The Johnson Ferry House held its annual holiday event on July 4 at Washington Crossing State Park.
This year’s event at the park that is located in Hopewell Township featured an early American ice cream making demonstration and live Patriotic fiddle music.
Richard Adamczyk, who just graduated with a degree in history from Monmouth University, stood in traditional Colonial clothing and greeted guests as they walked into the Johnson Ferry House.
“We are celebrating the Fourth of July, here at the Johnson Ferry House, which is the oldest building that we have at Washington Crossing State Park,” he said. “It was built circa 1740, and it’s the oldest building that is surviving today that would have witnessed the historic crossing of George Washington crossing the Delaware.”
Adamczyk, who took this position as a summer seasonal occupation, really enjoys his time at the Johnson Ferry House.
“We always have a special celebration here for July 4 and I love it here,” he said. “This has been such a fantastic opportunity for me. I just got my history degree at Monmouth University and this is a great way to interact with the public and teaching people about our heritage. This house has such a fantastic history. Washington’s crossing was such a turning point in the Revolutionary War, which helped establish our country. So, it’s been really great to become a part of that history by working here.”
Nancy Ceperley, the Site Manager of the Johnson Ferry House, has been working and imparting history on people for 31 years.
“This is really kind of a lifestyle for me,” Ceperley said. “I don’t really look at it as a job, if I did, I would have been gone by now. But, I really believe in sharing our nation’s history accurately, because you don’t really get that in schools anymore.”
The Johnson Ferry House organizes many different events year-round to teach anyone who wants to learn, what actually happened three centuries ago.
“We take in visitors constantly, we try to give them a little orientation or introduction to this house and why it’s important,” she said. “We do events and bring in school groups. We do a lot of domestic types of programs for them, like cooking, making ice cream, laundry, dyeing, anything of that nature because it goes along with the house.”
The event happening during the July 4th Event, was a traditional ice cream making demonstration, present by Susan McLellan Plaisted.
Plaisted, a food historian, specializes in 17th to 19th century Colonial American and European cooking. She spent the afternoon teaching children how to make raspberry flavored ice cream using the original method of crushing ice and adding salt to the mixture.
People in attendance were also greeted with the musical styling of Jim Kurzenberger, who played the country fiddle and led sing-a-longs to Patriotic music from the Revolutionary War era.
Donations for the Johnson Ferry House are always appreciated. For more information, please call, 609-737-2515.
