Union County history trading cards are available at Four Centuries In A Weekend sites
Union County, NJ — While you may still be searching for that lost Mookie Wilson or Bucky Dent card, children of all ages are invited to hunt down and collect Union County’s new History Trading Cards this weekend.
Historic sites across Union County that are celebrating the Four Centuries In A Weekend history event will have cards to give out, from Alexander Hamilton, who studied at Snyder Academy in Elizabeth, to George Washington, who commanded the troops at the Battle of the Short Hills from the Drake House in Plainfield.
While the Founding Fathers are well represented, from David Brearley — a signer of the US Constitution on behalf of New Jersey — who can be found at the Nitschke House in Kenilworth, to Abraham Clark, in Roselle and Clark, there are cards involving lesser known, but important figures in Union County’s 400-year history.
As part of Four Centuries In A Weekend, Union County’s Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs is rolling out the History Trading Card series for youngsters to learn more about the history of the people and events that shaped Union County — and the country — we know today.
“We live in a County that is so rich in history — and I’m not talking just about the Revolution –I’m talking about a County whose residents played vital roles in every century since New Jersey was first settled in the 1600s,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce Bergen.
“When babies are born and they want to check to see if they’re okay,” Bergen said, “they administer the Apgar test. Dr. Virginia Apgar, who invented that test, lived in Westfield.”
The Apgar card can be found at the Westfield Historical Society on Mountain Avenue.
Last year, the Cultural & Heritage Affairs Office, part of the Union County Parks Department, developed the first cards in the Union County Across the Centuries series: Alexander Hamilton, William Livingston, Jonathan Dayton and Hannah Caldwell. Youngsters at the 2016 Four Centuries In A Weekend event had so much fun collecting the cards that work continued, with nearly 20 cards now in the series and more on the way.
Because the County celebrated the 240th Anniversary of the Battle of the Short Hills in June with a reenactment of the battle at Oak Ridge Park, the initial focus was on the Revolutionary War era. As the program rolls out, there will be cards from across Union County’s history.
To see some of the cards now available, visit ucnj.org/parks-recreation/cultural-heritage-affairs/trading-cards.
For more information on the trading cards, Four Centuries In A Weekend and all Cultural & Heritage Affairs programs and activities call 908-558-2550 or email culturalinfo@ucnj.org.
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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.
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