The Historical Society of Plainfield invites one and all to the Twenty-first Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 8, 2017, at 6:30 pm.  This is a festive evening of caroling, gift giving, and refreshments.  As always, a Gingerbread House will be awarded to a lucky family. 
 
Santa will be making a surprise visit, with a gift for every child.  In addition to the large Christmas tree in the ballroom, there will be three decorated theme trees in the period rooms of the Museum.
 
This program is free to the public.
 
The Historical Society of Plainfield welcomes any monetary donations and new toys. Please make check or money order payable to “Historical Society of Plainfield.” New toys can be dropped off to the Drake House Museum; please call (908) 755-5831 to schedule a drop off time.

Vicky Griswold was born in Plainfield, and she has lived here my whole life except for 10 years when I was away at school. She goes on to reminisce as follows… My mother was also born here. Her parents moved here in 1908, and built their own house, where she was born.   So, I naturally have an interest in local history. I grew up in a house that was built in the 1890's and now live in one that was built around the same time, in the Van Wyck Brooks Historic District.
 
I own a small business. The Plainfield Music Store, and building on North Avenue, one of the earliest commercial districts, that also dates to the turn of the century.    My grandparents were active members of the Unitarian Church on Park Avenue, which was also built at the turn of the century.   I am a member of the Plainfield Musical Club and the Watchung Book Club which was formed in the 1890s.  I attended Evergreen School, Plainfield, and then the Hartridge School, which my mother and aunt also attended. Growing up in Plainfield, there were four movie theaters.  My grandmother housed the famous violinist Fritz Kreisler when he came to play with the Plainfield Symphony Orchestra, the oldest community orchestra in the state.
​ 
Nikki Butkiewicz is very proud to join the Plainfield Historical Society as a board member. A Plainfield resident since 2010, Nikki has always been a fan of history. Her personal historical interests include the World War 2 home-front, colonial home-life, and historic food preparation and preservation. This year she is growing her own Victory Garden using heirloom seeds.  Professionally, Nikki is a Director at a small consulting firm in New Providence, NJ.  
 
Taraka Gilbert was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey. She works at the Plainfield Public Library in the Children’s Room. She enjoys learning and researching local history. She fondly remembers the fourth-grade field trip taken to the Drake House so long ago. She is happy that it is still here for other fourth graders to visit and enjoy!

Rakim Solomon recently completed his internship with the Society. He is a resident of Plainfield and a history major at Rutgers University. Rakim was just accepted at Drexel University, where he will be pursuing a law degree.  He also volunteers with a children's baseball league in Plainfield. Rakim assisted with the Veterans’ exhibit at the Plainfield Library of Drake House artifacts.  He is currently working on the mega data for the clipping files of the Drake House Inventory Project files.
 
Nicole Torres is attending Graduate School for History in Newark.  The Society had the privilege to serve as a reference for her application to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in NYC. She works as a docent for the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
 
Stefanie Carotenuto is currently at University of Colorado, Boulder, and studying for a degree in Secondary Education.  Stef ​came back for a short time to assist with school tours, and left her mark with the school children with the addition of crayons for the drawing activities.
 
Leanne Manna is an Honors History student at Kean University.  She is currently a Trustee and Officer of the Historical Society.  She also maintains the Drake House Museum website.
 
“It has been my pleasure and honor to work with these young scholars.  They have all provided valuable service to the Society, and they have enriched the Society by their presence.  On behalf of the Society, I extend sincere gratitude and best wishes for their future,” said Nancy Piwowar, President of the Society.
 

​Many former residents of Plainfield remember the Drake House by way of monetary donations and donations of artifacts large and small.   The Society also receives Plainfield items from other Historical Societies and Museums. 
 
The Collection Policy of the Museum is to accept items that are connected to Plainfield or owned by former Plainfield residents.
 
