Brooks Betz

Founder and Chair of the Mr. Local History Project

Peapack Gladstone Barn Tour Shines as “Barn-ers” Visit Historic Venues

On November 15, 2025, Peapack and Gladstone opened its doors to the past as visitors stepped into the 2025 Historic…

4 days ago

Bernards Plateau and the Bernards Commons Community – Every Home Faces a Shared Park

1930s: Bernards Plateau and the 60-acre Bernards Commons & Decker's Park Community Project The Bernards Plateau was named for the…

3 weeks ago

Historic Moment at the Pluckemin Cantonment – Archeologist Finds His Mark

John Seidel, Archeologist, Director/Professor, Washington College, Chesterfield, Maryland It was a cold, winterish April afternoon at the Jacobus Vanderveer House…

1 month ago

Memories Growing Up On Lake Naomi and Pocono Pines, PA

This story is part of a series I've been researching, as I rebuild my youthful memories growing up on Lake…

2 months ago

Pocono Lake vs. Lake Naomi – Tale of Two Lake Communities & Religious History

Nostalgic & Personal As a kid, summers at Lake Naomi were my whole world. That’s where I first learned to…

2 months ago

The Sunfish Sailboat – Fortune Magazine’s Top 25 Best Designed Products

Fortune Magazine - May 1977 The 25 Best Designed Products (Alcort Sunfish) by Walter McQuade Picture it: a warm afternoon…

2 months ago

What’s The Pocono Plateau- Visiting a Beautiful Ice Age Remnant

While the summer is a beautiful time for recreation in the Poconos, the fall is IMHO the most beautiful time…

2 months ago

TROG – The Race of Gentlemen – Pure Jersey History Right in Front of Your Eyes

Known as The Race of Gentlemen, the event has been revived since the 1950s by a local club called the…

2 months ago

Pocono Postcard Collection – My 250+ Memories

Don't you just love getting a postcard? You know them... that picture you'd get in your mailbox from back in…

2 months ago

Lake Naomi’s KonTiki – Honoring the Club’s Race Committee and That Boat

Based on the visible rail spacing, forward deck length, and proportions, the pontoon boat here looks like a Bentley 240…

3 months ago

Lake Naomi Way Before the Dam

Map of the 1779 Sullivan Trail - Click the map to see a blow-up of the trail that ran right through…

3 months ago

Meet The King of the Poconos- Isaac Stauffer

Stauffers Pond, c1900, on the Upper Tunkhannock Creek. Stauffer's Laurel Inn was the first major retreat destination in the region…

3 months ago

Pocono Pines and Lake Naomi Area – Map Collection Showcases History

Pocono Pines is in Tunkhannock in Monroe County, PA  Loomis, Way & Palmer, 1860 - (Map below) I've been creating…

3 months ago

Lake Naomi Icon – Rufus W. Miller, Assembly Visionary, Developer, Religous Icon

In the early 1900s, the quiet mountain community of Pocono Pines found its voice through the vision of Rev. Rufus…

3 months ago

Lake Naomi- The Millers & A House That Defined a Destination

Our Lake Naomi story begins with Thomas Thompson Miller of Easton, PA, who, in the late part of the 19th…

3 months ago

This website uses cookies.