Today, I enjoyed a very relaxing and rejuvenation hour of Chair Yoga, FREE!! at the Haddon Twp. Library on MacArthur Blvd in Westmont.
If you have ever taken yoga, then you are familiar with the asanas, or 'poses' that are used to help you gently stretch, relax, and strengthen your muscles all in a meditative state with coordinated breathing. Poses such as The Sun Salute, the Eagle, The Cat and Dog, the Warrior, are adapted for those who require the support of a chair, mostly those of us who have had knee problems, back issues,or hip problems.
Using the chair to do the adapted poses reduces strain and stress, and allows you to gently stretch your muscles and open your joints. Using the chair for standing poses also helps you to practice balance with support. The class ends with meditation which has been proven scientifically to improve a number of things including your blood pressure, your brain function, your mood and attitude.
Haddon Twp. had offered a 4 week course earlier in this year. This particular class was a once a month. There will be another on Sept. 17, but you must register on-line or call in and register. The class fills up.
There are many yoga studios around as I am sure any one who is interested has already discovered. Practically every town has one which is a good thing as we could ALL use a little relaxation and calming. Collingswood has one, Haddonfield has one and the Collingswood community center has offered chair yoga which I have taken in the past as well. The Haddon Twp. Library class is FREE, however, which makes it different. Also in Collingswood there is Lady of Lourdes Wellness Center on Haddon Ave. in a building called the Little Portion where they also hold pay for classes in every level of yoga.
If you don't mind paying a small fee, Audubon Community Ed. Brochure recently came out and there is a Chair Yoga beginning on Thursdays, November 29, for 4 weeks for $35 from 6:30 to 8:00
Call 856-547-7695 ext. 4186 for more information or pick up a brochure at Collingswood Libr., Haddon Twp. Libs. in a week or two. You could take the free class on Sept. 17 and pick up a brochure at Haddon Twp. Libs. that way you could see if you like it before you pay to take more classes.
If you want to spice up your exercise routine a little there were a number of dance options in the Audubon brochure as well. I thought line dancing seemed like fun.
And to follow up on my previous post, there were 5 courses on dogs available in the Audubon Community Ed. brochure as well!
Happy Trails, Happy Tails!
Jo Ann
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Monday, August 27, 2018
Dog Days of Summer - Dog Training, Dog Parks, Dog Grooming - More
Tribe died in June, and though my friends advised me to wait, after a week without a dog, I was so lonely, I called in a favor and had an animal volunteer friend go with me to Camden County Shelter to look for a dog.
Which I found! UMA! But there was no honeymoon. Camden County Shelter here on in to be known as CCS, gave me some back story: Uma had been used as a breeding dog and her humans had abandoned her and her male partner, left them in the yard and moved away. After a time, Uma and her partner escaped the yard and were wandering the roads until animal control got them and took them to the shelter. I don't know how CCS got her story, only what they told me. She was found on Uma Thurman Road, so they named the boy Thurman, and her Uma. He got adopted immediately and she languished for an addition 5 weeks or so.
For many reasons, she went right into my heart and I took her home same day. Then all hell broke loose. At first I thought she was insane. I have had dogs my whole life but never had one like this before. She jumped all over me, when I stood or was seated. I couldn't walk her on the leash. She went berserk when she saw other dogs. Should could pry her way out of or squeeze her way through any kind of enclosure including my cat door!
A friend recommended some women who had helped a neighbor and for $400 and 6 visits, they helped me too. They brought prong collar, 'gentle leader' treats, and after 6 weeks, I could actually walk Uma on a leash. And I could reduce her jumping.
However, we had several incidents thereafter that made me feel I needed more help. So, I phoned the Vet, Dr. Ed Sheehen, Fairview, NJ, and his office recommended Steve Spence "Zen Natural Dog Training 856-366-6277. Steve came today for a free consultation and evaluation and I am very encouraged and optimistic. I will keep you informed as it moves forward. You can learn more about them at www.facebook.com/trainandog
But I can tell you he trains therapy dogs and police dogs and has a daycamp and residential training available. There are also several levels of training avail. We opted for beginner with an option to upgrade to long-term at the end of our contract. Our first training will be this Friday and I will keep you informed!
At the end of our first 6 weeks of training with Janice Barlow, we were able to celebrate with a trainer assisted visit to Big Timber Creek Dog Park, Blackwood, off Chews Landing Road. This is the best dog park there is. I have visited many and spoken to numerous people, some who have even done dog park tourism, and everyone agrees this is the BEST. There is a fenced in area roughly one mile in circumference, entirely wooded with a circular path, off leash. There is also a series of trails through the woods, one of which leads to an old, and entirely safe Horse Pond where dogs swim in summer. The Dog Park used to be Slim's Horse Back Riding Ranch in the long ago. There is a nice parking lot with bathrooms and facilities for disabled, and a nice upper paved oval pasture.
