Historic Happenings Blog

Sunday, December 22 - West Orange, Essex County Harry's Magical Invention Bag Learn about invention and the important role Edison played in taking invention from a cottage/hobby activity to a full commercial activity - practiced by all major corporations. Hear Harry Roman as he discusses the major role New Jersey plays in the national invention scene-and all the great inventions New Jersey inventors have brought into our world. Harry, a nationally known inventor, was a critical player in establishing the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989, and later went on to chair the organization from 1996-2004. The Hall of Fame honored him with an Inventor of the Year award in 2005 for his pioneering work in robotics and honored him again in 2012 with a special achievement award for his dedication to the organization. The program, held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 3:00 - 4:00 pm, is included with regular admission. Tickets must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Labora...

Sunday, December 8 - West Orange, Essex County Harry's Magical Invention Bag Learn about invention and the important role Edison played in taking invention from a cottage/hobby activity to a full commercial activity - practiced by all major corporations. Hear Harry Roman as he discusses the major role New Jersey plays in the national invention scene-and all the great inventions New Jersey inventors have brought into our world. Harry, a nationally known inventor, was a critical player in establishing the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989, and later went on to chair the organization from 1996-2004. The Hall of Fame honored him with an Inventor of the Year award in 2005 for his pioneering work in robotics and honored him again in 2012 with a special achievement award for his dedication to the organization. The program, held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 3:00 - 4:00 pm, is included with regular admission. Tickets must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Laborat...

Sunday, November 24  - West Orange, Essex County Harry's Magical Invention Bag Learn about invention and the important role Edison played in taking invention from a cottage/hobby activity to a full commercial activity - practiced by all major corporations. Hear Harry Roman as he discusses the major role New Jersey plays in the national invention scene-and all the great inventions New Jersey inventors have brought into our world. Harry, a nationally known inventor, was a critical player in establishing the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989, and later went on to chair the organization from 1996-2004. The Hall of Fame honored him with an Inventor of the Year award in 2005 for his pioneering work in robotics and honored him again in 2012 with a special achievement award for his dedication to the organization. The program, held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 3:00 - 4:00 pm, is included with regular admission. Tickets must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Labor...

Sunday, November 10  - West Orange, Essex County Harry's Magical Invention Bag Learn about invention and the important role Edison played in taking invention from a cottage/hobby activity to a full commercial activity - practiced by all major corporations. Hear Harry Roman as he discusses the major role New Jersey plays in the national invention scene-and all the great inventions New Jersey inventors have brought into our world. Harry, a nationally known inventor, was a critical player in establishing the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989, and later went on to chair the organization from 1996-2004. The Hall of Fame honored him with an Inventor of the Year award in 2005 for his pioneering work in robotics and honored him again in 2012 with a special achievement award for his dedication to the organization. The program, held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 3:00 - 4:00 pm, is included with regular admission. Tickets must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Labor...

Sunday, October 20   -  Morris Township, Morris County Junior Engineer Day Junior Engineers are invited to build an invention  at Historic Speedwell from 2:00 - 4:00 pm  to take home and create a poster to advertise it. Preregistration is required. To register, 973-285-6537. 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, NJ. For more information, call 973-285-6550 or visit  www.morrisparks.net .

Sunday, October 13  - West Orange, Essex County Harry's Magical Invention Bag Learn about invention and the important role Edison played in taking invention from a cottage/hobby activity to a full commercial activity - practiced by all major corporations. Hear Harry Roman as he discusses the major role New Jersey plays in the national invention scene-and all the great inventions New Jersey inventors have brought into our world. Harry, a nationally known inventor, was a critical player in establishing the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989, and later went on to chair the organization from 1996-2004. The Hall of Fame honored him with an Inventor of the Year award in 2005 for his pioneering work in robotics, and honored him again in 2012 with a special achievement award for his dedication to the organization. The program, held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 3:00 - 4:00 pm, is included with regular admission. Tickets must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Labor...

Saturday,  October 12  - Chatham Township, Morris  County Junior Inventor Day On Saturday from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the Cooper Gristmill, enjoy hands-on tinkering with machines and be inspired by the historic inventions of Oliver Evans, which run in the Mill today. Admission: Free. Donations gladly accepted.  The Cooper Gristmill is located at 66 Route 513, Chester, NJ. For more information, call 908-879-5463 or visit  www.morrisparks.net .

Sunday, September 8 – Burlington County New Jersey: Where Ideas Grow Something for Sunday 2:00 pm – 4:00 p.m.      From Thomas Edison’s phonograph to Les Paul’s electric guitar, submarines, Band-Aids, movies, color TV, ice cream cones, bar codes, Bubble Wrap, solar panels, flexible film and transistors – all of these things began in New Jersey. Why?  Join author Linda Barth as she explains why and how New Jersey became the great state of inventions.     Admission is $10 per person for everyone. Seating is limited; prepaid reservations are required to guarantee seating. Please call 609/267-6996, or email at  colonialdamesnj@comcast.net .   This event takes place at Peachfield, the Headquarters of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of New Jersey, 180 Burrs Road, Westampton, NJ 08060.   Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, Department of State...

Wednesday, September 4 – Union County Westfield Historical Society’s September First Wednesday Luncheon:  New Jersey Originals: The History of Innovation in New Jersey  with author, Linda Barth      As part of The Westfield Historical Society’s  First Wednesday Luncheon  series, Linda J. Barth, author of New Jersey Originals: Technological Originals, Odd Inventions, Trailblazing Characters and More  will talk about her new book on September 4, 2019. The event will begin with check-in at 11:45 am at the Echo Lake Country Club, located at 515 Springfield Avenue, Westfield.     Mrs. Barth will talk about what makes New Jersey so special. In addition to culture, wonderful suburban towns, a high standard of living, strong public schools, a mild climate, mountains and beaches, we must add one more: innovation .     In addition to the creations of Bell Labs and Thomas Edison, New Jersey has innovators and inve...

