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.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Private Home Historic Architecture & Songs of WWII

This just in:

The following program will take place tomorrow night at 7:00pm at the Burlington County Lyceum of History and Natural Sciences (307 High Street, Mount Holly). Please pass the information along to friends, family, etc.

The Langstaff family build their home on High Street in 1830. Tour the home and learn about the architecture, much original to the home. Then learn about the family through a PowerPoint presentation. How did James Langstaff aquire his wealth? What is their connection to Kentucky? Come find out Thursday, August 23 at 7:00pm.

Sorry I can't attend this one but I don't drive at night anymore due to my degenerating cornea.  I have Fuch's Dystrophy.  It doesn't stop me from daytime driving for from reading or painting but my night vision is awful.

ALSO - A REVIEW of a program.

I heard Dr. Winkler's program on the Songs of World War II at Cherry Hill library on Tuesday and if you ever get the chance to hear him speak, you should do it.  

By this point, I am a kind of connoisseur of speakers, having done presentations myself and attended literally hundreds.

What I  really enjoyed about Dr. Winkler's presentation was the clever choice of anecdote to go with each song.  It was to the point, amusing or amazing and he didn't fall into the temptation to go on and on with it.  He picked a perfect short bit and told it then played an appropriate amount of the song to go with it.

I can't remember all the songs and stories but one that stuck in my mind was about a Chaplain who despite his pacifism, joined the navy in WWII and helped his fellow sailors shoulder the shells to load the gun on their ship at a point where his help was desperately needed, from that incident came the song "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition."  Dr. Winkler has been lobbying to have a plaque put at the house of this Chaplain which is in Haddonfield.

The event was very well attended and despite the fact that the sound system went down, we could all hear Dr. Winkler very well.  There were songs sung by Kate Smith, and many other beloved favorites from the era.  It brought tears to my eyes because it was like visiting with my mother and father.  I could hear some people softly singing along with the songs - ver moving!

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