Tiny Art at The Station (Eiland Art Center) Chestnut St., Merchantville, NJ

Tiny Art exhibition returns to The Station this month through December and I am honored and overjoyed to have three of my small paintings accepted into the show. My three paintings are all autumn landscapes because that is what moved me when I was getting ready to do work for this show. All of the works are about postcard sized. Mine three framed acrlylic on canvas paintings are 5 X 7 and ready to hang. One is the Red Bridge at Knight Park in Collingswood, another is a splendid tree at Audubon Lake, and finally the third is my second painting of the final autumn of the little woods that used to be on Northmont Avenue in Mt. Ephraim. The little woods held a small rustic home in a large pasture beside it. The property was purchased and four large two story homes were built there and the woods cut down. Before the demolition, the little woods blazed in a final gloroius splendor in an autumn afternoon sun.

I have been going regularly to the Station Cafe for lunch lately, twide last week, in fact. One day, Chef Jenny had made the most delicious butternut squash soup I have ever tasted. I wish she would make it more often, that alone is enough to draw me back! I don't know if you have ever cut up a butternut squash but it is no easy task. I am only too happy to have someone else do the work and for me to enjoy the delicious results! Along with the delicious soups, there are wonderful sandiwhiches. My current favorite is the breakfast croissant which is scrambled egg and cheese and coonut bacon (Vegan) on a flaky croisant - YUMMY! My friend Barb with whom I had lunch on Friday has a favorite too, the Vegan BLT on foccacio bread!

Along with a great art show, there are charming gifts and cards to browse for your upcoming holiday season gift giving. So many reasons to visit the Station, and get on their mailing list becaue they have pop up gournmet dinners - another great gift idea for that special someone.

Happy Trails Jo Ann wrightj45@yahoo.com

Hunting History - Log Cabins

When I was growing up, Davy Crocket was BIG! That whole frontier world was immensely popular. People had sofa's upholstered in fabric showing scenes from frontier life, log cabins, old wells, people gathered around the old oak tree, stage coahes. Fes Parker was Davy Crocket in a tv series that ignited the popular imagination. It was a Walt Disney production in the heyday of family fare, l954-1955. All of us kids had Lincoln Logs and I loved to build villages in the bag=ck yard with sticks to make fences and pebbles and rocks to create scenery. I was just reaching ten at the time.

The love of log cabins and that early settlement architecture has stayed with me my whole life. I am not sure what re-ignited the fire but during my early driving explorations in South Jersey right after retirement, I began to hunt out log cabins of which there are surprising quite a few. I found one just as you enter Swedesboro, beside the church ol the hill, an excellent historic beauty on its own. And I found one just as you enter Salem. There is another really old one in Greenwich that you can tour during their harvest festival each autumn. Once when I was there visiting the log cabin as you'd visit an old friend, I met a man who had written a book on log cabins and I bought his book. In those early days of history hunting, I drove all over the place and found fascinating buildings and towns which excited even more avenues to explore, such as One Room Schools and Civilian Conservation Projects!

The closest log cabin to where I live happened to be the oldest log cabin, not just in New Jersey but in the whole Eastern Hemisphere, in Gibbstown! It is a Finnish/Swedish log cabin which was at the time owned by the Rink family, who had lovingly preserved it. The day I found it, Mrs. Rink was haning out wash in hwe back yard and she gave me a tour. It is the Braman-Nothnagle Cabin built in 1638! One of the reasons it is the oldest standing log cabin is the Scandinavian cultural tradition of taking down and burning an old log cabin when a new home was built. This cabin has been so famous, Scandinavian royalty has visited! It is actually Finnish style. The Fins flattened the bottom and top of the logs so that they fit so snugly there was no need for chinking.

The Rinks got older and Mr. Rink, sadly passed away. Mrs. Rink put the log cabin and their adjoining Colonial home up for sale but she felt honor bound to protect the log cabin and most of the highest offers were from the philistine developers who wanted to tear down the historic cabin as well as the now historic adjoing house to build new homes. She showed great integrity in turning down their offers and accepting one that was a fraction of the value of the property, just so she could ensure that the log cabin would be maintained and preserved. The original asking price was over a million, but she accepted $225 thousand. It seems to me that we are in a period where istory isn't as respected as it was once. Mrs. Rink however, showed her love.

Perhaps the biggest period of respect for history in the popular culture was the Bicentennial, in the 1970's. Those were halcyon days! Oral history flourished, Historical Societies saw a resurgence in membership, and old buildings were visited and admired and resored and preserved. In these days, even a Revolutionary War era treasure such as the brick house in St. Mary's Cemetery in Bellmawr, are casually destroyed for no more than a highway sound barrier. The St. Mary's house was built in the mid 1700's and had been owned by a hero of local militia who mortgaged his own home to raise a militia that fought in the local battles such as Gloucester City (the first battle of the Marquis de Lafayette when he earned his officers stripes). How sad. Preservationists protested, but the wrecking crew came in during the early pre-dawn hours and desroyed this irreplceable piece of American History in our own backyard.

