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Heath Farm Celebrates Pre-Grand Opening with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
The Third New Jersey Volunteers and Dr. John St. Peter presented a Civil war Living History on Saturday, August 5, 2000 at
the historic Heath Farm on Harmony Road in Middletown, New Jersey.
The event was offered free of charge to the
general public and featured a variety of educational activities, including military demonstrations, camp life, fife and drum
music and discussions on the roles civilians played during the most critical conflict ever witnessed by our nation.
The day began with a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the rededication of the Moses D. Heath Farm at 10:00 am. Walter
and Susie Spradley, direct descendants of the Heath Family, continue to promote and enhance the legacy of their aunt, the
late Bertha C. Heath, R.N., in the development of the farm by expanding the agricultural and horticultural exhibits and activities.
Also in attendance was Pauline Drake, a longtime friend of Bertha Heath and a well-known and respected community activist,
lecturer and humanitarian.
The Heath Farm highlights the historical impact of farming in the development of Monmouth
County, New Jersey by providing public access to many exhibits, including nineteenth century farm artifacts, the late Gertrude
Neidlinger Spy House Collection, and a working honey bee colony and museum.
The farm, which basks in the glory
of hundreds of sunflowers, the outgrowth of a project planned and tended by Girl Scout Troop 45 of Middletown, under the leadership
of Mrs. Maryann Maidlow. The troop distributes the flowers to residents of Marriott Brighton Gardens, Kings Row, and other
local senior citizen residences. Mrs. Maidlow, her hisband Keith and their three daughters, Samantha, Jessica and Rebecca
completely set up the Spy House Collection in temporary buildings for the 1999 season.
This year, the Maidlows
have relocated the entire exhibit in its permanent home at the new Heath Farm accessory and exhibit building.
Commerce
Bank on Harmony Road, neighbors of the Heath Farm, is one of the first sponsors of the Spy House Collection project, which
is currently funded by the Heath Family.
--Investment opportunities abound:
--Donations of goods, services
and old fashioned cash are warmly welcomed;
--Memorial donations are available, which will be recognized with a
small plaque;
--Adopt a wagon to fix up, a window, or a door. In the words of Walter Spradley, --You won't get
what's behind that door, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped to restore an important piece
of history!--
Walter and Susie Spradley are committed to expanding and promoting the educational and historical
significance of the farm by impressing upon young people the part that farming played in the development of our nation. Their
respect for the earth and its bounty is boundless.
America got its start through agriculture.
The land
is a gift for which we should always be grateful.
Walter Spradley also reminds us that we should be humbled by
the bounty of the earth. Even the chips that power the computers and the technology of today had their beginnings in a grain
of sand.
For more information on the Moses D. Heath Farm, Please feel free to contact the Heath Farm at (732) 671-0566.
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