Cancelled at the last moment in September but brought back by popular demand, local historian Marie Leppert will be the presentor at the monthly meeting of the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood on Tuesday, November 24th, 2015 at the Scotch Hills Country Club beginning at 8:00PM.  She will discuss some of the notable people, from the Colonial era to the present day, who were born or lived in Scotch Plains or Fanwood.

Born in Scotch Plains, Mrs. Leppert attended Douglas College in New Jersey.  She returned to her hometown where she and her husband, John, raised their family. She has worked locally as a district elementary school teacher and most recently in the family DeFrancesco Realty Office in Fanwood. Mrs. Leppert has always been an active volunteer with such organization as the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood, the Scotch Plains Republican Club, the College Club of Fanwood-Scotch Plains and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Alumni Association.  She was chosen as the Scotch Plains 2015 Female Volunteer of the Year.

In addition to speaking about local history and her community, Mrs. Leppert has written local historical walking tours, a Docent’s Guide for the Scotch Plains’ Osborn Cannonball House Museum, a children’s “History in Hats” skit and information for various websites, news releases and projects.

At this Thanksgiving time of year, this is a perfect topic:  to note and to be thankful for the many people who have contributed to our communities in different, amazing and special ways.  The meeting is free and open to everyone.  Refreshments and fellowship will follow the program.  The meeting starts at 8:00PM on Tuesday, November 24th..  The meeting is held at the Scotch Hills Country Club located at Plainfield Avenue and Jerusalem Road in Scotch Plains.

For more information about this event, contact Connie Klock at 908-232-9489.

The Osborn Cannonball House Museum, located at 1840 Front Street, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076, will be open on Saturday Oct 17^th 2014 from 10-5pm and Sunday , October 19, 2012 from 2-4pm as part of the annual Union County Four Centuries in a weekend historic sites tour.

We will be featuring a display of original period clothing of the Civil War. Costumed guides will conduct tours.

Pictured left to right: David Bierman – President, Darlene Palombo – Assistant clothing curator, Florence Clark – docent, George Pierson – genealogist, and Renate Maroney – clothing curator

Check out the other sites and get a guide at the Union County site.

The Museum is also open the first sunday of each month from 2-4 pm. Hope to see you there!

The date is December 29, 1940.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt has just been re-elected to an unprecedented third term in office.  But the world is in a crisis.  Nazi Germany has blazed the path of destruction across Europe, and America may soon be drawn into war.

Watch this famous moment come to life, as you meet with the President (portrayed by Neill Hartley) just prior to his delivery of the famous “Arsenal of Democracy” speech. Learn what President Roosevelt was thinking, and listen to his plea for the support of our Allies.  Experience first-hand the history that shaped our nation.

Neill Hartley is Franklin Delano in this fully staged historical presentation that will entertain and educate audiences   Following the presentation, there will be time for comments and questions from one of the most influential presidents of all time.

Actor, Director, Spokesperson and Teacher, Neill Hartley earned a Master of Fine Arts from Temple University in Acting and was a faculty member there 1989-2000.  Since 1994 he has been teaching Speech & Voice at the University of the Arts and is a speech and dialect coach for several professional theaters.  As an actor he has performed with Arden Theater, InterAct Theatre and the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, among others.  Mr. Hartley won a Barrymore Award for Ensemble for 1812 Productions’ Batboy, The Musical.  Neill is also a busy director for theaters, which include Philadelphia Young Playwrights, University of the Arts, University of Pennsylvania, Arcadia University, Isis Productions, the Brick Theater, and the Luna Theater.  He is the Artistic Director of Acting Without Boundaries, which provides large-scale musical opportunities for physically disabled teens and young adults.  Neill also works in commercials, feature films and is a member of AFTRA/SAG/CORE.  Venues that have produced his one-man shows include the Tweeter Center, Academy of Music, Act II Playhouse, Walnut Street Theater Studio 3, Congress Hall, Smithsonian Institution and   the American Glider Council.  Now, thanks to funding by the Horizons Speakers Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Neill Hartley will preform as FDR for the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood at our October 27th meeting.

Come to this very special meeting that is open and free to everyone. Hear President Roosevelt plead, “We must be an arsenal of democracy.” This program is extremely timely given the situation with wars in the middle east, eastern Europe and events in the South China Sea as well as the greatest refugee crisis since World War II.

This monthly meeting of the Historical Society of Scotch Plains takes place Tuesday evening October 27th, 2015.  It will be held at the Fanwood Train Station on North and Martine Avenues in Fanwood, NJ. It begins at 8:00PM.  Fellowship and refreshments follow this program, which is produced by the American Historical Theatre and funded by the Horizons Speakers Bureau of New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

For more information about this event, contact Connie Klock at 908-232-9489.