In fact that friday night we were supposed to have a "rumble" with Paramus High School (a fight) - we didn't like Paramus much even though I dated a Paramus girl. They were clearly our new rival. They were known as the Spartans - who painted out part of the letter "P" so that it said "Fartans" in the center of their field - not Ridgewood!
Well they were supposed to come to our turf that Friday night and mix it up before the big game the next day. Yes - we beat them that year - in fact most of the football players in my senior class couldn't wait to go to The Fireplace after the game to strut a little! The Fireplace is a great hamburger place in Paramus - just over the border - and it's still there!
Well - while the rivalry was real, Paramus never showed up that night. Despite this, the guys painted away on the roof (McKee, Rodman) - while the rest of us waited on the ground for Paramus to show up.
While we waited and tried to direct things - Ridgewood police cars showed up from seemingly every direction - 3 or 4 cars - and spoiled our party. However one guy wasn't aware of what was going on below - Andy Rodman. Andy continued painting away until we finally got his attention - the police waiting for those on the roof to make their way down.
Above photo, on Paramus game day - the day after painting the gararge and waiting for Paramus to show up at our field! The night before the game, a ton of us met at the bus garage to paint it with the Class of 1973 colors - Willy McKee stands out at the top left corner of the roof!! Photo courtesy of Dave Burdick - taken by Charles Burdick.Well Andy came down alright - he tried to come down with his paint can but succeeded only to drop his can of bright white paint right in front of a police officer - it splattered all over the guys uniform and shoes - you would have thought that Andy was a dead man but the cop calmly wrote Andy a summons and bill for a new uniform and shoes! It was pretty funny actually.
Sadly we came to find out that the garage burned down a number of years later - the fire abruptly ending a longtime RHS tradition.
Another staple at Saturday football games were the little wooden concession stands - well they didn't burn down - they simply got washed away in the brook behind the stands - the result of a heavy rain storm!
Above photo, 2 of our concession stands at RHS - these would eventually get knocked into the brook, washed away after a record rain. More landmarks gone forever. Watching the game somewhere on the Ridgewood side is me and Robin Sleeman - Class of 1974. Photo courtesy of Dave Burdick - taken by Charles Burdick.
In the summer of 2010, the grass football field became an artificial turf field - wow.
