the Team project, creating a new breakfast concept that would work for the college.
Being in Corporate does come with its difficulties. Teams disagreed, team members disappeared and balances were shifted throughout the six weeks. It is amazing how much of the true Corporate experience they really have on this project.
On April 29th, 2026, the students presented their ideas to Jack and myself. There were some very interesting ideas on how to grow the business at an earlier hour and how to transition breakfast items into the early lunch menu.
I really liked some of the creative ideas that the groups came up with pizzas topped with eggs and various meats and vegetable toppings, the variety of cheeses and sausages and their use of spices. Some came up with Korean, Spanish and Italian themed flavors both as toppings and fillings. The parties they planned for the Opening went from simple to a little to elaborate with budgets that went into the thousands (this would not work). I liked all of their logos and though their ideas for the menu were very clever.
Each Executive Team has to find our Divisional Corporate Headquarters, and plan the Division’s Corporate party. One of the items of the party is the Corporate gift which is given to each Team Member at the party.
After the Presentation was over, we had a Q& A on the ideas the students had and Jack seemed very impressed with what the students had to say. This was a great way to get feedback from the audience the company was trying to reach.
The Presentation Reception
After every Presentation, I have a reception for my students with homemade cookies and brownies that I bake for the students, chips, waters and sodas. I do this after every presentation for a job well done.
Our Team picture on Presentation day
We finish each Presentation with our Team Corporate picture. My well dressed and polished future executives ready to conquer the big city. Then the final exam and then they move on to the next class.
Another successful project and another semester complete.
Every semester for my Business Marketing, Management and Communications classes, I create one big Team assignment for my students. In a Commuter College, it is a lot tougher for students to get to know one another between their studies and their jobs, so I create these projects to foster learning, creativity and especially Teamwork.
This semester I taught two sections of Business 101-Introduction to Business, which is the entry level course to the Business/Hotel Management School. This is a tough course to teach as you always have students of various age groups and various levels of industry experience. The Spring semester was no different. This makes the class more interesting yet more challenging to teach. I still challenge them and test them to see what type of future executives they will become.
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. concept is an acronym for Bergen Community College Paramus Campus where I work. I came up with it one night at three in the morning when I needed an idea for a project for my students.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Our Corporate site (created my one of my former President’s:
In the Spring of 2026, I partnered with American Dining Creations, our on-campus leasee of our dining outlets with both the main cafeteria on the second floor and the coffee shop and pizzeria on the first floor.
We created a project three years ago in my Spring 2023 class entitled ‘Feasting at Bergen Community College-Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner’ when they were finding that the students did not know we had a cafeteria. The project was a huge success and gave the company insights to the identity problems the students had on on-campus dining.
The project ‘Feasting at Bergen Community College’ Spring 2023:
This semester we tackled the issue of options for early morning quick dining. The coffee shop offered two options, egg bites and breakfast sandwiches plus pastries and bagels.
I thought it could offer more by opening the pizzeria three hours early and offering a selection of breakfast themed pizzas, calzones and desserts that could transition to lunch. So I partnered with Jack, the manager, again and had the students create a new menu, set up the Social Media, create a new logo for the breakfast menu and plan an Opening Party to promote the new menu. The results were very interesting.
Next I had a mandatory field trip to the pizzeria where Jack described the current business and sales of Primo Pizza, our pizzeria on the Bergen Community College campus.
So in early March, we had an in class field trip to the pizzeria and arranged for Jack to tell us about the business. It was an eye opener on how the company’s contract works with the college and the perimeters you have to work with space and menu.
Jack, the manager of American Dining Creations, on the morning of our tour
My 8:00am class on their on-campus field trip
The field trip to Primo Pizzeria
The morning field trip to Primo Pizza
The Teams on our field trip
My 8:00am class Team Picture
My 8:00 am Team picture
I broke the class up into five teams and for the next six weeks we worked on the Team project, creating a new breakfast concept that would work for the college.
Being in Corporate does come with its difficulties. Teams disagreed, team members disappeared and balances were shifted throughout the six weeks. It is amazing how much of the true Corporate experience they really have on this project.
On April 29th, 2026, the students presented their ideas to Jack and myself. There were some very interesting ideas on how to grow the business at an earlier hour and how to transition breakfast items into the early lunch menu.
