Stories From Manalapan Township - How It Was When We Grew Up

Gather around this campfire to hear stories from Manalapan Township’s “How it was when we grew up.” direct from the original residents themselves.

As each town grows, the changes that occur affect the lifestyles of its residents in many ways. Tucked away in their fond memory bank, original residents tell what they remember from growing up in Manalapan Township.

Taking a look at Manalapan Township, which is currently deemed a highly sought after location to live, especially to people seeking to say good bye to the “city life” but when you say “city life” it is all relative to what you consider to be “city life” because, to the long time residents of Manalapan, this town has transformed drastically from what it once was and now to them, it is considered from their perspective as an overcrowded “city like” town.

So it’s interesting to know that people consider Manalapan to be the “country life” when it’s old time residents know the TRUE country life and what it meant to them.

I currently live in the “Holiday North” development, the very first development in Manalapan, which is located right behind Route 9 North and Gordons Corners Road. Right behind the Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts to what was once all woods to explore and play as per the people who grew up here in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s.

As I write this, they are actively constructing a new 168 unit apartment complex on Franklin Lane, the side road behind and adjacent to route 9 North.

I’ll never forget the day I drove up to my home and was enchanted by the lush lawns and mature trees lining the Holiday North Development streets. It was actually the wood burning, cast iron stove in the center of one room that made me feel nostalgic as I toured my home which back then smelled of cigars. It reminded me of the old saloon house in Monticello my family bought for our summer get aways when I was a little girl. The summer home had an actual stage and an old piano that my parents never removed. There was an old wood burning stove we fired up to stay warm when needed on the rare visits in the fall.

I have vivid fun memories at that “country house” and this home in Manalapan gave me that same country feeling. The smell outdoors was intoxicatingly fresh.

When I moved in my home eleven years ago, I was euphoric for the entire first year with so many moments I hold as magical since they are experiences with nature. The first thing we bought was a fire pit. I remember the kids falling asleep in our laps while we gazed at the fire for hours that first night.

One such magical experience was one evening at dusk I noticed that my Christmas lights were out at one section, so I went outside to fuss over them. Lost in my concentration I didn’t even notice there was a large buck staring at me only 10 feet away. When I looked up we locked eyes in what I experienced as a loving gaze of acknowledgment. After about 5 seconds, my attention shifted to the buck’s sharp antlers and no sooner that I could marvel at them, fear set in. In what seemed like that very same second as the fear electrified and activated my adrenaline, the buck changed its stance to the left, to the right, then ran off. When I came back inside I realized that I had a special moment with a buck and my heart began to glow. I’m living in the country now..and I smiled.

When speaking to the original residents, they have shared the best memories from their childhood when the town was very different. It had tremendous support from its residents. Many of the fathers volunteered for the fire dept and one resident even recalls that when ever they had a new truck, they would drive it around the development for the kids to see.

Near the water tower, residents recall the fire dept flooding the basketball court for the kids during winter so they could ice skate.

I was told, “Teens used to climb the water tower in the park off Locust Grove, and the fire dept flooded basketball court for skating in the winter.”

I want to share the stories that have been said in a post I prompted for multiple original residents to share as a collective experience so I write like we are all sitting around a campfire together. Try to imagine all different voices reminiscing their youth and fun times on specific streets which still exist today while you roast your marshmallows.

“Kids would be out playing until the sun went down. Riding bikes was the normal thing as they would be piled on the lawn. This was the known signal of the designated house where we were. So if you were the late comer from getting stuck doing chores or homework, you could still find where we were.”

Another Holiday North resident says,

“Grew up in Holiday North on Heather Drive. My family were original owners and owned until about 8 years ago. We enjoyed all the woods behind Heather Drive. Heather had a dead end back then where teens gathered weekend nights to hang out, drink beer and have a good time. In the winter we skated on the ponds in the woods. In the warmer months Farmer Kurtz would walk the property line with his shot guns.”

I can picture this in my mind because today Heather Drive leads right into another development in an adjacent town called Marlboro and one old time resident said, “Neighbors fought the opening of Heather into Marlboro but fire dept fought us. They claimed they needed the road to be open for a fire. We begged for an emergency access only because we knew it would become a speedway. It’s a shame because Holiday North never had a lot of cars. As kids we played kickball in the street every night all summer long. Hardly any cars came through.”

