Presidential Comments

There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country. Without such knowledge, he stands uncertain and defenseless before the world, knowing neither where he has come from nor where he is going. With such knowledge, he is no longer alone but draws a strength far greater than his own from the cumulative experience of the past and accumulative vision of the future. Excerpt from John Kennedy's (1962) essay "On History"



I cannot but remember the place that New Jersey holds in our early history. In the early Revolutionary struggle, few of the States among the old Thirteen had more of the battlefields of the country within their limits than old New Jersey.… Away back in my childhood, the earliest days of my being able to read, I got hold of a small book…Weem’s "Life of Washington". I remember all the accounts there given on the battle fields and struggles for the liberties of the country, and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The crossing of the river, the contest with the Hessians, the great hardhips endured at that time, all fixed themselves on my memory more than any single revolutionary event; and you all know, for you all have been boys, how these early impressions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for; that something even more than National Independence; that something that held out a great promise to all people of the world to all time to come.... Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's speech to the NJ State Senate, February 21, 1861

Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage Association Membership Information

Please visit our new website, www.wallacehouseassociation.com to learn more about our organization. Events and news about the sites will be posted there as well as on the blog. Thank you to all our local friends and supporters for your contributions and loyal support over the years!






Saturday, April 12, 2008

10 Steps to Save New Jersey State Parks and Historic Sites

1. Come to the April 23rd Rally in Trenton. Go to www.NJKeepItGreen for more information.
2. Bring at least 1 family member or friend to the Rally
3. Tell your co-workers and neighbors about the April 23rd Rally and invite them and their family members and firends.
4. Enciourage Friends groups, scout troups, bicycling clubs, nature and environmental groups to sign a co-sponsor form (Friends of WHODP has already done so). If you plan to go and would like to represent the Friends, let us know (wallacehousefriends@gmail.com).
5. Sign up to help get petitions going and do leafletting in May.
6. Join Molly's Hike from High Point State Park to Trenton.
7. Write letters to your two Assembly members and one state Senator. Tell them: Don't padlock our parks and historic sites!!! (See this blog for addresses for our local assembly members, Biondi, Coyle and Bateman).
8. Write letters to the editor to your local paper. In Somerset County: Star Legder, Courier News
9. Join meetings at your closest park where everyone is doing everything that they can. No one is exempt. It doesn't matter if your park isn't targeted. We're all in this together.
10. Don't stop! Do something every day to promote the plan to protect State Parsk. Don't giveup, no matter what you hear. The worst that can happen is for "good people to do nothing".
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2 comments:

Reunion Committee said...

Why not lobby the state to gift the houses to the Boro and/or the County? I don't know enough about the management of the facility to come up with ideas for it to be self sufficient - but with all of those positive, bright folks who care about the houses I bet we can.

Midge Guerrera

April 12, 2008 at 10:12 AM
The Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage Association said...

The priority of the Friends right now is to see that the sites are saved from permanent closure and inappropriate treatment of the structures themselves and their contents. The future can be discussed only when we've established that there will be one.

The state accepted an obligation to preserve these sites when they were deeded to the state for preservation more than half a century ago. We need to convince them to take that obligation serviously. It is not yet clear that there are no other choices.

April 13, 2008 at 4:45 PM

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