Before I blog about the weekend in the abandoned cities, I have a question: Does anyone know where Lebanon Lake is? It is the site of the Cheesman Millk but I have driven all over and searched the web and cannot find the location of this lake. It must be large and it must be nearby, and I've ssen it on maps, but can't make out the bordering streets. If you know please contact me at wrightj45@yahoo.com - Thanks in advance for any help.
Sunday, a friend and I decided to visit Bordentown and Burlington cities. They were like ghost towns, which is fine by me. On Friday, coming home from Estell Manor, I had passed over a solid log jam of cars on 42 on the way to the seashore, and the same on 295 and Black Horse Pike.
It was a good weekend to stay home, or at least, close to home. So in Bordentown, we stopped for lunch after walking the charming streets and visiting the Iris Garden, which had passed its prime, but it was still pretty.
We ate in an Italian restaurant, but were shocked to discover, on paying the bill, that we had been charged $3 or every decaf coffee refill! Our salads were $10 each, but our coffee was almost equal!
What made up for it a little was stopping at the OLD BOOK SHOP OF BORDENTOWN, open Tues. to Sun. also from 11 to 5, but I recommend you call and let them know you are coming if you are going there especially to buy something. (609) 324-9909. Their web address is:
www.oldbooshopofbordentown.com
I bought several pamphlet type booklets there
1. One Hudred and Fiftieth Aniiversary of the Battle of Red Bank
2. Letters and Papers of Richard Somers
3. An Archaeological Journey at Point Breeze
4. Old Farms and Farmhouses in New Jersey
5. Gloucester County in the Civil War
When I finish reading them, I will donate them to the appropriate places.*
Next we headed over to Burlington City to visit St. Mary's Episcopal Church and walk in the churchyard and also to go down and look at the Delaware River. While there, we stopped in to browse at the HISTORIC BURLINGTON ANTIQUES & ART EMPORIUM. It is open 7 days a week from 11-5, which was quite a relief because almost everything else in both towns was closed. My friend Nancy was looking for intereting patio furnishings, I was looking at everything but my favorite thing was a wooden picnic basket lined in red checked gingham with a checkers game painted on the inside of the lid. It was very reasonable too, only $15, but I rarely have that kind of picnic anymore. Their web address is
www.antiquesnj.com
*Speaking of donating my booklets to the appropriate places. I hope to visit the Atlantic Heritage Center one day soon and to finally get inside the Somers Mansion on Somers Point where the old Somers Point circle used to be.
Heritage web addres is:
www.AtlanticHeritageCenterNJ.org
So, a lovely weekend with no traffic and a beautiful cool walk at the Big Timber Creek Dog Park with Trixie each day early in the morning. Hope your Memorial Day was safe and that you had a moment to contemplate the men who gave their lives to keep our nation free. I was fortunate enough to catch the last part of a ceremony on the Black Horse Pike at a War Memorial.
Upcoming Event: Blrulington County Historians Roundtable June 8th Saturday. Maybe I'll see you there!
Happy Trails, Jo Ann
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Things to do Places to go
Bay Day at Bivalve is coming up, June 1st. I used to volunteer giving tours of the museum at Bivalve and I can promise you it is a fascinating place with a relevent history and dedicated volunteers. On Bay Day there is music, food, and many kinds of activities including a 'wetlands' lecture/tour on the boardwalk bird watch, very short distance but packed with interesting facts.
Parking can be a problem on Bay Day as it is rightfully popular and there are provisions for that. You can park in a lot in town, Port Norris, and there are shuttles to take you to Bivalve, or you can get there early (it officially starts around noon, I think) and park down at Bivalve, but it might be closed to traffic other than volunteers that day, so consider parking at Port Norris. You may even wish to hike down there from Port Norris, not far, probably not a mile (which for the average walker is about 20 minutes). For more info, here is the web site. You can also google it at Bayshore Discovery Project:
http://www.ajmeerwald.org/
Also on June 1st there is a big "do" at the Indian King Tavern, another place I used to volunteer and that I highly recommend. Here is a quote from the e-mail:
The British will be making themselves comfortable at the Indian King Tavern, while the Continentals will find themselves camped out at the Historic Society of Haddonfield.
Parking can be a problem on Bay Day as it is rightfully popular and there are provisions for that. You can park in a lot in town, Port Norris, and there are shuttles to take you to Bivalve, or you can get there early (it officially starts around noon, I think) and park down at Bivalve, but it might be closed to traffic other than volunteers that day, so consider parking at Port Norris. You may even wish to hike down there from Port Norris, not far, probably not a mile (which for the average walker is about 20 minutes). For more info, here is the web site. You can also google it at Bayshore Discovery Project:
http://www.ajmeerwald.org/
Also on June 1st there is a big "do" at the Indian King Tavern, another place I used to volunteer and that I highly recommend. Here is a quote from the e-mail:
The British will be making themselves comfortable at the Indian King Tavern, while the Continentals will find themselves camped out at the Historic Society of Haddonfield.
At approximately 1P.M., the two groups shall meet for a skirmish right on Kings Highway in front of the Indian King Tavern.
(One block of Kings Highway will be shut down to traffic for this.)
The British will be making themselves comfortable at the Indian King Tavern, while the Continentals will find themselves camped out at the Historic Society of Haddonfield.
At approximately 1P.M., the two groups shall meet for a skirmish right on Kings Highway in front of the Indian King Tavern.
(One block of Kings Highway will be shut down to traffic for this.)
James and Ann Whittall House at Red Bank Battlefield is open for tours again. We had our first open house "Field Day" last Sunday and there is a new tour theme around the Yellow Fever, so if you've visited before, please go back for another visit. You can finally see the upstairs as well as one of the rooms is now fitted out to the the new theme and open for visitors - a first!
Yesterday, two friends and I visited Estell Manor for a hike and we stopped to consider the flags in the veterans cemetery there. So many young men gave up their lives to keep our nation free.......I stopped to think about the meaning of that phrase "gave up their lives" literally, they gave up their adulthood, their chance to marry, have children, buy a house, plant a garden, make a career, travel the endlessly adventurous road from youth to old age. How sad and how grateful we should be, so this Memorial Day, take a moment to give them a respectful consideration, or if you are so inclined a prayer. Naturally on Memorial Day, I think of my dad who died two years ago this month and who served in World War II. He was in the navy on troop transports and despite their high casualty average, he survivied to the venerable age of 89 and left five adult children behind and eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The last book he was reading before he died was "The Battle of Tassaferonga" which he had seen first hand. Another sad thought is how soon the last WWII vets will all be gone. Most will be in their nineties now.
If you go into the woods, spray WELL! I had three ticks on my legs when I left Estell Manor and I had sprayed my shoes but I had on khaki pants that were wide at the ankle and short socks. My friends wisely wore long socks and tucked their pants into them before they sprayed. That is precisely what I will do in the future, and, I will get a blood test at the end of summer as usual to make sure I didn't get Lynes Disease, which I have been spared so far.
If you like astronomy there is a SKYWATCH on Sat. June 15th at Estell Manor Park Nature Center from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.
And Whitall House has field days third Sunday of the month, so there will be another in June if you missed May or wish to return.
Today I'm off to Bordentown to walk the Main street and visit the quaint shops and have lunch. I'll let you know what I learn there about interesting things to do and places to go in historic South Jersey.
Happy Trails To You! Jo Ann
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Pollen in the Pines
On Tuesday, Barb Solem and I took a hike with my dog Trixie at Pakim Pond in Brendon Byrne Forest. There was so much pollen it literally looked as though the woods were on fire and filled with smoke. It was an entire fog bound forest except the fog was pollen. I have never seen so much pollen anywhere.
Two documentaries I have seen really seemed pertinent to this experience. One was a pbs nature series production called "What Plants Talk About." Among the many revelations was how little we know about plants in general.
The other documentary was about Albert Einstein and an observation he made about asking questions about the things we see all around us, how that is what leads to the explorations into the deep secrets of our universe.
So the question I'm asking myself and anyone else who has experienced this phenomenon is Why was there so much pollen, such an unbelievable choking and clogging air-full of pollen this year? I've been going to the woods for 50 years and never experienced this amount of pollen.
Perhaps the woods are like the Great Barrier Reef, and have a giant quiet explosion of mating materials, sperm and egg, all at one time. And perhaps this was the day or the week when that happens. Somewhere, someone, perhaps at Rutgers or Stockton must be studying pollen.
Barbara's car was completely covered with a coating of it and when I got home, my glasses had a layer. Also, the pond had a thick coat like a pancake batter, or more accurately, like a crepe batter, a dark golden color, coagulating on the surface.
The pollen was so bad we had to cut our 5 mile hike from the pond to the Ranger Station in half and go back because it was choking us, and the dog, a mouth breather, of course, couldn't get a drink from any of the tiny path-side ponds because they had dried up and what little water was left was a mush and covered with the pollen.
Is this the natural expression of the pines in the last week of May? Anyone out there know?
Two documentaries I have seen really seemed pertinent to this experience. One was a pbs nature series production called "What Plants Talk About." Among the many revelations was how little we know about plants in general.
The other documentary was about Albert Einstein and an observation he made about asking questions about the things we see all around us, how that is what leads to the explorations into the deep secrets of our universe.
So the question I'm asking myself and anyone else who has experienced this phenomenon is Why was there so much pollen, such an unbelievable choking and clogging air-full of pollen this year? I've been going to the woods for 50 years and never experienced this amount of pollen.
Perhaps the woods are like the Great Barrier Reef, and have a giant quiet explosion of mating materials, sperm and egg, all at one time. And perhaps this was the day or the week when that happens. Somewhere, someone, perhaps at Rutgers or Stockton must be studying pollen.
Barbara's car was completely covered with a coating of it and when I got home, my glasses had a layer. Also, the pond had a thick coat like a pancake batter, or more accurately, like a crepe batter, a dark golden color, coagulating on the surface.
The pollen was so bad we had to cut our 5 mile hike from the pond to the Ranger Station in half and go back because it was choking us, and the dog, a mouth breather, of course, couldn't get a drink from any of the tiny path-side ponds because they had dried up and what little water was left was a mush and covered with the pollen.
Is this the natural expression of the pines in the last week of May? Anyone out there know?
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Egg Harbor City, Peace Pilgrim Park
If you have ever happened onto Peace Pilgrim Park in Egg Harbor City and wondered what it was all about, this is a good year to ask, as this is the 60th anniversary of Peace Pilgrim's monumental gesture to encourage people to consider Peace. She walked for 28 years across the United States carrying only a pencil. She had prepared for her journey by hiking rhe Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. She wanted to promote the Power of Peace and she DID! Newspapers all over America documented her journey and thereby, her message.
There is a newsletter called Friends of Peace Pilgrim which is how I found out that this year is the 60th anniversary of the beginning of her immense effort. There are many books about her life and message and also there are events to celebrate her life and her message. You can write to Friends of Peace Pilgrim, P.O. Box 2207, Shelton, CT.06484 or call (203-926-1581 or visit the web site http://www.peacepilgrim.org/news/index.htm
The Peace Pilgrim weekend celebrating her work and her mission will be held September 20-22, 2013. I attended last year and I can tell you it was uplifting and interesting. It was held at the Egg Harbor City Middle School. Over 70 people attended the event I attended (which is how I got on the mailing list) and also attending was Peace Pilgrim's 97 year old sister Helene Young. Although one of the events of that weekend was a walk to Peace Pilgrim's birthplace on the outskirts of Egg Harbor City, I didn't attend that walk having visited that site on my own some time earlier in the year and also having hunted for her burial place, which I didn't succeed in finding. I would have left a flower for this brave and devoted advocate for Peace.
I found Peace Pilgrim Park when I was hunting out the 'Serpentine' canal. I think I may have written about that before. If not, I'll dig up my information on that and blog about it next time. It is well worth the trip. I have been there many times to visit the charming Historical Society on the same grounds.
Happy Trails and may you go in peace and stay in peace.
Jo Ann
There is a newsletter called Friends of Peace Pilgrim which is how I found out that this year is the 60th anniversary of the beginning of her immense effort. There are many books about her life and message and also there are events to celebrate her life and her message. You can write to Friends of Peace Pilgrim, P.O. Box 2207, Shelton, CT.06484 or call (203-926-1581 or visit the web site http://www.peacepilgrim.org/news/index.htm
The Peace Pilgrim weekend celebrating her work and her mission will be held September 20-22, 2013. I attended last year and I can tell you it was uplifting and interesting. It was held at the Egg Harbor City Middle School. Over 70 people attended the event I attended (which is how I got on the mailing list) and also attending was Peace Pilgrim's 97 year old sister Helene Young. Although one of the events of that weekend was a walk to Peace Pilgrim's birthplace on the outskirts of Egg Harbor City, I didn't attend that walk having visited that site on my own some time earlier in the year and also having hunted for her burial place, which I didn't succeed in finding. I would have left a flower for this brave and devoted advocate for Peace.
I found Peace Pilgrim Park when I was hunting out the 'Serpentine' canal. I think I may have written about that before. If not, I'll dig up my information on that and blog about it next time. It is well worth the trip. I have been there many times to visit the charming Historical Society on the same grounds.
Happy Trails and may you go in peace and stay in peace.
Jo Ann
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Cherry Hill: Looking Below the Surface
Last night, Tueday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m. the Cherry Hill Library hosted an excellent presentation given by Dr. Ilene Grossman-Bailey, president of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey. Although the focus was on Cherry Hill sites, Dr. Bailey did a generous overview and introduction for those new to archaeology. She spent a good deal of time on artifacts found from the Native Americans who once lived in the area, and offered a glimpse at several historic sites from the 1700's and 1800's which are still preserved in the Cherry Hill area, such as the Croft farm and Bonnie's Bridge.
This was so intriguing, I kept thinking it could have been an introduction to a series of programs and I am certain it would attract an audience. I counted twelve rows of ten seats each in the 'filled to capacity' conference room downstairs in the library.
For those who want more, there is an Archaeological Society of NJ May Meeting from 11:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Croft Farm (Kay-Evans Farmhouse) at 100 Borton's Mill Rd. It is free and open to the public and there will be four talks given. The schedule offers a Board Meeting at 11:00, followed by lunch at 12, 12:30 President's Welcome, then a talk on the Cherry Hill Site, speakers- Tony Bonfiglio and Jack Cressons, followed by at 1:15 Results of Archaeology on the Madeiro I site, Moorestown, presented by Dr. Bailey, and finally at 1:30, Archaeology of the Kay Evans Farm, speaker, Michael Gall.
There is a number given on the flyer for more information 856-488-7886 or CHHC@CHTownship.com
I am hoping to attend. I'm meeting earlier in the morning with a friend from my old high school graduating class, but if we finish in time, I'll try to get there. In fact, Dr. Bailey said it was possible to skip the Board Meeting and come for the talks, which is what I plan to try to do.
I think the Colonial period would have been of interest to me, the families who came to the area and established the farms. But, I have to admit that the 1700's and 1800's are my favorite periods in history in this area, so I'm biased.
I enjoyed the talk enormously and was also glad to run into an old pal, Paul Schopp, who let me know the next Burlington County Historians Roundtable will be held on June 8. That is always an enlightening event and I've had to miss the last several meetings due to conflicts in scheduling. For more information on that, check out the web site.
http://www.burlcohistorian.com/
The roundtable will be held at Bordentown Library at 10:00 a.m., 18 E. Union Street. There are many interesting events posted at this site, be sure to check it out. If I had not already been booked for both days this weekend, I would have taken the Quaker Meeting House bus tour mentioned on the Burlco web site as there are still seats available.
I picked up a brochure on the Archaeological Socity of NJ and there was a Volunteer opportunity on Saturdays from June 1 to July 6 with the Monmouth University's field school dig at Fieldsboro, Burlington County. To learn more about this hands-on opportunity to be a part of a real dig, go to
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D49ACAD2FA64-fieldsboro
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
This was so intriguing, I kept thinking it could have been an introduction to a series of programs and I am certain it would attract an audience. I counted twelve rows of ten seats each in the 'filled to capacity' conference room downstairs in the library.
