Next Book Club Discussion to Focus on 1918 Flu

Our next Book Club discussion will be held Monday January 22, 2018, at 7 pm, and will feature two books about the devastating flu pandemic of 1918.

One of the books to be discussed is John M. Barry’s The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. Barry’s account is a sweeping history of the outbreak and its aftermath. The New York Times described the book as “[g]ripping . . . easily our fullest, richest, most panoramic history of the subject.”

The second book, Diary of a World War I Nurse, is a PDF transcription of a diary kept by Rosaline Alice Joan Ready during 1917-1918. Rosaline had joined the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps after completing a nurse training program in Brooklyn in 1916. Her granddaughter transcribed this work. Please note that you won’t find this item in stores; stop by the Public Library or email the Historical Society at info@haddonfieldhistory.org for a copy of the PDF.

This January event is a joint meeting with the Haddonfield Public Library Book Club, and we will be gathering at the Public Library at 7 pm for the discussion. All are welcome!

Out-of-Print Githens Family History Book Available for Sale

Thanks to a recent donation from a Githens family member, the Historical Society currently has seven copies of the out-of-print book, The Githens Family in America 1741-1977, by Sherwood Githens, Jr., available. The books are available for a donation of $20 each and can be shipped to you.

To place your order, please contact the Archives Center at library@haddonfieldhistory.org or 856-429-7375.

UPDATE: As of 11/1/2018, all of our extra copies of The Githens Family in America have been claimed.

Dec. 7 Shopping Fundraiser at Talbots

We’re holding a Holiday Shopping Fundraiser at Talbots in Cherry Hill on Thursday December 7. If you mention the Historical Society at check-out, 10% of your pre-tax purchases will be donated to us!

Historical Society board members will be “hosting” the fundraiser from 5:30-7:30 pm, but feel free to come at another time if that works best for you. Just remember to tell them that you’re shopping in support of the Historical Society of Haddonfield.

Talbots is located in Towne Place at Garden State Park, 957 Haddonfield Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ.

#GivingTuesday is Here!

On #GivingTuesday, would you consider making a special year-end gift to help us continue our work to preserve Haddonfield’s history?

Today only, anyone who gives through our Facebook page will have their donations matched up to the first $1,000 thanks to Facebook and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! Can we count on you to make a special year-end gift of $25, $50, $100 or more to the Historical Society?

At the Historical Society we have continued to work with local students and educators with our tours for second graders, as well as hosting high school researchers who work with primary source materials in our Archives Center. We put more museum objects on display in Greenfield Hall and organized a new temporary exhibit about World War I. And we continue our busy schedule of quarterly lectures, Book Club, and other special events.

But maintaining and sharing all that history is expensive!

From the roof to our tool-filled basement, we have a long list of important preservation projects that need to be completed this year.

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 or more will help us tackle projects from the roof to the basement, helping to ensure that Greenfield Hall is here for generations to come. We are a 501(c)(3) organization, so your gift will be tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

You can mail us a check, pay through our PayPal link on the right side of this page, or donate through our Facebook page.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Dec. 7 Book Launch Planned for Jan Twitchell’s New Autobiography

The Historical Society is co-hosting a book launch for Jan Twitchell’s new book, A Fortunate Life. The event will be held on Thursday Dec. 7 at 3 pm at Brandywine Living, 132 Warwick Rd, Haddonfield.

Jan began the book as an oral history for the Historical Society, before it turned into a more significant autobiography. She has been a very involved resident of Haddonfield for more than 70 years. Among other things, she served as co-chair of the Dinosaur Sculpture committee and president of Interfaith Caregivers, and was named Citizen of the Year in 2002.

The book is available for $20 at the Historical Society, at Inkwood Books, and online here. Copies will also be available at the book launch.

Proceeds from sales of A Fortunate Life are being generously donated by the Twitchell family to the Historical Society’s planned new Archives Center.