Volume 11 • Issue 3 & 4 The Fall 2011 – Winter 2011 Historic County Newsletter Of The PASSAIC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Bloomingdale • Clifton • Haledon • Hawthorne • Little Falls • North Haledon Passaic • Paterson • Pompton Lakes • Prospect Park • Ringwood • Totowa In This Issue Wanaque • Wayne • West Milford • Woodland Park Aviation City .................. 1, 8, 9 Calendar of Events ................ 2 Aviation City President’s Message .............. 3 By Robert L. Cohen Presidential Exhibit ................ 4 It all started on the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in December of 1903. The first Local Authors Showcase .......... 4 attempt at flight was made by the Wright Brothers of Dayton, Ohio, on December 14, but after some trial and error with Orville as pilot on December 17 around 10:30 A.M., the flyer Meyer Brothers .................... 5-7 moved down its rail and took off. The first heavier than air engine powered flight lasted 12 Great Falls National Park ...... 10 seconds and went 120 feet. The craft was 21’1” long with a wing span of 40’ 4”. The engine was 4 cylinders, 12 horsepower, and the top speed was approximately 30 miles per hour. Holiday Highlights ................ 11 There were three other flights that memorable day, the longest being the fourth and last with Wilbur at the controls, and it went 59 seconds and traveled 800 feet. The Wright Brothers went from owning a bicycle shop that al - lowed them to tinker and invent to Mark Your founding an industry that contin - Calendar ues to develop known as the See page 2 for more information Aerospace industry. The basic about these and other company they founded has be - upcoming events. come through many changes in 2012: A Presidential Year its history the Curtis-Wright Cor - Exhibit poration. During World War II Cur - January – September 2012 tiss Wright grew to become the second largest American corpora - 2012: A Presidential Year Exhibit Opening Reception tion with only General Motors being larger. February 17 The Wright Company was set up by the brothers in Dayton, Ohio, and they built their first PCHS Quarterly Meeting plane in 1909. By 1919 after mergers and acquisitions, the company became known as March 7 the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. An example of this merger activity took place in 1916, when the company combined with the Glen Martin Company. This merger lasted only a Local Authors’ Showcase couple of years until the Martin Company left the Wright Company and went on its own. March 10-11 Today it remains part of a viable company called Lockheed-Martin. During World War I a lot of work was done at the Wright plant in New Brunswick, New Jer sey. Afternoon Tea After the Wright-Martin Company was dissolved in 1919, the Wright Company moved to at Lambert Castle Paterson into a new plant. The plant was built by the Paterson industrial Development April 19-22 Company, established to bring new industry to Paterson. PCHS Annual Meeting This first Paterson plant was built on Beckwith Avenue, occupied 90,000 square feet and employed 350 people. The Paterson plant was noted for the high quality of its engines, May 2 which did quite well in air races between the wars. Garret Hobart Lecture Charles L. Laurence had been developing air cooled engines, and in 1923 Wright bought May 30 Laurence’s company and made him a Vice President. Later he became Chief Executive of Wright. The air cooled engines were further developed: They were named after winds and cont. on page 8 PASSAIC COUNTY HISTORICAL Calendar of Events SOCIETY January – June 2012 Lambert Castle 3 Valley Road January 28 2012: A Presidential Year. An exciting new exhibit at Lambert Castle exploring the role of Paterson, NJ 07503-2932 the 44 Chief Executives in our cultural history. Opens January 28 and runs through October 7. Museum: (973) 247-0085 February 11 Genealogy Club Meeting. Saturday, 10 am, Lambert Castle. Program to be announced. Fax: (973) 881-9434 February 17 2012: A Presidential Year Exhibit Opening Reception . Friday, 7 pm, Lambert Castle. E-mail: [email protected] February 20-26 Presidents’ Week. Lambert Castle, open seven days. Children free with paid adult Website: lambertcastle.org (limit two children per adult). Scavenger hunts (ages 4-12), prizes. March 7 PCHS Quarterly Meeting. Wednesday, 7 pm, Lambert Castle. Program: “Jacqueline Officers Kennedy's Historic Preservation Legacy,” presented by Kathleen Galop. Free and open Geraldine Mola to the public. This program is presented through the support of the New Jersey Council President for the Humanities. John Boyko March 10 Genealogy Club Meeting. Saturday, 10 am, Lambert Castle. Program: “Don't Forget the First Vice President Ladies: Finding and Identifying Women in Your Past,” presented by Carol Sheaffer and Robert Hazekamp Nancy Wilson. Second Vice President March 10-11 Local Authors’ Showcase. Saturday, 1-5 pm, Sunday, 10:30 am-5 pm, Lambert Castle. Joseph Leone Talks, book signings, panel