For those who want more, there is an Archaeological Society of NJ May Meeting from 11:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Croft Farm (Kay-Evans Farmhouse) at 100 Borton's Mill Rd. It is free and open to the public and there will be four talks given. The schedule offers a Board Meeting at 11:00, followed by lunch at 12, 12:30 President's Welcome, then a talk on the Cherry Hill Site, speakers- Tony Bonfiglio and Jack Cressons, followed by at 1:15 Results of Archaeology on the Madeiro I site, Moorestown, presented by Dr. Bailey, and finally at 1:30, Archaeology of the Kay Evans Farm, speaker, Michael Gall.
There is a number given on the flyer for more information 856-488-7886 or CHHC@CHTownship.com
I am hoping to attend. I'm meeting earlier in the morning with a friend from my old high school graduating class, but if we finish in time, I'll try to get there. In fact, Dr. Bailey said it was possible to skip the Board Meeting and come for the talks, which is what I plan to try to do.
I think the Colonial period would have been of interest to me, the families who came to the area and established the farms. But, I have to admit that the 1700's and 1800's are my favorite periods in history in this area, so I'm biased.
I enjoyed the talk enormously and was also glad to run into an old pal, Paul Schopp, who let me know the next Burlington County Historians Roundtable will be held on June 8. That is always an enlightening event and I've had to miss the last several meetings due to conflicts in scheduling. For more information on that, check out the web site.
http://www.burlcohistorian.com/
The roundtable will be held at Bordentown Library at 10:00 a.m., 18 E. Union Street. There are many interesting events posted at this site, be sure to check it out. If I had not already been booked for both days this weekend, I would have taken the Quaker Meeting House bus tour mentioned on the Burlco web site as there are still seats available.
I picked up a brochure on the Archaeological Socity of NJ and there was a Volunteer opportunity on Saturdays from June 1 to July 6 with the Monmouth University's field school dig at Fieldsboro, Burlington County. To learn more about this hands-on opportunity to be a part of a real dig, go to
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090D49ACAD2FA64-fieldsboro
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Late breaking news!
"What's Below The Surface" at the Cherry Hill Library, dowmstairs in the conference room, a lecture on local archaeology at 7:00 tonight. I'll be there! No advance registration needed.
Since blogspot tells me people check in every day I thought I'd let anyone checking in know about this event.
Since blogspot tells me people check in every day I thought I'd let anyone checking in know about this event.
Happy Trails
In my last post, just a few minutes ago, I ended with my usual closing wish for you to enjoy "Happy Trails" and then I mentioned the recent (January 27, 2013) death of Sally Starr. You may have wondered what the connection was. It was simply that I always thought of the Happy trails son as a 'cowboy' song and when I think of cowboys, I think of Sally Starr, although the song belongs to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who were not a New Jersey celebrities, as Sally Starr most certainly was. By the way, the song was written by Dale Evans.
Anyhow I like the lyrics and here they are:
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.
Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue.
It's the way you ride the trail that counts,
Here's a happy one for you.
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcYsO890YJY
(Here's a link to youtube where you can hear Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sing this song.)
(Maybe hiking every day at Big Timber Creek, site of the former Slimm's Ranch, has put me in a cowboy mood.)
Anyhow I like the lyrics and here they are:
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.
Some trails are happy ones,
Others are blue.
It's the way you ride the trail that counts,
Here's a happy one for you.
Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.
Who cares about the clouds when we're together?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.
Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcYsO890YJY
(Here's a link to youtube where you can hear Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sing this song.)
(Maybe hiking every day at Big Timber Creek, site of the former Slimm's Ranch, has put me in a cowboy mood.)
Sugar Hill Inn, Mays Landing, NJ
I hope any of my readers out there who are mothers had a happy day on Sunday! My daughter came home from Brooklyn and she, my sister (her godmother) and I all took my favorite route to the seashore, Rt. 559 which runs through Mays Landing, and passes the beautiful Lake Lenape and the interesting and long abandoned mill on the lake. This road is never busy even in the thick of the summer traffic to Ocean City. It is a quiet shady little road that runs past the Winding River, several campgrounds, golf courses and eventually comes in the back end of Somer's Point, an interesting historical spot on its own. I always look for the Somers Mansion when I approach the bridge to Ocean City.
Speaking of the bridge to Ocean City - it has been replaced by a large expansive causeway but I will always miss the litttle opening bridge of my childhood. We would sit in a long stream of traffic, entranced (we children, that is) as the center of the bridge opened to allow tall masted boats to pass through, of which, in those days there were quite a few more than there are now. I am speaking of the first decade of the 1950's.
Anyhow to back up several miles to the beginning of the trip, I will paste here the description of the history of the Sugar Hill Inn, along with its link so that if you find yourself traveling that quiet backway to Ocean City, you, too, can enjoy a delicious meal there.
http://www.innatsugarhill.com/history.html
Speaking of the bridge to Ocean City - it has been replaced by a large expansive causeway but I will always miss the litttle opening bridge of my childhood. We would sit in a long stream of traffic, entranced (we children, that is) as the center of the bridge opened to allow tall masted boats to pass through, of which, in those days there were quite a few more than there are now. I am speaking of the first decade of the 1950's.
Anyhow to back up several miles to the beginning of the trip, I will paste here the description of the history of the Sugar Hill Inn, along with its link so that if you find yourself traveling that quiet backway to Ocean City, you, too, can enjoy a delicious meal there.
http://www.innatsugarhill.com/history.html
"Mays Landings history has always been tied to the Great Egg Harbor River. In the mid 1700’s George May, a ship builder and black smith, sailed up the river and established a ship building business and ship’s store on the uplands adjacent to Babcock’s Creek. One of the vessels built at Mays Landing during that time was the schooner “License” built for Captain John Pennington. Early papers tell of the “License” bringing a load of sugar back from the West Indies to “May’s Place” with the sweet cargo being stored on “the high banks of the river next to Babcock’s Creek”. That grassy knoll, on which the Inn now sits, has been referred to as “Sugar Hill” from that day to the present.
During the Revolutionary War, Mays Landing became a bustling port for goods bound for Philadelphia. Sugar, molasses and rum were stored on this site awaiting shipment, while charcoal, iron ore and lumber were loaded for export. The war for independence gave birth to another thriving business along the river, privateering. Many captured British ships were brought to “The Landing” to have their captured cargo sold. The New Jersey State Gazette reported that on June 23rd, 1779 an open boat called “The Skunk”, commanded by Captain Samuel Snell, a Mays Landing tavern owner, nicknamed “The Hero of Sugar Hill” captured nineteenth prize off Cape May and moored in the Egg Harbor River to have her valuable cargo sold. The Skunk’s success was one of surprise having a crew of just twelve men and only two cannons concealed in her stern. Upon one occasion, just inside the Egg Harbor inlet, “The Skunk” set her sights on what was thought to be a fine merchant ship. Captain Snell turned his little ship’s stern to the enemy and then gave them a gun. A momentary pause ensued and immediately, the merchant ship was transformed into a British 74 and gave “The Skunk” such a broadside, that it was reported “the water flew around them like ten thousand whale-spouts!” She was cut some in her sails and rigging, but by hard rowing, made her escape to shallow water while the captain shouted, “Lay low boys… lay low for your lives!”
After winning the fight for independence in 1776, Mays Landing continued to grow as a shipbuilding center. During the early to mid 1800’s there were over 100 sailing vessels built at Mays Landing. George Wheaton’s Shipyard turned out over two-dozen schooners, some with lengths greater than 100 feet. In 1845 William Moore came to Mays Landing to manage Weymouth Furnace. It was on the grassy knoll; known as Sugar Hill, that William Moore built his private residence in 1846. Captured by the lure of the river, Mr. Moore became involved in the “building and sailing of vessels”. He eventually owned and managed a small fleet of schooners involved in trade from New York to South America. With his election to Congress in 1867, Mr. Moore enlarged his home to include larger cooking and dining facilities, four guest bedrooms and a large Victorian veranda so that he could sit and gaze upon his beloved Egg Harbor River. At his funeral in 1876, which was held at his home, several of his casket bearers were listed as “sea captains” and “sail makers”.
For the next 90 years or so the “Moore Villa”, as it was commonly known, was home to several generations of the Abbott Family. The Abbott’s were a well to-do family that owned the general store in town. Their children were area lawyers, dentists and a Civil War chaplain. In the early 1900’s the front parlor room even served as a dentist's office. In the 1950’s the house was sold to Frank and Ella Watson, who were involved in small boat building and racing on the river.
In 1986 the house was sold to Larry and Tina Boylan. Who, along with Larry's two brothers, restored the old “Moore Villa” opening it to the public in 1987 as “The Inn at Sugar Hill” a riverfront country inn and restaurant. To this day, the Inn continues to greet the weary travelers with old world hospitality and provide them with “a hot meal, a cold drink and a warm bed”, whether they come by land… or sea. The Inn’s docks are currently the homeport for “Grace”, the innkeeper’s traditional looking, cutter-rigged Gozzard sailboat, which can be chartered by The Inn's guests for river sunset cruises during select times of the year. Since becoming an Innkeeper, Larry Boylan has obtained a U. S. Coast Guard Near Coastal Captain’s license, “just in case privateering makes a come back!” laughs Boylan. History does repeat itself! "
For several years, I passed the Sugar Hill Inn, wishing I could stop in and enjoy a dinner or a lunch, but I never got the right time or season, however, in the past two years, my retirement allows better timing and I was able to have my birthday dinner there and two Mother's Day lunches. The food was very good and reasonable and if you make a reservation (which I did not) there are tables near a delightful view of the river. The others room have a warm period charm as well. It is a bed and breakfast, so if you stop in at the bar after a long day at the shore and want to stay overnight, what a delightful place to do that. Someday I may do that for my birthday, or even for Mother's Day!
Enjoy and as always Happy Trails! Jo Ann
ps.I should have done a memorial blog for Sally Star who passed away this year, but maybe I can do that later.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Reading List for very local history
If you wait long enough, your next subject to study will come to you, slinking up beside you like a beast in the forest, ready to domesticate itself.
Yesterday, I spent a delightful afternoon, the first after a long dry spell, immersed in my local history books. By local, I mean Camden County, and since I'm hiking Big Timber Creek and live not 4 miles from the park there, I'm counting Gloucester County as local. The tie in, other than the dog park and my daily meditation walk beside the Big Timber Creek, is my family history, which I have mentioned many times before, the Cheesman, Garwood lines converge on the Big Timber Creek.
What's on my bookshelf:
1.Camden County, New Jersey 1616-1976 A Narrative History, Dorwart and Mackey
2.Waterways of Camden County, Farr
3.The History of the Township of Gloucester 1695-2003, Fox, Thompson, Kaitz
4.Rambles through Old Highways and Byways of West Jersey, Boyer
5.The Early Dutch and Swedish Settlers of New Jersey, Leiby
6.South Jersey Towns, McMahon
7.Old Mills of Camden County, Boyer (my most recent purchase $5 at Cam.Co.Hist.Society, Camden, NJ)
8.Old Inns and Taverns in West Jersey, Boyer
9.Camden County, NJ, Dorwart
10.A Teacher's Guide to the Watersheds of Camden County (an invaluable resource that I bought at one of the annual C.C.H.S.L. book sales in the spring of the year - I use it regularly and tried to buy another but no luck.)
11.History on the Brink: An Inventory of Historic Sites and Towns in SJ, Seiter (for SJ Tourism Corp.)
12.Gloucester County in the Eighteen Fifties: Being the Diary of John Cawman Eastlack
This is only my local history collection. I have another set of half a dozen rare books on the iron towns of the pines including the hard to find Martha Diary. And, I have a half dozen books on the Whitall House and Battle of Red Bank.
My interest blinks like a firefly on a summer evening. Something, a visit, or a conversation, or some newly discovered item of family history, will send me feverishly scurrying from attic to den in search of books on the Wharton family, or lighthouses, or Port Norris, and I'll soon be buried on the sofa between stacks of books with several in the mail from amazon.com.
I LOVE books. I'll never be an e-book reader. I want to highlight and post-it-note pertinent pages. I want to rest the book on my quilt at night and read until I fall asleep with the book quietly lying like a fallen tombstone over my chest. I want to ramble from book to book and make notes in the margins. My books become like my friends, some I've had since grade school. My oldest book, I've had since before I started school. I think I blogged about that one before, it is my Hall and Brumbaugh Reader, which I bought at Leary's Book Store in Philadelphia - my first book purchase - what a thrill!
And it is still a thrill to buy a book and to browse the musty shelves of my favorite old book stores such as Murphy's Book Barn in Mullica Hill, which I am happy to say was saved from closing and is still nestled between the church and the carriage house off the main street of town.
One thing I must do before I perish is make a list and an inventory so my daughter and sister will know where to donate sections of my collections. I also have a collection of Revolutionary War history and Civil War history.
I donated most of my Women's History collection to the Paulsdale Library some years back.
Now, I'm going to close so I can read the Eastlack diary. I have a special fondness for diaries of all kinds.
Perhaps you recall that I'm indexing the diary of Ruth Page Rogers in my volunteer work at the Gloucester County Historical Society. It is my third diary project for them. Whenever I look things up on the computer, I think of the many people, like myself and my fellow volunteers working away in historical societies and other venues, putting all this data on the computer for those who will follow us.
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
ps.I'd like to hear from some of you who are reading this. Stats tell me 23,000 have visited, 13 are regulars and I have more than a dozen visits a day! Tell me what's on your book shelves! Or if that's too many - what do you have on SJ History that is interesting and perhaps rare? You can contact me by e-mail if comments is too difficult wrightj45@yahoo.com
Yesterday, I spent a delightful afternoon, the first after a long dry spell, immersed in my local history books. By local, I mean Camden County, and since I'm hiking Big Timber Creek and live not 4 miles from the park there, I'm counting Gloucester County as local. The tie in, other than the dog park and my daily meditation walk beside the Big Timber Creek, is my family history, which I have mentioned many times before, the Cheesman, Garwood lines converge on the Big Timber Creek.
What's on my bookshelf:
1.Camden County, New Jersey 1616-1976 A Narrative History, Dorwart and Mackey
2.Waterways of Camden County, Farr
3.The History of the Township of Gloucester 1695-2003, Fox, Thompson, Kaitz
4.Rambles through Old Highways and Byways of West Jersey, Boyer
5.The Early Dutch and Swedish Settlers of New Jersey, Leiby
6.South Jersey Towns, McMahon
7.Old Mills of Camden County, Boyer (my most recent purchase $5 at Cam.Co.Hist.Society, Camden, NJ)
8.Old Inns and Taverns in West Jersey, Boyer
9.Camden County, NJ, Dorwart
10.A Teacher's Guide to the Watersheds of Camden County (an invaluable resource that I bought at one of the annual C.C.H.S.L. book sales in the spring of the year - I use it regularly and tried to buy another but no luck.)
11.History on the Brink: An Inventory of Historic Sites and Towns in SJ, Seiter (for SJ Tourism Corp.)
12.Gloucester County in the Eighteen Fifties: Being the Diary of John Cawman Eastlack
This is only my local history collection. I have another set of half a dozen rare books on the iron towns of the pines including the hard to find Martha Diary. And, I have a half dozen books on the Whitall House and Battle of Red Bank.
My interest blinks like a firefly on a summer evening. Something, a visit, or a conversation, or some newly discovered item of family history, will send me feverishly scurrying from attic to den in search of books on the Wharton family, or lighthouses, or Port Norris, and I'll soon be buried on the sofa between stacks of books with several in the mail from amazon.com.
I LOVE books. I'll never be an e-book reader. I want to highlight and post-it-note pertinent pages. I want to rest the book on my quilt at night and read until I fall asleep with the book quietly lying like a fallen tombstone over my chest. I want to ramble from book to book and make notes in the margins. My books become like my friends, some I've had since grade school. My oldest book, I've had since before I started school. I think I blogged about that one before, it is my Hall and Brumbaugh Reader, which I bought at Leary's Book Store in Philadelphia - my first book purchase - what a thrill!
And it is still a thrill to buy a book and to browse the musty shelves of my favorite old book stores such as Murphy's Book Barn in Mullica Hill, which I am happy to say was saved from closing and is still nestled between the church and the carriage house off the main street of town.
One thing I must do before I perish is make a list and an inventory so my daughter and sister will know where to donate sections of my collections. I also have a collection of Revolutionary War history and Civil War history.
