Historic Happenings Blog

Uncork History: Library Edition! Wednesday, July 31 Enjoy our summer series in the garden and join us for Uncork History: Library Edition! Ever wonder what the Livingston and Kean families read?! Come find out as we the discuss the books of Liberty Hall. Afterwards, relax in our historic gardens with wine and finger foods. It's perfect for a summer date night or a night with friends! Must be 21 years or older to attend. Program Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Program Fee: $25.00 per person; $20.00 for LHM members/Kean Alumni Reservations required by July 26 Make a Reservation Click here to purchase tickets Please call  908-527-040 0 or email  libertyhall@kean.edu

Tidal Tuesdays - Seine the Cove Fisherman’s Cove Conservation Area, Manasquan 383 3rd Ave, Manasquan, NJ 08736 Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 10:00-10:45 (all ages, under 18 with adult) Looking for some Tuesday fun by the shore? Stop by Fisherman’s Cove and join a Park System Naturalist and take part in a free seining program to see what creatures may be found swimming along Fisherman’s Cove. Discover a variety of fish, crabs and other sea creatures as we pull in our seine net. Seining portion runs for approximately 30-45 minutes. Please Note: • Closed-toe shoes are required. • The program will not run during inclement weather. • Parents or guardians are required to stay with and supervise their children. • No swimming during the event. • This program is designed for individuals and families. No large groups, please. Additional Tidal Tuesday Activities Discover exciting things about nature and our coastal habitats with a fun nature activity before our drop-in seining begins! Each week take part in...

Sunday, July 28 – Passaic County   On Sunday, July 28 th  at 5pm in Lambert Castle (at 3 Valley Road, Paterson NJ)  Annamaria Stefanelli and Rory Angelicola return to the Lambert Castle Concert Series and present  An Afternoon of Italian Opera Plus.     The program is filled with beautiful Italian arias and duets as well as other operatic favorites. The performance will also include favorites from the classical American Musical repertoire. Join us for an afternoon of moving music!  Admission to the concert is $15. Seating is limited, no reservations will be taken.    This performance is a part of the 2019 Lambert Castle Concert Series. Featuring local musicians and a variety of musical genres, all concerts are performed in the beautiful atmosphere that is Lambert Castle. Check our website for a complete listing of performances and dates.

Sunday, July 28 – Mercer County Trenton Museum Society at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie, Trenton, New Jersey    Readings, Signing and Reception 4 pm      On Sunday, July 28 at 4 pm, at the Trenton City Museum, Ellarslie in Cadwalader Park, area writers read selections from The Bookshop on Lafayette Street, a collection of stories and poems published by Ragged Sky Press and inspired by Trenton's own Classics Books. Free will donations are gratefully accepted at the door.    Everything to love about bookstores is in the collection: the sense of wonder and discovery, the cozy clutter, idiosyncratic book lovers, the feeling of being in a magic haven buttressed against the cruelties of the world, and, of course, the adventure of books themselves.    Contributors include Ilene Dube, Jeff Edelstein, Barry Gross, John Gummere, Yusef Komunyakaa, Doc Long, Eric Maywar, Leon Rainbow, Jackie Reinstedler, Nancy Scott, Thomas Web...

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Lyrics by Tim Rice, Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber July 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24 at 8 PM; July 14 at 5 PM; July 21 at 2 PM & 7 PM; July 28 at 3 PM TICKETS: Premium Adult: $64, Regular Adult: $58, Premium Senior: $56, Regular Senior: $50 The irresistible family musical about the trials and triumphs of Israel’s favorite son, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been one Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most popular musicals for five decades. One of the most enduring shows of all time, it is a reimagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob, eleven brothers, and the coat of many colors. A diverse score that includes Joseph’s anthems “Any Dream Will Do” and “Close Every Door,” as well as colorful ensemble numbers in styles as wide-ranging as country western, ‘50s doo-wop and island calypso. The Axelrod production is being led by director-choreographer Matthew Steffens.   LEARN MORE

Sunday, July 28  - Morristown, Morris County Hide and Seek! Explore hidden history in a new way as we use the entire eight-acre Historic Speedwell site for an enormous Hide and Seek field from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Admission: $5  per adult, $4 per senior, $3 per child age 4 - 16, FREE per child under age 4 . Historic Speedwell is located at 333 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown. For more information, call 973-285-6537 or visit  www.morrisparks.net .

