The vanished community of Narod, which usually makes me think of the insult-name Nimrod, was pronounced NAY-rod. Located in then-unincorporated territory that is now part of Montclair, Narod retains a certain cachet among oldtimers, as well as those of us who like funny names.
Here’s a portion of an e-mail from Bill Gunn, a former Ontario boy (his dad owned a typewriter shop downtown), who tells us a bit more about Narod:
I knew Narod very well. My mom had friends that were down and out who lived there in the late 1940s and we used to visit and help them out.
Narod, I hope someone has pictures of it, because it’s a hard place to describe or believe — two-story buildings lining the west side of Central below Holt. It was catty-cornered from the old Valley Drive-In Theatre which was on the northeast corner of Holt and Central. Narod was on the southwest; but 1/4 mile south of Holt.
Narod was for very poor people, illegals and folks drawing minimum social security, etc. But for a 5- to 10-year-old boy it was just another interesting place to explore.”
The lore on Narod, incidentally, is that it was named by a railroad man named Doran, who simply reversed his name. Anyone want to add other facts, near-facts or good guesses about Narod?
