Sorry for the hiatus between posts. Having a schoolwork overload does that kind of thing...
Over the past year, I've been working with a number of organizations, namely the Washington Association of New Jersey, the Crossroads of the American Revolution, and the Daughters of the American Revolution, to preserve a number of amazing historical sites for my generation. New Jersey saw more action during the American Revolution than nearly any other colony, and yet its citizens seem unaware our state's role in the founding of our nation.
My personal involvement in the fight to make New Jersey History known started when Governor Chris Christie announced that funding to the Old Trenton Barracks (the centerpiece of the Battle of Trenton), battleship USS New Jersey (the most decorated battleship ever), and the former governor's mansion at Morven (where many important statesmen lived in Princeton) would be cut from the FY 2011 budget. Without this necessary support from the State of New Jersey, these three sites, steeped in historical significance, would be unable to balance their budgets and would be threatened with closure.
That's where I got involved. In a conversation with Ms. Cate Litvack, head of the Crossroads of the American Revolution, an organization dedicated to preserving New Jersey history, we came up with the idea to have me write a letter to Governor Christie explaining the importance of these sites to my generation. My letter is below:
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Dear Governor Christie,
My name is Hunter Stires. I'm fourteen years old and live in Bedminster, here in the great state of New Jersey.
Thank you very much for all that you are doing to put our state's financial house in order. I appreciate your hard work to address the serious fiscal challenges that you inherited upon taking office.
I am writing to you today about a different kind of inheritance. I am asking for your leadership in reinstating the funding for New Jersey's Historical sites, in particular the Old Trenton Barracks and battleship U.S.S. New Jersey. Without state funding, these sites will be forced to close, and the impact this decision would have would be irreparably harmful to my generation, effectively robbing us of access to much of our proud heritage for the foreseeable future.
During our school years, children have an opportunity to see and experience history with a certain, perfect set of eyes that help us understand our place in the world. New Jersey's unique historical legacy allows school-age kids to discover the essential role that our state has played during key moments throughout our nation's history. At Trenton Barracks, for example, children can walk the same hallowed ground previously tread upon by George Washington who became the first general in the history of the world to inoculate an entire army from smallpox. Perhaps more importantly, imagine the pride New Jersey kids come to feel when they realize that the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and our future first president literally spent more time in New Jersey than in any other state during the Revolution. And don't even get me started about the fact that the barracks were the center of one of the defining battles of the war on a certain December day in 1776!
Aboard USS New Jersey, children can see exactly where one of the most storied admirals in naval history, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey (born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, by the way) sat in the Flag Plot of the world's most decorated battleship that served her country for nearly 50 years and earned 19 battle stars. Kids can see the muzzles of her 16-inch guns that were used to defend our nation's interests everywhere from the Pacific to the Middle East.
As you finalize the state budget, I urge you to consider the inherent alternative legacies that your funding choices will offer our state's children. Would you rather they consider themselves citizens of “The Snookie State,” and the setting for questionable reality TV shows? Or would you rather have our kids take rightful pride in the fact that our great state of New Jersey has been at the crossroads of history throughout the centuries, from the Revolution, where George Washington nearly lost—then saved the Glorious Cause itself, to World War II, where we were building ships for the U.S. Navy, including our namesake battleship this budget is seeking to close.
In essence, the decision to cut funding to these vital historical sites would deprive a generation, my generation, of our birthright. And with the utmost respect for you and your office, it is not yours to take away.
I urge you to find another pathway forward.
Sincerely,
Hunter Stires
The story continues in the next post...
