May 3: TALK "SLAVERY IN NJ DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION"

The Friends of the Abraham Staats House are thrilled to invite you to experience a powerful presentation by storyteller and reenactor, Frederic Lawrence Minus, on "Slavery in New Jersey During the American Revolution"!

DATE: Sunday, May 3
TIME: Lecture begins 2:00PM
House opens for tours 1:00PM
PLACE: The Abraham Staats House
17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook
TKTS: $10/Adult, $5/Under 18
Admission includes house tour & lecture
RSVP: Reservations Strongly Recommended
CONTACT: (732) 469-3198
info@staatshouse.org

[From the Staats House website]
"A native of Delaware, Mr. Minus is a member of the Camp Olden Round Table and active Civil War Museum, where he helped establish a room dedicated to the United Colored Troops. He is also a member of the Sons of the Union Veterans-Anne Ross Post #1, 3rd Regiment USCT of Philadelphia and a founding member of the 6th USCT of Trenton and a Friend of the Revolutionary War Barracks in Trenton, where he serves as a storyteller and reenactor. As a reenactor, Fred has made hundreds of presentations in schools, churches, and community organizations, including Delaware State College, Boy Scout conferences, SUNY Maritime College of New York, the PECO Energy Conference, and the Pennsylvania Underground Railroad Conference. He was a featured speaker at the "Oh Freedom" exhibit at the State Museum in Trenton." This exciting lecture is the sixth and final installment of the enormously popular "Lecture Through Time" series presented at the historic Abraham Staats House (c.1740)!

This program is being hosted by Friends of the Abraham Staats House, Inc. The project has been funded, in part, by a grant from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission and Friends of Somerset County Culture & Heritage, Inc.

April 19: TALK "A MAP OF THE FIRST MDDLE BROOK ENCAMPMENT, 1777"

The Friends of the Abraham Staats House are proud to invite you to historian and colonial-era artifact expert H. Kels Swan's fascinating presentation on what information can be gleaned from a map of General George Washington's first encampment in Middle Brook in 1777!

DATE: Sunday, April 19
TIME: 12:30 to 1PM
PLACE: The Abraham Staats House
17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook
TKTS: $10/Adult, $5/Under 18
Admission includes house tour & lecture
RSVP: Reservations Strongly Recommended
Include: name, address, contact, number of seats
Email: info@staatshouse.org
Phone: (732) 469-3198

This exciting lecture is the fourth installment of the six-lecture "Lectures Through Time" series presented at the historic Abraham Staats House (c.1740) and coincides with the Staats House Living History Weekend!

[From the Abraham Staats House Website]
H. Kels Swan is a prominent New Jersey historian. His colonial-era artifact collection had been on display at Washington's Crossing Museum in Titusville for many years. He is founder and past president of the Swan Historical Foundation. A graduate of Rutgers, Mr. Swan has served on the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the South Bound Brook Historic Commission and has supported history in New Jersey, through his lectures and displays of the artifacts from his collection.

April 18: PRESENTATION "THE APPROACHING STORM"

The Friends of the Abraham Staats House are thrilled to invite you to historical interpreter Wayne Daniels presentation, "The Approaching Storm" in which he chronicles how New Jersey was inexorably drawn into the turbulence of the American Revolution! If you thought history was boring, fasten your seat belts and be ready to do a 360!

DATE: Saturday, April 18
TIME: 2PM
PLACE: The Abraham Staats House
17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook
TKTS: $10/Adult, $5/Under 18
Admission includes house tour & lecture
RSVP: Reservations Strongly Recommended
Include: name, address, contact, number of seats
Email: info@staatshouse.org
Phone: (732) 469-3198

This exciting lecture is the third installment of the six-lecture "Lectures Through Time" series presented at the historic Abraham Staats House (c.1740) and coincides with the Staats House Living History Weekend!

[From the Abraham Staats House Website]
New Jersey came about through a remarkable series of unlikely events. Early Dutch and Quaker settlements became folded into the great “land grab” of the Proprietors who then divided and sold parcels to Scottish investors who never saw their land. And that was only the start for New Jersey, the land between.