Recent additions include:

• Wood Brook Farm milk box.
• Wedding veil of Ethel Van Boskirk
• 1992 Sousa Band Centennial Concert Poster
• Milk bottles (4) from local Plainfield area dairies
• Glass bottle, Queen City Bottling Co., Plainfield, NJ
• Newspaper clippings from Monday Afternoon Club
• Container lid from Larry's Kosher Deli & Restaurant
• 1844 Engraving “Plainfield, View from Randolph Hill”
• Lampkin House files from the estate of Patricia Turner Kavanaugh
• Photo of a Victorian Lady from the G. W. Monfort Studio, Plainfield, NJ
• Two wedding photographs of Mrs. Henry Noss, and her 1933 wedding dress
• "History of Plainfield and North Plainfield" book compiled by F. T. Smiley, 1901
• “Henry Hand, A Life Shaped By the Civil War” book by Richard Weaver, family genealogy 2017
• Early 19th century Sheraton card table once owned by Mrs. Susan Tyler of 525 West 7th Street, Plainfield

 
 The Society appreciates all the people who think of contacting the Museum before they decide to discard pieces of local history.  

 
By Vicky Griswold from interview with daughter Louise Rydberg Imperiale
 
​Irving Rydberg first began selling sheet music in the middle of the Depression. Armed with twenty dollars and a dream, he slowly built up, piece by piece, a small stock of music, and was eventually able to establish credit with several music publishers, no mean feat during those lean years. Working out of a store on Central Avenue in Plainfield which he shared with Mr. Jay, a repairer of musical instruments, he was abruptly forced to sell the business when he was drafted to fight in World War ll. It proved to be only a temporary setback.
Returning home from the war, he went to work at Gregory's Music Store in Plainfield, where one day he met a young woman who had come in to purchase the sheet music for the song "Plaisir d'Amour." She sang it for him, and thus began a forty year relationship with his wife, Agnes.
In 1951, Mr. Rydberg left Gregory's to fulfill a dream of owning his own music store. Initially located on West Second Street next to the bank, the store's first and most loyal customers were the same teachers who had taught him to play piano and wind instruments. Several years later the shop was moved - literally - to a location on North Avenue by members of his church in full chorus, pushing the piano and toting stacks of music through the streets of Plainfield.
 
A man of few words, Irving Rydberg was generous in spirit, and would always go the extra mile to ensure his customers' satisfaction. His music teachers were not just customers, they were friends. Eventually, the store ​became known all over New Jersey for its large and diversified collection of sheet music, and in fact the New York Times mentioned it in an article as one of the few places in the metropolitan area where musicians could find such a variety of printed music. And he knew his stock! His ability to pluck the exact piece that a customer needed from a towering pile of sheet music was legendary, and he did it without fuss or fanfare.
He remained active as a musician, and for forty years was pianist and organist at the Gillette Chapel in Long Hill. He was also a member of the Chapel Band which played for church functions, including their yearly musical variety show, and at nursing homes. He also played piano with the band for weekly square dances at the Meyersville Grange, and eventually formed his own band, playing piano and saxophone for local affairs. He also taught piano at the South Plainfield Adult School.
 
Quite simply, Mr. Rydberg loved his work. His music was his life, his job was his joy. Through persistence and sheer challenging work, he could achieve his dream, and in the process, gave pleasure to countless numbers of people during his lifetime. For those of you who remember the many hours of happiness he got from playing the piano, we are sure he is now experiencing the same delight learning to play the harp up in heaven. We remember him with gratitude and appreciation.

by Nancy A. Piwowar

One hundred years ago on April 6, 1917, the United States formally entered World War One, the Great War, also known as "the War to end all wars.” The war’s impact on the City of Plainfield and surrounding area was huge.
Plainfield was a recruiting center, and many young men from the area joined the fight. The mode of transportation to duty assignments was by the railroad, and for some the last look of their home town was from the main Plainfield railroad station.
The World War One Honor Roll bronze tablet located in the lobby of Plainfield’s City Hall lists the names of all the men who served in the Great War.  The “stars” next to the name indicate a casualty of the war. Plainfield lost 45 young men. Former Mayor Leighton Calkins lost his only son, Wolcott Calkins II, to the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919.  

