“Triangle Shirtwaist Fire” Talk Inaugurates Fall 2009 Fireside Chats
Saturday, September 19, 2009
2 p.m.held at: Hageman Farm
209 South Middlebrush Road
Somerset, NJ 07783
Please join us on Saturday, September 19, 2 p.m. at the Hageman Farm, 209 S. Middlebush Rd., when noted NJ historian Tom Ainsworth returns to talk about the March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire—the worst workplace disaster in the history of New York City before 9/11. In a terrible fire that consumed part of the Asch building (now known as the Brown Building of Science at NYU), nearly 150 garment workers, mostly women, either died from the flames or jumped to their deaths. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, which fought for better and safer working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry. To this day no one knows for sure whether the fire was accidental or intentional.
Tickets are $10 each and may be reserved by calling 732-560-1977.
Meadows Presents Review of Hindenburg Disaster
Saturday, October 17, 2009
2 p.m. held at: Van Wickle House
1289 Easton Ave.
Somerset, NJ 07783
Please join us on Saturday, October 17, 2 p.m. at the Van Wickle House 1289 Easton Ave., to discover the facts and theories behind the terrible Hindenburg disaster at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station on May 6, 1937. Many theories—fuel leak, structural damage, even sabotage—have been put forth to explain this tragic event, which many people remember with broadcaster Herbert Morrison’s horrified cry of “Oh, the humanity!” The accident served to shatter public confidence, and marked the end of the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airships. Help us separate fact from fiction in this momentous tragedy.
Light refreshments will be served after the program. Tickets, which are $10 each, may be reserved by
calling 732-560-1977.
The Lizzie Borden Case
Saturday, November 21, 2009
2 p.m. held at: Van Wickle House
1289 Easton Ave.
Somerset, NJ 07783
A famous ditty has it, “Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks, and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.” Lizzie, a New England spinster, was tried and acquitted of the gruesome August 4, 1892 axe murders of her hated stepmother and skin-flint father.
There was no love lost between the occupants of the Borden household, but was there enough hatred for murder? Does the timeline of the crime fit Lizzie’s known movements that hot August morning? Why did the police refuse to use the newfangled science of fingerprinting of the hatchet and the suspect? Who were the other suspects?
Please join us on Saturday, November 21, 2 p.m. at the Van Wickle House 1289 Easton Ave. for a deliciously tantalizing rehash of the murder. We welcome you to bring your own theories of the murder to share. Tickets are $10 each, and can be reserved by calling 732-560-1977.
