On May 30, 75 years ago, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League was formed to fill the stadiums Emptied by World War II. Chicago Cubs owner Phillip Wrigley gave women a chance to enter the professional world of sports for eleven years.
It seems quaint to us now, as we live in the age of Venus and Serena Williams, and the All American Women's Basketball League, and big money drawing women golf stars, to think of a day when many if not most American citizens didn't think women could or should play professional sports.
In the world of "Where were you when___________happened," I can tell you I was in a bar in Philadelphia when Billy Jean King played Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match. I was frightened to death. I didn't want to see Billy Jean King somehow defeated and humiliated and I didn't want to be humiliated by the loud and belligerent bar patrons that night.
Having grown up in the gritty world of blue-collar, brick row house culture in Philadelphia in the 1940s and 50's I was already effectively and profoundly intimidated and did not challenge male power. Men were bigger, stronger, they made the money and called the shots. It was exilherating and unnerving to see Billy Jean King succumb to the publicity stunt challenge of Bobby Riggs, and though I knew she was young and strong and talented, it had never been my idea that we were physically stronger than men, only that we should have a fair opportunity to do what we could and equal pay for equal work. I didn't want to be my Dad, or be an Ironworker, or a sailor, which he had been. But I also didn't want to be my mother, though she was blissfully happy in her role as mother and housewife. I wanted to be an artist, a writer, a teacher. I wanted to go to college, and in the time that I reached college age, college acceptance for women was neither fair nor equal, nor was the distribution of tax money to support college athletics.
So, a lot has changed and it is good to look back and see how far we have come.
Talking about remembrance, June 5th is the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (1968). Some people wish they could go back into the past and be young again. I am not one of them. We lived in interesting times, but I am quite content in the comfort and the progress of the present!
Since sports seems to be the subject of this post, it is worth mentioning that we saw the ghostly empty stadium of Patterson, New Jersey on Mother's Day when my daughter kindly drove me there to see the water fall. Factory towns are another item lost in time. We visited the Patterson Museum, also, and I couldn't help but wish I could see/hear/learn more about the individuals who worked in the factories. Factory work was another entry point into the world of independence and equality for women, some of the first labor strikes were women workers such as the silk girls strike and the shirt waist factory strike and the strikes of the mills in New England. I could almost hear the voices of the men in the stadium beside the water fall, shouting out encouragement to their fellow workers on their baseball teams, on their rare days off from the dark factories.
I worked in a mill myself, once, Alchester Mills in Camden, NJ. I was a college student earning money for tuition through summer work. It was tedious, exhausting, and the air was filled with what I am sure must have been dangerous fibers. But, I only had to work there for one summer. Other women had been there for decades.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Alexandria Quarterly Press @ The Station
On Jun1 1, 2018, Nicole Eiland and Jeremy Guay feature the Grand Opening of AQP Headquarters (Alexandria Quarterly Press) a pop-up bookstore, vintage shop and center for writing.
As a hand-made book artist, a painter, and a writer, I am very much anticipating this event!
Just today I took another friend (the 8th so far) to see the paintings in the gallery upstairs before the show changes. Two of my friends have works in the show, painters Diane Paul, of Main Street Art, and Colleen Hammond.
When I visit, I like to have another look at Nicole Eiland's magnificent hand-made book sculpture in the western corner of the gallery. It is monumental!
I am not sure what is going to happen at the event, but I am looking forward to finding out and always delighted to see more Art events happening in our area!
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Oh yes, AQP @ the Station is at 10 E. Chestnut Street in Merchantville, NY
As a hand-made book artist, a painter, and a writer, I am very much anticipating this event!
Just today I took another friend (the 8th so far) to see the paintings in the gallery upstairs before the show changes. Two of my friends have works in the show, painters Diane Paul, of Main Street Art, and Colleen Hammond.
When I visit, I like to have another look at Nicole Eiland's magnificent hand-made book sculpture in the western corner of the gallery. It is monumental!
I am not sure what is going to happen at the event, but I am looking forward to finding out and always delighted to see more Art events happening in our area!
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Oh yes, AQP @ the Station is at 10 E. Chestnut Street in Merchantville, NY
Monday, May 28, 2018
Memorial Day Picnic 2018
For today, I should probably be posting Memorial Day evens but I haven't finished the Sunday papers yet and I don' know what' going on. I do know that Saturday was May Fest in Collingswood and the Classic Car Show, but I only know because I was walking my dog in Knight's Park, as we do every day, my brown Lab Trixie and me, and I saw all the cars parked and the people walking towards Haddon Ave. I am not one for crowds in general and although from time to time on a holiday, I will brave the throng, yesterday was so peaceful and green in the park, I wouldn't have traded it for the hustle and bustle of Haddon Ave.
