Preserving the Future of the Past<\/p>\n
Charles Wesley Armstrong isn\u2019t important enough to warrant a google search overflowing with information or even a Wikipedia page. However, he is important enough to have a park named after him.<\/p>\n
The park, located on Upper Ferry Road, is between a church cemetery and a shopping center. It includes several baseball and softball fields, as well as batting cages and other accouterment related to America\u2019s pastime.<\/p>\n
This park is part of the fabric of Ewing Township. Another part of this fabric is the local history of the area and areas surrounding it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [people in the community] need to have pride in their local history.\u201d Says Lois Rivera, a resident, and member of the Historical Preservation Committee.<\/p>\n
A group of individuals hopes to preserve and elevate this history. Ewing Township\u2019s Historical Preservation Committee meets almost every month and works towards protecting the historical culture and aspect of Ewing.<\/p>\n
The committee is small and sometimes overlooked in favor of bigger committees and meetings. \u201cSometimes we get kicked out or pushed into the corner.\u201d laughs Linda Brown, a member of the committee.<\/p>\n
Although they may not garner a lot of attention, the committee has the important purpose of preservation. They work to preserve and call attention to local history, a goal that will have effects in both the near and far future.<\/p>\n
This particular group is almost brand new after the passing of a particularly influential, long-standing member. The longest standing member is Randal Marsola, who is in his second year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re new, we\u2019re lost,\u201d Mr. Marsola says, explaining the group\u2019s predicament. \u201cNo don\u2019t say that,\u201d He reframes it. \u201cWe\u2019re new, we\u2019re eager to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other members of the committee include Lois Rivera, Linda Brown and Jim Catelize, who were all new and eager to dig into a big project.<\/p>\n
This green group may be lacking in experience, but not in passion. The meeting was colored with numerous stories and tidbits of information ranging from urban legend to historical fact.<\/p>\n
Mr. Catelize, a lifetime resident of Ewing, told the story of an urban myth come true concerning a hidden tunnel used to secretly deploy airplanes during World War II. The tunnel was simply a story until developers excavated in its supposed location and actually found it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s really important that people understand what history\u2019s gone on here.\u201d Said Mrs. Rivera.<\/p>\n
They also spoke at length about the Revolutionary history of Ewing and the events that happened here and the way they changed history.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Rivera spoke about \u201cA little pocket park\u201d that was less notable than the Dunkin Donuts near it. That park marks the site where George Washington decided to split his troops into two groups, a decision that changed the tide of the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a pile of debris there now.\u201d She said. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for that decision we\u2019d all be speaking the King\u2019s English.\u201d<\/p>\n
After rudimentary discussions and a quorum vote, the committee set their sights on a new undertaking: Creating a new historic district.<\/p>\n
The district in question is a neighborhood called Altura. Supposedly, this neighborhood was the first planned community by European settlers in the state of New Jersey.<\/p>\n
The committee hopes that by officially declaring the neighborhood a historic district, that history can be preserved and observed by future generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout being in the historical commission they [the buildings] will be torn down.\u201d Says Mrs. Rivera.<\/p>\n
This is true in the case of the house that once belonged to Charles Wesley Armstrong. According to the Ewing Township website\u2019s page on municipal parks, Armstrong was mayor of Ewing for seven years before becoming the President of the New Jersey State Senate.<\/p>\n
The stone house traded owners often in its history before being rented out this summer according to Mr. Catelize.<\/p>\n
Despite the house\u2019s rich, longstanding history and beloved status as a visual landmark, it was completely demolished this past summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had it leveled in a day.\u201d Said Mr. Marsola.<\/p>\n
This kind of destruction is exactly what the committee hopes to prevent. To promote their cause, they hope to partner with the local historical society and do community outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis mission is really outstanding,\u201d says Mrs. Rivera. \u201cIt is the beginning of something positive, no matter what it turns out to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although their mission is squarely focused on the past, the community will have to look to the future to see if their goals are met and if their mission is a success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Preserving the Future of the Past Charles Wesley Armstrong isn\u2019t important enough to warrant a google search overflowing with information or even a Wikipedia page. However, he is important enough to have a park named after him. The park, located on Upper Ferry Road, is between a church cemetery and a shopping center. It includes several baseball and softball fields, as well as batting cages and other accouterment related to America\u2019s pastime. This park is part of the fabric of Ewing Township. Another part of this fabric is the local history of the area and areas surrounding it. \u201cThey [people in the community] need to have pride in their local history.\u201d Says Lois Rivera, a resident, and member of the Historical Preservation Committee. A group of individuals hopes to preserve and elevate this history. Ewing Township\u2019s Historical Preservation Committee meets almost every month and works towards protecting the historical culture and aspect of Ewing. The committee is small and sometimes overlooked in favor of bigger committees and meetings. \u201cSometimes we get kicked out or pushed into the corner.\u201d laughs Linda Brown, a member of the committee. Although they may not garner a lot of attention, the committee has the important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2731,"featured_media":11495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2731"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13146"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14322,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13146\/revisions\/14322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pearson.immtcnj.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}