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Please feel free to forward this Newsletter to your friends. The Twin Lights Family is growing every day, and we would love to connect more people to our magnificent Landmark! Thank you!
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Dear Members of the Twin Lights Historical Society and Friends of the Twin Lights!
Now that the winter weather has finally released us, we at Twin Lights are getting ready for a busy and productive summer season. When reading this newsletter, you'll see that we have many inspired projects for 2013 and beyond. Help us make this year as exciting as it can be and spread the enduring message of our Twin Lights Lighthouse to the world. Come and Get Connected with us once again. We hope to see you soon!
Sincerely,
Mary Jo Kenny, President
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Seeing Stars Update
We are waiting with great excitement for final plans and specs for the upcoming Seeing Stars special exhibit. We have engaged John Williams, a nationally recognized museum designer, whose resume includes the Titanic Exhibit and Stars & Stripes: An American Story. John believes that Seeing Stars will distinguish the Twin Lights Museum as one of the finest small museums in the country. Despite the hold-ups and obstacles created by Super Storm Sandy, we are still hoping to launch in 2013.
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Aurora Exhibit
In 1827, a sailing ship named the Aurora was smashed to pieces in the surf off Sandy Hook after crossing the Atlantic from England. In 1828, two lighthouses were erected atop the Navesink Highlands, and the number of ships like the Aurora lost off the coast plummeted. This spring, the Society acquired a collection of artifacts from the Aurora wreck and curator Peggi Carlsen and her team has set up a small exhibit in the Twin Lights Museum. We are hoping to do much more with our Aurora artifacts after the museum is redesigned, but the display is well worth a visit today. The story of how the ship's cargo was preserved will leave you in slack-jawed awe!
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Pledge of Allegiance Documentary
What do you do after winning an award for your first documentary? You make another one! "The Twin Lights of the Navesink" DVD -which is available for purchase in the Museum Store-was named Best Documentary at the 2012 Garden State Film Festival. We have started work on another short film that focuses on the events surrounding April 25, 1893, when the Pledge of Allegiance was given for the first time as America's national oath of loyalty during a ceremony at the Twin Lights. Senator Joe Kyrillos spoke about the lasting importance of the Pledge during our "On Hallowed Ground" event last August.
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Economic Development
In the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy, the Twin Lights National Historic Site has gained attention as one of the economic engines for our devastated region. Based on the state's own tourism statistics, our annual visitors generate more than $2 million for local businesses-mostly in food purchases at local stores and restaurants. Those dollars are desperately needed as the surrounding towns struggle to rebuild. Discussions have already begun with Trenton to make better use of the Twin Lights as a go-to destination for tourism and a symbol of the Jersey Shore's recovery.
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Commodore Perry Connection
In 1838, the U.S. government sent Matthew C. Perry to France to evaluate a new-fangled piece of lighthouse technology that everyone in Europe was raving about. Perry's team determined that the Fresnel lens was the real deal, and brought two back home when he returned in 1841. Those lenses were immediately installed in the "old" (unconnected) Twin Lights and had such a dramatic impact on navigational safety that within a decade nearly every major lighthouse in America was equipped with a Fresnel lens. Commodore Perry later gained fame for "opening" Japan to Western trade, and modernizing the U.S. Navy. Not bad for a man who started life in the shadow of his older brother, Oliver Perry, the naval hero of the War of 1812 whose motto was Don't Give Up the Ship.
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Twin Lights People: Arthur Byron
Among the many famous Americans who have lived "in the shadow" of the Twin Lights is Arthur Byron. He was the son of Oliver and Kate Byron (the Steve and Edie of the late 19th century). Arthur, who lived with his wife Kathryn across the bridge in Highland Beach, gained fame as a stage and screen actor in the early 1900s. He and Kathryn co-starred with Boris Karloff in The Mummy. Click HERE [http://bit.ly/YP2BNJ] to read more about Arthur and other local celebrities.
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Save the Jersey Shore
The Society has forged a partnership with the Foundation to Save the Jersey Shore, a charity devoted to "undoing what Sandy did" by rebuilding homes and communities in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Save the Jersey Shore co-founder Warren Diamond is a longtime fan of the Twin Lights; he has already taken an active role in moving the Twin Lights Museum redesign forward.
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Twin Lights - In the Media
"Like" the Twin Lights on Facebook!
Come check us out on our facebook page. We have a rotating exhibit of different pictures, along with upcoming events and news about the Twin Lights.
Our URL is: www.facebook.com/twinlightshistoricalsociety
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Keeper's Ditty Bag
Looking for Volunteers
Volunteers are needed for our gift shop, as greeters and as guides for our wonderful exhibits. If you have talents in any area, enjoy working with other people and can contribute a few days or hours to our worthy cause, please contact us at 732. 291.9900 or twinlightslighthouse.com.
Donations
Do you have a family photo, postcard or other piece of personal history related to the Twin Lights, Maritime History, or Lifesaving on the Jersey Coast? Now is the time to contact us... we would love to make a digital scan of your *treasure* as we build our collection!
Visit the Twin Lights Museum Shop...and Be Surprised!
When you come to visit us at Twin Lights don't forget to stop by our Museum Shop. Spend some time and talk to our knowledgeable volunteers and take a little bit of our history back with you.
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ŠJeffery M. Chase  | |
Twin Lights Historical Society Trustees
Executive Board
Mary Jo Kenny
President
Catharine Smith Vice President
Mark Stewart Secretary
Peter Burton
Treasurer
Trustees
Michael Calafati, AIA
CDR Timothy Dring,USNR (Retired)
Millicent M. Johnsen
Michael Kelly
Dr. Samual Laufer
Thomas Mullins
Suzanne R. Post
Patrick Quinn
Claire Reilly-Taylor
Judy Rose
Stevie Thompson
Mary Lou Strong
Paul Taylor
Honorary Trustees A.S. "Andy" Anderson Caroline P. Huber Gary Jobson Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr. Pasquale Menna, Esq.
Emeritus Trustee
Raymond Cosgrove
Advisory Council
Jay Cosgrove Kimberly Cottell Dr. Christoph Winter Richard Wells |
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Featured Article
Aurora Exhibit
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