What I wanted to mention today was your Memorial Day Picnic menu! I am not a cook and rarely do cook HOWEVER as you may recall I began this blog when my fellow teachers, all retiring at roughly the same time, were talking about wondering what they would do when they didn't work any more. Since I had gone first and had more things to do than days in the week to do them, I promised I would post them so they could refer to this blog for ideas.
Well, here is something new to the blog that I think is worth adding, healthful eating. Lately I have watched at least three documentaries on Netflix about our obesity epidemic in America and the resulting health crisis older Americans are facing with diabetes and heart disease, not to mention less disastrous be related issues such as knees going bad from the strain of carrying 50 or more extra pounds around every day.
The three latest docs I have watched are: Take Your Pill, Hungry for Change, and Fat to Finish. I have been interested in nutrition and ecology since the 1970's when I became a vegetarian (which I still am- though I lean toward vegan eating now.)
Most of my friends are vegetarians, the healthy ones. Anyhow some of the things they talk about in these new docs on health and food as medicine, are the addictive nature of sugar and the disease producing inevitability of processed foods.
On my coffee table right now is an article from last week's Sunday Courier Post about Ironman Triathletes who have switched to vegan diets to improve their conditioning.
I will talk more about this at other times, but for now I thought I would share my menu for today - an old artist friend from college is coming over to do some yard work and we are having a Memorial Day picnic after the lawn is mowed.
Veggie burgers - with smoked gouda cheese (almond milk based)
Salad - (baby kale leaves, mushrooms, black olives and a cranberry vinaigrette)
for dessert - strawberry, banana smoothies with apple
No triglicerides, no cancer causing additives, no sugar - just healthful and delicious!
For Memorial Day itself I alway like to remember and thank my grandfather Joseph Lyons who served in World War I, my father, Joseph Wright who served in World War II in the navy, and my brother, Joe, who was a marine and served in Vietnam. I, myself, have been a peace activist, but I thank everyone who served our country for keeping it free so we could all live our own individual conscience!
Happy Trails, happy meals!
Jo Ann
What I wanted to mention today was your Memorial Day Picnic menu! I am not a cook and rarely do cook HOWEVER as you may recall I began this blog when my fellow teachers, all retiring at roughly the same time, were talking about wondering what they would do when they didn't work any more. Since I had gone first and had more things to do than days in the week to do them, I promised I would post them so they could refer to this blog for ideas.
Well, here is something new to the blog that I think is worth adding, healthful eating. Lately I have watched at least three documentaries on Netflix about our obesity epidemic in America and the resulting health crisis older Americans are facing with diabetes and heart disease, not to mention less disastrous be related issues such as knees going bad from the strain of carrying 50 or more extra pounds around every day.
The three latest docs I have watched are: Take Your Pill, Hungry for Change, and Fat to Finish. I have been interested in nutrition and ecology since the 1970's when I became a vegetarian (which I still am- though I lean toward vegan eating now.)
Most of my friends are vegetarians, the healthy ones. Anyhow some of the things they talk about in these new docs on health and food as medicine, are the addictive nature of sugar and the disease producing inevitability of processed foods.
On my coffee table right now is an article from last week's Sunday Courier Post about Ironman Triathletes who have switched to vegan diets to improve their conditioning.
I will talk more about this at other times, but for now I thought I would share my menu for today - an old artist friend from college is coming over to do some yard work and we are having a Memorial Day picnic after the lawn is mowed.
Veggie burgers - with smoked gouda cheese (almond milk based)
Salad - (baby kale leaves, mushrooms, black olives and a cranberry vinaigrette)
for dessert - strawberry, banana smoothies with apple
No triglicerides, no cancer causing additives, no sugar - just healthful and delicious!
For Memorial Day itself I alway like to remember and thank my grandfather Joseph Lyons who served in World War I, my father, Joseph Wright who served in World War II in the navy, and my brother, Joe, who was a marine and served in Vietnam. I, myself, have been a peace activist, but I thank everyone who served our country for keeping it free so we could all live our own individual conscience!
Happy Trails, happy meals!
Jo Ann
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
American Revolution Round Table of South Jersey
Putting the pieces together.
A few years back, I volunteered at several historic sites that had some significance in American history. At each of the sites, I learned a great deal that I hadn't known before. I spent varying amounts of time as a volunteer in these places and engaged in a variety of jobs. The one where I spent the longest amount of time was the James and Ann Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield.