Sunday, August 25 - Morris Township, Morris County Hidden Heroes of Science: Alfred Vail On Sunday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at Historic Speedwell, enjoy this talk about one of the hidden heroes of the telegraph project: Alfred Vail! Dig a little deeper into the reasons Alfred isn’t very well known and how that reflects our concepts of invention. 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 .

Monthly Lecture: New Jersey Originals-Technological Marvels, Odd Inventions, Trailblazing Characters and More Strauss Mansion Museum 27 Prospect Circle Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 07716 Wednesday, July 17 -- Monmouth County As proud New Jerseyans, we bristle when we hear our fine state made the target of jokes by outsiders. Little do they know, but  New Jersey has spawned enough great inventions to fill not one, but two books . Prolific NJ historian Linda Barth has just released  New Jersey Originals , the sequel to her initial volume,  A History of Inventing in New Jersey ,  and her eighth book on New Jersey history overall. The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society is pleased to host Ms. Barth for a speaker night to be held on  Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 7:30 pm  at the Strauss Mansion Museum, 27 Prospect Circle, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Ms. Barth, a retired teacher, writer and traveler to all parts of our state, will surprise and amaze you with the s...

Wednesday, May 22 – Essex County     Join the Cedar Grove Historical Society at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, at the Cedar Grove Public Library, 1 Municipal Court, Cedar Grove, when  Linda Barth will explore groundbreaking, useful, fun and even silly inventions and their New Jersey roots.      Many people are familiar with Edison’s “invention factory” in Menlo Park, where he patented the phonograph, the light bulb and many more inventions. Yet many other ideas have grown in the Garden State, too. New Jerseyans brought sound and music to movies and built the first drive-in theater. In addition to the first cultivated blueberry, tasty treats like ice cream cones and M&M’s® are also New Jersey natives. Iconic aspects of American life like Bubble Wrap® , the boardwalk, the Band-Aid® and even professional baseball itself started in New Jersey. Life would be harder without the vacuum cleaner, plastic and air-conditioning, and many o...

Wednesday, May 8 – Passaic County     On Wednesday, May 8 th  at 7 p.m. at Lambert Castle (3 Valley Road, Paterson NJ), the Passaic County Historical Society will host  Linda Barth as she presents  New Jersey Originals: Technological Marvels, Odd Inventions, Trailblazing Characters, and More.   Based on her book by the same title, in this program Linda will teach us about the inventions of Bell Labs and Edison, in addition to other valuable, brilliant, and quirky creations. The work of our soldiers at Fort Monmouth and Camp Evans—including radar and night vision goggles—helped the United States win World War II. Cook College at Rutgers has produced important, often disease-resistant, vegetables and flowers. Among the edible inventions are pork roll, M&M’s, and the famous Campbell’s green bean casserole. Quirky firsts include Lucy the Elephant and the Francis life car. And just for fun, some famous and not-so-famous New Jerseyans. The prog...

Tuesday, April 16 – Morris County     On April 16, Linda Barth will speak on “New Jersey Originals: Technology Marvels, Odd Inventions, Trailblazing Characters & More,” which is also the title of her new book.  Always a popular speaker, this will be a return visit to the Madison Historical Society for Linda.         What makes New Jersey so special? In addition to culture, wonderful suburban towns, a high standard of living, strong public schools, a mild climate, mountains, and beaches, we must add one more:  innovation . In addition to the creations of Bell Labs and Thomas Edison, New Jersey has innovators and inventors galore.     Before and during World War II, the soldiers at Fort Monmouth and Camp Evans  produced many innovations—including radar and night vision goggles—that helped the United States win the war. Cook College at Rutgers has produced important, often disease-resistant, vegetables...

Thursday, April 11 – Union County     Each spring, the History organizations in Westfield come together and present a Spring Assembly which is open to the public. This year, the Westfield Historical Society is organizing the program to be held on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at 7:30 pm at the Assembly Room of The Presbyterian Church of Westfield.  John Prescott of the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs will present the program: “Invention, Innovation & Industry in Union County.”      Did you know that Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were both connected to Union County? You may be surprised to hear that Planes; Trains; Automobiles…..and Submarines are all a part of the rich and diverse History of Union County. Find out about these topics and many more by attending “Invention, Innovation, and Industry in Union County,” a PowerPoint presentation given by John Prescott; the History Programs Coordinator; for the Union County Fr...

Sunday,  March 24  - West Orange, Essex County Harry's Magical Invention Bag Learn about invention and the important role Edison played in taking invention from a cottage/hobby activity to a full commercial activity - practiced by all major corporations. Hear Harry Roman, a Thomas Edison National Historical Park volunteer, retired engineer, as well as inventor and patent holder, as he discusses the major role NJ plays in the national invention scene-and all the great inventions NJ inventors have brought into our world. The program, held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 3:00 - 4:00 pm, is included with regular admission. Tickets must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Laboratory Complex Visitor Center at 211 Main Street, West Orange, NJ. Admission is $15.00 per person and includes the Glenmont Estate and the Laboratory Complex. Children under age 16 are free. For more information, call 973-736-0550 x11 or visit  www.nps.gov/edis .