Monday, December 29, 2014

WE LEAVE THE YEAR WITH AS MUCH FUN AS WE STARTED! TIME CAPSULE BURIAL LUNCH!

We started the year on January 1st with a big production of the founding of Hunterdon County and we're ending the year with a big event on December 31st!  The Hunterdon County Tricentennial Committee will be burying our time capsule in style this Wednesday, December 31, at high noon.   The time capsule will be buried in the park behind the Historic Courthouse.  

Beginning at 11 am, the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band will play Victorian era  brass band music in the Gazebo.  The volunteers of the 300th will be grilling and serving hot dogs, hot chocolate and chips, all courtesy of Shop Rite of Flemington.  Everyone is encouraged to come and party with us!  If you are in the area, stop by for lunch; we would love to see lots of children – especially those 3rd and 4th graders who participated in our Time Line Project this year – at the event.  The County Time Line is one of the many items that are secured in the time capsule.   

The time capsule will be opened in 2114.

At noon, the National Anthem will be sung by 11 year old Hampton Public School student Ava Rose Dressendorfer.  Dignitaries will reflect on the 300th year of Hunterdon.  A full list of the items in the time capsule will be revealed.  

The time capsule, a whopping 26 inches high by 14 inches in diameter, was manufactured by Flemington’s Mechanical Precision, Inc. and donated by Wally Cullen.  A special subcommittee of volunteers worked on deciding what items should go in the time capsule and what should be stored in the County Archives to help future generations of county residents who put on future large scale celebrations.

Following the burial ceremony, food will be served until either the crowd or the food runs out!

Friday, December 19, 2014

HOLIDAY DAY OF EVENTS AND BLOW OUT SALE!! JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!

On Saturday, December 20th, the Hunterdon County Tricentennial Committee is offering a whole day of events and activities for all ages at the Main Branch of the County Library on Route 12 in Raritan Township including having people write letters to the future.  And just in time for the last shopping weekend before Christmas, there will be a blow out sale of most of the commemorative items and books that have been offered.

Most merchandise including the Tricentennial Committee’s woven throw, various books, t-shirts, glass mugs, and other items will be reduced to sell; the sale begins at 9:30 am and ends following the last event of the day – around 4 pm.  Some of the items have very limited quantities available.

Two historic children’s craft projects will be offered in the morning, both for children between the ages of 7 and 12.  Each project will make a different shaped Victorian style Christmas tree ornament.  The first project is from 9:30 am to 11 am; the second is from 11:30 am to 1 pm.  Although these events are free, they are limited to 20 children per craft and the Tricentennial Committee requires reservations.  Snacks will be available during these projects. 

For older children and adults who wish to stay at the Library, there will be on-going craft projects making cat and dog toys for sheltered animals.

At 1 pm, students of piano teacher Margaret Sheneman will play holiday music for people looking for a break from shopping.

At 2:30 pm, Anne and Ridley Enslow, historical musicians, will perform a one hour program entitled History Thru Music:  A Revolutionary Christmas.  The Enslows are musicologists who recreate the music of American history.  Dressed in historically accurate clothing, this program includes music that General Washington, his soldiers and their families would have been familiar with in the winter of 1776.  The Enslows perform on historically accurate instruments and in 18th century attire -- a feast for both the eyes and ears.  The program is free but requires reservations.

There will also be a raffle for a basket of 300th goodies, including a one of a kind woven throw and the very popular and long sold out handmade Sunflower Bowl.  Anyone who stops by the 300th’s sales table on Saturday may enter the raffle; no purchase is necessary (must be 18 to enter); the winner does not have to be present at the time of the drawing which will be at the end of the Enslow’s performance.

Father Christmas will be on hand giving out Holiday gifts to everyone who stops by and reading children’s Christmas stories. 

Refreshments will be available all day courtesy of Shop Rite of Flemington.

People will also be invited to sit down for a few minutes and write a letter about their lives in Hunterdon in 2014.  These letters will be placed inside the Tricentennial time capsule to be buried at a free event on December 31st at noon in the park behind the County’s Historic Courthouse; the time capsule will be dug up and opened in one hundred years.

Finally, you still have time to make your reservation for the Victorian Tea with the 300th at Teaberry's in Flemington on December 28th.  Limited space left.  BOOK NOW!  At $25 per adult and $15 per child (under 18) this is a great Holiday gift!

For further information or to make reservations to any of these events, contact the Hunterdon Tricentennial Committee at (908) 788-2030 or visit their website at www.hunterdon300th.org

Friday, December 12, 2014

BE PART OF HISTORY: THE 2114 CHALLENGE

STOP EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING and grab a piece of paper and a pen and quickly write a letter to the future describing your life in Hunterdon County in 2014.

Your letter to the future talking about what your life has been in 2014 living in Hunterdon County will be going into our Time Capsule and be buried for 100 years on December 31, 2014.  Imagine your great grandchild or great great grandchild being present when the Time Capsule is dug up and opened in 2114....

Your letter doesn't have to be long -- you don't even have to have attended one Tricentennnial event!

Simply, we want the future to know what life was like this year: where do you work? what do you do on weekends?  where do you live?  describe your home, your family, your pet.  Do you have a hobby? what is it?  play sports? where and with whom?

Have you been in Hunterdon long? generations? years? did you move here recently? why?  Has your family been here forever? why do you stay?

It's all about the quality of life we all love and enjoy in Hunterdon County.... We have survived for 300 years; we'll be here in another hundred.  So let your individual voice be part of the future and send us a letter.

Please mail your letter to the Tricentennial Committee at 3 Chorister Place, Flemington, NJ  08822 or drop it through our mail slot.  We must receive all letters by Sunday, December 21st to ensure that they will make it into the Time Capsule.