With their flashy neon signs and shiny silver exteriors, classic American diners are central to New Jersey culture. Diners have served as gathering places for families and singles, blue-collar workers and CEOs, students and tourists, for more than a century. While many local favorites, like The Excellent Diner in Westfield, exist only in memories, New Jersey was once the hub of diner manufacturing.

Join award-winning Jersey author Michael C. Gabriele as he presents “Stories from New Jersey Diners: Monuments to Community,” based on his book of the same title, at this month’s meeting of the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 22, at the Shady Rest Country Club, 820 Jerusalem Rd. (at the corner of Plainfield Avenue) in Scotch Plains.

Gabriele’s thoroughly researched book recounts stories collected from interviews with diner owners, patrons and experts. He brings to life delicious memories of quintessential diner food and fond recollections of the people who cooked, served and ate it, while chronicling the booming manufacturing industry that brought mobile eateries to Americans from coast to coast.

A graduate of Montclair State University, Gabriele is also the author of The History of Diners in New Jersey, The Golden Age of Bicycle Racing in New Jersey, as well as New Jersey Folk Revival Music: History & Tradition.

The upcoming meeting is free and all are welcome. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the presentation. For questions, please email Info@HistoricalSocietySPFNJ.org or call 908/322-6700 Extension 230.

When asked to name early female aviators, most people can name only one: Amelia Earhart. Earhart was a daring pilot, but the mystery surrounding her disappearance overshadowed and eventually erased any memory of her equally accomplished peers—early aviatrices who defied gravity (and male disapproval) in flimsy airplanes.

This month’s meeting of the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood will feature storyteller Carol Simon Levin’s presentation, “Nobody Owns the Sky: Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Female Aviators.” The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, at the Shady Rest Country Club, 820 Jerusalem Rd. (at the corner of Plainfield Avenue) in Scotch Plains.

Impersonating Elinor Smith Sullivan, the only pilot ever to successfully fly under all four East River bridges in New York City, Levin will tell the stories of some of the early female pilots who risked their lives in flimsy wood and canvas airplanes but whose ground-breaking exploits were lost to history after Amelia Earhart’s famous disappearance.

Levin also is the author of Remembering the Ladies: From Patriots in Petticoats to Presidential Candidates, which profiles 69 women—well-known and unknown—who worked tirelessly for women’s rights in America. Levin holds a bachelor’s degree focusing on women’s history and history of technology from Cornell University and a master’s degree in library services from the University of Arizona. She is also the founder of the website tellingherstories.com.

The upcoming meeting is free and all are welcome. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the presentation. For questions, please email Info@HistoricalSocietySPFNJ.org or call 908/322-6700 Extension 230.

Our models are ready to walk the runway* dressed in their turn of the (19th-20th) century finest for the museum opening on Scotch Plains Day, October 2nd noon to 3pm. The museum is located on 1840 East Front Street in Scotch Plains. For questions about the Historical Society or the museum email Info@HistoricalSocietySPFNJ.org or call 908-322-6700 Extension 230. For further information about Scotch Plains Day visit the Township website at https://scotchplainsnj.gov/index.php/news/808-scotch-plains-day.

*Sorry, our models** won’t be walking the runway, we don’t even have a runway, they will just be standing there.

**Sorry again, we don’t have any models. They’re just dummies dressed up but it doesn’t really matter. Unlike modern fashions one sees little of the wearer and much more of the clothing.