Morristown should be proud of its role in the American Revolution. Sure, Valley Forge gets a lot of cr edit for its contributions, but locals in the know understand that Morris- town and other sites in New Jersey played a more critical role in our nation’s struggle for independence. However, Morristown’s his- torical legacy does notend with the end ofthe Revolutionary War period. Rather, that was just the beginning of the role Morristown played in American history. Whether it is the contributions made during the Industrial Revolution, or the glamorous excess of the Gilded Age, Morristown has continued to play a major role in making history. In an effort to make Morristown’s glorious past more widely understood, the Morris FALL 2009 Life after Geor g e Our membership continues to grow! Please welcome the following new members: Diane Koslow Patricia Pire Wade & Heather Speas Patrick & Kathy WeirHistorical Happenings 2F rom th e Director 3Home Garden Club 3Harvest Tea 4Holly Walk 4In the Gift S hop 4Hous e of Mourning 5Acorns to Oak Trees 5P reservat ion F unding 6Armistice B all 6M embers hip F orm 7I nside thi s issue: Morris Count y H i st or i cal S oci et y At Ac or n H al l County Historical Society is introducing its latest exhibi- tion, Life After George: Mor- ristown After the Revolution, on Sunday, September 27. The exhibit will examine the wide range of Morristown’s ongoing contributions to American history. See how the town grew, as illustrated by a series of historic maps and drawings. Discover the places, people, and events that shaped Morristown. Businesses, from the Ironworks at S peedwell to elegant hotels located around the Green, will be detailed. Learn about the glamorous parties thrown at the Library and Lyceum, when wine literally flowed from pillars surrounded by grape vines! Meet the people who made history, from immigrants who built grand build- ings to Nina Howland, who helped to found the Morris County GolfClub in 1894. And get introduced to historic sites beyond Washing- ton’s Headquarters. Once you have viewed this exhibit, Morristown will never look quite the same again! Ar m ist ice B al l a Fun Way t o Suppor t MCHS If you love to dance or just love toe-tapping old-style music, you’ll want to be there when the Morris County Historical Society and the Metropolitan Vintage Dance & Social Club host their second 1918-style Armistice Ball on Saturday, November 7. The ball will be at the Clifton Community Recreation Center, 1232 Main Ave., Clifton, NJ, from 7 to 10 p.m. Renowned jazz musician Vince Giordano will lead the Met Club Orchestra in hot dance tunes of the ragtime era. Not sure of the steps? A workshop on early 20 th century dances will be taught at the CCRC from 2 to 4 p.m. Tickets for the workshop and dance are $30 per person in ad- vance or $35 at the door. Tickets may be purchased online at www.armisticeball.com, or checks (continued on page 6)
Transcript
8/8/2019 Morris County Historical Society Fall Newsletter 2009
Morristown should be proud of its role in theAmerican Revolution. Sure, Valley Forgegets a lot of credit for its contributions, butlocals in the know understand that Morris-town and other sites in New Jersey played amore critical role in our nation’s struggle forindependence. However, Morristown’s his-torical legacy does not end with the end of the Revolutionary War period. Rather, thatwas just the beginning of the role Morristownplayed in American history. Whether it is thecontributions made during the IndustrialRevolution, or the glamorous excess of theGilded Age, Morristown has continued toplay a major role in making history.
In an effort to make Morristown’s gloriouspast more widely understood, the Morris
FALL 2009 Lif e a f t er Geor ge Our membership continues
to grow! Please welcome
the following new
members:
Diane Koslow
Patricia Pire
Wade & HeatherSpeas
Patrick & Kathy Weir
Historical Happenings 2
From the Director 3
Home Garden Club 3
Harvest Tea 4
Holly Walk 4
In the Gift Shop 4
House of Mourning 5
Acorns to Oak Trees 5
Preservation Funding 6
Armistice Ball 6
Membership Form 7
I nside this issue:
Morr is County H istor ical SocietyAt Acorn Hal l
County Historical Society isintroducing its latest exhibi-tion, Life After George: Mor-
ristown After the Revolution,on Sunday, September 27.The exhibit will examine thewide range of Morristown’songoing contributions toAmerican history. See howthe town grew, as illustratedby a series of historic mapsand drawings. Discover theplaces, people, and events that
shaped Morristown. Businesses,from the Ironworks at Speedwell toelegant hotels located around theGreen, will be detailed. Learnabout the glamorous parties thrownat the Library and Lyceum, whenwine literally flowed from pillarssurrounded by grape vines! Meetthe people who made history, fromimmigrants who built grand build-ings to Nina Howland, who helpedto found the Morris County Golf Club in 1894. And get introducedto historic sites beyond Washing-ton’s Headquarters. Once you haveviewed this exhibit, Morristownwill never look quite the sameagain!
