Aviation Museum Founder Receives Highest Honor from NJ Historical Commission

On Dec 23, 2021

Joseph E. Salvatore, MD founder and chairman of Naval Air Station Wildwood (NASW) Aviation Museum has been awarded the New Jersey Historical Commission’s (NJHC) highest honor-the Richard J. Hughes Award-for his outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of New Jersey history. The award is given annually to an individual in recognition of a series of contributions in the areas of scholarship, public history, teaching, and conservation and preservation. Presented “virtually” at the NJHC 2021 New Jersey History Conference, the Hughes Award added to a long list of accolades and achievements for Dr. Salvatore.

Dr. Salvatore was born and raised in Wildwood, New Jersey and was President of his Wildwood High School Sophomore, Junior and Senior Class. Upon completing pre-med studies, he attended Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia where he served as a surgical intern and resident. Choosing orthopedics as his area of specialty, he spent two years at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. followed by three years as an Orthopedic Surgery Fellow at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee. For thirty years, Dr. Salvatore was actively involved in his surgical practice at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood. He was also an Assistant Clinical Professor in Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. During the course of his medical career, he was the inventor of numerous patented medical instruments including the Salvatore Nylon Traction Bow, a tracheotomy scalpel and clamp, and an umbilical cord clamp. However, the favorite part of his practice were the many patients he cared for over the years he spent years in the practice of medicine.

Dr. Salvatore and his wife, Patricia Anne, also founded Historic Cold Spring Village (HCSV) in 1973 as an Early American, open-air living history museum. Additionally, the Salvatores founded New Jersey’s first non-profit microbrewery located at HCSV. The purpose of Cold Spring Brewery is to stabilize HCSV Museum for future generations to enjoy. Patricia Anne also received the Richard J. Hughes Award in 2010.

Shawn Crisafulli from the New Jersey Historic Commission thanked Dr. Salvatore for his “extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the preservation and promotion of New Jersey history throughout your exemplary career.”

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