local history
Bill ’ slatest discovery of what he believes to be aLenape artifact came this past spring , hesays , at aswath of Route 23 South where adeveloper felled more than 350 trees for construction of apartments and two commercial buildings . Lay observers would have easily overlooked the piece , but Bill noticed its flat surface and other telltale marks that suggest the stone was , as the brothers say , “ worked .”
“ No natural rock would be like that ,” Rick says .
None of this impresses their wives all that much , the brothers say . Bill ’ swife , Susan , has warned in aplayful tone that the whole collection will be dumped in the river .“ They tolerate us ,” Rick say . “ Let ’ sput it that way .”
It is funny , then , how the brothers met their future wives — who happen tobe sisters — after continually hunting for artifacts at their family ’ sproperty on Hollywood Avenue in Fairfield . That was 1966 . Five years later , when Bill was 14 years old , he met Susan Eschenroeder at Willowbrook Mall and later realized that she was the same girl who lived where he and his brother used tolook for collectibles . Eventually , heintroduced Rick toSusan ’ s sister , Diane .
In those days , the brothers say , the artifacts and the sites they visited to search for them were plentiful . “ Any property that you go on now , someone owns ,” Bill says .“ But back then , it didn ’ t seem to be like that . No one said nothing .”
The brothers say they believe theirs is the largest collection of Native American artifacts in the county , perhaps in the state . “ They ain ’ t making that stuff nomore ,” Rick says .
In December 2004 , the brothers donated asmall portion of the collection inmemory of their father to the Dwight D . Eisenhower Public Library on Totowa Road in Totowa . The pieces are still on view in adisplay case . The brothers say they are considering future donations toother libraries to spread the collection across the region , in asort of way togive back tothe land that gave to them . But that would be hard , they admit . “ What do you call that , when you have a connection ?” Bill says .“ Like , it ’ s part of him .”
The connection is in the blood .“ He knew so much about it ,” Bill says of his dad . “ Someone would graduatefromschoolwith adegree , but as far as right here and right now , heknew where the places were .” ■
HISTORY PRESERVED ( From top ) These pieces , known as gorgets , were worn as pendants ; asemi-lunar knife was used as acutting blade ; abox of spearheads is also part of the Grotz brothers ’ collection .
30 BACK TOSCHOOL 2023 WAYNE MAGAZINE