Fond Memories

We Found a Huge Roll of Park Tickets...

Hey Vince,

Thank you for the book you sent upon my order some time ago. I am a writer working on a novel that takes place in the 1940s mostly in Palisades Amusement Park. The book really revived old memories!

My father was the artist/illustrator Lynd Ward, and my mother the children's book writer, May McNeer. I had seven childrens books published in the 50's and 60's. I was born in 1932.

We lived on Abbot Blvd. and my father's parents lived over on Bridle Way. My grandfather was a professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York, We always went over for Sunday dinner and I can remember the sound of the roller coaster screams seeping in as we ate!

Also, my best friend was a girl named Martha Pierson. Her grandfather had run the pony rides when they had them at the Park and they lived in a large house right next to the park. One day we found a huge roll of park tickets in the loft of their old barn next to the house and we were off to the park.--- the tickets were still good!!! What a time we had! We also used to go over when the Park was closed in the winter and that was pretty scary!

Of course we not allowed to do any of this! The thing I remember most when we used the tickets was that we could go on all the rides but couldn't buy any food (no money, and the tickets weren't good for food!)

Thought you might like these memories for your historical society, and I also wondered just when the Park opened each spring -- approximate date??

We moved to another town, Leonia when I was eleven because my father was 38 and all men who were that age had to go into the armed forces for WWII or go into defense work. He got a job at Bendix which I think was in Hackensack. Anyway, we moved to Leonia which is on the eastern edge of the Jersey Meadows. But I was never so happy as I was living in Palisade!

Nanda Ward