A Town Talks 'Turkey'

Folks will gather today to share in today's Thanksgiving traditions; they'll fuss all day in the kitchen, they will toss around the pigskin in the back yard and gobble up heaping portions of stuffing, sweet potatoes and, of course, turkey.

And that big bird, the staple of the holiday? Let's just say that, with apologies to former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean and his long-gone state tourism slogan: New Providence and Turkey? Perfect together.

Brits Flock Together

According to documents, the land on which this New Jersey town rests was purchased by James, Duke of York and brother to King Charles II, from the Lenni Lenape Indians. This land was known as the Elizabethtown Tract. The new owners saw such an abundance of wild turkeys running free, that they called the town Turkey.

The Elizabethtown Associates established a Puritan colony, the first of its kind, in 1720. By 1737, the Presbyterian Church was formed and became the center of this growing community.

And as the community grew, leaders wanted to build a church that was befitting of its role as the center of the townspeople's lives. They set out to build a grand structure that could house its congregants. In 1759, the church balcony collapsed. The lack of serious injuries was declared  by "divine providence," which led the church elders to come with a new name for the town.

Several documents at the New Providence Historical Society in the support the story. But A Letter to the Editor of the Tribune in 1922 recalls the accident after a similar disaster in one of the theaters in Washington.

"Not far from the city of Summit, in Union County, N.J., was a small settlement called Turkey. The people built a log church, outgrew it, and then put up a larger and more pretentious one. They began worshiping in it before it was completed," Elias Vossellee stated in the letter. "One Sunday during the service, one of the galleries fell with a crash. There were people in the gallery and under it, yet no one was seriously hurt. Those pious souls regarded their escape from disaster as a signal interposition of Providence in their behalf, and resolved to call the church, and the village as well, New Providence." 

Most documents tell a similar story, especially 's 250^th Anniversary Booklet.

"Historians disagree widely about the year of the famed collapse of the gallery which occurred in those early days of the church," according to the booklet. "Some of the congregation was seated there although 'the beams on one side were but loosely laid and covered with loose boards.' The balcony gave way and fell upon those beneath, but fortunately, there were no serious injuries. This was considered by all to be attributed to Divine Providence, at which time God exercised his care and guardianship over his earthly creatures."

Frank W. Orleans, the former Borough Historian, wrote many articles about the town's history and the name change, perhaps writing the most accurate information about the borough's history.

"The name, Turkey, was changed to New Providence about 1750 when the Society of Presbyterians changed it from Turkey Meetinghouse to the New Providence Meetinghouse because they felt that it was "Divine Providence: that prevented injury to those in the Meetinghouse as the unfinished gallery collapsed on those below during a church meeting," Orleans stated in his 1989 article about the borough.

Big Bird Sightings

As the final preparations begin on today's Thanksgiving feast, friends and families in New Providence remain thankful for that fateful day in the Presbyterian Church. Given the evolution of language from the 18th century to present day, the puns, slams and general abuse associated with being a modern-day resident of Turkey, NJ, could create serious self-esteem issues. And while homes, strip malls and heavily traveled roads have pushed turkeys to other locations, residents are still reminded of their town's roots.

"There's a huge one that lives on Pine Way," says Shirley Grande-Harrington, a local New Providence resident. "He decides to stand in the middle of the street and you can't do anything about it until he decides to move. It's really big and I don't know if it's the same one. I always see it on Pine Way, close to Springfield Avenue."

Councilman Michael Gennaro said he used to have a family of turkeys living near his property.

"We had two families of wild turkeys nesting in our cul-de-sac and they used to run across my front lawn every day for about a year," Gennaro says.

Rev. Margaret Hodgkins said the area was mostly woods until the 1960s.

"I think there were just wild turkeys running around in the woods. You don't see them much now anymore," Hodgkins says.

While owner Jimmy Vardas said he doesn't know much about the town's history and says he hasn't seen any turkeys still running around, he jokes that he's got turkey right where his customers want it — in the kitchen.

"One of our biggest sellers is the Turkey Town Wrap," Vardas says. "It's fresh-carved turkey, cranberry sauce, walnuts, Swiss cheese and lettuce. It's a big seller for us. Lots of the local people love it."

So residents breathe a sigh of relief every time they're confronted with their hometown roots, willing to laugh at their past moniker — as long as there is no petition to bring it back.

"Well, I don't think anyone would want to be called Turkey at this point in time. New Providence is a nicer name than Turkey," said Marian Rillo, a former borough resident, who now lives in Gillette.

"New Providence," resident Bill Stahlin says, "sounds good!"