Sixteen of the men died from complications due to influenza, twelve men died from wounds or killed in action, and seventeen men died of unrecorded causes.  Ten of the men were born in Plainfield, six were born in other New Jersey towns, three were born in New York, one in Kansas, one in Massachusetts, and one in Virginia.  Five of the men were immigrants from France, Ireland, Italy, Russia, and Sweden. The rest of the men’s birthplaces were unrecorded.
The World War One death records from the New Jersey State Archives indicate that two of the men were African American, Clarence M. Jeter and James D. Johnson. Mr. Jeter was born in Plainfield, and Mr. Johnson was born in Virginia, and both men died from complications of influenza. Most the casualties were in their twenties, two were in their thirties, and the youngest at the age of nineteen was Wolcott Calkins II, the Mayor’s son.
A list of the men who gave the ultimate sacrifice can be found on the grounds of Plainfield City Hall on the Plainfield Veterans’ Memorial monument. The 45 men who were casualties of World War One were:
Paul R. Apgar, Patrick H. Breen, Howard J. Breese, Wolcott Calkins II, Edward A. Carty, Collis H. Case, Lucyan Chwalkowski, Daniel A. Compton, Carlos R. Costales, Charles L. Dana Jr., Felix Dinicio, Frank I. Donnelly, Camille DuBois, Willard H. Groff, Marshall Holmes, James F. Hunter, Clarence M. Jeter, James D. Johnson, Martin J. Kane, Arthur Kienzle, Joseph Kusnetz, John J. Larkin, Carl A. Lundstrom, Leon Martel, Arthur F. Mundy, Joseph F. Murray, Ernest J. Neal, James J. Neilsen, Robert Pollock, Russell L. Poucher, Joseph A. Roach, William R. Ross, Louis Rothberg, John W. Schomp, John F. Sharp, Alfred T. Slauson, Courtney N. Starkweather, Harold E. Storr, Harold E. Stow, Herbert L. Terry, Frederick W. Vogel, Irving J. Wahl, Edward T. Walsh, Clarence H. Weber, and James W. Whelan.

One of Plainfield's World War One surviving veterans was Evarts Tracy, the pioneering camouflage officer of the World War One. Tracy was a member of the New York architectural firm, Tracy and Swartwout. The firm designed the 1903 buildings of Muhlenberg Hospital. Evarts Tracy was born in New York City in 1868, and moved with his family to Plainfield as a young child.  He grew up on West Eighth Street in a home located in the Van Wyck Brooks District.  He later built his home on Hillside Avenue, now part of the Hillside Avenue Historic District.
Several Evarts Tracy buildings still exist in Plainfield including: the old Police Station on Cleveland Avenue and East Fourth Street, 1903 Muhlenberg Hospital buildings and Operating Pavilion, and many private residences in the Hillside Avenue Historic District and Netherwood Heights Historic District.

Evarts Tracy gave up his profitable position at his architectural firm to offer his service to his Country. Evarts Tracy died in France in 1922, while he was working on the Reconstruction of France.  His body was returned home, and he was buried in Hillside Cemetery, Scotch Plains, in the Tracy family plot.  A complete article about Evarts Tracy can be found on the World War One Centennial Commission website.

Plainfield area residents and their families of the World War One era made sacrifices that were felt worldwide. Those sacrifices are commemorated on monuments located within City limits, and are dedicated to Plainfield’s World War One Veterans. Plainfield World War One monuments include: Plainfield Veterans' Memorial Monument, World War plaque at the steps of City Hall, World War One Honor Roll tablet located inside City Hall, flagpole monument on Watchung Avenue, flagpole monument at St. Mary's Church, memorial tablet located inside Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church, and Plainfield High School memorial tablet.  

