Friends of FRIENDSF lorham CELEBRATE FALL 2016 25 YEARS AT FLORHAM BOARD OF TRUSTEES FRIENDS OF FLORHAM Valerie Adams Christine Adrignolo Carol Bere Samuel M. Convissor Dawn Dupak Elaine Earlywine Susan Garrubbo Beth Hennessy Jennifer Johnson Lisa MacNair Linda Meister Suzy Moran Antoinette C. Petrocelli Ann Wellbrock HONORARY TRUSTEES Susan Adams Linda Carrington Phyllis Conway Walter Cummins Gabriella D’Amico Emma Joy Dana Kim Dougherty FROM LEFT; ELEANOR FRIEDL, ANN WELLBROCK, LISA MCNAIR, WALTER CUMMINS, PETER WOOLLEY, DAWN DUPAK, SUSAN GARRUBBO, GARY DARDEN AND KARIN HAMILTON STANDING BENEATH FAMILY PORTRAITS Carol C. Knauff Audrey Parker More than 60 people partici- wherever possible, mentioning tune’s Children, were offered for Troy Simmons pated in the Friends celebration that Florence Twombly attend- sale in the Great Hall. Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II of 25 years of dedication to their ed the opening of Biltmore on Then it was on to Lenfell mission of working with the Christmas Eve, 1895. Hall, where Friends President, UNIVERSITY LIAISONS University to preserve the his- We moved to the Great Hall Dawn Dupak, welcomed the Carol Black toric elements of the former Flor- for a museum-quality display group and Gary Darden, Chair Christopher A. Capuano ham estate. Hartman Lounge of 12 posters and a timeline of of the Social Sciences/History Gary Darden was filled to capacity for the the various Friends accomplish- Department, spoke about the Matthew Dikovics first event of the evening, an ments, thanks to the efforts of Friends’ Portrait Project, which he Eleanor Friedl interesting, informative talk by Friends Trustee Susan Garrub- is spearheading. The project’s Karin Hamilton Sarah Hof Laura Overbey, collections man- bo. We celebrate the substantial first phase included portraits ager at Biltmore, the legendary from Biltmore and the Twom- Brian Mauro progress that the Friends have Peter Woolley Asheville, N.C., estate built in actually made — and how these bly-Burden Room at Columbia the 1890s by George Vander- various projects have contribut- University. These nine portraits bilt, Florence Twombly’s young- ed significantly to the preserva- are hung in the Great Hall and er brother. Ms. Overbey spoke tion and sustained beauty of the in Lenfell Hall, along with ex- about the Vanderbilt siblings, Florham Campus. isting portraits from the Flor- their various influences on New ham art collection. As Darden The Friends’ most recent pub- York society, as well as their noted, “these portraits bring to- lication FLORHAM: An Ameri- various architectural enterpris- gether five generations of the es. She also linked the Twom- can Treasure, as well as Arthur blys to the Vanderbilt story Vanderbilt’s earlier book, For- (continued on page 4) PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FROM LEFT; PETER WOOLLEY, DAWN DUPAK AND JENN JOHNSON AND CHEF JEFF GORLEY AT THE REP. RODNEY FRELINGHUYSEN AT THE 25TH TIFFANY TABLE Dear Friends, of Friends’ projects; food and We’ve started preliminary work Welcome to the Friends of Flor- beverage stations; and our Flor- on the next classroom reno- ham Fall 2016 newsletter. We’ve ham store featuring the Friends’ vation in Hennessy Hall. Ruth been very busy since we pub- recently published book, FLOR- Twombly’s former bedroom, now lished our spring newsletter. HAM: An American Treasure, classroom M-11, will become the and Fortune’s Children written by Governor Brendan Byrne Room. Our spring fundraiser, “A Tiffa- Arthur Vanderbilt. Seed money from the Friends ny Table,” was a wonderful suc- and The Dodge Foundation has cess, raising friends and funds. been committed. If you’d like to Congratulations and thank you to In September, we contribute to the Friends spe- the event chairs, Danielle Lind- marked our 25th cifically for this project, please ner and Jenn Johnson, and their contact Karin Hamilton, Director committee, and my personal ap- anniversary with a of Special Projects, University preciation to the people who at- celebration at the Advancement, at hamilton@fdu. tended. We plan to hold our next edu. event on May 18, 2017. Save the Florham Campus. date and stay tuned for additional It was a grand details. It was a grand celebration and celebration and my We plan to hold our my special thanks to the commit- tee — Jenn, Susan, Karin, Elea- special thanks to the next event on May 18, nor, Gary and Lisa. committee — Jenn, 2017. Save the date Sadly, I must note the passing Susan, Karin, Eleanor, and stay tuned for of Henry G. Parker, beloved hus- band of Audrey Parker, in July. Gary and Lisa. more details. Henry and Audrey were staunch supporters of the Friends, and we As winter approaches and you will miss Henry’s warm smile and In September, we marked our consider ways to shake off its enthusiasm for all our projects. 