Realty Executives Elite Homes Lists Iconic Home In Nutley – Belleville, NJ Patch

The township of Nutley lost one of its guiding lights this past summer. Ruth Grey Bedford, a lifelong resident, led a life of philanthropy, support and leadership for Nutley organizations. Her generosity seemed to touch every corner of the town, from the Nutley Volunteer Emergency & Rescue Squad to the Nutley Family Bureau and the nearby Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, where she founded the Rising Star Scholarship program for theater students.

Bedford died at home on Aug. 19, 2019, at the age of 101. She was predeceased by her husband, attorney and State Superior Court Judge Stanley G. Bedford. The couple had no children.
For decades, their home on 232 Highfield Lane, known as the Bedford Home, was the site for numerous benefits, political gatherings and parties large and small, with plenty of refreshments, and, we are told, top-shelf Scotch whisky. The home was the centerpiece of Nutley society and the Republican Party, visited by governors, state senators and high-profile Nutley residents. When cars were parked up and down Highfield Lane, everyone knew the Bedfords were entertaining.
Ruth Bedford was born in a house at 169 Highfield Lane, just down the street from the home she would purchase as an adult. Her father, Stephen Grey, was a builder, and her mother, Bertha Grey, nee Blum, was a schoolteacher.

One of her father’s projects involved erecting the first apartment buildings in the township, which are still occupied on Chestnut Street. Her maternal grandfather, Abram Grey, became Nutley’s first commissioner mayor in 1913. Her maternal uncle, Simon Blum, was a town clerk.

Ruth attended Yantacaw Elementary and graduated from Nutley High School in 1936. She then enrolled in the Berkeley School of Secretarial Training. Upon graduating from BSST, she took a job with the W.T. Grant Co. in New York City in 1937. Her early career unfolded during the hey-day of department stores in the city, when fashions, home furnishings and electrical innovations were being introduced with great fanfare to the public. It must have been an exciting time for the young girl from Nutley.

In 1957, Ruth became the personal secretary of the business’s founder, William Thomas Grant. That she held onto such a plum job until her retirement in 1992 tells us that she was a cut above her peers — someone who was going places.

Meanwhile, things were happening for Ruth back in Nutley. She joined the Essex County Young Republicans and quickly became a fixture of the party. In the early 1950s, she attended a Christmas party hosted by the Young Republicans. There she met a man from Newark, a young lawyer named Stanley Bedford. In 1957, they married and rented an apartment in Nutley. She later told friends that many of the people with whom she worked during those years were still her friends.

In 1954, she attended the Republican National Convention as a delegate for Dwight D. Eisenhower. This appointment, given to her by the party, indicated that she was loyal, intelligent and able to hold her ground in the often boisterous, rowdy and fast-moving atmosphere of a contested political convention at the national level.

In the early 1960s, Ruth and Stanley Bedford made the decision to leave their apartment and seek bigger quarters. They had their eyes on the big house at 232 Highfield Lane, which had been built as a country home by a wealthy man from New York in 1895. After their roughly 18 years in Nutley, the original owners decided to sell. The buyer was Ruth Bedford’s aunt. Once the New York family went back to the big city, the home opened its arms to Nutley society.

Remember: In 1912, Ruth’s grandfather, Abram Blum, was the mayor of Nutley. Her uncle, Simon Blum, was a commissioner. A few years later, Ruth and her sister, Jane, were born just a couple of houses away. The sisters grew up amid talk of politics and society. Jane became the first female New Jersey secretary of state, under Gov. Thomas Kean. Ruth became a hostess to the mighty and the meek. She was at once a philanthropist, volunteer, savior and benefactor of many causes. Her inspiration lives on in her deeds.

The Bedford home on Highfield Lane is just off Washington Avenue as the road levels off from the intersection below. The neighborhood houses are comfortably distanced from one another, with each possessing its own distinct character. It’s a nice neighborhood — well kept and a safe place for young children to trick-or-treat.

The Bedford home is near the sidewalk with a row of what appears to be rhododendron stretching across the front of the house. A passageway through the hedges accesses the front door.
The house is a 19th-century Victorian-style home with plenty of fenestration. The front of the house has a screened-in porch to one side — the only addition to the original blueprints.

The house’s interior is much bigger than its outside appearance would suggest. From the foyer, you look first at a little sitting room and then step into the great hall. On the left is the living room, with a high ceiling and floor space expansive enough to accommodate dozens of visitors. Standing at the ready were folding chairs, as if the governor were about to speak at a gathering regarding the importance of a pending bill in Trenton. The governor would no doubt begin his remarks by saying some variation of, “I’d like to start by thanking Ruth for her generous hospitality for hosting this occasion.”

Written By: By Steve Proctor

For More Information About 232 Highfield Lane, Contact Matthew De Fede at 862-228-0554 of Realty Executives Elite Homes.