Archive for NJ Events

With the 2010 elections over, and a powerful change sweeping Washington once again, I realized anew what a privilege it is to be able to vote. I am a female blogger, and it amazes me to think that there was a time when women were not allowed to vote…that in fact, once given the privilege, in some states that privilege was taken away for a time. This made me curious about the history of the Women’s Suffrage movement and how it affected our State of New Jersey. It should be noted that a woman’s right to vote and the suffrage movement was not limited to the United States…but this is a NJ blog, so here the focus will remain.

Here is a time-line, so to speak, of the movement here in New Jersey:

1776 – It was Abagail Adams that wrote to her husband, John Adams, asking that woman not be forgotten in the new laws of our new Nation. In the constitution, all “inhabitants” of the land, without distinction of sex or race were given the right to vote…but in New Jersey (and perhaps elsewhere) the voters were to be property owners. If a woman was married, her husband was the property owner, so if my history is correct, only woman who were single and widows were permitted to vote.

Another source states that woman who possessed $250 were permitted to vote.

1787 – Women in all states except New Jersey lost their right to vote when the US Constitutional Convention gave States the right to set their own qualifications.

1807 – New Jersey joined the other States by revoking the right of women to vote – as well as aliens, and persons of color (Negros). Only white males were permitted to vote, the claim being that it would simplify things and help to eliminate fraud.

It was in 1920 that women throughout the United States won the right to vote through an amendment to the Constitution…ratified in 1920. You can find complete Women’s Suffrage time-lines at the following links:

100 Years Toward Suffrage

Votes for Women State by State

Womens Suffrage Events Timeline

Women’s Rights Timeline


The fall colors are really beginning to show all around us here in Northern New Jersey.  I have a feeling they will be at their peak next week, when I hope to bring my Mom for a visit and take her around to view the beauty around us.

I had fun putting together a page about fall foliage in New Jersey, and it has many links to places you can go to hike, drive or walk all over the State, as well as a few videos to enjoy.

Please click “Colorful Fall Foliage in New Jersey“, I hope you will find it to be a helpful resource if you are planning to travel in the New Jersey area to view the colors.


This coming weekend is the annual Quick Chek Festival of Balloons in Readington, New Jersey, and a couple weekends later in very early August is the Warren County Farmer’s Fair Balloon Festival.

I have been to the Quick Chek event, but have yet to go to the Warren County, New Jersey event.

For more information about both of these events, plus videos and a slide-show that I put together, please visit New Jersey Hot Air Balloon Festivals.


It’s time to remember the birthday of Elvis Presley, his 75th.  We can only imagine what Elvis would have looked and sounded like at that age…or better yet, let him remain forever young in our memories.

I tried to dig around and see what I could find to connect Elvis with our fine state of New Jersey, this Baby Boomer remembers him well, and remembers how heartbroken some of my girlfriends were when he died.  I mean really heartbroken, you’d have thought they lost a family member or someone they knew personally and very well, when the closest they had been to him was to put together scrapbooks, listen to his music, watch him on TV, or if really fortunate, attend a concert.

Last year in New Jersey, they had the first ever Elvis look (and sound) alike competition in Rahway, NJ, here’s a video for you…these guys aren’t Elvis, but they aren’t bad either:

I was also able to find an interview…listen close, it has some rough spots, but not too bad…it was supposed done at Fort Dix in 1960:

And these are some personal favorites of mine:

Always on my Mind – not “polished”, but nice:

The Wonder of You

Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (sing along)

Amazing Grace (with picture montage)

There’s a few of my favorites. I can’t help but notice, looking at him and his pictures in retrospect, he seems unhappy, often as if he doesn’t really look well or “into” what he’s doing, but his voice was always beautiful.


It was such a treat to attend the very first air show not far from our home at the Greenwood Lake Airport here in my home town, West Milford, New Jersey.  I have always loved air shows…we’ve traveled miles and stayed over night in hotels to visit some, so having one so close by was an extra blessing. 

We were there on Saturday, September 26, 2009, and probably the best day as it rained and was very overcast on Sunday.  This is an airport that we brought our children to when they were young to watch the small planes take off.  Now they are adults…it’s also a place we occasionally visit for a weekend lunch at their restaurant.  Always so quiet and peaceful, nestled in an area surrounded by trees, but last Saturday, the crowds were amazing to see.  Parking was up in the parking lot for the old Jungle Habitat, and was handled with great efficiency by our local police dept. and what I believe were members of a unit of the air national guard…correct me in comment if you happen to stop by and read this and I’m wrong.

I have always loved planes, this going back I’m sure to having a grandfather who was a Navy man and a retired US Air Force Captain.  Then there was my own Dad who was an electrical engineer all of his working years in the aeronautics division of a large company…designing parts for planes, including an invention or two, as well as designing parts for the space program when that became important to our Nation.  So I guess you could say it’s in my blood.  The funny part is that I prefer my feet to be on the ground, not in a plane…but there’s no greater sound to me than the rush of a powerful military jet flying low overhead, and nothing more fun than watching extremely skilled pilots make smaller sized planes do things I never imagined possible. 

I’m including a couple pictures here, and plan to devote some more time, pictures and detail to the air show through another venue soon, I’ll link to it here when it’s done.  You’ll also want to visit http://www.greenwoodlakeairshow.com – I hope this is the first of what will become an annual event.

