This month’s Speaker Series presentation will feature Felix Acevedo and the Puerto Rican Civic Association (PRCA) President, Edwin Negroni. We’re excited to feature them on the eve of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15th through October 15th of each year.
Felix Acevedo will kick off the evening with the story of conquering many obstacles seeking opportunity and a better life for he and his family, leaving their native Puerto Rico in the 1950’s. Seven years old, and speaking no English on his arrival in Hammonton, he was one of the first of his generation to emigrate. A 1970 graduate of Hammonton High School, he worked at Rich’s Army-Navy Store, then 13-14 years at Kessler Clothing. He was then one of the first Latino Puerto Ricans to work in the casino revival in Atlantic City, and also ran for Hammonton School Board to promote inclusiveness. For the past 26 years, Felix has worked as a New Jersey USDA Inspector in fruits and vegetables, egg, and milk production. He and his wife, a long-time Hammonton School District employee, have two children.
Edwin Negroni will then speak to the important ongoing mission of the PRCA in Hammonton. Active in the organization since 2001, he is well versed in its challenges and many accomplishments. He is the son of a migrant worker, who as a child, attended numerous schools in the States and Puerto Rico and became very fluent in both English and his native Spanish. He pursued a technical career becoming a Master Electrician and currently serves as a New Jersey State Electrical Inspector in Camden. He and his wife of 29 years have three daughters, all of whom attended Stockton University.
Both gentlemen will speak on the eve of the PRCA of Hammonton’s Puerto Rican Festival 2022, which will be held on Sunday, August 28, 2022, and then again from Friday, September 2nd through Sunday September 4th at the Puerto Rican Civic Center at 367 Old Forks Rd.
Mark your calendar with these upcoming events:
- October 6 – Nuncie Sacco: 75 Years of Hammonton Little League Baseball, featuring three 1947 “Rookies”
- November 3 – John Mazzeo: Family and Photography in Hammonton
- December – to be determined
- January 5 – Nicole Umosella: Umosella Family History
About the HSH
The Historical Society of Hammonton preserves the rich social, political, economic, and multi-cultural heritage of our town and its people. Our mission is to increase awareness of Hammonton’s history, and to establish public access to that history by collecting, conserving, interpreting, and promoting it to the widest possible audience.
Our historic Museum (former town hall / library / kindergarten), is located in Hammonton Veterans Memorial Park, and is open every Tuesday from 10 AM until Noon, and every Saturday from 11 AM until 2 PM.
Volunteers welcome! If you can’t attend the presentation, come in and play back recordings of this and most Guest Speakers! Monthly meetings and presentations are held on the first Thursday evening of the month.
Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of Cultural Affairs within the Department of State, through funds administered by the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.