By Peter Lyons Hall
A packed house of area residents descended on the American Legion Post in Greenwood Lake on Friday, November 17, 2023, to try their luck at Casino Night, one of the first fund-raising events for the upcoming Greenwood Lake Centennial celebration throughout 2024.
“It was a fund-raiser, it involved gambling; I was all in,” remarked Tara Sciuto, one of the many attendees attracted to the event that featured Blackjack, 3 Card Poker, Craps, and Roulette. Attendees bought tickets which included $50 in playing chips, heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and nonalcoholic beverages. Professional dealers ran the tables and engaged the crowd who aimed to apply their winnings to luxury prizes that included a pontoon boat rental, luxury vacation rental, luxury skin care treatment, camping equipment, fine art, a Blackstone Griddle®, culinary experiences, and many fine art creations by locally renown artists. And the Legion’s cash bar afforded the option of adult beverages for many of the guests.
It was the end of the work week and going out for the night had the right appeal. “I just wanted to have some fun and Casino Night sounded like a good time; it’s for the Centennial,” revealed West Milford resident, Kellie Zimmermann. “It’s a Friday night, and it sounded like fun,” added her friend and Greenwood Lake resident, Joan O’Daly. The event ran from 7-11PM and helped to generate enthusiasm for a years-long series of celebratory events that will include everything from trivia nights, historical lectures, parades, fireworks, live performances, baseball great Babe Ruth tributes, boxing great Joe Louis tributes, reunions, and time capsule revelations. The village is loaded with stories about celebrities and sports figures from New York City who lived, cavorted, and trained at facilities in the community since its founding in 1924.
Writing in a recent digital edition of Chronogram magazine, author Jane Anderson, wrote “On February 9, 1936, spectators gathered on the ice to see something no one had ever seen: An airplane, roughly six feet from nose to tail, with a wider wingspan, sat on a triangular steel structure, its nose pointed towards the New Jersey end of the lake. In fact, it was a rocket with wings, powered by liquid oxygen and denatured alcohol. Inside asbestos bags in its nose were 6,148 pieces of mail. The goal? To have the first airmail delivered over state lines by rocket.” But each era made its impact upon Greenwood Lake: “The 1950s brought a slew of bars and nightclubs to Greenwood Lake. In New Jersey, the drinking age was 21 at the time. In New York, drinkers could be 18. Hence, the 50 or so establishments within a five-mile radius in Greenwood Lake were packed on Friday and Saturday nights. The couple of topless girl bands at the lake could have contributed to its popularity, as well. Unproven legend has it that the Mafia couldn’t resist the gold mine that was Greenwood Lake, and held ownership in many of those bars,” Jane added.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for many of the region’s businesses and organizations throughout the coming months, including a walking tour of two dozen prominent historical landmarks throughout the village. For more information about upcoming Centennial events, click on https://GWLCentennial.org.
