Tuesday, November 7, 2017

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER: TALKS, HOLIDAY SALE AND OUR THEME FOR 2018!


OUR WOVEN THROWS ARE BACK!! Just in time for your holiday shopping!  The perfect gift for your Hunterdon friend, parent, child, college student, or "BFF" who moved out of town.  The Hunterdon County Tricentennial Commemorative Woven Throw is 100% cotton and made in the USA.  Beautiful woven pictures of 9 of Hunterdon's most famous and beautiful landmarks including the Historic Courthouse in Flemington, Zion Lutheran Church in Oldwick, the Red Mill in the Town of Clinton, Reynold's Tavern in Union Township, Governor Reading's Home in Raritan Township and many more. 

The border proudly displays all 26 of our municipalities and the center depicts the County Seal and 300th's flourishing Ribbon proclaiming 300 Years of History from 1714 to 2014. Available in Navy Blue. Each throw comes with a brochure describing the history of each structure and provides both address and GPS coorinates so you can visit them.  Other woven throws of equal or lesser quality sell for twice our price of $35!  We price these to sell because we want everyone to have one!!

LAST FIVE 300TH "Hunterdon at War:  The Home Front" TALKS FOR 2017!  

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 14TH:  AMERICA'S PAST TIME IN IN HUNTERDON:  THE HUNTERDON TRI-COUNTY LEAGUE:  Baseball was America's greatest past-time, especially during war.  In fact, our soldiers played baseball between battles during the Civil War.  Baseball was a special distraction as Hitler rose to power in the 1930s.  By 1937, baseball fan and attorney, Wesley Lance, future Judge, Senator and Acting Governor, founded a baseball league comprised of Hunterdon, Warren and Northampton, PA counties.  This league existed for about 4 decades! Senator Lance's son, James W. Lance, Esq., a baseball aficionado and keeper of the family's baseball history, recounts the story.
Refreshments follow.  Free. Reservations recommended.  Main Branch of the Hunterdon County Library.  7 pm.


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH:  THE 1918 INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC IN HUNTERDON COUNTY:  Join Hunterdon native and World War I historian, Brian Armstrong for a rivetting talk about the Influenza that overtook our Armed Forces during the great war and how it affected Hunterdon County as it invaded our local communities and brought the war and the perils of the great war home.  Main Branch of the County LiBrary, 2 pm.  Free.  Reservations recommended.  Refreshments follow.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28TH:  HUNTERDON COUNTY DURING WORLD WAR I:   With the 100 year anniversary of America's entrance into World War I, no lecture series on the Home Front would be complete without a look at what was happening in Hunterdon County before American entered the great war in 1916 and while America was fighting in Europe in 1917.  Hunterdon 300th Chair Marcia Karrow, who has finally dusted off her history major and her "all but Ph.D. in Ancient Art and Archaeology", will provide this whistful look back into Hunterdon life at time long gone.  Free.  Refreshments Follow.  Reservations recommended.  7 pm.  Main Branch of the Library.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3RD:  NORTH COUNTY, ONCE BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:  Mayor and historian Paul Muir hosts this event at the Bethlehem Municipal Building's Courtroom. Our favorite retired Social Studies teacher and Bethlehem resident, Chip Riddle, provides his wonderful story telling about the area and its importance during the 18th century -- Bethlehem once encompassed today's Kingwood Township, Alexandria Township, Frenchtown, Milford, Union Township, the Town of Clinton, Franklin Township, Hampton Borough, Bloomsbury, and Glen Gardner.  This informative history of the northern part of our County highlights the important role it played in the American Revolutionary War.  A companion book, written by Chip Riddle and published by the Hunterdon 300th, is now available for sale.  A topic of intestest for anyone interested in the early history of the northern part of Hunterdon County.  2 pm.  Free.  Refreshments follow the talk.  Bethlehem Township Municipal Building.  314 Mine Road, Asbury, NJ  08802.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH:  GOLD STAR MOTHERS PILGRIMAGE OF 1930 TO THE WORLD WAR I AMERICAN GRAVES IN FRANCE:  Join Jim Davidson for a new talk about the poignant story of Hunterdon County Gold Star Mothers going to France to see the graves of their sons who paid the ultimate sacrifice during World War I.  A fitting conclusion to our year of studying Hunterdon County dealing with war. Reservation recommended.  Free.  Main Branch County Library.  7pm.  Refreshments follow.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9TH:  HOLIDAY FUN AT THE MAIN BRANCH!!  Join us for our annual holiday blow out sale, live music, refreshments, rope making machine for fun home made bracelets, and a chance to win a fabulous 300th basket of gifts!  Sale items include t-shirts, books, blank note cards and more!  10 am to 2 pm.  Main Branch of the Hunterdon County Library, 314 Route 12, Flemington. 

FROM OUR HISTORY AND HERITAGE PARTNERS:

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH:  HUNTERDON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING:  ALL ABOUT OUR NOW PRESERVED RARE PARCHMENTS:  Teresa Gadomski of the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia will speak about the conservation of he Society's rare Oaths of Allegiance parchments.  
The two related documents, Oaths of Abjuration and Oaths of Fealty, date from 1744-1758 and show how the elected or appointed officials in the colony had to swear that they rejected the authority of the Catholic Church and swear their allegiance to King George II.  They serve as a virtual "who's who" of the county that once stretched into Trenton and include the signature of Jon Hart, a Declaration of Independence signer.  
After a brief introduction on the documents' history and the early period of New Jersey's history as a British colony, Ms. Gadomski will discuss the conservation assessment for such projects and the science behind the processes to conserve both ink and parchment.  Guests will learn the behind the scenes work done by conservators to examine and determine the best methods to preserve historical documents.  The conservation of the documents was funded by a generous grant from the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey who recognized the importance of these truly rare documents.  Ms. Gadomski s a book and paper conservator at the Conservation Center for art & Historic Artifacts.  She has an MS in Art Conservation from Winterthur/University of Delaware, a certificate of Advanced Study in Preservation from Simmons College Graduate School of Library & Information Science, a BA in Art Conservation/Art History from U. of Delaware, and has interned at the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution Archives, and Harvard's Weissman Preservation Center and was a Kress Fellow at Dartmouth College Library.
Her 50 minute talk will be followed by questions.  Refreshments will be served.  Free.  Flemington Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall.  East Main Street, Flemington.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3RD:  DUTCH CHRISTMAS:  OPEN HEARTH COOKING, COLONIAL MUSICIANS AND SINTERKLAAS:  At Bauman Stickney Farmstead.  1pm to 4pm.  Donations requested.  For more information visit the Readington Museums Website

THE HUNTERDON 300TH PROUDLY ANNOUNCES OUR HISTORY AND HERITAGE THEME FOR 2018:  "WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE!"
Join us for a year of exploring the many facets of how water has affected Hunterdon's history -- from the migration of the Europeans using the Delaware and Raritan Rivers, to the Great Flood of '55, to Lenape encampments along the rivers, to our historic mills and ferries, the importance of the D&R Canal, the history of the reservoirs and so much more. A year of fun events, trips and talks. Our program of events will be coming out by early February.