Love the All Saints Landmark National Trust group who works so hard in so many unique ways to raise funds to save the outbuildings at All Saints Church in Locust, more commonly known as Stone Church. It doesn’t make any difference what your religion is, the church itself is indeed a part of American history and is beautiful, both inside and out. The events church members put on to raise funds to keep this treasure in good shape are spectacular.
The Friends group, comprised of folks interested in preserving history, and not necessarily church members, want to preserve the outbuildings for history are a great help, especially since church. Just saw a great piece they wrote seeking funds to continue their work of preserving that phase of local history, and thought it was worth repeating. They’re a hardworking, ambitious and industrious group who deserve a lot of credit for what they’re doing.
The All Saints’ National Landmark Trust is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded for the purpose of seeking, receiving and disbursing funds contributed to the Trust for the maintenance and preservation of the historic landmark property of All Saints’ Memorial Church buildings and grounds. Its board of trustees consists of parish leaders, parishioners, and local community members.
Besides the sheds, the non-profit group has more plans on the horizon, including something to make the door of the main church building more easily accessible.
This is what they wrote in their request for more funds
Once a common sight at churches, meeting houses and public places to protect horse-drawn carriages from the elements, the carriage sheds at All Saints’ Memorial Church may be the last remaining examples of these simple utilitarian structures in New Jersey. The sheds were constructed in two phases, the earlier section, thought to have been built before 1890, is most in need of immediate repair to head off collapse. As with earlier preservation efforts, original features, such as the gnawing marks left by horses, will be protected. Rough-hewn lumber will be used for replacement boards and beams. The All Saints’ National Landmark Trust is undertaking a fundraising campaign to support this cause and other projects to preserve this treasured community resource and the entire Stone Church Campus in Navesink.
If you enjoyed Shakespeare in the Sheds or the seasonal events Winterfest or Spring Fling last year, you know how important the open-air sheds have been for programming during a pandemic. If you are enthusiastic about preserving local history please consider a donation to this worthy cause. All donations at this time will go directly to the expense of the shed repairs.
And going from the sublime to the ridiculous … if you saw the story in a recent daily about Freehold native Bruce Springsteen, are you as angry at his high falootin attitude as I am?
He talks about coming back to New Jersey…..well, ok, Colts Neck is a bit different from Freehold, I’ll grant him that….but then saying he doesn’t know why he come back? Really?
All those towns, people and places that put him on the map and made him so famous with the talent he obviously has were good enough to make him a millionaire, but he doesn’t know why he comes back?
Ah, there’s promise ahead….
When he figures it out … when he figures out why he came back to Jersey… he says, he’ll let us all know.
I, for one, will not be waiting with bated breath. I can still remember when he was a kid and came into the Courier office in Middletown asking us to promote his Greetings from Asbury Park album. We did. But I can also remember a couple of years ago when he was promoting his new book at the Freehold Barnes and Noble store. He couldn’t make the time to meet with the Freehold folks who were his former neighbors when he was growing up.
Hear there are going to be a lot of surprises….really good ones, too, on the ballot in the June primary and with the power and money behind many of them, looks like some incumbents have a lot to worry about. We’ve already known that Rik Mehta will be on the ballot in the GOP primary in June opposing the local GOP choice and now we hear there are some mighty strong names that are going to be in other spots on the ticket opposing the county GOP-led choices. Should be a fascinating GOP primary and one that is bound to see some upsets.
If you haven’t gotten your reservations in yet for the first annual St. Patrick’s celebration at the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands, better do so soon. In addition to that terrific Irish band, there will be Atlantic Highlands’ own Irish Step dancers, and of course a bagpipe or two. Given all the Irish love in the area, all the Irish talent all around us, and the Casino’s reputation for having the biggest and best buffets around, to say nothing of a terrific Happy Hour before dinner, this $40 evening sounds like the best bargain of the season. Call the Casino at 732-291-4300 and get your reservations in quickly.
