Pennington, New Jersey Historic House Tour - October 3, 2015

Pennington, New Jersey Historic House Tour
Saturday, October 3, 2015

As part of Pennington’s 125th Anniversary celebration this year, the Hopewell Valley Historical Society is sponsoring an historic house tour on Saturday, October 3, 2015. The tour, which takes place from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, features some of a diverse group of some of Pennington’s most historically and architecturally significant homes.

The architectural diversity of houses on the tour is represented by eight houses dating from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Over a half dozen architectural styles can be seen including the Federal style, most common in early Pennington, and later styles such as Greek Revival, Italianate, Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Queen Ann, Shingle, and American Four Square. As a bonus, tour goers can also visit the recently restored Gothic Revival Alumni House at the Pennington School and view the impressive Neo-Classical Sun National Bank building.

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Passaic County Historical Society's Annual Beefsteak Dinner Fundraiser and Tricky Tray - October 6, 2015

Passaic County Historical Society's Annual Beefsteak Dinner Fundraiser
and Tricky Tray
Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Please join the Passaic County Historical Society for a night of good food, entertainment, and great prizes. On Tuesday, October 6th at 6:30 pm at the Brownstone restaurant located at 351 West Broadway in Paterson, New Jersey; The Passaic County Historical Society will host its Annual Beefsteak Dinner Fundraiser and Tricky Tray.

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NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 9/26/15 - 9/27/15

NJ WEEKEND HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS

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Saturday, September 26 - West Orange, Essex County

Spy for a Day - Fee Free Day

Children Friendly

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NJ Weekend Estate Sales: 9/25/15 - 9/27/15

NEW JERSEY WEEKEND ESTATE SALES

Click on each link for more information on the estate sale!

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Preserving the Barnegat Baymen's Heritage at Tuckerton Seaport

Preserving the Barnegat Baymen's Heritage at Tuckerton Seaport

In an increasingly global and digital world, the local traditions and stories of the past are being forgotten. At the Tuckerton Seaport in Tuckerton, New Jersey, the heritage of the Barnegat Bay region and those who have worked their lives in its industries, whether on the land or in the water, performing its unique crafts and traditions, and serving as the backbone of hometown America has been preserved. These ways of life, which are unique to south Jersey and the Pinelands, can still be found if you look hard enough, but are quickly fading in the era of modern technology. The Seaport strives to preserve this slice of American history and demonstrate the important legacy these individuals have left behind and how it connects to us today.

Tucker's Island Lighthouse replica at the Tuckerton Seaport.

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Funds Available for Students to Visit Lambert Castle Museum

Funds Available for Students to Visit Lambert Castle Museum

Out of the classroom enrichment activities are such an important part of a child’s education. With many of the school districts in our area experiencing funding constraints, these extra trips and programs are very often removed from the budget. However, the Passaic County Historical Society, in partnership with the Fred J. Brotherton Charitable Foundation has created a school trip grant program, beginning in September 2015, which was designed to assist schools by supplementing or fully funding school trips to Lambert Castle Museum in Paterson, New Jersey.

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Five Generals Narrated Bus Tour - September 27, 2015

Five Generals Narrated Bus Tour
Sunday, September 27, 2015

Five tours: 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm, and 2:00 pm

Limited Seating -  Reservations Required

Discover five of the original Somerset County houses that served as general staff headquarters during the Revolutionary War. The historic houses are the Van Horne House in Bridgewater; the Van Veghten House in Finderne, the Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook; the Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster, and the Wallace House in Somerville.

The Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook

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NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 9/19/15 - 9/20/15

NJ WEEKEND HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS

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Saturday, September 19 - Newton, Sussex County

Sussex County History Day

Children Friendly

The Sussex County Historical Society is pleased to announce that the Sussex County History Day program will be held on Saturday. The program will take place in the gymnasium of the Sussex County Community College and it will be open to the public from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm.

The theme of the program this year will be: THEN AND NOW. This will be a great chance to meet local municipal historical societies and see what your communities looked like years ago as compared to how they appear today. Sussex County Community College is located at 1 College Hill Rd, Newton, NJ. Parking will be available in the upper lot. For more information, call 973-578-2525.

