Join us for the second guest lecture associated with the exhibition, “Greetings from Hudson County,” on Sunday, March 31, at 4 pm. Historian and professor emeritus of NJCU Carmela Karnoutsos will speak about the history of Bayonne, illustrated through postcards. Originally home to Lenni Lenape Indians, the area known as “Bergen Neck” was settled by the Dutch in the 1600s, and later incorporated as Bayonne in 1869. 

Karnoutsos will share the quirky story of how the city adopted its name, and will talk about its development into the flourishing city we know today.  Among Bayonne’s claims to fame are the first “rock band,” a band led by Bayonne resident William Till, who performed music using finely tuned rocks he called a “rockophone.” Famous people from Bayonne include Congressman Barney Franks, author George R.R. Martin, and actors Brian Keith, Frank Langella and Sandra Dee, nee Alexandra Zuck. Dee was celebrated in 1960 with “Sandra Dee Day.” 

As part of Bayonne’s 150th anniversary celebrations, Karnoutsos will also be speaking on the history of the city at a celebration in Bayonne City Council chambers on April 11.

Carmela A. Karnoutsos, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of New Jersey City University, is an alumna of the university and received her graduate degrees from New York University. Dr. Karnoutsos is the author of New Jersey Women: A History of Their Status, Roles and Images (New Jersey Historical Commission, 1997) and an associate editor of Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women (Scarecrow Press, 1990). A charter member and former trustee of the Bayonne Historical Society, Inc., Dr. Karnoutsos served on the Bayonne Community Museum Board of Trustees and presently serves on the Bayonne Historic Preservation Commission.

Karnoutsos is co-author with Patrick Shalhoub of a history of the university, From Greenhouse to Campus: The Foundations of New Jersey City University (2010 New Jersey City University).  The two also created a website for NJCU, “Jersey City Past and Present.”