Next Meeting Date

The next meeting of the Society will be on Sunday, the 6th of March, at 2 pm in the Hanson House, with a meeting of the Executive Board at 1:30. The program for the afternoon will be presented by Rich Rosenthal, President of the North Jersey Civil War Round Table, and his subject will be about the precedents set by George Washington as he established a new government for the fledgling nation.

While the constitution had set forth the rules and orders of the government, it did not specify exactly how they were to be done. It was left to the president to establish the U.S. Treasury and financial system as well as rules for cabinet meetings, arrangements for the appointment of various ambassadors and justices, and how to deal with Congress. George Washington also created the tradition that two terms was enough for any president, a tradition unbroken until the election of Franklin Roosevelt to a third and then a fourth term in office. Roosevelt died April 12, 1945, in the start of his fourth term, and later the idea of only two terms was confirmed by law.

UCHS Luncheon

On April 10, 2016 the Society will hold its one hundred forty seventh anniversary dinner in the Garden Restaurant on Magie Avenue, near the Elizabeth/Union borderline. The dinner will begin at 2 pm. Please be prompt. In addition to the dinner an interesting program will be presented featuring Dr. Walter Boright as guest speaker.

His topic will be the “Reign of Terror—the Union County Bandits”, caused by three local bandits from December 1920 to February 1921. During that time they held up trolleys, automobiles, and business offices until capture was made after a bloody shoot-out on Morris Avenue. Dr. Boright has done a great amount of research to carefully document the events of ninety-five years ago.

The cost of the dinner will be $32, which barely covers our expenses. Advance payment is required, and an order blank is enclosed for your convenience. Please make payment to Union County Historical Society and mail to our treasurer, William Frolich, at 116 East Fourth Avenue, Roselle, NJ 07203.

Office Staff Back at Work

Well, it seems as though the snows of the “Blizzard of ‘16” have finally melted, helped by the spring-like warm weather, and the office staff can at last gain access to the Hanson House. For days after the storm it seemed pointless to attempt to force a path through the un-cleared, two foot depths of the snow that surrounded the Hanson House, but we are now back at work on the Society’s business. Fortunately there had been no vital work that had to be completed during our enforced absence, and we can pick up where we left off. Other recent snowfall has not impeded our way into the Hanson House.

Pictures From Our Files

Here is a picture of the old stone dam that formed Ursino Lake, which was commonly called “the reservoir”. The photo was taken about 1890, and shows the area as it was until 1928, when three houses were built to the right of the single house shown in the picture. At the same time the old dam was re-enforced with a massive concrete casting, and a new iron and concrete bridge replaced the old iron bridge over the Elizabeth River at Trotter’s Lane, just to the left of the picture.

At the right side of the dam, beyond the scope of this photo, a floodgate was built to control the amount of water in the lake. Nearby was the pumping station and two big concrete filtration tanks of the Elizabethtown Water Co. that until 1929 used the river to provide drinking water to the city and surrounding area. On the eastern shore of the lake stood a large, five story ice house of the Elizabeth Ice Company where blocks of ice sawn from the frozen surface of the lake were stored, to be sold for use in the ice-boxes of its customers. This was a good business before the invention of the home refrigerator.

By the late 1930s the thickly frozen surface of the lake, no longer used for home refrigeration, became the scene of thousands of skaters on a weekend. The city even provided a shack for skate rental, hot chocolate, warmth, and music for the skaters. In 1938 the last house in the “Own Your Own Home” series was built next to the house shown in the picture. After that, the series was ruled an illegal lottery, and was discontinued. Sad to say, the lake is gone now, filled in with only a pair of narrow streams of the river flowing through the area. The dam is still there, but the floodgate remains open.

Snowflakes

We have been told that there are no two snowflakes that are identical, but with the number that have fallen in the past few weeks that thought seems to be questionable. Still, with the intricacies of design shown in an actual photograph of a snowflake, perhaps it is. It is well-known that any ice crystals formed from water have a hexagonal shape of some sort, whether it be sides or points, but who knows about the details of the rest of the flake? This suggests that there could be an infinite variety and still maintain the six-sided shape.

Photographing snowflakes can be a bit tricky, as the equipment must be cold enough so as not to melt the flake before the exposure can be made. It is also necessary to catch a few snowflakes on a satisfactory surface and hope that some will be whole enough for the picture. That usually means studying the weather reports and waiting for a convenient snowstorm. In the last few weeks that would not have been much of a problem, as we have had more snow than would have been needed for any picture.

Over the Back Fence

While most of us are suffering the cold weather and the snows of winter, Alice Holzapfel is enjoying the mild climate of Florida, having moved there from New York State to be near her daughter. After the heavy snowfall of the “Blizzard of ‘16”, Bill Frolich was immobilized for more than a week because of a four-foot mountain of snow left by the town snowplow on the apron of his driveway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who presented the March 6, 2016 UCHS program and what was it about?

Rich Rosenthal, President of the North Jersey Civil War Round Table, presented a program on the precedents George Washington set while establishing a new U.S. government.

What were the “Union County Bandits” discussed for the 2016 anniversary luncheon?

Dr. Walter Boright’s talk focused on three local bandits tied to holdups from December 1920 to February 1921, culminating in a capture after a shoot-out on Morris Avenue.

What was Ursino Lake and why is it historically significant?

Ursino Lake, often called “the reservoir,” was formed by a stone dam on the Elizabeth River and supported water infrastructure, ice harvesting, and later popular skating before being filled in.