You really could spend an entire lifetime learning the American Revolution, and half of that lifetime you could spend doing research to fill in the missing pieces. My knowledge of the American Revolution prior to my volunteer work at Red Bank Battlefield, was meager to say the least. Although I had grown up in Philadelphia and had been fortunate enough to work at a library during the bicentennial, I still had a spotty and disconnected idea of what had gone on.
One experience that really helped me begin to put the pieces together was a program performance enterprise into which I had invested with a friend, after we had both retired. We called it Moments in Time and we had, to begin with, three programs that we offered, one called Red, White and Blueberries, about Clara Barton and the Red Cross, and Elizabeth White and the cultivation of the Blueberry. Another was about the Underground Railroad in New Jersey, and the third was about the American Revolution in South Jersey.
To understand the Revolution, my colleague and I made a large map and using a chronological approach as well as a geographical one, we figured out, more or less, what had happened. It turned out to be surprisingly and dauntingly complicated. In the process, I came to understand that the most famous actions, such as Bunker Hill, in New England, were really less significant than what happened in New Jersey. I became acquainted with The Crossroads of the Revolution and astonished by the number of battles, skirmishes and significant events that had taken place in our own state. Who knew?
During the learning period, a really fun time for me, whatever the subject, I did a lot of roaming around in South Jersey, a place neglected in a neglected state. So many interesting and significant events took place in New Jersey, not least of which was the Battle for the Delaware River! We had our own tea burning in Greenwich, New Jersey!
Greenwich, by the way, has a main street that is studded with historic houses and looks much the way it may have in the 18th century, sans horses and wagons and the tall masts of ships on the Cohansey River. The Marquis de Lafayette took his first military action in Gloucester Towne, which by he way, celebrated its tricentennial when the rest of America celebrated the bicentennial.
Anyhow, tonight, a few more pieces found their way into the giant and colorful puzzle that has been my learning about the American Revolution in South Jersey. At the Voorhees Branch of the Camden County Library, I heard a very informative lecture on the battle at Hancock's Bridge.
Hancock's Tavern historic site is a favorite visit of mine. I love the little village, the beautiful 18th century Friend's Meeting House, and I have often driven down to Alloways Creek to spend some time at this favorite site. There is a re-enactment at Hancock's Tavern that is well worth the trip, and a fantastic textile expert who gives talks and demonstrations in the adjacent building. She teaches spinning and weaving in Mount Holly at Woolbearers.
At Hancock's, one summer, I heard a totally engaging woman present on midwifery in the 18th century. She had a vast collection of medicinal artifacts, some harrowing, others mystifying, and knew a great deal about herbal medicine. Another speaker there gave a talk on her upcoming doctoral thesis on a farm wife in Salem during the Revolution. I wish I could remember her name or find whatever I wrote it on at the time.
These memories came flooding back to me as I listened to the lecturer, at my first visit to the American Revolution Round Table, which meets monthly. They will meet again in June at the Haddon Township Library. I will be sure to be there and I hope you will too. For more information, visit their new and excellent Facebook page: American Revolution Round Table of South Jersey.
The lecturer, very well informed and interesting was Pete Michel. It was encouraging to see so many young people there and so many young women! Well Done!
Things I wish we knew more about:
1.The Battle of Gloucester Towne
2.The effect of the Revolutionary War on ordinary citizens in South Jersey
3.The Hessians in South Jersey
4.The Quakers in South Jersey
5.South Jersey Women in the Revolution
Happy Trails and Good Night!
Jo Ann
A few years back, I volunteered at several historic sites that had some significance in American history. At each of the sites, I learned a great deal that I hadn't known before. I spent varying amounts of time as a volunteer in these places and engaged in a variety of jobs. The one where I spent the longest amount of time was the James and Ann Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield.
You really could spend an entire lifetime learning the American Revolution, and half of that lifetime you could spend doing research to fill in the missing pieces. My knowledge of the American Revolution prior to my volunteer work at Red Bank Battlefield, was meager to say the least. Although I had grown up in Philadelphia and had been fortunate enough to work at a library during the bicentennial, I still had a spotty and disconnected idea of what had gone on.
One experience that really helped me begin to put the pieces together was a program performance enterprise into which I had invested with a friend, after we had both retired. We called it Moments in Time and we had, to begin with, three programs that we offered, one called Red, White and Blueberries, about Clara Barton and the Red Cross, and Elizabeth White and the cultivation of the Blueberry. Another was about the Underground Railroad in New Jersey, and the third was about the American Revolution in South Jersey.