WARNING: This is entirely my own opinion, but I would NOT bring a small dog, a young puppy or very small children to the off leash part of the park. Many big dogs go romping around and running full tilt, it is their park, after all, and I don't think it is safe for little ones. There have been several flyers over the years, complaining about injured or killed small dogs. Virtually ALL the dog people are responsible, kind, and interesting people, but there have also been a few complaints about people dropping off big dogs and not monitoring their dogs in the off leash area. Personally, I stick to Monday through Friday, less dogs, less people, less potential for trouble. I have only endured one incident myself, and that was when my old dog, the one who passed away, got into a minor dog scrum with two other dogs. Usually this kind of thing ends with folks pulling their dogs off, checking them, and moving on. But I ran into a camo-clad angry guy who cursed and threatened me and my dog and I didn't go back for a couple of years.
Still, I am back there now with new dog and I highly recommend this park.
Recommended Vet: Dr. Ed. Sheehan, Fairview
Recommended Dog Groomer, the Dog House, in Audubon. These folks are kind, thorough, delightful people with a charming shop and very reasonable rates. I took my old dog there for many years. So far I haven't had to take new dog and hoping not to have to take her until a little more training.
There is training at PetSmart and I was signed up but I am thinking Steve Spence and Zen Natural Dog Training is going to be more effective.
Any questions or comments you can e-mail me at
wrightj45@yahoo.com
Happy Trails and Happy Tails!
Jo Ann
Which I found! UMA! But there was no honeymoon. Camden County Shelter here on in to be known as CCS, gave me some back story: Uma had been used as a breeding dog and her humans had abandoned her and her male partner, left them in the yard and moved away. After a time, Uma and her partner escaped the yard and were wandering the roads until animal control got them and took them to the shelter. I don't know how CCS got her story, only what they told me. She was found on Uma Thurman Road, so they named the boy Thurman, and her Uma. He got adopted immediately and she languished for an addition 5 weeks or so.
For many reasons, she went right into my heart and I took her home same day. Then all hell broke loose. At first I thought she was insane. I have had dogs my whole life but never had one like this before. She jumped all over me, when I stood or was seated. I couldn't walk her on the leash. She went berserk when she saw other dogs. Should could pry her way out of or squeeze her way through any kind of enclosure including my cat door!
A friend recommended some women who had helped a neighbor and for $400 and 6 visits, they helped me too. They brought prong collar, 'gentle leader' treats, and after 6 weeks, I could actually walk Uma on a leash. And I could reduce her jumping.
However, we had several incidents thereafter that made me feel I needed more help. So, I phoned the Vet, Dr. Ed Sheehen, Fairview, NJ, and his office recommended Steve Spence "Zen Natural Dog Training 856-366-6277. Steve came today for a free consultation and evaluation and I am very encouraged and optimistic. I will keep you informed as it moves forward. You can learn more about them at www.facebook.com/trainandog
But I can tell you he trains therapy dogs and police dogs and has a daycamp and residential training available. There are also several levels of training avail. We opted for beginner with an option to upgrade to long-term at the end of our contract. Our first training will be this Friday and I will keep you informed!
At the end of our first 6 weeks of training with Janice Barlow, we were able to celebrate with a trainer assisted visit to Big Timber Creek Dog Park, Blackwood, off Chews Landing Road. This is the best dog park there is. I have visited many and spoken to numerous people, some who have even done dog park tourism, and everyone agrees this is the BEST. There is a fenced in area roughly one mile in circumference, entirely wooded with a circular path, off leash. There is also a series of trails through the woods, one of which leads to an old, and entirely safe Horse Pond where dogs swim in summer. The Dog Park used to be Slim's Horse Back Riding Ranch in the long ago. There is a nice parking lot with bathrooms and facilities for disabled, and a nice upper paved oval pasture.
WARNING: This is entirely my own opinion, but I would NOT bring a small dog, a young puppy or very small children to the off leash part of the park. Many big dogs go romping around and running full tilt, it is their park, after all, and I don't think it is safe for little ones. There have been several flyers over the years, complaining about injured or killed small dogs. Virtually ALL the dog people are responsible, kind, and interesting people, but there have also been a few complaints about people dropping off big dogs and not monitoring their dogs in the off leash area. Personally, I stick to Monday through Friday, less dogs, less people, less potential for trouble. I have only endured one incident myself, and that was when my old dog, the one who passed away, got into a minor dog scrum with two other dogs. Usually this kind of thing ends with folks pulling their dogs off, checking them, and moving on. But I ran into a camo-clad angry guy who cursed and threatened me and my dog and I didn't go back for a couple of years.
