Historic Places in South Jersey

Historic Places in South Jersey - Places to Go and Things to Do

A discussion of things to do and places to go, with the purpose
of sharing, and encouraging exploration of South Jersey.

Monday, April 30, 2018

Revolutionary War in South Jersey

Tuesday, May 1st, at the Cherry Hill Library, Andrew Coldren (former director of the Salem Co. Hist. Society) will be presenting on the Revolutionary War in South Jersey. 1100 Kings Hwy., North.

For those of us who have spent any time in the history world of South Jersey, it is nothing short of ASTONISHING how much Revolutionary War history took place in our patch.

You may have read my piece about driving the Old Salem Rd (Kings Highway) on Saturday down to Salem and then to Hancock's Bridge, the site of a Revolutionary War era tavern where American militia men met, and were slaughtered one night by a Royalist force under Col. Simcoe.  The British offered freedom to enslaved people in the colonies if they would spy for them or guide for them.  Two enslaved men led the British force through the wetlands of the Always Creek, to sneak up on the sleeping militia men and slaughter them all, including the tavern keeper.

Salem County was also the site of a famous raid by "Mad Anthony" Wayne, to round up all the livestock left on the already ravaged farms in that area, to march them to feed the starving men of our Continental army in Pennsylvania winter quarters.

For a time, one of the many places I volunteered as a docent was Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, where the New Jersey State Constitutional seal was adopted.  And lest we forget, there was a TEA PARTY in Greenwich, on the Cohansey River at the southern most border of South Jersey, when a black marketeer attempted to hide contraband tea until he could sneak it into Philadelphia, but local patriots discovered it and burned it in the town square!

I hope to learn even more, much more of our fabulous an often forgotten Revolutionary War history at the lecture.  Hope to see you there.

Oh, also, I just bought a book for a birthday gift for a friend called 266 Days, which uses primary sources such as diaries and other documents to describe the period when the British forces had invaded and held our once capitol city of Philadelphia.  I may have to buy a copy for myself!

Happy Trails!
Jo Ann

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Vegetarian Events

As any of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know, I am a vegetarian.  Often, over the years, I have posted on places to go for good vegetarian and vegan food such as Wildflowers in Millville.  Fortunately, most places now offer some vegetarian selections, though, sadly, they are often limited to "veggie burgers."
Still, I am to complaining, one is better than none.  Some places don't have it on the menu but if you ask they serve it, such as Applebees, which mysteries does not put their veggie burger on their menu but my friends and I often get veggie burgers there.

Well, also, at some point in the past, I blogged about visiting he South Jersey Vegetarian Society, which has a bookstore!  Two of my friends are activists for this group and do "tabling" which means they hand out literature from tables at events. 

Since I am on their mailing list, I thought I would share with you their latest e-mail of upcoming events:

Mark Your Calendar
Potluck May 12 Medford Friends Meeting House
Free Lecture Series Monday June 25, 6:30pm Margaret E Heggan Library, Sewell, NJ
Details coming
Picnic Potlucks June 30 Longbridge Park and Sept 1st Smithville Park
Thanksgiving Annual Potluck Nov 11 Moorestown


Not being much of a 'grouper' myself, I don't attend many of their events, and I am not very interested in food, though I am a devoted vegetarian since the 1970's with some minor detours over the years while I was raising my daughter.

I was first converted by Frances Moore Lappe's book Diet for a Small Planet, a book as timely now as it was back when it was first published and popular among alternative lifestyle hippies.  We were becoming more health minded and we were not averse to change.  Back in those days, I did a lot of cooking with a pressure cooker, a lot of beans and rice dishes and stir fry dishes.  Today, I live a lot on my Nutribullet, and I make smoothies and soups.  Yesterday I made a broccoli/cauliflower soup using the NutriBullet that ws heavenly on a rainy at-home-reading day.  

So, if you want to learn more about this 'easier and easier all the time' way to improve your healthy and save our planet, get a book from the library, or visit the Vegetarian Society or go to an event!  Your heart and arteries will be glad you did, so will Planet Earth.

Happy Trails,
Jo Ann

Friday, April 27, 2018

World War II comes back in a box

Today, I got a book from amazon.com called War in the Ruins by Edward G. Longacre.  This post is going to be filled with coincidences and a bit of resolved mystery from personal history with World War II.

