FIRESDIE CHATS INAUGURATE POPULAR FALL SEASON
By: Christine Retz, Fireside Chats Director

One winter Fireside Chats series has proved to be so attractive that we have added two events for this autumn by popular demand.

The crisp autumn days with their bright leaves and hint of winter soon to come are the perfect time to gather to discuss people and places of the Revolutionary War. We are very pleased to have secured John Cunningham, one of the founders of the New Jersey Historical Commission, as our speaker on Saturday, October 4, 2 p.m. at the Van Wickle House, 1289 Easton Ave. His topic this cozy afternoon will be his most recent book, The Uncertain Revolution: Washington and the Continental Army at Morristown. He will explore the overlooked Revolutionary War winters of General George Washington’s army encampments at Morristown and nearby Middlebrook. He makes the case that the Continental Army and the American Revolution may have survived from 1777 until 1781 because of the geological fortress of New Jersey’s Watchung Mountains and because of the residents of the region’s small towns and farms. He also explores the founding of the country’s first National Historical Park in 1933 to preserve the physical places where Washington and his army survived in the Watchungs.

Copies of the book cost $25 each and will be available for sale and signing that afternoon. Tickets to this “must-attend” event are $10 each, including refreshments, and can be reserved by calling 732-560-1977.

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Two winter seasons ago we all enjoyed Charles McSorley’s excellent multimedia presentation on Mathew Brady, which included the very rare dirge from Lincoln’s funeral. We are going to have an equally absorbing evening on Wednesday, October 22, 7 p.m. at Tulipwood, 1165 Hamilton St. when Mr. McSorley presents “Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times as Seen Through Political Cartoons, Postcards, and Pictures of the Period.” This lecture, music, and slide presentation covers the turbulent and exciting life of Theodore Roosevelt, America’s 26th president. Stories about other public figures of the times are also part of the program. You won’t want to miss this event, coming as it does on the eve of our national election.

Tickets to this timely, exciting event are $10 each, including refreshments, and can be reserved by calling 732-560-1977.