Tag Archives: author talk; New Jersey State Library

May 9-author talk about New Jerseyans and the Gold Rush, 1849

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Please join us on May 9th from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading room for an author talk with Margaret Casteline Bowen, co-author of Jersey Gold: The Newark Overland Company’s Trek to California, 1849.

Margaret Casterline Bowen began this research that eventually became this book as she looked into the genealogy on the Casterline side of her family. Because of the research and what was found you will hear  about the New Jersey pioneers who traveled overland to California in search of gold. This fascinating story will tell of this group’s search for fortune from the Oregon- California Trail to Independence, Missouri, which at times turned into heartbreak.  These Jersey men were driven by money, touched by personal scandal and tragedy, and associated with progressive women.  Follow the lives of the significant participants as they become wrapped in the spectrum of events that shaped the nineteenth century from the chaos of the Civil War to the throes of the Industrial Revolution.

All are welcome to this free program.  An RSVP is appreciated. Please respond to Cindy Warrick at 609-278-2640 ext. 172 or cwarrick@njstatelib.org.

 

 

Feb. 20- Talk during African-American History Month on the Manual Training and Industrial School

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Please join us at the State Library on February 20th for a talk in recognition of African-American History Month on The Unique Legacy of the Manual Training and Industrial School.

Writer and historian, Dr. Connie Goddard will talk about the School and its role in developing African-American youth.

Borrowing freely from ideas about education articulated by Booker T. Washington, John Dewey, and W.E.B. DuBois, the Manual Training and Industrial School, Bordentown, N.J., may well have been the only state-supported boarding school for African-American students in the nation. Founded in 1886 by a group of black ministers and taken over by the state a decade later, it thrived until Brown v. Board of Education made its continued existence unconstitutional and some of its practices dated. During the first half of the 20th century though, it offered a unique educational experience that combined academics, preparation for work, and for contributions to the community.

Dr. Goddard, writer and historian of education, has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago; she has taught history and composition at Mercer County Community College, The College of New Jersey, and two state prisons, as well as in Chicago and Romania. Her scholarly interests focus on schooling in colonial America and during the Progressive Era. Currently she is writing about the Chicago’s eminent educator and Dewey colleague Ella Flagg Young, including the latter’s intellectual and pragmatic sympathies with both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois.

All are welcome!  RSVP is appreciated. Please respond to Cindy Warrick at 609-278-2640 ext. 172 or  cwarrick@njstatelib.org.

Feb 6 talk on Crossroads of the Revolution

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Please join us on February 6th from noon to 1 p.m. to hear Larry Kidder talk about the Crossroads of the Revolution from his book of the same name.

Historian and author, William “Larry” Kidder will talk about Trenton during the time period from 1774-1783. Trenton and its people played many roles during the American Revolution in addition to just the two battles at Trenton. This talk focuses on those other roles that made Trenton, in the words of its people, “so necessary a post, so much a thoroughfare.” George Washington spent much of the war in New Jersey, along with his Continental Army, and Trenton became a focal point for the activities necessary to keep that army in the field and local people supported it through their actions, including serving in the local militia.

Mr. Kidder received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, served four years of active duty in the US Navy and is a retired high school history teacher who taught for forty years in both public and private schools. For close to 30 years, he has volunteered at the Howell Living History Farm, in Hopewell, New Jersey and have served as an historian, interpreter, and draft horse teamster.

His interest in history led him to the writing of his first book, The Pleasant Valley School Story: A Story of Education and Community in Rural New Jersey, which won the 2013 Scholarship and Artistry Award presented by the Country School Association of America.

His second book, A People Harassed and Exhausted: The Story of a New Jersey Militia Regiment in the American Revolution, published November 2013 tells the story of the First Hunterdon Militia Regiment for the first time.

Other books he has written, contributed to, or edited include Farming Pleasant Valley: 250 Years of Life in Rural Hopewell Township, New Jersey, The American Revolution in New Jersey: Where the Battlefront Meets the Home Front and Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors. His newest book is the subject of this talk and was released in September 2017.

Kidder has given a number of talks to a variety of civic groups and organizations. He is active in historical societies in Ewing, Hopewell, and Lawrence townships, and is an avid member of the Association for Living History, Farm, and Agricultural Museums (ALHFAM), the Washington’s Crossing Roundtable of the American Revolution, the New Jersey Living History Advisory Council and the Advisory Council for Crossroads of the American Revolution. He works with Crossroads as volunteer coordinator and editor of its Meet Your Revolutionary Neighbors project.

All are welcome! RSVP is appreciated.  Please respond to Cindy Warrick at 609-278-2640 ext. 172 or cwarrick@njstatelib.org.

November 15-Free talk-New Jersey’s Role in World War I: Sabotage Target and Key State in the War Effort

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Please join us on November 15th from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room as we have our fourth and final talk to celebrate the 100th anniversary of World War I.

James Hockenberry, author of the thriller Over Here, will give a talk focusing on New Jersey’s key role in America’s efforts during the Great War. A large percentage of our troops sent overseas were trained in New Jersey and shipped out of Hoboken. New Jersey’s economic strength, both as a manufacturing force and shipping hub, was vital to Allies’ success in the war. As such, New Jersey was a target of German sabotage,

Black Tom explosion

most notably the attack on Black Tom Island (now part of Liberty Park) in New York Harbor. The New York Times has described this incident as “the most destructive terrorist attack in America before 9/11.”  Hockenberry’s talk will describe the events around this attack as well as the whys behind it and other key incidents such as the Henry Ford Peace mission and the destruction of the Kingsland plant.

