2023 Labor Day Issue

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HISTORY Photos courtesy of the LAKE HOPATCONG HISTORICAL MUSEUM On July 13, 2023, 350 people gathered at the parish hall of St. Jude Roman Catholic Church in Hopatcong to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Bertrand Island Park’s last season. The celebration of the amusement park, facilitated by the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum, sold out in 48 hours. T-shirts and other souvenirs of the park were gobbled up. One Bertrand Island Park Facebook group has 16,000 members and another has over 4,000. What is it that brings forth such passion and devotion to this park after all these years? Of all the attractions that have existed at Lake Hopatcong, none is more beloved than Bertrand Island Park. A class trip or family outing to the park was a long-awaited and much-anticipated event for generations of children. Bertrand Island Park was the first place many local youngsters were allowed to go without parents, and it provided a wonderful summer job for countless area teenagers. Situated on the lake’s eastern shore in the borough of Mount Arlington, Bertrand Island is a peninsula today but was once an island separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. In the early 1860s, Charles Bertrand purchased significant land at Lake Hopatcong, which was then a remote, sparsely populated area of New Jersey. Bertrand built a grand home for his family on the island that would bear his name. He died in 1870, and the house burned down several years later. The land was subsequently sold to a group of men who built a clubhouse on the old foundation. Known as the Bertrand Island Club, it was a place to hunt, fish, play cards and drink a little whiskey. During the summer, members took turns bringing their families to the lake. In the 1890s, the Bertrand Island Club also succumbed to fire. In 1905, the island was purchased by a group of businessmen with ambitious development plans. The island was divided into 257 lots of about 50 x 110 feet. About four acres at the center of the island were reserved for a hotel. The group proposed moving one of the casinos used at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition to 34 LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Labor Day 2023 Memories for a Lifetime by MARTY KANE the island. Their plans also included direct train service to Bertrand Island and steamer service to all parts of the lake. While these grandiose ideas never materialized, the group was responsible for creating a beach on the proposed development in 1905. The beach quickly became a popular spot for swimming at the lake and caught the attention of the Morris County Traction Company, the trolley line attempting to establish service throughout much of Northern New Jersey. Like trolley lines across America, the Morris County Traction Company was looking for ways to increase use on weekends and determined that expanding service to the beach at Bertrand Island would be a perfect weekend destination. Nationwide, many amusement parks were established at the end of trolley lines for just this reason. Trolley service to Bertrand Island began on Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) in 1910, making the beach accessible to large numbers of people in Northern New Jersey. While not speedy by today’s standards, the trolley provided cheap transportation for the masses. The trip from Morristown to Bertrand Island took about two hours and cost 35 cents round trip. As travelers began to arrive by trolley, food stands and amusements were built near the beach. A large open-air dance pavilion, carousel and other attractions soon followed. By 1917, the beach at Bertrand Island included a shooting range, water chute and diving float. In 1919, Louis Kraus, a teacher from Newark who had operated a summer camping colony at Prospect Point, acquired the property surrounding the beach at Bertrand Island. Giving up teaching, Kraus followed his dream and built a hotel at the lake known as California Lodge. After a couple of years operating the hotel The park in 1927: Dodgem (bumper cars), the entrance to the roller coaster when it was known as The Cyclone, the Old Mill (later known as the Lost River), and the popcorn stand. as a neighbor to the bathing beach, Kraus saw there was more of a future in the amusement business than as a hotel owner. When the beach at Bertrand Island was offered for sale in 1922, Kraus and his partner, Charles Schleicher, acquired it. They now owned all of the land that would ultimately become Bertrand Island Park. A wooden boardwalk was quickly constructed along the lake. When fire destroyed the old dance pavilion in March 1923, Kraus quickly erected an attractive new building, known as the June Rose Ballroom. Kraus instituted an operating plan that would prove to be key to the park’s success. Rather than owning all of the amusements and stands, he rented spaces to concessionaires for rides, games and refreshments. This resulted in loyal concessionaires who stayed for many years and were long remembered by the park faithful. Although Kraus did not own or operate the rides or games, he was a master of promotion. Spurred by the addition of attractions, Bertrand Island quickly grew in popularity. The roller coaster, built in 1925, was the first in Northern New Jersey. The 1920s also saw the addition of a Ferris wheel, Dodgem cars, aeroplane swing, the Old Mill (later renamed the Lost River), sightseeing boats, the Whip and more. Rides continued to evolve and grow at the park through the 1920s and into the 1930s. The famous Illions Supreme carousel arrived in 1937 and various rides and games would be added over the years to meet current fads and trends. Beauty pageants became a popular summer Left to right: Bertrand Island Park Beach, circa 1920. The Wildcat roller coaster, circa 1950s. Children on the wooden boardwalk along lake, circa 1920s.
