"Summer in a Foreign Country" (Palisades Interstate Park

Jul / Aug '08

Summer in a Foreign Country

“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.”
    Leslie Poles Hartley
    The Go-Betweens

It’s not the history you can read or visualize, but history you can taste and smell. This summer, Damian Charpentier, acting in the role of an officers’ cook for Washington’s Continental Army, will take visitors on a culinary journey into the revolutionary past. Visitors of all ages will learn how recipes have evolved over the span of two centuries and what the tools of the trade were. They will also learn about bread-baking techniques—and get to try some samples. This all happens on Sunday afternoons at Fort Lee Historic Park overlooking the Hudson. Charpentier will fire up a reconstructed “beehive” oven that is sited between the soldiers’ and officers’ huts at the “encampment” area at the southern end of the Historic Park. Weather permitting, visitors are invited to stop by anytime between noon and 4 pm and to stay as long as they like.

The entrance to Fort Lee Historic Park is on Hudson Terrace immediately south of the George Washington Bridge. The 33-acre site boasts a visitor center and paved walkways offering unparalleled views of the bridge and upper Manhattan. There is no admission fee charged and no reservations are needed. For more information about the cooking demonstrations, or for directions, please call the Historic Park at 201 461-1776.



That number can also be used to confirm if weather seems questionable on any given Sunday.

“The duty of the historian is to restore to the past the options it once had.”
    Gordon Craig

At the other end of the park, at the Kearney House at the Alpine Boat Basin & Picnic Area, visitors can explore the nineteenth century on a couple of Tuesday evenings in August. This former riverfront tavern will once more assume the role of meeting place, where current events can be discussed. Our staff will read aloud from newspapers on topics ranging from local incidents to international intrigue. The catch: it will all be set precisely 150 years ago, in August of 1858. In what kind of world will visitors at Mrs. Kearney’s tavern find themselves? Here are some background facts:

The president of the United States is James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, a Democrat (and lifelong bachelor). His vice president is John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky.

On May 11, Minnesota became the thirty-second state.

Across the Atlantic, Queen Victoria has begun the twenty-second year of her reign.

The population of New Jersey is just over half a million.

Closter Landing—where Mrs. Kearney’s tavern stands—is part of Harrington Township, which occupies northeastern Bergen County, from the Hudson to the Hackensack. The Landing boasts a pair of deepwater docks and a wagon road to the summit of the Palisades, the old “Closter Dock Road.”

There has been much talk the past few years of Kansas, and slavery.

Light “tavern” type fare will be available for purchase, and patrons may bring their own spirits if they wish. We hope you’ll join us!