I asked if everyone had their own gardens,

“Everyone had huge vegetable gardens back in the day and everyone would share their extra fruits and vegetables with their neighbors. My husband had one of the first landscape companies in MANALAPAN back in the 1980’s. Every Friday night in the summer he would bring me freshly cut roses from one of the rose gardens he built on holiday road. The homeowner always told him to cut roses anytime to bring to me. “

This campfire just got a little cozier. I am thinking awe…how incredibly romantic and thoughtful especially on a regular basis.

Speaking of warm and cozy, I am guessing we had septic tanks at one point in Holiday North?

“Yes, I remember when we got sewers for the first time. All our roads were dug up for months and the streets were a mess. But when everything was installed we had great paved streets so we could roller skate all over. It was smooth like butter.”

On Taylor’s Mill Road and one resident recalls, “It used to have a grass median down the center, and I remember all the high schoolers when cutting class would take the trail through the woods behind my house which backed up to the football field.”

Oh really! Where did the rebellious teens work and hang out back then? No judgement, in fact now I felt a bit more bonded as I have skipped school one or twice myself.

“I remember everyone’s first job was working at the Englishtown Auction. So our go-to mall was either East Brunswick Mall or the Manalapan Mall which had a department store called Steinbachs. It also had a small mall with stores called Mandees, a record shop, Joanne’s Nut House, a pizza parlor, and Friendly’s for ice cream. East Brunswick was better. I remember when my parents said we were going to the mall, we would ask which one before getting excited. Another go-to was Old Silvers restaurant where families would patron for special dinners out.”

Everyone nods, and one resident popped as a memory suddenly surfaced, referring to the routine spraying of pesticides for bugs,

“I remember the exterminator truck driving down the streets spraying the “fog” and kids riding their bikes behind the truck, guess not such a good idea but who knew then.”

Sitting up taller this same resident recalls a traveling library!

“I remember how excited we would get when the “book mobile” came around.”

Book mobiles provided library services to people in remote areas for convenience and frequency of availability.

In Brooklyn growing up we had local libraries always walking distance away so this idea reminds me more of the Good Humor ice cream truck, only it had books instead. “What an exciting time to live where books get kids as excited as the ice cream truck.” I teased thinking of my own kids taking the many books I have all over my house for granted.

Another person’a face lit up and shared,

“Oh! The Manalapan Recreation Center used to be a huge farm and there was Nothing across route 33 but the Knolls, which was “so far away”. Much quieter back then for sure.”

That Farm house was torn down much to the dismay of many residents because it was a landmark in the sense, a structure which represented their special time in the history within their hearts. It was in a way comforting to know that place was there. So now we look in nostalgic sadness at the Recreational Center seeing it as less beautiful because it’s gone.

Another resident said, “Moved here in 1967. I remember playing outside with my friends. We used to ride our bikes and come home only when it got dark. No play dates were needed we just rode around until we met up. We played in the brooks and woods which unfortunately aren’t there anymore since the houses were built.“

“We would catch fireflies in jars and there were a lot of wild rabbits and turtles which are gone now.”

Smaller natural waterways are disturbed and, in effect, diverted when plans are executed to construct new homes. The brooks that flowed like vessels so naturally with the land’s heart beat were enjoyed by kids back then but now because of the homes built, they are no longer there.

I was told that behind my own house, there used to be a brook also, so it’s no wonder why water still accumulates there sometimes on heavy rains.

The town High School currently has about 1800 students but to one original long time resident’s recollection he tells,

“I Remember graduating Manalapan High with less than 300 in our graduating class; we knew everybody since we went thru school together and were never split up like the grades are now. Traffic was non-existent. A lot of good memories. I feel the town has changed and not so much for the better.”

Eager to learn more about what Manalapan was like back in the day, I asked more questions to which I received more stories and answers about how we can maybe enjoy or reenact some good times today. One such response was,

“Joanna, the Boy Scouts now walk the trail that goes along route 522 from Englishtown through Manalapan to Molly Pitcher’s Well at Battleground Park. The scouts receive a special metal for completing the trail. There are many great places to stop along the way.”

I later learned that this hike is actually historic to retrace the footsteps from the Revolutionary War soldiers.

“What about the story of the Old Tennent Church Property and the blood stained pew from the soldier? As a young soldier sat on a grave and watched the battle, a cannon ball struck him in the leg and broke off the top of the tombstone. Friends carried the unfortunate soldier into the church and laid him in one of the pews. The bloodstains can still be seen today. Both the cannonball sheared tombstone and the blood stained church pew. So many people don’t know the real history of Manalapan.”