When I was a child growing up, our house was saturated with World War II history as my father had been in the U.S. Navy as had his uncle and his brother.  His father had been in the Merchant Marines but had died before the war.  My father had served in troop transports in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and we watched Victory at Sea the way some folks go to church.

Dad was a big reader too, and a heavy collector of vcd's devoted to the war.  We watched them all, so I knew quite a bit, but, as it turned out, not much about the end battles in Germany.  

None of the movies we watched seemed to cover that either, now that I think of it.

In 1967, I married my teenaged sweetheart, after he was drafted into the U.S. Army.  We were thrilled when he got his orders for Germany and not for Vietnam.  My brother, in the U.S Marines was already in Vietnam.

So, we got married and I went to live in a small town called Heilbronn.  I was only 21, and it wouldn't be too much a stretch to say I was like Alice in Wonderland, naive, innocent, inexperienced and full of wonder.  We lived in the village not the army base because the swollen forces due to Vietnam had filled the army housing.  We found this a great benefit, however as it provided a close hand experience with the culture and the people.  Needless to say, though, it was somewhat isolating for me as my young husband spent a lot of time "in the field" and I was learning to speak German but it was a long process, and my language skills didn't progress too far from einkauffen (shopping).  

Heilbronn was, to me, born and bred in Philadelphia, an impressively clean and tidy place.  Also, the concrete atrium style housing was so new.  People had courtyard gardens and window boxes filled with bright red geraniums.  I didn't know anything and I couldn't really ask anything, and no one that I encountered knew anything about the past, or if they did, they kept it to themselves.

Just a few years ago, on a hunt for a vintage postcard from Heilbronn, I discovered the the old Medieval city of about a hundred thousand had been bombed into acres of rubble during the war.  And then, the acres of rubble, underneath of which were market tunnels, had been turned into an end of the war battle zone between conquering American forces and a retreating "last stand" German rag tag army of boys, old men, and left overs from the Luftwaffe, the navy, the SS, and released prisoners, about a thousand strong.  

Their last stand necessitated house by house and street by street combat on the part of the Centurymen American forces.  

I can't believe that, not knowing anything about this event, only 22 years before,  I walked those streets, and shopped in those little corner markets every day with people, many of whom must have been survivors of that battle, including our landlady, Frau Froeschle.  She would have been around 50 then, and so she would have been in her early 20's during the bombing and the battle.  Perhaps she had been married and her husband had been a soldier killed in the war.  Perhaps she had lost her family in the bombing.  
And my neighbor and friend, Trudy, who made her living off GI's as a kind of temporary full time wife, had parents who must have lived through all of that as well. I met her mother often, a woman in her 60's.  

Two years I lived in Heilbronn, with never a guess about what devastation had occurred there so recently, even though a desolate spire of rubble stood in the center of the town left from the destruction of the Kilianskirche, a cathedral destroyed in the bombing.  Truly, however, I think it is a mercy and a lucky break that I didn't know more, because I could go to this new and foreign place without preconceptions about the people and without awareness of the ghosts to taint my experience.  Having been a child of the war, I couldn't have looked at those people with unbudging and friendly eyes if I had known it was a Nazi stronghold.  

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Great lecture on New Jersey's historic women painters


Sunday at the Burlington County Historical Society was very interesting.  They actually have on display one of the paintings described by the speaker, so you could go up close and see the details.

The lecture was called Sunsets to Sheep and described the lives and works of half a dozen  notable artists from New Jersey including wax sculptor Patience Wright, and Lily Martin Spencer to name just two.

The detail above is from the painting on display at the Burlington County Historical Museum.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Sunsets and Sheep Today, April 22, 2018

Later today I will be going to the Burlington County Historical Society, 457 High St., Burlington for program on Burlington's historic and famous women artists, Patience Lovell Wright, among them.  She was a wax sculptor, but the other featured artists include a painter specializing in domestic animals, and a landscape painter. Since I have painted both animals and landscapes, I will especially enjoy this! And I have seen Patience Lovell Wright's house in Burlington and read her life story - she was a spy for the Continental army in London during the Revolution.  

The lecture is at 2:00.  Hope to see you there!
Jo Ann

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Exciting and fun events in May and June 2018

May 6, Spring Fling Artisan Craft Fair noon to 6 p.m.
Flying Fish Brewing Company, Somerdale
Talented Crafters will be selling their wares both inside the tasting room and outside on the brewery patio and lawn, rain or shine!

