Current Press Release

LAVALLETTE – New Jersey has contributed to America’s history and economy for more than 350 years. It offers recreation and education from the Shore to the Skylands. Join historian Rick Geffken for “Amazing New Jersey: People and Places of the Garden State,” 7 PM Wednesday, June 7, at the Ocean County Library Upper Shores Branch.

The New Jersey colony dates from the middle of the 17th century when Dutch and English settlers bought land from the native Lenapes. This talk features historical events, famous and infamous people - entertainers, politicians, and entrepreneurs – and evocative, iconic New Jersey images.

Geffken, a frequent contributor to periodicals, newspapers, and newsletters, has appeared in the Family Historian television series and has addressed annual New Jersey History and Historic Preservation conferences.

His compelling Stories of Slavery in New Jersey, Hidden History of Monmouth County, and Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore are available at the Ocean County Library. He has lectured extensively about New Jersey’s iconic Morris family and about submarine pioneers Simon Lake and John Holland.

The Monmouth University instructor, former U.S. Army officer and Vietnam veteran is involved in the New Jersey Slavery Records Index project under the auspices of Rutgers University and is attached to the New Jersey Social Justice Reconciliation Committee.

He is a trustee for the Board of the Asbury Park Museum, Shrewsbury Historical Society, Friends of Cedar View and Jersey Coast Heritage Museum at Sandlass House, a member of the Monmouth County Historical Association, and a board member of South Jersey’s non-profit Trueheart Productions educational motion picture firm.

Please register at www.theoceancountylibrary.org/events for this free program, made possible by a generous donation in memory of Martin C. Unfried, Jr. of Lavallette. For more information, visit the OCL Upper Shores Branch, 112 Jersey City Avenue, Lavallette, or call (732) 793-3996.

Keep up with Library programs and events at www.theoceancountylibrary.org, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, and Pinterest.

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