Our next fundraiser concert, showcasing the Lambertville area’s best musicians performing traditional and original holiday songs, is from 8-10 pm Wednesdsay, November 29, at Havana, 105 S. Main Street, New Hope. There is a $5 suggested donation. All proceeds benefit the historical society. The CD, “Season’s Greetings from Lambertville 2017” can be previewed and bought here.

We asked the artists about their memories of and thoughts about holiday music. Two of the performers at the upcoming concert at Havana responded as follows:

Pat Foran

“Wishing It Will be a Merry Christmas”

A Christmas Eve blizzard in 1966 left us 12 inches of snow in Lambertville for Christmas Day. It was the only Christmas we could use a sled (a brand new Flexible Flyer) as we walked in the middle of mostly unplowed South Main street to pull gifts and food to and from our aunt’s annual Christmas dinner. I believe the last time kids were able to sled down from the top of Swan Street from Cottage Hill was 1965, during a very cold stretch of winter. The police used to block off the highway and let people sled down the big hill from the top of Swan Street at Studdiford Street, traveling right into and across the highway. It’s still good to take time out to be with family during the holidays, passing on the tradition of reaching out to each other at least once per year. So, songs evoking memories of family, snow, and sledding or ice skating, are the ones I enjoy the most now.

My family household growing up was filled with music much of the time, and especially for the holidays. I remember the classics from recording stars like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams. I believe my favorite songs from the past were “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” I think my favorite song now is the “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme, which Nat King Cole was famous for, but there is also a good recorded version by Mel Torme himself. A close second would be Lou Rawls’ Bluesy version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” followed by the classics, “White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

Gary Cohen

The Back Porch Jugband

“Run Run Rudolph”

For me, the go-to albums every Christmas season since 2004 have been “James Taylor: A Christmas Album” and “James Taylor at Christmas.”  James Taylor has always provided the soundtrack for my life, and his mellow and meaningful interpretations of holiday standards are exemplary. If you are a James Taylor fanatic, his interpretations are definitive.

We will post reminiscences and reflections from other musicians soon. We hope to see you at Havana!

For the sixth year, the Lambertville Historical Society is conducting a fundraiser that showcases the Lambertville area’s best musicians performing traditional and original holiday songs. There are 19 songs on the CD, “Season’s Greetings from Lambertville 2017,” which can be previewed and bought here. The contributors will perform their songs and others at three concerts. The first is from 2-6 pm this Sunday, November 19, at The Elks Lodge, 66 Wilson Street, Lambertville. There is a $5 suggested donation. All proceeds benefit the historical society.

We asked the artists about their memories of and thoughts about holiday music. Two of the performers at the upcoming concert at The Elks Lodge responded as follows:

Jane Paul

The Jane Paul Project

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

My Dad was a huge big band fan. He actually sang with a band in his youth and always told us the story of being at the Paramount Theater in New York in 1939 when the Benny Goodman Band came up out of the stage floor swinging. Radio was big in our house. We had WNEW playing American standards all day—it was family competition to “name that tune”—song, singer and band—within the first few notes.

Christmas music too was all about the standards. I remember singing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” in a church concert on a Sunday morning. It was very exciting because it was going to be broadcast on the local radio station. That morning, my mother had a medical issue that had to be dealt with immediately. So Dad took Mom to the doctor and sat in the car so he could hear me sing. He always said it was wonderful but of course, he was my Dad!

We are all shaped by our past and I still love all the great secular Christmas standards—many ironically written by Jewish composers. Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” and Livingston and Evans’ “Silver Bells” are two all-time favorites. But perhaps the most beautiful of all is a religious song, “Silent Night.” I remember the annual Christmas Eve service at church when the lights were turned off and we all sang that song by candlelight. Magical.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” has always been one of my favorite holiday standards, but I think that I now understand it better. It has been beautifully recorded by so many great talents but in my opinion, no one really captured what I think the song is truly about. It’s a very sad song about impending loss. The lyric encourages the listener to live in the present as there may not be a future. The original lyrics were so very dark that they were changed for the film, “Meet me in St Louis” to lyricist Hugh Martin’s chagrin. So, on this year’s CD we offer our take on it—very simple and understated and sad—as I feel it best reflects the intention of the lyric.