The Public’s assistance is needed to locate any other monuments or memorial tablets dedicated to World War One that are in Plainfield’s churches, schools, or parks. Please supply your information to the Drake House Museum at drakehouseplainfieldnj@gmail.com or call (908) 755-5831. Pictures will be taken and descriptions will be written, and then submitted to the World War One Centennial Commission.

Article curtosy of Tap into Plainfield
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/plainfield/articles/plainfield-and-world-war-one

Nathaniel Drake's father, Isaac, died in 1759.  Upon his death, Cate, the female slave was granted her freedom.  The three male slaves were granted their freedom after 10 years of additional service to the Drake Family.  Provisions were made in Isaac's will for the estate to provide for the slaves after their manumission.
 
Cesar, the only male slave to remain with the Drakes after being granted his freedom, served with the Continental forces at the Post at Trenton, March 1, 1780.  He was a teamster, and handled a four horse team.  The Conductor of the Brigade was William Davison, and the other teamsters were:   Robert Bart, Rulif Covenhoven, Jacob Skillman, John Hubbert, Martin Moore, John Allen,
Benjamin Gulish, and Joseph Vanpelt.   
 
At the time of his service, Cesar war 78 years old. He lived to be 104, and is buried in Scotch Plains Baptist Church Cemetery.  Nathaniel, who was a deacon of the church, is also buried there, along with Nathaniel’s two wives and many family members. 

 

By Gail Scott Bey
One of the best and longest-lasting services the Historical Society of Plainfield provides to the community is the guided grade school tour of the Drake House Museum. The tours give children historical context about what they learn in school, and after seeing and touching historical items, history becomes real for them.  
 
Board members and volunteers conduct tours of the Drake House for first through fifth grade classes of Plainfield and sometimes North Plainfield school students.   It is an amazing journey for the students to learn that the Drake House was originally a 4 room farm house built in 1746 before the Revolutionary War.  The children learn about the colonial period in America’s history by experiencing a colonial kitchen and bedroom.  They learn about George Washington’s visit to the Drake home and see the actual room where he and his officers planned the Battle of Short Hills.
 
The children are also introduced to Civil War history through viewing artifacts and the paintings of Civil War hero and artist, Julian Scott.  Students learn about the influences   of the Victorian period as evidenced in the Library and Ball Room, both added on to the Drake House during the Victorian era.
 
Educational handouts are given to the children and teachers to enhance their educational visit, and we receive appreciation and thanks year after year from our schools.  Often we receive children whose parents remember visiting the Drake House when the parent was in grade school.  What a wonderful legacy, one the Historical Society of Plainfield hopes to continue to provide to our students, teachers and community for many more years to come.  

On Thursday, February 25, 2016, the Historical Society of Plainfield hosted an open discussion with Ohio author, Ernie Wallace about the Early Scotch Plains and Plainfield Wagon Train Journey to settle the western frontier.
 
In May 1788, piloted by Captain Benjamin Stites Jr. of Scotch Plains, a wagon train of adventurous pioneers bid adieu to the West Fields of New Jersey and set out on a leap of faith for the unknown lands of the western frontier. The Stites, Drakes, Symmes, Denmans, Shotwells, Millses, and other men, women, and children who were bound together by religion and family, were swept west on the wave of patriotism and constitutional fervor that broke upon America with the end of the Revolution and the Great Debate over the new Constitution.
 
Among those pioneers were the three sons of Nathaniel Drake: Cornelius, Abraham, and Isaac.  Isaac Drake’s two-and-half year old son, Daniel Drake, traveled with the party for the sixty-four days of the journey.  Daniel Drake later became a pioneering physician and prolific writer in Cincinnati. 
 
