Cold Spring Village Chairman Receives Highest Honor from NJ Historical Commission

Dr. Joseph Salvatore, co-founder and volunteer Chairman of Historic Cold Spring Village and Naval Air Station Wildwood in Cape May 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. It is given annually in recognition of contributions in the area of scholarship, public history, conservation and preservation.  
The 2021 Award was presented at the NJHC History Forum at Monmouth University on November 12th. Both Dr. Salvatore and his wife, Annie, have been actively involved in Cape May County and NJ History since founding Historic Cold Spring Village in 1973. NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum was dedicated in 1995. Opened to the public on May 23, 1981, the Village recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a Gala held on the Village grounds.  
Both Dr. and Mrs. Salvatore (also a recipient of the Richard J. Hughes Award in 2010) have served as members of NJ State organizations dedicated to arts, history and culture. Dr. Salvatore served as Chairman of the NJ Historical Commission from 1992 to 1997; and on the Boards of Advocates for NJ History; the Friends of the NJ State House; Task Force on NJ History and the Southern Shore Tourism Council. On the local level, he has been involved in the Cape May County Cultural and Heritage Commission, Chambers of Commerce, and other historical organizations. 
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, NJ. He was also an Assistant Clinical Professor in Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. During 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.