Presidents Letter

 

Dear Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House:

I’m glad to have this opportunity to send you a brief update on progress and activities at the historic Jacobus Vanderveer House. We’re grateful for your past generosity and hope you’ll renew your support this year. These are challenging times, to be sure. Yet, to many, challenging times are exactly when our nation’s history – great leaders, major events and unlikely victories – will offer the greatest wisdom.

Our organization is dedicated to preserving and sharing the heritage of a special landmark, a place that reflects a critical era in our nation’s past. Our mission is to restore, develop and operate the Vanderveer House as a nationally significant historic site, museum and educational resource. During the past year, we moved forward with planning for permanent exhibitions and period furnishings, a project we will implement in phases over the next few years. We completed a comprehensive Historic Landscape Report and Site Master Plan, which will guide our efforts to develop the site as a colonial farmstead property and key element of the Crossroads of the Revolution National Heritage Area.

This year we also expanded our public programs and community outreach. In partnership with Bedminster Township, we introduced a summer history camp for children. In the fall, we again participated in local heritage programs including the township’s annual Fall Fest and Somerset County’s Weekend Journey through the Past.  Our volunteers are actively planning two more signature events – our annual Colonial Christmas House Tour, December 5 - 7, and a fund-raising party, Romance and the Revolution, in February 2009. 

Enclosed is the new issue of our newsletter, The Cannon, with pictures and stories about these and other activities. For still more information, check our Web site at www.jvanderveerhouse.com.

All of this work is possible only with the support of individuals and families who share our commitment to historic preservation and the unique story of the Vanderveer family, General Henry Knox, and New Jersey’s role in the history of the American Revolution.

With your renewed support, we will continue our efforts to establish an exciting community museum and historic landmark.  We know this year has presented unusual challenges, but we hope we can count on you   for a contribution at whatever level is appropriate for you. Thanks for your continued interest and support!

Sincerely,

Jay Michael Petrillo, AIA, President

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Submitted: October 14, 2008