The following six individuals have joined the Board of

Trustee and will serve three year terms: Liz

D’Aversa, Shari Effman, Julie Jerome, Andrea Kee,

and Robert H. Wilson and Robert L. Wilson.

Treasurer. Other members on the Board are: Eloise

Gurshman, Recording Secretary, Nancy Fiske, Molly

Banta and Keith Biddulph.

Anyone interested in serving on the Board of Trustees

is encouraged to call the Drake House Museum for

more information at (908) 755-5831 or send an email

to thedrakehousemuseum@verizon.net

Welcome New Board of Trustees

Thirteenth Annual Christmas Tree Lighting

On Friday, December 7, 2007 the

Historical Society hosted the Thirteenth

Annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the Drake

House Museum. Christmas trees were lit

during a program of stories and favorite

holiday carols. The upper gallery was filled

with children who joined in the singing of

holiday carols. As the crowd sung “Here

Comes Santa Claus”, Santa Claus paid a

surprise visit and handed out gifts to all the

children. The children also took photos with

Santa (Our spirited volunteer, Joseph Tinley

also a member of the Society). A lucky

visitor was the recipient of a gingerbread

house donated by The Burney Group/Real

Welcome New Board of Trustees 1

Top from left: Robert H. Wilson, Sheri Effman, Robert L. Wilson

Bottom from left: Andrea Key, Liz D’Aversa, Julie Jerome.

Estate Professionals. Cookies and punch were

served at the end of the evening.

On Saturday, October 22, and Sunday, October 21, 2007, over 100 people visited the Drake House

Museum as it celebrated the County’s Four Centuries in a Weekend…A Journey through Union

County History, a free heritage festival, featuring twenty-two historic houses, museums and sites.

The County of Union celebrated 150 years of service by providing a series of special presentation

at many of the historic sites. Visitors to the Drake House were treated to an on-going conversation

century abolitionist and feminine activist through the delivery of historic speeches and stories.

Four Centuries in a Weekend is an annual event hosted every year the third weekend in October.

Don’t miss out on this event or any other event by joining the Historical Society of Plainfield.

Four Centuries in a Weekend

The Historical Society has been selected for a $177,985 matching grant award for the

preservation of the Drake House. For the 2006 Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund

grant round, the Historic Trust received 148 applications requesting over $34 million in

funding. Unfortunately, the Trust had only $11 million. Fortunately, preservation of the Drake

House was among the 61 historic preservation projects statewide that received funding. The

receipt of this grant will allow the Society to begin Phase II of the Preservation Plan.

Phase II of the Historic Preservation Plan focuses on the mechanical systems: upgrading

of the heating and electrical systems, and the installation of air conditioning, dehumidification

and ventilation systems. The installation of air conditioning and dehumidification system for

the House is a priority due to the extensive humidity levels in the house and the potential for

damaging the artifact collection.

Additionally the restoration of the front porch and dormer, a handicapped accessible

entrance, restoration of the exterior shutters, and installation of interior storm windows were

included in the Historic Trust application. Additionally the Society applied for and received a

grant of $38,000 from the County of Union, Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Trust Fund. Other grants previously received from the E.J. Grassman Trust, Plainfield

Foundation, Union Foundation and the City of Plainfield serve as matching dollars.

HJGA Consulting of Montclair, the developers of the Preservation Plan, and supervisors

of the Phase I Restoration will continue as the consultants for Phase II.

Society Receives New Jersey Historic Trust Grant

Phase II of the Preservation Plan to Begin

The Society Launches the First of a Series of Events to Celebrate the

On Sunday, March 2, 2008, The Historical Society

celebrated the 75th Anniversary of Franklin D.

Roosevelt's New Deal at the Drake House Museum.

Plainfield High School's Henry H. Banta Chapter of

Molly Banta, PHS teacher and Historical Society of

Plainfield Board of Trustee member, reenacted

FDR's March 4, 1933, Inaugural Address. A short

How the New Deal Affected Plainfield

On Inauguration Day, March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roo sevelt, the thirty-second President, said the

into the Great Depression. At that time there were 48 states. Banks in 32 states were closed, and

the banks in Plainfield were closed until March 15, 1933.

The day before the Inauguration, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading indefinitely.

The American workforce faced extreme unemployment - less than half were employed full time.

Suicide rates had tripled in three years. Bing Crosby's 1932 recording "Brother Can You Spare a

Dime" was a hit on the pop charts. Even with all the despair, there was a glimmer of hope with

the inauguration of FDR.

One former resident saw the New Deal as a splendid opportunity to whip the Depression forever.

On March 25, 1933, Amelia Earhart Putnam was a guest lecturer at Plainfield High School. The

proceeds from the lecture, which was sponsored by the Monday Afternoon Club, were turned over

to the Plainfield Emergency Relief Organization. Plainfield Mayor C. Benson Wigton introduced

Ameila Earhart Putnam to a crowd of 800, and he provided a police motorcycle escort upon her

departure.

and June 1933, Congress passed 15 major pieces of legislation. Many of those New Deal initiatives

are still recognizable today - FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), FCC (Federal

Communications Commission), SEC (Security and Exchange Commission), NLRB (National Labor

Relations Board) to name a few.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in

Hyde Park, NY was shown.

The National New Deal Preservation and the

Historical Society of Plainfield are compiling

for current use and future historic reference

biographies of people involved with the New

Deal project. If you were involved or know of

any person (living or deceased) who were

involved, please contact the Historical Society

of Plainfield at (908) 755-5831 or by email

(thedrakehousemusuem@verizon.net).

