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Minnie Dickerson Shepps
As told to Karen V.Foreman
By declaration of the Mayor,
May 12th, 2001 has been declared Minnie Shepps
day in the town of Denville. That is the day Minnie Dickerson Shepps will
celebrate her 100th birthday in the Month of May. She has lived in
Denville
for her entire life. She is a 10th generation Dickerson. Her parents were
David Aaron Dickerson of Denville and Sarah Gilmore Dickerson from Boonton.
The Dickersons are of English
decent and the family's arrival in the United
States can be traced back to 1638, when they landed in Salem, Massachusetts.
Decedents settled in Mt. Tabor in 1745.
Minnie Dickerson was
born on a sunny spring day, on May 12,1901. Babies were
all born at home. They lived in Denville on Morris Ave., next to the canal.
When she was born David Dickerson rushed off to Rockaway on his
bicycle for
Dr. Foster. Sarah Dickerson had lost two sons as infants and they were
worried about the survival of both mother and daughter. The small baby needed
to be kept warm. Her aunt
thought to put her in the oven if the big, old,
black cook stove; which served as an incubator. When Mr. Dickerson and Dr.
Foster arrived in the Doctors horse and wagon, that is where they found
her.
She remained an only child and kept herself company a lot of the time. Her
Mother told her as a little girl that she was born in the best time of the
year, when all the flowers were in bloom.
The family later moved to a house built by her father, located on Church St.,
it stood across form the currant Post Office. They moved to be near the
school for Minnie and the Rail Road Station, where Mr. Dickerson worked as a
carpenter. Minnie remained a resident of that house for most of her life. She
saw many changes living in that
house. As a little girl they had to fetch
water from a well and used kerosene for lighting. They didn't have modern
conveniences of running water, electricity and telephone until around 1930.
Her father was a believer of staying up with the times and had these
installed as soon as they were available in Denville.
As a little girl Minnie has a big dog named Rover. She brought him
all around
Denville on a chain. He was her best friend. Whenever she had troubles she
would hug Rover and cry. She would tell him all her childish woes. He was so
good and lived until he was 19 years old.
The Post Office was a short walk from the Dickerson home. It was located
across from The Grand Union where the Shoe Repair is now. Mail was sorted
and
handed out to the residents right at the Post Office and therefore served as
a gathering place. Miss Ryder was the Postmistress and Minnie liked to go
visit her. There was a little
potbelly stove that Minnie liked to sit by. One
time her muff caught fire from one of the sparks.
Stationary, ink and postcards were also sold at the Post Office. When Minnie
was about 5
years old the Rail Road photographer took a picture of Minnie
standing at the corner of Main Street and Diamond Spring Road when both were
little more than carriage tracks. The location is now
the corner where 1
Broadway stands. At the time the Hinchman house was standing and Broadway was
still a yard where they sometimes played tennis on the grass. Mrs.Ryder made
the picture into
a post card and sold it at the post office for a penny a
piece. The Citizen, a local paper, published this picture in 1977 when Minnie
was featured in an article.
Cars were just starting
in the 1900's and Minnie was an inquisitive little
girl. She liked to watch a man and woman who had a car. They were from New
York. They lived in a house that was on the site where the hospital
now
stands. The footman wore a long coat and boots. "The Lady was so pretty all
made up and all. She must have been a Follies Girl." At the time Minnie knew
nothing about make up and thought
the woman was a natural beauty. They
would go to the post office every day for a newspaper. Minnie liked to stand
in the road and watch as they drove by. Mrs. Ryder was afraid that Minnie was
going to get hit by a car and went to Sarah with her concerns. Saying "She
just runs out and doesn't care if a car is coming." Her mother was so afraid
because Minnie wouldn't mind her.
Minnie and her mother would visit friends of Mrs. Dickerson in Boonton. Most
of the time they walked along the canal. David Dickerson did not approve of
this because there were tramps along the
canal. They were believed to have
been ruffians. Minnie honored her mother and never let on to her father that
they walked instead of taking the trolley.
When Minnie was around 9 or 10
years old, she went with Evie Hall to deliver
telegrams. They usually went to Cedar Lake. It was so hard to get
transportation. There were no phones. Telegrams were the only way to get
messages through. They walked for miles. Minnie liked to walk, and she walked
all over Denville and the towns beyond.
After attending Dover Business College she got her first job at Richard's
Department Store in Dover, NJ. At first she made change and then progressed
to ledger "A to E". She was about 17 at this time and was very proud of her
accomplishment. (The mayor's father
also worked there. She thinks He worked
with cheese or some dairy related product.)
Minnie became ill during the flu epidemic of 1918. She was sick for weeks and
had to quit that job. She
ran a fever of 104 degrees for two days. Even
though it was prohibition, David Dickerson persuaded the Doctor to write a
prescription for Rock and Rye, otherwise known as whiskey. That first
drink
of alcohol was believed to have saved her young life. Mr. Dickerson later
told his daughter that she would "never make old bones". If he could see her
now, he would be pleasantly surprised.
After her recuperation she started to work for the Daily Record in
Morristown. She began as a proofreader and soon added journalist to her list
of
accomplishments. She wrote articles for the Social Column and movie
reviews to name a few. She kept this job until her Mother's illness required
full time care.
Minnie met her husband
Clarence Shepps when she was 19 years old. They were
married on June 14, 1924, at the Denville Methodist Church on the corner of
Church St. and Diamond Spring Road. They went to Washington, DC
for their
honeymoon. Minnie and Clarence took the train to our Nation's Capital after
spending their first night as husband and wife in New York City.
When she was around 19 years
old, her father taught her how to drive and
Clarence took her for her test. During the test, she got nervous and
accelerated as they went around a circle, but she passed the test anyway.
Soon
after that she was driving the family Ford over the bridge on Diamond
Spring Road. She spotted Emmons Freeman carrying his baby daughter, Louise.
Minnie was so interested with the baby that she
kept on driving and almost
ran into them.
Throughout her life she kept busy by doing handiwork and belonged to many
clubs and organizations. As a young girl, Minnie was a member of the
Campfire
Girls. For many years she taught Sunday school at the Denville Methodist
Church. Later she joined the Friendly Club, Junior League, the Epworth League
of Denville Methodist Church,
Standard Bearers of Denville-Mt. Tabor and the
Kings Daughters of the Rockaway Presbyterian Church. Her father was a trustee
for the Denville Cemetery Association and Minnie served with him as
bookkeeper. Collecting antiques and other things has always been her
favorite hobby. To this day she enjoys sharing stories about her childhood
and Denville's history.
In addition to
a party, Minnie will celebrate her birthday with a tour of
Denville. She looks forward to reminiscing as she rides by the places where
she lived and played. Her birthday month will conclude with
the Memorial Day
Parade, where she will be the Grand Marshall.
Copyright2001
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