I donated most of my Women's History collection to the Paulsdale Library some years back.
Now, I'm going to close so I can read the Eastlack diary. I have a special fondness for diaries of all kinds.
Perhaps you recall that I'm indexing the diary of Ruth Page Rogers in my volunteer work at the Gloucester County Historical Society. It is my third diary project for them. Whenever I look things up on the computer, I think of the many people, like myself and my fellow volunteers working away in historical societies and other venues, putting all this data on the computer for those who will follow us.
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
ps.I'd like to hear from some of you who are reading this. Stats tell me 23,000 have visited, 13 are regulars and I have more than a dozen visits a day! Tell me what's on your book shelves! Or if that's too many - what do you have on SJ History that is interesting and perhaps rare? You can contact me by e-mail if comments is too difficult wrightj45@yahoo.com
Friday, May 10, 2013
Timber Creek
It is no doubt obvious to most, but nonetheless a reason for wonderment, at least to me, how experience and knowledge branch out, intersect, diverge, then cross over one another again.
Every day, I walk for 2 hours at Timber Creek to enjoy the dog park and the dog pond and the ridge bridle path beside the Timber Creek.
Long ago, in doing family history research, I had discovered that on my mother's side, we were descended from early settlers in the Blackwood/Turnersville area. My mother's great-grandfather, William C. Garwood, whose ancestors were from the Haddonfield area, had married the only surviving daughter of Major Peter T. Cheesman, Rachel Ann Cheesman.
At Gloucester County Historical Society, I had found a fascinating book of research on the Cheesman line with a page on the inheritance made to Rachel Ann Cheesman's children because she was dead at the time of the bequest. The poor young woman had two children, Sarah, and Joseph, and then died in her twenties. Additional research showed that Joseph had also died young in an accident involving his wagon, leaving his and Patience Ann (Watson) Garwood's son, William C. Garwood to be raised by his grandfather of the same name.
The grandfather, William C. Garwood, born in Haddonfield, had been a teacher at the Turner school in Turnersville, and also a storekeeper. He had also farmed and by the time he was raising his grandson, he was back to farming.
The Cheesman family had at least three mills on the Timber Creek, a sawmill, and two gristmills, during the 1800's, the heyday of mills.
I just learned how the clearing of the dense, original, native forest, to make farm land went hand in hand with the creating of sawmills and the making of profit from the wood. So those energetic and probably somewhat desperate first settlers, had to set about with their hand tools, cutting the trees to make their homes, and clearing the land to make the farms, then selling the wood to other markets for money to live on while the farms were becoming profitable. So, naturally, next came the creating of mills to garner better profit from cut and sawn board-wood and wood products such as shingles, rather than from rough logs, They also needed the mills to refine the grain crops into flour and also for sale of surplus in other markets - specifically, Philadelphia.
I learned a lot about the early mills on the Timber Creek, and the shipbuilding and other industries in that area from an excellent paper written by Laura Iannacone, presented to the Gloucester County Historical Society in 1991. I found it on Thursday when I was doing my volunteer work there and was idly thumbing through the Timber Creek file in the cabinets.
It was so interesting, it propelled me out to my car today to go to the Camden County Historical Society to buy Charles Boyer's book on the Old Mills of Camden County. In Boyer's book there is actually a photo of a Cheesman Mill.
I'm guessing the mill was located down Lower Landing Rd. somewhere. I haven't figured out the exact location yet, though the information is there for the solving of the mystery.
Although I have read a lot and attended many lectures on the Revolution, it is increasingly brought home to me how the pressure of the English merchants on the politicians in England to keep colonists from expanding their industry and selling their products, such as cloth, for example, made the groundswell that eventuated in war.
These laws directly impacted these struggling settlers who were literally working their fingers to the bone to make products and create profit from their industry.
The paper by Ms. Iannacone is entitled THE ORIGIN OF COMMERCE ON TIMBER CREEK. It is well worth the visiting GCHSL to read it.
It is the second time I have been driven to the files to read up on Colonial industry and found excellent works of research by generous and hard-working researchers. The last time, it was the making of bricks that drew my attention, and on that subject, My Iannacone's paper mentions a brick making concern along the Timber Creek as well. And there was shipbuilding, the Brewers' shipyard. In fact, an interesting item was that Brewer contributed the stone quarried from Ridley Creek, and brought up the Timber Creek by his boats, that was used in St. John's Episcopal Chruch on Chews Landing Rd.. The value would have been equal to a $5000. donation in value of that period.
While at the Trenton State Archives these past two weeks, I have been researching Patience Ann Watson and Rachel Ann Cheesman, after all, it is Mother's Day, and these women are my ancestors and the connection to the Big Timber Creek area.
Often, when I was still working as a teacher in the Gloucester City schools, I would drive, on lunch and prep break, to various places along the Delaware River and one of the spots was the place where the Timber Creek comes out of the Delaware. I was interested in where the original Fort Nassau might have been located. I never dreamed, at that time, that the Timber Creek flowed alongside the hsitory of my mother's side of the family.
Family history and local history enrich one another like marl on farm fields.
Happy Mother's Day - give a kindly thought to your female ancestors this weekend! Jo Ann
Every day, I walk for 2 hours at Timber Creek to enjoy the dog park and the dog pond and the ridge bridle path beside the Timber Creek.
Long ago, in doing family history research, I had discovered that on my mother's side, we were descended from early settlers in the Blackwood/Turnersville area. My mother's great-grandfather, William C. Garwood, whose ancestors were from the Haddonfield area, had married the only surviving daughter of Major Peter T. Cheesman, Rachel Ann Cheesman.
At Gloucester County Historical Society, I had found a fascinating book of research on the Cheesman line with a page on the inheritance made to Rachel Ann Cheesman's children because she was dead at the time of the bequest. The poor young woman had two children, Sarah, and Joseph, and then died in her twenties. Additional research showed that Joseph had also died young in an accident involving his wagon, leaving his and Patience Ann (Watson) Garwood's son, William C. Garwood to be raised by his grandfather of the same name.
The grandfather, William C. Garwood, born in Haddonfield, had been a teacher at the Turner school in Turnersville, and also a storekeeper. He had also farmed and by the time he was raising his grandson, he was back to farming.
The Cheesman family had at least three mills on the Timber Creek, a sawmill, and two gristmills, during the 1800's, the heyday of mills.
I just learned how the clearing of the dense, original, native forest, to make farm land went hand in hand with the creating of sawmills and the making of profit from the wood. So those energetic and probably somewhat desperate first settlers, had to set about with their hand tools, cutting the trees to make their homes, and clearing the land to make the farms, then selling the wood to other markets for money to live on while the farms were becoming profitable. So, naturally, next came the creating of mills to garner better profit from cut and sawn board-wood and wood products such as shingles, rather than from rough logs, They also needed the mills to refine the grain crops into flour and also for sale of surplus in other markets - specifically, Philadelphia.
I learned a lot about the early mills on the Timber Creek, and the shipbuilding and other industries in that area from an excellent paper written by Laura Iannacone, presented to the Gloucester County Historical Society in 1991. I found it on Thursday when I was doing my volunteer work there and was idly thumbing through the Timber Creek file in the cabinets.
It was so interesting, it propelled me out to my car today to go to the Camden County Historical Society to buy Charles Boyer's book on the Old Mills of Camden County. In Boyer's book there is actually a photo of a Cheesman Mill.
I'm guessing the mill was located down Lower Landing Rd. somewhere. I haven't figured out the exact location yet, though the information is there for the solving of the mystery.
Although I have read a lot and attended many lectures on the Revolution, it is increasingly brought home to me how the pressure of the English merchants on the politicians in England to keep colonists from expanding their industry and selling their products, such as cloth, for example, made the groundswell that eventuated in war.
These laws directly impacted these struggling settlers who were literally working their fingers to the bone to make products and create profit from their industry.
The paper by Ms. Iannacone is entitled THE ORIGIN OF COMMERCE ON TIMBER CREEK. It is well worth the visiting GCHSL to read it.
It is the second time I have been driven to the files to read up on Colonial industry and found excellent works of research by generous and hard-working researchers. The last time, it was the making of bricks that drew my attention, and on that subject, My Iannacone's paper mentions a brick making concern along the Timber Creek as well. And there was shipbuilding, the Brewers' shipyard. In fact, an interesting item was that Brewer contributed the stone quarried from Ridley Creek, and brought up the Timber Creek by his boats, that was used in St. John's Episcopal Chruch on Chews Landing Rd.. The value would have been equal to a $5000. donation in value of that period.
While at the Trenton State Archives these past two weeks, I have been researching Patience Ann Watson and Rachel Ann Cheesman, after all, it is Mother's Day, and these women are my ancestors and the connection to the Big Timber Creek area.
Often, when I was still working as a teacher in the Gloucester City schools, I would drive, on lunch and prep break, to various places along the Delaware River and one of the spots was the place where the Timber Creek comes out of the Delaware. I was interested in where the original Fort Nassau might have been located. I never dreamed, at that time, that the Timber Creek flowed alongside the hsitory of my mother's side of the family.
Family history and local history enrich one another like marl on farm fields.
Happy Mother's Day - give a kindly thought to your female ancestors this weekend! Jo Ann
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Cheesmanville
Once again, with my friend Barbara Solem, this time in the company of a friend of hers who is a photographer, we headed up to the Trenton State Archives. A lady named Sherry, the librarian in charge of the room where I was working, was very helpful and again, I caught three good pieces of family information. I'm beginning to get the hang of it. I found Peter T. Cheesman's marriage record to Sarah Smallwood (with Sherry's help, it goes without saying) and I found records for William C. Garwood and Rachel Ann Cheesman and their marriage. Smallwood is another of those old old names you run across regularly when you look into the history of this part of South Jersey (the Camden County/Gloucester Twp., Big Timber Creek/Newton Creek area).
Barbara and her photographer friend, Al, were taking pictures of old photographs and maps of Batsto and environs. She has been taking meetings gathering background on Batsto recently and also met with Bud Wilson, archaeologist extraordinaire! He is not only deeply knowledgeable, he is famously generous with help and information sharing. He is beloved by many.
While organizing my scattered family history files, I ran across a piece of information I had found and lost on Cheesmanville. You may think the only 'lost villages' are in the pines, but in fact that have sprung up and vanished all around in SJ. I'd love to hear of any you might know about.
Take Old Upton for example. That was a very old name and yet no one knows of it now. The triangle of land from Cross Keys, to Sicklerville, to Turnersville, is the area once known as Cheesmanville. One son ran a sawmille, one son ran a gristmill and five other sons farmed land in the vicinity. The Smallwood family also held extensive farm land in the area. This land was in the junction of the "Big and Little Lebanon" branches of the Big Timber Creek area.
I have downloaded a watershed map of the Big Timber Creek but it is illegible. I'll have to do more research on this as time goes by. This information on Cheesmanville came from ancestry.com back in 2011. If anyone out there is a Cheesman/Garwood relation and or has information on these families or would like to share what I have, you can reach me at wrightj45@yahoo.com.
There is an extensive amount of work done on the Cheesman family in a red book at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library, gathered by Albert Stirling Adams and published in the 1980's. I don't know where I would have started without it. An while I'm on the subject of gratitude, thanks to all the tireless and generous volunteers who put data from cards and books into the computer so that we can all share it!
One of my sisters is researching the Wright/Sandman/Young side of the family (English and German) while i research the Cheesman/Garwood side (English in origin and Quaker by religion). I will later tackle, one more time, the McQuiston/Johnston branches (Scots Irish who came here via Londonderry). Families are like watersheds in the way they branch out and I love the context of history that they illuminate and make personal.
Barbara and her photographer friend, Al, were taking pictures of old photographs and maps of Batsto and environs. She has been taking meetings gathering background on Batsto recently and also met with Bud Wilson, archaeologist extraordinaire! He is not only deeply knowledgeable, he is famously generous with help and information sharing. He is beloved by many.
While organizing my scattered family history files, I ran across a piece of information I had found and lost on Cheesmanville. You may think the only 'lost villages' are in the pines, but in fact that have sprung up and vanished all around in SJ. I'd love to hear of any you might know about.
Take Old Upton for example. That was a very old name and yet no one knows of it now. The triangle of land from Cross Keys, to Sicklerville, to Turnersville, is the area once known as Cheesmanville. One son ran a sawmille, one son ran a gristmill and five other sons farmed land in the vicinity. The Smallwood family also held extensive farm land in the area. This land was in the junction of the "Big and Little Lebanon" branches of the Big Timber Creek area.
I have downloaded a watershed map of the Big Timber Creek but it is illegible. I'll have to do more research on this as time goes by. This information on Cheesmanville came from ancestry.com back in 2011. If anyone out there is a Cheesman/Garwood relation and or has information on these families or would like to share what I have, you can reach me at wrightj45@yahoo.com.
There is an extensive amount of work done on the Cheesman family in a red book at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library, gathered by Albert Stirling Adams and published in the 1980's. I don't know where I would have started without it. An while I'm on the subject of gratitude, thanks to all the tireless and generous volunteers who put data from cards and books into the computer so that we can all share it!
One of my sisters is researching the Wright/Sandman/Young side of the family (English and German) while i research the Cheesman/Garwood side (English in origin and Quaker by religion). I will later tackle, one more time, the McQuiston/Johnston branches (Scots Irish who came here via Londonderry). Families are like watersheds in the way they branch out and I love the context of history that they illuminate and make personal.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Yellow Fever
One of the places I still work as a volunteer is the James and Ann Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield, National Park, NJ. I also continue to volunteer at Gloucester County Historical Society Library in Woodbury. I'll take a little digression here to tell you what I do in these places: At Whitall House, I am a docent, mainly on the special event days once a month during the season from May through December. Our upcoming event is the Herb Festival on the 19th. The special event days are always Sundays. On the 23rd, all the docents who are interested will also be taking training on our newly opened upstairs bedroom.
If you have visited the house in the past and wondered about the upstairs, which has never been open to the public before, here is your chance. The upstairs has now been certified as safe for visitors (not safe so much for the people but for the house itself which dates back to 1749 and needs protection from wear and tear and the weight of hundres of visitors.)
The upstairs bedroom will feature a discussion yellow fever because the main household member featured in the history of Red Bank Battlefield, is Ann Whitall who stayed in the house during the battle and nursed the wounded in her house afterwards. I know there is controversy in regard to this history, but so far, we have been convinced this is accurate. It is in Job Whitall's diary that the family returned to the house and were there during the battle. Oral history has it that Ann was a notable herbal healer and being a Quaker, would have helped those in need and did so with the wounded Hessians.
Eventually, Ann Whitall, too, succumbed. She died in 1797 during the yellow fever epidemic which spread from Philadelphia across the Delaware River to NJ.
It is said that mosquitos carrying the disease came up the river with refugees from the Carribbean where a civil war/revolt was taking place. Ann had lived a long life; she was 81 when she died. Her husband lived on after her death.
What brought this to mind was an article in the Sunday, May 5th Courier Post, in the South Jersey Living Section, under ARTS, entitled "Recalling an epidemic." The article talks about an exhibition on the Yellow fever epidemic which is in the Emlen Physick House in Philadelphia. Ten percent of the inhabitants in Philadelphia died between August 1 and November 9 of 1793, around 5000 people. The article didn't give statistics on the effect on the people of New Jersey, but those who are familiar with our history know that the ferry boats plied back and forth across the river from NJ to Phila. from numerous points. The Cooper family, of which Ann Cooper Whitall is a descendant, had ferryservices and a tavern in Camden. Remember, water wasys were the highways of the period.
Cape May visitors will wonder about the connection to the Emlen Physick Estate in Dape May. That man was the grandson of Philadelphia's Emlen Physick.
Yellow Fever still exists and the article said 200,00 cases per year spring up mostly in the African countries of Rwanda and Sierra. There is a vaccine for the fever now. The reason it was called "Yellow Fever" is that it caused liver failure and jaundice which turned people's skin and the whites of their eyes yellow. Dr. Emlen Physick was killed by the disease.
For more, either visit the Physick house or read the book "Bring Out Your Dead" which is in my library and I highly recommend it as readable and interesting.
