Edward J. Hildebrandt's 

History of Hoboken Play

Edward J. Hildebrandt, Jr. of Carlstadt, New Jersey, sent in Hoboken recreation recollections of the 1940s and 1950s. He told us about riding the ferries as entertainment and "swinging on a dumb waiter rope from the fire escape, around the tree, then dropping to the ground." Mr. Hildebrandt built his own games, including scooters made "with fancy bottle caps and wagons made with baby carriage wheels." 

Mr. Hildebrandt also wrote that Halloween was a night for mischief and Thanksgiving Day was for costumes and trick-or-treating. Please contact us if you can shed some light on when or why this tradition changed.

We were especially delighted to read about recreation activities that were specific to this region, like riding the ferries as entertainment. Also, "riding on the back of the ice wagon, sucking on a cold sliver of ice".

Interested in sharing your story? Let us know.