There’s lots of talk about plans for a new ShopRite at the old A&P site in Wyckoff, NJ…so let’s not talk about that. The planning, protests, meetings, drawings and re-drawings will probably go on for some time. Instead, it may be more interesting to decipher the illustrious heir to the A&P fortune, Huntington Hartford and any connection he has with Wyckoff, NJ.
Various news reports over decades identify the Hartford family estate as Melody Farms in Wyckoff. This includes the obituary of Princess Guido Pignatelli, Huntington Hartford’s mother, who remarried after his father died. Princess Pignatelli’s death in 1948 was reported on by Time Magazine and The New York Times, both stating she died at Melody Farms in Wyckoff, NJ after a protracted illness.
Melody Farm is mentioned again in the bequest to her husband, Prince Guido Pignatelli, whom was left a mere $50,000 with an additional annual sum of $10,000 to be paid in monthly installments. The will filed in court listed her residence as “Melody Farm, Bergen County, NJ”, but the property was not listed in the will itself and was presumably owned already by her son Huntington Hartford.
The New York Times adds a wrinkle in their obituary for Princess Pignatelli by noting that her home was located on Darlington Road - which does not appear to be on any modern map. Darlington Avenue, of course, is located in Mahwah. Mahwah was originally known as Hohokus Township, and officially became known as Mahwah Township just four years prior to Princess Pignatelli’s death in 1948.
Research on the Internet for Melody Farms does bring a result for an historic home in Mahwah, but on Campgaw Road it is not anywhere near Darlington Ave…though it is close to the Wyckoff & Franklin Lakes borders. A privately owned single dwelling with architecture dating from the late 1700s, it seems an unlikely candidate for the Hartford family estate.
Opening of Huntington Hartford Theater
The New York Times and Time magazine again, in 1962, reported on Huntington Hartford’s third marriage taking place at Melody Farm in Wyckoff, NJ. (Presumably updated maps of Bergen County were then readily available)
Huntington Hartford was at this point in his life embarking on some of the most ambitious plans of his illustrious life. A Time Magazine story describes hims as,”..handsome A. & P. Heir George Huntington Hartford II, 50, a shy, mystical and misty multi-millionaire who is devoting himself to the arduous job of getting poor quick in his search for a satisfying life.”
It was during this time period that Huntington Hartford evolved into one of the biggest benefactors of the art world. His largess was well known in promoting art of his liking by building a museum, building an artist colony, building a retirement home for actors, establishing a foundation for artists, and publishing Show Magazine at a time when many other theatrical and literary magazines were dying off. It was in connection with this last endeavor that The Wyckoff Journal publisher, Caron Cicero, came to know Mr. Hartford as studio assistant for Henry Wolf who was art director for Show, as well as Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar.
The New York Times gave Mr. Hartford a less than flattering obituary in 2008 as a man who squandered tens of millions of dollars chasing dreams, something Hartford Huntington probably would not vehemently disagree with. The harsh light the New York Times offered of a millionaire freely squandering his inheritance may have been partly inspired by their own near bankruptcy that still threatens the company; or perhaps the the perception of Huntington Hartford as a tragic figure makes for better press. In any event, there appeared to be a conscious omission of the many acts of charity by Huntington Hartford that benefited thousands of people.
Hartford Huntington himself remarked in Show Magazine, “I have tried to use my millions creatively…The golden bird, coming to life, has sometimes wriggled out of my hand and flown away.”
Millions spent to build a museum in New York City ended in failure, millions spent on developing Paradise Island in the Bahamas failed, but dying in your home in the Bahamas at the age of 97 with your daughter to comfort you is not necessarily the mark of a failed life…and perhaps it is the road to heaven that is paved with good intentions.
