Happy Halloween!

I could have posted a cemetery picture for Halloween, but how often do you come across an old fashioned coffin?  I saw this one at Greenwich at the Artisan's Faire.  It was a delight to see such beautiful hand-made bowls and pottery and crafts, but my favorite things to visit are always the Red Barn tool museum (home of the coffin you see to the left) and the Swedish granary.   The Swedish Granary is an original log building from the earliest years of the settlement of Southern NJ.  Log structures speak to me.  I've visted many of the ones you can still find in South Jersey, but sadly, this weekend I missed my chance to visit the Swedish Farmstead in Bridgeton.  I was otherwise engaged and I'm not even sure if they held their fund-raiser on Oct. 6.  I would have loved to have gone there if I could however.

October is one of those months when so many things happen that they have to overlap.  Cranberry festivals, harvest festivals, Colonial fairs, and my own personal favorite is our James and Ann Whitall House, Re-enactment of the Battle of Red Bank Oct. 21st, National Park, NJ.  Hope you can come and join us.

On Monday, I did a short volunteer afternoon offering some members of the Daughters of the American Revolution a tour of the oyster sheds and the wharves of the Bayshore Discovery Project.  the Museum Director, Rachel D. is improvising to offer people the best tour possible under the circumstances which are that our musseum is temporarily closed for wood treatment.  Nonetheless, this is such a rich site that there is always plenty to see.  Our gallery is open and the oral history section.  I'll be there again this Friday for 2nd Friday which begins around 5:00.  But even before that, I'll be there Wednesday for our Museum Club.  We discuss history books we've read and we are given tours and take field trips.  Our recent tour included an introduction to the Wetlands Tour given by Emily Foote, and a recent field trip included the Rutgers' University Marine Biology Lab.  Being a volunteer can give you back as much or even more than you give to the project. 

This week, the volunteers of Whitall House, Red Bank Battlefield, National Park, NJ. will visit Morristown, the winter headquarters of Washington and the Continental Army for three winters.  I'll have plenty to tell you about after that trip, I'm sure!