The Paper Mill Playhouse
Would you like to see Broadway shows and not have to travel to New York City? Then visit the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, N.J.!
The end of the 18th Century, in March of 1795,Sam Campbell built a mill on a tract of land along a brook in a town then known as Millville. A fire ended his business. In the late 1870s, Diamond Mill Paper Company took over and began making paper products until 1928.
Antoinette Scudder, an artist and writer of poetry, and Frank Carrington, an actor and director had a vision for a theatre in New Jersey. They discovered the vacant mill, and by 1934 they created a theatre on the site of the former paper mill. There was a fire in 1980, so the Paper Mill had to rebuild. On October 30,1982, the theater opened again.
Paper Mill Playhouse was one of the first to present regional theatre in the United States. It has grown to be one of the most famous, non-profit, professional theatres in the country and attracts about one-half million people each year.
I like going there very much. The shows are great!
By: Carolyn McGuire
Holy Family Academy
Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison is famous, but everyone only knows him for developing the light bulb.
He was born on February 11, 1847. He couldn’t speak until he was four years old. He wanted to prove something to everyone. He loved inventing.
He received 1368 different patents in his lifetime. When he became an inventor he tried to make the light bulb. He tried about nine hundred times. People asked, “Why do you keep trying even with all those mistakes?” Thomas would just say, “I don’t have nine hundred mistakes. I have nine hundred ways that don’t work.” In addition to the light bulb, he invented the phonograph, and the foldable ladder. If it weren’t for him there would be no TV, video games or even refrigerators.
He died on October 18, 1931. Thomas Alva Edison is so important in our lives. I think that Thomas Edison was a great man who was born in New Jersey. He caused a lot to happen in the world. There are so many inventions wherever you go. None of them would be there if it weren’t for Thomas Edison. He lived a long and good life.
By: Dan Newton
Holy Family Academy
The Business of Blacksmithing in New Jersey
Do you know what being a blacksmith is like? My great, great grandfather was a blacksmith. His name was Frank Metz, and he was born in 1874 in Millstone, New Jersey. He shoed horses, made wheels for hay wagons, and made latches and other iron work for farm equipment. His right leg was scarred from resting the horse’s leg on his leg as he would put the horse’s shoe on.
Many men practiced the smithing trade. All of our tools, machines, and engines started in the blacksmith shop. Before the Revolutionary War, the blacksmiths each made only one type of hardware item. After the war, they began making many needed items. They used wrought iron, and charcoal was the fuel for the fire. Tools were simple. The important ones were the forge, the anvil and the bellows. The blacksmith usually had a helper called an apprentice who was learning the trade.
Today, you can visit my grandfather’s blacksmith shop. It has been preserved at the East Jersey Olde Towne Village in Piscataway, New Jersey.
By: Brian Holz
Holy Family Academy
