Idylease History – Page 8 – IDYLEASE: A HISTORIC LANDMARK

Idylease Blog, Idylease History, NJ History, West Milford

Dr. Edgar Day: Original Owner of Idylease

June 8, 2017 No Comments

idylease edgar day — Image of Dr. Edgar A. Day: Courtesy of Beth Willis from the Strait Family Photo Collection. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced.

For many years I have conducted research on Dr. Edgar Day who was the original owner and operator of Idylease. He had built the structure in the summer of 1902, realizing his dream of creating a country escape where cheerful hospitality reigned for persons “wearied or worn with the ceaseless turmoil of the city.”

Unable to find references on the internet, I had resigned myself that I had exhausted all efforts in finding any information about his past.

Enter Beth Willis – a relation to Edgar A. Day. Beth is an historian who has compiled a 638-page manuscript entitled, “The Inhabitants of the Neighborhood…… A Pictorial History of Snufftown, now Stockholm, Hardyston Township, Sussex County, New Jersey and its Vicinity”.

While a former resident of Ogdensburg, New Jersey, Beth had many of her ancestors and relatives who had lived in the area at Snufftown and its area. Much of the information was from the photographs and written family histories her grandmother meticulous preserved. She had also conducted many interviews with relatives of the former residents who had lived in the area. The manuscript has detailed and highly interesting information about local history.

The manuscript contains over 900 photographs that include family portraits, business advertisements, photographs of the homes and business of the area including many scenic views of the community. Many of the photographs were taken during the acquisitions of lands for the Pequannock watershed. Beth has donated a copy of the manuscript to the West Milford Public Library where it may be accessed as a reference resource.

In addition, her 3rd great Aunt Martha Strait and a distant cousin, Elizabeth S. Day both compiled their family histories. Another relative, Joseph Percy Crayon (nee Crain), wrote numerous articles about local history that appeared in the area’s newspapers. Crayon also wrote “Rockaway Records of Morris County, N.J. Families” which was published by the Rockaway Publishing Co. in 1902. The book contains many of the area’s family genealogies.

Beth contacted me last month via the Idylease website and we had a wonderful conversation on the phone. She has since shared several excerpts from her manuscript about the Day family, photographs and family memorabilia about Idylease with me. Included in the items she had sent was an obituary of Dr. Edgar Day that appeared in the Butler Argus in 1906.

EDGAR ARTHUR DAY, M.D.
1853 – 1906

The funeral service of Dr. Edgar A. Day was held at Idylease Inn Thursday, May 17th, his death occurring on the previous Tuesday. Interment was made in the family plot at Oak Ridge Cemetary.

Though born in Brooklyn, N.Y., fifty-three years ago, his boyhood and most of his early manhood were spent on his father’s farm at Paradise, near Newfoundland, N.J. He laid the foundation of his education at a private school at Oak Ridge and followed with a course of study at the State Normal School at Trenton, where he prepared himself for teaching. For a time he was principal in the public schools at Jersey City, N.J., also at Hastings, N.Y. Later, after taking a medical course at the Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, he practiced for some years in that city.

Conceiving the idea of establishing somewhere near the great cities an institution where people in broken heath might rest and recuperate, Newfoundland suggested itself to him as an ideal spot for its location, and about four years ago he matured plans for its establishment. A year later “Idylease Inn” was opened, and here he has lived and continued to labor and plan for the accomplishment of his ambition. Although not actively practicing medicine since the opening of the Inn, the Doctor’s work had included many instances of medical aid, which have contributed largely to the success attained.

While living in Brooklyn, Dr.Day was an influential member of the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church, an active worker in the “Congregational Club” of Brooklyn, and a member of the Royal Arcanum.

His entire life has been spent in unselfish devotion to the welfare and uplift of his fellows. In developing his plans for the Inn, it was his ideal to have it stand in influence for spiritual as well as physical health and rest. To this end he early instituted the practice of holding religious services on Sunday afternoons in the parlors of the Inn, and not only the guests but neighbors were invited to attend. These services were usually conducted by the pastor of the Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church. The Doctor sought, too, to permeate the institution with a strong moral atmosphere.

He was the prime mover in the organization of the North Jersey Poultry Association and the Village Improvement Society of Newfoundland, both established within a few months. His constant thought and purpose were the advancement and improvement of Newfoundland, and his removal from the life of the village will long be felt.

THE BUTLER (N.J.) ARGUS, May 25, 1906.

Idylease Blog, Idylease History, Idylease Video, Newfoundland, NJ History

From Edison’s Great Train Robbery to The Station Agent: Newfoundland Film Locations

May 26, 2017 No Comments

“Edison was no stranger to Newfoundland, he would spend an evening at Idylease while working on a magnetic ore extracting device at the Franklin/Ogdensberg Mine.”