Tom Florek

Santa P and the Elves

“Nevertheless, It’s Christmas”

Whether you’re a kid or a kid inside, it’s hard not to fall in love with the recording of the barking dogs singing “Jingle Bells.”  I have always marveled that an idea as radical as “Peace on Earth, Good Will to All” could become so powerful that people would need to be distracted from it by unrestrained mercantilism. I see the commercial nature of the holidays as a beautiful reaction to the fear that “Peace on Earth” cannot ever be achieved. Black Friday is our culture’s meltdown, it’s the way we collectively say, “We need a hug.”  The barking dogs don’t care about mercantilism, they never did.  They are singing pure processed joy.  They have nothing to offer us but the hug that we need.

We will post reminiscences and reflections from other musicians soon. We hope to see you at The Elks Lodge!

2015 Narducci Awards

After its recent Autumn House Tour, the Lambertville Historical Society bestowed its prestigious Narducci Award on a homeowner whose  efforts in preservation and restoration are considered significant.  The LHS board of trustees unanimously adopted the award committee’s recommendations.  The 2015 committee included Irene Rudolph (chair), Lou Toboz, Mark Weinstein and Fred Eisinger.

George Evans receives the Narducci Award plaque from members of the award committee.

This year’s recipient was Helen Petitt George Evans who undid the mid-20th century “improvements” to his 32 North Union Street commercial property by restoring showroom display windows to their original configuration, replacing the missing “Grand Depot” tile work at the entry and replicating the original 19th century copper canopy over the sidewalk. While only considering the ground floor exterior, the award committee also noted the return of the grand staircase and skylight to the interior space.

G. Evans Ltd on N. Union St. (left);
the Taylor residence on Delaware Ave. (right).

The other awardees were Bill & Rene Taylor who have beautifully maintained and sensitively restored their home with recent painting and porch replacement.  At the corner of Delaware Avenue and N. Main Street, it is an often-seen improvement to the Lambertville cityscape.

Bill and Rene Taylor happily accept their Narducci Award from the award committee.

The Historical Society established the Alice Narducci Preservation awards in 1996 in honor of the founding society president who played a key role in saving the Marshall House from demolition.  The award, a bronze plaque, recognizes historical preservation of a structure’s exterior, restoration of a building to its original architectural integrity, or a combination.

2013 Year in Review

 Lambertville Historical Society / James Wilson Marshall House Museum

 The Marshall House Museum was open and staffed from May through October, for Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4pm.  This 1816 facility is maintained solely with LHS funds and all proper documents, bills and tax accounts were filed.  

The Museum was also open for extended hours for Shadfest Weekend in April and Winterfest Weekend in January, and by special request.

2013 Museum attendance (counted) was approximately 1660 visitors, up from 1460 in 2012.

For 2013 the Lambertville Historical Society, a non-profit, had four Officers and ten Trustees for 14 total voting.  An Advisory Board (non-voting) had 8 members.  We have a full slate for the 2014 Board of Trustees for election at our annual membership meeting of Jan. 19^th, 2014.

Paid memberships total 217 and this reflects an astounding 82 new memberships due, in large part, to a successful, targeted membership drive in early 2013.  Since many memberships are couples, and some are family memberships, the actual count of total members is about 318.

We continue to look at ADA accessibility issues regarding the Marshall House Museum and have a dedicated committee.  Our public lectures, our receptions and our events are currently held at accessible sites. We have made professional connections for signing interpretation as needed.

We received a major competitive grant of $6632 from the State of New Jersey, Department of State, Historic Trust, for General Operating Funds for a much-needed updating of our office computer hardware and software and other technologies.  We have also applied for a grant to professionally evaluate our Marshall Museum displays and develop an improved Heritage Tourism plan, including ADA components.

As part of on-going care for the Marshall House Museum, repairs were made to the roofing drainage and downspouts and to the bathroom utilities. The landscaping was improved and cleaned and pachysandra was added replacing crawling weeds. A period Sheridan-style sofa was purchased for the collection for the front parlor. 

Community Programs and Services

 Our 2013 Annual Membership Meeting on Jan. 20th featured Fred Eisinger who presented a talk entitled “Going Places: A Brief History of Transportation in Lambertville.”  Attendance was about 80 people – open to the public, free and accessible.

