Huffman's Pond

      I won't venture into the debate about the sale of the property to the Village of Ridgewood. My memories of the skating on the pond during the winter and of admiring the horses is really more important to me. It always amazed me that we could walk down the Huffman's driveway and past the stables to explore the pond and take one of the two paths that led down to the Hohokus Brook. These were the Devil's path and the Angel's path. You can probable guess that the upper one called Angel was much safer than the one further down called Devil. Never a word of protest from the Huffmans or from anybody who stabled their horses in their barns. I suppose we knew it was a special place and didn't want to jinx it by reflecting upon it too much. I think when someone finally did give the entire operation some careful consideration, the money was too much to turn down.

     Though while researching this post I did come across a letter from the son of the owner who puts his 2 cents in and is as close as we'll probably ever come to the truth. Do read the comments as they establish the fact that this too good to be true place really existed and that the Huffmans allowed our explorations of their property with such grace that 50 years later people are still commenting upon their generosity.

https://theridgewoodblog.net/a-little-history-on-the-property-that-is-now-known-as-the-habernickel-family-park/

 

    

A Little history on the property that is now known as the Habernickel Family Park

My name is Richard Huffman and I am writing to give a little history on the property that is now known as the Habernickel Family Park. I lived on the farm from 1950 until 1977.

My dad, Arthur C. Huffman, bought it in disrepair from a doctor who had previously bought it years before to become a recuperative home for his sickly child who suffered from breathing problems. The doctor spent a huge amount of money and time planting many of the beautiful trees that now grace the property, hoping that they would help his child,s breathing problems, but, unfortunately, the child died before the project was completed, We named the property Sweetbriar Farms. My dad founded Huffman & Boyle Furniture (later Huffman-Koos) and was a prominent member of the community.

Over the years, the farm was always open to the public. Ice skating on the pond all winter, fishing in the summer, Boy Scout camp outs in the lower fields, and hiking through the woods. The Kuiphers (Habernickel) family bought the farm part of the the property from my dad in the late 1970s and, in 1986, bought the last 2 acres where our house was located after my father had passed away.

I am surprised that the that the town chose to name the park after the prior owners since, at $7.4 million, it was in no way a charitable donation by the Habernickel family. They made a very handsome profit on the sale to the town. A more appropriate name for the park would have been Hillcrest Park.