Ar mist ice Bal l a Fun Way t o Suppor t MCHS
If you love to dance or just love toe-tappingold-style music, you’ll want to be there whenthe Morris County Historical Society and theMetropolitan Vintage Dance & Social Clubhost their second 1918-style Armistice Ballon Saturday, November 7. The ball will be atthe Clifton Community Recreation Center,1232 Main Ave., Clifton, NJ, from 7 to 10p.m. Renowned jazz musician VinceGiordano will lead the Met Club Orchestra in
hot dance tunes of the ragtime era.Not sure of the steps? A workshopon early 20th century dances will betaught at the CCRC from 2 to 4p.m. Tickets for the workshop anddance are $30 per person in ad-vance or $35 at the door. Ticketsmay be purchased online atwww.armisticeball.com, or checks
(continued on page 6)
8/8/2019 Morris County Historical Society Fall Newsletter 2009
Hist or ica l Ha ppenings Boonton Historical Society
Saturday, October 3 — Tour of
Greenwood Cemetery featuring“Soup to Die For.” Start the eventat the Museum with a bowl of warm homemade soup served inBoontonware bowls. The price of the soup includes the bowl!
Wednesday, October 21 —”Halloween in the United States,”with Karen Sue Hybertson. A pro-gram sponsored by the New JerseyCouncil for the Humanities. 7 p.m.,
Senior Center. Free.
Wednesday, November 18 —”Boonton at Its Best,” a collage of photographs featuring past Histori-cal Society events. 7 p.m., SeniorCenter. Free.
Friday, December 11 — HolidayOpen House. 7 p.m., BoontonTownship Museum.
For additional information:(973) 402-8840
www.boonton.org/Community/
HistoricalSociety.htm
The Historical Society
of Florham Park
Tuesday, November 10 —
“Memories of World War II.” Lo-cal servicemen will share their ex-periences of World War II. 7 p.m.,
Florham Park Library. Free.
For additional information:
(973) 377-1897
Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum
Saturday, November 7 — “LakeHopatcong on the Big (and Not So
Big) Screen.” 6 p.m., The Arling-ton.
For additional information:(973) 398-2616
www.hopatcong.org/museum
Long Hill Township Historical Society
Thursday, October 8 — “GeorgeWashington: Retreat to Victory,” byAlf Walton. 7:30 p.m., Long HillTwp. First Aid Building, 949 Val-ley Rd., Gillette. Free.
Thursday, November 12 — ”CyrusMcCormick,” by Walter Carell.7:30 p.m., Long Hill Twp First AidBuilding. Free.
For additional information:
(908) 647-6456
www.longhillhistory.org
Mendham History &
Genealogy Society
Tuesday, October 27 — SpeakerBarbara de Mare will share her ex-pertise in research and knowledgeof history. 7:45 p.m., PhoenixHouse, West Main St., Mendham.
As another summer draws to aclose, we extend our sincere ap-preciation to the Home Garden
Club of Morristown. This all-volunteer group has maintainedAcorn Hall’s lovely gardenssince 1971! In addition to theirwork at the Hall, the Club spon-sors public programs. They arefree and open to the public.
Marta McDowell
Wednesday, October 21
Frelinghuysen Arboretum,
Haggerty Center1:00 p.m.
Ms. McDowell, who teaches atDrew and the NY BotanicalGardens, will speak about his-toric landscapes. Her book Emily Dickenson's Gardens waspublished by McGraw-Hill in2004.
MCHSFALL 2009
Home Gar den Cl ub New s
Fr om t he D ir ec t or
I am proud to report that for the tenth year in a row, the Morris County Historical Society has been se-lected to receive a General Operating Support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission. This
grant provides critical funds that pay staff, utilities, insurance, and other day-to-day expenses. This sup-port has allowed the Society to grow.
Comments from the grant review committee were highly complimentary of the quality and variety of programs presented by MCHS. However, the committee was struck by the lack of attendance at theseprograms. The staff and volunteers has noted that not only is attendance low at many programs, mostprograms are primarily attended by the general public, and not by MCHS members. Yet members con-tinue to support MCHS with their dues and contributions to the annual campaign. We are naturally per-plexed!
In order to gain some insight on why our members are not attending programs, and why people who are
not members but attending programs are not members, we have created a survey. A mailable papercopy of this survey is included in this newsletter mailing. It is also available on-line at http://
FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=1pnyu9lq5w98d7h633243. Please take the time to completethe survey. We are eager to hear from you!
– Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika
Rosemary Allen
Wednesday, November 18
Frelinghuysen Arboretum,
Haggerty Center
1:00 pm.
Rosemary Allen has a BA inArt Therapy. She will demon-
strate unique centerpieces andvase arrangements for theseason.
