Current Press Release

BRICK TOWNSHIP – The Ocean County Library Brick Branch invites you to celebrate women and men in uniform, past and present, during its Veterans Day Celebration with the Libby Prison Minstrels, 2 PM Saturday, November 6.

The New Jersey group will honor veterans through songs, stories, and humor, playing music that inspired generations of Americans through many conflicts.

The band invokes the spirit of Union Army detainees in the Confederacy’s Libby Prison, who raised their voices in patriotic song nightly to boost morale. They continued to sing after hostilities ended. Their fame helped popularize the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Today’s Libby Prison Minstrels have performed at the Lincoln Memorial, Ford’s Theatre, Gettysburg National Military Park, festivals, schools, and Albert Music Hall in Waretown.

The group consists of Brian Ross, Jim Kramer, John Suchernick, Ron Kushnir, and Ron Stevenson.

In 2019, the US Census Bureau estimated that 35,973 veterans make their homes in Ocean County, more than in any other county in New Jersey.

Registration for this free program is required at www.theoceancountylibrary.org/events.

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

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