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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

GALA OPENING OF NEW EXHIBIT @ JEWISH HERITAGE MUSEUM OF MONMOUTH COUNTY IN FREEHOLD

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Jersey Homesteads to Roosevelt: An Experiment in Cooperative Living 

WHEN:  Sunday, October 26, 2014, from 2 to 5 PM.  Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served and music will be provided by guitar virtuoso Jerry Topinka.
ADMISSION: $18.00.

The exhibit will focus on the history, personalities, challenges, and the daily life in the experimental community called Jersey Homesteads, in the westernmost part of Monmouth County, later renamed Roosevelt. It takes a look at the development and establishment of the experimental "live/work/farm" environment in New Jersey which was the dream of Benjamin Brown (nee Lipshitz), a Ukrainian-Jewish immigrant. Under various Acts which were part of President Roosevelt's New Deal, funding was made available for subsistence homesteads which were intended to redistribute population out of the urban areas and into rural communities. Teaming up with Brown, Jewish labor leaders in the "needle trades" in New York City, saw the chance for workers to leave the teeming city tenements, own their own homes, and build a new, better and more democratic life. Jersey Homesteads was intended to be not just a rural farming community but a carefully balanced combination of farming, manufacturing, and self sufficiency.

Join us as we celebrate the opening of our new exhibit, and follow the ups and downs of the journey to Jersey Homesteads in the 1930s and the struggles of this complicated undertaking. Explore the town's carefully planned layout and the unique, flat-roof Bauhaus construction techniques of the homes. View a reproduction of the famous fresco mural by artist Ben Shahn that redefined Jersey Homesteads as a hub for artists which continues to this day.

For reservations or more information call the Museum at 732-252-6990, or visit the website at www.jhmomc.org. All reservations will be held at the Museum, and are non-refundable. The Jewish Heritage Museum is located at 310 Mounts Corner Drive, Freehold Township. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and is handicapped accessible.