8/8/2019 Morris County Historical Society Fall Newsletter 2009
At the end of November the Oak-leaf Gallery will be transformedinto your favorite holiday shop!Whether you’re looking for giftitems, a special Christmas orna-ment, or a book for your favoritehistory buff, there will be some-thing for everyone on your list.
Can’t make it to the Hall? You can
Fall is the season to stop in theOakleaf Gallery often! New items
are arriving in the shop weekly.Check out new versions of old fa-vorites – new Irish linen apron pat-terns, new notecards in the fashionseries, and new Victorian scrap artfor all your paper craft hobbies.Look for a special Halloween sec-tion in the shop during A House of
Mourning featuring fun Halloweenplates, flickering goblins, and
Join Us f or a Cup at t he Aut umn Tea
In t h e Oa k l ea f Ga l l er y Gif t Sh op
PAGE 4
MCHSFALL 2009
Back by popular demand! On Sat-urday, October 3, tea will be servedat Acorn Hall from 2:30 to 4:30
p.m. Reserve your seat early -- thisevent sold out last year!
The Autumn Tea features threedelectable courses of finger sand-wiches, homemade scones, anddesserts, served with your choice of one of three signature Acorn Hallteas -- English Breakfast, St. Paul'sLondon, or herbal Angel FallsMist.
Enjoy this traditional tea in thesplendor of Acorn Hall's period
rooms. The tea will in-clude a brief presentationabout the variety of teas
and how they are grown.You will also have the op-portunity to browse thewonderful Oakleaf Gallerygift shop.
Call (973) 267-3465 forreservations or visit ourwebsite atwww.acornhall.org/
events.htm to reserve on-line. The Society accepts
cash, checks, and all majorcredit cards.
Preparations under way for last year’s Harvest Tea
now shop on-line atwww.acornhall.org. All our publi-
cations and many of our mostpopular Acorn Hall souvenir itemsare now available! Souvenirs,books, and prints are now just aclick away!
The Oakleaf Gallery accepts allmajor credit cards. Remember,members save an additional 10%.
The holi-day tradi-tion of HollyWalk returns
again thisyear onDecem-
ber 5 and 6. The sites will be openfrom noon to 5 p.m. each day. Asingle $15 ticket (children under 12free) is good for all four sites on
both days. Tickets may be pur-chased at Acorn Hall, MaccullochHall or Washington’s Headquartersduring late November or at any of the four participating museums onthe day of the tour. In the event of cancellation due to inclement
weather, tickets will be honored atthe individual sites during regularmuseum hours in December andJanuary.
Participating sites for this year’s
Holly Walk include Acorn Hall,Macculloch Hall, Schuyler-Hamilton House and the Morris-town National Historical Park. TheFord Mansion will not be open fortours this year, however; visitorsto the Park can view the recently
renovated museum. Traditionalholiday entertainment of the pe-riod of Washington’s stay in Mor-ristown will be held in the Mu-seum’s auditorium during HollyWalk.
Ho l l y Wa l k Sta r t s Ho l id ay Seaso n
8/8/2019 Morris County Historical Society Fall Newsletter 2009
Were you aware of the mile-longtrail running between theFrelinghuysen Arboretum and
Acorn Hall? Few people are. Toencourage exploration of this for-gotten path and highlight fall as agreat time to plant a tree, theFriends of The Frelinghuysen Ar-boretum and the Morris CountyHistorical Society are offering freeoak tree seedlings to those whocomplete the walk on Sunday after-noons in October.
Start your hike at Acorn Hall,
where you’ll receive an acorn handstamp. Feel free to tour Acorn Hallfirst, or proceed directly toFrelinghuysen Arboretum via thetrail, which begins in the Hall’sback yard. Visitors presenting aFriends of Frelinghuysen member-ship card will receive free admis-sion to Acorn Hall. Walkers should
Fr om Acor ns t o Oak Tr ees
A House of Mour ningVisitors to Acorn Hall betweenSunday, October 11, and Sunday,November 8, should be prepared to
pay their respects. Acorn Hall isbeing transformed into a “house of mourning.” In honor of the Hallow-een season, the Hall will be deco-rated as though a 19th-century wakeis in progress. The mourning ex-hibit is included in the price of atour of Acorn Hall (free, of course,to members).
Until the early 20th century, wakeswere most commonly held at home,
and strict rules of etiquette wereobserved by mourners and familymembers alike. Acorn Hall’s frontdoors will be adorned with floralwreaths indicating that death has
visited the house. Inside,mirrors will be drapedwith black crepe, and
clocks will be stopped,marking the time of death.A handmade wooden cof-fin, in the six-sided “toe-pincher” style, will bedisplayed in the front par-lor, as was traditional atthe time. Other mourningmemorabilia, from hair jewelry to post-mortemphotographs to a stunningmourning dress, will be
on display as well.
be at Acorn Hall between noon and3:45 p.m. in order to have enoughtime to reach the Arboretum.
