Our years in Mendham gave us an opportunity to learn so much about people. It was such a small area, yet it was right smack in the middle of so many opportunities for growth in mind and spirit. The historical value of the area, is one that is revered by the locals and you never see a home allowed to go into a state of disrepair that has anything of value to offer. Mendhamites restored and repaired their homes and continued to raise their families where they were born and raised. I don't know about now, but at the time we were there, schools were excellent. They did not accept funds from the federal government and chose to run their educational system to reflect their needs and desires through taxation. Money well spent. Every child was treated the same way with respect to their abilities. Crime was non-existent as far as we could tell. Homes and cars were seldom locked. Mothers looked out for all the neighborhood children and every home was always open to all of them.
The rolling hills between Mendham and Bernardsville were breathtaking! The Roman Catholic Mallinckrodt Convent for the Sisters of Christian Charity sits high on a hill that overlooks the road below. It was not uncommon to see the Sisters in town in full traditional religious habit. There were churches of every denomination in the area.
As you continue on towards Bernardsville, there are mansions built in the Gothic Revival and Georgian styles that are indescribable. Bernardsville Mountain was home to estates such as Peachcroft, Westover, Harmony Hollow, and Little Brook Farm. Tall Oaks, a sprawling Georgian mansion was home to the swing era band leader, Tommy Dorsey, and was built in 1909. Others, such as the George B. Post family and Mike Tyson have lived in the sprawling estates that line the road to Bernardsville. A drive to Bernardsville from Mendam in the fall was simply breathtaking!
I can't remember how I became invited to join, but I became involved with the Espsilon Sigma Alpha or ESA, a philanthropical organization developed to provide assistance to established programs that serve human needs and produce new programs to improve the quality of life. Our Chapter worked hard raising funds for St. Judes Childrens Hospital and I met some wonderful "sisters." Through ESA, we were thrown into another circle of locals and enjoyed social events with them during our time there.
The boys were now either in, or approaching high school. Teresa was still early elementary school, but we had some decisions to make about our future. We were a long way from our parents, who were approaching their senior years. With the end of the Vietnam war, Watergate scandal, sitting in gas lines to get a few gallons of gas, the bottom falling out of the real estate market and rise of interest rates, along with the fatigue of a daily commute or week long business trips, we reluctantly decided to come back home to Georgia.
Sollie had some business contacts and had gained a lot of experience. He was well known throughout the plastic manufacturing industry as being one of it's best technical engineers. So we hoped for the best and took that leap of faith. We decided to locate in Rockdale County, another bedroom community of a metropolitan area where there were great schools and a small town atmosphere. Although it was a growing community, it was safe and in close proximity to the airport. United Van Lines was backing up to our door again.
It important for me to say, if there was discrimination against blacks, Jews, Hispanics, or any race, it was not obvious to anyone we knew. It was a very diversified community with many different races and religions. This little village, and the adjoining one of Brookside, in Mendham Township, represented the best of the best, as far as we could tell. They were the firemen, policemen, carpenters, shop keepers, and families who stuck together. Proud people. Good people. Living here gave me the opportunity to see and know that main stream America exists and those who work together can accomplish their dreams for the future of their children.
Those same people, were at the threshold of a changing society with the rising prices of a piece of dirt and taxes to go with it. Some are still there today in the homes where they have lived all their adult lives. Some have sold their home places and were able to retire to places where their dreams of retirement could come true. The point is, people who want decent towns will plan and diversify when they have to, accept new people, live within their means, and still have the most important things in life, their community.