On the plus side, another piece of early history has been preserved by the Camden County Historical Society, an early Cooper family Delaware River ferry tavern. We have all watched the struggle to save this building and we await its transformation into a Revolutionary War History Museum in the not too distant future.

If you, too, are either a follower of log cabin history or Swedish/Finnish settlement in the early Colonial period, look up the Nothnagle Cabin and have a drive over and get a look while you still can. And let's all say a hearty thank you to the Rinks for standing in the long line of history lovers who have preserved our shared history!

Do you love trains?

Embark on a rare-milage autumn-themed journey along the Woodstown Central Railroad! Take in the lush woods and scenic farmland as our train travels to the beautiful Fenwick Grove. Here, passengers will disembark for 30 minutes and enjoy many of the activities included in your train ticket:

-Pick out a pumpkin (decorating kit included)

-Enjoy cider and a donut from our station

-Play fall-themed activities

-Take in the views along the Fenwick Creek

This is an unforgettable Fall experience that you won’t soon forget. Please allow approximately 90 minutes for your entire experience

Personal Note: Okay, heere come the tears! Whenever I think of train rides I think of my fathr and the last train ride of the many we took throughout our family lives as childresn. My father loved trains and having grown up in the last days of the era of train travel, I loved them too. We took train rides in Pa., W.Va. and any place we traveled that had a train ride available. When my daugher was a bit older, I took her on train rides in Strasbourg, Pa. and Jim Thorpe, Pa.

Our last family train ride was the Thanksgiving Train Dinner out of Petersburg, W.Va. We loved it! It must have been 1999 or so because my mother died in 2000. Almost every day I have a memory of my mother or my father and it brings tears to my eyes, but I am grateful for all the very happy memories we gathered before they left us. My father died in 2011. I would love to go on the Woodstown train trip but I find myself at this point in my life, I am 77, soon to be 78 in one month, not really able to drive many places due to declining eye sight, and like so many people in this period of our history, my daughter lives far away. New York City isn't that far geographically but the traffic and difficulty of getting here from there combined with their busy lives making a living in today's difficult economy make any kind of family event difficult. I hope you can make the Woodstown train ride and store up a happy memory for yourself and whoever you take with you! Happy Trails Jo Ann wrightj45@yahoo.com (if you wish to comment as the comment section of blogspot is destroyed by spammers)

Nobel Peace Prize 2023

A young woman, 22 years old, was dragged off the street by the Iranian so calle "Morality police" for nhaving part of her hair exposed by her head coveering. She was murdered in prison and sparked a human rights revolt in Iran which is still going on despite 300 protesters being jailed and killed. Thousands have been arrested. Iranian women live in a social prison as do so many women in the East. Women and girls in Afghanistn cannot receive education cannot hold jobs, cannot walk outside uness covered in every way but their eyes which are bhin a kind of fabric grate in the head cover. They have no protection from abuse, domestic violence, and live in a culture of oppression and subjugation. Many women in parts of the world have not risen far above this level of enslavement. Only reenly, women in Saudi Arabia won the right to drive a car.

The punishment for trying to stand up for their rights is harsh in these parts of the world and include beatings, lashings, imprisoment and murder. Rape is an ongoing form of intimidation and terror as is seen even today for example, in India. Just 7 years ago, a young physical-therapy student, Nirhbaya was attacked and gang raped on a public bus. She was known for her love of education and her kindness and her wish to devote her life to helping others. She died of the physical abuse she suffered. Recent crime statistics in Dehli show that there are still 93 cases of rape a day.

Needless to say, the Middle East and Arabic countries have the worst record on human rights in regard to women.

The Iranian activist, Mohammadi was one of 351 candidates for this year’s award – the second-highest number in the history of the Nobels. She became the 19th woman to win the award in more than 120 years of the prize.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyers who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, commended the committee’s decision to honor Mohammadi.

“We live in a very interconnected world. Right now, people in Iran are fighting for freedom. Our future depends on their success,”

Although in Western Nations things are indeed infinitely better for women, the battle for our rights has taken a turn recently in the United States in the increasing bans against a woman's right to make medicat decisions in her own reproductive life. The right wing of the Republican party has gone so far as to block military promotions and live our defenses hampered in their war to force the military to adopt a no support of reproductive choice for female soldiers. Reproductive choice is one of the basic pillars of a woman's independence and ability to protect and support herself. We, in America, must work harder to protect the rights our ancestors have sacrificed and struggled toprovide for us or we, too, can sink back into the segregation and discrimination that marked our past.