If you have visited the house in the past and wondered about the upstairs, which has never been open to the public before, here is your chance. The upstairs has now been certified as safe for visitors (not safe so much for the people but for the house itself which dates back to 1749 and needs protection from wear and tear and the weight of hundres of visitors.)
The upstairs bedroom will feature a discussion yellow fever because the main household member featured in the history of Red Bank Battlefield, is Ann Whitall who stayed in the house during the battle and nursed the wounded in her house afterwards. I know there is controversy in regard to this history, but so far, we have been convinced this is accurate. It is in Job Whitall's diary that the family returned to the house and were there during the battle. Oral history has it that Ann was a notable herbal healer and being a Quaker, would have helped those in need and did so with the wounded Hessians.
Eventually, Ann Whitall, too, succumbed. She died in 1797 during the yellow fever epidemic which spread from Philadelphia across the Delaware River to NJ.
It is said that mosquitos carrying the disease came up the river with refugees from the Carribbean where a civil war/revolt was taking place. Ann had lived a long life; she was 81 when she died. Her husband lived on after her death.
What brought this to mind was an article in the Sunday, May 5th Courier Post, in the South Jersey Living Section, under ARTS, entitled "Recalling an epidemic." The article talks about an exhibition on the Yellow fever epidemic which is in the Emlen Physick House in Philadelphia. Ten percent of the inhabitants in Philadelphia died between August 1 and November 9 of 1793, around 5000 people. The article didn't give statistics on the effect on the people of New Jersey, but those who are familiar with our history know that the ferry boats plied back and forth across the river from NJ to Phila. from numerous points. The Cooper family, of which Ann Cooper Whitall is a descendant, had ferryservices and a tavern in Camden. Remember, water wasys were the highways of the period.
Cape May visitors will wonder about the connection to the Emlen Physick Estate in Dape May. That man was the grandson of Philadelphia's Emlen Physick.
Yellow Fever still exists and the article said 200,00 cases per year spring up mostly in the African countries of Rwanda and Sierra. There is a vaccine for the fever now. The reason it was called "Yellow Fever" is that it caused liver failure and jaundice which turned people's skin and the whites of their eyes yellow. Dr. Emlen Physick was killed by the disease.
For more, either visit the Physick house or read the book "Bring Out Your Dead" which is in my library and I highly recommend it as readable and interesting.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Trenton State Archives
On Monday, April 29th, Barbara Solem and I went to the Trenton State Archives. She was doing research on Batsto and I was doing family history. Barbara is coordinating docents for tours of the Atsion Mansion and has written the tour script and trained the volunteers for the past two years. She has been a tireless promoter of the history of the pines.
She had better luck than I did and found many boxes of fascinating photographs of Batsto and environs.
I was still tracking the elusive William C. Garwood who married Rachel Ann Cheesman, the only surviviing daughter of the prominent Major Peter T. Cheesman (the major was from his service in the War of 1812). The Cheesman family were big land holders at one time in the watershed of the Big Timber Creek, with at least 3 mills and numerous descendants farming the land all around the creek. William C. Garwood came as a schoolteacher and boarded with the Cheesman family, married Rachel Ann, had two children, then she died. Her daughter Sarah Garwood married Robert Jaggard. The Jaggard family also had some prominence in the Blackwood area. Joseph Franklin Garwood married Patience Ann Watson and their son, William C. Garwood was raised by his grandfather after his parents died in his early childhood.
As with many another thing in life, the more you know, the more questions are raised. Sometimes I feel like a dope when I go to the Archives, and that is the only place I feel dumb. I have three college degrees and college always made me feel smart. But I seem to be foggy when I get to the archives, although it may be that increased exposure gives you the experience you need to find out what you are looking for and how to get it. I should make a serious set of questions before my next trip there.
One very adept and knowledgeable librarian there, named Betty, helped me find a half dozen pieces of good information which I have brought home and plan to work on before my next trip there.
By the way, it is FREE and so is the parking. Anyone else out there working on local family history?
Jo Ann
She had better luck than I did and found many boxes of fascinating photographs of Batsto and environs.
I was still tracking the elusive William C. Garwood who married Rachel Ann Cheesman, the only surviviing daughter of the prominent Major Peter T. Cheesman (the major was from his service in the War of 1812). The Cheesman family were big land holders at one time in the watershed of the Big Timber Creek, with at least 3 mills and numerous descendants farming the land all around the creek. William C. Garwood came as a schoolteacher and boarded with the Cheesman family, married Rachel Ann, had two children, then she died. Her daughter Sarah Garwood married Robert Jaggard. The Jaggard family also had some prominence in the Blackwood area. Joseph Franklin Garwood married Patience Ann Watson and their son, William C. Garwood was raised by his grandfather after his parents died in his early childhood.
As with many another thing in life, the more you know, the more questions are raised. Sometimes I feel like a dope when I go to the Archives, and that is the only place I feel dumb. I have three college degrees and college always made me feel smart. But I seem to be foggy when I get to the archives, although it may be that increased exposure gives you the experience you need to find out what you are looking for and how to get it. I should make a serious set of questions before my next trip there.
One very adept and knowledgeable librarian there, named Betty, helped me find a half dozen pieces of good information which I have brought home and plan to work on before my next trip there.
By the way, it is FREE and so is the parking. Anyone else out there working on local family history?
Jo Ann
Monday, April 29, 2013
Estell Manor Hiking
What wonderful weather for hiking! However, I must say it is time to SPRAY!
Yesterday, a friend, Barbara Spector and I and, of course, Trixie, hiked at Estell Manor in Atlantic County. We stopped at Wawa for lunch supplies for a picnic at Lake Lenape near Mays Landing. I would love to know more about the abandoned mill there, and even more, to explore it!
Estell Manor was wonderful. We stopped to look at Stephen's Creek from the boardwalk trail which was heavily damaged in the super storm and is in the process of being repaired.
We were very happy to see a big Birthday Party in the large group area in the parking section of the entrance. What a great way for a big family to have a party and a reunion at the same time. The kids were delirious with joy and the parents were grilling and chilling and it made us happy to see them.
Lots of people were on the trails that day, bicycling and hiking. That's always gratifying.
For info on camping at Lake Lenape call 609-625-8219. For general Atlantic County Parks info go to www.aclink.org/PARKS
Today, I'm off to the Trenton State Archives, with Barbara Solem, my other hiking buddy, to do some research on my family history. On my mother's side, there is a long trail back to New Jersey from Philadelphia, where I was born. The names associated with my mother's ancestry are Cheesman, Garwood, and Jaggard - all very interesting and prominent families in the Blackwood, Turnersville, Timber Creek area.
My search started at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library. Of course, it started years ago with my grandmothers, but then I was helped on immeasureably by ancestry.com, and a distant cousin on the Jaggard side who had done a lot of work already, and, next, hands on searches at Camden County Historical Society in Camden and GCHSL. I have graphed out two interesting trees and found lots of information, but I've been stalled for a couple of years at 'lost links' spots on both sides - William C. Garwood on my mother's side. He married Rachel Ann Cheesman and made the Cheesman Garwood link, and the Wrights of Indiana on my father's side. But like the tides, the interest comes and goes. William C. Garwood (the eldest of two of the same name, grandfather and grandson) was a schoolteacher at Turnersville, and a postmaster at Blackwood.
Meanwhile, I hike and the woods restore my spirit! Spots I love at Estell are the Smith/Ireland cemetery (with brand new imposing wrought iron fencing) and the ruins of the Belcoville plant of 1917, and always, the glimmer of Stephen's Creek wherever I see it along the trail.
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
Yesterday, a friend, Barbara Spector and I and, of course, Trixie, hiked at Estell Manor in Atlantic County. We stopped at Wawa for lunch supplies for a picnic at Lake Lenape near Mays Landing. I would love to know more about the abandoned mill there, and even more, to explore it!
Estell Manor was wonderful. We stopped to look at Stephen's Creek from the boardwalk trail which was heavily damaged in the super storm and is in the process of being repaired.
We were very happy to see a big Birthday Party in the large group area in the parking section of the entrance. What a great way for a big family to have a party and a reunion at the same time. The kids were delirious with joy and the parents were grilling and chilling and it made us happy to see them.
Lots of people were on the trails that day, bicycling and hiking. That's always gratifying.
For info on camping at Lake Lenape call 609-625-8219. For general Atlantic County Parks info go to www.aclink.org/PARKS
Today, I'm off to the Trenton State Archives, with Barbara Solem, my other hiking buddy, to do some research on my family history. On my mother's side, there is a long trail back to New Jersey from Philadelphia, where I was born. The names associated with my mother's ancestry are Cheesman, Garwood, and Jaggard - all very interesting and prominent families in the Blackwood, Turnersville, Timber Creek area.
My search started at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library. Of course, it started years ago with my grandmothers, but then I was helped on immeasureably by ancestry.com, and a distant cousin on the Jaggard side who had done a lot of work already, and, next, hands on searches at Camden County Historical Society in Camden and GCHSL. I have graphed out two interesting trees and found lots of information, but I've been stalled for a couple of years at 'lost links' spots on both sides - William C. Garwood on my mother's side. He married Rachel Ann Cheesman and made the Cheesman Garwood link, and the Wrights of Indiana on my father's side. But like the tides, the interest comes and goes. William C. Garwood (the eldest of two of the same name, grandfather and grandson) was a schoolteacher at Turnersville, and a postmaster at Blackwood.
Meanwhile, I hike and the woods restore my spirit! Spots I love at Estell are the Smith/Ireland cemetery (with brand new imposing wrought iron fencing) and the ruins of the Belcoville plant of 1917, and always, the glimmer of Stephen's Creek wherever I see it along the trail.
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Quilt Show at the Glo. Co. Hist.Soc. Museum
On Friday, April 26, 2013, three other volunteers from the Whitall House and myself took the self-guided walking tour of Historic Woodbury and ended our tour with the second part of the EXCELLENT Quilt exhibit at the Jessup Hunter Lawrence House on Broad St. which is the Gloucester County Historical Society Museum. Before I forget, here is an upcoming event there:
My Garden of Quilts - Botanical Textiles, Quilt program by Karen Dever plus quilt exhibit Thurs. May 16 at 7:00 p.m.
I will certainly be going there for that. One of the things I admire most at any exhibit at the GCHSM is the level of knowledge and expertise of the curator and the volunteers. On Friday, were were triple lucky in having two GCHSM volunteers join us who gave us additional insights into the needlepoint samplers and the world of quilting. Two other guests that day were expert quilters.
My grandmother was a quilter. I have such wonderful memories of her sewing a quilt stretched out across her bed as the seabreeze blew in the window of her upstairs apartment in Ocean City, NJ. I have two of her quilts but one is disintegrating - a Sunbonnet Babies quilt that I have used since early childhood and washed innumerable times, sadly. Also, I have my great-grandmother's sewing maching which is especially poignant to me as both my great-grand and paternal grandmother supported themselves and their families by sewing when they were widowed.
The day was perfect for a walking tour and I found the buildings connected to the Green family medicinal empire especially interesting. There is the Green carriage house, the Green Laboratory and the Green Castle, a former hotel which now sports ominous red signs with white X's on them. What does that mean? No one we spoke with seemed to know what those signs portend.
Anyone who loves history could weep at the continual destruction of our historic landmarks. The fight goes on. Schools want to take wooded reserves and make soccer fields (Saddler's Woods), and a church wants to take The Green Castle and demolish it for new building.
Ah well, it is best to look at the glass half full and enjoy what we have without becoming too distraught about what we are losing (unless we are willing to get involved in the fight - and I'm too old now and tired).
We had lunch at Charlie Brown's, itself a former historic tavern, and I can most heartily recommend the salad bar which is well known in the area for freshness and variety!
If you are interested in the walking tour, you can get the free booklet, with photos of all the houses and descriptions as well as a map, at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library, which is just behind the Museum and has a parking lot. This is the best time of the year for historic town walks because you can also enjoy the gardens!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
ps. Photos were taken and will be added in the new way, as a page added as you scroll down my blog to the bottom.
My Garden of Quilts - Botanical Textiles, Quilt program by Karen Dever plus quilt exhibit Thurs. May 16 at 7:00 p.m.
I will certainly be going there for that. One of the things I admire most at any exhibit at the GCHSM is the level of knowledge and expertise of the curator and the volunteers. On Friday, were were triple lucky in having two GCHSM volunteers join us who gave us additional insights into the needlepoint samplers and the world of quilting. Two other guests that day were expert quilters.
My grandmother was a quilter. I have such wonderful memories of her sewing a quilt stretched out across her bed as the seabreeze blew in the window of her upstairs apartment in Ocean City, NJ. I have two of her quilts but one is disintegrating - a Sunbonnet Babies quilt that I have used since early childhood and washed innumerable times, sadly. Also, I have my great-grandmother's sewing maching which is especially poignant to me as both my great-grand and paternal grandmother supported themselves and their families by sewing when they were widowed.
The day was perfect for a walking tour and I found the buildings connected to the Green family medicinal empire especially interesting. There is the Green carriage house, the Green Laboratory and the Green Castle, a former hotel which now sports ominous red signs with white X's on them. What does that mean? No one we spoke with seemed to know what those signs portend.
Anyone who loves history could weep at the continual destruction of our historic landmarks. The fight goes on. Schools want to take wooded reserves and make soccer fields (Saddler's Woods), and a church wants to take The Green Castle and demolish it for new building.
Ah well, it is best to look at the glass half full and enjoy what we have without becoming too distraught about what we are losing (unless we are willing to get involved in the fight - and I'm too old now and tired).
We had lunch at Charlie Brown's, itself a former historic tavern, and I can most heartily recommend the salad bar which is well known in the area for freshness and variety!
If you are interested in the walking tour, you can get the free booklet, with photos of all the houses and descriptions as well as a map, at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library, which is just behind the Museum and has a parking lot. This is the best time of the year for historic town walks because you can also enjoy the gardens!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
ps. Photos were taken and will be added in the new way, as a page added as you scroll down my blog to the bottom.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Pictures 2013
Well, I think I have found a way to circumvent the problem I had with adding pictures (called "gadgets" on this free blog site) to go with my posts. Something had changed in the formatting function and I could not longer add pictures the way I did with my other posts, so I have opted to add a page with pictures on it. The page is called Photographs 2013, and there is a photo of my sister's shrub arrangement at Michleton Library, for her presentation on Landscape Design, a photo of carnivorous plants at Pakim Pond for Earth Day, and there is a picture of my dog Trixie at Timber Creek park, and finally, a photo of my sister, me and my nephew, the day we began working on my garden.
Scross down to the bottom of my opening page and you'll find the page entitled Photographs 2013, along with a page on the James and Ann Whittall House. You can open Photographs 2013 and see the pictures. I'll add new pages for more photographs as they come up to go with new posts. I wish I could move that whole "gadget" up further on the page, but it is beyond my ability to figure out how to do that. Sorry for the inconvenience and I hope you enjoy the photographs.
Speaking of photographs, for my 'birding friends' I wanted to mention that I saw a wild life photographer at Audubon Lake (in Haddon Heights Park) yesterday taking pictures of black cormorants in a tree airing out their wings. The little parks have many wonders to share.
Scross down to the bottom of my opening page and you'll find the page entitled Photographs 2013, along with a page on the James and Ann Whittall House. You can open Photographs 2013 and see the pictures. I'll add new pages for more photographs as they come up to go with new posts. I wish I could move that whole "gadget" up further on the page, but it is beyond my ability to figure out how to do that. Sorry for the inconvenience and I hope you enjoy the photographs.
Speaking of photographs, for my 'birding friends' I wanted to mention that I saw a wild life photographer at Audubon Lake (in Haddon Heights Park) yesterday taking pictures of black cormorants in a tree airing out their wings. The little parks have many wonders to share.
Happy Earth Day 2013
Today, to celebrate Earth Day, my sister and I worked in my garden. Over the past 25 years, I have planted nearly 250 shrubs and trees, but for the past 5 to 10 years, I did almost no gardening at all, however some of my trees have grown enormous!
My sister, Susan is a Landscape Designer and recently did a wonderful presentation at the Mickleton Library on Kings Hwy., which, by the way, is in the process of being closed by the municipality. My sister had always made good use of the library and was happy to give back by doing the excellent presentation. She will miss the Library when it is gone.