“Route 9 used to be a dirt road in both directions with farm stands. One corn stand I know is still there every year to this day that I look forward to visiting.”

Another original resident excitedly shares,

“My family has been here for 70+ years! Owned a horse farm on the other side of route 33 for a long time on a road that only got paved around the year 2000, with only two family member’s houses on the same street, and the Little Red School House where I went with lots of other manalapan children

“Jack Frost now known as 4 Boys was my first job and the place to hang out was a great coffee shop called Maria’s next door”

“Joanna Renner we always had milk delivered while growing up and we had the Charles Chips Man deliver snacks like potato chips and pretzels and cookies in large brown tins.”

I loved hearing from so many long time residents because I envisioned their descriptions to replace what exists there now, “I was born and raised in Manalapan. 45 yrs. I grew up on a farm that still exists today and my children are now 17 and 16. They loved growing up going to the farm daily. A lot has changed. We see it now as very crowded but still a great place to raise a family and live.”

“Being born in 1986 I remember old Manalapan. We lived in Monmouth Heights. Your neighbors were kind. They were family. Lafayette Mills Road was still a tall grass hill where we used to sled as a kid. We’d cross the bridge to Livingston on our bikes thinking we were a world away and go racing down “the big hill” on Livingston. Some store names I recall we had Rickel, Bradlees, Burger Hop and Value City.”

This memory had me feel like I was there too,

“Christmas time we’d be able to drive for hours to go see everyone’s lights making it something to look forward to but only after all the cousins, aunts and uncles got together to pick apples and get pumpkins in the fall.

We had Friday Night Lights Games, Thanksgiving morning was football against Marlboro and when one of the big names like Gaeta or Rivera got the pin, the gymnasium erupted with a sound and feeling you’d never forget.”

When you look at Manalapan now, and read some of these memories, it can give you a deep respect for its energy. “We didn’t have houses on every corner. We had fields and woods for us to run around and go get lost in. As long as we were home before dark.”

The kids seemed to always be on the hunt for some organized fun and were also eager to help their neighbors out, “We tried to find the freshest paved roads to get a pick up hockey game going. And we were always seeing who wanted to shovel when it snowed.”

One long time resident expressed her disapproval of the town allowing as much commercial and new residential construction as it did because from her memory, “No traffic light was needed at the bus stop on route 9. We used to be able to walk across route 9 at the Gordon’s corner shopping center to Grand Union and Tony’s Pizza with no problems. Now there have been dozens of deaths. All the open space was really nice. Everyone knew each other. Everyone was polite and cared about each other in town. Manalapan Day was at Yorktowne shopping center and the Village Green. Pine Brook school was 7th and 8th grade and we would walk to Yorktowne Deli for pizza and sandwiches on half days. It’s a shame that in the 50+ years I’ve been alive that this town has become so overpopulated and overgrown.”

I envision a person taking their normal walk and waking up one day to hear blaring loud traffic zooming by. Where there was no need to clutch the hand of a little one tightly, now there is a sense of stressful unease.

It’s as if they just woke up and everything was different even though it changed gradually, to these long time residents it’s in a sense, abrupt and disappointing.

“My parents bought in 1967 for about $32,000 and sold for around $430,000 eight years ago. They added a huge sylvan cement pool in the 70’s and a 20ft addition on the side of the house in the 80’s.”

Sylvan Pools is still a local business to this day.

Back to the fonder memories,

“When the street lights came on we would have to be home. We would bike ride from holiday north to Carvel, Bagel World and Larry Gutentag’s “Pantry”.

When I expressed that I was not aware that there was ever any shopping place referred to as the Manalapan Mall, another resident was surprised and shared more fun,

“Joanna Renner omg! The Manalapan Mall & the Carnival at the Manalapan Mall was amazing. I remember bonfires in the woods on Friday nights. Teen nights were held at Birch Hill. Having “people over” at everyone’s house, the parties, the fireworks, pool parties, so much fun. The best was fitting 5 people in a 2 person car just to get to the next nearby house. Once the Raceway mall was built then that became the Friday night hang out. It was just so much fun! It was where Target is now.”

Another added,

“I loved going there as a kid! My Mom would take us there for secret sales!Does anyone remember those? When I was little I would even walk there with my babysitter to go to the library, the mall, and Stenbachs! Such good memories.”

