Founder and Chair of the Mr. Local History Project
Views: 70 Isn’t it interesting how history becomes history? Take pay phones, for example. When you were using them, you never thought about it, and then they’re gone- not just gone… totally gone. Then you see them 20 years later… Read More »America’s Mr. Shuffleboard is a Jersey Guy – Meet Union’s Sol Lifkin
Views: 673 This story is a personal account, shaped by growing up with a father who was a member of the New York Yacht Club and by experiencing the America’s Cup firsthand in Newport, Rhode Island, in both 1980 and… Read More »Looking Back: 1983 America’s Cup Trophy Room and the New York Yacht Club’s Hole in the Floor
Views: 555 For Over Half a Century, the Frippery is Watchung’s Original Treasure Hunt Long before thrift shopping became trendy, generations of bargain hunters were already climbing the stairs and rummaging through the shelves at one of Watchung’s best-known hidden… Read More »“The Frippery” Thrift Store Extraordinaire is a Watchung Historic Gem
Views: 2,263 Ah, who remembers the Wind Ranch in Bingen, Washington? Just across the bridge from Hood River was a place, no, an iconic place, that remains now only in my memory. This post is more of a community plea… Read More »Remembering the Columbia River Gorge’s Wind Ranch in the 80s
Views: 1,054 For centuries, historians have relied on books, letters, artifacts, and exhibits to tell the stories of the past. But what if visitors could do something more? What if they could actually sit down and have a conversation with… Read More »Meet HistOracle AI: New Jersey Team Brings History’s Voices Back to Life
Views: 458 On February 9, 2026, Brian Haumersen and Mike D Achille returned the historic ice yacht OURS to the ice of the Navesink River at the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club for the first time in approximately… Read More »Historic Ice Yacht Gifted to Lake Hopatcong Club- It’s “Ours”
Views: 640 This post is part of a series in which the Mr. Local History Project will document what we believe are the early stages of a new varsity sport across the state. We plan to meet with the New… Read More »Documenting the Ridge High School Sailing Program
Views: 1,887 The Statue of Liberty’s official name is “Liberty Enlightening the World”. In French:”La Liberté éclairant le monde” Her raised torch represents enlightenment, while the tablet in her left arm bears the date JULY IV MDCCLXXVI — July 4,… Read More »Statue of Liberty History, Then Some Facts – Jersey Style of Course
Views: 1,237 Long before football stadium lights, marching bands, and Friday night rivalries, a quieter competition was taking shape along New Jersey’s bays, rivers, and coastlines. Students were racing sailboats. Today, high school sailing is an established part of the… Read More »High School Sailing Teams in New Jersey …Who Knew
Views: 13,525 UPDATE: We published this story a while back, and we said people needed to see it again. It is a classic American tale that goes unnoticed, but we continue to root out these great American tales. Stop by… Read More »The American Flagman Honors Patriotism Every Day
Views: 2,433 Our first comment needs to be “NO, THIS IS NOT AN AI-GENERATED IMAGE.” At first glance, I honestly thought someone had listed Bernards Township’s Town Hall for sale. For a moment, it looked uncannily like the old Astor… Read More »Was Basking Ridge’s Town Hall Abandonded?
Views: 1,565 Most people think they know New Jersey. They picture highways, traffic, and a place you pass through on the way to somewhere else. But if you could step back into the mid 1800s, you’d see a very different… Read More »Why are We Called “The Garden State?” Spring Gardens- History and Happenings
Views: 2,022 “I want to try this ice boating. But I Need THREE EASIES: Easy to Set Up. Easy to Sail. Easy to Put Away.“ Ice boating has always lived in that wonderful space between ingenuity and obsession. For generations,… Read More »Production Ice Boats & Contraptions – Getting Started on Ice the Easy Way
Views: 1,428 In 1888, a fast and ambitious ice yacht named Rocket was built to race on the frozen reaches of the Navesink River at Red Bank, New Jersey. At a time when ice boating was one of winter’s great… Read More »Historic Rocket Ice Yacht Reborn on the Navesink
Views: 4,246 Although the Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy and the Riverton Yacht Club are on opposite sides of New Jersey, both claim to have been founded in 1865. Published sources currently give the Riverton Yacht Club the bragging… Read More »New Jersey’s Oldest Yacht Club is RYC – But is it Riverton or Raritan?
