By Jacqueline Durett
Correspondent
SOUTH AMBOY — Anyone who has ever wanted to learn more about South Amboy’s history will have an opportunity to do so this weekend.
The Historical Society of South Amboy will hold its fourth annual open house on April 30 at the Senior Center on South Stevens Avenue.
This year’s focus is going to be the railroad, according to society member Michael Reilly, pointing out that the railroad is the reason South Amboy grew into the city it did.
Addressing the railroads that helped drive population and commerce in the city, speaker John Kilbride will focus on the Camden & Amboy Railroad and Al Bauman will speak about the Raritan River Line.
Reilly said the event is also an opportunity for prospective members to learn about the society.
“We’re always looking for new membership,” he said.
At regular society meetings, he said, members talk about historical items they have personally encountered. He added that frequently people have historical items in their possession and don’t even know it.
“You’d be surprised the artifacts people have in their attic,” he said. “It’s mindboggling.”
In fact, he said, he’ll be bringing his own photos to the open house, including one from the 1920s, in the hopes that an attendee may be able to help him identify the event at which it was taken.
“If anyone knows anything about this, enlighten me,” he said.
Reilly said the society collectively has many artifacts that help tell the story of South Amboy, and ideally he would like to find what he calls a “safe haven” to store the items.
“We’re trying to find a place in town to display this stuff,” he said, but cautioned that it cannot be just anywhere since many of the items are irreplaceable. “As of now, we haven’t been too successful.”
He said the society also would like to capture many of its relics on disk to help preserve them for future generations.
“That’s the main thing we’ve been working on,” he said. “We’re just trying to preserve things.”
Reilly stressed that members need not be lifelong residents, or even residents at all, to join the society.
“You don’t have to be from South Amboy or live in South Amboy,” he said, adding that all that is required is an interest in local history.
“It’s like Indiana Jones,” he said. “This stuff is really cool.”
Reilly said the society meets at 6 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Senior Center. The event on April 30 will run from noon to 3 p.m. A $5 donation is requested at the door. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, visit the Historical Society of South Amboy’s Facebook page.