OBCWRT’s Mission is to educate, preserve, and honor the history of the American Civil War through meetings, presentations and events. It also support preservation efforts while fostering respectful discussions that embrace the diverse disscussoins that embrace diverse perspectives

What’s Happening With Old Baldy

tWELCOME to February. We hope everyone has recovered from the storm and is healthy and safe. January proved to be a somewhat active month for Old Baldy.

 In the latter months of 2025 and now into 2026, Old Baldy welcomed 5 new members. Want to take this opportunity to welcome the following folks into the Old Baldy family:

 Erica Pilla        Corey Jackson             Jimmy Jones               Thomas Crossen

 Additionally, twice a year, starting this month, will be looking to recognize members who have reached a membership milestone in the last several months or will reach a milestone in the next several months. Those we would like to recognize this month are:

 Irene & Steve Wright -40 years        Michael DiPaolo - 5 years       Amy & Dan Hummel -5 years

Harry Jenkins -35 years                   Jerry Jennings - 5 years         Gary Kaplan - 5 years

Ed Komczyk - 30 years                    Harriet Monshaw - 5 years         William Sia - 30 years

Ellen & Dietrich Preston - 10 years  Bob Sparks - 5 years              Janet Whaley - 5 years

Jean White - 5 years

 Congratulations everyone and thank you for your continued support and participation ion Old Baldy

 We won a 2026 Grant from Camden County that will help us fund some of our efforts in 2026. Will work through 2026 to finalize ideas as to the best use of the funds within the award guidelines.

 The OBCWRT 50th Anniversary committee held their kick-off meeting with plans to meet monthly until critical decisions are finalized and then decide the meeting frequency as the decisions are turned into actions needed to implement those decisions as 2027 is quickly approaching. I want to thank Tom Scurria, Ed Komczyk, Maggie Tumasz and Ellen Higgins for agreeing to participate in this important project.

 We continued to finalize the revitalization of the Old Baldy Website. The new version has been launched although there is still work to be done to finalize it. Everyone is encouraged to visit the website and explore the included links. As indicated in December and January, there are some additional ways we are considering to utilize the Website to enhance our communications going forward. Will reach out as this develops.

 Happy to report that the OBCWRT Newsletter, although suspended in January given the stand down of Don Wiles, is being bought back. A replacement has been found and she working to re-establish the newsletter starting this month. I want to thank Kim Weaver for taking on this role and I am sure everyone necessary will support Kim such that the associated effort goes as smoothly as possible to minimize her effort. Note that the revamped Website will continue to be used to retain the newsletter typical content although not in a consolidated Newsletter format including a link to the Newsletter. As noted in January, the content will be accessible through a series of links. This approach is being maintained into the future as the Website is more than a members tool, it a communication tool to others outside our current members and friends who may be interested in our group and groups like ours so we can attract more potential members as Old Baldy moves into the future. The newsletter content is very useful in introducing others to what Old Baldy is all about and how we function.

 Thinking of Don Wiles, I want to thank Rich Jankowski who went to Florida to visit Don in person and present him the gift Old Baldy presented Don in December 2025 as part of our celebration of his years of service.  Pictures will be placed on the website under the “Community Out Reach” link in March. A picture will also be included in the newsletter when it is issued.

 The Old Baldy board met on the 29th of January and voted to make Kevin Sekula Vice President of Old Baldy while I will continue as President through at least the current term. I want to welcome Kevin, his help will be very much appreciated. I encourage every member to reach out to myself or Kevin if you have any comments or ideas relative to Old Baldy, e.g., what you would like us to focus on going forward etc. All feedback is encouraged. It is also a way we can get to know the membership better as we are relatively new to the organization. If you send a note to oldbaldycwrt@verizon.net, we will get back to you and can develop a more personal way to stay in contact.

 Our February meeting (February 12) with be totally by Zoom. There will be no in-person meeting. The speaker will be James Jewell; “Waging War for Freedom with the 5th Massachusetts”. The meeting time and Zoom log-in information are provided on the Website under the “Meeting Information”  Link. The information along with information about the speaker will also be sent via a separate e-mail that is sent to all members and all friends on our mailing list.

 Events that our fellow RT and other historical societies have in February and beyond (that we are aware of) can be found on our “Partner Events”  link on the Website as well as in the Newsletter

 The 2026 Membership Dues continue to be collected. Dues remain the same, $25.00 Individual Membership and $35.00 Family Membership. Remember they can now be paid online. Just visit our Web Page, click on, "Membership" on the top bar, which will take you to the next page. Choose a payment method, visa, etc., and click "Buy Now". This will take you to the submission page, complete form and click on, "Pay Now". Done. As always, if you prefer to pay by check, bring it to any in-person meeting or send to: 142 Mimosa Drive Sewell, NJ, 08080 attention Calvin Kinsel

Keep Warm!!

Calvin Kinsel, OBCWRT President