CRAZY COUPLES CLUB - 1959-1965 - TEANACK NJ MYSTERY CLUB
Item #572
Massive 14 x 17” black album documenting the activities of the Teaneck Mystery Club from 1959 to 1965. The club was a type of “Crazy Couple Club” in which only the host knows what members will be doing on club night, and the challenge is to do activities that cost $10 per couple. The group consisted of businessmen and their wives: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Spiewak, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Katz, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Jacobs, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Krieger, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Marshall, Mr. and Mrs. Brown, and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Sulcov. The album contains around 89 black and white photos and contact sheets from events the club participated in, including visiting the Clyde Beatty, Cole Brothers, and Hamid Morton Circus at Palisades Amusement Park, participating in the radio show of John Yanish, Mayor of Hamburg, seeing the Rosalind ballet, and going on an Eastern Air Lines flight. There are also several photos of the couples at the gym and at a costume party, and seeing the Yankees with the Bergen Passaic Unit. The last item in the partially filled album is a newspaper clipping and photos from Boy Scout Troop 218, the first in Bergen County chartered for boys with mental disabilities. Photographs measure between 2 x 2.25” and 9.25 x 7.5” and are glued to the pages, unaccompanied by annotations; however, there are several clippings and letters that provide contact for some of the more exciting adventures the club participated in. There are also tape marks on most of the pages.
Sample letters to club members
“All you prolific people and your progeny only are invited to another surprise. It’s a mystery so follow instructions carefully:
1. Casual clothes - but no dungarees or gotkes showing.
2. Paid reservation (10 bucks per family - a bargain, don’t haggle) listing number of children (no ainekels, neighbors, or vilde chaiahs) by Friday, June 12, the latest.
3. Meet at 12 noon sharp, Saturday, June 20, behind the library in the parking lot (steer clear of being a maacha at the Municipal Building).
4. Bring box lunch in disposable bag - drinks supplied.
Co Hosts
Robert Spiewak
Jules Brown
Mail replies to:
R. Spiewak, 16, Lindberg Blvd., Teaneck, N. J.”
Letter from John Yanish to Jules Brown (Apr. 22, 1959)
“Dear Sir:
I would like to invite you and your group to appear on my radio show from 4:05 to 5:00 on May 16, 1959.
We will play records, and have an interview, then go to the Gingerbread Castle, Hamburg, N.J. for dinner.
Awaiting your reply, I am
Yours very truly,
John Yanish, Mayor,
Hamburg, N.J.”.
Price: $395.00