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CROSSROADS GAZETTE
Your resource for all things Revolutionary New Jersey!
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Warmer weather is here ... and Revolutionary New Jersey is blossoming with events to enjoy it! April brings us the Battle of Bound Brook, the biggest springtime encampment yet at Jockey Hollow, and season openers at many other historic sites in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. Join us as we say Huzzah to Spring!
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Noreen Bodman and Patrick Murray were among those enjoying our new photo cutout.
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2016 Annual Meeting marks growth and progress
Steady progress was the theme at the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association Annual Meeting on March 11 at Thomas Edison State University in Trenton.
Board of Trustees President Patrick Murray and Executive Director Noreen Bodman updated more than 50 attendees on the organization's achievements on programs, marketing and
awareness-building initiatives announced at last year's meeting. Progress in 2015 included:
- A more than twofold increase in the number of Heritage Partners affiliated with Crossroads.
- A 50 percent growth in social media followers.
- Introduction of a dynamic new website with continually-updated information for visitors and Heritage Partners alike.
- The publication of the Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors book and the addition of 20 new neighbors on our website, along with biographies and resources for teachers. Originally introduced in 2014, this program is endorsed by the New Jersey Education Association.
- Traction on our statewide heritage signage program, including a new billboard near the New Brunswick train station, events placards at New Jersey Turnpike interchanges, and preliminary planning work with cities around the state.
Work continues on all of these initiatives in 2016, highlighted by the recent dedication of a heritage tourism kiosk at Rutgers University in Piscataway and upcoming event signage on the Turnpike.
Peter Samuel, National Heritage Areas Program Coordinator for the National Park Service's Northeast Regional office, gave additional context to Crossroads' work to build community pride and heritage tourism in New Jersey. Highlighting the NPS Centennial celebration as a focal point to encourage visitors to explore parks and historic sites, he encouraged state and local attractions to join in the #FindYorkPark campaign during 2016.
Before and after the meeting, attendees networked with fellow history fans, posed for photos behind Crossroads' Revolutionary cutout and browsed through an assortment of Revolutionary Neighbors pins and literature.
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Revolutionary Spirit Night: June 14 in Bridgewater
Maybe baseball wasn't invented until the 19th century, but TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater will take on a 18th century air on Flag Day, June 14 for Revolutionary Spirit Night with the Somerset Patriots Atlantic League baseball team. Meet a Continental soldier... visit an encampment... enjoy the sounds of the Old Barracks Fife and Drums... and chat with Crossroads Heritage Partners from around the state as the Somerset Patriots take on the York Revolution in a 7:05 p.m. game.
Watch our Facebook page and website for details as the date nears, and plan to bring the whole family! Tickets are available through the Somerset Patriots website.
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Spring into the Revolution with April encampments, training and battles
If you've missed the sight of Colonial era tents and the smell of musket fire, don't miss these upcoming events!
Looking for a good skirmish? Head to the Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook for the
Battle of Bound Brook Living History Weekend, April 9 and 10. Living historians will reenact the April 13, 1777 British attack on a small American garrison, right on the streets of today. Stop by to talk with reenactors, review drills, enjoy the music of the times and more, as the Abraham Staats House also tells the story of the Continental Army's nearby Middlebrook winter encampments of 1777 and 1778-1779.
More information.
Also on
April 9, the Princeton Battlefield Society opens its spring season with the
Americans at Princeton, with Continental units training for battle. This tactical training day will include demonstrations of muskets, cannons, tactical formations and drills, and more. Young Patriots can join in a special training session just for them! Programs will relate the story of Princeton as a British garrison and local residents' conflicting loyalties, and tours of the Clarke House will be available.
More information.
The next weekend, Morristown National Historical Park kicks off its celebration of the National Park Service's centennial year with its
Grand Encampment Weekend. More than 150 reenactors from across the mid-Atlantic region will converge on Jockey Hollow on
April 16 and 17 to display a variety of 18th century skills and demonstrations. From the boom of cannons and musket fire to kids games and cooking, there's something for everyone.
More information.
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Twisted Preservation expert Frank Vagnone to share promotion skills at April 5 Heritage Partner professional development event
Just a few more seats are available for our April 5 professional development conference!
At this workshop on Rutgers University's Piscataway campus, partners will learn how to attract and engage visitors to secure long-term sustainability in their communities. Representatives of selected destination marketing organizations (DMO) will also be on hand to share ways to market historic sites and attract non-traditional visitors.
The event will include a luncheon with keynote speaker Franklin Vagnone,
principal of Twisted Preservation-Cultural Consulting, former executive director for NYC Historic House Trust, and co-author of Anarchist's Guide to Historic House Museums. His co-author, Deborah Ryan, Associate Professor, Architecture and Urban Design at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, will also be there.
Jointly sponsored by Crossroads, the New Jersey Historic Trust and Morristown National Historical Park, this workshop is just one of the benefits that historic sites and organizations enjoy as Heritage Area Partners. For more information, contact our Program Manager, Kate Knowles-Brindle, by
email or by phone at 609-341-3246.
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Heritage Partners enlist and renew
There's strength in numbers: more than 100 historic sites, non-profit organizations and lineage societies enjoy the advantages of being Crossroads Heritage Area Partners. Whether your site is open seven days a week or not ready to receive visitors, Crossroads can help enhance your visibility and build community engagement.
For more information on Heritage Partner membership and benefits, contact our Program Manager Kate Knowles-Brindle by
e-mail
or call her at 609-341-3246.
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Uncover your Revolutionary Spirit at Summer Camp!
Before long, schools will be closing for the summer and parents will face that age old question: "What about the kids?"
Why not make your child's summer truly revolutionary? Heritage Partners across New Jersey offer a wide variety of day camp options that are sure to spark an interest with your kids. Watch our website and Facebook page for news; we'll be introducing our Summer Camp web page in April, complete with options for "enlisting" your child for an experience they'll love.
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Get Revolutionary at this month's Heritage Partner events
Celebrate New Jersey history at these events at our partners in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. Watch our
website
and
Facebook page
for even more activities through the month.
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Hancock's Bridge Massacre Commemoration at Hancock House in Lower Alloways Creek
April 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Meet reenactors, view military drills, learn about the forage war from speaker Michael Alderberg, and more!
More information
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Colonial Beer Brewing at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead in Stanton
April 3 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
See the step-by-step process of turning water and grain into beer and learn why brewing was important in Revolutionary times.
More information
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Visit the 18th century at the Van Allen House in Oakland
April 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Walk in the footsteps of General Washington at this c. 1748 Dutch stone house and learn about the early days of Bergen County.
More information
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A Child's Life in the Days of George Washington at the Hunterdon County Library in Flemington
April 30 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Kids will have the opportunity to play with the kinds of toys and games that youngsters enjoyed 250 years ago. Reservations required.
More information
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Board of Trustees
Thomas H. Kean, Honorary Chair ● Patrick Murray, President ● Laura Szwak, Vice President ● David Siegfried, Treasurer ● Sally Lane, Secretary ● Leslie Bensley
●
Richard Bousquet ● William J. Castner ● Kathleen Ellis
● Dale Florio ●
John Hardiman ● Ira Jersey
● Martha Lieblich ●John S. O'Donnell ● Chris Paladino ● Milly Silva
Crossroads Staff
Noreen Bodman, Executive Director ● Tanika Jones, Office Administrator ● Kate Knowles-Brindle, Program Manager ● Sue Kaufmann, Communications and Social Media Coordinator ● Cody Knowles, Program Assistant ● Bill Lawson, Development/Fundraising Assistant
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Join us!
Your gift matters.
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