The most interesting part of her presentation, to me, was where she had brought a dozen or so potted shrubs which formed a lovely backdrop. She would pull two forward and we could observe that they looked identical, and even though they were in the same family, one might grow 30 feet tall and the other 3 feet tall, which makes a great deal of difference if you are planting in front of your bay window!
In fact, I had planted a lovely little tree next to my outdoor shed, some years back when I still had Christmas trees with root balls. I couldn't bring myself to kill a live tree for a celebration and then put out its dead, dry remnants on the day after Christmas, so I bought trees with roots and planted them. That caused a problem on exceptionally cold winters when the ground froze, but we just decorated the tree with items for whatever holiday came up until the ground thawed out again. One of those trees was a Norwegian Spruce. It is huge and I can't imagine how tall it will become!
Anyhow, we came close to meeting our goal for the gardening of the day, but not quite. We did the mulching of the beds, but didn't get to plant the rest of the Lily of the Valley pips that I had bought from amazon.com.
It came to me that I wanted them when I smelled their fragrance outside the Gloucester County Historical Society Library every spring. They had quite a nice bed of them in the parking lot. I'm a volunteer there.
Master Gardeners from Whitall House generously gave me pots of them from their own gardens and they are coming up, but I wanted MORE. I'll plant the pips tomorrow.
I hope you were outside on this splendid day which couldn't have been a better day to remind us of how wonderful our planet is.
On June 5th, I'll be taking a trip to Bartram's Gardens and Chanticleer with two friends. I'll let you know how that goes.
I haven't visited that many gardens in the past, (Longwood, from time to time, of course) but I go regularly to visit various trees, such as the Salem Oak. Anyhow I did get to see the Doris Duke Gardens (North Central NJ) before they closed and, as you recall, I visited all the State Parks in SJ last year. Some years back, I had ventured further north some years ago and also visited The Great Swamp. This would be a good time of year to go there, while the waters are flowing and the mosquitoes aren't quite out yet. This is a wonderful time of the year to be in any park!
This week I'll be taking a walking tour of historic Woodbury. More on that after Friday, April 26.
Nothing makes me happier than to be outdoors walking in a park or woods. I especially with my canine pal, Trixie Belden. I hope you got outside today too!
My sister, Susan is a Landscape Designer and recently did a wonderful presentation at the Mickleton Library on Kings Hwy., which, by the way, is in the process of being closed by the municipality. My sister had always made good use of the library and was happy to give back by doing the excellent presentation. She will miss the Library when it is gone.
The most interesting part of her presentation, to me, was where she had brought a dozen or so potted shrubs which formed a lovely backdrop. She would pull two forward and we could observe that they looked identical, and even though they were in the same family, one might grow 30 feet tall and the other 3 feet tall, which makes a great deal of difference if you are planting in front of your bay window!
In fact, I had planted a lovely little tree next to my outdoor shed, some years back when I still had Christmas trees with root balls. I couldn't bring myself to kill a live tree for a celebration and then put out its dead, dry remnants on the day after Christmas, so I bought trees with roots and planted them. That caused a problem on exceptionally cold winters when the ground froze, but we just decorated the tree with items for whatever holiday came up until the ground thawed out again. One of those trees was a Norwegian Spruce. It is huge and I can't imagine how tall it will become!
Anyhow, we came close to meeting our goal for the gardening of the day, but not quite. We did the mulching of the beds, but didn't get to plant the rest of the Lily of the Valley pips that I had bought from amazon.com.
It came to me that I wanted them when I smelled their fragrance outside the Gloucester County Historical Society Library every spring. They had quite a nice bed of them in the parking lot. I'm a volunteer there.
Master Gardeners from Whitall House generously gave me pots of them from their own gardens and they are coming up, but I wanted MORE. I'll plant the pips tomorrow.
I hope you were outside on this splendid day which couldn't have been a better day to remind us of how wonderful our planet is.
On June 5th, I'll be taking a trip to Bartram's Gardens and Chanticleer with two friends. I'll let you know how that goes.
I haven't visited that many gardens in the past, (Longwood, from time to time, of course) but I go regularly to visit various trees, such as the Salem Oak. Anyhow I did get to see the Doris Duke Gardens (North Central NJ) before they closed and, as you recall, I visited all the State Parks in SJ last year. Some years back, I had ventured further north some years ago and also visited The Great Swamp. This would be a good time of year to go there, while the waters are flowing and the mosquitoes aren't quite out yet. This is a wonderful time of the year to be in any park!
This week I'll be taking a walking tour of historic Woodbury. More on that after Friday, April 26.
Nothing makes me happier than to be outdoors walking in a park or woods. I especially with my canine pal, Trixie Belden. I hope you got outside today too!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Second Lecture
The second lecture I attended was about the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall; I'm sorry, I tried to look up the authors of the book, who were presenting the lecture, but didn't have any instant success and I'm under a time constraint here, so I'll simply give you the url to the Gloucester County Historical Society and you can visit there and possibly find the info on the meeting and lecture which was last night, Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00 p.m.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njgchs/Library.html
They were interesting speakers, the two authors. I was interested to find out how many times the rooms of the Independence Hall have been gutted and renovated and to see pictures of how radically didfferent it was through the time periods. Also, there was a clock in the wall made by the Stretch Clock makers who made the clock in the Whitall House.
On the liberty bell the most interesting fact, to me, was that once it went to space and when it came back, the door to its capsule was opened too soon and it sank to the bottom of the ocean, Not to worry, first of all, there were seven replicas of the bell of which this was one, and also, at some later point, the bell was retrieved from the ocean floor.
One of the two authors of the book Independence Hall and the Libery Bell got his start at the Glooucester County Historical Society, where I am a volunteer. I've been working on indexing Ruth Page Rogers diary. She was an Elk Twp. born residendt who became a pioneer Mormon and went to Utah. I'm also working on the Cutrufello family photographs, a new acquisition which I've mentioned before. My sister rescued the passport and photographs from the turn of the century through the 1940's from the sidewalk trash and we were so intrigued that we were happy to find a home for them at GCHSL.
Out of space again and the slide bar can't help me get past Dr. Oz, so I'm signing out. Enjjoy the weather. I'm on my way to Atsion Lake to hike with my best dog friend, Trixie (who picture I would post if I could figure out the new protocol here) and Barbara Soleem. I may have to start a whole new page to put my quickly mounting photos up somewhhere.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njgchs/Library.html
They were interesting speakers, the two authors. I was interested to find out how many times the rooms of the Independence Hall have been gutted and renovated and to see pictures of how radically didfferent it was through the time periods. Also, there was a clock in the wall made by the Stretch Clock makers who made the clock in the Whitall House.
On the liberty bell the most interesting fact, to me, was that once it went to space and when it came back, the door to its capsule was opened too soon and it sank to the bottom of the ocean, Not to worry, first of all, there were seven replicas of the bell of which this was one, and also, at some later point, the bell was retrieved from the ocean floor.
One of the two authors of the book Independence Hall and the Libery Bell got his start at the Glooucester County Historical Society, where I am a volunteer. I've been working on indexing Ruth Page Rogers diary. She was an Elk Twp. born residendt who became a pioneer Mormon and went to Utah. I'm also working on the Cutrufello family photographs, a new acquisition which I've mentioned before. My sister rescued the passport and photographs from the turn of the century through the 1940's from the sidewalk trash and we were so intrigued that we were happy to find a home for them at GCHSL.
Out of space again and the slide bar can't help me get past Dr. Oz, so I'm signing out. Enjjoy the weather. I'm on my way to Atsion Lake to hike with my best dog friend, Trixie (who picture I would post if I could figure out the new protocol here) and Barbara Soleem. I may have to start a whole new page to put my quickly mounting photos up somewhhere.
Two Lectures
Wow the first days of what feels more like summer than spring! Already the forsythia have flung themselves into bloom and the blossoming trees are clothing their recently black, naked, shivering branches in white and pink finery. All of this, of course, puts one in mind of gardens.
Recently on PBS, I saw a NATURE program called What Plants Talk ABout. It was so interesting, I ordered a copy of the dvd. No one really wants to hear the plot of a show repeated verbally so I'll just tell you one interesting detail. Plants send a chemical message into the air, kind of like the old concept of 'miasma,' i think, that notifies a predator that it's prey is on the plant. That way, the insect eating a plant can be removed by its enemy.
That chemical miasma, pictured in the tv program as a pale green fog, fascinated me. I read recently that scientist couldn't figure out how elepants miles away could know what each other were doing. They discovered, eventually that the elephant gave a low vocalizing below our ability to hear, and communicated that way.
The first lecture I attended was on landscaping given at Mickleton Library by my sister, Susan Wright, who is a landscape designer. It was very well done and I learned more than I can say here, especially as Dr. Oz/s ad is covering my writing with a pop-up that I can't remove so I can't see what I'm typing. I may have to go to another entry after this and begin again, so I'll close by saying I'm doing two gardents in one day June 5th on a bus tour with Seniour Citizens United of Camden County, to Bartram's Garden and Chanticleer. I did actually visit Bartram's Garden before on a Friends Meeting tour when i was a member of the Cherry Street Meeting back in the 1980's but it will be delightful to visit again. Signing off for this entry - Happy trails - stay outside! Jo Ann
Recently on PBS, I saw a NATURE program called What Plants Talk ABout. It was so interesting, I ordered a copy of the dvd. No one really wants to hear the plot of a show repeated verbally so I'll just tell you one interesting detail. Plants send a chemical message into the air, kind of like the old concept of 'miasma,' i think, that notifies a predator that it's prey is on the plant. That way, the insect eating a plant can be removed by its enemy.
That chemical miasma, pictured in the tv program as a pale green fog, fascinated me. I read recently that scientist couldn't figure out how elepants miles away could know what each other were doing. They discovered, eventually that the elephant gave a low vocalizing below our ability to hear, and communicated that way.
The first lecture I attended was on landscaping given at Mickleton Library by my sister, Susan Wright, who is a landscape designer. It was very well done and I learned more than I can say here, especially as Dr. Oz/s ad is covering my writing with a pop-up that I can't remove so I can't see what I'm typing. I may have to go to another entry after this and begin again, so I'll close by saying I'm doing two gardents in one day June 5th on a bus tour with Seniour Citizens United of Camden County, to Bartram's Garden and Chanticleer. I did actually visit Bartram's Garden before on a Friends Meeting tour when i was a member of the Cherry Street Meeting back in the 1980's but it will be delightful to visit again. Signing off for this entry - Happy trails - stay outside! Jo Ann
Friday, April 5, 2013
Largest alligator in the US outside of Florida
Well, I just couldn't get it right - was it the largest alligator in the world? The USA? New Jersey - ha ha - I know there are none in NJ, so he'd have to be the largest one north of Florida. Anyhow his name is Mike - it is actually "?___ something Mike" like Monumental Mike or Mammoth Mike, I can't remember. Okay, I looked it up Mighty Mike, it is!
This alligator is BIG - way to big for the little puddle and window where he is forced to live. I'm not a fan of zoos or circuses or aquariums. I hate to see animals trapped and on display, however, I will say that there was a sign that explained that Mike was slated to be destroyed at a boat landing in Florida until the animal control officer contacted some nature officials and he was captured and moved around to be an ambassador for the alligator world.
Is he better off? Who knows, but my pal for the day at the aquarium and I discussed it and I said if I had a choice between being trapped in a small room with books inside a library for the rest of my life or of being shot, I'd take the room and the books. I hope Mike has a meditative mind, which, by his looks, I think he might. The Hippos were cool too.
I missed out on wishing everyone a Happy National Walking Day, two days ago. I walked Audubon Lake, Big Timber Creek park, Newton Creek Park, and Knight's Park, to celebrate. Walking is my favorite thing to do. Hope you were out and about too! Happy Trails! Jo Ann
This alligator is BIG - way to big for the little puddle and window where he is forced to live. I'm not a fan of zoos or circuses or aquariums. I hate to see animals trapped and on display, however, I will say that there was a sign that explained that Mike was slated to be destroyed at a boat landing in Florida until the animal control officer contacted some nature officials and he was captured and moved around to be an ambassador for the alligator world.
Is he better off? Who knows, but my pal for the day at the aquarium and I discussed it and I said if I had a choice between being trapped in a small room with books inside a library for the rest of my life or of being shot, I'd take the room and the books. I hope Mike has a meditative mind, which, by his looks, I think he might. The Hippos were cool too.
I missed out on wishing everyone a Happy National Walking Day, two days ago. I walked Audubon Lake, Big Timber Creek park, Newton Creek Park, and Knight's Park, to celebrate. Walking is my favorite thing to do. Hope you were out and about too! Happy Trails! Jo Ann
Places I should have gone and a place I'm going.
Well, I was punished a couple of times recently for not keeping up with my e-mail. It takes so long that I've been heading out to walk the dog at Timber Creek Park everyday without turning on the computer. So I missed a great genealogy and stories presentation at Salem Genealogical Society and last night I missed a presentation by a friend of mine, Carol Suplee at Medford on the history of Willingboro. I'm really sorry about that. She is in a writing group with tme and I'm sure it was a fascinating presentation.
http://www.medfordhistory.org/loc/loc.html
Today, I'm headed off to the NJ State Aquarium which I haven't visited in nearly a decade, through two renovations, I understand. More on that later.
And on the subject of genealogy, my sister was on her way home from work and passed a family clearing out a house and putting all sorts of interesting things on the curb. She asked if she could look and they said it was all trash and she could help herself. She found a trash bag filled with family photographs from the 1930-s through the 1950's and a passport for the progenitor and first immigrant of the family Donenic Cutrufello. There were photos of the family with their tenement garden in the Bronx, and my favorite, a pair of long white gloves and the work card of Martha Cutrufello who worked as a Cabaret dancer; there were two photos of her in color in beautiful ballgowns.
I felt so sorry for the photos and asked at Gloucester County Historical Society if they knew of a group that would house this material since it documents early Italian immigration into the farmlands of SJ, and they said, generously that they would give it a home! I was so happy that my sister, Susan Wright, saved this irreplaceable and priceless resource for someone who might be interested in the future. How sad when a grandmother dies and no one cares enough about the family history to give it a home.
My sister showed them what was in the trash bag, including Domenic Guiseppi's Cutrufello's passport from 1917, and they said "Trash, we don't want any of it." Maybe a family quarrel was behind it. Who knows. But the photographs are saved and the gloves.
http://sj.sunne.ws/2013/03/26/history-of-willingboro-at-medford-historical-society/
http://www.medfordhistory.org/loc/loc.html
Today, I'm headed off to the NJ State Aquarium which I haven't visited in nearly a decade, through two renovations, I understand. More on that later.
And on the subject of genealogy, my sister was on her way home from work and passed a family clearing out a house and putting all sorts of interesting things on the curb. She asked if she could look and they said it was all trash and she could help herself. She found a trash bag filled with family photographs from the 1930-s through the 1950's and a passport for the progenitor and first immigrant of the family Donenic Cutrufello. There were photos of the family with their tenement garden in the Bronx, and my favorite, a pair of long white gloves and the work card of Martha Cutrufello who worked as a Cabaret dancer; there were two photos of her in color in beautiful ballgowns.
I felt so sorry for the photos and asked at Gloucester County Historical Society if they knew of a group that would house this material since it documents early Italian immigration into the farmlands of SJ, and they said, generously that they would give it a home! I was so happy that my sister, Susan Wright, saved this irreplaceable and priceless resource for someone who might be interested in the future. How sad when a grandmother dies and no one cares enough about the family history to give it a home.
My sister showed them what was in the trash bag, including Domenic Guiseppi's Cutrufello's passport from 1917, and they said "Trash, we don't want any of it." Maybe a family quarrel was behind it. Who knows. But the photographs are saved and the gloves.
http://sj.sunne.ws/2013/03/26/history-of-willingboro-at-medford-historical-society/
Friday, March 29, 2013
BlogTrouble
I'm sorry to my readers. I have great new photos but the new design of the blogspot has me baffled. I can't seem to find a way to add the pictures anymore. I've been struggling with it for a couple of weeks, but haven't resolved the problem yet. I have photos of Duffy's and Timber Creek.
My next post will be on honey! Meanwhile I will continue to try to figure out how to put in a picture with the new format of blogspot - the host.
