"The Miraculous Image'

The front page of the Jersey Journal on July 3, 1929 looked almost like any other front page in 1929: reports of local politics, state happenings and national events graced the cover page. One announcement however seemingly jumped off the unambiguous front page, "Crowds See "Holy Image," Cracks in Mausoleum Wall." The headline was quite eye catching and the story was captivating. The story was covered for the next several days and as mysteriously as this story starts, it ends in quite the puzzling fashion.

Jersey Journal July 3, 1929

Courtesy of the Jersey City Library

"The Image" was first observed by 16 year old Johanna Geiger of Union City several weeks prior. She lived across the street from Bergen Crest Mausoleum and claimed to have noticed an odd image on the edifice of the building during an early June rain-storm. She claimed that her first reaction to the image was it was that of Jesus Christ himself. She, like most 16 year old girls, went on tell to her friends and within a short amount of time the story spread. Over the course of the next several days, the little stretch of Hudson Boulevard between Linden Ave and Main Street (present day Kennedy Boulevard between 39th and 43rd Streets) would become a site of  pilgrimage for upwards of 20,000 people: skeptics, believers and people simply looking for answers alike. 

Jersey Journal July 5, 1929

Courtesy of the Jersey City Library

The night of July 2nd thousands of people ascended upon the mausoleum from across Hudson County. Onlookers traced the grounds of the mausoleum inspecting every crack, stain and differing texture of the buildings exterior. Claims were made by many that aside from the image of Christ, that of a nun was also apparent on the facade. Regardless of what was seen, believers established shrines at the foot of the alleged image of Christ. One daring entrepreneur was the mausoleums caretaker, Gustav Wattkop. Wattkop placed a donation basket, and I use that liberally, outside the site to which police discovered and had Wattkop remove it because "the intentions did not seem proper." Wattkop respond with attempting to wash the image off the face of the building, his endeavor however was unsuccessful.

Jersey Journal July 8, 1929

Courtesy of the Jersey City Library

With up to 20,000 or more people visiting the site of the "Holy Image" there are many underlying stories that we may have never heard of. July 6th it was reported the crowd was made up of "the frantic and the disorderly as well as the curious and devout." Due to the large numbers both North Bergen's police and as well as the County Police were called upon for crowd control. One of the major problems police faced were automobile accidents. Several accidents were reported from cars being sideswiped, small fender benders and people nearly being hit due to "carelessly crossing the street." Two arrests were made during the events of the week as well. One man, Matteo Popesh of North Bergen was arrested for being "very strenuous in his efforts to get close to the image." For his actions at the mausoleum, and as well at the police station he received a sentence of 10 days in the County Jail for "observations as to his sanity." The only other arrest was that Alex Offoria of Union City was was arrested for disobeying an order from North Bergen patrolman Walter Wolfson. Offoria was fined $10. The other major concern of the police was the showing up of, "hot dog men" and other vendors.

Jersey Journal July 9, 1929

Courtesy of the Jersey City Library

After a week long circus like environment locals began to lose interest in the "Miraculous Image." Reverend Salvatore Gozzo of Cliffside Park Congregational Church gave a powerful sermon on July 7th, declaring there was nothing miraculous at the North Bergen "Image." Religious leaders from across the area echoed the same message. Reports from July 9th note a diminished crowd in comparison to the previous days and only a few passerby making their way to the building at night. One would believe that as the crowds stopped visiting the mausoleum the story would simply fade away. However that would not be the case.

Jersey Journal July 11, 1929

Courtesy of the Jersey City Library

On the night of July 10th the small group that observed the walls of the mausoleum would unknowingly be the last to look upon the so called "Image." In the overnight hours someone covered the wall in cement. Inquires were made with the office at the mausoleum were meet with much confusion. It seemed to be its disappearance was just as much a mystery as its appearance. Gustav Wattkop was also questioned by reporters and he claimed the image was there when he did his nightly walk of the property around midnight. Robert Mowat, the mausoleum's manager, maintained that management had no hand in the masonry done in the early morning hours by an unknown party. The last mention of the "Image" was on July 12th and the story, just like the image, was gone. 

Courtesy of nj.com

Religious sitings are usually a very interesting topic of discussion. The idea attracts the devout and the skeptical alike. In the case of the "Image" we saw just that. tens of thousands of people descended on North Bergen to have their faith or disbelief justified. The idea of a miraculous image being on the side of a building in North Bergen dominated headlines for roughly a week and the story was the talk of the county. In recent history we could compare this to the famous "Virgin Mary Tree" of West New York. The two stories do seem to parallel each other in more ways than one, from beginning to end. One thing of interest today is photos of the "Image." According to reports, photos were taken by local newspapers but did not show the image, however, I feel they'd be very important to see today especially with the imaging technology available today. What can be said is that for that week in July, North Bergen's "Image" was the center of the religious world.