MORRIS TOWNSHIP - Like George Washington's troops (well, maybe), Josh Gottheimer braved Monday's cold temps at Jockey Hollow to talk about America's national parks.

Standing outside the Visitor's Center, Gottheimer's main purpose was to promote bipartisan legislation he is sponsoring requiring all merchandise sold in national parks across the land to be American-made. As of now, he said more than half of the T-shirts, snow globes, calendars and the like sold in park gift shops are made in China, or elsewhere overseas. That even includes paintings of park scenes themselves, he said.

The American Products and Parks Act aims to change that. Gottheimer was joined by Mitch Cahn, the founder/president of Union Wear, an American manufacturer of various merchandise.

"George Washington would want it that way," Gottheimer surmised.

It was 10,000 of Washington's Continental Army troops that encamped at Jockey Hollow in the winter of 1779-80.That winter, according to one account, "was the worst winter of the war; even worse than the winter at Valley Forge two years before." Jockey Hollow is now part of Morristown National Historical Park.

Gottheimer said he's hoping the bill will make it through a polarized Congress, because it already has Republican support.

That legislation was why the congressman from CD-5 visited the park, but it wasn't the only point he made.

There are no entrance fees to Jockey Hollow, but there are too many of the nationally-known parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and the Statue of Liberty.

The National Park Service has waived admission for certain holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth commemorating the end of slavery.

No more.

The Trump Administration recently said that it will end MLK and Juneteenth as free park days in 2026.

But it added as a free admission day, June 14, which is Flag Day, but also Donald Trump's birthday.

Gottheimer called making Trump's birthday a "free park day" a "shocking sign of audacity" by the president. You got the impression he was being a bit facetious, considering that a lot of what Trump does can be termed audacious.

At any rate, Gottheimer said whether Congress can do anything to reverse that move is still to be determined. But he acknowledged the administration's penchant for unilateral action - such as constructing a massive White House ballroom.
"No, you can't make this stuff up," Gottheimer said.