Who wants to be a South Orange Historian?
Have fun with this local history quiz based on the book, Images of America South Orange, by Naoma Welk. Click here to download the whole quiz in Microsoft WORD or take the quiz online!
A link to the quiz answers is located at the bottom of this webpage.
1. Orange Lawn Tennis Club was organized when:
a. Thirty men who were kicked out of area golf clubs banded together to bring a new sport to the area.
b. Thirty men decided to build two earthen courts at the corner of Montrose and Berkeley Avenues.
c. Thirty men got sick of weekend yard work and wanted something else to get them out of the house.
d. Thirty men decided to drink and gamble under the guise of playing tennis.
2. Orange Lawn became so well known that it was named in Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 psycho-thriller:
a. The Man Who Knew Too Much
b. Strangers on a Train
c. The Ball's In Your Court
3. The 1913 Board of Education banned “animalistic” dances, including:
a. The Bunny Hug and the Shimmy.
b. The Foxy and the Grope.
c. The Dancing Dog and the Big Banana
4. In the mid-19th century, before telephones arrived in town, when a doctor was needed, residents:
a. Built a campfire in South Mountain Reservation and sent up smoke signals.
b. Used a mirror to reflect sunlight and signal a doctor's office in Newark .
c. Enlisted Paul Revere Jr. to ride into Newark to fetch a doctor.
d. Posted a white flag at the train station.
5. The name of South Orange's first movie theater was:
a. The Cameo
b. The Marquise
c. The Rialto
6. From 1900 until 1935, baseball ruled South Orange. On October 29, 1929, baseball legends who played ball in South Orange included:
a. Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson
b. Pete Rose and Carl Yastrzemski
c. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
7. During that famous 1929 baseball game:
a. 12,000 spectators paid $1 to crowd into the stands at Cameron Field and rattled the stands when South Orange won 7-6.
b. 4,000 spectators paid $.50 to attend and had lots of seating room but tossed rotting tomatoes onto the field when New Brunswick won 7-6.
c. 8,000 spectators paid $.25 to attend, brought along comfy seat cushions but were miffed when the final score was a 6-6 tie.
d. 20,000 spectators squeezed into the free game and went bonkers when South Orange won 9-6 in two extra innings.
8. During the 1870s, Montrose Park was developed by:
a. John Vose
b. Mortimer Montrose
c. Beatrice Berkeley
d. Anthony “Buddy” Scotland
9. South Orange's very popular ice cream parlor was:
a. Gruning's
b. Elsie's
c. The Big Orange
d. The Phosphate
10. Dalmation dogs were an important part of the South Orange Fire Department because:
a. The dogs kept firemen busy with grooming when it was quiet.
b. The dogs ran between horses to keep them from nipping at one another.
c. The dogs protected the firemen and liked riding on the fire trucks.
11. Built in mid-1920, the first free municipal swimming pool in the country was located in:
a. New York City , New York
b. South Orange , New Jersey
c. Princeton , New Jersey
12. In the 1930s, the Baird Center hosted weekly bowling leagues. Eventually, a photo of one of the leagues' teams graced the cover of a very well known book. That team is:
a. The Seton Hall Barbers, sponsored by barber Mike Williams.
b. The Sloppy Joes, sponsored by Town Hall Deli.
c. The Cashiers, sponsored by the People's Bank Savings Investment Trust.
d. The Nuts and Bolts, sponsored by Beck's Hardware.
13. In 1915, the Lackawanna Company spent $1 million to elevate train tracks at South Orange because:
a. Commuters wanted a better view as they waited for their trains.
b. Elevated tracks made room for more commuter car parking underneath the tracks.
c. The higher elevation showed off the Lackawanna 's fancy new steam engines.
d. Injuries often resulted when pedestrians and animals crossed the dangerous tracks.
14. Mountain House Spa, located at the foot of Glenside Avenue, was known as:
a. A water-cure hotel that was promoted for its healthful benefits.
b. A good place to get booze during Prohibition.
c. An excellent meet-and-greet hotel for singles and others looking
for a good time.
15. In the early 20th century, young residents were encouraged to participate in an extensive list of popular activities, including:
a. Marbles, sack races, pet shows and kite making.
b. Fishing for Piranha, donut making, bull riding, and twig counting.
c. Gas Lamppost painting, pebble counting, sock-puppet making and smile contests.
d. Tweezers grass trimming, street sweeping, cloud counting and tin can stomping.
16. On April 15, 1872, Henry Trenchard became the Village first policeman. He was provided with:
a. A bicycle and $50 per month.
b. A flashlight and a rope
c. A pair of handcuffs and all the cookies he could eat.
17. The 1929 Encyclopedia Britannica pronounced Columbia High School as:
a. A superior layout for a public school.
b. Having the most students with the best cumulative IQ in the state.
c. The hunkiest Physical Education teachers in the state.
Click here for the answer key.