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Historical Society
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE HADDON HEIGHTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY will take place on Tuesday October 21, 2003 AT 7:30PM, in the Library meeting room on the lower level. NOT A "GHOST" OF A CHANCE... that I would miss the next general meeting of the Haddon Heights Historical Society. Our speaker will be Mr. William Meehan, Jr. He is the author of the book Haunted Haddonfield. Around the Meehan household, Halloween has always been a holiday that received a lot of attention. For many years, the family hosted large Halloween parties with traditional games and appropriate entertainment. By the year 2000, Bill was running out of creative ideas to keep the parties exciting. Mrs. Meehan suggested that it might be fun for Bill to do some research and take the party guests on a tour of haunted sites in Haddonfield. Bill and his daughter researched letters aud reminiscences from various sources, and came up with a handful of "ghost stories." In 2001, they rented a school bus and took their guests around town to visit the haunted sites. The tour went public the next year, and continues this year! After word got around that Bill Meehan was researching ghost stories about Haddonfield, people began to approach him with contemporary accounts of scary visits and haunted happenings. Further research into stories usually shows strong connections to historical people, events or locations. This unusual approach has served to preserve and popularize history of the area for young and old alike. Mr. Meehan does not judge the validity of the stories he researches. He sees them as folklore and wants to keep the tales alive for future generations. Join us for some Haunted History, including one story that features Hinchman's Hill, which is now part of Haddon Heights. QUARTERLY MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT- "...not a ghost of a chance!" Editor Ken Funkhouser was referring to my usual lengthy comments versus the wealth of material concerning upcoming Society activities for inclusion in our October newsletter. I then asked our faithful Secretary Lynne Dalton to use my space for a report on our September field trip outing to Freeman's Auction House, which follows. Regretfully, we are going to lose Lynne due to family commitments. She has done a wonderful job these past several years as Recording Secretary. Lynne has been a valuable member of our hard-working team, where her dedication and thoroughness will be missed. So, "give up the ghosts" that inhabit your television screens on October 21th and come join Warwick Road neighbor Bill Meehan for some spooky "spirited" local stories. I admit to previewing the "Hinchman's Hill" tale of unmentionable vengeance, which takes pylace at the highest point in Haddon Heights. A story equal to Stephen King's horror stories--maybe now I'm sorry . . . Ready for some (ghastly) history anyone?!- Pete Hill. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!- As we enter the 21th Century with a formal website (WWW.HHHISTORICAL.ORG), we are Iooking for a volunteer with a digital camera to take pictures for the Historical Society. If you are interested, please leave word with Bob Hunter at the Library. 2004 SLATE OF OFFICERS- Thanks go out again this year to Roe Kitchen for her efforts with our nominating committee. If no nominations are brought to the floor at our October 21th General Meeting, the current Board Members and assistants have agreed to stay on in their roles for another year. At the last Board meeting, several members insisted that they didn't want to keep the fun all to themselves. We really want others to have the opportunity to participate in the experience of running our Historical Society. The business meeting portion of our October 21th gathering will be opened up for nominations and volunteers ( Don't be shy...) to come forward from the general membership and place their names into consideration. All members present will be able to participate in the voting. Barring a welcome throng of last minute candidates ( a'la the California Recall Election), the following individuals have agreed to donate their time and effort to serve on the Board of Officers for 2004.
Please note that these are only the formal positions on the Board. We can always use help in such areas as refreshments, membership, publicity, and newsletter. If interested, please see one of us at the meeting. HADDON HEIGHTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOSTS- Please remember that the Haddon Heights Historical Society will be hosting the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey Spring meeting in 2004. We are honored to be designated as a host organization coinciding with our town's celebration of 100 years!!! To volunteer fo help with this event, please contact Bob Hunter at the library 547-7132. HAUNTED HADDONFIELD BUS TOUR- On Saturday evening November 1st, the Haddon Heights Historical Society is sponsoring a special bus tour of "haunted" homes in Haddonfield and other local haunt., The tour will be led by Bill Meehan--our October speaker. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and are available at the Haddon Heights Library. Adults- $10; Children (12 & under) $7. NOTE!! The bus tour will start from and return participants to the front of the Haddon Heights Library. HOUSE PORTAITS- Create your own piece of history with these double-matted, framed watercolor house portraits at the very remonable price of $130. A portion of the price for these 16"X20" custom paintings benefits the Historical Society. Help continue this great fund-raiser... "Picture" your own history. THE BOOK IS COMlNG... Bob Hunter and Ken Funkhouser have been gathering material for publication in book form as a pictorial History of Haddon Heights. This book should be available for purchase by members and residents of Haddon Heights during our Centennial year of 2004!! TRIP TO FREEMAN'S AUCTION HOUSE- September 6th; what an enjoyable day fifteen members of the Historical Society had on the trip to Freeman's Auction House in Philadelphia. Beau Freeman was a most gracious host. He gave us a complete history of the Freeman family's beginning in the auction business; now considered the oldest continuous auction house in the U.S. We toured the complete building and then, using "play money" he supplied, Beau Freeman held a mock auction of very interesting of past Freeman Catalogs. Everyone participated, and it was a lot of fun for all. We gained much insight into the workings of the auction process.- Lynne Dalton As always, thanks for reading the newsletter! I continue to receive letters from members. Please put your recollections, stories and reminiscences into writing and send them to me. I plan to include your reflections in future newsletters, The centennial of our nice little town is coming in 2004. Look around, participate, and GET INVOLVED . . . I'll see you at the meeting! Ken Funkhouser- Editor |
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