My next post will be on honey! Meanwhile I will continue to try to figure out how to put in a picture with the new format of blogspot - the host.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
FamilyHistory on the curb & SLims
I've been asking around about Slim's Ranch without too much success lately. I did meet a fellow dog walker who said the original ranch was up on the 1/2 mile jogging track and that there was nothing left but an access road and some telephone poles. I wonder who Slim was and how long they operated that Ranch before it became Timber Creek Park? I'll keep asking around.
A few days ago, as my sister was driving home from work, she saw a couple of women taking furnishings from a house and putting them on the curb. She stopped and asked if they minded if she took some things, which they did not as it was all put out for the trash. She found a treasure trove of family photos and documents which she brought to their attention, but ehey said they didn't want them. It was their grandmother's stuff and they were clearing out her house.
Those photos and documents told such an interesting story about Italian immigration in the early 20th century. There was the family in the old homestead in Italy, the passport of the patriarch, Domenico Cutrufollo, 1917, and World War II papers and letters for Joseph and Vera, the photos showed the family in their tenement garden in the Bronx, from which they finally moved to NJ. There were the grandmothers, the aunts and uncles and a young beautiful pair of sisters, one of whom must have become a ballroom dancer because there was a photo of her in a ball gown and long sleeved gloves, and a box from Bonwits with those very same gloves loving preserved in tissue. Maybe she is the one who became the grandmother.
I'm going to try to find a home for these items. First I'll try through my volunteer work at Glo. Co. Hist. Soc. Library, they may know of a place with a focus on early Italian immigration to NJ, then I'll try a little museum I just read about in the Courier that has opened in Glassboro.
Any ideas? contact me at jwright45@yahoo.com
The grandmother held on to these treasures for a hundred years or more. I hope I can find a safe home for them.
A few days ago, as my sister was driving home from work, she saw a couple of women taking furnishings from a house and putting them on the curb. She stopped and asked if they minded if she took some things, which they did not as it was all put out for the trash. She found a treasure trove of family photos and documents which she brought to their attention, but ehey said they didn't want them. It was their grandmother's stuff and they were clearing out her house.
Those photos and documents told such an interesting story about Italian immigration in the early 20th century. There was the family in the old homestead in Italy, the passport of the patriarch, Domenico Cutrufollo, 1917, and World War II papers and letters for Joseph and Vera, the photos showed the family in their tenement garden in the Bronx, from which they finally moved to NJ. There were the grandmothers, the aunts and uncles and a young beautiful pair of sisters, one of whom must have become a ballroom dancer because there was a photo of her in a ball gown and long sleeved gloves, and a box from Bonwits with those very same gloves loving preserved in tissue. Maybe she is the one who became the grandmother.
I'm going to try to find a home for these items. First I'll try through my volunteer work at Glo. Co. Hist. Soc. Library, they may know of a place with a focus on early Italian immigration to NJ, then I'll try a little museum I just read about in the Courier that has opened in Glassboro.
Any ideas? contact me at jwright45@yahoo.com
The grandmother held on to these treasures for a hundred years or more. I hope I can find a safe home for them.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Mullica Hill, Dufffy's Chocolates & More - Easter
Easter is just around the corner and yesterday I found out my daughter is coming home to visit. She is 29 and a vegan, so I was perplexed about what to put in her Easter Basket. I know she likes vintage and antique things so I went to Mullica Hill to solve my dilemma of what to put in an Easter basket when you can't use chocolate or dairy. The first shop I stopped in had the perfect solution, lovely, shaped, perfumcd soaps, one of which was a large molded white cat "The Sophisticat" which takes the place of the white chocolate bunny of my daughter's childhood. Next, I crossed the street to the Red Mill Antiques and right inside the door I found a charming basket with a large cranberry colored sash on the wooden lid! Next I found an adorable old tin with rabbits on it and some tiny china rabbits to put in it with Easter grass and I was all set.
Mulica Hill will host an Antique Street Fair from 10 - 5 on April 27th with the 28th as a rain date. www.mullicahill.com and 856-881-6800 for questions or to reserve a table.
Still, I have other relatives who do eat chocolate, in particular a nephew, so on the day of the big snow, Monday 3/24/13, I took advantage of the bad weather to go to Duffy's Chocolates in Gloucester City, on Broadway. Generally at Easter there will be a line stretching to the door, but since the weather was so forbidding, I was only the second customer in line. Duffy's has been in business most of the 20th century and now the 21st. It is a tradition for many who live within the area to buy great chocolate there as well as Irish potatoes. It is a family owned business and the chocolates are handmade. It isn't too late - if you need something special for a hostess gift or to put in that Easter basket, head over to Duffy's and enjoy the fragrance as you walk in the door!
A tv note: It is nice when what you read and what you watch on tv get in sync with the holidays. I've enjoyed The Bible on History Channel ( a little hokey but perfect to get in the mind set of the season) and The Vikings, too. Also, there was an excellent documentary on Jamestown which teams up nicely with a wonderful book I'm reading by Bernard Bailyn, The Barbarous Years, which deals with that same period in Colonial American History 1600-1675. I plan to get one or two of his other books and will do a book review column as soon as I finish this one.
Happy Easter and Happy Spring (if it ever arrives).
Mulica Hill will host an Antique Street Fair from 10 - 5 on April 27th with the 28th as a rain date. www.mullicahill.com and 856-881-6800 for questions or to reserve a table.
Still, I have other relatives who do eat chocolate, in particular a nephew, so on the day of the big snow, Monday 3/24/13, I took advantage of the bad weather to go to Duffy's Chocolates in Gloucester City, on Broadway. Generally at Easter there will be a line stretching to the door, but since the weather was so forbidding, I was only the second customer in line. Duffy's has been in business most of the 20th century and now the 21st. It is a tradition for many who live within the area to buy great chocolate there as well as Irish potatoes. It is a family owned business and the chocolates are handmade. It isn't too late - if you need something special for a hostess gift or to put in that Easter basket, head over to Duffy's and enjoy the fragrance as you walk in the door!
A tv note: It is nice when what you read and what you watch on tv get in sync with the holidays. I've enjoyed The Bible on History Channel ( a little hokey but perfect to get in the mind set of the season) and The Vikings, too. Also, there was an excellent documentary on Jamestown which teams up nicely with a wonderful book I'm reading by Bernard Bailyn, The Barbarous Years, which deals with that same period in Colonial American History 1600-1675. I plan to get one or two of his other books and will do a book review column as soon as I finish this one.
Happy Easter and Happy Spring (if it ever arrives).
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Cowboy New Jersey, Slim's Ranch Mystery
Well, I thought I had seen the last snow of this winter at Goshen Pond a couple of weeks ago, but yesterday, walking at the Timber Creek Dog Park, the snow fell again, however it only lasted in the air and never covered the ground. So far, I have been unable to find any history on Slim's Ranch, which is what stood on this property before it became Timber Creek Park, though I found a web site with lovely photographs of Timber Creek Park and an interesting detail in regard to the name "Slim" which, according to the web site, the link for which I will add at the end of this paragraph, is the title for a livestock worker on a farm. https://yummygal.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/timber-creek-park/
If, like me, you were a child, a girl child in particular, of the 1950's, you probably remember Sally Star. She passed away in January and her funeral arrangements were held in Berlin, NJ. Sally Starr had been inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame. I saw Sally Star speak at a Paulsdale event a couple of years ago and I can attest that she was still sharp witted and beautiful in her late eighty's, though she seemed tired and she was forced to use a wheelchair to get around. When I was growing up, you didn't see many women in the popular entertainment of the day, plenty of cowboys, but few cowgirls, you'd have thought taming the Wild West was an all male event. There was, of course, Dale Evans, and these feisty women were an inspiration for me as a little girl.
It seems as though New Jersey has a little bit of everything, but the cowboy history is an interesting mystery. I'm afraid I haven't been to Cowtown yet, so I can't speak on that, but I know there were many horse farms and riding was a great recreation through the 1960's, according to my friends, many of whom remember learning how to ride horseback in their teens in that time. I was unable to find any history on Slim's Ranch and if anyone out there knows anything, I'd be interested to hear about it. wrightj45@yahoo.com. Meanwhile, I'll contact some friends and see if I can find out more. See you on the trails! Jo Ann
If, like me, you were a child, a girl child in particular, of the 1950's, you probably remember Sally Star. She passed away in January and her funeral arrangements were held in Berlin, NJ. Sally Starr had been inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame. I saw Sally Star speak at a Paulsdale event a couple of years ago and I can attest that she was still sharp witted and beautiful in her late eighty's, though she seemed tired and she was forced to use a wheelchair to get around. When I was growing up, you didn't see many women in the popular entertainment of the day, plenty of cowboys, but few cowgirls, you'd have thought taming the Wild West was an all male event. There was, of course, Dale Evans, and these feisty women were an inspiration for me as a little girl.
It seems as though New Jersey has a little bit of everything, but the cowboy history is an interesting mystery. I'm afraid I haven't been to Cowtown yet, so I can't speak on that, but I know there were many horse farms and riding was a great recreation through the 1960's, according to my friends, many of whom remember learning how to ride horseback in their teens in that time. I was unable to find any history on Slim's Ranch and if anyone out there knows anything, I'd be interested to hear about it. wrightj45@yahoo.com. Meanwhile, I'll contact some friends and see if I can find out more. See you on the trails! Jo Ann
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Favorite Woods and Trails
By the way, the tally for the favorite woods and trails so far puts Parvin State Park in the lead with Atsion second and my persoal favorite, Pakin Pond, in third with reminders that Whitesbog is a great hiking spot and Batsto. If you wish to add others e-mail me at wrightj45@yahoo.com
The Last Snow of the Year 2013
I hope my historic place readers will forgive me that I've been more in the woods lately than in historic houses, but when you get down to it, there is no more historic site than the forest!
Yesterday, two friends and I celebrated a birthday with two hikes in the woods. First we hiked at Goshen Pond and I took many pictures; unfortunately my digital camera broke last week and I had to use a one-time-use recycleable camera. Yes, they do still exist.
The woods were indescribably beautiful because it was a wet snow and it clung to everything turning nets of briars into lace and outlining every black tree trunk and limb in white. All the paths were snow covered though the roads were a nasty ochre brown mud that splashed up behind your shoes onto your pants' bottoms. Nonetheless, regular woods hikers come prepared: We wear outer pants (in my case and one other friend's - ski pants!) and we bring extra socks and shoes to change into. After an hour in the snowy wonderland, we headed to La Campagnola Restaurant for the birthday lunch, Barbara Solem's birthday.
La Campangola Restaurant & Bar
439 Oakshade Road, Shamong, NJ, 08088
+1 609 268 0600Reservations:
+1 609 268 0600 Telephone:
+1 609 654 4260Catering:
We had a delicious stick-to-your ribs- lunch of pasta and tomato sauce , then, rested and refreshed, we headed back out to hike the orange trail. On the way home, at the end of the day, the rain had already erased the snow from the fields and rooftops. So I am especially happy that I was outside and enjoyed the last snow while it was hear and before it was defeated by the Lamb of Spring. Now, this morning, Saturday, March 9, it feels like spring has arrived, with a bright and powerful sun shining and rising temperatures.
Tomorrow is Lines on the Pines at Frog Rock Country Club. This year, I won't be presenting, I'll just be visiting. Here is a link if you think you might like to drop in and see paintings, beautiful pinelands crafts, hear music, or talk to authors who have written books about the Pines or who maintain internet web sites such as the "ghosttowns" site and PineyPower.
http://www.frogrockgolf.com/
AS for why I won't be presenting this year - I'm focussing more on hiking and my new vegan diet and taking time off from my formerly very busy schedule. It is a more meditative time for me and less active (well more walking less talking). Hope to see you at Lines On the Pines! And if not there, perhaps we'll cross paths on one of the woodland trails. Best part of hiking in winter, aside from the beauty is that there are no ticks or chiggers. Soon, I'll have to buy Frontline for my new dog Trixie and Off for myself. Trixie, by the way, has that magical dog ability to find a trail even in the snow. She was ahead of us the whole way, both going in and coming out and she never missed the turns at forks or intersecting trails. She is a great hiking buddy.
Yesterday, two friends and I celebrated a birthday with two hikes in the woods. First we hiked at Goshen Pond and I took many pictures; unfortunately my digital camera broke last week and I had to use a one-time-use recycleable camera. Yes, they do still exist.
The woods were indescribably beautiful because it was a wet snow and it clung to everything turning nets of briars into lace and outlining every black tree trunk and limb in white. All the paths were snow covered though the roads were a nasty ochre brown mud that splashed up behind your shoes onto your pants' bottoms. Nonetheless, regular woods hikers come prepared: We wear outer pants (in my case and one other friend's - ski pants!) and we bring extra socks and shoes to change into. After an hour in the snowy wonderland, we headed to La Campagnola Restaurant for the birthday lunch, Barbara Solem's birthday.
La Campangola Restaurant & Bar439 Oakshade Road, Shamong, NJ, 08088
+1 609 268 0600Reservations:
+1 609 268 0600 Telephone:
+1 609 654 4260Catering:
We had a delicious stick-to-your ribs- lunch of pasta and tomato sauce , then, rested and refreshed, we headed back out to hike the orange trail. On the way home, at the end of the day, the rain had already erased the snow from the fields and rooftops. So I am especially happy that I was outside and enjoyed the last snow while it was hear and before it was defeated by the Lamb of Spring. Now, this morning, Saturday, March 9, it feels like spring has arrived, with a bright and powerful sun shining and rising temperatures.
Tomorrow is Lines on the Pines at Frog Rock Country Club. This year, I won't be presenting, I'll just be visiting. Here is a link if you think you might like to drop in and see paintings, beautiful pinelands crafts, hear music, or talk to authors who have written books about the Pines or who maintain internet web sites such as the "ghosttowns" site and PineyPower.
http://www.frogrockgolf.com/
AS for why I won't be presenting this year - I'm focussing more on hiking and my new vegan diet and taking time off from my formerly very busy schedule. It is a more meditative time for me and less active (well more walking less talking). Hope to see you at Lines On the Pines! And if not there, perhaps we'll cross paths on one of the woodland trails. Best part of hiking in winter, aside from the beauty is that there are no ticks or chiggers. Soon, I'll have to buy Frontline for my new dog Trixie and Off for myself. Trixie, by the way, has that magical dog ability to find a trail even in the snow. She was ahead of us the whole way, both going in and coming out and she never missed the turns at forks or intersecting trails. She is a great hiking buddy.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Favorite Trails
Yesterday, I was hiking the trail from Pakim Pond to the rangers' station in Brendan Byrne forest, which is roughly 6 miles round trip. It is my favorite trail. I asked my hiking buddy Barbara Spector, which is her favorite trail and she said, as I knew she would, Parvin State Park. I've hiked there with her many times.
We listed all our favorite trails in order of preference and I was wondering what other peoples' favorites are. My e-mail is wrightj45@yahoo.com, if you wish to let me know your favorites. If I hear from you, I'll post them here.
This was my second time on the Cranberry trail this week. The previous hike had been momentous in that my other best hiking buddy, Barbara Solem, had convinced me it was safe to let Trixie, my new dog of one month, off her leash as she is so very well-behaved and responds well to commands to "stay" and "sit" and "come". And indeed she stayed right with us the whole time and was practically dancing in her delight at being free to walk at her own pace and stop and sniff at her leisure.
Barbara Solem's favorite trail is around Atsion Lake. We all love Estelle Manor, where we hiked last week, and of course, Goshen and Batsto. Winter i my favorite time for hiking, too, because there are no chiggers or ticks.
There are interesting monuments in the heart of the woods on various trails, for example, the Carranza Monument, and, on the Cranberry Trail, the David F. Moore monument. I found the following information on David F. Moore.
I want to thank him and any other devoted workers for conservation for preservign these beautiful places for those of us who go there and find peace and balance as well as joy.
from a site called Zoom In - "Dave Moore was executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation from 1969-1999 and is now serving on the organization's Board of Trustees.
