Gritty From the Git-go
THEN: In 1869, intercollegiate football began with a grudge match. Princeton dusted Rutgers in baseball 40-2, but added insult by swiping and setting in concrete a Revolutionary War cannon the students had prankishly lugged back and forth for years. Rutgers challenged the Tigers to a newfangled game of football in New Brunswick. The rules resembled rugby, but Princeton’s brawn was bested by RU’s speed. PU won the second game, but faculty from both schools nixed the rubber match, claiming the game was interfering with studies.
NOW: Faculty today can only dream of such clout. But massive money, a Jersey-born coach, Greg Schiano, and rabid fans have catapulted the Scarlet Knights into the big time, where they trounced Ball State in this year’s International Bowl in Toronto. Janet Rice, mom of star running back Ray Rice (#27), quarterbacks the on-field victory celebration.
A Slippery Slope
THEN: The Bertrand Island Amusement Park was a Lake Hopatcong landmark from the 1910s until it closed in 1983. Fun seekers could enjoy a sandy beach, freshwater swimming, a giant wood-framed waterslide, Skee-Ball, and a carousel.
NOW: For freshwater thrills, Morey’s Piers in Wildwood features more than twenty water-park rides, including the Cliff Dive high-speed body slide. As for Bertrand Island, the former amusement park site now harbors a wall of condominiums.
Fair Fur in Far Hills
THEN: The cream of Garden State society, including Mary C. White and Mrs. Prentice Talmadge, turned out for the first running of the New Jersey Hunt Cup, a steeplechase held at the Far Hills Fairgrounds. A horse named Oxygen led the entire way and won by 30 lengths.
NOW: After a hiatus, the Breeder’s Cup Steeplechase returned to Far Hills in 2000 to the delight of Cindy McNeil of Houston (who grew up in Randolph), her dog Baxter, and her friend Erika Murphy.
Barrel Bobbin’
THEN: Hotel Breslin guests bob around in wood barrels circa 1905 on Lake Hopatcong, a popular resort destination that drew the likes of Babe Ruth and Bud Abbott.
NOW: The shores are packed like suburbia, and motorboats and Jet Skis have hit the scene. But vestiges remain, including the 103-year-old yacht club where sailors cool off by taking chairs to the water and classic Chris-Craft motorboats regularly dock.