FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joan Schnorbus

jnschn@verizon.net

Autumn Tea to Celebrate First Lady Julia Dent Grant
-- Event will fund Church of the Presidents exterior restoration –

LONG BRANCH, N.J. (October 17, 2010) – The Long Branch Historical Museum Association (LBHMA) is celebrating Julia Dent Grant – the second First Lady to vacation in Long Branch -- at its second annual Autumn Tea to be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, November 7, at Branches Catering, 123 Monmouth Road, West Long Branch.

Sponsored by LBHMA, the event will feature Larry and Constance Clowers of Gettysburg, Pa., as President and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant. Mrs. Clowers will present a program on the life of First Lady Julia Dent Grant and a fashion show of Victorian fashions from the period (1870s-1880s) when President and Mrs. Grant vacationed in Long Branch.

The Clowers have performed more than 3,800 programs about the Grants over the past 27 years. Mrs. Clowers is a retired master seamstress and sews all of the period garments she and Mr. Clowers wear – both military and civilian.

The tea will benefit the restoration of the Church of the Presidents – the only remaining building associated with the seven presidents who vacationed in Long Branch – now closed to visitors until renovations are complete. The menu includes tea sandwiches, soup, assorted teas, coffee, and assorted miniature desserts. A gift auction will be held and a cash bar will be available.

Funds raised through the event will be used to match a $467,296 New Jersey Historic Trust grant. The NJHT grant and the required matching funds will be used to complete the exterior restoration of the building. Repair and/or replacement of the brick masonry foundation -- 65 percent of which was failing – is currently underway.

In 2008, most of the tower, as well as the eastern face of the building, were painted in the Church of the Presidents’ original rustic earth-tone colors. Funding is required soon to repair the shingled siding and to paint the lower tower and the rest of the building to ensure the paint is consistent in tone and weathering. Siperstein’s is donating the paint for the restoration.

Admission to the reception is $45 per person, and seating is limited. All contributions are tax-deductible. Reservations are required and may be obtained by sending payment to LBHMA, P.O. Box 2204, Elberon, N.J., 07740, by October 30. For more information, call 732-476-8976, or see www.churchofthepresidents.org. LBHMA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Owned by LBHMA, St. James Chapel was built in 1879 and gained fame as the Church of the Presidents because presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson attended services there. The building was deconsecrated and saved from demolition in 1953, and functioned as a museum until instability forced its closure in 1999. It is listed on both the State of New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places.

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