Judging from the busy schedule, outstanding displays and exhibitions, coupled with the displays frequently part of the Eastern Branch of the Monmouth County Library main area, it is easy to see the activity and dedication of the members of the Shrewsbury Historical Society.
It is also obvious all these hardworking volunteers take their lead from the former mayor who has been a member of the Society for more than 40 years and its president for the recent many of those years.
If there’s anything you want to know about Shrewsbury and its past, seek out Don Burden.
A native of Connecticut, Don lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco and St. Louis before he and Mary Lea settled in Shrewsbury in 1976. It wasn’t long before this tireless worker was named to the Shade Tree Commission in the borough, and then went on to serve on the Shrews bury Board of Education. That all led to his being elected to the borough council and then as Mayor for eight years beginning in 2010.
But it wasn’t only his borough that he served. Don was also active at the Monmouth County level, a tireless worker on the Monmouth County Historical Commission as well as the Monmouth County Library Commission.
But Shrewsbury is his hometown, and its history, and the role it has played in Monmouth County history, are of paramount importance. His book, The History of Shrewsbury, which he wrote when he was Mayor in association with Rick Geffken, traces the story of the borough for the past 350 years both through the original history of its first 300 years written by Richard Kraybill and its updating and rejuvenation along with doubling the size of the original book to highlight what has been happening in Shrewsbury since that first book was written.
Whether it is his degree in history from Gettysburg College, or his career as a textbook editor and publisher at McGraw Hill, a combination of both or his genuine love for history, Don Burden knows how to write it, tell it, protect it, and promote it.
No matter what the collection, this historian knows a way to wrap it into a history of how it came about, why it came about and how others can learn and appreciate history from it. The wedding gown exhibit which was a star attraction at the Shrewsbury Historical Society’s museum for many months is still being talked about. The sewing machine exhibition traces the history and importance of sewing machines, not only in the immediate area but throughout the nation and highlights the variety of machines that have been created and the exceptional nuances of each. There have been so many other collections, both large and small, but all with a special meeting not only to Don but to all who come to view them and learn something new because of them.
And this personable and vivacious gentleman, who doesn’t seem to know how to stop, is eager to show anyone interested in the exhibit at any time, simply responding to any call. He is always eager to set up a time and date when a visitor wants to come to the museum to learn something. At the same time, he takes little credit for everything that’s on display at the Museum on the corner of Route 35 and Sycamore avenue. “I just brought it to life and built the membership and expanded the collection, “he explains as his reason for all the work he pours into society’s work and history. “People should have an understanding and appreciation of how we got to where we are today. The people who contributed time and talent to build a community are particularly important.
Mary Lea is as active as her husband, not only in history preservation…she is treasurer of the Historical society… but with all her work with the AAUW, from its many events that raise funds for scholarships for women to its thriving Used Book Store on Kings Highway in Middletown.
Still the couple blend their love of history with their other love: travel. The Burdens have sailed, cruised, trained, planned, and walked to so many fascinating destinations, meeting people along the way, learning history about the places they visit and meeting others with similar interests.
One of their most fascinating trips was more than ten years ago when the couple went to Shrewsbury…England, that is.
Don was Mayor of Shrewsbury in Monmouth County and thought it would be fun to meet the Mayor of Shrewsbury, England. That Mayor and an earlier Mayor of Monmouth County’s Shrewsbury had communicated in the 1940s when the worn torn English mayor called on his town’s counterpart in New Jersey to see if this Shrewsbury could help that English Shrewsbury deal with the distress of the times.
New Jersey’s Shrewsbury responded, records were kept, and when Don read all the history, he and Mary Lea decided they had to make a trip to see the 21st century Mayor. It ended up being a day of joy, elegance, and new friendships made over tea sandwiches on the banks of the British estate.
There are dozens of stories like this, where the Burdens traveled around the world always visiting people, always learning something, teaching something, and bringing a more alive and fascinating meaning to the importance of history.