Still, I am back there now with new dog and I highly recommend this park.
Recommended Vet: Dr. Ed. Sheehan, Fairview
Recommended Dog Groomer, the Dog House, in Audubon. These folks are kind, thorough, delightful people with a charming shop and very reasonable rates. I took my old dog there for many years. So far I haven't had to take new dog and hoping not to have to take her until a little more training.
There is training at PetSmart and I was signed up but I am thinking Steve Spence and Zen Natural Dog Training is going to be more effective.
Any questions or comments you can e-mail me at
wrightj45@yahoo.com
Happy Trails and Happy Tails!
Jo Ann
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Private Home Historic Architecture & Songs of WWII
This just in:
The following program will take place tomorrow night at 7:00pm at the Burlington County Lyceum of History and Natural Sciences (307 High Street, Mount Holly). Please pass the information along to friends, family, etc.
The Langstaff family build their home on High Street in 1830. Tour the home and learn about the architecture, much original to the home. Then learn about the family through a PowerPoint presentation. How did James Langstaff aquire his wealth? What is their connection to Kentucky? Come find out Thursday, August 23 at 7:00pm.
Sorry I can't attend this one but I don't drive at night anymore due to my degenerating cornea. I have Fuch's Dystrophy. It doesn't stop me from daytime driving for from reading or painting but my night vision is awful.
ALSO - A REVIEW of a program.
I heard Dr. Winkler's program on the Songs of World War II at Cherry Hill library on Tuesday and if you ever get the chance to hear him speak, you should do it.
By this point, I am a kind of connoisseur of speakers, having done presentations myself and attended literally hundreds.
What I really enjoyed about Dr. Winkler's presentation was the clever choice of anecdote to go with each song. It was to the point, amusing or amazing and he didn't fall into the temptation to go on and on with it. He picked a perfect short bit and told it then played an appropriate amount of the song to go with it.
I can't remember all the songs and stories but one that stuck in my mind was about a Chaplain who despite his pacifism, joined the navy in WWII and helped his fellow sailors shoulder the shells to load the gun on their ship at a point where his help was desperately needed, from that incident came the song "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition." Dr. Winkler has been lobbying to have a plaque put at the house of this Chaplain which is in Haddonfield.
The event was very well attended and despite the fact that the sound system went down, we could all hear Dr. Winkler very well. There were songs sung by Kate Smith, and many other beloved favorites from the era. It brought tears to my eyes because it was like visiting with my mother and father. I could hear some people softly singing along with the songs - ver moving!
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Homage to Aretha Franklin
Today when I pulled up to the parking area in front of my gym, Planet Fitness, I had the window down in my car. WXPN 88.5 was playing R E S P E C T by Aretha Franklin and I was surprised to hear all the other radios in the parking lot were playing Aretha too! At first I thought we all had the same radio station on, but then I got into the gym and saw on CNN that Aretha Franklin, aged 76, was dead after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.
R E S P E C T find out what it means to me!
The song was originally written b Otis Redding, another favorite of mine (Try a Little Tenderness still makes me cry) in 1965 two years after I graduated from high school, and became a hit for Aretha Franklin in 1967, the year I got married and turned 21 and the year Otis Redding died in a plane crash.
Last night I watched the 5 hour documentary about Woodstock and thought about all the stars of that event who are now gone: Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Jerry Garcia and also I contemplated our youth and beauty gone like a season.
My car isn't working very well at present, or I would go to Albert Music Hall in Watertown this Saturday night and celebrate the long life of music. However, I will be a guest in the car of a friend for a lecture on Lewis and Clark at the Cherry Hill Library that evening instead.
Happy Trails - PEACE ☮ LOVE 💗 AND 🙏 RESPECT
R E S P E C T find out what it means to me!
The song was originally written b Otis Redding, another favorite of mine (Try a Little Tenderness still makes me cry) in 1965 two years after I graduated from high school, and became a hit for Aretha Franklin in 1967, the year I got married and turned 21 and the year Otis Redding died in a plane crash.
Last night I watched the 5 hour documentary about Woodstock and thought about all the stars of that event who are now gone: Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Jerry Garcia and also I contemplated our youth and beauty gone like a season.
My car isn't working very well at present, or I would go to Albert Music Hall in Watertown this Saturday night and celebrate the long life of music. However, I will be a guest in the car of a friend for a lecture on Lewis and Clark at the Cherry Hill Library that evening instead.
Happy Trails - PEACE ☮ LOVE 💗 AND 🙏 RESPECT
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
This Day In History: 08/17/1969 - Woodstock Concludes. On this day in 1969, the grooviest event in music history--the Woodstock Music Festival--draws to a close after three days of peace, love and rock 'n' roll in upstate New York.
