Tour to visit Freehold's popular & historic sites
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - History buffs can take advantage of an opportunity to see Freehold Borough's history up close and personal on June 23 when the first Historic Borough Bus Tour is held.

The tour, sponsored by the Freehold Borough Historic Preservation Commis-sion, will offer up to three 90-minute tours on a bus that will pass points of historical interest in the borough. The tour was organized by Mark Skesavage, who serves the commission as secretary; Dave Loring, vice chairman of the commission; Dick Dalik; and Kevin Coyne, who is the borough's historian.

According to Skesavage, highlights of the bus tour include the Metz Bicycle Museum, Grape Beginnings Wine School, the Covenhoven House, St. Peter's Epis-copal Church, the Court Street School, the former A&M Karagheusian rug mill and the Central Railroad Station.

And what tour of Freehold Borough would be complete without a visit to the childhood home of the town's most famous native son, Bruce Springsteen, on the roster? Springsteen's former home on Institute Street is also on the tour.

The first tour will start at 10:30 a.m. and, according to Skesavage, depending on demand, a second tour will depart at 12:30 p.m. and a third at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $12 each and are on sale at borough hall, West Main Street. Included in the price of a ticket are coupons for discounted meals at the Court Jester, Federici's and El Meson.

Participants will be given an opportunity to get off (change) the bus and spend time visiting the Covenhoven House, where they can walk around and see life as it was lived in one of the few remaining local structures that predate the Revolutionary War.

The Metz Bicycle Museum houses one of the world's greatest bicycle collections, according to Coyne, and participants will have a chance to examine them.

Guests will have an opportunity to sample homemade wine at Grape Beginnings Wine School, which is next door to the bicycle museum.

Coyne, who will be the tour guide, will describe the unique architectural details and styles of some of the beautiful historic homes in the borough. He will also offer information about the history of certain homes and the people who made their home in those houses years ago.

Tourists will see various styles of homes, including bungalows and Sears, Roebuck homes, which according to Skesavage were popular between 1908 and 1940. Skesavage explained that many people ordered their home from a Sears, Roebuck catalog.

"The homes were complete and they had everything in them. They would be delivered in boxes with hundreds of pieces by train and then unloaded. Purchasers just needed to hire a carpenter to put it all together," he said.

For tickets, call Mark Skesavage at (732) 845-9661.