Program to feature local flavor
By: Lacey Korevec
Cranbury residents flipping through the TV channels tonight (Friday) may run into a few familiar local faces and two barns they may have driven past hundreds times.
At 8:30 p.m., the NJN program "State of the Arts" will premiere an episode called "Old Is New," some of which will focus on the restoration of two barns in Cranbury.
In mid-August, Collin Lindberg and his wife, Samantha, were surprised when a camera crew showed up at the site of their future home on Ancil Davidson Road.
The young couple, just married in June, were in the market for a new home, when Mr. Lindberg’s parents, Kurt and Claire Lindberg, suggested converting an historic, 200-year-old barn located on their property into a new house. Soon after, the New Jersey Barn Company got on board. The company specializes in restoring historic barns and redesigning them into modern day homes, while still maintaining the historic integrity of the structures.
On "Old Is New," viewers will see Elric Endersby, a co-founder of the New Jersey Barn Company, working on the barn, as well as another on Cranbury Neck Road. Through the process, he’ll explain the history of both to the show’s producer, Chris Benincasa.
"I grew up in New Jersey and I’ve seen these kind of falling down structures all over the place, and to be able to spend time around a construction crew working on it, restoring it and explaining it to you the entire time is pretty amazing," Mr. Benincasa, who grew up in Hunterdon County, said Monday. "I just think it makes the history of this place make more sense than maybe just reading about it somewhere."
Mr. Benincasa said the program will give viewers an interesting look at how the handmade barns were constructed.
"Every single beam in these frames had a purpose before being there," he said. "It was really interesting. And it’s also fun to imagine what New Jersey must have looked like back then."
At both locations, workers were dismantling the old barns, Mr. Benincasa said, adding that he enjoyed witnessing the process and thought the township was wonderful as well.
"It was a beautiful mid-August day and I don’t get to Cranbury that often, but as far as shoots go, it was a beautiful day to be outside," he said. "It was a beautiful area too. It definitely didn’t feel like you were in Central Jersey."
"State of the Arts: Old Is New" will air tonight (Friday) at 8:30 p.m. on NJN. An encore presentation will be aired Wednesday at 11:30 p.m.

