Imagine West Milford with places that normally you would have to drive twenty minutes to half-hour to get to. Imagine if instead of driving all the way out to Route 23 to buy things from the Dollar Store or having to go that far to see a new movie, you could do all those things in your own backyard. Imagine instead of driving into New YorkState or down to Wayne, you could just go over to your local bowling alley. These are all things that West Milford used to have, but have all been shut down or abandoned.
Most kids at WestMilfordHigh School can remember going to the movie theater located in the center of town with friends from school. Sometimes kids didn’t have to make plans to go with their friends; they could just go on a Friday night knowing they would see someone they knew standing outside buying tickets. For most kids this was convenient because their parents didn’t have to drive them far to see a movie. It also provided jobs for younger kids who were looking for work in town.
Go back a little bit further and a Blimpie was open right next to the movie theater. In fact, a door connected Blimpie’s and the movie theater to encourage people to get food before or after a movie. Blimpie’s closed before the movie theater did and became an abandoned spot for quite some time until a bank renovated the restaurant. Currently there is nothing in the entire complex because the town is looking to expand ShopRite.
Going way back, even further in time, there actually used to be a bowling alley in town. Imagine only taking a ten minute drive to go bowling instead of a 30 minute drive. The old bowling alley still has a remaining wall across from Brown’s Point in an empty lot. The lot has recently been up for lease, but no one has taken much interest in the site.
Most people probably remember the Dollar Store in town. The dollar store used to be very convenient, especially when it came to party goods. With the Dollar Store now gone, a quick trip into town for utensils, gift bags, plates, table cloths, and trays and so on will be a little more costly. Most people just plan to take a trip out on weekends to get things they may need from stores in other towns. With a new Dollar Store located in Kinnelon, people from in town will be tempted to take the ride or even pick up things they may need on their way home from work at this store.
Not having these attractions in town does not make the town a bad place, but it would be much more convenient and interesting if the town had some of these attractions back.