To understand the Revolution, my colleague and I made a large map and using a chronological approach as well as a geographical one, we figured out, more or less, what had happened. It turned out to be surprisingly and dauntingly complicated. In the process, I came to understand that the most famous actions, such as Bunker Hill, in New England, were really less significant than what happened in New Jersey. I became acquainted with The Crossroads of the Revolution and astonished by the number of battles, skirmishes and significant events that had taken place in our own state. Who knew?
During the learning period, a really fun time for me, whatever the subject, I did a lot of roaming around in South Jersey, a place neglected in a neglected state. So many interesting and significant events took place in New Jersey, not least of which was the Battle for the Delaware River! We had our own tea burning in Greenwich, New Jersey!
Greenwich, by the way, has a main street that is studded with historic houses and looks much the way it may have in the 18th century, sans horses and wagons and the tall masts of ships on the Cohansey River. The Marquis de Lafayette took his first military action in Gloucester Towne, which by he way, celebrated its tricentennial when the rest of America celebrated the bicentennial.
Anyhow, tonight, a few more pieces found their way into the giant and colorful puzzle that has been my learning about the American Revolution in South Jersey. At the Voorhees Branch of the Camden County Library, I heard a very informative lecture on the battle at Hancock's Bridge.
Hancock's Tavern historic site is a favorite visit of mine. I love the little village, the beautiful 18th century Friend's Meeting House, and I have often driven down to Alloways Creek to spend some time at this favorite site. There is a re-enactment at Hancock's Tavern that is well worth the trip, and a fantastic textile expert who gives talks and demonstrations in the adjacent building. She teaches spinning and weaving in Mount Holly at Woolbearers.
At Hancock's, one summer, I heard a totally engaging woman present on midwifery in the 18th century. She had a vast collection of medicinal artifacts, some harrowing, others mystifying, and knew a great deal about herbal medicine. Another speaker there gave a talk on her upcoming doctoral thesis on a farm wife in Salem during the Revolution. I wish I could remember her name or find whatever I wrote it on at the time.
These memories came flooding back to me as I listened to the lecturer, at my first visit to the American Revolution Round Table, which meets monthly. They will meet again in June at the Haddon Township Library. I will be sure to be there and I hope you will too. For more information, visit their new and excellent Facebook page: American Revolution Round Table of South Jersey.
The lecturer, very well informed and interesting was Pete Michel. It was encouraging to see so many young people there and so many young women! Well Done!
Things I wish we knew more about:
1.The Battle of Gloucester Towne
2.The effect of the Revolutionary War on ordinary citizens in South Jersey
3.The Hessians in South Jersey
4.The Quakers in South Jersey
5.South Jersey Women in the Revolution
Happy Trails and Good Night!
Jo Ann
Merchantville Train Station - New Event Opening!
JUNE 1st, 2018 from 7 to 9 pm, Join us for the grand opening of AQP (Alexandria Quarterly Press) Headquarters, a pop-up bookstore, vintage shop, and center for writing! AQP Headquarters will be open throughout the summer until the end of August. Keep an eye out for writing workshops and be sure to stop by regularly to shop the ever changing vintage selection.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
A fun way to spend a rainy May day!
Today, May 19, I had planned to go to either Pitman or Bordertown for their Craft Festivals, BUT, the weather forecast was so forbidding that rather than take a chance on getting caught behind some flooding barrier - Brooklawn Circle, going South, and I don't know what going North, I decided to stay local.
My most frequent rambling' pal is Gail K. and we decided to get lunch at our favorite place, Maritsa's in Maple Shade, on Main Street. The things I like best about Maritsa's are that the quality of the ingredients in their standard luncheonette fare are superior and delicious, and the prices are more than reasonable. You can get lunch including sandwich, cup of soup and side for $9.00! However my most usual favorites are the eggplant parmesan sandwich - which I will only get at Maritsa's, and what I had today, the spinache, feta cheese omelette! Delicious!
After lunch, it wasn't raining anymore and it looked so nice we decided to follow Main Street out of town towards Moorestown, the out into the countryside to Rancocas Shops on Creek Road. We visited all the shop up as far as the book store. I bought one thing - I am always on the lookout for the interesting, unusual thing for my daughter for Christmas and I pick things up all year so I have plenty of fun stuff. Today I bought a vintage Hershey Park souvenir pennant. When my daughter was little, her scout trip took summer trips to Hershey Park, and I was a parent/volunteer on the trips. It was a marvelous and magical time, especially as I look back on it.
Well after three or four shops, we were cheered up and inspired and we headed home. Our rambles usually begin around 11:30 and end around 3:30. Often my friend, Gail, and old pal from our childhood days in Philadelphia, has places to go in the evening, unlike me, the nighttime stay-at-home.
