Halloween decorations and costumes abound. Halloween has long been a widely celebrated holiday in the United States. Now near the traditional Halloween store displays you will see colorful skulls, skeletons of people and animals, banners, marigolds, frames etc. These are just some of the items used to decorate and to celebrate Day of the Dead:  El dia de los Muertos. This is a holiday traditionally celebrated in all of Mexico but is now celebrated world wide. It is a holiday of joyful celebration of friends and family who have died. Ofrendas (altars/offerings) are built, then decorated with  colorful coverings and marigolds. The Ofrendas hold the favorite food & beverages of the the departed along with candles, photos and memorabilia of the deceased. These items encourage visits by the souls to hear prayers and words during this reunion. Family and friends dress in festive clothes and hats with their faces decorated like calaveras (skulls). It is common to give gifts to friends such as candy sugar skulls (calaveras), share traditional pan de muerto (bread of dead) and to write light hearted and irreverent verses in the form of mock epitaphs dedicated to living friends and acquaintances (Calaveras Literarias).

In 2008 this tradition of the Dia de los Muertos was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood is very excited to present the history of El Dia de los Muertos and afterwards to celebrate this holiday ourselves. Some of the Spanish Honor Society members from Scotch Plains & Fanwood High School will give a history with slides about this wonderful holiday. The Society will have an Ofrenda decorated and adorned with traditional items.  Calavera masks and tattoos will be available and we encourage you to come in colorful clothes to make this evening a true celebration. We encourage you to bring photos and memorabilia of your deceased loved ones for the altar. We also encourage you to bring your own verses written for your living friends. And bring the friends. The heart of this holiday has remained the same over thousands of years. It’s an occasion for remembering and celebrating those who have departed.  We look forward to celebrating with you on Wednesday October 25th. The evening starts at 7:30PM and is held at the historic Shady Rest Golf and Country Club located at 820 Jerusalem Road (at the corner of Plainfield Ave.) in Scotch Plains.

The upcoming meeting is free and all are welcome. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the presentation. For questions, please email Info@HistoricalSocietySPFNJ.org or call 908/322-6700 Extension 230.

The Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood is thrilled to have Ron Murad, a local resident of 34 years and a lover of history present his research paper on Thomas W. Osborn. Thomas W. Osborn, was born in Scotch Plains and was a descendant of Jonathon Osborn, the original owner of our Osborn-Cannonball Museum. To learn more about the Osborn family and to learn that once again an Osborn distinguished himself in life is exciting.

Although born in Scotch Plains, Thomas’ family moved to upstate New York when he was 9 years old. He graduated from law school at Madison (now Colgate) University. During the Civil War he was given a commission as a Lieutenant to form an artillery brigade from NY and remained the head of the Union Artillery, being promoted to Colonel, through the end of the war. Come to our Historical Society meeting on Wednesday September 27th, to hear how he became a U.S. Senator, returned to lawyering & was buried in North Adams, MA with a headstone showing only his name, date of birth and date of death.

Ron Murad’s discovery of Col. Thomas Osborn & his achievements not being recognized is a wonderful historical sleuthing story of its own. Ron is an active member of the Freemasons (the oldest fraternal organization in the world), presently a member of two Masonic research societies and a member of the Grand Lodge of NJ’s “Speakers Bureau.” Several years, on one of his trips to Gettysburg, he learned of Thomas Ward Osborn from Scotch Plains in a book about Freemasons at Gettysburg. Intrigued, he researched him. Last year presenting his research to a Garden State chapter of the National Sojourners, a Masonic organization made up of military individuals, resulted in the Veteran’s Administration making a white marble Civil War memorial gravestone now placed next to Col. W. Osborn’s current gravestone. A dedication ceremony will be held Sunday October 22nd at 1:00PM at Hillside Cemetery in North Adams, MA.

The upcoming meeting on Wednesday September 27th is free and all are welcome. The meeting begins at 7:30PM and is held at the historic Shady Rest Golf and Country Club, 820 Jerusalem Rd. (at the corner of Plainfield Ave.) in Scotch Plains.  Refreshments and fellowship will follow the presentation. For questions, please email Info@HistoricalSocietySPFNJ.org or call 908/322-6700 Extension 230.

Note the change in the Historical Society’s meeting schedule: Beginning in September through November, meetings will be held on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  They were previously held on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

History and Civil War buffs won’t want to miss this month’s meeting of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Historical Society, when local author William McClintock Jr. will present a fascinating educational program on his great-great-grandfather, Commodore Reigart Bolivar Lowry, a member of the first graduating class of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and a career naval officer who served in the U.S. Navy from 1840-1880.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, at the Shady Rest Country Club, 820 Jerusalem Rd. (at the corner of Plainfield Avenue) in Scotch Plains.

McClintock’s presentation, based on his 2021 book, Commodore Reigart Bolivar Lowry, will explore Lowry’s storied career, beginning when he joined the Navy at age 14, and including his active role in many key naval operations of the time. Lowry was on a ship off Fort Sumter when the first shots of the Civil War were fired. He fought in the Mexican-American War and accompanied Commodore Matthew C. Perry when he opened Japan to American trade in 1854. Based on family letters and other documents, McClintock’s thoroughly researched biography goes beyond Lowry’s life to examine the Navy in which he served and the politics and corruption that Lowry and his fellow naval officers encountered as they sought to prevent a captain with less seniority from being promoted ahead of them.

A resident of Scotch Plains since 1981, the author earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Oberlin College, where he began his research on Commodore Lowry and the Navy. He went on to complete a master’s degree in American history from New York University. Mr. McClintock previously served as township mayor and councilman, and is active in the Rotary Club, notably with the Frazee house Restoration Project. Career highlights include serving as an officer at Bankers Trust Company and as Chief Financial Officer at Corporate Annual Reports. In 1993, he formed William McClintock Associates, a political consulting firm that provides targeted consulting and direct mail services. Commodore Reigart Bolivar Lowry is his first book.

The upcoming meeting is free and all are welcome. Refreshments and fellowship will follow the presentation. For questions, please email Info@HistoricalSocietySPFNJ.org or call 908/322-6700 Extension 230.