Arts & Entertainment

Author Makes Bridgewater History Come Alive

Local author has just released her second book.

She was raised in Bridgewater in the 1950s and 1960s, and now Cindy Williams Newsome is continuing to pay respect to the town with her upcoming book about professional baseball players from Bridgewater, her second highlighting this area.

Tentatively titled "Balling in Bridgewater: The Early Years," the upcoming book so far includes an interview with former Bridgewater resident, and former professional baseball player, Fred Wenz.

"I'm in the process of interviewing baseball players from Bridgewater," Newsome said.

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But this is not Newsome's first foray into the history of what has made Bridgewater what it is today. Her first book entitled "Hobbstown: The Forgotten Legacy of a Unique African-American Community" was released in 2006, and discusses a piece of the town's history itself.

"It is a story of the inception of the town in 1921 by Rev. Amos Hobbs and his family," she said. "They migrated from the south during the Great Migration, and through various circumstances, ended up building the first home owned by a black person in Bridgewater, at that time known as Bridgewater Township."

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According to Newsome, Hobbs and his brothers inspired others to leave the south for the north in an effort to better their lives.

"Most of them were sharecroppers and life in New Jersey provided better opportunity for jobs working on the railroad and in various factories, and some did farming for a living," she said.

Newsome, who graduated from the Bridgewater school system, said she saw herself through the eyes of these men settling in Bridgewater so many decades ago.

"It is also my story as I saw it regarding adversity faced as I went through the public school system," she said. "I interviewed descendants of Hobbstown's first inhabitants, and the book is built from those stories, as well as my own coming-of-age experiences."

Newsome said she actually grew up in what was unofficially known as Hobbstown, off North Bridge Street.

"What I liked about living in my neighborhood was a feeling of real community," she said. "Also, as I have reflected back, the Bridgewater school system had some dynamic teachers while I was there, and, if taken advantage of, solid education was the great take-away."

As her writing career has progressed, Newsome said, she has loved focusing on Bridgewater itself and what it has to offer.

"It's where life began for me, and to see how it has grown from a rural area with farms and cattle into a thriving suburb is truly amazing," she said. "I enjoy telling stories about the progress in all areas of Bridgewater, especially the social aspect."

But Newsome said she almost didn't choose the field of writing, despite the fact that reading and writing were her favorite subjects in grade school and high school. Instead, she opted for psychology.

"But while taking a psychology course at [Caldwell] College, the professor encouraged me to change my major to English because she saw potential in my writing," she said. "Since I did love writing, it became a very real passion."

Currently, Newsome said, she is celebrating the release of her second book, "The Vain Girl," which has nothing to do with Bridgewater this time.

"It is about a family dealing with a generational curse, deception and universal issues that might relate to any family," she said.

Newsome is holding a book signing at Connections Bible Bookstore & Cafe in Flemington Saturday.

For Newsome, she has always loved writing, and advises that those looking to become an author find a mentor.

"If you know you have the gift, and you will know because you will be passionate about it, hone your skills with a mentor if possible," she said. "Attend creative writing courses and join a writer's group if available to you."

"There will be days when you might not feel like writing, but pick up a pen and paper each day and write something," she added. "I don't believe in writer's block, I believe in writer's lazy."

For more information on Newsome, visit her website.


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