Next year the United States will be getting ready to celebrate its 250th anniversary as a nation, but right here in South Jersey we’re celebrating a milestone that beats that by a century.
Earlier this month the City of Salem marked their 350th anniversary with a street festival put together by the community organization Stand Up For Salem.
“What a blessing it is to stand together with neighbors and friends and family and visitors as we honor 350 years of history, beauty, and community,” said Salem City Mayor Dr. Jody Veler, who thanked the organizing group, along with many others who came together to make the event possible.
“Three hundred and fifty years ago, Quaker settlers came to this place seeking peace. Their values of simplicity, equality, and faith, shaped the roots of this city. Salem became a place of industry, of glass and innovation, of farms and markets.”
Veler also used the occasion to acknowledge the indigenous people, who originally lived in the region.
“The land upon which we gather is part of the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape called Lenapehoking,” she said. “The Lenape people lived in harmony with one another upon this territory for thousands of years. During the colonial era and early federal period, many were removed, west and north, but some also remained among the continuing tribal communities of the region.
“We acknowledge the Lenni-Lenape as the original people of this land and their continuing relationship with their territory. In our acknowledgment of the continued presence of Lenape people in their homeland, we affirm the aspiration of the great Lenape Chief Tamanend, that there be harmony between the indigenous people of this land and the descendants of the immigrants to this land, as long as the rivers and creeks flow and the sun, moon, and stars shine.”
Denise “Bright Dove” Dunkley, a Councilwoman of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation was on hand to address the gathered crowd as well.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that as we move forward collectively, caring for these lands and stewarding these lands together in partnership and in that harmony, that you would remember when you make decisions, and remember when you make impact on the Earth every single day, all day,” Dunkley said. “Because that is continuing that harmony and protecting these lands, our original lands.”
Along with the gathered speakers, the day’s event included live musical performances, historical re-enactors, a vendors’ market, food and drink and a drone show in the evening.
In marking such a notable milestone, much of the day was understandably focused on honoring the past.
“America’s getting ready to celebrate its 250th birthday,” said State Senator John Burzichelli in his address to the crowd. “Salem’s 100 years older than this nation, and, by the way, 10 years older than the city of Philadelphia.”
But Burzichelli, like many of the speakers, shifted focus to the future of the city in his remarks as well.
“As you look around, people of a certain age may say, ‘well, this is not the same, and that’s not the same, and it used to be this,’” he said. “It’s not about what it used to be. It’s what it can be. So now we rally together as a group, because the potential here to reinvent itself is unique – it doesn’t happen often.”
Assemblywoman Heather Simmons echoed that sentiment.
“I was standing here trying to imagine what this place looked like 350 years ago, and I’m sure that there were things that were very, very different about the way people lived and how they did things day to day,” Simmons said. “But you know, a lot of the things were very much the same. They sought a place here where they could raise their family in peace, where they could worship together, where they could find work, where they could educate their family, where they could build a real life together in God.
“Three hundred and fifty years later, our priorities are the same. We are committed to helping you grow and prosper and prepare for the journey into the next 350 years.”
Mayor Veler also used her remarks to reflect on the Salem of today and how it might develop in the future.
“Salem is now a city of many cultures and traditions,” she said. “We form a community that is vibrant, creative, and on our best days, beautiful and strong. That diversity is one of Salem’s greatest strengths.
“We must also look forward with vision. The Salem of tomorrow will not only preserve its history, but it will transform it. The same factories where glass was once forged will soon give rise to new industries that will create living wage jobs for residents. Streets that are now in disarray will soon see parks, businesses, new homes, and gathering places re-imagined.”
For Assemblyman Dave Bailey, Jr., his look into Salem’s past was more recent, and more personal.
“As one of Salem County’s own, this is a special day,” Bailey said. ”I think back 50 years ago, when my mom would bring me here to buy my Buster Brown shoes, down at Hoffman’s down the street. We’d go down to buy our suits. We’d walk up and down these streets, and it was a special day, as a kid from Alloway, to come to the Metropolis of Salem City and do our shopping, and get something to eat and hang out for the day.”
Bailey too expressed hope for the city as it moves beyond this milestone.
“This is our Salem County seat,” Bailey said. “This is an important economic engine for this entire area. And yeah, there’s been some sputter along the way, but as the mayor said, everything she talked about is what we have to do to get this engine thriving again.”