Jefferson historical society to host talk on book

LAKE HOPATCONG — The Jefferson Township Historical Society will hold a membership meeting and program on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Lodge at Camp Jefferson on Weldon Road.

New Jersey author Linda J. Barth will present a talk on her new book, "A History of Inventing in New Jersey: From Thomas Edison to the Ice Cream Cone."

Many people are familiar with Edison's "invention factory" in Menlo Park, where he patented the phonograph, the light bulb, and many more innovations.

Yet many other ideas have grown in the Garden State. New Jerseyans brought sound and music to movies and built the very first drive-in theater. In addition to the first cultivated blueberry, tasty treats like ice cream cones and M&M's also are also Jersey natives.

Iconic aspects of American life, like Bubble Wrap, the boardwalk, the Band-Aid, and even professional baseball itself started in New Jersey. Life would be a lot harder without the vacuum cleaner, plastic, air-conditioning, and many other important advances in medicine and surgery that were developed here. Linda Barth will explore groundbreaking, useful, fun, and even silly inventions and their New Jersey roots. Copies of Linda Barth's book will be available for purchase and signing at the meeting and also available in the Jefferson Township Museum's gift shoppe, Miss Elizabeth's Shoppe.

The next open house of the Jefferson Museum will be on Sunday, May 4, 2014 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Anyone interested in joining the organization is encouraged to attend this meeting.

For more information, refer to the Jefferson Township's Historical Society website at www.jthistoricalsociety.org, or call Christine Williams, Jefferson Township Historical Society president, at 973-697-0258.