Just a few minutes ago, I just sat in my car and listened to Joni Mitchell sing the song she wrote for the festival. I wasn't there either. We had been there other years, but that year, I was in Germany with my then husband who had been drafted.
It actually brought a tear to my eye because it was as though that even epitomized our youth which is now gone. We baby boomers are all old now, but it ha its benefits:
1. I am retired FREE FREE FREE!!!
2. I am a healthy oldster and can walk the dog and go to the gym
3. I have a nice little house surrounded by trees and so I feel that I have "Got myself back to the Garden."
4. These years are "Golden" to me to quote Joni again.
5. Those years began the environmental movement, the vegetarian movement, the peace movement and the beginning of the marijuana movement.
PEACE ☮ ☮ LOVE 💙💙 ROCK & ROLL💗💗💚💚💚
Just a few minutes ago, I just sat in my car and listened to Joni Mitchell sing the song she wrote for the festival. I wasn't there either. We had been there other years, but that year, I was in Germany with my then husband who had been drafted.
It actually brought a tear to my eye because it was as though that even epitomized our youth which is now gone. We baby boomers are all old now, but it ha its benefits:
1. I am retired FREE FREE FREE!!!
2. I am a healthy oldster and can walk the dog and go to the gym
3. I have a nice little house surrounded by trees and so I feel that I have "Got myself back to the Garden."
4. These years are "Golden" to me to quote Joni again.
5. Those years began the environmental movement, the vegetarian movement, the peace movement and the beginning of the marijuana movement.
PEACE ☮ ☮ LOVE 💙💙 ROCK & ROLL💗💗💚💚💚
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Comments
Today I received an e-mail comment by another South Jersey Magazine (the old history one, edited by Shirley Bailey).
Since early on friends told me they had trouble with the 'comments' function on this blog, periodically, I have posted my e-mail in case you want to comment on a blog post and can't get through comments:
wrightj45@yahoo.com
Also, the recent e-mail was very inspiring because the man who commented said that he too enjoyed South Jersey Magazine so much that he was working on scanning it and putting it on the computer to be a resource for others! BRAVO! What a great effort. I love to hear from history buffs doing good things in the world, Thank You!
Since early on friends told me they had trouble with the 'comments' function on this blog, periodically, I have posted my e-mail in case you want to comment on a blog post and can't get through comments:
wrightj45@yahoo.com
Also, the recent e-mail was very inspiring because the man who commented said that he too enjoyed South Jersey Magazine so much that he was working on scanning it and putting it on the computer to be a resource for others! BRAVO! What a great effort. I love to hear from history buffs doing good things in the world, Thank You!
Reads that changed my world
Walking in Timber Creek Dog Park a couple of days ago, I met some out-of-state young people with a Black Lab who were touring dog parks, the second time that has happened! AS it turned out, the young man was wearing a t-shirt that said "I Love Veggie Burgers" and we got to talking about vegetarianism and veganism, an interesting topic to me, a vegetarian, and friend of other vegetarians and some vegan activists! I mentioned the book that had turned me into a vegetarian, Diet For A Small Planet, Frances Moore Lappe.
The young man was interested and looked it up on his phone. When I got home, I looked it up too and bought another copy from amazon.com.
It made me think of other books that changed my MIND! Not favorite novels, that's a whole different list, but books that made big changes in the way I THINK. And BE HERE NOW, by Richard Alpert (aka Baba Ram Dass certainly factors in.
Almost once a day, when I find myself caught in some unpleasant thinking loop, an anxiety, an irritation, impatience, worries about the future, I say, outlaid, in an advertiser voice BE HERE NOW! and it snaps me out of it and brings me back to my, fortunately, blissful present.
I live in a pleasant, cosy little bungalow, with a nice dog, some cats, a gorgeous backyard, a safe and friendly small town, and an adequate income thanks to my pre-retirement career as a teacher. I have room for comparison. I was born in South Philadelphia and we lived in a brick row home under the stacks of the beer brewer Publickers (Oh the stench) and for the first decade or two after my father got out of the navy and went to work as an Ironworker, things were tight. Neither of my parents had been able to finish high school thanks to the depression, and both had been orphaned.
My father's father was killed by a hit and run driver and his mother really had to be resourceful to support her three sons and her niece. My mother had been orphaned as a small child with her two sisters.
The gifts that nature gave me, a good intelligence, a good character, a love of reading, made it possible for me to continually improve my life from high school, to work, to college, to teaching. And books like Be Here Now, helped me to learn to direct my thinking in positive and helpful ways rather than to be tossed around by unrestrained emotion or unexamined thoughts.
Diet for a Small Planet, taught me to consider my healthy and the connection between the personal choices we make in food and the impact on our environment and the living organism that is Planet Earth.