Wayne Daniels has been a tireless researcher into the American War for Independence and the lives of common folk here in New Jersey for more than 40 years. Author, lecturer, historic preservationist, archaeologist, former museum director and board member, he is a founder of The Brigade of the American Revolution and is presently Senior Historical Interpreter at the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, and consultant to "The Tech Effect: Washington Crosses the Delaware," aired on The History Channel.

April 19: TALK "WHEN ARTWORK SPEAKS: EYEWITNESS IMAGES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION"

The Friends of the Abraham Staats House (c.1740) are proud to welcome historian and author, Arthur Lefkowitz, who will present a color slide show-accompanied talk on 18th Century artwork depicting significant events and people of the American Revolution, including studio executed paintings and sketches hastily executed in the heat of battle!

DATE: Sunday, April 19
TIME: 1PM
PLACE: The Abraham Staats House
17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook
TKTS: $10/Adult, $5/Under 18
Admission includes house tour & lecture
RSVP: Reservations Strongly Recommended
Include: name, address, contact, number of seats
Email: info@staatshouse.org
Phone: (732) 469-3198

This exciting lecture is the fifth installment of the six-lecture "Lectures Through Time" series presented at the historic Abraham Staats House (c.1740) and coincides with the Staats House Living History Weekend!

[From the Abraham Staats House Website]
While some of the artwork presented may look familiar, Mr. Lefkowitz gives detailed information about each image and well as insights concerning the artists who created them. The pictures in the presentation have been gathered from a variety of museum collections and, by using high quality reproductions, interesting historical details come to life that are frequently lost when the pictures are shown in books.

Included in the presentation are portraits of George Washington, painted from life, showing him wearing the uniform of the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.

Mr. Lefkowitz is a prominent New Jersey author whose works include The Long Retreat: The Calamitous American Defense of New Jersey, George Washington’s Indispensable Men, Bushnell’s Submarine, The Best Kept Secret of the American Revolution, and Benedict Arnold’s Army, The 1775 American Invasion of Canada. His books have received numerous awards and Bushnell’s Submarine was favorably reviewed in The New York Times Book Section.

His lecture credits include numerous talks for The New Jersey Council for the Humanities, The National Park Service and Fraunces Tavern Museum, as well as being the keynote speaker at the 2006 meeting of The Washington Association of New Jersey. He has taught a course in colonial American history for three semesters at Middlesex County College.

EVENT ROUND-UP: April 2009 [Check back for updates!]

April is the COOLEST Month--Complete With Time Machine!



April 26 QUEEN'S DAY & STREET FAIR
April 19 LECTURE: ARTWORK OF THE REVOLUTION
April 19 LECTURE: 1ST MIDDLEBROOK ENCAMPMENT
April 18-19 LIVING HISTORY: BATTLE OF BOUND BROOK
April 18-19 WATERCOLORIST ART SHOW & SALE
April 18 PRESENTATION "THE APPROACHING STORM"
April 8 NJ HISTORIC TRUST GRANT WORKSHOP--FREE
April 6 BEAR AWARENESS SEMINAR--FREE

April 18 & 19: LIVING HISTORY WEEKEND--THE BATTLE OF BOUND BROOK!

The Friends of the Abraham Staats House are thrilled to invite you and your entire family to one of the most exciting events of the year, living history with the Battle of Bound Brook: Washington's Army at Middlebrook! This Crossroads Celebration will feature compelling speakers, powerful historical interpretors and reenactors, historic house tours, demonstrations, delicious food, and much, much more!

DATE: Saturday & Sunday, April 18 & 19
TIME: (See Schedule of Events Below)
PLACE: The Abraham Staats House
17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook

The two-day program explores the American Revolutionary War during the time-frame of the Battle of Bound Brook and Middlebrook encampments, 1777 – 1779. Learn about and experience this important period in New Jersey’s and America’s history. Weekend activities include:

• 18th century Soldiers’ Encampment on the grounds of the Abraham Staats House! Come walk through camp and see what life was like for American and British troops during the time of the American Revolution.
• Historic house tours: The Abraham Staats House, with the original structure c.1740, was home to the Staats family for nearly 200 years and served as the headquarters for George Washington’s “Drillmaster” Baron von Steuben.