He is also currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and the Delaware River Mill Society.He has served on numerous other nonprofits throughout his career, including the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust, New Jersey Tidelands Resource Council, New Jersey Natural Areas Council, New Jersey Recycling Forum, Council on New Jersey Affairs, the state's Waterfowl Advisory Committee, Natural Area Council in Washington, D.C. and the Stockton Alliance."
We listed all our favorite trails in order of preference and I was wondering what other peoples' favorites are. My e-mail is wrightj45@yahoo.com, if you wish to let me know your favorites. If I hear from you, I'll post them here.
This was my second time on the Cranberry trail this week. The previous hike had been momentous in that my other best hiking buddy, Barbara Solem, had convinced me it was safe to let Trixie, my new dog of one month, off her leash as she is so very well-behaved and responds well to commands to "stay" and "sit" and "come". And indeed she stayed right with us the whole time and was practically dancing in her delight at being free to walk at her own pace and stop and sniff at her leisure.
Barbara Solem's favorite trail is around Atsion Lake. We all love Estelle Manor, where we hiked last week, and of course, Goshen and Batsto. Winter i my favorite time for hiking, too, because there are no chiggers or ticks.
There are interesting monuments in the heart of the woods on various trails, for example, the Carranza Monument, and, on the Cranberry Trail, the David F. Moore monument. I found the following information on David F. Moore.
I want to thank him and any other devoted workers for conservation for preservign these beautiful places for those of us who go there and find peace and balance as well as joy.
from a site called Zoom In - "Dave Moore was executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation from 1969-1999 and is now serving on the organization's Board of Trustees.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Louisa May Alcott at peachfields
There are a few of my childhood books that had a powerful influence on me and that, when I read them, cast a hypnotic spell, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, was certainly one. Another was Outdoor Girls on a Hike, along with the Trixie Belden series of mysteries and, of course, Nancy Drew.
On Sunday, a friend and I went to Peachfields, 180 Burrs Road, Westampton, Nj 08060, to hear a history theater performer portray Louisa May Alcott. This was syncronicity at its best because I had just finished reading Susan Cheever's biography of Alcott.
This day provided a double delight because I am always happy to visit Peachfields, a most beautiful historic house from the early 1700's and I enjoy the living history theater presentations, a number of which I have been lucky enough to have experienced. So far, I have heard, among others, George and Martha Washington, at Monmouth Battlefield, Clara Barton, and Molly Pitcher, and a few others whose names I can't recall at this moment, several of which I heard at the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, such as Abigail Adams.
It was a bright, sunny, cold day with a coat of snow on the fields around Peachfields. Peachfields is under the guardianship of the Colonial Dames of America in New Jersey. They also preserve and give tours of the oldest schoolhouse in New Jersy built in 1759 which is located at 35 Brainerd St. in Mount Holly, NJ.
On March 3rd there will be a presentation on Walt Whitman at Peachfields from 2 to 4. Harriet Beecher Stow will be featured on April 7th and Mark Twain on May 5th.
Literature was my first love, before I found the magic in History, so putting the two together is a great delight. I'll be attending all three presentations. Make reservations in advance, it gets filled up - call 609-267-6996.
Tomorrow, I'll post a couple of photos.
A note on a different subject. Yesterday I was delighted to sell a painting I have done of Atsion Mansion to Barbara Solem who has been the organizer behind getting the volunteers and putting the time in to give tours of that lovely house for the past year. It will open again in May.
On Sunday, a friend and I went to Peachfields, 180 Burrs Road, Westampton, Nj 08060, to hear a history theater performer portray Louisa May Alcott. This was syncronicity at its best because I had just finished reading Susan Cheever's biography of Alcott.
This day provided a double delight because I am always happy to visit Peachfields, a most beautiful historic house from the early 1700's and I enjoy the living history theater presentations, a number of which I have been lucky enough to have experienced. So far, I have heard, among others, George and Martha Washington, at Monmouth Battlefield, Clara Barton, and Molly Pitcher, and a few others whose names I can't recall at this moment, several of which I heard at the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, such as Abigail Adams.
It was a bright, sunny, cold day with a coat of snow on the fields around Peachfields. Peachfields is under the guardianship of the Colonial Dames of America in New Jersey. They also preserve and give tours of the oldest schoolhouse in New Jersy built in 1759 which is located at 35 Brainerd St. in Mount Holly, NJ.
On March 3rd there will be a presentation on Walt Whitman at Peachfields from 2 to 4. Harriet Beecher Stow will be featured on April 7th and Mark Twain on May 5th.
Literature was my first love, before I found the magic in History, so putting the two together is a great delight. I'll be attending all three presentations. Make reservations in advance, it gets filled up - call 609-267-6996.
Tomorrow, I'll post a couple of photos.
A note on a different subject. Yesterday I was delighted to sell a painting I have done of Atsion Mansion to Barbara Solem who has been the organizer behind getting the volunteers and putting the time in to give tours of that lovely house for the past year. It will open again in May.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Little hidden gems
From time to time, I like to branch out from historic places into parks and woods and this entry is another about the little hidden parks I find with my walking buddies.
You may remember an entry about a little park on Clements Bridge Road that was so hard to find, my walking buddy of the day, Barbara Spector, who is also a kind and generous volunteer for animal shelters in this area, drove by the park three times and even stopped for directions before we saw the little parking lot.
Similarly, I got lost at least once before I found this park, which is called Woodbrook Park Trail. Finally, the way I found it was by using my gps with the address of Auletto Caterers, which is directly across the street from Auletto's. I was told about the park by a dog walking buddy, Terry, whom I know from Knight's Park in Collingswood.
Speaking of 'dog buddies' I was so lonesome after my great lab Blizzard passed away this summer, that I with the help of the aforementioned Barbara Spector, I adopted another lab. This one's name is Trixie (after Trixie Bleden - the detective). She is a 3 year old silver lab, which is a mix of Weimaraner and chocolate Lab.
So far, Trixie and I have hiked the CranberryTrail from Pakim Pond to the Ranger Station at Brendan Byrne and back (6 miles round trip) and Parvin State Park Trail, Haddon Heights Park, Newton Creek Park, Cooper River and Kinghts Park where she met all my former dog walking buddies. And This little park, Woodbrook, is about a mile round trip. I can't see what I'm typing here so I apologise for any errors. There is a pop up ad that is covering the bottom of my post and I can seem to move it away, so I guess that signals the end of this post. Happy Trails to you! eventually, we will resume our State Parks hiking.
You may remember an entry about a little park on Clements Bridge Road that was so hard to find, my walking buddy of the day, Barbara Spector, who is also a kind and generous volunteer for animal shelters in this area, drove by the park three times and even stopped for directions before we saw the little parking lot.
Similarly, I got lost at least once before I found this park, which is called Woodbrook Park Trail. Finally, the way I found it was by using my gps with the address of Auletto Caterers, which is directly across the street from Auletto's. I was told about the park by a dog walking buddy, Terry, whom I know from Knight's Park in Collingswood.
Speaking of 'dog buddies' I was so lonesome after my great lab Blizzard passed away this summer, that I with the help of the aforementioned Barbara Spector, I adopted another lab. This one's name is Trixie (after Trixie Bleden - the detective). She is a 3 year old silver lab, which is a mix of Weimaraner and chocolate Lab.
So far, Trixie and I have hiked the CranberryTrail from Pakim Pond to the Ranger Station at Brendan Byrne and back (6 miles round trip) and Parvin State Park Trail, Haddon Heights Park, Newton Creek Park, Cooper River and Kinghts Park where she met all my former dog walking buddies. And This little park, Woodbrook, is about a mile round trip. I can't see what I'm typing here so I apologise for any errors. There is a pop up ad that is covering the bottom of my post and I can seem to move it away, so I guess that signals the end of this post. Happy Trails to you! eventually, we will resume our State Parks hiking.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Iron
This is my postscript to the Hopewell entry. The connection for me between Hopewell Furnace in Pa. and Batsto and Atsion, is, aside from the fact that Hopewell is so well preserved and shows a complete picture of the iron process, that iron in the pines was eclipsed by Pennsylvania when coal took the place of wood and charcoal. Also, iron ore was more readily mined in Pa. than the bogs could produce it. However, ironically, Hopewell was put out of business at the time that coal became king for making fire and heat, because Hopewell was built to be close to woods for colliers making charcoal and it was not close enough to railroads and coal mines. It was a precarious business running a furnace or a forge.
Hope you can get a chance to visit us at Atsion when the season opens again, or at Batsto, or that you can get to visit both of these and Hopewell too!
Atsion, like many other hitoric sites is closed for the season. Whitall House opens again April 3rd and Atsion, I believe, opens in May. Check back again and I'll post the dates when I know them for certain.
Tomorrow, me and my new dog, Trixie, a silver chocolate Lab and an enthusiastic hiker, will be taking the cranberry trail from Pakim Pond to the Ranger Station and back with Barb Solem and her hiking buddy, Oscar. It's about 6 miles doing the round trip, then we will hike around the pond, too, one of my favorite places in the pines. I used to love it when I could rent a cabin in the winter - especially in the snow. I don't think you can rent them in winter anymore. Not sure...
Hope to see you on the trail! Winer is my favorite time to hike the woods - no chiggers!
Hope you can get a chance to visit us at Atsion when the season opens again, or at Batsto, or that you can get to visit both of these and Hopewell too!
Atsion, like many other hitoric sites is closed for the season. Whitall House opens again April 3rd and Atsion, I believe, opens in May. Check back again and I'll post the dates when I know them for certain.
Tomorrow, me and my new dog, Trixie, a silver chocolate Lab and an enthusiastic hiker, will be taking the cranberry trail from Pakim Pond to the Ranger Station and back with Barb Solem and her hiking buddy, Oscar. It's about 6 miles doing the round trip, then we will hike around the pond, too, one of my favorite places in the pines. I used to love it when I could rent a cabin in the winter - especially in the snow. I don't think you can rent them in winter anymore. Not sure...
Hope to see you on the trail! Winer is my favorite time to hike the woods - no chiggers!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The sword in the Stone
Hopewell Furnace Trip
Having been an off and on again poet all my life, it seemed to me that the myth of the sword in the stone from the tales of the Knights of the Round Table was actually a metaphor for the closely guarded secret of extracting iron from rock. Druids were both close with their secrets and often practised the art of blacksmithing. When the quality of the metal in you sword was the difference between life and death, freedom and slavery, this was a very important secret.
Coming up to the 20th century, I've always had an interest in iron as my father was an Ironworker. Both of my brothers followed him into that trade. Of course, today, that means creating sky scrapers from steel and reinforced concrete and has nothing to do with smelting or forging or smithing, nonetheless, iron has always held an allure to me.
Despite the fact that I have read Martha Furnace Diary and other books, I have to confess that the process of smelting iron in the Colonial period remained hazy in my comprehension until I visited Hopewell Furnace recently.
I was visiting this National Historic Site with friends and fellow volunteers from Batsto Village and Atsion Mansion. Barbara Solem, organiziner of the volunteers of Atsion Mansion, arranged this enriching field trip for us and she drove. It was about an hour and a half drive to 2 Mark Bird Lane in Elverson, Pa.
We had a truly generous and fascinating tour guide who, because we were also volunteers, gave us some behind the scenes glipses as well as a fully informative and interesting .tour. This site is miraculously intact, thanks both to the Civilian Conservation Corps and the the Pa. and Fed. governments which recognized its significance and saved it from decay and development into something else.
The furnace and the waterwheel are amazingly intact and between the guide, the film in the fisitors' center, and the buildings, I finally realized the process
from forest and mine to stove and kettle. This blog is too short a place to give you the full story, far too much for a conversation without boring the listener to death, so I'll simply say that we toured an area that dexribed how colliers transformed trees into charcoal, the charcoal storage barn, the bridge to the furnace where the lime, and iron are dumped into the stack in layers and then
the chardoal is set ablaze, the water wheel pumpling the air bellows to increase the heat. Finally at the foot of the furnace was the are where the molten iron ran out into channels to form pig iron, or into huge containers for dipping the molten iron out for molding.
Finally, I understood molding and the molders art thanks to the excellent film in the visotr's center, and voila' we get a stove or a fireplace back (after many steps in between, of course!)
Friends have arrived for a walk and I must stop for now. More later!
Having been an off and on again poet all my life, it seemed to me that the myth of the sword in the stone from the tales of the Knights of the Round Table was actually a metaphor for the closely guarded secret of extracting iron from rock. Druids were both close with their secrets and often practised the art of blacksmithing. When the quality of the metal in you sword was the difference between life and death, freedom and slavery, this was a very important secret.
Coming up to the 20th century, I've always had an interest in iron as my father was an Ironworker. Both of my brothers followed him into that trade. Of course, today, that means creating sky scrapers from steel and reinforced concrete and has nothing to do with smelting or forging or smithing, nonetheless, iron has always held an allure to me.
Despite the fact that I have read Martha Furnace Diary and other books, I have to confess that the process of smelting iron in the Colonial period remained hazy in my comprehension until I visited Hopewell Furnace recently.
I was visiting this National Historic Site with friends and fellow volunteers from Batsto Village and Atsion Mansion. Barbara Solem, organiziner of the volunteers of Atsion Mansion, arranged this enriching field trip for us and she drove. It was about an hour and a half drive to 2 Mark Bird Lane in Elverson, Pa.
We had a truly generous and fascinating tour guide who, because we were also volunteers, gave us some behind the scenes glipses as well as a fully informative and interesting .tour. This site is miraculously intact, thanks both to the Civilian Conservation Corps and the the Pa. and Fed. governments which recognized its significance and saved it from decay and development into something else.
The furnace and the waterwheel are amazingly intact and between the guide, the film in the fisitors' center, and the buildings, I finally realized the process
from forest and mine to stove and kettle. This blog is too short a place to give you the full story, far too much for a conversation without boring the listener to death, so I'll simply say that we toured an area that dexribed how colliers transformed trees into charcoal, the charcoal storage barn, the bridge to the furnace where the lime, and iron are dumped into the stack in layers and then
the chardoal is set ablaze, the water wheel pumpling the air bellows to increase the heat. Finally at the foot of the furnace was the are where the molten iron ran out into channels to form pig iron, or into huge containers for dipping the molten iron out for molding.
Finally, I understood molding and the molders art thanks to the excellent film in the visotr's center, and voila' we get a stove or a fireplace back (after many steps in between, of course!)
Friends have arrived for a walk and I must stop for now. More later!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Behnd the Scenes - Volunteer Work
I work as a volunteer for a half dozen historic places and the volunteer work can take many varied forms. This past Wednesday, January 9th, for example, I met with six volunteers and the Bayshore Discovery Museum Director, Rachel, for a special winter project. Items that have been donated to the Museum but which are not currently on display are housed in the old Haleyville School, on shelves in the downstairs. The upstairs floor is used as crew quarters for those who work on the A. J. Meerwald Schooner.
Our job was to work in teams of two, and identify, number, describe and measure, items on the shelves to eventually go onto a computer database.
This was a fascinating job. Each team took a different set of shelves to work on.
Perhaps I mentioned that to my surprise, some months ago, I discovered that a new volunteer at Bivalve, Paul Hettinger, whose family were engine manufacturers in the Port Norris area, was also, by coincidence, an old schoolmate of mine. I discovered this when I received an e-mail from my high school reunion committee looking for 'lost' classmates - those for whom no one had any address, phone number or recent contact. Paul's name was on the list, so at our next Bayshore Discovery Project Museum Club meeting I asked if he had graduated from Merchantiville High School in 1963, and he had!
Paul and I worked as a team which was fortunate because my knowledge of boat parts is limited, and Paul had spend his life on or near boats, so he was able to tell me "hinged round cast iron mast bracket with two eyes and shackles" and I could then write it on the paper form of the database and issue a sticker with a number to be attached to the item.
There were those less than exciting items, but there were also such intriguing things as a walrus skull, Native American stone point collections, and boat models!
And it was a treat for me to be working in the old two story Haleyville School as I am a big fan of the little old school house and have enjoyed the Burlington County one-room school house tour on several occasions. Needless to say, South Jersey has many and beautiful little old schoolhouses such as the stone school outside of Greenwich - but that is for another blog entry.
The next day, Thursday, January 10th, I went back to work at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library on my current project for them which is indexing the diary of Ruth Page Rogers. This diary is compelling reading.