So I wanted to honor these two books that shaped my life and perhaps inspire someone else to get a copy and find the benefit!
Happy Trails, whether they are in the woods or in the mind!
Jo Ann
The young man was interested and looked it up on his phone. When I got home, I looked it up too and bought another copy from amazon.com.
It made me think of other books that changed my MIND! Not favorite novels, that's a whole different list, but books that made big changes in the way I THINK. And BE HERE NOW, by Richard Alpert (aka Baba Ram Dass certainly factors in.
Almost once a day, when I find myself caught in some unpleasant thinking loop, an anxiety, an irritation, impatience, worries about the future, I say, outlaid, in an advertiser voice BE HERE NOW! and it snaps me out of it and brings me back to my, fortunately, blissful present.
I live in a pleasant, cosy little bungalow, with a nice dog, some cats, a gorgeous backyard, a safe and friendly small town, and an adequate income thanks to my pre-retirement career as a teacher. I have room for comparison. I was born in South Philadelphia and we lived in a brick row home under the stacks of the beer brewer Publickers (Oh the stench) and for the first decade or two after my father got out of the navy and went to work as an Ironworker, things were tight. Neither of my parents had been able to finish high school thanks to the depression, and both had been orphaned.
My father's father was killed by a hit and run driver and his mother really had to be resourceful to support her three sons and her niece. My mother had been orphaned as a small child with her two sisters.
The gifts that nature gave me, a good intelligence, a good character, a love of reading, made it possible for me to continually improve my life from high school, to work, to college, to teaching. And books like Be Here Now, helped me to learn to direct my thinking in positive and helpful ways rather than to be tossed around by unrestrained emotion or unexamined thoughts.
Diet for a Small Planet, taught me to consider my healthy and the connection between the personal choices we make in food and the impact on our environment and the living organism that is Planet Earth.
So I wanted to honor these two books that shaped my life and perhaps inspire someone else to get a copy and find the benefit!
Happy Trails, whether they are in the woods or in the mind!
Jo Ann
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Haddon Heights Concert Site
The concert venue formerly known as Haddon Heights Dell, and renamed to honor two patrolmen who lost their lives in the line of duty in April 1995, Patrolman John Norcross and Investigator John McLaughlin, will be renovated.
Two more concerts will be held in the old venue Sundown Music series, August 15 at 7:30 p.m. featuring The National Reserve, and on Aug. 21 and 23, the Haddon Heights Village Playbox will perform love songs. So if you want to see the old Dell in it's former glory before it is refurbished, come on out for the music.
The renovations, set to begin in autumn, are expected to be completed in time for the 2019 Sundown series season.
Across from the Dell is the hill and slope where my daughter and her friends used to sled on snowy days off from school years ago. I can think back to those days and hear the kids shouting and almost feel the cool snow on this blazing hot August 8th Wednesday.
While I am on the subject of this blazing hot day, I would like to mention as successful visit of my new dog to the Big Timber Creek Dog Park today. It is located in Blackwood off Chews Landing Road. There were two or three friendly young couples with friendly dogs who were happy to sniff and be sniffed by my dog. I was so worried about this first time visit to the park, but our dog trainer, Janice Barlow, made the event safe, calm and wonderful. I plan to go every day so my dog can enjoy the shade, the dogs, and the freedom from the leash. It has a leash free park, and bridle paths from the old horseback retiring days of Slim's Ranch which I have mentioned in previous blogs.
We began at the Woodbury Dog Park but it is shadeless and it was a scorching desert, so we headed over to the shady glade of Big Timber instead.
Happy Trails and Happy Tails!
Jo Ann
ps. Haddon Heights Park is also a great place to walk and to walk your dog!
Two more concerts will be held in the old venue Sundown Music series, August 15 at 7:30 p.m. featuring The National Reserve, and on Aug. 21 and 23, the Haddon Heights Village Playbox will perform love songs. So if you want to see the old Dell in it's former glory before it is refurbished, come on out for the music.
The renovations, set to begin in autumn, are expected to be completed in time for the 2019 Sundown series season.
Across from the Dell is the hill and slope where my daughter and her friends used to sled on snowy days off from school years ago. I can think back to those days and hear the kids shouting and almost feel the cool snow on this blazing hot August 8th Wednesday.
While I am on the subject of this blazing hot day, I would like to mention as successful visit of my new dog to the Big Timber Creek Dog Park today. It is located in Blackwood off Chews Landing Road. There were two or three friendly young couples with friendly dogs who were happy to sniff and be sniffed by my dog. I was so worried about this first time visit to the park, but our dog trainer, Janice Barlow, made the event safe, calm and wonderful. I plan to go every day so my dog can enjoy the shade, the dogs, and the freedom from the leash. It has a leash free park, and bridle paths from the old horseback retiring days of Slim's Ranch which I have mentioned in previous blogs.
