A new member of the PNJ board, Gordon Bond is an independent historian, author, and graphic designer. As with other board members, his interest in history has been since childhood. Though his education and career were focused on commercial art and graphic design, Gordon is also a writer of non-fiction, particularly in the science and history fields. In 2008, he combined his interests by creating an online New Jersey history magazine and resource website, www.GardenStateLegacy.com featuring both his own articles and works by many other leading New Jersey history authors. While he retired the magazine in 2020, all back issues are still available as are the many free resources and services to the history and preservation communities. Gordon is also the author of six books on a variety of NJ history topics, from the state’s deadliest train wreck to the first African American to vote under the Fifteen Amendment. He still combines his interests and skills by serving the niche market of providing professional graphic design services to NJ history groups and book layouts for NJ history authors.
Gordon describes his interest in historic preservation, especially local history, as “how it can be like being in on a secret—you know something cool or interesting that happened in the building or on that spot that others might pass by everyday with no idea. Even when a site’s significance is well-known, there is something compelling about standing in the same spot and imagining what happened there in a more visceral and spatial way than is otherwise possible. The experience can connect one to a sense of being part of a continuum of history—how events cause other events and lead ultimately to that present moment ...the loss of such things diminishes our shared humanity.”
Specific to New Jersey, Gordon notes the “sheer variety, depth, and texture” of history in the state and the fight to be respected as more than a pass through between New York City and Philadelphia. As with many other places, the importance of preservation gets lost in the possibilities of new development, but Gordon points out that heritage tourism is also an engine of economic growth that New Jersey could do a better job of tapping into.
Joining PNJ -- a time commitment he was not necessarily looking for -- allows him to share his talents with the preservation community. Rather than complain when seeing another piece of history lost, he is adding his skills to help further the organization.
While his appreciation of hands-on conservation comes in part from his wife who is an architectural conservator, he is also involved with an effort to secure permission for an archeological investigation at a site in Perth Amboy. In 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson became the first African American in the country to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment. The site of his home (demolished c. 1913) has been slated for development, making such an investigation the last hope to find any lingering remains of the time the Peterson family lived in Perth Amboy. The process and frustrating moments of navigating preservation, politics, and economics helped Mr. Bond appreciate the intricacies of historic preservation and make him a valuable board member of PNJ.
Welcome Gordon!
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