Annie Stelce Hosking

A twinkle in her eye and a tote bag containing a few volumes of The History of Roxbury Township, just in case someone wanted to buy one, were Annie Hosking's trademarks as she and Harriet Meeker traveled about, speaking to organizations and school children about Roxbury Township's history and the goals of the Roxbury Society Historical Society. Born in neighboring Randolph Township on Sussex Turnpike, Mrs. Hosking was a 1913 graduate of Roxbury High School when its classes were held in the Gray Building, and held degrees from New Jersey State College in Newark and Newark State College at Union, now known as Kean College. She devoted forty years to teaching in Roxbury Township elementary schools, residing in a home on Eyland Avenue now lived in by one of her granddaughters and her family. Not one to remain idle after here retirement, she teamed up with Harriet Meeker to create the Roxbury Township Historical Society in 1962, serving as vice president for twenty years. Mrs. Hosking and Miss Meeker co-authored Volumes I and II of The History of Roxbury Township, after having been instrumental in sparing the Silas Riggs Saltbox House from destruction. They worked with purpose, dedication and a sense of humor, confident that their work would be completed, if not by them, by those whom they inspired to follow in their footsteps. Mrs. Hosking died in 1982 at the age of 86, and her passing left a major void in the lives of all who knew her, but most of all in the lives of her dear husband, Benjamin Hosking, her daughter Doreen Hosking Wright and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Born on North Hillside Avenue in Succasunna in 1894, Harriet Meeker attended lower grade classes in the Chestnut Hill School on Main Street, Succasunna and high school classes in the Gray Building on North Hillside Avenue, which served first through twelfth graders. Both buildings still stand. After her graduation from high school in 1912, she earned her bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in Ohio and her master's degree from Columbia Teacher's College in New York City. Miss Meeker taught at Roxbury High School for five years after having started her teaching career in Illinois, but found her permanent teaching niche at Fort Lee High School, from which she retired in 1955. While teaching in Fort Lee, she lived in New York City, returning to her family home after her retirement. A lover of books, opera, people and community, she sustained long-time relationships with her past students and friends, always welcoming newcomers into her fold. Her niece and nephews were particularly dear to her, as were her cats. It was Miss Meeker's nephew, Henry Emmans, who pointed out the uniqueness of the Silas Riggs Saltbox House within the township and the need to save it from oblivion when it was threatened by the wrecker's ball. We are grateful to Miss Meeker's devotion to the cause of preservation and for inspiring newcomers to the community to join in the pursuit. She, as first president of the Roxbury Township Historical Society, and Annie Stelce Hosking, as vice-president were quite a team as they communicated the township's history to school children and other community organizations. Miss Meeker died in 1994, in her 100th year, a few months shy of her 100th birthday.

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