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Saturday, September 19 - Maywood, Bergen County

Open House

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NJ Weekend Estate Sales: 9/18/15 - 9/20/15

NEW JERSEY WEEKEND ESTATE SALES

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Flying Femmes: The Female Pilots of World War II

Flying Femmes: The Female Pilots of World War II

Written by Patricia Chappine

Excerpt from New Jersey Women in World War II by Patricia Chappine

“You and all WASP have been pioneers in a new field of wartime service and I sincerely appreciate the splendid job you have done for the Army Air Force. You, and more than nine hundred of your sisters, have shown that you can wingtip to wingtip with your brothers. If ever there were a doubt in anyone’s mind that women can become skillful pilots, the WASP have dispelled that doubt.”
—General Henry H. Arnold

With the many changes that occurred during World War II, the flight training of women was certainly among the most dramatic. Never before had women stepped into such roles. This was so much more than stepping into a desk position to free a man to fight. Gender-based stereotypes of women as too emotional for flight were hard to surpass. Yet somehow, the female pilots who served during World War II did just that. Early on in the conflict, Jacqueline Cochran, already a respected pilot, believed that female pilots would be an essential part of the war effort. She wasted no time in contacting the commander of the Air Force. At about the same time, Nancy Harkness Love, another female pilot, was in contact with the Ferrying Division of the Army Air Force. Her idea was that women could free men for active duty by taking over ferrying responsibilities. With these two persistent women fighting for the inclusion of female pilots and the war heating up in Europe, the lack of male pilots available soon warranted the recruitment of women. In her September 1942 “My Day” column, Eleanor Roosevelt endorsed the idea of female pilots:

The CAA (Civil Aeronautics Authority) says that women are psychologically not fitted to be pilots, but I see pictures every now and then of women who are teaching men to fly. We know that in England, where the need is great, women are ferrying planes and freeing innumerable men for combat service…I believe in this case, if the war goes on long enough, and women are patient, opportunity will come knocking at their doors. However, there is just a chance that this is not a time when women should be patient. We are in a war and we need to fight it with all our ability and every weapon possible. Women pilots, in this particular case, are a weapon waiting to be used.

Finally, in early September 1942, the WAFS (Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron) was formed. Headed by Nancy Harkness Love, the group started out with a mere twenty-eight members. Days later, the WFTD (Women’s Flying Training Detachment) was formed with Jackie Cochran as leader. When the WAFS and the WFTD combined in August 1943, the WASPs (Women’s Air Force Service Pilots) were born. Unlike the other branches of the military, the women of the WASP were never given military status during World War II. They were considered civilians who worked with the air force. Regardless, these women aided the war effort bravely, defying social stereotypes.

Jackie Cochran finally had approval for her group of female pilots but a larger task now loomed ahead. In a letter to the Fifinella Gazette (fifinellas, female gremlins used as WASP mascots, were designed by the Walt Disney Company and given to the group to use free of charge), she addressed the first classes of women being trained:

With the start of the war, I became convinced that there was a sound, beneficial place for women in the air—not to compete with or displace the men pilots, but to supplement them—and I never let up trying to establish in practice the birth of my belief…What will be the ultimate result—good or bad—will be up to the girls themselves. You of the first classes will have the real responsibility. By your actions and results the future course will be set. You have my reputation in your hands. Also, you have my faith. I have no fear—I know you can do the job.

The women of the WASP felt the pressure of this responsibility, but many still kept their sense of humor. The Fifinella Gazette, a newsletter produced by members of the WASP, contained factual reports speckled with poems, comics and generally good-natured sarcasm about the life of a WASP trainee from the women who knew it best. The opening of an April 1943 issue stated, “It is claimed that demerits are issued for everything but breathing. Breathing comes under the heading of Meteorological Phenomena, however, it cannot possibly compete with the breeze that blows at Avenger.” The author was referring to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. In another article, a trainee complained, “Hairnets cannot cover the ravages of Texas dust on once lustrous locks. It takes but three weeks of flying fumes to rob faces of any possibility of being skin-you-love-to-touch. Fingernails crack, and the polish chips, and morale gets lower than a Houston fog.” In another column, a trainee commented on their lack of time off. She joked, “Remember way back when we thought we’d get a week off for Christmas??????”

