Welcome to 2019, the year we start celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Merchants and Drovers Tavern as a museum. Yes, it’s been 50 years since a group of Rahway residents, recognizing the historic importance of this site, formed the Rahway Historical Society to save it from demolition. They rallied the community and local businesses, including Merck and RSI Bank, to raise the funds which ultimately prevented this one-of-a-kind site from being razed and erased from living memory. Those early founders and contributors deserve our apprecia-tion and everlasting thanks for their hard work in ensuring our nation’s early roots are pre-served for generations to come. Some of them are still with us and continue on as members and volunteers. We salute you.

Naturally, the best way to show our appreciation of their dedication is to continue that work above and beyond the preservation of the site’s structures. Keeping these buildings standing straight and safe has been our primary objective these past 50 years, and as we come closer to reaching our goal both inside and out, it’s time to put more focus on how we are developing this museum as an educational resource to the community that has supported it for years. Therefore, we begin our next half century working to make sure this Museum is a place one wants to come to again and again for education, entertainment, and the simple pleasure of friendly communal gatherings with people who share an appreciation of history.

Last month we held our annual Member Potluck Dinner, and once again we filled the rooms to capacity. It was wonderful to kick off the 50th celebration year with members, staff and trustees. I believe events such as this are emblematic of the kind of organization we continue to build, one that not only serves this community through historic preservation, but also one that brings that community of people together, as friends and partners in this mission.

We have many events planned this anniversary year to celebrate our past and ongoing success in keeping this landmark open and thriving. Old favorites such and our cemetery tours and holiday evenings remain on the schedule, and we’ve added some new ones including our Wine Pairing Dinner event set for March 30th. Whether you choose to visit us for one of these events, or even if you stop by and hang out with Al in the office (he likes milk but no sugar in his coffee if you’re buying), we always want to see you. We can think of nothing better than celebrating this milestone with the very people who continue to make it possible, you our friends.

Thank you.

Annette Satkowski