Despite the record low temperature today, two friends and I ventured down to Elmer. We had hoped to visit two places, Talk of the Town Coffee Shop, for refreshment and Elmer Times Company to buy some SJ history books. Unfortunately, an unexpected late start caused us to miss out on the coffee shop but we were not disappointed by the Elmer Times Company!
I only wish I had taken some notes because one of the proprietors, who are brothers, told us how many volumes they carry, but I have forgotten. Just last night, on the phone, making plans with one of my friends, I told her how sorry I was that I hadn't bought the book on Jewish history in South Jersey, that I had seen at the Samuel Azziz Museum in Woodbine. Fortunately, this book was among the holdings at the Elmer Times Company, so she and I were both able to get a copy. My hiking pal, Barb Spector has relatives connected to the Bayuk family, one of the pioneer settling families in the Alliance area.
I had met one of the Fosters before at the Genealogical Society of Salem County monthly lectures which I attend sporadically. Most recently they had offered a lecture on the archaeology of the Wistarburgh Glass House. I don't drive at night anymore due to a vision problem, so when a fellow volunteer from the Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield goes, I can go too as he is kind enough to pick me up and drive me there.
Among the many intriguing treasures I saw at the Elmer Times Company were a collection of gorgeous glass bottles, some of which were Clevenger Glass, and a wonderful old typewriter, one of the earliest models I have ever seen. I have a 1919 Underwood and a 1947 German portable.
It was a great day thanks to the warm hospitality we found at the Elmer Times Company. Elmer is fortunate to have these men who have worked to preserve and share the history of their town. It was through their historical society magazine that I found out about the books they have for sale. They kindly gave me several back issues of the magazine including one on the churches and one on the old schools, that I very much enjoyed.
Next trip, I will try to get to Elmer before 1:00 so I can enjoy a coffee at the Talk of the Town before I stop in at the Elmer Times again, to chat and look at the books.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Elmer
I find inspiration for blog posts in many places, often the same places where I find hints for the next places to visit. This time, I was reading the Greater Elmer Area Historical Society magazine, which I got for free at Friends Village in Woodstown, on Tuesday during the lecture on Wistarburgh Glass Works.
The article I was reading was about small town grocery stores which have great appeal to me for many reasons. One reason is than an ancestor of mine, William C. Garwood (born 1818) was a storekeeper at the Turner Store in Turnersville. in the mid 1800's. He was also a postmaster and a teacher (like me - teacher that is, not postmaster). Also, when I was a child, the corner store was the first place a little kid could go without a parent and actually conduct your own business, which was to buy penny candy.
We would stand before the glass case with its mind boggling array of small candies trying to decide which 5 to buy or whether to splurge on a 2 penny candy. My favorites were a little pie tin and tiny spoon with a chocolate fudge concoction in it. Also, I loved the little wax bottles that you bit the necks off to suck out the sweet liquid inside. Third place were "Dots" - tiny button sized dots of candy on a long strip of white paper like the paper in an adding machine. Other kids liked red peppery jelly fish, but they never appealed to me.
Anyhow, when you were old enough to be trusted, your mom could send you to the corner store, (ours was called "Sam's") for something she needed for dinner, or for lunch meat. You had a white paper note with the money folded in it or you asked Sam to put it "on the book" where it would sit in trust till pay day. I can still remember the smell of the pickles in the barrel and the rye bread. And the fascination of the long 'grabber' - the tool the grocer used to get boxes off the upper shelves. It was a long broom handle with a grabber on the end operated by wires and a grip.
So, now that I've read the beautifully written and detailed article about the grocery stores of Elmer, I want to go and see the buildings that still stand and then get a coffee at the Talk of the Town, Coffee Shoppe, 119 South Main Street, Elmer. Also, I'd like to stop in the Elmer Times Co. and browse their books for sale.