Many years ago on the west side of Cincinnati, Ernie Wallace, BA, MBA (Xavier University), caught his school ​bus every day on Boudinot Ave. It meant nothing to him then. While stationed near Colonial Williamsburg during a tour in the Navy, he gained a love of Revolutionary-era history. He minored in it in college, and has cultivated it as a hobby ever since. Ernie Wallace says: “Today, learning the stories behind the names on the roadsides and the towns is endlessly fascinating. The story of the settlement of Cincinnati is a story that deserves to be told in a way that is both enjoyable and edifying to the reader, in historical fiction. It is the format in which these unsung heroes, the tough, resourceful salt of the earth families seeking deliverance unto their own Garden of Eden, can really shine and helping history come alive.”
 
Ernie Wallace came east to learn more about our history for his upcoming novel chronicling settlement of Cincinnati, Ohio, and share new perspectives on this little party that has contributed so much to the American story. The Historical Society of Plainfield and Ernie Wallace are exchanging information about the people from the Plainfield area who settled the western frontier.  The Historical Society looks forward to the completion of the story and the publication of Ernie’s book, and welcoming Ernie back for a book signing in the future. 

In Memoriam Beloved Trustee
Mary “Molly” Banta
September 17, 1956 – February 27, 2016

I don’t remember the exact day or year that Molly and I met.  But I do know her Aunt Nora had a lot to do with us meeting.  Her Aunt Nora (Monroe) and family belonged to St. Mary’s Church, and my Mother and Aunt Nora were in the Altar Rosary Society.  My first mail route took me along Evergreen Avenue where Aunt Nora lived, and we became great friends.  I must have met Molly at Aunt Nora’s.

Molly and I became fast friends.  I didn’t know her long when my Mother and I needed someone to stay at our house in 1992, when my oldest nephew was getting married in Pennsylvania. Molly was our house and pet sitter for the long weekend. 

Molly and I had a lot in common: love of history, Irish heritage, a PANK (professional aunt no kids), love of Plainfield, and the list goes on.
 
Molly and I shared many stories, and she loved hearing about my adventures.  After all my Irish relatives were gone, she was the road back to the old Irish times that I remembered when I was young.  She was a link in the chain of my Irish heritage, and we told our stories like two Irish ladies, laughing all the way.
 
Molly and I took many day trips together – the farthest was to Hyde Park, NY to the FDR Presidential Library many years ago.  We did a lot of history trips and lectures – mostly in the search of good programs for the Historical Society.  Many of the trips were done within the past few years.
 
Molly and I also were movie buddies.  I have gone to the movies more with her than anyone.  I always enjoyed her analysis at the end, and the best part was she was like me and would wait and watch all the credits to see where the movies were filmed.  She took me to some pretty interesting movies and ones I would not have necessarily pick.  As I recall the last one we saw together was “Jersey Boys.”  I couldn’t believe she got me to go see “There will be Blood” with Daniel Dey Lewis, one of Molly’s favorite actors.
 
Molly was the one who really led me on the road to telling local history.  As trustees of the HSP, we came together to tell Plainfield’s history.  Many times she invited me into the high school to tell her students local history stories.  She introduced me to Tiffany Corbett and her students. They helped me research the Veteran’s monument outside City Hall.  Tiffany, Jeff, Paul, and Molly embraced me with invitations to give lectures to their students and instill pride of place in Plainfield.  She also encouraged me to tell the students that I was a product of the Plainfield school system.  They could not believe I went to the “Hub” aka ​Hubbard. Molly and I had a plan for the future – we were going to write a book about US history and how Plainfield people had an impact on US events no matter the era.  Molly, I promise I will write the book and it will be dedicated to you, but I will miss your insight and spunk to set me straight.
 
Molly, every time I step into the Drake House I see you and feel your spirit.  We had some great times there, and we had some great Drake House times in your house while you were sitting in your chair.  You wanted to resign, and we wouldn’t let you.  You signed checks, helped me with many mailings, gave me endless advice, and one of the last things we did was look at a wonderful quilt that was donated to the HSP.  I wanted to share the opening of the package with you, and it was such fun looking at a piece of history.  Rest in Peace, my Dear Friend, Molly.