The Neptune City Historical Committee’s display is in Freehold at the County Clerk’s office until March.
By DENISE HERSCHEL
Neptune City Historical Committee Secretary Lauren Roth has a long familial history with the borough where she once lived. Her family, the Fredas, emigrated to Neptune City from Italy in the 1920’s. Her grandfather Fred Freda was the Neptune City building inspector for more than 30 years and her grandfather’s brother, Joe Freda, was a Neptune City Councilman for whom the borough’s park, Joe Freda Park, is named. With more than 100 years of ancestry in the borough, Roth knew that she wanted to find a way to preserve the past and present it to the public.
Last month, Roth set up the Neptune City Historical Committee display at the Monmouth County Clerks Office in Freehold where it will remain until March. In the early spring, the display will then be moved to Neptune City borough hall for a grand unveiling and placement in the entry way.
“This location was mentioned during the County Clerks Archives Day. Clerk Christine Hanlon encouraged and welcomed all local Historical communities/groups to participate in utilizing the space to promote their communities or associations. She understood that this would be a great opportunity to show all the residents of Monmouth County what Neptune City brings to the historical community and I reached out and was able to set up the display,” she said.
Roth said that this display is extremely important to her as well and many of the artifacts in the display are from her family.
“As my family had such deep roots in the development of Neptune City, I wanted to honor and cherish their contributions to the community and bring forth all the memories that they saved over the decades. Due to their dedication, we were able to measure the changes in the borough and view the past by observing their artifacts. Together we were able to really boost Neptune City’s history,” she said.
The display is sponsored by the Neptune City Historical Committee with the artifacts and documents courtesy of the Freda family, the Rossman family and the Arnone family.
“The display is part of the county clerks initiative to work with local Historical Committees and associations in Monmouth County, to offer space for these groups to display and store their history,” she said. ” When the display is moved to Neptune City borough hall in the early spring, the Historical Committee will then change the artifacts periodically for the residents of the community to enjoy when stopping by or visiting.”
There are more than 100 items in the display including zoning maps, Woodrow Wilson School pictures, historical maps and fire department artifacts, she said.
“I spent most of my youth on Bennett Avenue and I can say that I spent well over 30 years in the borough,” she said. “My great grandfather emigrated from Italy in the early 1920’s. From there the Freda family flourished and became a staple in the community. My grandmother, Theresa Freda, saved most, if not everything, over the last 80 years. She kept it all pristine like her very own archives department. Randy of the Rossman family, who is also president of the committee, was able to reach out over the years and collect many historical maps, pictures and other artifacts to help build the Neptune City Historical Committee’s archives,” she said.
According to Roth, the committee is a group of community members who are dedicated to preserving the deep roots of the residents of Neptune City and the rich history that Neptune City shares with its community.
“Our goal is to bring history to our community and engage with residents so that they may be reminded of the fabulous memories over the years. And to be able to learn what Neptune City looked like over the past 50 to 100 years,” she said.
The committee has seven members: Randy Rossman, chair, Lauren Roth, secretary, Ted Wardell, Richard McKay, James Clayton, John Crawford and John Gunderson.
Roth thanked Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon, Monmouth County Commissioner Tom Arnone, Neptune City Mayor Rachel McGreevy and the Neptune City council for all their support of the Historical Committee and the display.
“As the committee plans on changing the artifacts of the display periodically, we encourage Neptune City residents to donate any memorabilia they may have or their own family artifacts. They can do so by reaching out to mayor@neptunecitynj.com or neptunecityhistoricalcommittee@gmail.com.
