SOHPS President Gregory Burrus Semi Annual Status Message
Date: Mar 13 2008

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Time : 15 minutes, 7 seconds
Date Last Updated:
Thu 13 Mar 2008 09:26:43 AM CDT

Dear Members, Potential Members and Volunteers

I would first like to welcome you to our home on the web. Back in August, when I was interviewed by The Maplewood News Record, reporter (New president sees bright future Sep 2007) I was asked what I would commit to as the newly elected President of the South Orange Historical and Preservation Society SOHPS.  I reflected on the key principles of our SOHPS mission statement which states we strive to:

·           provide programs to disseminate historical, preservation and architectural information.

·           support preservation activities within the Village of South Orange.

·           support the recognition of landmark buildings and historic neighborhoods.

·           promote adaptive reuse of significant historic structures rather than abandonment or demolition.

In line with this mission, I simply translated our mission to 3 specific objectives: outreach, education and preserva­tion. I explained them as: 

1.         Community Outreach - reestablish SOHPS in the collective minds of the community.

2.         Education Programs – develop historical love for all South Orange neighborhoods.

3.         Preservation - fostering the stabilization and preservation of the Old Stone House

Exploring the last 7 months we have been successful at accomplishing what we started.

 

1. Community Outreach Events – SOHPS reached out and actively participated in the following events.

·           Main Street's South Orange "Celebrate South Orange Day"

·           Starbucks Make Your Mark Cleanup South Orange Middle School

·        Seton Hall University SHU 500 Painting of the South Orange Middle School

·           South Orange Village NewComers/Allcomers Day at the Park adjacent to the Baird Center

·           Seton Hall University South Orange Appreciation Day Parade

·           I had the honor of being the keynote speaker on Internet Technology for the South Orange Nonprofit Leaders Summit at the Baird Center

·           Finally SOHPS is pleased to have our historic artwork displayed as the historic décor of one of our primary establishments, Hot Bagels Abroad in the heart of the Village of South Orange. 

2. Education and Awareness Activities – educate and establish awareness of SOHPS presence and mission to the residents of South Orange and the surrounding counties. To do that SOHPS conducted the following major events:  

·           Old Stone House Exhibit at South Orange Public Library October for 8 weeks consisted of:

·           Display of the Old Stone House model, a South Orange Time Line, maps from 1877 and 1904, architectural sketches, handouts, scrapbooks of articles and letters. 

·           Pictures, presentations and actual family members some which lived in the house. 

·           Opening reception included a keynote lecture by Carol Reznikoff and she spoke at the Celebrate Dutch Day.

·           All attendees were treated to a viewing of the movie Once Upon a Gaslight.

·           Multiple lectures delivered by Nancy Heins-Glaser to the South Orange Middle School attendees and other Community Members

·           Celebrated DUTCH AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY CEREMONY at the South Orange Public Library consisted of an event which included :

·           NJ State and Local Dignitaries Honoring Our Own Dutch American Treasure, Stone House By Stone House Brook NJ’s Oldest Datable House Built by the Dutch prior to 1680

·           Dutch American Heritage Day Reception Lite Dutch fare-Special invited guests

·           A Rare Public Guided Tour of The Old Stone House Grounds Hosted by Brian Hanlon at the property formerly known as 219 South Orange Ave Located behind the South Orange Police Station.

·           South Orange Maplewood Newsrecord Press Coverage

3. Preservation of Old Stone House 

·           July 2007 S. O. established an Old Stone House Advisory Task Force which will study and assess options for the restoration, use, maintenance or disposition of the Old Stone House. Force

·           Now stabilization of the Old Stone House is proceeding and will be completed as soon as weather permits.

·           The South Orange Village Old Stone House Task Force comprised of community resident, SOHPS members, Montrose Historic Park team members and South Orange Trustees completed the first phase study. This was a 90 plus day study to produce its recommendations. 

·           Now thoughts turn to preservation. The Task Force designed to address the long term vision is entering Phase 2 which will focus on long term solutions.

·           The Task Force is now seeking additional members for developing the future of the Old Stone House.

Looking forward to the remainder of this year

·           SOHPS Old Stone House - there will be more talks and lectures initiated by the OLD Stone House Team. An archaeological lecture and talk is currently schedule for the month of April.

·           SOHPS Scholarship Program - The South Orange Historic and Preservation Society Scholarship Program is brand new for 2008. It will be awarded to a graduating Senior who demonstrates an appreciation for, as well as an ability to communicate about, the importance of South Orange’s history and its place in U.S. History. This program will ask about the educational, community and organizational accomplishments inclusive of why the candidate should be considered for this scholarship.

·           Preservation Award – During the 2^nd Quarter of this year there will be a SOHPS Preservation to a South Orange Landmark. This year the New jersey Transit Train Station will be selected.

·           SOHPS Newsletter – we are producing the first ever SOHPS newsletter which is inline with making sure all of you are aware of the mission to help South Orange stay the beautiful place it is.

·           The Final event of the year will be the SOHPS Annual Membership Meeting and it will be exciting as we invite the general public in to meet and greet our team. Look for an invite from us.

None of this happened in a vacuum. It was due to the dedication of the SOHPS team members who initiated or were there supporting every event. Combine with the continued support of the many volunteers for house tour and individual events we generated even more interest in SOHPS events. Working with town leaders has been a pleasure as they worked us through the various issues associated with maintaining the old Stone House.

We ask that you continue to support us and please visit us on the web at www.sohps.org. We have many more events coming up and we urge you to join us on our journey to preserve the history and culture of South Orange. Every day you prove there is no better place to live than South Orange.

Thank You

Gregory Burrus

President

South Orange Historical and Preservation Society

http://www.sohps.org