event at Bertrand Island during the 1930s with Miss Bertrand Island and Miss Lake Hopatcong contests. In 1934, due to the Depression, no Miss America pageant was held in Atlantic City and a non-sanctioned Miss America Contest at Bertrand Island created much excitement that summer. Another highlight occurred in 1937 when Bette Cooper, who had been named Miss Bertrand Island, was crowned Miss America in Atlantic City. Dancing was another popular diversion during the 1930s and the park’s June Rose Ballroom (later Bertrand Island Villa) featured many of the area’s top bands. In 1948, still feeling the effects of the Depression and the war years, Kraus decided to sell the park to Lorenzo D’Agostino and his son, Ray, and Larry Donofrio, who were concessionaires under Kraus. Recognizing the value of his experience, the new owners asked Kraus to continue helping manage the park, which he did until his death in 1955. Following his father’s death in 1969 and Larry Donofrio’s decision to sell his share shortly thereafter, Ray D’Agostino became sole owner of the park and would remain so until 1978. In many ways the 1950s and 1960s were golden years at the park. The park seemed to fill a perfect niche at Lake Hopatcong, and it was filled with locals, summer residents and folks visiting the lake for the day. Bertrand Island Park was a favorite spot for school, business and church outings. During the Depression, discount nights had been introduced at Bertrand Island Park. In 1950, Mondays and Thursdays were deemed Nickel Nights, providing a tremendous boost in attendance. Nickel Nights also forever endeared the park to thousands of youngsters, who arrived with a dollar or two and kept busy all night as every ride cost just five cents. One of the most popular postwar additions was Kiddieland, which debuted in 1951 and featured rides scaled solely for children. While Bertrand Island Park was able to survive the Depression and World War II, the changes occurring in America during the 1970s were another matter. The park faced competition from larger parks opening across the country, as well as the slowing of the baby boom. Other regional parks had already succumbed: Irvington’s Olympic Park closed in 1965 and the venerable Palisades Park shut down in 1971. After 30 years in charge, D’Agostino became interested in selling. Larger amusement park operators were not interested in acquiring the park as it did not include sufficient land for expansion. The existence of an old-fashioned family amusement park at Lake Hopatcong was quickly becoming unfeasible. D’Agostino finally sold in 1978. While the new owner initially continued to operate the park, development of the land was foremost on his mind. The park’s last season came to a close 40 years ago on Labor Day, 1983. In these ensuing years, memories of the park have stayed very much alive. Those youngsters of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s still vividly recall their time spent at Bertrand Island Park. Memories of the wooden roller coaster, the spectacular carousel, the Lost River, Boomerang, Nickel Nights, the penny arcade and many more are indelibly etched in the minds of so many residents of North Jersey. While the wood and concrete may be long gone, the park will live forever for those thousands who visited Bertrand Island Park. AQUATIC VEGETATION CONTROL Providing lake and pond management solutions with SCIENCE for over 33 years. 973-948-0107 www.lakemgtsciences.com Branchville, NJ SOLD Let us be your Frankford Sparta SOLD Franklin Mount Olive SOLD Wantage Montague SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD Vernon Lafayette SOLD Realtor ® SOLD SOLD Sparta Sussex LOCAL Agents With GLOBAL Resources! C21 Geba Realty Will Get Your Home SOLD! 23 Main Street Sparta, NJ 07871 C21GebaRealty.com 973.726.0333 Donna Geba Broker/Owner Each office is independently owned and operated. lakehopatcongnews.com 35
Page 1 and 2: INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING
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