78 YEARS AGO TODAY, APRIL 3RD, BRUNO HAUPTMANN WAS EXECUTED FOR THE KIDNAPPING AND MURDER OF CHARLES LINDBERGH, JR......
THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY CHANGED FLEMINGTON FOREVER AND PUT HUNTERDON COUNTY ON THE MAP. LITERALLY.
THE HUNTERDON TRICENTENNIAL'S "TWO WEEKS OF LINDBERGH" continue at the end of April and May with two very significant events: Lindbergh House and Kidnapping Tours and the fabulous play "Charles Lindbergh: The Lone Eagle".
GOING ON SALE IN THE AFTERNOON OF APRIL 4:
On Friday, April 25 and Friday, May 2, two tour groups (a 9:30 am and 1:30 pm tour) will board our bus for a special ride back in history to the early 1930s in Hunterdon County. Led by Lindbergh expert Jim Davidson, you will enter the house and see where Charles, Sr., Anne and baby Charles, Jr. lived. Jim will also show us where the ladder was placed and describe the kidnapping. We will then travel to see where Charles, Jr.'s body was found and, while Jim holds our attention with riveting stories about the kidnapping case, take us to see the homes of various person associated with the case. Snacks will be provided on this trip. There is a $5 per person fee. We should be back to our cars by noon.
The Lindbergh House is under the operation of the State of New Jersey and has very limited access and no longer allows visitors on weekends. Consequently, we are working on securing two more Fridays this summer to allow families to bring their children and teenagers on the tour while they are out of school on break. Reservations may be made through our website www.hunterdon300th.org or by calling us at (908) 788-2030, but will only be confirmed upon receipt of payment.
PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE VERY LIMITED RESERVATIONS BEING TAKEN FOR THE HOUSE TOURS; IF YOU CANNOT GET TICKETS NOW, PLEASE KNOW WE ARE WORKING ON TWO MORE TOUR DATES FOR THIS SUMMER WITH FOUR MORE OPPORTUNITIES. PEOPLE SIGNED UP ON OUR WAITING LIST WILL GET PRIORITY FOR ANY ADDITIONAL LINDBERGH TOURS ADDED.
On Saturday night, May 3rd at 7 pm and Sunday afternoon, May 4th at 3 pm, join us for an extraordinary One Man Show that the Tricentennial Committee brought up from Florida! "Charles Lindbergh: The Lone Eagle" is an amazing production where actor Steve Carroll brings Charles Lindbergh to life. Reeve Lindbergh, the last surviving child of Charles and Anne and President of The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, wrote Mr. Carroll to express her thanks after attending a command performance of the play in New York at the 75th anniversary of her father's famous flight to Paris. "I was indeed impressed by your performance, which I found moving and very thoughtful, with a fresh perspective on my father," Lindbergh wrote. "It meant a lot to me. It makes people think."
This is NOT the kidnapping trial show that played at the Historic Courthouse for years. This show is in two acts: the first act about Lindbergh's early years, learning to fly, barnstorming, finally his daring feat of crossing the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis to his marriage to Anne Morrow. The first act ends with the happy couple building Highgrove House in Hopewell NJ and having their first child, Charles, Jr. Act Two opens with the kidnapping and trial. It continues into the darker years of Lindbergh: the allegations of his Nazi affiliations and his extra marital affairs. Tickets are available at the North Branch of the County Library, the Main Branch of the County Library, the County Clerk's Office at the Hall of Records and at the Flemington Choir School (Saturday's only). Tickets are $10 for adults; $5 for children; and there are 13 special jury seats per performance for $15 each -- the ultimate Lindbergh experience as these are the original jury seats during the trial itself!
We mentioned Jim Davidson as our tour guide; don't forget to reserve your seats for the 5 free lectures Jim is giving at the historic Courthouse. About half of the tickets have been taken and you don't want to miss this series!
One more Lindbergh bit: Saturday afternoon, May 3rd, between the hours of 3 pm and 6:30 pm, the Flemington Methodist Church on the corner of Main and Maple is having an open house. This church hosted and fed the Lindbergh press corps and a host of hundreds of visitors coming to Flemington. The will have a Lindbergh display and memorabilia available to be viewed and our friend, John Newton who played Lindbergh in the play about the trial, will be around to discuss Lindbergh's life and the trial. Refreshments will be available and this is free to the public. Whether you have tickets to the Saturday night show or not, stop by and see the church where Walter Winchell and many other prominent newspaper and radio personalities hung out.
An extra for April: we have added a new lecture on Sunday afternoon, April 13 entitled "Voices in 1778: The American Army in Hunterdon: Prelude to the Battle of Monmouth" -- this is going to prove to be a very provocative and perhaps controversial discussion -- fun, right!
And please don't forget that April is National Poetry Month and we have a fabulous free night of great poetic tributes to our County of Hunterdon on April 26. This is going to be a wonderful evening and we suggest you have a lovely dinner in the County Seat first and then stroll over to the Historic Courthouse for the poetry reading. Dessert is on us afterwards thanks to our super friends at Shop Rite!
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