I really liked some of the creative ideas that the groups came up with pizzas topped with eggs and various meats and vegetable toppings, the variety of cheeses and sausages and their use of spices. Some came up with Korean, Spanish and Italian themed flavors both as toppings and fillings. The parties they planned for the Opening went from simple to a little to elaborate with budgets that went into the thousands (this would not work). I liked all of their logos and though their ideas for the menu were very clever.
Below is the PowerPoint and Presentation of the project ‘Breakfast at Primo Pizza‘:
Each Executive Team has to find our Divisional Corporate Headquarters, and plan the Division’s Corporate party. One of the items of the party is the Corporate gift which is given to each Team Member at the party. This is the item the morning Team chose, a Beach combo with a beach towel, water bottle and sun glasses. I thought it was very clever.
The Corporate Present proposal
After the Presentation was over, we had a Q& A on the ideas the students had and Jack seemed very impressed with what the students had to say. This was a great way to get feedback from the audience the company was trying to reach.
The Presentation Reception
After every Presentation, I have a reception for my students with homemade cookies and brownies that I bake for the students, chips, waters and sodas. I do this after every presentation for a job well done.
Our Presentation Team Picture
We finish each Presentation with our Team Corporate picture. My well dressed and polished future executives ready to conquer the big city. Then the final exam and then they move on to the next class.
Another successful project and another semester complete.
One of the last places I visited in the 2026 Pathways tour of Morris County was the Historical Society of Boonton Township which is located in the former Oscar Kincaid Farm Homestead. The house and what was left of the acreage of the farm was part of the current museum. The museum was an example of early New Jersey farming that dated from the 1800’s to the Twenty-First century. There was not much in the way of period furniture or farm equipment (items of the home were sold off since Mr. Kincaid’s passing), but the new historical society is buying artifacts and bringing them back to the farm. This includes one of Mr. Kincaid’s tractors. His roll up desk is also still in the display room which was once the Living Room of the home.
The Kincaid Homestead
History of Oscar Kincaid and Homestead:
(From the Morris County Historical Society website)
Originally a part of the extensive tract belonging to William Penn, the earliest portion of the home was constructed in 1785 by Adam Miller and Anna DeMouth Miller. Just over a decade later, they sold the property to Adam’s cousin, Sarah Miller Parlimen (of the Miller/Dixon homestead) and her husband, John, who built a sawmill there. After a brief ownership by William Scott of Powerville, a Miller relative, the land was sold to John Decker in 1828. An industrious man, Decker operated both a farm and successful forge, shipping his goods to New York via the Morris Canal. By 1837, he expanded the home, adding a distinctive folk-art painting of a face and unique plasterwork that can still be seen today (MCHS website).
The homestead passed through generations of Decker’s family, ultimately being inherited by Oscar Kincaid Sr. in the early 20th century. Kincaid ran a popular ice cream stand and dairy business throughout the 1920s and 30s. Following World War II, the family opened Valley Farm on the site, which continued until the death of Oscar Kincaid Jr. in 2000. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, the Decker-Kincaid Homestead today operates as a museum and headquarters of the Historical Society of Boonton Township (MCHS website).
The Kincaid House
The historical marker for the house
The front yard
The entrance to the house
The main foyer of the house
The house is a small farmhouse built in two sections. The original part of the house dates back to the late 1700’s and the newer part in the early 1800’s. The once furnished rooms now hold displays of Morris County and the farming industry of the time plus community artifacts.
The former Living Room
Oscar Kincaid’s desk
There were not much left in the way of family furnishings and heirlooms but this desk was Oscar Kinkaid’s.
The back bedroom
The Flag display for the ‘250th Anniversary’
Story of Oscar Kincaid’s life: Oscar Kincaid was a farmer/businessman, a politician and a conservationist.
On Community:
(From the museum website)
Oscar’s commitment to his community transcended farming. He served as a member of the Boonton Township Committee for 30 years and was mayor for two terms. He was also a founding member of the Morris County Agricultural Development Board, on which he served for 17 years, six as board chairman. Oscar led the charge for farmland preservation in Morris County. His efforts resulted in the preservation of 41 farms covering 3,100 acres spanning several municipalities throughout the county. As one person put it: “Oscar had more impact on preserving the character of Boonton than any single individual.”
But to Oscar: “Farming and being active in local politics was simply a way of life.” Oscar passed away November 11, 2000
The contractor’s face on the wall
The face came about when Oscar Kincaid did not want to pay a contractor for his work. He created this face so that he would have to live with it for the rest of his life. It can not be planted over.