In 1903, an employee of Thomas Edison’s motion picture company produced a movie with a story. At twelve minutes long, the movie was considered a milestone in film making. The early motion picture used a number of then-unconventional techniques, including composite editing, on-location shooting, and frequent camera movement. It was called “The Great Train Robbery.” It told a simple story of a group of western criminals who steal money from a train. Later they are killed by a group of police in a gun fight. The movie was extremely popular. “The Great Train Robbery” started the huge motion picture industry. Scenes were filmed along the Pequonnock River and along the Sequehanna Railroad with tracks still running through Newfoundland. Edison was no stranger to Newfoundland. F. Fichter Hoagan, a longtime business manager at Idylease often reminisced about the days when Thomas Edison would spend an evening at Idylease while working on a magnetic ore extracting device at the Franklin/Ogdensberg Mine. He fished on the banks of the Pequonnock River and would have his car serviced at a garage in Newfoundland when heading to the mines in Franklin from his lab in West Orange.

Historically, New Jersey is the recognized as the birthplace of the motion picture industry. In 1892, the motion picture industry was launched in the state with the erection of the world’s first motion picture studio at the Edison Laboratory in West Orange. It was a small, frame building, black inside and out and mounted on a revolving base so that the sun could be followed. This studio was called the Kinetographic Theatre, but was better known as the Black Maria.

In 1978, Paramount Pictures filmed scenes for the Movie King of the Gypsies in Newfoundland. The film starred Eric Roberts, Sterling Hayden, Shelley Winters, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields, Annette O’Toole and Judd Hirsch.

MTV Films at Idylease

Between 1995 and 1997, David Schoner, Location Coordinator of the NJ Film Commission brought two film companies to Idylease as production sites. The sketch comedy television series “The State”, was broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993, and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience. Season 2, Episode 3 entitled “Lincoln Logs” was filmed on the main porch and in the lobby of Idylease. The MTV Music Video from the album “Sunshine In Popopia” by Battershell was Filmed at Idylease in 1997 utilizing the blacksmith shop and grounds at Idylease.

In 2003 Miramax Pictures filmed the independent feature film “The Station Agent” at the Newfoundland Train Station. Located off of Route 23 off Greenpond Road is the wooden train station built in 1872 that was the focal point of the movie. The film chronicles Finbar McBride’s (Peter Dinklage) move to an abandoned Newfoundland train station, to live the life of a hermit. His attempt at solitude is soon interrupted, however, by interactions with his neighbors, including Olivia, a struggling artist coping with the recent death of her young son, and Joe, a thirty-year-old with a talent for cooking and an insatiable hunger for conversation–whether anyone wants to talk to him or not.

New Jersey was the film capital of the world during the early years of its inception with a long and varied history of location shooting. No doubt Idylease will serve as the locale for future productions in the State of New Jersey and thus– adding to its illustrious history.

Idylease History, NJ History, Richard Zampella

Why I Like Old Things.

April 2, 2017 No Comments

richard zampella — Restored American Empire Dresser arrives from the Idylease workshop and takes its rightful place in the historic structure.

“Once a piece of history is destroyed, it is lost forever.”

I like to surround myself with old thing. They have character. There’s something to be said for having a sense of history. Old music, old movies, old cars and old furniture to name a few. Old things are just more interesting

There is something special about old things. The incredible craftsmanship, the quality materials, but most precious is the history behind them. If these things could tell stories, imagine what they might share. Everything has a story. Often, many old things end up in the trash. Well, it’s said that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Surrounding yourself with traces of history is a way of connecting to the past. Old things also tell the story of another time. They have an innate history.

I also like to restore things that are forgotten. I like the idea of preserving objects for future generations. Perhaps with the hope that one day someone like me will appreciate that something from another era survives.

As a preservationist, I am a proponent that the past can also educate. Architecture as an example, is a direct and substantial representation of history and place that can teach us about our collective past. By preserving historic structures, we are able to share the very spaces and environments in which the generations before us lived.

Historic preservation is the visual and tangible conservation of cultural identity. There is something about running your hand down a banister that previous generations have held in their hands for centuries. It gives you a intrinsic sense of place and time and a perspective on where you fit in this impersonal world. Old things are a part, a small part, but an important part of a much greater story.

Preserving historic buildings―whether related to someone famous or recognizably dramatic―strangers or longtime residents are able to witness the aesthetic and cultural history of an area. Old buildings maintain a sense of permanency and heritage. There is no chance to renovate or to save a historic site once it’s gone. And we can never be certain what will be valued in the future. This reality brings to light the importance of locating and saving buildings of historic significance―because once a piece of history is destroyed, it is lost forever.

About Richard Zampella

Richard Zampella is a preservationists that own and operates Idylease, a former resort hotel located in Newfoundland, NJ. He is also a documentary film producer who has produced and edited several films with writer and director, John Mulholland. His productions include skillful use of archival materials such as film footage, photographs, periodicals and correspondence, narrated by actors including Len Cariou, Sam Waterston, Frank Langella and Liam Neeson. Production credits include Sergeant York: Of God and Country, Inside High Noon and Cooper & Hemingway: The True Gen which was awarded a Crtics’ Pic by the New York Times.

His upcoming projects include a documentary on author/screenwriter Elmore Leonard, the release of the Director’s Cut of Inside High Noon and a BluRay of Margaret Mead’s New Guinea Journal written, directed and produced, written and directed by Craig Gilbert, the creator, writer and director of the landmark PBS series, An American Family.

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