Hopatcong Borough Lake Devotees Can Virtual Shop Their Nostalgia

What makes Hopatcong Borough a unique Sussex County Municipality is that it has shoreline around one of the largest freshwater lakes in New Jersey - Lake Hopatcong. The rest of the municipalities with a shoreline on Lake Hopatcong reside in Morris County. This Lake has had a legacy of distinct social lifestyles, rugged outdoor vocations, and its own culture apart from any other lake community in New Jersey. Lake Hopatcong has family ancestry devotees that can span 5 generations and more than a century. This ancestry is also uniquely metropolitan too because, they commuted back and forth to NYC hubs and still do today.

Lake Hopatcong has its own fan club where early 20’th Century greeting cards of the Lake are cherished collector’s items that equals old Baseball cards. However, as time goes by, these legendary records and names soon get replaced with ones of less local distinction. There is talk of renaming the River Styx Bridge in Hopatcong Borough (that sophisticatedly references a passage in old mythology) to something more generic when it is redesigned.

Today Lake Hopatcong fans have two great organizations that not only advocate for better ecology for the lake (Lake Hopatcong Foundation), but also one that preserves the legendary history of the lake (Lake Hopatcong Historical Society).

The Lake Hopatcong Historical Society operates its own museum located in a 19th century building which originally served as a Morris Canal lock tender’s house. This Museum site not only provides engaging stories of New Jersey’s largest lake, but it has a gift shop too where its devotees can purchase replicated souvenirs.

With its own updated website (lakehopatconghistory.com/museum-shop) the museum enables people to virtual shop its gift shop and that makes Lake Hopatcong holiday gift giving fans incredibly happy during these COVID “stay at home” times. Noteworthy is a recent added shop item that gives an insider look at sail skating entitled Skate Sailing – Ride the Wind at Twice its Speed by R.C. Jefferson. The booklet captured the competitive North American spirit of sped Sail Skating that Hopatcong became iconic for. Before warm climate temperature changes to Lake Hopatcong, there was some long ranging intrepid winter competitions on the Lake that got the attention of the North Western half of our nation. A coveted sped sail skating design was named the Hopatcong and that sail design has not been altered nor renamed.