Just noticed that my son added some pictures to his facebook page, stop by and take a look, he’s a better photographer than I am.


The “Jersey Shore beach Vacation” season will be starting at the end of this month, a favorite time of year for those of us that love the beach.  There’s hardly a place in NJ that isn’t within a reasonable distance from one of our beautiful beaches.  We are in the very northernmost part of New Jersey, but have made trips down to Wildwood, NJ which is at the bottom of the state, and is always worth the trip!

If you are planning a vacation or trip to the Jersey Shore this year, and will be near Wildwood, New Jersey, please do plan to attend one or more of the FREE concerts offered at Morey’s Piers taking place from June through August. Many of the top Radio Disney artists will be performing. Morey’s Piers is a fun place for the whole family, if you are in need of a place to stay, this link will provide you with some Wildwood New Jersey motels in the area.

You’ll find more information at any of the fun links in this post.


I have to admit that I haven’t quite grasped the Tax Day Tea Party movement, it’s my own fault, haven’t really taken the time to explore it. Not because I don’t care, just distracted by other seemingly more important things lately. To learn more, I’ll be watching some of the special coverage on television.  Since this seems to be a conservative movement, FOX News, will probably be the station to watch…the station that claims to be “Fair and Balanced” but is definitely a bit more right-leaning.  They are going to have some great coverage today.

I decided to do a search this morning to see what Tea Parties will be taking place in NJ, there may be more than you’ll see on the following list of parties taking place only on the 15th, found at taxdayteaparty.com, so feel free to comment if you know of other NJ Tea Parties taking place….if you live in another State, visit the link above, and find the link to your State:

City: Belmar
When: April 15, Noon – 3:00pm
Where: 16th Avenue boardwalk
Contact: EMAIL

City: Cape May
When: April 15, 6:00 pm  – 8:30pm
Where: Harbor View Park, Texas Avenue at the harbor
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: Participate by land or sea, bring your boat, flags and patriotic American Spirit!!

City: Flemington
When: April 15, Noon – 2:00pm
Where: The northwest corner of Main Street and Court Street
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: http://flemingtonteaparty.blogspot.com/

City: Hackensack
When: April 15, 4:00 pm – 6:00pm
Where: Bergen County Court House, Hackensack, NJ (Court Street Side)
Contact: EMAIL

City: Jersey City
When: April 15, 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Where: Liberty State Park
Contact: EMAIL

City: Morristown
When: April 15, Noon
Where: On The Green at the center of Morristown
Contact: EMAIL
Other Info: Yahoo Group
Facebook Group: CLICK HERE

City: Newark
When:
April 15, 12:00 pm
Where:
Gateway Center One – 782 McCarter Highway, Newark Offices of Senator Lautenberg and Menendez conveniently located in the same building.
Contact:
EMAIL
Other Info:
Parking: 66 Edison Place, Newark
Google Map:
Click Here
Facebook Group:
CLICK HERE

City: Piscataway
When:
April 15, 5:00pm
Where:
Johnson Park (River Road, Piscataway Township)
Contact:
EMAIL
Other Info:
http://www.americansforprosperity.org/032409-new-jersey-tax-day-tea-party

City: Trenton
When:
April 15, 11:30am – 4:00pm
Where:
New Jersey State House, 125 W State St
Contact:
EMAIL
Facebook Group:
CLICK HERE

City: Vineland
When:
April 15th, 1-4PM
Where:
722 E Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360
E-mail:
t@thomassnow.com
Phone:
973-406-4688
Web Site:
http://tomsnow.serveblog.net
Face Book:
CLICK HERE

Please add your tea party info in a comment, if you like, and let me know what you think about all of this. I’ll probably do more on this at Married to Politics later today.


With the increase in job loss, or fear of job loss in the present recession, there are support groups beginning to form in New Jersey. I just received an email from a fellow NJ Baby Boomer, and thought I’d share the content with you. If you know of other support groups forming, please leave a comment:

UMDNJ-University Behavioral HealthCare to Provide Free Support Groups for People Affected by the Economic Crisis

NEWARK – Panic over job loss. Fear of unemployment. Profound worry about meeting mortgage and tuition payments. Unfortunately, these are the realities of this severe recession.

If you are experiencing any of these kinds of reactions to the current fiscal crisis, it is important to know that you are not alone; there is a place you can go for assistance.

Beginning March 3, UMDNJ-University Behavioral HealthCare (UBHC), a statewide mental health and addiction services network, will offer free 90-minute support groups, run by experienced counselors, for those affected by the economic downturn. Sessions will be held weekly at the following locations on the days and times specified:

-Newark: Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. at UBHC, 183 South Orange Avenue;
-New Brunswick: Wednesdays at 3 p.m. at 303 George Street, 2nd Floor;
-Edison: Thursdays at 3 p.m. at 100 Metroplex Drive, 2nd Floor, Suite 200;
-Monmouth Junction: Tuesdays at noon at 4326 U.S. Highway 1.

  • Sessions are open to the public and no appointments are necessary to attend. Participants may remain anonymous.
  • People interested in attending may call (800) 969-5300 for more information.
  • Members of the media interested in more information about this new initiative should contact Zenaida Mendez at (973) 972-7273.

PLEASE VIEW THE COMMENT(S) BELOW if you are viewing this as a single post, or click the “comments” link under the title of the post, for more support group information that has been added since this post was published.  Thank you.