Roxbury High School Yearbook of 1940 with Doris Batson Senior Photo and caption below:

Barbara and Robert Carmean with family member Lydia Hoffman Force
& Lydia's sister Mrs. Todd, 1953.
Lydia Hoffman Force appears as a schoolgirl in this 1887 Port Morris Photo

Barbara Carmean, circa 1954 in Port Morris

Doris Batson Chapman, the authors mother, on the shore of
Lake Musconetcong in Port Morris, 1950's.

Leber Batson, the authors Grandfather, on the shore of Lake Musconetcong in Port Morris. Behind him is the home of the Christy family.

Most of the residents of the town were known to me. Some were even related. Lydia Force was married to Charles Force who was an uncle to Howard Force, relatives of mine by marriage. Charles worked on the railroad and died at a young age leaving Lydia a widow. Lydia was a substitute school teacher and taught my class on many occasions. She kept a post card album which she eventually gave to my Uncle Howard and in his older years Howard gave it to me. I knew this album contained many postcards with pictures of Port Morris, the tow path, canal street, the round house and others. (those photos are now scanned and on this website, Editor). I do have a postcard with a picture of the canal as it passes through Landing alongside the railroad tracks of the DL&W railroad. It shows the station and a canal boat with people milling around apparently waiting to board. The postcard is addressed to Mr. C.E. Force, Howard's uncle. It is postmarked September 3, 1907. I don't know who provided you with the pictures that appear on your web site but five of them appear to be exactly the same as the snapshots in my possession.

Also in my possession are two large original photographs of the Port Morris Church when it was on the eastern side of the tracks. (see them below) Names of some of the people in the pictures are written on the back. I know that these are original pictures because they too, like the post card album, were given to Howard Force by his Aunt Lydia and he gave them to me. Lydia is one of the Sunday school students in one of the pictures. Lydia was part of the family during my childhood. Several years ago a man from Port Morris borrowed my photos saying he wanted to take pictures of them because he too grew up in the town and had a deep interest in its history. A couple years later I happened to be attending an event at the United Methodist Church in town and saw large photographs of my original in frames on one of the walls. I commented to the Pastor at that time that I have the originals. She tried to tell me that those on the wall were the originals. I did not argue with her!

Your website mentioned the fact that there was a diner in town positioned at the upper end of Palmer Street to the right of the round house as you face it. Someone did mention the diner stating that it was owned by Firpo DeFelice. At one time while I was in grade school my parents, Elroy and Doris Chapman, ran the diner. I cannot be sure if they owned it or exactly how they came to do this but I do remember hearing the name Firpo and also Mrs. Oliver was at one point involved with the diner also. I thought my parents owned it at the time they operated it. Some of my relatives worked for them. I remember Wyn Davis who lived on Main Street also working for them. I remember the day he tried to light the gas oven and it exploded into his face causing third degree burns for which he was hospitalized. I can still remember the railroaders coming into the diner for meals and to play the slot machine.

I too remember Sylvio DeMarino's paper store, Chipaletti's candy store and then Joe Perfetti's store with the counter and soda fountain. It was so much fun to sit at the counter and order ice cream sodas and banana splits. Joe and Claire made the best ice cream sodas and banana splits. I loved going to Riker's candy store for penny candies. Also during the time I was in grammar school, Dan Bartland purchased and operated one of the General stores in town. The Bartlands lived in the big house on the corner of Center and Palmer streets, across from Loppy's barber shop. His younger daughter, Melanie, and I often played dolls together.
In his grocery store Butch Licardellio made his own sausage. At times he would allow some of the town children, including myself and a friend, to go into the refrigerator and watch as he ground the meat, made sausage and put it into its casing. I remember walking to the post office to pick up mail when Dorothy DeMarino was post mistress. It was with thanks for the hard work of Pauline Rogers that the town's people finally got mail delivered to their homes. It was a result of this that Port Morris sort of lost some of its identity and is referred to by many as Landing since the delivered mail comes through the Landing post office and bears the Landing zip code
I also remember various ministers of the Port Morris Methodist Church as far back as James Moore. I became a member of the church during the time David Long Jr. was pastor there around 1954. The parsonage, home of the pastors, once located at #25 Palmer Street  was sold and the Nelson house behind the church was purchased and remodeled to be the new parsonage. This was done under the leadership of Rev. Roger Smith.

I loved my school years in Port Morris. I especially remember my kindergarten teacher, Louise Crater and the way she so enthusiastically pounded out Zipity Do Da on the piano while the class sang. I remember the times she came to our home for lunch with my mother and me. During my grade school years we had many class picnics in my aunts large back yard. I remember the fire and air raid drills while in school. It was a treat to be chosen to go outside to clap the chalk from the blackboard erasers. Friends and I walked to Stanhope during the summer to visit Mrs. Danley, our second grade teacher.
I clearly remember the times the fire department blocked the cross roads at Main and Palmer streets in the winter so we children could start at the top of the hill and sleigh ride all the way down to the lake. I had an old sled, one left in our cellar by previous tenants. This was the fastest sled in town and I could start at the top of the hill and go all the way to the bottom and out onto the ice of the frozen lake.
The end of Main Street going toward Netcong had a lot of woods when I was a child. We often played in those woods making tree houses . We crawled through the huge drain pipe that was buried under the road in the area where the inclined plane once was. I too remember swimming, as a teenager, in the deep hole. My father was an air raid warden in town.
One last memory that I would like to share is that of John Wink Senior's house on the corner of Washington and Palmer Streets. One of his granddaughters was a very good friend of mine so I spent quite a bit of time at their home. Mr. Wink had quite a few animals on his property including pigs and geese. He owned property on Palmer street, behind my aunt's house. He raised turkeys on this property and housed them in a turkey coop. When one of his daughters wanted to build a house on this property, the turkey coop was moved to another lot he owned on Washington Street and placed on a foundation built by another of his daughters. This turkey coop became a beautiful house and still stands today.
Thank you for allowing me to share my memories. - Barbara Carmean Dickisson, March 21, 2017