Hail to the mighty, the brave, the heroes who rise above fear and fight for the rights of women all over the world!

Happy Trails from Jo Ann - a woman, a teacher, artist, mother, and a long time supporter of equality for all!

Saddler's Woods with Naturalist! Upcoming event.

Sunday Autumn Hikes with Naturalist Jeff Calhoun:

10/15 and 11/12 11am - 1pm

Join naturalist educator Jeff Calhoun for a 2-hour tour of our local treasure. We’ll take a closer look at the old-growth trees, wet meadow, and early successional woodland all contained in this 25-acre urban forest surrounded by suburbia. Participants will gain an understanding of the ecology, native biodiversity, environmental challenges, and SWCA’s conservation effort. Children ages 12+ are welcome with a responsible adult. Fee: $20 donation per person, per session. Registration is required. Attendance limited to 20

Link to register: https://forms.gle/vT9aCr6gQxffowyd9 Meeting Location: Welcome area of 250 MacArthur Blvd. Haddon Township, NJ 08108 ( meet by the Saddler’s Woods sign.)

Halloween Art Show at The Station/Eiland Arts Center, Merchantville

Once again, we are fortunate in having a wonderful Halloween Art Show at the charming Merchantville venue called The Station and/or Eiland Arts Center. It is located at 10 East Chestnut in Merchantville, NJ. It is a repurposed Train Station and houses not only a wonderful Art Gallery upstairs and down, but a great Cafe' and Coffee bar. My friends and I eat there regularly and the food is superb! The chef makes the most delicious soups - my favorites are herbed potato and carrot ginger. My favorite sandwiches have been the BLT with vegan coconut bacon, and the flaky croissant with egg and diced tomato and coconut bacon. I also like the grilled cheddar on focaccia bread with soup. The theme of the show is Hallowwen - HAUNTED PLACES.

The opening reception will be this Friday, October 6th at 6:00 p.m. and the show will be up all month. I am both happy and honored to say I have two paintings in the show. I chose to work from photographs I took of Mount Moriah Cemetery, an abandoned cemetery near Yeadon, Pa. that I discovered while researching family burials. My paternal grandfather was buried there in the 1930's but I couldn't ind the grave even though I had the plot number becaus Mt. Moriah was abandoned many years ago and has been allowed to be overtaken by a jungle. Fortunately, volunteers have been struggling to clear it of debris dumped there and to make some headway mowing in various sections. The once stately facade was almost completely destroyed by vandals who set the towers on fire. The front of the structure remains to show what it must have been once. It is so sad. Frankly I didn't know you could just abandon cemeteries like that.

My other painting is also from a photo I took from one of my many visits to the grave of Walt Whitman, right here in Camden, NJ at Harleigh cemetery which is a model of a beautifully maintained cemetery. Generally I have visited Walt Whitman's grave on his birthday to honor his immense and immortal soul.

This year, another artist and friend, Jerome Barton, has a piece entered in the show, a gorgeous stained glass piece. Jerome was a student of mine many many years ago and has kept in touch over the years. I am delighted he has become an artist and enormously proud of his beautiful work.

All works are for sale, but by all meeans, just come and enjoy the opportunity to see the show!

Happy Trails ( even through the cemetery!)

Jo Ann

wrightj45@yahoo.com

18th Century Field Day at Red Bank Battlefield

On October 22, from 10:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m. you can enjoy a glipse of life in the Colonial period and you can re-visit a monumental day in the history of our country. Three hundred years ago on that day, a vastly outnumbered American Revolutionary force faced a fierce and widely experience army of Mercenary soldiers from Hesse Cassel Germany, hired by the British to defeat us and open the Delaware River to their ships.

They needed to re-supply their forces which had captured our capitol city of the time, Philadelphia. The River was defended by a fort on the Philadelphia side, Fort Mifflin, and the fort on the New Jersey side at Red Bank, Fort Mercer.

It was a David and Goliath story. The greatest British warship of the time, the Augusta was in the River and the 2000 strong army of Hessians was marching on the 200 Colonials in a trench fort at Red Bank, the farm of the Quaker Whitall family.

The short of it is we WON and it was a turning point for our morale and for the faith of others in our ability to persevere.

Just recently in an archaeological dig, the bodies of a dozen of the Hessian soldiers who died in the battle were uncovered in a mass grave on the site. This and other fascinating facts and stories will be available on this exciting and colorful day. There will be demonstrations of colonial arts, muster drills, and a grand finale' the re-enactment of the Battle of Red Bank.

And it is all FREE! Red Bank Battlefield is in National Park and there are places to have a great picnic while you are there plus the historic farm house which still stands will be available for tours. There is also a great playground for the little ones.

Happy Trails? for comments you can reach me at wrightj45@yahoo.com