Battery A, 98th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
 

By Dave Wilson

Little more than 100 years ago, the ten-acres now known as Kingsland park was mostly private land, however, following World War 1 and the creation of Memorial Park to honor those who served and died in that war, Nutley's town fathers saw the need to preserve more public space in our town. Here, Dave Wilson who grew up mid-century with the park as his virtual backyard traces the evolution of the wild woods to the beautiful park today.

Before the Mudhole it was the town's water supply and cows grazed here

Memorial Names Must Be Settled

(April 26, 1919) – Early in the discussion of the war memorial the question came up as to whose names should be memorialized and who should not.

Some wanted only those who were killed or wounded; some wanted only those who saw active service; others wanted the names of all who served in the Army, Navy and Marines listed, and still others thought every person who served in any official capacity whatever, at home or abroad, should be included.

A subcommittee was appointed to consider the question and it submitted the following report:

By David Wilson

The Kingsland Park waterfalls area still serves us with its beauty as a backdrop for many celebratory pictures of graduations, weddings, engagements, and nature photos. People fish the dam hydraulics and search for crayfish.

Waterfalls come in all shapes and sizes. They can be found everywhere and many are the focus of world-class tourist destinations. The sights and sounds help block out our industrialized world and allow us to escape into nature’s beauty. Negative ions are created that help cleanse the air and stimulate our minds and bodies. Oxygen is infused into the water benefitting aqueous creatures downstream; just ask any fisherperson who has cast a line into the turbulence.

75th Anniversary of Nutley Velodrome

By Michael C. Gabriele

Seventy-five years ago the world came to the Nutley Velodrome as a premier venue for the grand sport of international bicycle racing. The greatest bike riders from around the world traveled to Nutley during the 1930s to compete at the wooden “saucer” built by businessman and cycling enthusiast Joseph Miele.

When Nutley Was Famous for a Hole in the Ground

By Barry Lenson with research from Michael Gabriele and John Simko

There are places in Nutley where you can really feel the past. But of them all, one of the richest is lower Park Avenue near the Passaic River, where some very important events took place.

Back in the 1930s, the area behind the Parks and Recreation Building was the site of the Nutley

Velodrome, one of the world’s capitals of bicycle racing at the time. In the 1950s, the land across the street that is now Glotzbach Park was the location of an artillery base, (Battery A of the 98th AAA Air Defense Battalion) called Camp Nutley, where more than 100 artillerymen manned the guns and radar to protect New York from attack by Soviet planes.