Shopping Saturday: Sealfons

When I was a child, my mother took me shopping at Sealfons in Ridgewood. My mother had moved to Ridgewood when she was in high school, and my family had shopped at Sealfons for a long time. I remember the penny candy counter that the store had; I liked being able to get some candy after shopping.

Sealfons, a clothing store for women and girls, was founded by Samuel I. Sealfon. There were stores in Ridgewood, Wayne, Caldwell, Summit, Westfield, Princeton, and Shrewsbury. The closing of the last Sealfons outside of a mall, the Summit store, was announced on 15 October 2005. The last Sealfons, at the Grove at Shrewsbury, closed in 2006.

Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, Fair Lawn, Ho-Ho-Kus Directory 1960. Newark, NJ: Price & Lee Co. Page 695. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, Fair Lawn, Ho-Ho-Kus Directory 1960. Newark, NJ: Price & Lee Co. Page 48. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. 

Trenton Evening Times, 14 February 1990, page A5

Father's Day

Father's Day is the perfect time to share this photo of my father and me in my maternal grandparents' front yard in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

George Washington Bridge Opens

George Washington Bridge, 1931. Photo by Irving Underhill. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.

On 25 October 1931 at 5:00 AM, the George Washington Bridge opened to traffic. That day, 56,312 cars and 100,000 pedestrians crossed the bridge. There were long lines of traffic on both the New York and New Jersey sides of the bridge, but no major accidents.

A dedication ceremony had taken place the previous day, and the bridge was open to pedestrians from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM.

The bridge was a project of the Port of New York Authority. Othmar Ammann was the chief engineer, and Cass Gilbert was the architect. Construction began in October 1927. The bridge's towers were originally going to be encased in concrete, with granite facing, but as a cost-saving measure, the steel towers remained exposed indefinitely and became accepted by the public.

 When the bridge opened, the toll for cars was 50 cents. A motor bus company took passengers from Fort Lee, New Jersey to the 181st Street subway station for 5 cents. The toll for pedestrians was 10 cents, but it was later reduced to 5 cents, and it was discontinued on 30 May 1940. More than 5.5 million vehicles traveled across the bridge in 1932.

Initially, there were six lanes of traffic on the bridge. Two more lanes were added to the bridge in 1946. The lower level of the bridge opened on 29 August 1962.

After the construction of the George Washington Bridge began, the population of Bergen County, New Jersey increased in anticipation of the bridge's opening. Ridgewood, New Jersey expected a population increase, since the opening of the George Washington Bridge would make commuting to New York City easier. In the 1950s, my parents and grandparents moved to Ridgewood, and both of my grandfathers worked in New York City.

References
"An Astounding Span of Steel and Wire." New York Times 18 October 1931: 119.
ASCE Metropolitan Section - George Washington Bridge
"Bridge Commuters Pay 5-Cent Fare." New York Times 25 October 1931: RE1.
"Dedication Today for Hudson Bridge." New York Times 24 October 1931: 19.
"56,312 Cars Cross Bridge on First Day; Festive Air Reigns." New York Times 26 October 1931: 1.
George Washington Bridge
History - George Washington Bridge - The Port Authority of NY & NJ
"Population Rises in Bergen County." New York Times 25 October 1931: RE1.
"Ridgewood Expects Gain from Bridge." New York Times 25 October 1931: RE2.

Funeral Card Friday: Henry Cornelius Gatlin

The program for the memorial service celebrating the life of my paternal grandfather Henry Cornelius Gatlin:

Tombstone Tuesday: John and Margaret Boe

My maternal grandparents John Boe (28 April 1908 - 24 November 1977) and Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe (16 March 1911 - 4 August 1986) are buried in Valleau Cemetery in Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey. Their tombstone inscription "THEY WERE LIFE ITSELF" fits them well. This photo was taken around Christmastime.

52 Ancestors: #16 John Boe

Both my grandfathers were born in April. Today would have been the 106th birthday of my maternal grandfather, John Boe. John was born in St. Louis, Missouri on 28 April 1908. He was the first child that his parents John Boe and Kathleen Graham had together. He attended St. Louis public schools and St. Louis University High School, but he did not graduate. However, he was still able to get into college. His high school had been damaged by a tornado, so he claimed that his school records had been destroyed. He attended the University of Montana in 1931-1932 along with his brother James, and he was in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He worked with Western Electric Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He then worked for the Minneapolis Star, and then for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

In 1939, John began working for P. F. Collier and Son. John's brother-in-law Earl Mason Roberts (husband of John's sister Florence) was working for the company and convinced him to work for them as well. John started off as a door-to-door book salesman in St. Louis, and within three months, he had been promoted to District Sales Manager in Indianapolis, Indiana. On 25 September 1939 in Indianapolis, John married Margaret Ann (Schneider) Foerstel, and gained an instant family (she had a daughter and son from her previous marriage). The family lived in Detroit for six years, where John and Margaret had two daughters and a son. They moved frequently, and lived in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; New Hyde Park, New York; Redwood City, California; and Highland Park, New York. In 1956, John was appointed Vice President of P. F. Collier and began working at the New York office. He bought a home at 506 E. Saddle River Road, Ridgewood, New Jersey. He eventually became Chairman of the Board and President of P. F. Collier, President of Merit Students Encyclopedia, Inc., (which he created), and Senior Vice President of Crowell-Collier-Macmillan. Every year, he and Margaret traveled around the world and visited all the sales offices. On 15 July 1968, on his retirement, he was presented with the original Merit Students Encyclopedia Man of the Year Award. After six months, John had had enough of retirement and went back to work for two more years. In 1974, John and Margaret sold their house in Ridgewood and moved to an apartment in Ramsey, New Jersey.