Often I write about places I've already visited and give reviews, but here is one about a place I have yet to see. Maybe I'll run into you there! But it won't be tomorrow. Three friends and I are having lunch at The Robin's Nest in Mt. Holly vor Valentine's Day.
Hope you Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
Jo Ann
The article I was reading was about small town grocery stores which have great appeal to me for many reasons. One reason is than an ancestor of mine, William C. Garwood (born 1818) was a storekeeper at the Turner Store in Turnersville. in the mid 1800's. He was also a postmaster and a teacher (like me - teacher that is, not postmaster). Also, when I was a child, the corner store was the first place a little kid could go without a parent and actually conduct your own business, which was to buy penny candy.
We would stand before the glass case with its mind boggling array of small candies trying to decide which 5 to buy or whether to splurge on a 2 penny candy. My favorites were a little pie tin and tiny spoon with a chocolate fudge concoction in it. Also, I loved the little wax bottles that you bit the necks off to suck out the sweet liquid inside. Third place were "Dots" - tiny button sized dots of candy on a long strip of white paper like the paper in an adding machine. Other kids liked red peppery jelly fish, but they never appealed to me.
Anyhow, when you were old enough to be trusted, your mom could send you to the corner store, (ours was called "Sam's") for something she needed for dinner, or for lunch meat. You had a white paper note with the money folded in it or you asked Sam to put it "on the book" where it would sit in trust till pay day. I can still remember the smell of the pickles in the barrel and the rye bread. And the fascination of the long 'grabber' - the tool the grocer used to get boxes off the upper shelves. It was a long broom handle with a grabber on the end operated by wires and a grip.
So, now that I've read the beautifully written and detailed article about the grocery stores of Elmer, I want to go and see the buildings that still stand and then get a coffee at the Talk of the Town, Coffee Shoppe, 119 South Main Street, Elmer. Also, I'd like to stop in the Elmer Times Co. and browse their books for sale.
Often I write about places I've already visited and give reviews, but here is one about a place I have yet to see. Maybe I'll run into you there! But it won't be tomorrow. Three friends and I are having lunch at The Robin's Nest in Mt. Holly vor Valentine's Day.
Hope you Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
Jo Ann
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Wistarburgh Glass and teh GSSC
On Tuesday, February 10, 2015, the Pennsville Historical Society hosted a lecture on the current Archaeological findings at the site of the Wistarburgh Glass Works in Salem County. The speaker was Bill Liebknecht, and he brought a large map, several types of artifacts, and gave an excellent power point presentation.
Glass was on my mind recently after my trip to the Grist Mill Antique Center in Pemberton where several beautiful collections of various kinds of glass were on display, including a fascinating display of green glass that glowed under fluorescent lighting.
So intrigued was I by this story of a German immigrant, Caspar Wistar, establishing this first successful glass factory in South Jersey, that I bought a book from amazon.com which I now eagerly await.
Needless to say, Wistarburgh being the earliest glass works in the colonies, I have no intention of ever trying to collect any Wistarburgh glass wich is highly sought after and extremely rare. But I can afford to learn about it.
Glass is such a mysterious and fascinating material, created from the most common, material, sand, and transformed by fire into this beautiful translucent material through the living breath of glass blowers. One very interesting fact I learned at the lecture was that New Jersey sand was particularly well suited to glass making because it is wind blown and all the particles are the same size which makes them heat and melt at the same rate. Sand of different size particles can't melt at an even rate which is a big problem. I'd like to know more about this and may have to make another expedition to the Wheaton Village where glass blowing actually takes place and wonderful displays of glass are offered.
It was delightful to visit again with Bonnie Beth Elwell, the brilliant and devoted President of the Genealogical Society (http://gsscnj.org/) of Salem County. She is a marvelously warm, charming and talented local historian and genealogist.
Just spent the morning reading the Elmer Times which I always get at the GSSC meetings and enjoy for days afterward, especially Bonnie Beth's column Ancestor's Attic. Even before Wheaton, I plan to visit Elmer and check out the history book store at the Elmer Times Co..