We began at the Woodbury Dog Park but it is shadeless and it was a scorching desert, so we headed over to the shady glade of Big Timber instead.
Happy Trails and Happy Tails!
Jo Ann
ps. Haddon Heights Park is also a great place to walk and to walk your dog!
Storytelling in South Jersey
What prompted this blog entry was a cover story in the SJ LIFE section of the Sunday Courier Post, Aug. 5.
"That same communal spirit flutters within the Butterfly, a monthly storytelling forum hosted by Perkins Center for the Arts in Collingswood. Held on the fourth Tuesday of each month except July and August....competitive storytelling forums such as The Moth, World Cafe' Live in Philadelphia."
Pop-up events are taking place in libraries, book stores, nursing homes, and festivals all over South Jersey.
This particular article definitely caught my attention because one of my dearest and longest friendships has been with a professional storyteller named Dorothy Stanaitis. She is one of the performers who has worked in Summer Camps, Nursing Homes, Senior Centers, Nursery Schools and Libraries. Last year, I attended one of her programs "Immigrant Girls" at a Friends Meeting House in Woodstown.
Although I have not been a professional storyteller, as have several of my friends, including Tom Clapham, retired from Cherry Hill Library and a long-ago, long-time storyteller and member of Storytelling Guild, I have written a number of short stories and have both a great respect for and interest in the STORY.
Needless to say, we all tell stories, with varying degrees of skill, all the time. Just recently at a coffee house, I was sitting with a close friend and two strangers and we were exchanging stories. One of the strangers told us how she and her retired firefighter met in an online dating forum. The retired firefighter and my friend exchanged stories about their recent knee replacement experiences. As our conversations moved along the internet romance story led to a story from my friend about a woman she knew who was currently in Turkey meeting the family of a young man she had met in an online dating forum. This reminded me of a story from my long long ago days as an ESL teacher.
One day when I showed up to tutor three children from India, a small vivacious, blonde woman in her sixties emerged from a red convertible and begged me to help her get into the house and talk to the children. I said that of course, I could not do that, that I was their English language tutor only and couldn't compromise them in any way. She insisted she was their mother. I went into the house and asked the children and they said she was NOT their mother.
Back outside, further inquiries elicited the following details. The father of the children had met the woman when he worked as a bus boy at a local diner. She was recently widowed. He was here in the U.S. alone on a work visa. He was somewhat younger. He wooed her and they dated, then fell in love and married. The marriage made him a citizen and he brought his children over.
Meanwhile he got a better job at a hospital and bought a house, but no longer saw his American wife. She was abandoned, baffled and had no idea what had happened. She had expected to move into the house and be a mother to the children.
The children were not going to let her in, I explained gently and regretfully. And there was nothing I could do about it. Crying, she got back into her car and left and I re-entered the house where the older daughter stood with her hands folded together like butterfly wings. She opened them and showed me a photo of a woman in India who looked like Mother Theresa.
"This my mother. She coming here soon." She said. The teenager had made us some tea and we drank it and continued our language lesson.
As is so often the case in part-time jobs like this one, I never learned the end of the story, whether the mother from India ever did come to the U.S. and what happened to the American bride abandoned by her new husband.
We all have stories to tell and apparently there are more and more places and opportunities in which to share them! If I hear any more about these storytelling events, I will be certain to let you know!
Happy Tales!
Jo Ann
"That same communal spirit flutters within the Butterfly, a monthly storytelling forum hosted by Perkins Center for the Arts in Collingswood. Held on the fourth Tuesday of each month except July and August....competitive storytelling forums such as The Moth, World Cafe' Live in Philadelphia."
Pop-up events are taking place in libraries, book stores, nursing homes, and festivals all over South Jersey.
This particular article definitely caught my attention because one of my dearest and longest friendships has been with a professional storyteller named Dorothy Stanaitis. She is one of the performers who has worked in Summer Camps, Nursing Homes, Senior Centers, Nursery Schools and Libraries. Last year, I attended one of her programs "Immigrant Girls" at a Friends Meeting House in Woodstown.
Although I have not been a professional storyteller, as have several of my friends, including Tom Clapham, retired from Cherry Hill Library and a long-ago, long-time storyteller and member of Storytelling Guild, I have written a number of short stories and have both a great respect for and interest in the STORY.
Needless to say, we all tell stories, with varying degrees of skill, all the time. Just recently at a coffee house, I was sitting with a close friend and two strangers and we were exchanging stories. One of the strangers told us how she and her retired firefighter met in an online dating forum. The retired firefighter and my friend exchanged stories about their recent knee replacement experiences. As our conversations moved along the internet romance story led to a story from my friend about a woman she knew who was currently in Turkey meeting the family of a young man she had met in an online dating forum. This reminded me of a story from my long long ago days as an ESL teacher.