Members of the WAACs Air Corps train in Newark, New Jersey. National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey.

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Market & Muster Day at Washington Crossing Historic Park - September 27, 2015

Market & Muster Day at Washington Crossing Historic Park
Sunday, September 27, 2015

Travel back in time and experience the life of the Founding Fathers during “Market & Muster Day” at Washington Crossing Historic Park (PA) – Sunday, September 27 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Witness Revolutionary War era townspeople gather at their colonial marketplace and soldiers assemble to drill 18th-century military tactics. While the soldiers march and fire their muskets, historic crafters will demonstrate and sell their wares.

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"New Jersey Women in World War II" September Book Giveaway

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NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 9/12/15 - 9/13/15

NJ WEEKEND HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS

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Saturday, September 12 - Tuckerton, Ocean County

Ye Old Clamtown Antique Flea Market

On Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, the Tuckerton Historical Society hosts its annual Ye Old Clamtown Antique Flea Market at Tip Seaman Park in Tuckerton, NJ. The flea market will feature about 100 vendors. Support the Tuckerton Historical Society as they celebrate 41 years of hosting this event. For more information, call 609-685-1528 or visit www.tuckertonhistoricalsociety.org.

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Saturday, September 12 - Byram Township, Sussex County

Waterloo Canal Heritage Day

Children Friendly

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NJ Weekend Estate Sales: 9/11/15 - 9/13/15

NEW JERSEY WEEKEND ESTATE SALES

Click on each link for more information on the estate sale!

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Downton Style Tea at the Gloucester County Historical Society Museum - October 17, 2015

Downton Style Tea at the Gloucester County Historical Society Museum
October 17, 2015

In honor of the 250th birthday of the Hunter Lawrence Jessup House (Gloucester County Historical Society Museum), and tying in with the museum's current exhibit, Gloucester Abbey:  Downton Style Fashions, they are pleased to announce that they will be hosting a Downton Style Tea on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at 1:00 pm. Call for your reservation -  856-848-8531 – seating is limited. Tickets are $25 per person; hats and/or tea dresses are optional, but fun! The tea will take place on the first floor of the museum, within the surrounds of the fashion exhibit, bringing to life that refined, elegant era depicted on the PBS Masterpiece series Downton Abbey. Among the offerings on our menu will be an assortment of delicious dainty tea sandwiches prepared by Amelia’s Teas & Holly in Mullica Hill. We will also present a wonderful variety of teas, the obligatory tea scone with clotted cream and jam, seasonal muffins, fresh fruit, and a beautiful presentation of excellent desserts. Guests will be welcomed to tour the Downton Style exhibit at no charge when finished with tea, and will receive some complimentary gifts.

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NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 9/5/15 - 9/6/15

NJ WEEKEND HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS

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Saturday, September 5 - Oldwick, Hunterdon County

21st Annual Tewksbury Flea Market

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NJ Weekend Estate Sales: 9/4/15 - 9/6/15

NEW JERSEY WEEKEND ESTATE SALES

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A Historic Trip through San Diego's Balboa Park

A Historic Trip through San Diego's Balboa Park

In June when Mr. History Girl and I had the opportunity to visit California, we drove south from Los Angeles and spent the day in San Diego. Our visit included the Whaley House, Old Town, and the Marston House at the northern edge of historic Balboa Park. After our late afternoon visit to the Marston House, we ventured deeper into the park, which is home to numerous museums, theaters, restaurants, gardens, and of course the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Although by the time we arrived, all of the museums and the zoo had closed for the day. Despite our late start and limited time, walking through the museum corridor allowed us to appreciate the architecture, much of which dates to the 1910s and 1920s. However, we only explored a small portion of this grand park.

California Building, circa 1920.

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