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(erielack) New Year's Eve Story

I did not get the opportunity to forward an EL Christmas Picture this year but I do have a New Year's Eve story that turns 40 years old this year.  In 1965 I was in my sophomore year of college and when the Christmas break came around plans were made to connect with some of the fellow graduates from Wayne Senior High School (now Wayne Valley).  My friend Bernie was attending Dartmouth.  One of his friends at school was from Hawaii and decided not to make the long trip home over the break.  We drove into New York City to pick him up at Port Authority.  Later we went back to the City to see the Rangers play but the big day was December 31st.  Bernie and I would take Sedrick to New York City on the EL.  We boarded the train in Mountain View and road the old "Wyatt Erps" to Hoboken.  Sedrick remarked that the car reminded him of some museum piece he saw in Hawaii.  He thought the coach was antique in nature.  Let's face it;  it was but still had a lot of character.

 

We spent the day touring Manhattan taking a lot of pictures and ultimately winding up downtown around City Hall.  It was time to head home.  In fact, I was about an hour late to a commitment I knew had to be fulfilled.   It was after 4PM.  We walked over to the Barclay Street station and took the ferry to Hoboken.  "Whining Willy" THE LACKAWANNA was the boat we took.  This is where it got interesting.  Sedrick was fascinated with the view from the boat.  I told him that we could stay on and take another trip across the river.  We stayed on after docking and THE LACKAWANNA pulled out but stopped just past the slip.  This was odd.  All of a sudden the boat is facing up and down the river and stopped.  My first thought was that they were taking the thing over to Brighton for service.  Then it powers up, heads up river and then stops, then more power to dock in the farthest north bridge in the ferry building.  The crew was surprised to see the three of us still on board.  I got the feel of what it must have been like to arrive off of a 23rd street boat in 1966.  We walked through the ferry building which had been taken over by the post office.  There were signs up on the wall designating where mail was destined by train number.  We were also interrogated by some employee wanting to know why we were in that part of the building and did we know there was "a war going on".  I knew full well and would be part of the war in four years.

 

We got home late and I caught it from my parents.  In order to help pay for college I was working with a relative waxing floors.  I had a church recreation room that had to be done that night.  It's the church just before Black Oak Ridge Road on the Newark Pompton Turnpike just before you leave Wayne and enter Pequannock.  I thought it could be put off but it wasn't.  I was working on that project until around 10PM that night.

 

But that's the EL New Years recollection.  Hard to believe so many years have gone by and that the 'Erps and Stillwells" are nothing but memories.  Have a great 2006!!!

 

Ed Montgomery


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