The textile collection at the Wicoff House Museum shows the history of Plainsboro, as it allows visitors to gain a greater understanding of the town’s history by viewing the historic pieces. Through the variety of textiles we can see how many aspects make up a town. As a part of her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, Lucy Giasi created a brochure for the Wicoff House Museum about the textile collection and its connection to the town’s history. Throughout the brochure she highlights several individual pieces and their connection to important historical people and places in the town. A few items featured in the brochure are Walker Gordon overalls, a fire jacket, rescue squad overalls, and a quilt.

The Walker Gordon overalls were worn by an employee at the successful Walker Gordon Dairy Farms located in Plainsboro, NJ. This dairy farm became known around the world for the appearance of one of their cows in the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Walker Gordon is an important name in the town of Plainsboro as it was the namesake for the famous dairy farm as well as a current large housing development. The Walker Gordon Employee overalls are from the mid-20th century and they represent the large success and impact that Walker Gordon had as a person on the town of Plainsboro.

Another piece in the collection is the Plainsboro Fire Company Jacket which was donated to the Wicoff House Museum by Rudy B. Wellnitz. The Plainsboro Fire Company is still operational and helps with fires and other emergencies around Plainsboro every year. This fire jacket is from the mid-20th century and is still in good condition with minimal damage despite being worn.

Another piece featured in the textile collection at the museum is a red and white checkerboard quilt created in the early 20th century. The quilt was made by Plainsboro residents and it features the embroidered signatures of over one hundred the last residents living in Plainsboro at the time.

To view the full brochure about the Textile Collection created by Girl Scout Lucy Giasi, you can visit the Wicoff House Museum to learn more about the collection and it’s connection to the history of Plainsboro. The brochure contains more pieces from the Textile Collection like Lavinia Applegate’s wedding outfit, baseball uniforms, and boy scout uniforms.