21 State Street, Elmer, NJ 08318
Happy Valentines' Day to all you History Lovers!
Jo Ann
Glass was on my mind recently after my trip to the Grist Mill Antique Center in Pemberton where several beautiful collections of various kinds of glass were on display, including a fascinating display of green glass that glowed under fluorescent lighting.
So intrigued was I by this story of a German immigrant, Caspar Wistar, establishing this first successful glass factory in South Jersey, that I bought a book from amazon.com which I now eagerly await.
Needless to say, Wistarburgh being the earliest glass works in the colonies, I have no intention of ever trying to collect any Wistarburgh glass wich is highly sought after and extremely rare. But I can afford to learn about it.
Glass is such a mysterious and fascinating material, created from the most common, material, sand, and transformed by fire into this beautiful translucent material through the living breath of glass blowers. One very interesting fact I learned at the lecture was that New Jersey sand was particularly well suited to glass making because it is wind blown and all the particles are the same size which makes them heat and melt at the same rate. Sand of different size particles can't melt at an even rate which is a big problem. I'd like to know more about this and may have to make another expedition to the Wheaton Village where glass blowing actually takes place and wonderful displays of glass are offered.
It was delightful to visit again with Bonnie Beth Elwell, the brilliant and devoted President of the Genealogical Society (http://gsscnj.org/) of Salem County. She is a marvelously warm, charming and talented local historian and genealogist.
Just spent the morning reading the Elmer Times which I always get at the GSSC meetings and enjoy for days afterward, especially Bonnie Beth's column Ancestor's Attic. Even before Wheaton, I plan to visit Elmer and check out the history book store at the Elmer Times Co..
21 State Street, Elmer, NJ 08318
Happy Valentines' Day to all you History Lovers!
Jo Ann
Thursday, February 5, 2015
PembertonandWrightstown
Today, Thursday, February 5, 2015, my intrepid explorer buddy, Barb Spector, and I drove to Pemberton to visit the Grist Mill Antique Center and then to Wrightstown to have lunch at Sebastian's Schnitzel Haus.
The Grist Mill Antique Center is just packed with delightful and charming items of which I selected three to purchase: a LYONS TEA tin, because it was my Great-Aunt's name, a vintage Valentine for myself, and a delightful hand-painted wooden house because I collect them. The ladies were very helpful and we commiserated over the great sad event of the closing of the Pemberton Train Station Museum, which I LOVED and mourn. Some petty political dispute brought about the disaster of the closing of the museum and worst of all, the trains which had been donated and sat on rails outside the museum were scrapped. Yes, I said 'scrapped' - it is a CRIME! The last time I visited the train station, a large crowd of happy families, hikers, mountain bikers, and train enthusiasts were touring, and enjoying the trains, the museum and the rails-to-trails hiking and biking path. It was truly delightful.
Today, when we drove there, the hiking trail was frozen over, and empty and the ghosts of the trains that had been entrusted to the enterprise cried out to me.
We couldn't hike the rails-to-trails path because it was a sheet of ice. Three other hikers came off the trail and told us it was wretched and not to try it. We didn't have our trax with us, so we passed it up for this trip. Maybe in the spring or summer we'll try again.
So, on to Wrightstown which I have long wanted to visit since my name is Wright!!
There really isn't much town there, but to me, an amusing, string of restaurants offering cuisine from foreign lands: You can get Mexican tacos, Shishkebabs, Italian or French. We opted for German and were warmly welcomed into Sebastian's Schnitzel Haus. I suppose being in the neighborhood of Fort Dix has spawned this array of foreign food eateries, to give soldiers returning from overseas duty, a taste of the place they left.
Naturally, being vegetarians, we didn't order the schnitzel so I can't really say anything about the traditional foods. We settled for potato pancakes, salad, and were given a free sample of spaetzle, a kind of egg noodle which I love.