discussions featuring local authors. Regular museum fees. Treasurer (Please note that the museum will be closed on these two days.) Sharon Briggs April 14 Genealogy Club Meeting. Saturday, 10 am, Lambert Castle. Program: “20th Century Secretary WWI and WWII Military Records,” presented by Toni McKeen. Trustees April 19-22 Afternoon Tea at Lambert Castle. Noon and 3 pm daily. $35 admission, advanced reservations required. Program to be announced. Maria Carparelli Helen Mault May 2 PCHS Annual Meeting. Wednesday, 7 pm. Reports and elections. Program to be an nounced. Dolores D. Most May 12 Genealogy Club Meeting. Saturday, 10 am, Lambert Castle. Program: “Silent Cities, Lois Paterson Graveyards, Churchyards and Cemeteries,” presented by Peter Osborne. Maryjane Proctor John Pullara May 30 Garret Hobart Lecture. Wednesday, 7 pm. A discussion of New Jersey’s own Garret Hobart, Mario Rosellini Vice President under William McKinley. Presented by Passaic County Historian Claire Salviano Ed Smyk and local writer Bob Cohen. $5 admission, free for PCHS Members. Edward A. Smyk June 9 Genealogy Club Bus Trip. Program and schedule to be announced. Linda Spirko Robert Vermulen th John J. Veteri, Jr. Quarterly Meeting • March 7 Lorraine Yurchak Jacqueline Kennedy’s Historic Preservation Legacy Honorary Life This year, with an exhibit exploring the history of the consultant on a documentary film entitled Branch Trustees American Presidency on display at Lambert Castle, Brook Park: Legacy of the Gilded Age. She prepared Norman Robertson it seems only fitting to hear the story of one of our the nomination that placed Branch Brook Park on Edward A. Smyk most prominent First Ladies and her role in historic the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Honorary Trustee preservation. Kathleen P. Galop, a practic - Preservation. Galop has also contributed Hazel Spiegelberger ing attor ney who, like her subject, has taken to the Encyclopedia of New Jersey , and a special interest in preserving history, will currently serves as Principal of Preserva - Staff present “Jacqueline Kennedy’s Historic tion Possibilities, a historic preservation Charles Casimiro Preservation Legacy” at the March quar - consulting firm based in Summit, NJ. Historic Site Manager terly meeting of the Passaic County His - Galop’s extensive knowledge of First Heather Cunningham torical Society. Lady Kennedy’s interest in historic preser - Curator In her talk, Galop will trace “Jackie” vation led her to be published in the Na - Kennedy’s interest in saving the historic tional Trust for Historic Preservation’s Linda Pabian, Librarian Lafayette Park neighborhood across the Forum Journal in 2006. Since then, she’s Dorothy Decker street from the White House and discuss the impact been speaking all over New Jersey as a member of Administrative Assistant that success had on the enactment of the Historic the New Jersey Council for the Humanities Horizon Henrietta Weiss, Head Docent Preservation Act of 1966. According to Galop, Speakers Bureau. Kennedy’s interest in Lafayette Park changed the The quarterly meeting of the Passaic County William Collins, Docent course of the American historic preservation move - Historical Society will be held on March 7, 7 p.m., Robert Esik, Docent ment just as the bulldozers were set to move in. at Lambert Castle. The program, free and open to Lambert Castle, a picturesque 1892 Victorian mansion Galop, a former trustee of the New Jersey Historic the public, is presented through the courtesy of the located on the Garret Mountain Reserve, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Castle is operated and Trust, co-authored a history of Branch Brook Park New Jersey Council for the Humanities. managed by the Passaic County Historical Society, (in Newark and Belleville, NJ) and has served as a a not-for-profit 501(c) educational institution. 2 Holiday Highlights Wine Tasting Gingerbread Creations Shown socializing in the Atrium, guests sampled wines and enjoyed hors d’ oeuvres, buffet dinner, and desserts throughout Lambert Castle at the Holiday Wine Tasting Social. Holiday Decorations The public was enthralled to view the beautiful rooms of Lambert Castle, each decorated for the holiday season with its own color scheme and theme. Photo right shows a por tion of the An exhibit of lavishly decorated gingerbread houses created by area Dining Room, including tree bakers was on display in the second floor Round Room. and decorative mannequin, which boasted brilliant red One of the creations, photo top, was a reproduction of Lambert Castle, as the prominent shade. complete with its original northern section. It was made by Morgan G. Dowd of Lincoln Park. The elegantly decorated Breakfast Room, shown below, utilized soft, varied shades of greenery with white trim. Storytelling with Santa Mrs. Claus, portrayed by Seraphia McCormick, is shown above reading a Christmas story to visiting youngsters. The empty chair next to her was later filled by Santa, ably personified by Leon Kish.