Now Showing in our Thomas Nast Gallery Illustrating an Icon: Thomas Nast’s Uncle Sam February-mid-July 2019 Thomas Nast (1840-1902) is credited with popularizing the image of Uncle Sam. Decades before James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960) created the “I Want You” image of Uncle Sam for United States Army recruiting posters in 1917, Nast had drawn this iconic symbol of the United States more than 160 times for  Harper’s Weekly . Like his Democratic Donkey and Republican Elephant, Nast’s Uncle Sam is adapted from earlier examples. In the late eighteenth and through the nineteenth centuries, Americans identified with “everyman” characters known as Brother Jonathan and Yankee Doodle. Brother Jonathan was depicted typically as portly and wearing a brown homespun suit, while Yankee Doodle wore stars and stripes. During the War of 1812, government supplies marked “U.S.” were nicknamed Uncle Sam. Sam Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy, New York known locally as “Uncle Sam,” sold beef to the Army....

Exhibits at Macculloch Hall Now Showing in Our Schoolroom Gallery Anchors Aweigh: Macculloch Hall and U.S. Naval History February-mid-July 2019 Includes children’s exhibition,  Don’t Give Up the Ship! The Navy has played a significant role in the Macculloch family’s history. A grandson of George and Louisa Macculloch, Henry William Miller (1836-1904), a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1853, served on the USS  Mohican  at the battle of Port Royal and participated in the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina during the Civil War. He resigned from the Navy in 1866 with the rank of lieutenant commander. Henry’s younger brother, Jacob William Miller (1847-1918), graduated the Naval Academy in 1867. As a lieutenant, he was sent to Nicaragua to explore a possible canal route, and in 1877 he served on the USS  Vandalia  where he was assigned to escort President Grant and his wife on their tour of the Mediterranean. He later helped found the New York ...

Saturday, June 22 through Sunday, July 28 -- Hunterdon County Fiber Art by Mary Schwarzenberger Exhibit opening Saturday, June 22nd through Sunday, July 28th. Meet the Artist Reception: Sunday, June 23rd Mary grew up in a household where her mother and grandmother sewed, so she began playing with fabric from an early age. After a career in education, she was able to follow her dream of creating art full-time. When Mary isn’t sewing, she is dyeing vintage lace and linens, creating her own fabric, or working in mixed media. Several years of the pieces in this show reflect the ocean. Its effect on all the senses instills calm and exhilaration simultaneously.                    More recently Mary has been exploring spirals as part of a continuing exploration of creating texture with fabric and color. Her work has been juried into national shows, her wearable art jackets have won national awards an...

Sundays in July plus July 4 -- Cumberland County Potter’s Tavern to be Open in July 2019       The Cumberland County Historical Society is very excited to announce that the Potter’s Tavern will be open every Sunday during the month of July (2019) between the hours of 1 – 4 P.M. In addition, we will be open  on Thursday, July 4.  You are invited to stop in and tour the Tavern between the hours of 1 to 4 P.M. It is located at  51 West Broad Street in Bridgeton (opposite the Cumberland County Court House)  and is certified as a national landmark. We hope you will join us for a tour of this historical building and explore one of the County’s oldest preserved landmarks.  July 7 th July 14 th July 21 st July 28 th       Tavern keeper, Matthew Potter, Jr. came to Bridgeton from Philadelphia and opened the tavern in 1773. It became a favorite meeting place for the local young men just before the Revolutionary W...

Sunday, July 28   -  Morris Township, Morris County Wash and Wear Sheep Get wet and sudsy while helping the farmer wash lambs that were born this spring at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm. The program is available at 1:00 and  2:00  pm. 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 .

Upper Gallery Hiro Takeshita Transforms Cut Paper into Art Hiro Takeshita wields an exacto knife with more finesse than many painters with brushes and oils. He creates dazzling works of art with layers of precisely cut paper in saturated hues. The resulting works of art appear to be painted, but they’re all executed in kiri-e or kirigami, the traditional Japanese art of cut paper.  Hiro was born in Nagasaki, Japan. After studying art and print-making in Tokyo, he moved to the U.S. in 1977 to further his studies, inspired by artists of the post-Impressionist period, particularly Henri Matisse, Abstract Expressionists like Richard Diebenkorn and Pop Artists, especially Andy Warhol. He moved to Hoboken in 1985.   Hiro's latest works express his appreciation for the beauty of nature. About a dozen of his paperworks will go on display at the Museum in the Upper Gallery on Sunday, June 16, through July 28. His third exhibition at the Hoboken Museum is titled, “Under the Stars.”...