May 19, Pitman Spring Craft Show
Downtown Pitman
uptownpitman.com
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more than 30 years this festival has brought more than 200 crafters displaying handcrafted wares from jewelry to florals, wood, sewn items, foods and more!

May 19 & 20 from 10 am to 5 p.m.Arts in Bloom Free Artist Studio Tour, Salem County
artsinbloomnj.com
self-driving tour of 30 artists studios
painting, pottery, sculpture, glass, wood and more!

May 19 & 20, from 10 to 4, 41st Annual Bordertown Street Fair
Farnsworth Avenue, Bordertown
An eclectic array of shops and restaurants

May 26, 10-5, May Fair, Downtown Collingswood 
More tha a mile of arts, crafts, MUSIC, and food on Haddon Avenue, plus classic auto show

June 3, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gloucester County Water Fest
Scotland Run Park, Clayton
gloucestercountynj.gov
canoeing and kayaking on the lake and music on the beach, free and rain or shine

June 2 & 3 from 1 to 6, South Jersey Arts Fest
Appel Farm, Elmer
appelfarm.org/south-jerey-arts-fest

June 23rd and 24th, 10a.m. to 4p.m. 15th Annual Blueberry Fest
Whitesbog Village, Browns Mills, NJ
whitesbog.org

June 24 from 10-4, Red, White and Blueberry Fest
Old Forks Road, Hammonton
hammontonnjus/red-white-blueberry-festival
Visit the blueberry capital of the WORLD for live music, jugglers, classic car show, and all kinds of blueberry treats from pie to muffins

All this info came from 
VisitSouthJersey.com/Here

Excellent article in the latest edition of this free delivered magazine on The Hancock House in Lower Alloways Creek, NJ, also the site of many great re-enactments and events, my favorite being the spinner and weaver who brings hand spun yarns dyed with natural ingredients and shares her noted expertise in the processes of textiles in the Colonial period.  She also teaches classes in these processes, including spinning at Wool Bearers in Mount Holly.
I always wanted to learn this but I find my life, time, and money cannot stretch any further than I have already stretched them!

Hancock House, built in 1734,  is on the State Register of Historic Places and is open for tours.  It is a beautiful building, but, more importantly, it was the site of a historic massacre during the Revolutionary War.
www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com
www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/historic/

Happy Trails!
I hope with my help, you need never have a day where you say, "I don't know what to do today."  All you have to do is look on this blog and resolve the issue.  Keep scrolling till you find something that strikes your fancy.
Jo Ann














Friday, April 20, 2018

Burlington County Historical Society Program Sunday Apr. 22

At 2:00 a Stockton Professor will present on several wonderful New Jersey women artists including Patience Lovell Wright (who has wax sculptures on permanent display in the London Wax Museum) and an artist who specialized in domestic animals as well as a NJ Pinelands landscape painter.

It will be a great day to get out and about now that the weather is friendly and perhaps you will be inspired to some Art experience, visiting a museum, painting, photography, visiting some farms like The Funny Farm, or taking a walk around historic Burlington or Bordertown.

Oh yes, one of the artists was the niece of Joseph Boneparte who, as you probably know, had his residence in Bordertown during difficult times in France when he was safer in New Jersey.

Hope to see you there,

Happy Trails!
Jo Ann

Whoops, forgot to tell you the presentation is at the Burlington Historical Society at 2:00 in the afternoon and $5 donation is requested.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Apple Cider Donuts chase the blues on a gloomy Day!

Second day of local joy!  Yesterday it was Maritza's followed by Rails to Trails in Merchantville with banks of daffodils in bloom, and a trip to Platt's Farm for pots of winter pansies.

Today my best buddy and I had lunch at Station Ave. Cafe' followed by a trip to Duffields, off Ganttown Rd/Chapel Heights Rd., Sewell, Nj for Apple Cider Donuts coated with cinnamon sugar!  They have hundreds of other delicious things from the farm there too, though, and a bakery, AND you can get a coffee to go with your donuts.  They have a brochure filled with delicious seasonal baked goods, pumpkin things in fall, blueberry baked goods in summer.

Last, we went to Antiques Only, on Ganttown Rd - a treasure trove of every imaginable thing from the old days.  My favorite things were a light up globe and a painted lunch box.  Gail liked an iridescent-salmon colored, fluted candy dish.  I resisted buying the lunch box though I REALLY wanted it because just this morning I paid a giant dental bill with more to come and it made me a little more budget conscious than I might have been otherwise.