John belonged to the Rubicon Masonic Lodge of Detroit, the Medina and Scottish Rite in Chicago, and Knickerbocker Country Club in Tenafly, New Jersey.

John died on 24 November 1977 (Thanksgiving Day) in New York City. He was buried at Valleau Cemetery in Ridgewood.

 John Boe as a boy

 

John Boe

Margaret and John Boe

John Boe in Paris with Guy Mollet, Prime Minister of France

 

Grandpa Boe and me

John Boe's MSE Man of the Year Award

Talented Tuesday: Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe, Pianist

My grandmother Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe was a talented pianist. She played in many different styles: classical, popular, and improvised. Below is an invitation to her graduation in music and two programs from concerts that she gave in St. Louis.

  

 

For many years, she played piano for the Ridgewood High School Jamboree in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Margaret by the piano in St. Louis

Those Places Thursday: Old Paramus Reformed Church

The Old Paramus Reformed Church is located at 660 E. Glen Ave., Ridgewood, New Jersey, near Route 17 by the border of Ridgewood and Paramus. The church's congregation was formed in 1725. The church building pictured here was built in 1800.

My parents got married at this church.

52 Ancestors: #14 Henry Cornelius Gatlin

Today would have been the 104th birthday of my paternal grandfather, Henry Cornelius Gatlin. Henry was born in Chicago, Illinois on 14 April 1910. He was the first child born to Henry Brown Gatlin and Anna Gertrude Tarkington, and their only child that lived (he had a stillborn younger brother, Eugene Joseph Gatlin, and an older half-brother, Robert Leland Taylor, who only lived for three weeks). He attended De La Salle Institute in Chicago. He was offered a football scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, but he chose to attend the University of Illinois instead.

Henry married Helen Martha Marie Anderson on 20 June 1939 at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Chicago. They were married by  H. E. Sandstedt. Henry and Helen had a son and a daughter.

Henry worked as a self-employed commodities broker. He was a member, director, and officer of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He was also a member and governor of the New York Mercantile Exchange, a member of the Commodity Exchange, and governor and director of the Foundation for Human Ecology in Park Ridge, Illinois. He retired in 1970. He was a member of the Society of the Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, New Jersey, for more than 25 years.

Henry and Helen lived in Chicago at first, and then moved to Park Ridge, Illinois. In 1959, they moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey. They lived there for many years, and much later in life, they moved to West Milford, New Jersey.

Henry and Helen attended the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Chicago and St. Luke Lutheran Church in Park Ridge. After moving to New Jersey, they became members of West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood.

Henry died on 29 December 2001 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His memorial service was held on 26 January 2002. I sang "The Lord's Prayer" at his memorial service. I know he would have liked that; he liked to sit next to me at church on Christmas Eve, so he could hear me sing the carols. His ashes were interred at West Side Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden on 13 May 2007.

Henry's high school graduation picture, 1927

Avalon Park, October 1945

Lakeside, Michigan, July 1948, with my father

Henry and Helen, La Jolla, California

Grandpa Gatlin and me

52 Ancestors: #10 Margaret Ann (Schneider) Boe

Today would have been the 103rd birthday of my maternal grandmother, so it is the perfect time for me to write about her. She was a wonderful grandmother and was one of the best people that I have ever known.

Margaret Ann Schneider was born in St. Louis, Missouri on 16 March 1911. She was the third child of John Schneider and Paulina Gersbacher, both German immigrants. The family lived at 2024 Russell Boulevard, St. Louis. Margaret began was a gifted pianist who began playing at the age of nine. She attended Rosati-Kain High School, and and studied music at Fontbonne College (now Fontbonne University). On 22 September 1931, she married William Herbert Foerstel at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Louis. They had a daughter and a son, but were divorced in June 1939.

My aunt Joan, Margaret's oldest child, told the story of how my grandparents met. Margaret had taken a job as a pianist at a beer garden. One night a fight broke out, and she took cover under the piano. So did a man, who introduced himself and offered her a cigarette. That man was my grandfather, John Boe.

John and Margaret left St. Louis, and married on 25 September 1939 in Indianapolis, Indiana. They were still living in Indianapolis at the time of the 1940 United States Census. Soon afterward, they moved to Detroit, Michigan, where Margaret had two more daughters and another son. John worked for P. F. Collier, and the family moved frequently. They lived in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; New Hyde Park, New York; Redwood City, California; Highland Park, New York. When John was appointed Vice President of P. F. Collier and began working at the New York office, the family bought a home at 506 E. Saddle River Road, Ridgewood, New Jersey. John and Margaret lived there from 1956 to 1974, and then moved to an apartment in Ramsey, New Jersey.

Margaret played piano for the Ridgewood High School Jamboree for 25 years. She was a member of the Valley Hospital Auxiliary, and volunteered at Valley Hospital's Kurth Cottage.

Margaret died unexpectedly on 4 August 1986. She died in New York City, shortly after heart surgery. The day she died was one of the saddest of my life. She was always there for me when I was growing up. She was a warm, caring, loving, entertaining person and I was so lucky to have had her as my grandmother.

Margaret's funeral was held on 10 August 1986 at Christ Episcopal Church in Ridgewood, and was buried at Valleau Cemetery in Ridgewood, next to her husband John. Their gravestone inscription reads "THEY WERE LIFE ITSELF".

Margaret's graduation

Margaret's wedding picture, 1931

Margaret and John Boe

 

Grandma Boe and me