One day when I showed up to tutor three children from India, a small vivacious, blonde woman in her sixties emerged from a red convertible and begged me to help her get into the house and talk to the children. I said that of course, I could not do that, that I was their English language tutor only and couldn't compromise them in any way. She insisted she was their mother. I went into the house and asked the children and they said she was NOT their mother.
Back outside, further inquiries elicited the following details. The father of the children had met the woman when he worked as a bus boy at a local diner. She was recently widowed. He was here in the U.S. alone on a work visa. He was somewhat younger. He wooed her and they dated, then fell in love and married. The marriage made him a citizen and he brought his children over.
Meanwhile he got a better job at a hospital and bought a house, but no longer saw his American wife. She was abandoned, baffled and had no idea what had happened. She had expected to move into the house and be a mother to the children.
The children were not going to let her in, I explained gently and regretfully. And there was nothing I could do about it. Crying, she got back into her car and left and I re-entered the house where the older daughter stood with her hands folded together like butterfly wings. She opened them and showed me a photo of a woman in India who looked like Mother Theresa.
"This my mother. She coming here soon." She said. The teenager had made us some tea and we drank it and continued our language lesson.
As is so often the case in part-time jobs like this one, I never learned the end of the story, whether the mother from India ever did come to the U.S. and what happened to the American bride abandoned by her new husband.
We all have stories to tell and apparently there are more and more places and opportunities in which to share them! If I hear any more about these storytelling events, I will be certain to let you know!
Happy Tales!
Jo Ann
Monday, August 6, 2018
Camden County Heritage Volume 2, No 2 - Spring 2018
I just had to write a review of the Voume 2, No. 2 issue of the Camden Co. Heritage publication of the Camden County History Alliance. This issue is about IMMIGRATION, and it could not have come at a better time for everyone to consider the contributions and ripple effects of immigration in our country by using the microcosm of the look at our county.
Of course all of us who are not Indigenous People, were immigrants at one time or another. In my own family, I have very old colonial English roots, and 19th century German and Irish roots. Our English family names were Garwood, Cheesman, Jaggard. Our Scots/Irish family names from the late 1700's and early 1800's were McQuiston and Johnson, and our German family names from early 1800's were Sandman and Jung (changed to Young). As with most immigrant ancestors, mine were working class people, seamstresses, brewers, bakers, shoemakers, hostelers, and haulers, and later, Merchant Marines and Ironworkers. I was the first of anyone from my generation back to have a chance to go to and graduate from college. Many were not even able to go to high school as their wages were needed to keep the family afloat.
To them, goes my eternal gratitude for their courage in coming to America and giving us the opportunities we have enjoyed.
The things I liked most about this publication on immigration were:
1. The focus on the individual and the personal. I really like the stories of the shopkeepers and farmers, not some abstract study but the personal story, the family who escaped from Poland and were rescued by family in the US and thereby saved from the Holocaust, who later had a shop in Camden City. I liked the story about the female spy, the Princess Stephanie Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Schillengfuert, who was held captive at Gloucester City Immigration Station, itself housed in the former home of the once poor immigrant Irish boy who rose to become known as the Duke of Gloucester. All the stories were supplied by historical societies belonging to the Alliance and all were fascinating - people who escaped the Armenian genocide, the Worlds Wars, wars in Africa, Vietnam, the lucky ones who managed to get to this golden land.
This issue was so interesting I actually could not put it down and read the whole thing cover to cover over hours last night. I want to get more copies to give to my friends, many of whom had family with shops in Camden, or ancestors from neighborhoods mentioned in the magazine, or who have visited and admired the many historic buildings also described in the magazine. It is a treasure!
Happy Trails - In the Woods, on the roads, or between the covers of great books and magazines on history!
By the way, I attended the Griffith Morgan event Sunday and it was marvelous. Ran into a number of History Volunteer friends there too, from Batsto, Atsion, and Revolutionary War Re-enactments. It was a great day! Hope you got out there too!
Of course all of us who are not Indigenous People, were immigrants at one time or another. In my own family, I have very old colonial English roots, and 19th century German and Irish roots. Our English family names were Garwood, Cheesman, Jaggard. Our Scots/Irish family names from the late 1700's and early 1800's were McQuiston and Johnson, and our German family names from early 1800's were Sandman and Jung (changed to Young). As with most immigrant ancestors, mine were working class people, seamstresses, brewers, bakers, shoemakers, hostelers, and haulers, and later, Merchant Marines and Ironworkers. I was the first of anyone from my generation back to have a chance to go to and graduate from college. Many were not even able to go to high school as their wages were needed to keep the family afloat.