A career financial executive with a BA from Lafayette College and an MBA from Columbia University, Hockenberry has redirected his life to thriller writing with his planned “World War One Intrigue” series. The change has allowed him to interweave three of his long-time passions: history, literature, and his German-American roots. His award winning first novel, Over Here, is set in 1915-16 and dramatizes the little known but extensive undeclared war Germany fought on American soil. The sequel, So Beware, is set in 1919 druing the Paris Peace talks and the third book, Send the Word will focus on the domestic front during the war and the U.S. military experience in 1918.

All are welcome to this free talk. RSVP is appreciated. Please RSVP to Cindy Warrick at mailto:cwarrick@njstatelib.orgor 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

October 17 – Women of Peace and Preparedness-part of WWI series

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courtesy of Wikimedia

Please join us on October 17 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room of the State Library for our third in a series of talks to celebrate the 100th anniversary of World War I.  Lisa Mastrangelo, Professor of English, Centenary University will talk about Women of Peace and Preparedness: The Use of Motherhood and Maternalism in World War I.   As a professor of English she has researched the use of both peace movements and preparedness movements of the women around the time of the Great War. She will look at how the idea of maternalism was used to have women be less involved actively in World War I.  Media and sometimes government often used it to control what the women did so they weren’t too actively involved in the War.  For example, they were taught to roll bandages, plant and more.  Things they may have already known how to do.

The talk comes from her paper entitled: The Rhetoric of Maternalism: The Use of Motherhood as a Trope in World War I.  A trope is a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.

This talk will look at the women’s side of things.  How they fought for being active in the war as well as how others tried to keep them at home through using the idea of “they should be good mothers.”

Dr. Mastrangelo has her BA in English from Mount Holyoke College and her MA and PhD also in English from the University at Albany, State University of New York.

She teaches Composition and Rhetoric and Professional Writing courses at Centenary University.  Before coming to Centenary, she taught at the College of St. Elizabeth.  With a background in composition and rhetoric and nineteenth century American women writers, she teaches courses in general Composition and Rhetoric and Professional and Business Writing.  Dr. Mastrangelo currently serves as the Vice President for the Coalition of Women Scholars in the History of Composition and Rhetoric.

Dr. Mastrangelo’s research interests include the teaching of writing at 19th century women’s colleges, women’s rhetorical practices relating to war and peace, and the early standardization of writing courses in the United States.  Dr. Mastrangelo’s latest research project tracks the rhetorical assumptions in community cookbooks.

All are welcome to this free program.  RSVP is appreciated to: Cindy Warrick at mailto: cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Sept. 27-New Jersey World War I Monuments

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Please join us on September 27, 2017 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Level 2 Reading Room for a talk on New Jersey’s World War I Monuments.  Historian Erik L. Burro will tell us about many of the World War I monuments located throughout the Garden State. This is the second in a series of four talks celebrating the 100th anniversary of World War I.

Various World War I Monuments in N.J.

A historian living in Burlington County, most of Burro’s business career was spent in corporate communications while he simultaneously pursued a host of projects involving research, exhibitions, presentations and dramatizations of state, regional and American history.

Over the past 40 years, Erik has made a variety of appearances as a guest speaker, master of ceremonies for historic site dedications, host for cultural events and a creator and participant in exhibitions on history-related topics. He has several programs he offers and both here and abroad has portrayed various well-known historic characters. He has also made appearances on NPR and the BBC.

In support of the American Centennial Commemoration of World War I he independently researched and photographed the major monuments of the Great War here in New Jersey and surrounding states. He continues to share his findings with the NJ Department of Preservation and his photography is on display at the Rutgers University WWI exhibit in New Brunswick.  He continues to provide support for the Armed Services Heritage Museum, Rutgers Radio’s Veteran’s Hour, the All Veterans Memorial, Mt. Olive, NJ and refurbishment efforts for several doughboy monuments.

Burro is founder of Pennjerdel House, Burlington, NJ, a regional advocacy for increasing public awareness and appreciation of local history and preservation throughout the tri-state area.

All are welcome to this free program. RSVP is appreciated to Cindy Warrick at mailto:cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.

Upcoming talk on Farm to table concept – May 17

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Join us to learn about the concept of Farm-to-table, the different ways restaurants provide this experience, and how it can be effective when used through farmers markets and community-supported agriculture.

Chef Darren DeBlasi will share his love for food and the farm to table concept. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Finance and French and took a position as Associate Director of a Management Consulting firm. Taking a departure from the corporate world, he worked a grape harvest at a Napa Valley winery. He has a passion for food and is a self-taught home chef who specializes in Restaurant public relations, menu development, social media strategy, food writing and private dining and event planning. He is also a chef at Cecil Creek Farm in Mickleton, NJ, which specializes in the farm to table experience. There he creates 5 or 8 course Farm to Table tasting menus that reflect the growing season and showcase New Jersey’s bountiful Garden State agriculture.

Darren is always busy on the food scene and documents and photographs the Philly Dining Scene and his kitchen creations on twitter at www.twitter.com/PhillyFoodDude and on instagram at www.instagram.com/PhillyFoodDude. He advice on learning and cooking, “Be daring and experimental. . . The key is learning at every step. . . the components of a dish are simple. As you focus on sensibility, seasonality, texture, quality, imagination, flavor, execution, and the enjoyment of the process, you can bring a dish to life.”

All are welcome to this event. RSVP is appreciated. Please RSVP to Cindy Warrick at cwarrick@njstatelib.org or 609-278-2640 ext. 172.