How would describe towns surrounding Ridgewood (Bergen County)?

[EBWick]

Originally Posted by Ivan Putski

Waldwick: I grew up in MP so I’m not a fan of Waldwick and I’m sure the feeling is mutual – Porkers (MP) vs Greasers (Waldwick) mentality. I’ve always thought of the town as predominantly blue collar. The town definitely has the most affordable homes in the area but keep in mind that home prices in this town or MP for that matter will more than likely not appreciate as much as other perceived “desirable” towns with good schools.

Wow - I didn't know that Porkers called themselves "Porkers." Interesting.

We also thought the town a bit odd being so Dutch Reformed, like the goody-two-shoes Mormons of Bergen County.

And my brother was a proud Greaser who had his butt indentation on the library fence on Prospect. Kind of ironic that the ones who hated school the most hung out in front of a library.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by EBWick

It's funny, growing up in the area you think Paramus & Ridgewood are big but you can drive through them on Route 17 in a few minutes (at midnight of course). Then down in central Jersey you drive through Howell & Jackson and they really are huge. Like 10X bigger than Paramus.

Yes, towns like Ridgewood and Fair Lawn are "big" compared to a town like Midland Park with a population of < 7000. But now I'm down here in Monmouth, and the towns/townships are mostly MUCH bigger, both in area and population. Except for the one I'm in!

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by EBWick

Wow - I didn't know that Porkers called themselves "Porkers." Interesting.

We also thought the town a bit odd being so Dutch Reformed, like the goody-two-shoes Mormons of Bergen County.

And my brother was a proud Greaser who had his butt indentation on the library fence on Prospect. Kind of ironic that the ones who hated school the most hung out in front of a library.

That Porker thing came after I graduated high school. I left town in my 20s, and when I returned to raise my daughter there, I heard the term for the first time.

LMAO at the Dutch Reformed. That's my heritage. Honey, you don't know the half of it. There are TWO Reformed denominations, the RCA (Reformed Church of America) and the CRC (Christian Reformed Church) They both originated from The Dutch Reformed Church and then split over some obscure point of theology that no one seems to be able to identify anymore. In general, the CRC is stricter (think of Prospect Park and people getting tickets for doing work on their cars on a Sunday) and their kids go to the Eastern Christian school system. The CRC also in some way owns/runs The Christian Health Care Center and Eastern Christian Children's Retreat, as well as Atlantic Stewardship Bank. Standard Midland Park joke with a grain of truth to it is that the ECCR was built to take care of the inbred Dutch children.

I'm of Dutch descent and still related to a lot of people in town. Cops, town councilpeople, regulars at Legends. I've got DNA going back more than 100 years in that little cemetery behind the white church on Godwin Avenue across from the police station. As a matter of fact, I am probably the only person who knows where certain people are buried where their names are not included on the headstone. I should probably tell someone before I croak.

Midland Park is only about 17% Dutch descent now, and the people are so many generations removed from The Netherlands that no one really feels connected to it anymore except for a few of the older people. But, there's still a windmill on the lawn of the municipal building, and I hope it stays there for a long time.