Steel and Iron - Special Holiday Gift for History Lovers

 

 

        Here’s a special “ring out the old” end-of-year gift from historian Clifford Zink who was one of the presenters at the County’s “Mercer Makes…” symposium in October. He just shared an expanded version of the presentation he had prepared for the symposium with us, and it’s terrific! Thanks and congratulations to Clifford, and best wishes to all of you for the coming year. Read all about it in his online article Iron and Steel: Entrepreneurs on the Delaware.

Mercer Makes...HISTORY! symposium

 

 

Here's the schedule for the upcoming (October 4th) Mercer Makes...symposium. You can find out more at www.Mercer175 or by reading the press release HERE. Or email tfagan@mercercounty.org 

Mercer Makes: The First Weather Satellites!

Max Mesner of RCA's Astro Space Division in East Windsor with the TIROS satellite, 1960

 

One of the presentations at Mercer Makes...looks at RCA's expansion during the Space Age into satellite design and production at its Astro-Electronics Division in East Windsor, and the evolution of its David Sarnoff Research Center in West Windsor after General Electric Company donated it to SRI International.  

“Max Mesner (1910 – 2004) was a key member of the team of engineers at RCA Laboratories in Princeton who worked under David Sarnoff in the late 40s and early 50s to develop the color television system that became the standard for broadcasting in the US. He went on to join the new RCA Astro Space Division in East Windsor where he did pioneering development of high resolution electronic imaging for the US space program. He led the TIROS camera team efforts at RCA Lab 3. Between 1960 and 1966, RCA video recorders were used on all 11 TIROS weather satellites without a single mission failure.” “NASA came to trust RCA because we so thoroughly tested our equipment that we didn’t have failures. On the basis of this confidence, RCA also got the contract for the TV cameras on the space shuttles” said Mr. Mesner in 2000 for the Rossmoor News.

from the October 2010 issue of the Cranbury Historical & Preservation Society newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. Mercer by Architecture

page from "M is for Mercer" historic sites coloring book by Martha H Runyon of Mercer County's Division of Culture & Heritage
The book is available for free from the C&H office and is also downloadable

 

       Online registration is now available for the upcoming Mercer by Architecture daylong event which will take place on August 9, 2013 at the Clark Music building on the historic Lawrenceville School campus. The symposium will explore some of this area's rich history through a few of the architects, builders, houses and sites that make Mercer County the fascinating place it is today. The day kicks off with a keynote presentation by W. Barksdale Maynard who'll discuss Princeton: America's Campus, based on his book of the same name. The morning and afternoon panels will look at the historic homes and public buildings of the county, from the 1700s to today. Among the many additional luminaries presenting this day are architects Michael Graves, Bob Hillier and Michael Mills; art/architectural historians Philip Hayden and Kate Ogden; and conservation historian Janet Foster. Professor Meredith Arms Bzdak will moderate.

       The event is cosponsored by The County of Mercer and Preservation NJ as part of the County's 175th Anniversary celebration. It's open to the public. For a full size version of the agenda listed below, click HERE.

       Coinciding with this event will be Mercer County's Historic Sites Open House Weekend. Some of the County's oldest and most important buildings will be open to the public Saturday and Sunday, August 10 & 11. Watch this blog for an online and downloadable program for the weekend.

The historic First Presbyterian Church in Trenton, organized in 1712, current church built 1840, will be one of the amazing buildings
to visit during the August 10 & 11 Mercer Historic Sites Open House Weekend. 

14. Happy Fourth of July!!!

       Many thanks to Carla Olszewski Cook who brought us this terrific photograph of the Fourth of July, 1945, taken in the Chambersburg section of Trenton. Elizabeth and Nancy Morzillo and their friends show off their babydoll carriages decorated with red, white, and blue crepe paper for the holiday. They’re gathered in front of the old Liberty Theater building on Cummings Avenue and West Street. The theater operated briefly as one of Trenton’s early “moving picture” venues in the early 1900s (listed in Trenton’s 1917 City Directory.) The structure, which still stands is used today as a warehouse (by Landolfi’s?) on Cummings Avenue.

[UPDATE: Nancy Morzillo Paulus, Carla's aunt, shares her memories of this location:

"When we lived at 325 Cummings Ave. (approx. 1939--1949), our home faced the side of the then-abandoned large building which previously had been "The Old Liberty," a theatre.   I think it is still there used as a warehouse for Italian frozen foods? This triangularly-shaped piece of real estate divides West Street from Cummings Ave., with – what in a child's eye – was fronted with a large side-walked area that was great for roller skating, bicycling and parades, as you see in the picture on the fourth of July........it was a fun spot.......

"I loved climbing up the boarded windows and looking at the cobwebbed interior of abandoned stage, seats and old draperies. Outside rear was the high-fenced forgotten parking lot. I have no idea of its life, its placement just seems odd, there on the border of Chambersburg, a then mostly residential neighborhood. Maybe some Italian city planner envisioned the spot as a little city/suburbia town with Hamilton Township so close by at Liberty St. and Chambers St...(there's that name Liberty, so maybe it was on the planning board......cruise by and check out its existence.....now I'm curious. Love, Aunt Nancy  Have fun.."

 

     
       This charming photo of a family gathering on the Fourth of July, 1924, comes from the collection of the Historical Society of Princeton, celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year! This image, and many others from the HSP can also be found on their FaceBook page. Remember to "like" them!

       And, finally, thanks once again to our friend Tom Glover who compiled and posted these Trenton articles and ads from July 3, 4, and 5, 1904 for this fun fireworks "blow by blow." Though we don't see free firecrackers given away with our coffee purchases anymore, the cautionary tales on July 4 and 5 continue to resonate today. Hope everyone in the Capitol County of Mercer and beyond had a safe and happy 4th!

13. Strolling Through History, Cemetery-Style

     The historic graveyards throughout Mercer County have a great many stories to tell -- and some can be found easily by visiting the Political Graveyard on-line. This fascinating resource is a work-in-progress - but, already, you can learn more about some of the leaders, the thinkers, and the movers/shakers who helped to shape our County and our Towns. Check it out.

12. Happy 175th to the Titusville Presbyterian Church

Glass slide image by A.L.Opdyke of Trenton, circa 1912,
scanned and uploaded by Rich Burton in a Flicker set of Titusville images.

 

Titusville's Presbyterian Church is still going strong with an active and engaged congregation intent on celebrating this year's anniversary in style. A new book "Shall We Gather...175 Years along the Delaware" is available through the church website. Happy Birthday! (Click on Rich Burton's name in the caption, above, to see more historic Titusville images from A. L. Opdyke.)