by Susan Barnes (Author), Amy Stewart-Wilmarth (Photographer)
Once upon a time, Herbert Hapgood and Lewis Van Duyne stood atop a ridge in northern New Jersey, looked across an expanse of undeveloped wilderness, and brokered a deal to turn 1,000 acres of land into Mountain Lakes Residential Park. Hapgood and company designed the physical structures of our town, but it was the founding citizens that created the community and ignited the Spirit of Mountain Lakes. We travel through the seasons celebrating iconic Laker events and revisit popular dwelling places and landmarks to reveal the common bonds of Growing Up Laker during the first 70 years. Let the whisper of the Laker Spirit lure you back. Walk with us on this journey, enjoy the reverie, and share your own tales of Growing Up Laker.