DSDI gathers in historic Princeton
DSDI gathers in historic Princeton
As the old saying goes, “three is the charm.” After two previous plans were derailed by the pandemic, DSDI members enjoyed gathering in person Oct. 8-9, 2021 in Princeton, NJ for our fall meeting. Our host hotel was the Nassau Inn, which was historic, charming and right in the middle of Palmer Square in Princeton.
Friday evening, we had a delicious buffet dinner followed by an excellent talk on the Princeton Battlefield and the Thomas Clarke House. Our speaker was our very own Ben Strong, who happens to be the Vice President of the Princeton Battlefield Society. We completed our first evening together with the first ever Signers Trivia game and we all enjoyed the event but we quickly realized we need to learn more about all 56 Signers, not just the one we are related to. Thanks are given to our Governors who provided the trivia prizes.
Saturday, we boarded a bus for our visit to the Hart Homestead in Hopewell, NJ. The current owner, Jim Jeffers, was very informative and welcoming to us all. We saw the historic barn, the artesian well where water flows freely and learned about the housing of George Washington’s 14,000 troops on the land. We presented Jim with wine and our DSDI wine glasses and he loved his gift. We made a stop in Hopewell at the Baptist Old Meeting House Church Cemetery to pay our respects to Signer John Hart. Ben Strong very kindly provided a beautiful bouquet of flowers to place at the graveside.
Next, we were off to the Hopewell Train Station for a box lunch, meeting and roll call. We had a dozen Signers represented with John Hart having the most in attendance, including three very young Harts. DSDI made a donation for the ongoing maintenance of the Train Station of $150.
We toured the Princeton Battlefield and the Thomas Clarke House and our wonderful docent Will Krakower made us feel we were in the battle. Signer Dr. Benjamin Rush treated men fresh off the battlefield inside the Thomas Clarke House. DSDI was pleased to present a donation of $560 for the ongoing maintenance of the Thomas Clarke House.
Saturday night found us dressed in cocktail attire and after a year of Covid it was a treat to dress up and enjoy being with our members. Following a lovely buffet, we had a visit from General George Washington himself.
Our thanks to members Adrienne Elliot and Randy Litzinger, who took many of the photos in this issue. More photos were provided by Jill Haimes, Bruce Laubach and Ray Wark. Our thanks to them all.
Nancy McBride Wark
1st Vice President General
Princeton Meeting Hostess
