August 22, 2014
Rick Pumo is the owner of Frederick J Pumo & Son, Inc., a general contracting firm that built the Leonia Public Library, and renovated and built additions to the Civil War Drill Hall Theatre, St. John’s Church, Holy Spirit Church, All Saints Church, and Provident Bank. He volunteers with the Leonia Lions Club and the Rotary Club of The Palisades, and serves on the Facilities Committee for the Board of Directors of Holy Name Hospital. He also served for many years on the Leonia Sports Boosters and the Leonia Drug Alliance, and is a past president of the Leonia Retirement Housing Board of Directors. He recently attended his 50th Leonia High School reunion. Rick and his wife Nancy have a grown son and daughter and four granddaughters.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I was born in Biloxi, Miss., where my father served in the Army Air Corps. After his discharge we moved for a short time to Palisades Park before moving to Leonia. Our first home in town was on top of the Englewood Golf Course until the path of Route 80 intersected our property. Our third and current home on Grandview Terrace is where I lived during my teenage and college years. After the first nine years of my marriage we moved back to my family home to raise our children.
Q: What was it like growing up on top of the golf course?
A: It was idyllic. We had a hundred yards of woods behind our house where my friends and I built tree houses, dug tunnels and ran free all day. Like most kids those days, we didn’t check in until dinnertime. In the winter we sledded and skied on the golf course; in the summer we hit stray golf balls.
Q: When did the family business begin?
A: My grandfather started it at the turn of the century and my father took over in 1946. As a teen and young man, I worked for my Dad’s construction crews on weekends and during summers. During my college years I transferred from being a full-time student to a part-time night student at Newark College of Engineering (NJIT) so I could continue working with my father while pursuing my degree. However, my plans changed when I was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam in 1966.
Q: What was your experience in Vietnam?
A: I was one of 4000 men who trained together for a year as a light infantry brigade. We were part of the first wave of draftees to be sent into combat. Up until that point, the units sent were part of the volunteer Army. It was the first time I was taken out of my comfortable middle class background and exposed to men from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. Under the adverse conditions war creates, I learned about human nature and was inspired by the bravery shown by so many men of every background. After our training, we spent thirty days at sea on troop transport ships sailing from Boston Harbor through the Panama Canal and on to Vietnam. We spent the first few weeks carving out our base camp, which was along a main infiltration route for North Vietnam regulars and, unbeknownst to us, had been defoliated by Agent Orange. We are all still suffering health consequences from that exposure. I was one of only two men in my platoon of forty not to be wounded. I feel very fortunate.
Q: How was your homecoming to Leonia?
A: It was wonderful. The night I arrived home, 80 friends and family welcomed me. After everyone left, I went outside by myself, sat on a stone wall along my driveway, and cried tears of thankfulness for having made it home. To this day, when I look at that wall it brings back memories of that night.
Q: Have you ever returned to Vietnam?
A: No, it was not an experience I wanted to relive. I do maintain relationships with a number of the men I served with, and I attend brigade reunions every five years, which are very emotional. It is most gratifying to have fifty-year-old memories validated by those who shared the same experiences.
Q: When did you build the Leonia Public Library?
A: After I returned from Vietnam, in 1968, I joined my Dad’s firm and we began work on the library. I did the layout work and ran the masonry crew under the watchful eye of the ‘clerk of the works’ Alex Wyckoff. Despite being known as the town nudist, Alex did an excellent job looking after the interests of the town through the development of the project. For all his quirkiness, I enjoyed working with him. I proposed marriage to my wife shortly after we started the library and our vows to each other are stenciled in the concrete footings.
Q: What was your most memorable building project(s)?
A: When I was 29 our firm was selected to build two projects: Mountain Lakes Racquet Club and the Northern Valley Bank in Cresskill. Soon after the projects commenced, my father died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. He was only 58 and I was devastated. While grieving, I had to oversee both jobs. I fully expected both clients to pull me out of their projects and hire a more experienced contractor. But both gave me the green light, which gave me the confidence and impetus to continue throughout the rest of my career. Since then we’ve built numerous buildings in Bergen County.
Q: Besides your father, did you have any role models in town?
A: I had great respect for two former mayors, Dudley Allen and John Stenken. They were bright, articulate businessmen who volunteered countless hours for their community – in politics, the Players Guild, and the Leonia Lions Club. Both played active roles in the fight to keep Route 80/95 from bisecting Leonia.
Q: How long have you been in the Lions Club?
A: I joined in 1976 and am now the longest running active member. This year we are celebrating our club’s 75th anniversary with dinner and dancing at the Stony Hill Inn on Sept. 20. I was also an early member of the Leonia Sports Boosters and I’m told I am the longest running sponsor for a Leonia Baseball team – 60 years!
Q: What was your most challenging volunteer project?
A: The 10 years I was president of the Leonia Retirement Housing Board, which provides affordable housing for seniors. During that time we were able to add an additional 74 apartments to our facility. We had to purchase property on which to expand, get approvals and funding, award architectural and construction contracts and oversee the project to its completion. It was personally an extremely gratifying endeavor.
Q: What has been the inspiration for your volunteer work?
A: I have always felt that if we, as individuals, can be a positive influence in our own little sphere, we can contribute to the larger good.
Q: How would you improve Leonia?
A: I would love to see a corner pub become part of downtown Leonia – a place where my wife and I can have a meal and a Manhattan, and socialize with other town folks, followed by a walk home. I’m looking forward to Rotary’s Oktoberfest on Oct. 5, when the Legion Hall is converted into a community beer garden/entertainment hall. It was good fun last year, and all for a great cause: the Weekend Snack Pack Program for kids.
Leonia Lives 