A Flood of Memories...

I just ran across your website, and it brought back a flood of memories from the late 60s.

My perspective on the park is a rather unusual one in that my family owned the hardware and industrial supply business in Cliffside Park that sold the park and most of the concessions their hardware, paint, tools, janitorial supplies, etc. The store was Halton Industrial Supplies at 666 Anderson Avenue, which my uncle Joe Michaels bought from its founder, Ed Halton, around 1966 or 1967. The park was by far our biggest customer, and we had to stock a whole array of very unusual items (e.g. 24" x 1-1/2" bolts) for the rides and facilities.

I recall that every Spring the park guys started coming into the store to stock up on what they needed to get the place ready for the season. Mr. Rosenthal required that all of the concessions be re-painted every year, and we sold tons of paint to those guys. The Cyclone also had to be checked out every year, and guys would walk every inch of the coaster looking for bolts that needed replacing and other items that needed repair. John Rinaldi, the park manager at the time, would come in a couple of times a week along with some of his guys and pick up paint, tools, hardware, nuts and bolts, electrical supplies, and everything else that an enterprise of that size needed to operate.

The park itself was only one of several PAP accounts that we had. Morgan (Mickey) Hughes owned and operated many of the larger rides in those days, and his guys would also come in for their stuff. Mr. and Mrs. McAskill were an elderly couple who operated the "freak show" for many, many years, and they had an account as well. Mr. McAskill was usually the one to stop into the store to pick up their order. There were several other accounts, but so much time has passed that I can't remember them all.

My own family lived in Rockland County, New York, and my dad and I worked for my uncle and commuted to Cliffside Park every day. I didn't visit the park as often as I might have liked, but when I did it was an amazing experience. We'd get these golden tickets from John Rinaldi that gave us unlimited access to all of the rides, and I vividly remember my first (and only) roller coaster ride on the Cyclone. Turns out I wasn't a roller coaster kind of guy.

My uncle closed the business down some time in the early 70s when business took a turn for the worse. Not only did our best customer close down, but chain "home centers" (like Channel and Pergament) started popping up all over the place, and that pretty much dried up the retail end of the business as well. We had a retail store and two warehouses full of stock that was sold at an auction that took two full days, and the property itself was eventually sold as well.

Your site is really great, and I look forward to buying and reading your book soon. Thanks for the memories.

Michael M.