25th anniversary with a celebra- chill, you may want to plan a visit Audrey remains a valued honor- tion at the Florham Campus. The to Florham. Stop by the Provost’s ary member. event included a lecture by Laura Office to pick up a guide of the Overbey, collections manager at Filming by NJTV on the Flor- portraits. To access a download- Biltmore, and the unveiling of the ham Estate for the documentary able audio tour go to www.fdu. first two phases of our Portrait “Treasures of New Jersey” has edu and type Mansion Audio Project in Lenfell Hall, followed been ongoing since the spring, Tour in the search box. by Chef Jeff delighting us with and the NJTV people recently By now, you should have re- a demonstration and sampling joined a trustee meeting to cap- ceived our annual membership of two of Mrs. Twombly’s favor- ture additional footage. We are appeal letter. Your continued ite recipes. The Great Hall was looking forward to viewing the support is very much appreci- the perfect venue for the beauti- new series, which is expected to ated, and crucial in making our fully designed gallery of posters air in 2017, and will feature the restoration projects possible. created by Susan Garrubbo that Vanderbilt-Twombly Estate as the commemorated the first 25 years first episode. — Dawn Dupak 2 | FRIENDS OF FLORHAM A MEMORABLE RETURN TO THE TIFFANY TABLE On Friday, May 20, our enthu- siastic guests participated in “A Return to the Tiffany Table,” the second successful fundraising luncheon organized and hosted by the Friends of Florham in part- nership with Tiffany & Co. Len- fell Hall was highlighted by a backdrop of Tiffany blue boxes, while the overflowing tables in the Great Hall displayed a variety of enticing auction items. We credit much of the success FROM LEFT: YVETTE TOSADO, MARISA SPAGNOLETTI, KARIN HAMILTON AND of the event to the hardwork- THEN FDU PRESIDENT SHELDON DRUCKER ing committee chaired by Dani- was raffled off among the “mys- many enticing items, donated elle Lindner and Jenn Johnson tery boxes.” Jets and Giants tickets and an and comprised of Valerie Ad- at-home dinner catered by Chef ams, Christine Adrignolo, Dawn Other auction items ranged Jeff. Dupak, Ann Wellbrock and Karin from tickets to the Morris Arts Hamilton. “Giralda” concert featuring the We were thrilled that the 2016 Tiffany Table was a memorable New Jersey Symphony, an eve- The luncheon, catered by Gour- event enjoyed by all who attend- ning bag ensemble from Lu- met Dining, was excellent. Tiffany ed. Look for announcements of donated 99 boxes, each contain- cy’s Gift in Morristown and gift our next event on May 18, 2017, ing two wine glasses. One spe- cards from The Chatham Sand- at which the Friends will join forc- cial box also contained a gold wich Shop and Café Beethoven. es with a new and equally excit- and diamond bracelet, which The live auction included, among ing partner. GUESTS GATHER TO ENJOY THE SILENT AUCTION. JENN JOHNSON WELCOMES THE GUESTS. STEVE AND DANIELLE LINDNER THE SALES AND MANAGEMENT TEAM FROM TIFFANY & CO., SHORT HILLS, N.J. FRIENDS OF FLORHAM | 3 MORE THAN 25 YEARS: (continued) FRIENDS CELEBRATE 25 YEARS GARY DARDEN POINTING OUT THE PORTRAITS LINDA MEISTER AND REP. RODNEY FRELINGHUYSEN Vanderbilt-Twombly-Burden fam- prise find, an 1877 lithograph of shared the Chef Donon recipe for ilies to better tell the historical the wedding portrait of Florence Crabes a la Diable, which can be narrative of the legendary Ameri- and Hamilton Twombly, which found on page 7. can family who made Florham a was on the cover of Frank Leslie’s Throughout the celebration, home for six decades.” Illustrated Newspaper (Decem- and on the other side of the room, Still to come, among various ber 8, 1877). He is donating the the film of Florham shot by Jo- portraits on the project “list,” are gift to the portrait collection; the seph Donon in the 1930s (and reproductions of two of Flor- framing was also a gift from Ex- digitized by the Friends) ran con- ence’s brothers, Cornelius Van- press Frames in Morristown, N.J. tinuously. derbilt II from the Breakers in The portrait will ultimately hang in the Great Hall. It was a thoroughly enjoy- Newport, R.I., and George Wash- able evening. Our thanks to the ington Vanderbilt from Biltmore, Next up, literally on the menu, committee (Dawn Dupak, Gary and the reproduction of the por- Chef Jeff Gourley demonstrated Darden, Eleanor Friedl, Susan traits of members of the design and served two of Chef Joseph Garrubbo, Karin Hamilton, Jenn team, Charles Follen McKim and Donon’s famous recipes, which Johnson and Lisa McNair), who Stanford White. Darden conclud- everyone agreed were delec- worked to make this wonderful ed his presentation with a sur- table. Chef Jeff has graciously evening a spectacular celebration. CHEF JEFF GOURLEY OFFERING HIS DISH FROM LEFT: LAURA OVERBEY, DAWN DUPAK, GOV.