The ‘Mr. Face’ in Weird NJ
On Farming:
(From the Museum website)
Oscar Kincaid, Jr., was born into farm life. It was 1824 when the Kincaid family purchased 30 acres in Boonton Township, Morris County and began farming. More than a century later, a young Oscar took over the operation, working alongside his father as they raised dairy cows, grew vegetables and developed a poultry business. For years, they delivered eggs to retail establishments and sold vegetables from their roadside stand. Over time, Oscar moved away from the dairy and poultry business and focused his efforts on vegetable and hay production.
The Kincaid house from the side
After the short tour around the house, I walked around the farm grounds. The house was set on a beautiful piece of land that sloped down to the old farmstand. There was also a swimming pond which was once part of the farm which is now private property.
The farm property from the side with the barn
The barn across the street
The property was about ten acres at the time of his death and parts have been developed. It still has some of the most wonderful views of the area.
The view of the old farm from the front porch
The farm land stretches over different sections of the road and the property is very picturesque. It is a very beautiful homestead.
The view of the farm from the lawn
The swimming pond on the edge of the property
The old farm stand that had been used for eighty years
The old Farm stand was used into the mid 2000’s
The full view of the farm
Since the house was just recently bought, there is still some design and artifacts that need to be collected to complete the look of a Jersey farm.
The Historical Society of Boonton Township is still expanding the collection of farm equipment for property and finding furniture for the home. The property is a beautiful and picturesque and shows how the traditional farm has adapted to modern times. Mr. Kincaid only passed a few years ago but kept the farm traditional and that worked for him. He left a legacy for us to appreciate the independent Jersey farmer.
I visited the Tunis-Ellicks House on the Morris County ‘Pathways’ tour of historical sites throughout the County and enjoyed the self-guided tour of this well maintained and displayed home. Unlike many sites I have visited over the years where things are left out and jumbled on tables, the Tunis-Ellicks House offers a look at small family farms from before the Civil War. The displays depict and discuss the life of a farming family in Central New Jersey.
The Tunis-Ellicks House in New Vernon, NJ
The house sign
The house is located in the New Vernon Historic District
The house was located in one of the oldest sections of the community, facing other structures in the historical district of New Vernon, NJ.
The house and front garden from the road
The vegetable garden in the front of house
In front of the house was a large vegetable and fruit garden with a grape arbor for spirits on the side of the house. These items would be jarred and pickled for the winter months or sold at market.
Mission Statement:
(From the Museum website)
The Harding Township Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1977 to stimulate interest in the history of Harding Township. The Society shall support, assist in and seek to achieve the preservation of documents, buildings and sites related to Harding Township. It shall also collect, preserve, maintain and interpret original cultural material, which illuminates this history. In addition, The Society is responsible for preserving and maintaining the Tunis-Ellicks House and environs. Through use of its historic site, collections and programs, the society endeavors to document and illustrate the history of Harding Township for present and future generations (Tunis-Ellicks website).
You enter the museum from the back of the house. In the backyard of the home, there were all sorts of activities going on while you could start a self-guided tour of the house.
The back of the Tunis-Ellick’s House
The beautiful view from the back door of the home
The inside of the main part of the museum
The main part of the museum was the newer extension of the home where the living room and dining rooms were located. There were displays on the walls discussing farm life in New Jersey during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.
The Dining Room section of the house
The workings of the Dining Room
The story of ‘Country Life’ and the gentleman farmer
Pieces of the decor on display
The kitchen area of the older part of the home offers a homey fireplace for cooking and summer storage for jarred and pickled food stuffs for the winter.
The kitchen and storage areas of the home
Pottery collection in the museum
The pottery collection
The kitchen dining and cooking area of the home
The fireplace for cooking, roasting and stewing of foods
The oven for baking breads, cookies and pies and the baking equipment
The Summer storage area for canned and jarred provisions for the winter months and for cooking.
The bathrooms were on the second floor of the home/museum and I got a quick tour of the upstairs bedrooms.
Bedroom One
Bedroom Two
These were not part of the self-guided tour but I was able to see them and how they were decorated.
