Politics & Government
Museum produces new DVD
Fred Behnke from the Fritze Behnke Historical Museum made an appearance during the last mayor and council meeting and offered a new DVD showcasing the Borough's changing landscape over the last 90 years.
Area residents who have not visited the Fritze Behnke Historical Museum might be surprised to know Paramus was known for its celery farms and wild turkeys long before the shopping centers and malls.
Fred Behnke, the son of Fritze Behnke, for whom the museum is named after, is continuing the work of his father, who .
During Tuesday’s Mayor and Council meeting, he described Paramus as the “retail capital of the world”, which was once farm land where residents cultivated crops and sold them in New York City.
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“If you’ve never been in there [museum] I highly recommend it,” said Behnke. “When you hear everything that’s been going on, it’s just easy to step back in time and think of Otto Weisgerber the first [Paramus] mayor. And you think of all the great men and women who have served and shaped this town to what it is today.”
The Fritze Behnke Historical Museum is embracing technology to preserve the history of Paramus by providing a DVD which highlights many of the artifacts featured at the museum as well as interviews with some of the “old timers” who remember Paramus the way it was.
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“It was something I always wanted to do. It is my purpose to thank you,” Behnke as he gave copies of the DVD to Mayor Richard LaBarbiera and the council members. “And some night in your chaotic life, sit back and visualize what this town was like without Route 4 and Route 17.”
LaBarbiera described the “old timers” interviewed in the DVD as the “pillars of this community”.
“This community recently , and Doris recently celebrated her 96th, so they’ve been around before Paramus,” said LaBarbiera. Thank God Fritz collected all of these treasures and put them under one roof.”
Since opening in 2003, the museum has entertained almost 6,000 visitors including area residents and over 150 private tours from schools and cub the state
The Fritze Behnke Historical Museum is opened Sundays from 1pm-5pm to the general public and is available for private tours.
For more information go to: Paramus Historic Museum or call 201-445-1804.
