Historic Happenings Blog

"Lifting Homes" JERSEY BAYSHORE COUNTRY

Saturday, June 30 – Essex County Paint and Sip in the Crane House & Historic YWCA Gardens The experienced instructors of Van-Go Paint Parties will guide the group step-by-step through a painting that depicts the historic herb gardens. Saturday, June 30 from 6 to 8 pm in the herb gardens behind the Crane House & Historic YWCA. BYO wine, light refreshments provided, event for adults 21 and over. Cost is $40/person, space is limited. All proceeds benefit the ongoing programming of the Montclair History Center.  Registration required at  www.montclairhistory.org . (photo credit: Kate Albright)

Saturday, June 30 -- Middlesex County   3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.    When the Armies Came to Your House!   NOT a pretty story What was like to live in NJ & PA during the Revolutionary War, when the British & Continental Armies, encamped in the area, looted your home for supplies? Deborah Peterson, an independent researcher, presents the harrowing personal views of families who lost food, stock, clothes, furnishings, farm equipment, and sundry goods to these armies.  NOT SUITABLE  for children under 10 years old. Admission: Free.        Dutch Door  Gift Shop open           (Tours not available) Register at: 732-463-8363 OR   https://goo.glh5fP4L  OR   www.metlarbodinehousemuseum.org        METLAR-BODINE HOUSE MUSEUM, 1281 River Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854; 732-463-8363;  www.metlarbodinehousemuseum.org;  metlarbodine@gmail.com NOTE:  The museum entrance is NOT ACCESSIBLE directly off River Road. Follow these  directions to   Park

Saturday, June 30  -  Morris Township, Morris County Meet the Servants at The Willows & Herbalicious! On Saturday at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, a t 1:00 and 2:00 pm, during a hands-on guided tour, learn about the role of the domestic servants at the Foster home, The Willows, during the WWI era. Help the maid with household chores, and learn it was a full workout to keep a proper house. At the end of the tour, you can help the cook prepare historic foods using the wood-burning cook stove. From 1:00 - 2:00 pm, gather at the Farmhouse herb garden to discover how herbs enhance the taste of food. Make a sachet to take home. Admission: $6 for adults; $5 for seniors (65+); $4 for children ages 4 – 16; and $2 for children ages 2 and 3. FREE for children under age 2 and Friends members with a current membership card. Fosterfields Living Historical Farm is located at 73 Kahdena Road, Morristown, NJ. For more information, visit  www.morrisparks.net .

Saturday, June 30 - Holmdel, Monmouth County Cookstove Demonstration & Crochet/Lacemaking Demonstration  On Saturday, visit Historic Longstreet Farm in Holmdel to see what is cooking on the woodstove in the out kitchen. Discover how food, recipes, cooking techniques and the kitchen itself has changed since the 1890s.  Dorothy Gratton will visit Longstreet Farm demonstrating the art of crocheting and lacemaking in the Victorian era. These free events runs from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.  Historic Longstreet Farm is located at 44 Longstreet Road, Holmdel, NJ. For more information, call 732-946-3758 or visit  www.monmouthcountyparks.com .

Saturday,  June 30  - Hopewell Township, Mercer County Ice Cream Party On Saturday, Howell Living History Farm invites the public to enjoy an old-fashioned "ice cream party."  Featured activities include music, wagon rides, games and contests, a children’s craft program and lots of ice cream making and eating. Ice cream making will begin and visitors are invited to help draw and grind ice from the Farm's ice house. The first batch of homemade ice cream will be ready for dipping at 12:00 noon. Ice cream sodas and sundaes will be served until 3:30 pm. Howell Living Farm represents typical farm life between 1890 and 1910. The farm is operated by the Mercer County Parks Commission. It is located at 70 Wooden's Lane, Lambertville, NJ. For more information. call 609-737-3299 or visit  www.howellfarm.org .

Saturday, June 30 – Hunterdon County The Union Hotel Named a Historic Site in Journalism Join us in  Flemington at the Hunterdon County Historical Society at noon Saturday, June 30,  when the New Jersey chapter of the  Society of Professional Journalists  unveils a plaque commemorating the role of the Union Hotel as the hub of worldwide media coverage during the Lindbergh kidnapping trial in 1935. The plaque commemorates the hotel’s role in housing an international press corps that converged on Flemington for the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was tried and convicted for the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh. Reporters covering the trial included Arthur Brisbane, H.L. Mencken, Dorothy Parker, Damon Runyon, and Walter Winchell. The Union Hotel is the first site in New Jersey to be added to SPJ’s National List of Historic Sites in Journalism. The society's Historic Sites in Journalism program h

Summer with MCHA Detail from a sampler worked in 1789 by Anne Longstreet of Holmdel at the age of ten OceanFirst Charity Challenge MCHA is participating once again in the 5th Annual OceanFirst Charity Challenge and we need your help. This friendly fundraising campaign invites area non-profit organizations to rally as many supporters as possible to contribute online. At the conclusion of the campaign, the leading fundraisers are then eligible for additional grants.  Since 2017, MCHA has been working towards making our acclaimed collection of over 30,000 historically significant pieces more accessible to the public by creating an  eMuseum . To date, nearly 500 items have been digitized with viewers logging in from all across the globe to view the collection. This process requires meticulous care; each object is professionally photographed, researched and uploaded with the most accurate information available at the cost of $100 per p