Ruth was born in 1820 in Elk Township and the fact that she kept a diary at all is astonishing as it wasn't common for everyone to even be literate, let alone, decide to keep a diary! It is a good thing that she did, however, because her life was both adventurous and unusual.
Ruth first left home to work in a Manayunk textile mill. Imagine the trip she must have taken in 1840 to get there - stage coach, schooner and stage coach again, then no doubt a long walk. She and her mother travelled and worked together. During the year they spent there, the mother discovered herself to be pregnant and Ruth eventually had to support and care for her mother as well as herself.
Having returned home with the family patriarch who eventually went to Manayunk to retrieve his wife and eldest daughter, the family went to hear a couple of visiting Mormon missionaries speak. They were so moved by Samuel Rogers, one of the missionaries, that they saved up, left home and journeyed first to the mid-west, and finally to Utah to join up with the Mormon community there.
In my next blog, I'll let you know what happened when they got there. My job is to list the names and places and their page numbers in Ruth's diary for future researchers.
Finally, the most unusual job of all my volunteer duties this year was to dress as a late 1800's servant and walk up the stairs at Atsion Mansion for a podcast filming. Also, I worked in the kitchen moving apples from one wooden bowl to another. My parts are to be made to look ghostly, using the tools of the filmmaker. When the podcast is finished and posted, I'll be certain to let you know.
The Atsion Mansion volunteers in company with some Batsto volunteers will be going to Hopewell Furnace at the end of the week. I'll tell you all about it in my next blog.
Our job was to work in teams of two, and identify, number, describe and measure, items on the shelves to eventually go onto a computer database.
This was a fascinating job. Each team took a different set of shelves to work on.
Perhaps I mentioned that to my surprise, some months ago, I discovered that a new volunteer at Bivalve, Paul Hettinger, whose family were engine manufacturers in the Port Norris area, was also, by coincidence, an old schoolmate of mine. I discovered this when I received an e-mail from my high school reunion committee looking for 'lost' classmates - those for whom no one had any address, phone number or recent contact. Paul's name was on the list, so at our next Bayshore Discovery Project Museum Club meeting I asked if he had graduated from Merchantiville High School in 1963, and he had!
Paul and I worked as a team which was fortunate because my knowledge of boat parts is limited, and Paul had spend his life on or near boats, so he was able to tell me "hinged round cast iron mast bracket with two eyes and shackles" and I could then write it on the paper form of the database and issue a sticker with a number to be attached to the item.
There were those less than exciting items, but there were also such intriguing things as a walrus skull, Native American stone point collections, and boat models!
And it was a treat for me to be working in the old two story Haleyville School as I am a big fan of the little old school house and have enjoyed the Burlington County one-room school house tour on several occasions. Needless to say, South Jersey has many and beautiful little old schoolhouses such as the stone school outside of Greenwich - but that is for another blog entry.
The next day, Thursday, January 10th, I went back to work at the Gloucester County Historical Society Library on my current project for them which is indexing the diary of Ruth Page Rogers. This diary is compelling reading.
Ruth was born in 1820 in Elk Township and the fact that she kept a diary at all is astonishing as it wasn't common for everyone to even be literate, let alone, decide to keep a diary! It is a good thing that she did, however, because her life was both adventurous and unusual.
Ruth first left home to work in a Manayunk textile mill. Imagine the trip she must have taken in 1840 to get there - stage coach, schooner and stage coach again, then no doubt a long walk. She and her mother travelled and worked together. During the year they spent there, the mother discovered herself to be pregnant and Ruth eventually had to support and care for her mother as well as herself.
Having returned home with the family patriarch who eventually went to Manayunk to retrieve his wife and eldest daughter, the family went to hear a couple of visiting Mormon missionaries speak. They were so moved by Samuel Rogers, one of the missionaries, that they saved up, left home and journeyed first to the mid-west, and finally to Utah to join up with the Mormon community there.
In my next blog, I'll let you know what happened when they got there. My job is to list the names and places and their page numbers in Ruth's diary for future researchers.
Finally, the most unusual job of all my volunteer duties this year was to dress as a late 1800's servant and walk up the stairs at Atsion Mansion for a podcast filming. Also, I worked in the kitchen moving apples from one wooden bowl to another. My parts are to be made to look ghostly, using the tools of the filmmaker. When the podcast is finished and posted, I'll be certain to let you know.
The Atsion Mansion volunteers in company with some Batsto volunteers will be going to Hopewell Furnace at the end of the week. I'll tell you all about it in my next blog.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
More Christmas Time Fun!
Need a gift idea? On Saturday morning, December 15, at 9:00 a.m. three friends and I went to Palmyra Cove Nature Park for a bird-watching course with a Cove ranger. She took us on a three hour hike around several kinds of habitats where we were able to see a dozen kinds of birds. We saw three kinds of ducks, Cardinals and Carolina Wrens, even a Hummingbird who lost her way somehow and ended up alone at the nature center for the winter. We saw a Coopers Hawk and several wild turkeys. It was great fun and a pleasure to hike the park again. I've been there a few times each year in different seasons. This was my favorite hike because I have never been seriously bird-watching before.
The gift idea is, of course, binoculars. I didn't have any, so I bought a pair of Bushnells for about $50 which were perfectly serviceable for a novice, entry level bird watcher. My companions had everything from $300 binoculars to $25 ones. The Park would have provided spares should any of us not have had them, but everyone on this hike (a couple of dozen people were in the group) including my friends, were more experienced bird-watchers than I and all had their own.
I would do it again and I understand there is a full day course in February.
I'd like to see an owl sometime.
My favorite totally unexpected sighting in the past were:
A dead tree filled with big black buzzards in Swedesboro one fall, a tree full of white egrets off of Newton Creek on a kayaking trip one summer evening, and a tree full of red birds I thought were cardinals but I've been told since that cardinals don't flock, so now I don't know what they were! It wa February when I saw them.
Oh, I almost forgot, I saw migrating Purple Martins on the Maurice River last year on a boat trip. It was Captain Dave's trip from Millville, $10.00 on seniors' day (Thursday?) and we saw half a dozen eagles and several once rare
ospreys.
Call1-856-293-0556 to make an appointment for a boat trip. The schedule begins again in May 2013. You could give the binoculars for a gift with info for a promised trip in May!
By the way, we all went to Riverton to a corner cafe called Zena's Patisserie for a delicious lunch and I highly recommend this little place for a good meal in a quaint and interesting town.
Enjoy!
The gift idea is, of course, binoculars. I didn't have any, so I bought a pair of Bushnells for about $50 which were perfectly serviceable for a novice, entry level bird watcher. My companions had everything from $300 binoculars to $25 ones. The Park would have provided spares should any of us not have had them, but everyone on this hike (a couple of dozen people were in the group) including my friends, were more experienced bird-watchers than I and all had their own.
I would do it again and I understand there is a full day course in February.
I'd like to see an owl sometime.
My favorite totally unexpected sighting in the past were:
A dead tree filled with big black buzzards in Swedesboro one fall, a tree full of white egrets off of Newton Creek on a kayaking trip one summer evening, and a tree full of red birds I thought were cardinals but I've been told since that cardinals don't flock, so now I don't know what they were! It wa February when I saw them.
Oh, I almost forgot, I saw migrating Purple Martins on the Maurice River last year on a boat trip. It was Captain Dave's trip from Millville, $10.00 on seniors' day (Thursday?) and we saw half a dozen eagles and several once rare
ospreys.
Call1-856-293-0556 to make an appointment for a boat trip. The schedule begins again in May 2013. You could give the binoculars for a gift with info for a promised trip in May!
By the way, we all went to Riverton to a corner cafe called Zena's Patisserie for a delicious lunch and I highly recommend this little place for a good meal in a quaint and interesting town.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Christmas Shopping HistoricPlaces Style
Forget Walmart and Black Friday, I like to do my Christmas Shopping out in the country. My sister said the best Christmas present I ever gave her was a series of things I picked out at Buzby's General Store in Chatsworth, so I went there last week with my friend Barbara Spector, about whom I have something to say closer to the end. I bought three boxes of notecards, very pretty, and a wooden sign, featuring cardinals, a symbol my sister and I enjoy at Christmas. Then, we took the opportunity to hike at one of my favorite places, Pakim Pond in Lebanon State Forest. What a beautiful day!
Byzby's is up for sale and when it is sold, I will surely miss the fun conversations with Marilyn Schmidt, who has kept the store so lovelingly these years. She was honored recently at Lines On the Pines and she deserved it for her dedication to the history and culture of the Pinebarrens. Buzby's is on the National Register of Historic Places.
On the way home, along route 70, we had the inspiration to stop and see what they had to offer at the Amish market that has opened up there. A woman in a produce building promised Barbara that the basket of apples she bought would truly be crisp. Barbara has been on the hunt for some nice crisp apples for some weeks and has found only somewhat old and mushy ones. I haven't talked to her since she has eaten them but I'll let you know. The name of the apples was New Jersey Crisp! Inside the building, there was a cafe' and we have promised ourselves to have lunch there the next time we are hiking in Lebanon. They also sold cheeses and meats and other craft items. You can know the places by the wooden gazebos and other yard structures on the front property, but ehy have much more to sell than out buildings.
We stopped in another great old New Jersey roadside farm market and I fell in love with a Christmas decoration, a ball of holly and pine greens and ribbons, but it was priced a little high for my wishes. Not that it wasn't worth it, just that at this season, I have so many gifts to buy, I can't afford to spend a lot more on decorations. They wanted $35. Speaking with my sister on the phone afterward, I was told that they sell them at Platt's Farm Market on Cohawkin Road for $25. She said it is a very labor intensive decoration which she has made before when she worked at Platt's. Today, I'm going there and making a return trip to Haynicz,s Orchardview Farm Market as well, which is in Monroeville on the corner of Buck and Elk Roads. They have a delicious peach cider I'm giving as visit gifts to friends over the holidays. I call it a taste of summer in the winter.
The bottles of peach cider are $6 each, very reasonable. I bought some in the summer but then they had many kinds of berry ciders, blackberry, raspberry, and I wish I had known they would be sold out, I'd have bought a half dozen bottles then. Now they have only peach left, but it is delicious.
A note about my friend, Barbara, she has just been victorious in saving the lives of migrating geese in her housing development in Franklinville. You may wonder how that could be since the geese are a federally protected species but it turns out that little municipalities can get permits to kill them that buypass the lasw to protect them. She campaigned tirelessly for other solutions to the problem. We both feel that if you don't want to be around trees and animals stay in the city. It is sad when people come to the country and then cut down the trees so they don't have to blow the leaves, or demand that th native wildlife be exterminated. As Joni Mitchell once sang, "They pave paradise and put up a parking lot."
Anyhow, hope you find some ideas for Christmas Shopping in New Jersey's countryside and also some decorating ideas from this blog entry. Happy Holidays! Also, for entertainment, may I repeat that there are literally dozens of candlelight tours available in our lovely country towns and historic houses. Maybe I'll see you at one. I'm going to Greenwich and Woodstown and don't miss the Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield Dec. 8 and Indian King Tavern on Friday nights. Check them out on the internet for more info.
Byzby's is up for sale and when it is sold, I will surely miss the fun conversations with Marilyn Schmidt, who has kept the store so lovelingly these years. She was honored recently at Lines On the Pines and she deserved it for her dedication to the history and culture of the Pinebarrens. Buzby's is on the National Register of Historic Places.
On the way home, along route 70, we had the inspiration to stop and see what they had to offer at the Amish market that has opened up there. A woman in a produce building promised Barbara that the basket of apples she bought would truly be crisp. Barbara has been on the hunt for some nice crisp apples for some weeks and has found only somewhat old and mushy ones. I haven't talked to her since she has eaten them but I'll let you know. The name of the apples was New Jersey Crisp! Inside the building, there was a cafe' and we have promised ourselves to have lunch there the next time we are hiking in Lebanon. They also sold cheeses and meats and other craft items. You can know the places by the wooden gazebos and other yard structures on the front property, but ehy have much more to sell than out buildings.
We stopped in another great old New Jersey roadside farm market and I fell in love with a Christmas decoration, a ball of holly and pine greens and ribbons, but it was priced a little high for my wishes. Not that it wasn't worth it, just that at this season, I have so many gifts to buy, I can't afford to spend a lot more on decorations. They wanted $35. Speaking with my sister on the phone afterward, I was told that they sell them at Platt's Farm Market on Cohawkin Road for $25. She said it is a very labor intensive decoration which she has made before when she worked at Platt's. Today, I'm going there and making a return trip to Haynicz,s Orchardview Farm Market as well, which is in Monroeville on the corner of Buck and Elk Roads. They have a delicious peach cider I'm giving as visit gifts to friends over the holidays. I call it a taste of summer in the winter.
The bottles of peach cider are $6 each, very reasonable. I bought some in the summer but then they had many kinds of berry ciders, blackberry, raspberry, and I wish I had known they would be sold out, I'd have bought a half dozen bottles then. Now they have only peach left, but it is delicious.
A note about my friend, Barbara, she has just been victorious in saving the lives of migrating geese in her housing development in Franklinville. You may wonder how that could be since the geese are a federally protected species but it turns out that little municipalities can get permits to kill them that buypass the lasw to protect them. She campaigned tirelessly for other solutions to the problem. We both feel that if you don't want to be around trees and animals stay in the city. It is sad when people come to the country and then cut down the trees so they don't have to blow the leaves, or demand that th native wildlife be exterminated. As Joni Mitchell once sang, "They pave paradise and put up a parking lot."
Anyhow, hope you find some ideas for Christmas Shopping in New Jersey's countryside and also some decorating ideas from this blog entry. Happy Holidays! Also, for entertainment, may I repeat that there are literally dozens of candlelight tours available in our lovely country towns and historic houses. Maybe I'll see you at one. I'm going to Greenwich and Woodstown and don't miss the Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield Dec. 8 and Indian King Tavern on Friday nights. Check them out on the internet for more info.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving, One- Room Schools, candlelight tours 2012
This year, Barbara Solem (author of Ghosttowns and Other Quirky Places of the NJ Pinebrrens) and I went on the 'drive yourself' Burlington County On-e Room Schools Tour. It was her birthday gift to me, but as we are both retired from education, it was interesting to both of us.
I had taken this tour previous years when they offered the bus and an on-the-bus tour guide which was very nice but much more expensive. That rip cost $40 per person with a delicious boxed lunch. This tour was $6 per person (varying by age and so on) and you brought or bought your own lunch. We took advantage of the location of Clara Barton's school in Bordentown to have lunch in that town and visit the excellent book store.
These little schools touch my heart and I think of my career ancestors, including Clara Barton, who dedicated their lives to developing a literate society in America. Did we always succeed with every child, of course not, but every teacher I ever knew gave his or her best to the effort. I'm thankful for all the ones who gave me tools to become a lifelong learner.
There are many upcoming events:
Candlelight tours abound - Woodstown on the 7th, Whitall House on the 7th and 8th, Indian King Tavern on succeeding Fridays. And I'm grateful for the kind ladies who put together the luncheons for volunteers this time of year, I'll be enjoying one at Gloucester County Historical Society Library and a Christmas party at Bivalve. It gives all of us volunteers a chance to talk to each other and learn about other projects going on at our sites.
I had taken this tour previous years when they offered the bus and an on-the-bus tour guide which was very nice but much more expensive. That rip cost $40 per person with a delicious boxed lunch. This tour was $6 per person (varying by age and so on) and you brought or bought your own lunch. We took advantage of the location of Clara Barton's school in Bordentown to have lunch in that town and visit the excellent book store.
These little schools touch my heart and I think of my career ancestors, including Clara Barton, who dedicated their lives to developing a literate society in America. Did we always succeed with every child, of course not, but every teacher I ever knew gave his or her best to the effort. I'm thankful for all the ones who gave me tools to become a lifelong learner.
There are many upcoming events:
Candlelight tours abound - Woodstown on the 7th, Whitall House on the 7th and 8th, Indian King Tavern on succeeding Fridays. And I'm grateful for the kind ladies who put together the luncheons for volunteers this time of year, I'll be enjoying one at Gloucester County Historical Society Library and a Christmas party at Bivalve. It gives all of us volunteers a chance to talk to each other and learn about other projects going on at our sites.
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