Page 3 Communiqué

Page 4

Communiqué

Each year the Society applies for a number of grants that are necessary for the day to day

operations of the Museum. The Society was successful in its application for funds from the

Union County History Grant Program and has received $7,000. In addition to such grant funds,

the Society relies on fundraising events and member donations to operate the museum.

General Operating Grant from Union County Cultural and Heritage

Affairs

from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday and mention the Drake House sent you. A dollar from every

person will be donated to the Drake House Museum. HeardOne Complex is located at 210 Church

Street, Plainfield, NJ 07060 (across from Union County College). For more info contact the Drake

House Museum at (908) 755-5831 or contact HeardOne Complex at t: (908 755-9770 | f: (908) 757-

$10.95 per person / Children under “10” $5.95

HeardOne Complex is available for private events, weddings, ceremonies, meetings, and more!

HeardOne Complex’s Fundraiser for The Historical Society of

Plainfield/Drake House Museum

Society Receives Gift of Canvas Portraits of Plainfield at the Turn

of the Century

Bruce A. Krouse, a former resident of Plainfield, has donated three canvas portraits each one

depicting a circa of life in Plainfield at the turn of the Century. Some of you may recall these

portraits hanging in the Rusty Spigot or the former Pathmark store. The portraits are of the

Plainfield Police Department, Teppers Department Store and a grocery store.

The Board of Trustees would like to acknowledge and give a special THANK YOU to those

members who have paid their 2007 dues and to our new members who joined the Society for the

first time. These monies help to defray the costs of special events and exhibits. We hope that you

will continue to renew your yearly membership and invite you and your family and friends to join us

at upcoming events.

If you would like to send a donation in addition to your membership dues, or know of

someone who would like to send a donation to the Society, please mail all donations to The

Historical Society of Plainfield, 602 West Front Street, Plainfield, NJ 07060.

Aakre, Arne Alexander, Duncan & Phyllis Bachmann, Hebert

Ball, Jo Ann Bass, Donna C. Beck, David

Beyer, Gary Bicket, James & Carol Biddulph, Keith

Binkowski, Gloria Blasi, Michael Boatwright, Vida L

Bonini, Joseph & Mari Brady, Marianne Brown, Arthur & Helen

Cassidy, Diane & Patrick Chandler, Pauline Chapin, Paul

Chen, Cheo Clark, Harold & Linda Clark, Linda & Harold

Clifford, Charles & Cricket Clifford, Martha & Charles Cummings, Valerie

D’Aversa, Francis & Elizabeth Della Sala, Mary Dicely, Janice

Drake Compton, Carolyn Drake Dana, Audrey Drake, David P.

Eberle, James T. Eklund, John & Carolyn Enners, Edward R.

Faraone, Caroline Fleming, Patricia Franklin, Daleketa & Danielle

Freshwater, Sharon Friedrich, William & Rosemary Garcia Carlson, Emilia

Grant, Bonita C. Green, Majorie Griffiths, Elizabeth

Gutenkauf, Josef & Dorothy Hale, Charles and Thomas Harold, Mildred E.

Heydt, Geraldine Horger, Theodore Jaeger, Jane

Janette M. Cardozo Jones, Carol S. Kaercher, Tom

Kee, Andrea Keller, Curtis G. Keller, Sue

Keyes Jr., Barney Lasher, Mr. & Mrs. Duncan Madsen, Evelyn

Mather, Brian McGarry, Catherine McGrath, Edward and Alice

Meeks III, Frank Mendel, Jerome Mnich, Richard & Lorraine

Moore, Jacqueline Moran, Dana Moroney, Theresa

Newcomb, Mr. & Mrs. Elliot Nims, Elizabeth O’Bryan, Henry and Joan

Olszewski, Susan Osborne, Robin & Harry Paglia, Bernice

Pannone, Paul Parker, Eugene & Jane Pellumar LLC

Pender, Diane & Don Piwowar, Nancy Pollard, Dorothe

Thank You Members

The annual Member Brunch of the Society will be held on Sunday, June 8, 2008, from 12 noon to

2 p.m. at the Drake House Museum, 602 West Front Street, Plainfield. The brunch will be hosted

by the Board of Trustees. Refreshments will be served and we will conduct the annual meeting

which will include the nomination and election of Board of Trustees Members.

Rappold II, Charles E. Ricketts, Fredericka Sandford, Barbara

Shastri, Mariam Shrager, Marvin & Sara Shults, Bernice

Siegelman, George & Carolyn Simone, Peter Smythe, Nancy

Staib, Eleanor Stevens, Randall and Laura Stewart, Dolores

Sutton, Zena & Sean Thompson, Marilyn Tinley Jr., Joseph M.

Tinley, Eloise Bryant Troop 161-Girl Scouts Turnbull, Kenneth

Turner Kavanaugh, Patricia Urquhart, Elizabeth Von Moon, Dabney

Wacholtz, Mary Wendell, Dr. Charles Warner Westergaard, Barbara

White Jr., Nathan Willard, Daphne F. Willey, Betty B.

Wilson, Robert H. Wilson, Robert L. Woodruff, Lorraine

Youngblood, Alan Rahway & Plainfield Monthly

Meeting of the Religious

Society of Friends

New Covenant Christian Academy

The Historical Society of Plainfield received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Hunding was also made possible by the Garden State

Historic Preservation Trust administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust/State of New Jersey, the County of

Union, Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation TGrassmann Trust, and the New Jersey Cultural Trust Fund.

The Historical Society of Plainfield

Board of Trustees

Back row: John Eklund, Shari Effman, Robert H. Wilson Robert L. Wilson

Middle Row: Nancy A. Piwowar, Sandy Gurshman, Eloise Bryant Tinley, Julie Jerome

Front Row: Nancy Fiske, Andrea Kee, Liz D’Aversa