Women’s speaker series kicks off this weekend
Community group to hold six discussions at E. Brunswick Museum
BY ANDREA OLIVIO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — The roles of women and their cultural significance will be explored in a series of Sunday afternoon discussions that begin this weekend.

Set up by the Historic Village of Old Bridge Community Group in honor of Women’s History Month, the series, titled “From Our Past to the Present — A Day in the Life of a Woman,” will look at the cultural and historical significance of women.

The programs will be held at the East Brunswick Museum, 16 Maple St., on various Sundays from Feb. 20 through May 15, with refreshments to follow each discussion.

Community Group members Susan Luczu and Betty A. Galganski came up with the idea for the lectures, and Luczu contacted women who she felt would be outstanding speakers for the events. She was able to procure six different discussions — from the “forgotten arts” of handicrafts from another era, to changes in the kitchen and how they have affected our lifestyles.

“We were talking about different displays and items that the museum owns, and we wanted to tie that in and deal with things around the home front,” said Luczu, who will lead two of the discussions.

The series kicks off this Sunday with “Ladies of the Manor — Afternoon Tea,” which will honor women’s domestic skills, also offering tea and refreshments. Speakers Galganski and Luczu are asking participants to bring “a new ladies hankie and go home with a one-of-a-kind item [they] will be sure to cherish.” They are also encouraged to dress in elegant tea dresses, hats, gloves, heels and pearl jewelry. Organizers will display their collections of handicrafts, and souvenir photos will be taken.

The following week, Luczu will be the speaker for “Kitchen Garden — Lotions and Potions.” During this event, participants will rediscover the secrets of natural ingredients from the garden. Luczu will discuss medicinal, aromatic and culinary attributes and the different uses of common herbs, such as making one’s own lip gloss.

On March 6, “The Blending of Native American and European Foods” will be led by speaker Susan McLellan Plaisted. The food ways of the Eastern Woodland Indians, along with visuals of clay pot firing and uses of land and garden resources, will be the main topics.

March 13 will bring “Women and Tea in the Victorian Era.” Judith Krall-Russo, a tea specialist and member of the Culinary Historians of New York, will lecture on the emergence of tea in England. Tea was once expensive and only consumed by wealthy men in coffee houses, later becoming more mainstream. Russo will discuss how tea affected women’s social events, dress styles, business ventures and health.

Barbara Meyer Darlin will talk on April 10 about “Arsenic and Tight Lace — Beauty Secrets of La Belle Epoque.” The session will cover the extremes that women went to, including taking arsenic to whiten their complexions, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Darlin will demonstrate the laborious task of dressing in full evening ball attire. Audience members will assist as her “ladies maids.”

Lastly, on May, 15, Dr. Alice Ross will lead the discussion on “From Cast Iron to Microwaves,” discussing the history of cooking and how changes in the kitchen have changed our lives. Ross is a teacher at Hearth Studios, where she gives workshops in aspects of hearth, wood stove and brick oven cookery.

Each session will run from 3-5 p.m. at the museum.

“I’m excited about all of them,” Luczu said. “I think the speakers will be good. We’ve gotten a good response, and were hoping for a good turnout.”

The program is sponsored by the Historic Village of Old Bridge Community Group in conjunction with the East Brunswick Museum. The Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts assisted.

“[The series is important] because it helps us to understand where we are in 2005 by understanding a little of our history,” Luczu said.

Preregistration and prepayment are advised, since tickets are limited to the first 75 paid registrations.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children age 12 and under, per workshop; for all six workshops, tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for children.

For more information and registration forms, call (732) 257-6424.