Guided historical town tours were available 1^st Sundays, June through October and for Shadfest & Winterfest. Several additional custom town tours were given. Five tour leaders participated in the years’ tours. For Shadfest we also operated a booth with historical information and games.

On January 26^th  an auction and reception was held at the Rago Arts and Auction Center for the 30 en plein air paintings done live during the 2013 House Tour. Part of the proceeds benefits the Lambertville Historical Society. Approximately 120 people were in attendance.

On April 21^st, our former President, Sharon Bishaha, presented an illustrated talk on her new book “In the Beacon Light, Lambertville New Jersey, from 1860 to 1900. The talk was free and accessible.

We co-sponsored with Janet Hunt the 32^nd Annual Coryell Gallery / Lambertville Historical Society Art Show, at the Beck Gallery and Academy during February and March, and hosted a Member’s Opening and then a Chamber of Commerce reception.

Our Summer Membership Social Hour at Kalmia Clubhouse was held June 23^rd with about 82 members and guests in attendance.  Free and accessible.

With our highly successful 2013 Membership Drive, we held a new member cocktail party on May 18^th to meet and greet the new members and talk of our programs and mission.

Board and Members prepared and sold a 2^nd Annual December Holiday CD with original songs from musicians of the community.  Community CD-release parties were held at the YMAC and at the Methodist Church. Sales were excellent with proceeds to LHS.

We conducted a summer educational event for children of the Lambertville Academy.

Our Annual Historic Lambertville House Tour on October 20, 2013, included 7 homes, 2 history museums, a historic church and a historic firehouse, a historic B&B, plus the City Hall mansion and a new arts center in a historic barn. Ticket sales were strong at 800. Approximately 120 volunteers were involved and an 85-page program book was prepared. The tour, our major fundraiser, was a financial success with much local news coverage and great participation by local businesses as sponsors and purchasers of tour book ads. Regional artists were present at the house sites and painted en plein air. These paintings will be sold with part of the proceeds to benefit the Lambertville Historical Society at a show and reception on February 1, 2014 at the Rago Art & Auction Center.

Two LHS Narducci Awards for historical preservation and restoration were presented in 2013.

Approximately 40 private requests were made for historical information regarding family or old town businesses. Information and images, where possible, were supplied. Topics included:

• As part of a program to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lambertville -New Hope Bridge in 2014, a film is being prepared that includes our archival images and narration.
• Multiple inquiries were answerer concerning the history and family of James Marshall.
• Images for a new book on Route 29, now a Scenic Byway, were supplied.
• Images of interest to the D&R Canal Staff were supplied.
• Images and information were supplied for a new book on covered bridges in New Jersey.
• Several people inquired about the Kohl Brewery and properties.
• Several inquiries of the Lambertville Rubber Company and Snagproof boots were answered.

New donations to the collection included the Yvonne Warren archives. Yvonne was a noted volunteer, leader and friend of LHS over 4 decades. The materials will be added to our archives and provide a rich history of town sites and buildings. Additional donations from others included: printed materials on the Coryell Family; a large Holcombe photo album; a 1930’s local autograph book; an antique grammar text; a large-format image of George Green and documentation on his Lambertville life and career. 

Seven historic site plaques were purchased from LHS by town residents for their homes or businesses; dozens of historical register sheets on homes were given to requesters.

We continue to be active on Facebook and Twitter and our website features an interactive map, an active calendar and historical and membership information.  

For 2013, four editions of the LHS newsletter were published and sent to members and friends with stories of local history, items regarding James Wilson Marshall and news of member events.

Q. How can you help out the Lambertville Historical Society and the James Marshall House Museum and get lots of exposure through local CD sales and a release party?

A. Donate a traditional or original holiday song to a sampler that will extend Holiday Greetings from Lambertville! Announcing the Lambertville Historical Society’s inaugural Holiday Sampler CD. Jeff Kline, The Lifters and other local acts are expected to contribute a song.

 September 30 deadline to sign up (and there are limited spaces). Email Mike Menche, mike@michaelmenche.com, the following information or any questions:

• Contact name, email address and phone

• Name of Group or Artist

• Connection to Lambertville (live here, work here, etc.). We’ll favor Lambertville residents.

• Holiday song you’d like to contribute (we’ll avoid duplicates and let you know)

More info to follow about this exciting project.