Historically speaking …

How often have you driven by the immaculate white house at 118 Main Street (next to Lion’s Gate, the new development) without realizing it is a part of Sparta’s history? Known locally as Judge Concilio’s house, it was actually built by Frank Slockbower, grandfather of local Frank C. Slockbower, in the late 1800s. The house hasn’t changed much since then, except for the iron railings on the front porch. Slockbower is an old Sparta family name. One member served on the Sparta Board of Education in the late 1900s and another, Sarah Slockbower, was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in 1874. Frank Slockbower, of German/Dutch descent, was born in the township in 1866, married Viola Brennin and had ten children. To the left of his house, he built and ran a small butcher shop, which still exists and is now a private residence. He died in 1925 and was buried in the old Methodist Cemetery. At his death, the home was bequeathed to a grandchild, Clara Slockbower. Twice widowed, she married Sussex County Judge V. Concilio, hence the name, and eventually left the house to Concilio’s daughter. The “Big House” today contains apartments. Diagonally across the street, the gray house on the hill was the home of another Slockbower. The house belonged to James Condon, who married Slockbower’s daughter Anna. Condon built a wheelwright/blacksmith shop to the right of his home. Among other jobs, the wheelwright would supply the wooden part of a wheel, while the blacksmith would provide the rim and metal part. The foundation of that shop still exists. After their deaths, the house passed to yet another Frank Slockbower (a son) and his wife Viola (same name as her mother-in-law. Confusing, isn’t it?) Condon’s will was admitted to probate in 1934 and all the details were published in the paper, a common practice at that time. Frank C. Slockbower, the youngest of four children, was born in the gray house in 1930. At one time, the home had double porches. The left side of the house had to be removed, as it encroached on the adjacent property. Slockbower remembers attending Sparta Elementary School and he especially remembers going to Sadie’s, the ice cream shop close to his home. As a child, he played in the old top floor of the wheelwright shop and once found an old record player there, a Victorola, which he credits with starting his lifelong love of music. Slockbower moved to Newton, graduated from high school there and went on to Knapp’s School of Music in Chicago, where he played the drums in a jazz band. After service in the Marines and attaining the rank of sergeant, he returned to Newton, married Ann Lawson and had two sons. In 1956 he opened a toy and hobby shop next to the theatre, which was closed at that time. When the theatre reopened, he added a soda fountain and luncheonette to the shop. He ran a contest to name the new business and the winner was “The Teepee” for the Newton Braves. After selling “The Teepee,” he worked as a nation-wide traffic manager for a company that manufactured vending machines and jukeboxes. When he left that job, he started his own trucking company with two partners. He also purchased 13 acres in Ogdensburg and built a home there. After the death of his first wife in 1993, he retired from the trucking business. Now a proud grandfather, he married Emily Bazelewich in 1996. A warm, bubbly woman, Emily is the daughter of a Native American and was born when her movie-star-handsome cowboy father was 72. But that’s another story. Slockbower once owned a baseball autographed by the 1946 American League champions: the Boston Red Sox. It was given to him by Babe Ruth, a frequent visitor to Sussex County, at a raffle to benefit the American Legion in 1946. Rather than trying to decide which of his sons should inherit the cherished family heirloom, he chose instead to auction off the baseball on e-Bay. Still living on that beautiful and private 13 acres in the middle of Ogdensburg, Slockbower owns more than 500 recordings of jazz and big bands, all neatly cataloged. He played professionally in jazz bands until his late 50s. He started playing again at home in the last few years after his wife, in a true gift of love, bought him a set of drums. If you’re ever driving through Ogdensburg and you’re very lucky, you just might hear Slockbower, descendent of a large old Sparta family, jamming away just like Gene Krupa. Article by Judy Dunn Thanks to Mary Elinor Eppler for the cemetery information and to Duane Pierson for the Sparta Board of Education information. Sparta history involves both people and places. If you know of an interesting subject, please call the author at 973-729-4325. The next meeting of the Sparta Historical Society will be held at 7:30 p.m., on May 11 at the Sparta Ambulance Building, 14 Sparta Ave. The meetings are open to the public.