President’s Letter – 2024 Year in Review

Our Mr. Local History Project Mission:

To preserve and promote New Jersey’s local history with a social twist, as we are always looking to find new, fun ways to share stories about the great history of New Jersey.

2024 Annual Report

This annual report has been approved by the Board of Trustees and will be filed with the State of New Jersey and GuideStar for Non-Profit organizations.

2024 represented the 5th year of operation for the Mr. Local History Project (referred to throughout as MLHP). The organization is a well-respected state-wide historic organization with a mission to preserve and promote local history with a social twist.

One of our most significant moments in 2024 continued with our Project Local History Ambassador Program in Bernards Township, New Jersey. MLHP held assemblies at each of the Bernards Township Elementary schools and St. James, presenting an official Bernards Township flag and information card to every 5th grader. The program will continue in 2025 and is 90% funded.

Paula Axt and Meg Wastie formally resigned as voting Board of Trustee members of the MLHP in 2024. Both have moved out of the area and felt it best to retire from the organization, but they will stay in touch as advisors for future endeavors.  The remaining board thanked them for their tremendous efforts to preserve the organization’s credo of “preserving and promoting local history with a social twist,” meaning they never looked back after leaving the local historical society due to their leadership deficiencies.

Administrative:

The Mr. Local History 2023 Tax Return was filed to the IRS via the IRS online portal. Form 990-N postcard was submitted to the IRS. There is a NJ State requirement for filing: a $50 fee for non-profits as MLH is a registered and approved 501c3 Non-Profit Charitable organization.

Board of Trustees:

Our 2024 Board of Trustees remained simple with a straightforward structure and was approved at our first meeting of the year:

• Brooks Betz – President (Chair/Secretary)
• Jill Betz – Vice President (Vice Chair/Treasurer)

The organization met as needed to discuss programs, research, partnerships, finances, and all other business. The Mr. Local History project received Candid’s highest rating in 2024, with a Platinum Transparency designation in 2024. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/84-3350277

MLH Committee Updates:

Digital Committee

• A new Mr. Local History logo was approved in November 2024, representing a change to a more “Jersey History” representation logo, including the MLHP QR code.

Key Online Metrics/ www.mrlocalhistory.org:

2024 – Top 25 Articles and Pages – mrlocalhistory.org

1	Home – Mr. Local History Project
2	Origins of Cold as Balls and Cold as a Witch’s Teet – Mr. Local History Project
3	Somerset Hills Most Famous Families & Residents – Mr. Local History Project
4	Best Crumb Cake in New Jersey – Discuss Now – Mr. Local History Project
5	President Trump’s Historic Summer White House in Bedminster, New Jersey – Mr. Local History Project
6	Titanic Survivor Astor and Basking Ridge – Mr. Local History Project
7	Sandwiches Invented in New Jersey – Mr. Local History Project
8	Retrospective: Building AT&T Headquarters Basking Ridge – Mr. Local History Project
9	Historic Bendix Diner in Jersey Will Blow Your Mind – Mr. Local History Project
10	Retrospective: Jackie Kennedy Onassis’ Time in Bernardsville & Peapack in the Somerset Hills – Mr. Local History Project
11	That 4.8 Earthquake was New Jersey’s Ramapo FAULT – Mr. Local History Project
12	Blairsden- The Horror, The Nuns and Other Urban Legends – Mr. Local History Project
13	The World’s Largest Glitter Factory Started in Bernardsville, New Jersey – Mr. Local History Project
14	Where Are the Kienast Quintuplets from Liberty Corner – 53 Years Later – Mr. Local History Project
15	AT&T’s Golden Boy Has Had a Tough Life – Mr. Local History Project
16	Betsy Ross is Really Buried in Basking Ridge, New Jersey – Mr. Local History Project
17	Legendary Jimmy Buff’s Italian Hot Dog – A Newark, New Jersey Invention – Mr. Local History Project
18	The Tale of Jersey’s Devil Tree – Mr. Local History Project
19	Jersey Pizzerias and Heroin – The Mafia’s Pizza Connection Trial – Mr. Local History Project
20	Largest Antique Truck Collection in the World is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey – Mr. Local History Project
21	Lost New Jersey Racetracks Project Map – Mr. Local History Project
22	Retrospective: Newark’s McGovern’s Tavern- An Irish History Tale – Mr. Local History Project
23	Retrospective: Icons & Oddities Along Jersey’s Route 22 – Mr. Local History Project
24	50+ Chris Christie Beach Memes To Make You Laugh – Mr. Local History Project
25	Daytona 500 Ticket Price History – Going Up In a Brandon Economy – Mr. Local History Project

Education

• Project Local History Ambassador continued in 2024 in Bernards Township public schools and St. James Catholic School.  Over 500 Bernards Township flags were presented at no charge, along with an all 5th grade assembly highlighting the history of the Bernards Township flag and its meaning.

Programs

• HGOAT Westfield Game: Like the successful HGOAT Somerset Hills game in 2022, the 2024 game was hosted on the Facebook page “You Know You’re From Westfield vs. the Mr. Local History website. The Rialto Theater became the Historic Greatest of All Time business as voted by the participants.
• Wear Lost Local History Program Launch: A new program created over 270 recreated digital logos from lost businesses across New Jersey. The images were loaded to a new Redbubble online storefront that “Prints-On-Demand” any digital creations on over 65 products. MLHP has no upfront costs for producing the products. In 2024 over

Gift Shop

• MLH again supported and promoted the New Jersey Historic Wooden Village Keepsake collection in cooperation with T3 Consortium acting as the underwriter and sponsor to the series.

Events

• MLHP supported Bernardsville’s 100^th anniversary with a dedicated Facebook group that posted historical events found in the Bernardsville News local newspaper throughout 2024. Bernardsville’s 100th-anniversary logo was created shirts, magnets were created as giveaways Bernardsville’s 100th-anniversary logo was created shirts, and magnets were created as giveaways.

• Supported the Bernardsville 100th-anniversary birthday party in September 2024.

Named Accomplishments

• Five Mr. Local History Online Magazines in 2024
• Project Local History Ambassador Sponsor – 5th-grade flag program (April/May 2024)
• Bernards Township Day of Service and Pride Coordinator – May 24, 2024
• Halloween Story Telling Fundraiser – Warren – October 24, 2024
• Small Business Saturday Participant – November 30, 2024
• Giving Tuesday Participant – December 3, 2024

Finances

All monies received by the Mr. Local History Project went towards preserving and promoting New Jersey’s local history. Donations, store sales, and event fundraising accounted for 100% as no 2024 grants were received.   A total of 14 donations were received, totaling $ $4,886.73. Bank balances effective 12/31/2024 with PayPal balance at $954.26 and Citizens Bank at $4,309.58, respectively, for a total balance of $5263.84 at year’s end.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Mr. Local History looks forward to 2024, expanding our vision and ideas to broader audiences within Somerset County and across New Jersey. The group plans to continue programs like Elder Voices and Project Local History Ambassador in Bernards Township. We plan to attend Bernards Township Charter Day.  Bernards Township Day of Community Service and Pride will also be part of our programming if additional coordinators are needed. “Painting Local History” will start as we work to involve local elders from around the Somerset Hills area in 2025 as well as a trip to Wildwood, New Jersey, for a partnership with the Doo Wop Museum.

Respectfully submitted:
Brooks H. Betz

Chair / President
Mr. Local History Project, LLC
Registered and accredited IRS 501c3 non-profit charity

Posted: December 29, 2024