The walking path, which will besporting its autumn colors, travelsin part alongside Route 287 and theWhippany River. It is marked withdouble blue hash marks and is afairly easy walk. When you arriveat the Arboretum, you should pro-ceed to the Haggerty EducationCenter and show your hand stampto the receptionist. You will then begiven a free white oak (Quercus
alba) seedling just in time for fallplanting. The Haggerty EducationCenter closes at 4:30 p.m., so besure to arrive in time to claim yourtree. In addition to the seedling,planting instructions and a caresheet will be provided. The walk should only take about an hour, butthe tree can be enjoyed for manyyears to come.
The trail between the two historicproperties is on land that wasgranted to the two organizations
in 1971 by Mary Crane Hone, thelast resident of Acorn Hall. Atthe time of her donation of AcornHall to the Morris County His-torical Society, she divided theproperty’s nearly nine acres of land between the two organiza-tions. Acorn Hall was named inthe 19th century for a substantialoak tree on its property; at thetime of the tree’s death in 2003,it was estimated to be between
200 and 300 years old.
Victorian mourning fashions
8/8/2019 Morris County Historical Society Fall Newsletter 2009
Funding For H ist or ic Pr eser va t ion—Cr it ica l Vot e !
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MCHSFALL 2009
Acorn Hall is just one of many his-toric sites in Morris County thathave benefited from funding fromthe New Jersey Historic Trust. TheTrust’s grant program funded ma- jor restoration work at Acorn Hallin 1995. It is one of the few sourcesof funding available for restorationand preservation work on publichistoric sites. Unfortunately, unlessnew funds are added to the Trust,this important grant program willcome to an end.
On June 25, the NJ Assembly and
Senate voted with bipartisan sup-port to let voters decide on a $400million bond issue which wouldensure that vital preservation ef-forts continue while costing house-holds just $10 per year. The Gover-nor signed the legislation on Au-gust 18. Therefore, in order for this
crucial grant program to continue,we urge you to “Vote Yes” on Pub-lic Question #1 this November.
This state fund also helps local ef-forts to preserve natural areas andwater quality, create parks, and pre-serve farmland and historic build-ings. The fund for all of these pro-grams is essentially gone. If votersdon't approve the 2009 ballot meas-ure and new funds, the state's pres-ervation efforts will grind to a halt.
Preservation dollars are a very wise
investment. A recent study foundthat every $1 invested through thebond measure would return $10 invalue, in the form of ecosystem ser-vices (such as water purification,waste treatment and flood mitiga-tion), natural goods (such as fishand farm products), and outdoor
recreation activities across the en-tire state. The bond measure wouldalso create jobs restoring historicsites and natural areas and buildingparks.
The Public Question also requiresfull public disclosure of all spend-ing on clean water and land pro- jects to keep New Jersey green,and there is citizen oversightthrough the Garden State Preserva-tion Trust, which approves all pro- jects. To continue living in a statewhere we can enjoy clean water,
connect with nature and wildlife,preserve farms and local treasures,and enable our children and grand-children to do the same, it's impor-tant that we spread the word andencourage everyone to vote Yes onPublic Question #1 in November!
Ar mist ice Ba l l , cont ’d
payable to Morris County HistoricalSociety may be sent to MCHS, 68Morris Avenue, Morristown, NJ07960. All proceeds benefit the So-ciety’s programs.
In more than 30 years as a band-leader, Vince Giordano has becomethe authority on recreating thesounds of 1920s and '30s jazz andpopular music. He has appeared inmovies including The Aviator and
Revolutionary Road . His regularband, the Nighthawks, can be heardevery Monday evening at Sofia’sRestaurant at the Edison Hotel inManhattan. At the Armistice Ball,Giordano will be joined by a .line-up of jazz musicians including (atpress time) David Sager, Ken Salvo,Scott Black, and Sue Fischer.
The afternoon workshop will allownovices to master the basics of suchragtime-era dances as the one-step,foxtrot, tango, blues, and waltz. Itwill be taught by instructors Jan andAl Seabra of Raritan, who teachclasses in vintage dance in Bridge-water.
Period 19-teens,‘20s, or modernformal or cocktail
attire or militaryuniforms are re-quested (no jeans,please).
The first ArmisticeBalls were im-promptu celebra-tions of the end of
the First World War (on November11, 1918). The tradition of holdingballs around that date continuedthough the 1920s, dying out as theDepression worsened and a newwar threatened.
8/8/2019 Morris County Historical Society Fall Newsletter 2009
