The Alternative Press

WANTAGE, NJ – The Chinkchewunska Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) welcomed spirits and the spirited alike, as they celebrated their annual “Not So Scary Halloween Party,” at the Elias Van Bunschooten Museum on Sunday, October 21.

Regaled in fall foliage, the museum provided a beautiful and historic setting for some old-fashioned fall fun.  Children climbed, found their way through the hay maze, got face or hand painting, and explored a haunted barn. There was pumpkin picking, ring toss game, and a coloring station. Later in the party, the children paraded around the hay maze while judges picked the scariest, funniest, and prettiest costumes.

Children could meet and pet “Angus” a beautiful black Clydesdale horse, with white lower legs. Owners Nick and Carolyn Moran brought him over from his home in Branchville, N.J. 

“It’s good for him to get out and meet people, he loves kids,” said Moran.

He then explained that his horse was 17 hands and one-inch high at the “wither” (shoulder).  A hand is equal to four inches. 

“He eats a bale and a half of grain a day and all the grass he can find,” said Moran.

One of the young visitors of the Vandenbroek Family, was very interested in gazing intently at the recently plowed field.  His mom explained that “we have chickens and my husband drives a tractor. Our friends have cows and pigs.”  

Many of the children commented on the sights and smells of the farm.

The Van Bunschooten property was donated to the DAR in 1971.  It sits on six and a half or the original 1,000 acres that once belonged to Van Bunschooten in 1787. The Chinkchewunska Chapter preserves and maintains all the buildings, and works the farm, as a living reminder of Sussex County history from the late 1700’s to the present.

Their main goal is to support education, historical preservation, and patriotism.

According to Ashley Ziccardi, the registrar of the chapter, “Any woman over eighteen can join, if she can prove that she is a direct lineal descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier or patriot, one who perhaps supplied food or blankets, or otherwise assisted the troops.”

In addition to the seasonal activities, visitors were encouraged to help the museum. They were collecting signatures for a grant to complet some upcoming projects.

“This is a working farm, given to the chapter,” said Katherine Bowers. 

She is the New Jersey State Historian for the DAR and an associate member of this chapter.  “They maintain it, and give tours.  These buildings are here, and they need to be preserved. They need to be seen.”

Bowers is a member of the Monmouth Chapter of DAR. She attended the Halloween party with her grandchildren, who live in the area. They are members of the Children of the Revolution (CAR).

One of the projects that Ziccardi and Lisaann Permunian, another local member, have enthusiastically undertaken, is the restoration of gravesites of Revolutionary War patriots, or soldiers in the area.

They have located and replaced headstones in many local cemeteries, including Willistine, North Hardyston, Deckertown-Union, Hambury Baptist, and most recently, Coe Smith in Wantage.

“Coe Smith is so bad, so overgrown that even the Sheriff’s SWAP (Sheriff's Work Assistance Program) won’t go in there,” said Diana Matties, DAR member, but Ziccardi and Permunian are not daunted by the scope of the job. 

Some of the sites they locate and maintain are ancestors of the members.

“The Veteran’s Department of the U.S. Army will give us the headstones for the men who were soldiers, but the patriots, those who provided food and supplies to the troops, those cost $400 each,” said Matties.

Visitors to the farm today could buy snacks, drinks, hot dogs, and a DAR cookbook for $10.00, in addition to the $5 entrance fee for children.

Museum tours are available to individuals, schools and groups by appointment. There are four outbuildings and the house itself.  There is an extensive research library, which offers photocopying and a microfilm reader.  Their 700 plus volumes focus on New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania history and genealogy.

Ideal, Lentini, and Pochuck Valley Farms, Yellow Cottage Bakery, and members of the Chinkchewunska Chapter supported Sunday's event.