Colonial Era 'Texting' Coming to the Deserted Village In Union County

Youngsters--and maybe their parents--are invited to the Deserted Village of Feltville in the Watchung Reservation to experience what it was like to “text” in Colonial America.

The Visitor Center in the Church/General Store is open most Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from Noon-5 p.m. The “Quill & Ink” activity will be staffed on three Sundays, Nov. 30, Dec. 14, and Dec. 21.

A Parks Department staffer will be on hand to guide children, and to suggest what they might write about if they had been alive in the 1700’s when the Reservation was all fields.

At the Four Centuries in a Weekend program in October, children were invited to write with a quill pen and ink on parchment paper to experience what it was like writing a letter in Colonial times.

The new activity proved so popular that staff had to start cutting parchment sheets in half. By the end of the weekend, more than 400 children (some returned to do it again) enjoyed the experience.

When Four Centuries in a Weekend is celebrated across Union County at 27 different historic sites, the Union County Department of Parks & Recreation celebrates the event at the Deserted Village in Berkeley Heights. There are games and activities for children, hayrides, and historic tours of the area.

The quill and ink writing activity was introduced for the first time this fall. Youngsters sat at writing desks in the Church/General Store and then wrote their missives-although at one point some teenagers decided a treasure map was more to their liking.

“It was a total delight to see how that activity took off with the children,” said Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski. “They were having fun, and also learning how people kept in touch with one another in the past.”

More details: http://ucnj.org/colonial-era-texting-coming-to-the-deserted-village-2/