To them, goes my eternal gratitude for their courage in coming to America and giving us the opportunities we have enjoyed.
The things I liked most about this publication on immigration were:
1. The focus on the individual and the personal. I really like the stories of the shopkeepers and farmers, not some abstract study but the personal story, the family who escaped from Poland and were rescued by family in the US and thereby saved from the Holocaust, who later had a shop in Camden City. I liked the story about the female spy, the Princess Stephanie Hohenlohe-Waldenburg Schillengfuert, who was held captive at Gloucester City Immigration Station, itself housed in the former home of the once poor immigrant Irish boy who rose to become known as the Duke of Gloucester. All the stories were supplied by historical societies belonging to the Alliance and all were fascinating - people who escaped the Armenian genocide, the Worlds Wars, wars in Africa, Vietnam, the lucky ones who managed to get to this golden land.
This issue was so interesting I actually could not put it down and read the whole thing cover to cover over hours last night. I want to get more copies to give to my friends, many of whom had family with shops in Camden, or ancestors from neighborhoods mentioned in the magazine, or who have visited and admired the many historic buildings also described in the magazine. It is a treasure!
Happy Trails - In the Woods, on the roads, or between the covers of great books and magazines on history!
By the way, I attended the Griffith Morgan event Sunday and it was marvelous. Ran into a number of History Volunteer friends there too, from Batsto, Atsion, and Revolutionary War Re-enactments. It was a great day! Hope you got out there too!
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Pensauken Historical Society
Great day at the Griffith Morgan House and nice quick visit to the Burrough Dover House These two beautiful houses are well worth a visit and Griffith Morgan was even more interesting than usual for two reasons: 1. Our tour was by Sue Hueskin, enormously helpful local historical volunteer and outfitter, very interesting, knowledgeable and well spoken, and 2: It was Militia Day, and there was music, gaming, chair caning, basket weaving, and a lovely day for it.
On our way home, we dropped by for a quick look at Burrough Dover house because my friend, Barbara Solem (of Atsion Mansion and Batsto) had never seen it, nor had her friend Ron. They were both enchanted.
First Sunday of the month, you too can enjoy these two wonderful historic houses thanks to the efforts of volunteers with the Pennsauken Historical Society who give generously of their time and energy to preserve our American history heritage!
Thank you volunteers!
Jo Ann
On our way home, we dropped by for a quick look at Burrough Dover house because my friend, Barbara Solem (of Atsion Mansion and Batsto) had never seen it, nor had her friend Ron. They were both enchanted.
First Sunday of the month, you too can enjoy these two wonderful historic houses thanks to the efforts of volunteers with the Pennsauken Historical Society who give generously of their time and energy to preserve our American history heritage!
Thank you volunteers!
Jo Ann
Friday, August 3, 2018
Griffith Morgan House
Griffith Morgan House, 243 Griffith Morgan Lane, Pennsauken, New Jersey, is one of my favorite historic houses in the area. Since I spent some teen years in Maple Shade in a development on the Pennsauken Creek, I have an interest in the earliest settlers and settlements and it is said that the original homestead dates back to 1693 and may be the oldest in Camden County.
This Sunday they are hosting Militia day from noon to 4 p.m. and I most sincerely hope to be able to find a friend willing to drive me over there to visit.
Another homestead cared for by the same group of volunteers is the Burrough Dover House which I seem to no longer be able to locate though I found it many times before. Recently, on three attempts I had to give up and go home without having found the house. Maybe I can get better directions on Sunday when I am at the Griffith Morgan house and see the volunteers in person. They can give me a landmark for the turn off onto Sorrel Horse Rd.
If you are free, you should try to make it over for this event!
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann Wright
ps. Tomorrow I am having lunch at the Rusty Door on Creek Road in Rancocas. I haven't been to this little cafe' yet and I am very much anticipating having lunch in one of my favorite spots - Rancocas Woods! I will be checking in at the Antiques Emporium and perhaps the Book Store!
This Sunday they are hosting Militia day from noon to 4 p.m. and I most sincerely hope to be able to find a friend willing to drive me over there to visit.
Another homestead cared for by the same group of volunteers is the Burrough Dover House which I seem to no longer be able to locate though I found it many times before. Recently, on three attempts I had to give up and go home without having found the house. Maybe I can get better directions on Sunday when I am at the Griffith Morgan house and see the volunteers in person. They can give me a landmark for the turn off onto Sorrel Horse Rd.
If you are free, you should try to make it over for this event!
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann Wright
ps. Tomorrow I am having lunch at the Rusty Door on Creek Road in Rancocas. I haven't been to this little cafe' yet and I am very much anticipating having lunch in one of my favorite spots - Rancocas Woods! I will be checking in at the Antiques Emporium and perhaps the Book Store!
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