It may have been cold and damp and gloomy outside but it was cheery everywhere we went and the fun we had brightened the day considerably AND tomorrow morning when the Sunday New York Times comes, I will have Apple Cider Donuts to have with my coffee and paper!

Happy Trails,
Jo Ann

Friday, April 6, 2018

Daffodil Festival April 14th 12 to 3 pm in Merchantville, NJ

Daffodil bulb sale
Horticultural Hand-on Workshop
Peter Rabbit's Mother -  Celebration of the work of  Beatrix Potter

Spring Market, off Centre Street.

My intrepid road trip pal, Gail and I had lunch at Maritza's in Maple Shade then walked the Rails to Trails in Merchantville and admired the beds of bright butter yellow daffodils!  We ran into the daffodil lady working there and she told us about the Fair coming on Saturday April 14th.  I photographed the flyer from the front of a building and will post it here when it gets to the cloud, meanwhile, here is the information!  

The Festival is sponsored by the Merchantville Garden Club and the raindate is Sunday the 15th should the weather go bad on the 14th.  Don't forget the lovely little coffee shop in the old train station!  You can get something to eat and drink while at the Festival.  Hope to see you there!  Gail and I are all set to go back, I wouldn't miss a celebration of Beatrix Potter for anything!

This is a painting I did of a bunny who lives in my yard  His family has been here as long as I have, which is 30 years!  Happy Trails and Bunny Tails!
Jo Ann

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Burlington County Programs April 2018

The following history and natural science programs are upcoming in April.  Registration is suggested for all programs. Please see below for instructions on registration.**

April 7, 2PM – Geology Field Trip, Mount Holly
                During this geology walk, participants will look at and learn about the local rock used to construct the Historic Prison and other early buildings of Mount Holly. We will climb up Mount Holly and discuss the geology that created the Mount. Led by Pierre Lacombe, retired USGS geologist. Meet at the Historic Prison Museum (128 High Street, Mount Holly 08060).

April 10, 6PM – A Walk Through History: Industrial Mount Holly
                Enjoy a leisurely stroll through Mount Holly while hearing stories about the town’s industrial past. Learn how the town progressed from saw mills and iron mines to factories. Meet at the Shinn-Curtis log cabin (23 Washington Street, Mount Holly 08060 – behind the municipal building). 

April 19, 7PM – Burlington County: Rooted in Agriculture
Find out how the changing face of agriculture affected the farming families of Burlington County. Learn how some held on through the years while others did not. See how Burlington County fought back against the growing tide of development to become the frontrunner in the state in Farmland Preservation. Finally, see what  new way farmers are finding to conduct business in an ever changing landscape. The presentation will be held at the Smithville Mansion, Billiard Room (803 Smithville Road, Eastampton 08060). 

April 19, 7PM – Burlington County and the American Revolution
                Burlington County was a hotbed of activity throughout the Revolutionary War. Many battles were fought in our towns, local individuals took on roles they never dreamed of, and the lives of our citizens were affected. Learn the significant, yet often overlooked, role Burlington County played in securing our independence. Presentation will take place at the Crosswicks Library (483 Main Street, Crosswicks 08515).

April 21 at 1 pm- Hunters of the Sky
                Hunters of the Sky presented by Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge will allow you to view a variety of New Jersey's raptors (birds of prey) up-close during this engaging and educational presentation. You will learn about the characteristics that makes these birds amazing hunters and the special adaptations they have for survival. Ages 10 and up are welcome.  The program will take place at the Burlington County Library.

April 23, 2PM – Read and React
                This unique approach to history opens up discussion that links our history to current events. A document, photo or artifact will be provided for review. Open discussion on the provided material is encouraged but not required. You may come to simply experience various viewpoints on the subject. You never know where the conversation may lead. The program will be held at the Smithville Mansion, Billiard Room (803 Smithville Road, Eastampton 08060).


**Registration instructions
2.       Create an account
3.       Select “history” from the tabs in the catalogue
4.       Choose the program you are interested in registering for
5.       Follow prompts
6.       You will receive a receipt, reminder email, and any updates to the program following registration.

If you have difficulty, please provide the program you are interested in, your home address, email, phone, and age via email. We will then be able to create a registration for you.

Thank you,

Marisa Bozarth