E-mail Recollection
- Name:
Judy Roe Sikula
- Mailing address:
Charleston, WV 25303
- When and where were you born?
1952, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- When did you come to Mountain Lakes?
1960-1965
- Tell us something about your family did your parents also live here?
I was in 3rd grade when I moved to Mountain Lakes with my 4 siblings and parents. My dad worked for Airtron in Morris Plains.
- Where have you lived in the Borough? In which houses?
39 Dartmouth Road
- What do you remember particularly about the houses and properties where you lived?
We have moved from Atlanta, Georgia where the houses were mostly ranch style. I noticed that the homes in Mtn. Lakes were big. I liked our house. It had 4 stories and lots of bedrooms.
- What are some of your special memories growing up in Mountain Lakes?
I have volumes of memories of Mountain Lakes. Mostly school events and playing.
- 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 started school at Lake Drive with Mrs. Sanborn. I think she was a substitute teacher. For 4th grade I had Mrs. Hammershock. I liked her a lot. I remember praying in school and reading the Bible. Mrs Hammershock would give us peacock feathers when we did good work. I hit a home run during a baseball game and Paul Peterson was hit in the face with a metal lunch box. I liked Lake Drive School and the gym in the basement. I had Mrs. Young at Briarcliff for 5th grade and Mrs Ballard for 6th grade. My favorite teacher in 7th grade was Mr. Morgan-but then all the girls liked him! At Briarcliff I remember eating lunch in the cafeteria. Previous to that time, we used to walk home for lunch. It seemed a treat to eat at school.
- Where did you and your family shop?
Dells Village,downtown Boonton
- What were the roads and the lakes like?
Paved
- Are there any special people you remember who contributed to the life of the town? Why do they stand out in your mind?
Mostly my teachers. I liked them. I remember a neighbor lady had died. She was young with children my age. That was my first experience with death. In the winter we would to sled down a neighbors yard. Her yard had two hills that seemed to be made for sledding. She didn’t like it. I don’t remember why we continued when she asked us to stop. Her garage caught on fire. I remember standing at our dining room window watching the fire and the trucks.
- What did you do for fun formal recreation, sports and entertainment in general?
We played a lot outside-my brothers and sister and myself. I was active in Girl Scouts, a bowling league, church choic and bell choir. I learned to swim at ‘The Lake.” I was excited to have my badge painted.
- Are there any special events that stand out in your mind?
The Memorial Day Parade. Swimming at the lake.
- 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 dad drove to Morris Planes. My mom stayed at home.
- How did various laws affect the way people lived?
I don’t remember.
- Did you have a sense of Mountain Lakes as a unique place in its lifestyle, its homes, as a community?
Not really. It was just home.
- 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?
I was in 6th grade when Kennedy was shot. My mom was real shook-up by it. We didn’t watch the news because of the Vietnam War stories/pictures.
- What made living in Mountain Lakes special to you, as you think back over your life here?
We moved around a lot in my younger years. We spent 5 years in Mountain Lakes. That was the longest we had lived anywhere.