2009 History Camp at Bedminster's Historic Vanderveer House

Kids Summer Camp with Focus on History & Colonial Craft

The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster in conjunction with the Bedminster Township Recreation Department held the first session of the 2009 History Camp for children. Area children from the Somerset Hills area towns attended a four day afternoon camp that focused on experiencing life as a colonial participant, complete with costumes, culture, and tools from the colonial era.

"We are so glad that the weather held out all week for the event," stated Robin Ray, coordinator for the history camp. "You can just tell that the kids had a great time all week." Robin's no stranger to knowing how well kids enjoy camp since she was coordinating over 37 other camps at the same time in Bedminster.

" Hey Mom & Dad, Here's what we did at history camp today"

Read the daily journal from the first camp session - Day 1 Diary | Day 2 Diary | Day 3 Diary | Day 4 Diary -
additional photos on Facebook. Click here

The 2009 History camp is a unique experience for children that's different from the sports and craft camps that children usually attend. "Kids are actually learning something valuable about how simple, yet how difficult life could be back in the colonial period," noted Kathy Ormosi, a historic militia re-enactor in her spare time, and also serves as Vice President of The Friends of the Abraham Staats House in South Bound Brook, New Jersey who volunteered as cook and instructor during history camp. "But you can tell they really enjoy it."

A special added feature to this years history camp was a daily diary that was prepared and posted online at the conclusion of each day so the participants, parents, and friends could log in and see and read about what happens on a daily basis. Robin Ray and Brooks Betz, both board members at the Vanderveer House, would collaborate on a daily diary and photographs and compile a daily diary for the event.

2009 also marks the first year where Facebook, a internet social networking site is being used as a place for people to visit the Vanderveer House history camp, post their own photos and get a chance to "write on the camp wall. "It's our way of bringing the event into the digital age," stated Betz. " And the kids really like going home and logging on to see their friends online."

Special thanks go to Mr. John Philips, our history camp instructor, for energetically sharing his wealth of knowledge with the campers.  Thank you to our community service volunteers Caitlin Morris and Olivia Galbraith.  Thank you to R. Iain Haight-Ashton for loaning us his fabulous artifacts.  And, thank you to all the educators and re-enactors for sharing their talents and expertise with us this week:  Beatrice Tassot of Tassot Apiaries, Elisa Kessler Caporale, Lady Ellen Ruck and Good Wife Fawn Mac Nab, and Kathy Ormosi.

Additional information:

Experience the daily diary:

Day 1 Diary | Day 2 Diary | Day 3 Diary | Day 4 Diary |

History Camp at Bedminster's Historic Jacobus Vanderveer House

Dates: Session 1 - June 30 - July 3, 2009 1-4pm Session 2 - July 20 - July 24, 2009 1-4pm Ages: 9-12 & open to all students in the Somerset Hills area.
Session	Activities
Monday	Welcome, clothing/costume hand-out, History of of the Vanderveer/Knox house, “Bee Keeping and Colonial Farming” with Tassot Apiaries from Milford, New Jersey.  Discussion and processing.
Tuesday	“Basket Weaving” with Elisa Kessler Caporale - Children will learn about the history of colonial basket making, purposes, materials, etc. and will be making round reed baskets with multicolored reed finished, looped or braided trim.  Discussion and processing.
Wednesday	“The Farmers Household ”Colonial clothing, sewing craft projects. Discussion and processing.
Thursday	“Open Fire Cooking ” with Michele Dansak & Kathy Ormosi.  Plan to cook items over an open outdoor fire pit, either soup and a bread or fried dough, and also churn butter.  Children will be involved with the food prep that doesn’t actually involve being over the fire. (All necessary fire approvals have been satisfied with the township in addition to the location of the fire pit).  Clothing styles and their purposes will be discussed relative to children.  Discussion and processing.
Friday (2nd Session Only)	"Archeological Exploration" - with Ian Burrow of Hunter Research, one of New Jersey's most renowned archeological firms.

Registration Form Details (For Download)