Faces warmed with the heat of the fire then this story emerged,

“My family goes back to my Great Great Grandparents in Englishtown and Manalapan. I grew up on Gordon’s Corner Rd. with Aumacks Dairy farm pasture behind my back yard. One day the cows were gone and the bulldozers showed up taking away the fertile top soil creating a steep hill behind our property which rerouted underground springs causing our property wells to go dry and collapse leaving us without water. The town took no action to help the effected residents to even offer bringing city water down our street. It was all about the “new developments! Eventually my Father had a new 200 ft. deep well dug. Also, I remember I was able to ride my bicycle pulling my little sister in a wagon to Jack Frost for ice cream which was fun, but then the traffic increased to where it became too dangerous. Now it isn’t even safe to walk down Gordon’s Corner. The area is still nice and well kept but sadly, it just isn’t the beautiful little town I grew up in anymore.”

When I asked what did your family do for water in the meantime prior to the new well being dug, the response was, “Joanna, my father brought 55 gallon drums of water to our house with my grandfather’s station wagon just for flushing. We bathed at my Great Grandmother’s house. I was 10 years old. I remember when that well caved in like it was yesterday.”

The campfire grows and everyone moves over a few inches closer to make room as more people join to sit and share. Our old time residents campfire doesn’t mind this type of “crowded” as it compares to the growth of the town.

“We used to ride our bikes on Tennent road al the way to Pease Road and hang out at Gordon’s Corner- where Jersey Strong is now.”

“I remember Rec camp used to be at Pinebrook which was then our middle school”

“And I remember we were able to walk during camp to Gordon’s corner and hang out”

I thought to myself, “Wow, times were so trusting then, that parents would be ok with kids being left at camp where they can be free to walk over to stores.” But then I remembered my own early teen adventures that I was allowed to take the NYC subway to Greenwich Village Aster Place at age 13 for a hair cut with my friends. As a parent now my perception is so overprotective I confess. I guess country kids lived carefree of possible kidnappings or crimes that we fear today in general.

Today in Manalapan, it is very rare for people to walk to anywhere. Most people drive. But back then,

“Everyone walked from the high school to Old Silver Tavern after school or to sports activities. Our weekends were spent at the Englishtown auction or at the Raceway. There was no Freehold Mall till later. It was just a circle roundabout.”

One persons adds more,

“Actually right there where 33 and 9 come together at the light, used to be the Freehold Circle. Driving schools would make us practice on that circle many many times before we got our license. There were so many accidents and people were so happy to get rid of the circle when the mall was being built.”

Some people who grew up here are so fed up that they are ready to move on,

“The town is not what it used to be by any means and we both can’t wait for the kids to graduate and get out.”

“Too much traffic. Too many people now.”

“We used to be able to ride our bikes all over town and would regularly ride to Englishtown and Gordon’s corner. Now it’s too dangerous. Too crowded. No sidewalks.”

“I know that in 1996 when I graduated HS there was a national article naming Manalapan the second best place to live. Since then it went downhill. And it’s sad the the town continues to overbuild.”

While we can absolutely agree that the quality of life here in Manalapan was simpler, much more close nit and wholesome in the 60s 70’s and 80’s, depending on what you are coming from or comparing the town to, it can still be perceived both as a “country life” or a very crowded “overpopulated city life”

To the great campfire residents who provided these memories, and to those who regularly keep fond memories alive, I have this interesting message to share.

There was a study done back in 1979 by Ellen Langer, an American professor of psychology at Harvard University, in which she organized that elderly men lived for a week as though it was 1959 and the results measured that by being engulfed in their surroundings to bring back their fond memories as an overall theme re-enacted environment, they actually seemed to grow younger!

In the experiment, researchers invited a group of 80-year-old men to a “time travel retreat.” For seven days, they lived in a setting emulating the world from 20 years before. The men spoke about past events as if they were happening in the present.

As a result, they came out of the experiment with significantly improved memory, vision, physical strength, and other measures that are commonly believed to irreversibly decline with age.

I believe those that shared their memories at this campfire discussion even as a promoted social media post, may have benefited more than they realize. It started out as a post in social media that I prompted and the responses I collected to share as a campfire is somewhat of a gift back to those who shared.

Manalapan is an extremely special town. Thank you to the old time life long residents who contributed with their hearts these comments, memories and information.

And THANK YOU for coming to my Manalapan Campfire