Lectures and presentations at the Abraham Staats House, throughout the weekend, include:

• Collector Earl Becker offers a talk and display of his collection of trade beads and wampum (Saturday, 1PM & Sunday, 11AM)
• Wayne Daniels, Senior Historical Interpreter at the Old Barracks, Trenton, presents “The Approaching Storm,” ~ chronicles New Jersey as it is drawn inexorably into the turbulence of the American Revolution. (Saturday, 2PM)
• Eminent historian H. Kels Swan presents information and a map of the first Middlebrook Encampment of 1777. (Sunday, 12:30PM)
• Noted historian and author Arthur S. Lefkowitz, a color slide presentation of 18th century artistry during the American Revolution (Sunday, 1PM)
• Gary DePaolo, New Jersey Militia, Heard’s Brigade, portrays a surgeon of the Colonial era. Learn about medical practices of the 18th century and view surgical instruments used during that time. (Sunday)
• Tom Harabin, President, Friends of Abraham Staats House, plays music of the Colonial Era (throughout the weekend.)

Share your personal photos of these events with the RMVE Blog!

• Please email any photos you are willing to have posted on the RMVE blog in .jpg format (no more than 200K each, please) to the blog's primary writer/editor/monitor, Jan ten Broeke, at tensart@gmail.com.
• Please include any identifying information with your submissions including site location, activities, and names of individuals prominent in the photo(s).
• While no compensation for your photos is available, you will be providing everyone who views them with lasting memories and joy, as well as helping your community document these significant activities for the benefit of many generations to come. In that spirit, we hope you will be generous--and judicious--in your photo submissions!

April 18 & 19: WATERCOLORIST ART SALE

Come browse the wide selection of beautiful artwork for a treasure for your home or a gift for family and friends when the extremely popular Watercolorist Art Sale by Watercolorists Unlimited returns to the Blackwells Mills Canal House!

DATE: Saturday & Sunday, April 18 & 19
TIME: Saturday, 10AM to 5PM
Sunday, 12PM to 5PM
PLACE: The Blackwells Mills Canal House
598 Canal Rd (corner of Blackwells Mills Rd), Somerset

Why not sign up as a member of the Blackwells Mills Canal House Association and get in on the fun? Your membership will help to preserve this small part of the Delaware and Raritan Canal's important past! Why not help polish this historic old gem to the lustre it deserves and make sure it continues to serve its mission of education and be a source of community pride. If you are interested, please click the link below to access a copy of our membership form which can be downloaded or printed and then sent to the Canal House Association. If you have any questions about our group or becoming a member, please call either of the following telephone numbers to obtain further information: 732.257.4557 or 732.297.5548

April 26: FIRST ANNUAL QUEEN'S DAY and STREET FAIR!!!

The Meadows Foundation proudly hosts and invites YOU to their first annual "Queen's Day"--or, in Dutch, Koninginnedag--celebration to mark the official birthday of the Netherland's Queen Beatrix!

DATE: Sunday, April 26 RAIN OR SHINE
TIME: 11:00AM to 4:00PM PLACE: The Van Wickle House 1289 Easton Ave., Somerset
TKTS: $5.00 per carload
INFO: Ellen Hamilton, (732) 249-6770 OR j.ellenhamilton@gmail.com
MORE INFO: info@themeadowsfoundation.org

Just like festivals in the Netherlands, the Meadow's celebration will include arts-and-crafts vendors, games, klompen dancing, a violanta barrel organ—even a visit by “the Queen” herself, who will officially received by Foundation officers!


STREET FAIR VENDORS WANTED!

• New Merchandise Only: Card-table-size, $20.00, and larger spaces are available.
• Vendor Registration Form is available from this page.
• Vendors need not be members of Meadows Foundation.

April 8: NJ HISTORIC TRUST GRANT WORKSHOP!

The Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission is proud to sponsor a workshop presented by Dorothy Guzzo, Executive Director of the New Jersey Historic Trust, on the types of grants and resources provided by the Trust, including the projects funded this grant round as well as a discussion of the application and application process! A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

DATE: Wednesday, April 8
TIME: 7:00PM
PLACE: First Floor Conference Room
40 North Bridge Street, Somerville
INFO: Thomas D'Amico, (908) 231-7021

April 6: BEAR AWARENESS SEMINAR!

Please join the Franklin Township Environmental Commission for a VERY important Seminar on Bear Awareness!

DATE: Monday, April 6
TIME: 7:30PM
PLACE: Council Chambers of the
Franklin Township Municipal Building
475 Demott Lane