History of the Harding Township Historical Society:
(From the Museum website)
The Harding Township Historical Society was formed in 1977 to save the circa 1795 Tunis-Ellicks House and restore it as it appeared in the early 19th century. The society discovered an original 18th century hearth and Federal-style mantel and a water-fed cooling room besides the well. Areas of the house were left exposed to showcase the post-and-beam construction. A permanent exhibit on 19th century farming was created as well as space for temporary exhibits.
The Society saved a circa 1870 Tramp House from destruction when the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created by having the building moved the Tunis-Ellicks House property. The Harding Township Historical Society maintains an extensive archive containing records, maps, and objects since the colonial era pertaining to the town. The archive is open to researchers, genealogists and the public. Each year we provide an award to a student at the Harding Township School that excels in the subject of history. The Society produces exhibits, lectures, tours, and interactive events to bring history to the public.
I then joined many of the other visitors to hear an historical reading on the patio of the home from a descendant of a Colonial family. He was discussing life in Colonial New Jersey.
The Colonial talks
They also had a table set up for arts and crafts. The volunteers were making corn husk dolls with some of the visitors.
They also had corn husk doll making as an activity
Then I was able to tour the grounds and visit the ‘Tramp House’ that was used for workers of these farms. This had been moved from the ‘Great Swamp’ to this location. It showed the living conditions of workers on the farm.
Walking on the grounds of the farm
The Wine Arbor on the side of the house
History of the Tunis-Ellicks House:
(From the Museum website)
The Tunis-Ellicks House was built in 1795 when George Mitchell bought it from Michael Pearce, a Minuteman in the Revolutionary War. The deed for 7 acres of land is dated April 22, 1795. Interestingly, the ledgers of Daniel Tunis, who lived down Millbrook Rd and had a store, show that, beginning May 9, 1795, Mitchell bought items consistent with building a house: a load of timber and half a bushel of hair (used for plaster).
In 1838, a local farmer named Silas Tunis bought the farm and his descendants owned the house until 1923. Eva and Lee Ellicks sold the house to the township in 1968. In 1977, the Harding Township Historical Society began to restore the home as it would have appeared in the early 19th century. The house is a post-and-beam East Jersey cottage complete with a cooling room fed by the well outside. The museum features a permanent exhibit entitled A Country Life about the workings of 18th-century farms.
The ‘Tramp House’ for farm workers
The historic sign
The inside of the small living quarters
The farm equipment used in processing crops
History of the Tramp House:
(from the Museum website)
The Tramp House is a simple stone building built about 1870 by the Morris Overseer of the Poor as a place to stay for wandering Civil War veterans searching the countryside for work. By providing a place to stay, farmers protected their barns from accidental fires by the men trying to cook or keep warm. The men would work on the farms in exchange for a safe and warm place to sleep
The house was located in one of the oldest sections of the community, facing other structures in the historical district.
The house and front garden from the road
I really enjoyed visiting the site and got a good view how life on a New Jersey farm was before the Civil War. The museum was very nicely organized and the displays were engaging. The volunteers and docents could not have been nicer and it was a fun afternoon.
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association met at the Harrington Park Fire House to start the stuffing of the envelopes for the fundraising efforts of the organization. Monies raised by the fundraiser help pay for entertainment, refreshments, the food for the barbecue, gifts to the residents and for items that residents might need.
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association at our 2025 Christmas Party for the residents
Santa joining us for the Annual Christmas party at the home
This fundraising effort does so much for our fellow firefighters at the home. It provides entertainment, refreshments, gifts at the holidays, special projects at the home that benefit everyone and funds for us to run our annual barbecues and Christmas parties.
Chef Prince cooking at our Annual Barbecue in August 2025
The wonderful barbecue feast made for the residents of the NJ State Firemen’s Home at the August 2025 Barbecue
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association, please attend one of our meetings at the Boonton Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ. Our meetings are in February, April, June, August, October and the first weekend in December for our Annual Holiday Party.
Members enjoying breakfast at our November meeting hosted by the Wyckoff Fire Department
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association
If you would like to make a donation to our organization, please send it to:
BCFHA
C/O Jeff Parma
277 Harriott Avenue
Harrington Park, NJ 07640
Please make the checks out to the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association
Our 2026 Meeting Schedule:
All our meetings at the home start at 12:00pm at the NJ State Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ:
February 15th
April 19th
June 13th (June Barbecue)
August 15th (August Barbecue)
October 18th
December 6th (Annual Christmas Party)
A big “Thank you” from The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Executive Board 2026
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