All in all, despite the frigid temperatures, we found a warm welcome in Pemberton and at Sebastian's. I only wish the train station museum could have been saved. It was a treasure. I'm glad the grist mill found a new use. It is sad for the mills to disappear when they were the center of life for so many villages and towns in the past.
Happy Trails! Happy Valentines Day to you too - maybe take a date or a best pal to Sebastians for lunch or dinner and get a vintage Valentine at the Grist Mill!
The Grist Mill Antique Center is just packed with delightful and charming items of which I selected three to purchase: a LYONS TEA tin, because it was my Great-Aunt's name, a vintage Valentine for myself, and a delightful hand-painted wooden house because I collect them. The ladies were very helpful and we commiserated over the great sad event of the closing of the Pemberton Train Station Museum, which I LOVED and mourn. Some petty political dispute brought about the disaster of the closing of the museum and worst of all, the trains which had been donated and sat on rails outside the museum were scrapped. Yes, I said 'scrapped' - it is a CRIME! The last time I visited the train station, a large crowd of happy families, hikers, mountain bikers, and train enthusiasts were touring, and enjoying the trains, the museum and the rails-to-trails hiking and biking path. It was truly delightful.
Today, when we drove there, the hiking trail was frozen over, and empty and the ghosts of the trains that had been entrusted to the enterprise cried out to me.
We couldn't hike the rails-to-trails path because it was a sheet of ice. Three other hikers came off the trail and told us it was wretched and not to try it. We didn't have our trax with us, so we passed it up for this trip. Maybe in the spring or summer we'll try again.
So, on to Wrightstown which I have long wanted to visit since my name is Wright!!
There really isn't much town there, but to me, an amusing, string of restaurants offering cuisine from foreign lands: You can get Mexican tacos, Shishkebabs, Italian or French. We opted for German and were warmly welcomed into Sebastian's Schnitzel Haus. I suppose being in the neighborhood of Fort Dix has spawned this array of foreign food eateries, to give soldiers returning from overseas duty, a taste of the place they left.
Naturally, being vegetarians, we didn't order the schnitzel so I can't really say anything about the traditional foods. We settled for potato pancakes, salad, and were given a free sample of spaetzle, a kind of egg noodle which I love.
All in all, despite the frigid temperatures, we found a warm welcome in Pemberton and at Sebastian's. I only wish the train station museum could have been saved. It was a treasure. I'm glad the grist mill found a new use. It is sad for the mills to disappear when they were the center of life for so many villages and towns in the past.
Happy Trails! Happy Valentines Day to you too - maybe take a date or a best pal to Sebastians for lunch or dinner and get a vintage Valentine at the Grist Mill!
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Gene Shay's last broadcast after 60 years!
Today, from 3:00 to 6:00 is Gene Shay's last broadcast after a 60 year career in radio. He also founded the Philadelphia Folk Festival in Schwenksville, Pa. in 1962. I went there for 25 years! If you have loved folk music, then you know Gene Shay's name.
But, we have our own venerable musical site - Albert Hall. I haven't been there this year due to vision problems driving at night, but I LOVED it when I went regularly and hope to get back again when the days grow longer. If you haven't ever been there, you should go. The music is wonderful! It is a mix of folk, country, and local plus musician traveling the area.
Here is the address and they have an excellent web site:
http://www.alberthall.org/
But, we have our own venerable musical site - Albert Hall. I haven't been there this year due to vision problems driving at night, but I LOVED it when I went regularly and hope to get back again when the days grow longer. If you haven't ever been there, you should go. The music is wonderful! It is a mix of folk, country, and local plus musician traveling the area.
Here is the address and they have an excellent web site:
GPS Address: 131 Wells Mills Road (Rt. 532)
Postal Address: P.O. Box 657
Waretown, NJ 08758http://www.alberthall.org/
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