Calvin and Hobbes, a Belgian draft horse duo that has spent the last 16 years at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, are set to retire and the search is on to find them a place to spend their golden years.
MORRIS TOWNSHIP - These are going to be some big shoes to fill.
Or rather, horseshoes.
Calvin and Hobbes, a Belgian draft horse duo that has spent the last 16 years at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, are set to retire and the search is on to find them a place to spend their golden years.
Since 1999 the two 25-year-old horses have been gently worked at the farm - hauling items such as ice and logs and pulling wagons full of visitors, said Patricia Goodfriend, an education assistant at Fosterfields.
"A lot of people have grown up with them. Thousands of people," said Goodfriend. "If you've visited here over the last few years, you know who they are."
"I'm excited in a way. They'll be able to relax, but at the same time it'll be very different not to see them around anymore. They are very special to us," she added.
There's no official date for their "retirement" as the Morris County Historical Commission, which owns the living historical farm, first needs to find a new home for them, Goodfriend said.
"Our goal is just that we don't want them broken up. They came to us as a pair from a farm in Lancaster, Pa.," she said. "They aren't brothers, but they have been together for so long."
To help finance the pair's retirement, the Friends of Fosterfields and Cooper Mill plan to hold a silent art auction on Sept. 12 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Frelinghuysen Mansion at the park commission's Frelinghuysen Arboretum.
The money raised will also go towards purchased a new team of draft horses for Fosterfields.
"Somewhere out there there's the perfect team that will help us continue our legacy here," said Goodfriend.
Chris Alessi, a farm foreman, said finding the successors of Calvin and Hobbes will be "a long process" because they need to find horses that are not easily spooked around people.
"I will miss them so much, though. They really are a fixture here," Alessi said.
Fosterfields is the first designated living history farm in New Jersey and is on both the state and national registers of historic places.
On average about 30,000 people visit the farm annually, a mix of school groups, camp programs, families, and history buffs, Goodfriend said.
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Gen. Joseph Warren Revere, the grandson of Paul Revere, bought the farm property in the mid-1800s and built his home there.
In 1881, Charles Foster purchased the land and changed the farm's name to "Fosterfields."
His daughter, Caroline, bequeathed Fosterfields in 1979 to the county to be preserved as a "living historical farm" and the facility continues to use tools, techniques, and materials of a turn-of-the-century farm.
The staff also offers tours and runs living history programs to give visitors a chance to experience agricultural life in the late Victorian era.
"Being here makes you think back to how people dealt with things and gives you a different perspective," Goodfriend said.
"We try to maintain our roots as much as we can here and we think Mr. Fosterfield would be proud of his farm today," she said.
Saturday's silent art auction will also give the public the first opportunity ever to tour The Frelinghuysen Mansion, while bidding on works by artists and photographers. There will also be docent-led tours of the mansion, hors d'oeuvres and wine, and music.
Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door on the day of the event. For tickets or additional information, call 973-512-3458 or email ylla53art@gmail.com.
Kimberly Redmond may be reached at kredmond@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @kr0618. Find NJ.com on Facebook.