Remember When? Bertrand Island (Irvington, Maplewood: amusement park, hotels, townhouses)

[Summering]

We were talking on the PA. thread about their Amusement Park that use to be at Harveys Lake, called Don Hansons Amusement Park. That community is trying to buy back the carousel that use to adorn their park.
This now historic relic took a journey to " Old Town" in Florida and then to another Florida town. Now, its up for auction. The cost 1.4 million dollars..........The town of Harveys Lake is working to towards the goal, but the funds are so hard to come by.
It reminded me of when we use to ride the carousel at Bertrand Island.
Those flying jets, the bumper cars by the entrance.........that wooden roller coaster! Not to leave out the Fun House, and the Flume Ride......
Here are some memories for you, those who loved some of their childhood evenings spent up at the park on Lake Hopatcong.
Bertrand Island Amusement Park, Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey
These pictures would surely bring you back to days goneby.
I'm wondering where the carousel went that the Island owned? At one time I thought it went to the state of Florida too.
Have the townhouses been built that were to be built on the amusement park footprint?
Up in Binghamton, NY they have carousels in different areas for all the kids to go and enjoy. They obtained quite a few. I wonder what is the secret of their success?
So you can linger awhile and look back to days gone by...........

[emanon]

Of course most NJ people know that the carousel from Olympic Park in Irvington/Maplewood NJ now is the well used carousel at Disney Worlds's Magic Kingdom In Orlando

Thanks for the trip down memory lane (well sort of my mom and dad took my brother and I to Bertrands Island park in the 50's, so I was told) but I have no recollection, so it was nice to at least see the postcards so now I have some Idea of where I visited when I was a child.


E

[Calico696]

Great post Summering!

[stevemorse]

Thanks!!!! Wish I had some of those old postcards!! Actually this is one fact that I did not know!! I also found out that Mount Freedom used to be actually the first borsch belt, huge hotels and bugalows, never would have know that either!!! I just noticed how huge that wooden coster is by that post card!!! I wish it was still there. This makes me wish my mom could be young again, to see things like this sometimes bring a tear in my eye.Im getting old.

[dancemomnj]

I loved that place! I grew up on the Jefferson side of Lake Hopatcong and we went often. My mother even has fond memories of her teenage years there.

[Summering]

I was taken there as a little girl, and my kids were taken there too!......
It got very old, but it was full of memories. Even up to going out on the sightseeing boat....that was still there and it was so much fun.
The coaster.......gosh.........I felt I would just dump out!!

[tahiti]

great link summering!

my grandmother had a lake house on lakeside blvd. in lake hopatcong and i remember going to bertrands island a few times - we'd get there on my uncle's boat ("the oldest boat on the lake" he claimed). would be so cool if it were still there .

[desertsun41]

My Mom told me she took me there in the 60s but I dont remember. She talked a lot of stories about the park when she was young.

Back in the mid 80s after the park closed down, the remains still stood for quite a few years. Maybe more like 10-12 years. When I bought my first boat in 1990 it was popular to moor our boats on the sand or just off the beach of Bertrands Island Park. It was quite the party hangout. We would walk around and touch and feel all the old remains of the roller coaster and the whip. You could almost hear the children laughing as if it was 20 years prior. The sign still stood in 1990 that advertised hot dogs for 5 cents. Damn now I really feel old.

We always heard they were trying to build human filing cabinets on the site but it took many many many years to get through the red tape to do so. In 2001 I think they began to build those disgusting awefull ugly human filing cabinets. What a horrible thing to do to such a beautiful piece of land.

Now from the state park looking north all you can see is that monster piece of garbage blocking the views.