What once served as part of the floor to the Overpeck Boat Club and later to the VFW Ford-Nelson-O’Sullivan Post 277 for 109 years, has been saved and repurposed as a conference table that sits on display in its new home, on the third floor of the Village of Ridgefield Park’s Municipal Building’s public meeting chambers.
The idea to transform and restore part of the floor into a conference table was spearheaded by Ridgefield Park Commissioner Mark Olson. According to Olson, the building was home to the Overpeck Boat Club starting in 1915. In 1945, the VFW occupied the building until 2020. Because of structural damage, the VFW gave the property to the Village of Ridgefield Park in 2014.
“The VFW named and dedicated the building to three soldiers from Ridgefield Park who were casualties of foreign wars. Do we forget their sacrifices or do we choose to honor their memories, as well as the founding members of the Overpeck Boat Club,” said Olson. “Structurally there was nothing that could be done to save the building, but there was a section of the floor that had the logo of the Overpeck Boat Club on it. Our thought was if we can’t save the structure, then why not a piece of the building as a nod to the history linked to it.”
Olson also noted that the dimensions of the table are 6 feet-wide and 12 feet-long and is comprised of maple, pine and oak wood. The table was constructed at Deco Tile & Marble of Englewood by a woodworker who happens to be a resident of Ridgefield Park.
Ridgefield Park Mayor John Anlian said, “In addition to the rich history of the Overpeck Boat Club and the VFW Nelson-Ford-O’Sulivan Post 277, the other part of this story is about sustainability. As we celebrate Earth Day in Ridgefield Park, we proudly point to this project and say we reused, repurposed, reclaimed and restored materials from this 109-year-old-building in order to preserve and honor the memories of those who contributed so much to the fabric of our community.”
Anlian noted the building is currently in the process of being demolished under the supervision of W. S. King & Son Equipment Co of Ridgefield Park and that all salvageable material has been removed from the building. The building mostly constructed of concrete and wood will be recycled. The concrete will be crushed like stone and that crushed concrete and reclaimed wood will be used in future construction projects.
“Over the last five years Sustainable Ridgefield Park has worked tirelessly to make Ridgefield Park a greener community. Because of its efforts, the Village now enjoys Silver Certification from Sustainable Jersey. This particular project highlights our efforts to be creative in finding the ways to become a more responsible and sustainable community,” added Anlian.
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