Time shifting
WANTAGE. Christmas in July open house allows visitors to travel back to the 1700s.
Wantage /
| 31 Jul 2023 | 04:51
DR1 John Bradford, dressed as Santa Claus, talks to children at the Christmas in July open house Sunday, July 16. (Photos by Daniele Sciuto)
DR2 Ashley Ziccardi, right, demonstrates how ice cream was made back in the day. From left are Heath Ziccardi and Harmony Swanson.
DR3 Paul Chechur, dressed as George Washington, poses with Heath Ziccardi. Checkur is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
DR4 DAR chapter members Jean Zwirek and Barbara Sauve dressed in period costumes to give tours of the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten Museum in Wantage.
DR5 DAR chapter regent Kathy Neverd Cook stands by the bake sale table.
DR6 August Ziccardi and Wendy Wyman wore period costumes.
The children’s bedroom in the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten Museum, a historic home.
John Bradford cranks the old-fashioned ice cream maker. At right is Ashley Ziccardi, curator of the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten Museum.
John Bradford, dressed as Santa Claus, has an ice cream sundae with young visitors outside the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten Museum in Wantage.
DAR members Carol Gonzalez and Jean Fiore.
Santa and ice cream? Nothing beats the heat like some holiday magic.
The Chinkchewunska Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), a volunteer nonprofit women’s organization, hosted its annual Christmas in July open house July 14-16 at the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten Museum in Wantage.
The event, which drew hundreds of people during the weekend, is one of the biggest events for the chapter, which raises funds for the museum.
More than 425 people signed up to tour the house. Because of the hot weather and loss of electricity Sunday, the number most likely was less than in previous years, said Lisaann VanBlarcom Permunian, the chapter’s corresponding secretary.
Bonnie Matthews, vice regent of the Chinkchewunska Chapter who finished her term as state regent last year, said the event has been held for about 40 years. Matthews has been a member for about 25 years.
Anna VanSickle, a DAR member who has passed away, created Christmas in July. The event had not been held for a number of years, then was reinstated in 2000.
“It takes months to put it together and there is a lot of planning,” said Matthews.
The museum, which is a historic house, was decorated for Christmas, and members of the DAR and Children of the American Revolution were dressed in period costumes to give complimentary tours.
Other activities included Attic Treasures, a yard sale; a silent auction; and a barbecue and bake sale, offering cookies, muffins, breads and Uncle Sam Jams. The baked goods were made by DAR members.
The Attic Treasures sale also will be held Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29.
Father of our country
George Washington also stopped by for a visit.
Paul Checkur, who was dressed as Washington, said he is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and his mother is a DAR member.
She made his costume, which required 12 fittings, he said.
Santa Claus ate an ice cream sundae with children on Sunday afternoon, and there was a demonstration of how ice cream was made in the 1700s.
Ashley Ziccardi, the museum curator, explained that adding rock salt to the ice makes it colder.
Fred Schofer, vice president of the Millbrook Village Society, has been a supporter of the Wantage museum. He volunteered to attend the three-day event as a colonial Frontier Guard re-enactor and has been doing this for many years.
“Fred Schofer sets up camp and teaches guests about the lifestyle and weaponry of the Frontier Guard,” said VanBlarcom Permunian. “Schofer also has been instrumental in acquiring other re-enactors who now attend the event.”
In the past, the chapter offered the Ghost Walk, haunted tours of the museum, but decided this year that it will hold Christmas on the Glen Farm on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the museum. During that event, guests who tour the museum will see how Christmas was celebrated during wartime in America.
There also will be a craft and bake sale. Tours will be offered at 11 a.m. and 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.
The chapter’s annual Community Awards Luncheon is held in February.
‘Honor my ancestors’
VanBlarcom Permunian became involved in the DAR in 2010 after her grandmother passed away. She and her father were cleaning out her house in order to sell it and found a box of family treasures and the original discharge papers of her third great-grandfather from the Civil War.
At that time, she had a friend who was a DAR member.
To become DAR members, applicants must trace their ancestry to a soldier who fought in the American Revolution.
“I wanted to honor my ancestors who gave so much so I could have all that I have,” said VanBlarcom Permunian.
The house was built in 1787 for the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten, who served as a minister at the Dutch Reformed Church. At the time, the house was part of a 1,000-acre plantation. The outbuildings include a wagon house, ice house with a milk room and privy.
Van Bunschooten traveled throughout Sussex County, and on Aug. 2, 1787, he started a scholarship to help young men go to college to become a minister. This is known as the Van Bunschooten bequest.
Van Bunschooten, who had no children of his own, asked his nephew Elias Cooper and his wife to come and manage the plantation and mills and to care for him. The Coopers had 10 children while living at the plantation, which was deeded to Cooper after Van Bunschooten died in 1815.
Almost 200 years after the old white farmhouse was built for Van Bunschooten, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Ramsey, the owners at the time, presented the house, outbuildings and 6.5 acres to the Chinkchewunska Chapter as a gift in 1968. It was to be used as museum for historical and education purposes. The deed was accepted in 1971.
In 1974, the house and outbuildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and Places.
Members of the Cooper family learned about the new use for their house, and in 1977, a moving van arrived filled with furniture and treasures that were used in the house by the family. One of the treasures, which is in the museum today, is the Cooper family Bible.
The only changes that were made to the house were the addition of plumbing, electricity and heat.
The museum is open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Sunday of the month from May through October.