Unfortunately, I decided to go to Barnes & Noble after I walked the dog, to pick up a couple of Art magazines I can only get there. I had forgotten it was Saturday. In the peace of uncrowded shops at Rancocas and the uncrowded roads of the countryside I had forgotten how hectic it is at the Garden State Mall. People were vying for the few parking spots that opened up in the filled parking lot, and I had to circle half a dozen times until one opened up for me. That one hour at Barnes and Noble was exhausting and tiresome especially in contrast with the peace and cosy warmth of browsing the charming shops at Rancocas.
Here's to you my rambling' boy! Do you remember that folk song? It has been going through my mind all day!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
My most frequent rambling' pal is Gail K. and we decided to get lunch at our favorite place, Maritsa's in Maple Shade, on Main Street. The things I like best about Maritsa's are that the quality of the ingredients in their standard luncheonette fare are superior and delicious, and the prices are more than reasonable. You can get lunch including sandwich, cup of soup and side for $9.00! However my most usual favorites are the eggplant parmesan sandwich - which I will only get at Maritsa's, and what I had today, the spinache, feta cheese omelette! Delicious!
After lunch, it wasn't raining anymore and it looked so nice we decided to follow Main Street out of town towards Moorestown, the out into the countryside to Rancocas Shops on Creek Road. We visited all the shop up as far as the book store. I bought one thing - I am always on the lookout for the interesting, unusual thing for my daughter for Christmas and I pick things up all year so I have plenty of fun stuff. Today I bought a vintage Hershey Park souvenir pennant. When my daughter was little, her scout trip took summer trips to Hershey Park, and I was a parent/volunteer on the trips. It was a marvelous and magical time, especially as I look back on it.
Well after three or four shops, we were cheered up and inspired and we headed home. Our rambles usually begin around 11:30 and end around 3:30. Often my friend, Gail, and old pal from our childhood days in Philadelphia, has places to go in the evening, unlike me, the nighttime stay-at-home.
Unfortunately, I decided to go to Barnes & Noble after I walked the dog, to pick up a couple of Art magazines I can only get there. I had forgotten it was Saturday. In the peace of uncrowded shops at Rancocas and the uncrowded roads of the countryside I had forgotten how hectic it is at the Garden State Mall. People were vying for the few parking spots that opened up in the filled parking lot, and I had to circle half a dozen times until one opened up for me. That one hour at Barnes and Noble was exhausting and tiresome especially in contrast with the peace and cosy warmth of browsing the charming shops at Rancocas.
Here's to you my rambling' boy! Do you remember that folk song? It has been going through my mind all day!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Lots of goings on in South Jersey this weekend
Monday, May 14, 2018
Paterson Great Falls
For Mother's Day this year, my daughter came home to New Jersey and drove me to the Great Water Fall in Paterson, New Jersey. I had wanted to go there for many years, but it is a long drive and especially now that my eyesight is beginning to fail me, I couldn't go there on my own and none of my friends was willing to take such a long drive.
It was about 80 miles and it took an hour and 45 minutes to get there. We drove the Mill Mile and visited the Paterson Museum which featured artifacts from many of Paterson's most famous former industrial products, the silk mills Paterson was once called Silk City) and locomotives, patent medicines, aircraft engines (the one in Lindbergh's famous trans-Atlantic flight airplane), and a facsimile of the house where Lou Costello of Abbott and Costello lived. There were many other treasures in the museum, too, gems and minerals from the mines and some historical artifacts from the nursing and medical history of Paterson.
The Falls were magnificent and there was good parking beside the now closed stadium alongside the Falls.
Alexander Hamilton had engineered the rise in industrial manufacture in Paterson as an antidote to dependence on British manufactured goods at the time of the Revolution. He utilized the formidable power of the falls to power the mills.
Paterson is still a city of great ethnic diversity, featuring a section inhabited by Peruvians, for example and showcasing a lively array of eateries catering to various ethnic cuisines.
It was an easy day's trip to the second greatest waterfall East of the Mississippi River (needless to say the Niagara Falls are the other one.)]
The Jim Jarmusch film Paterson, is a charming homage to the poetic spirit of the city. The star of the movie is Adam Driver who plays a poet bus-driver and there is a lovely scene at the Great Falls.
While there, we stopped in the National parks visitor's Center and met a delightful and informative Park Guard who had a been a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama signed the National Park designation for the Great Falls in 2013. It is wonderful to know that this magnificent natural wonder will be protected.
If you go, be sure to walk on the bridge over the falls for the best viewing angle!
There was hardly any traffic on the turnpike going up to Paterson or back, and the day was delightful from start to finish despite the overcast cloudy skies. We only had a slight drizzle from time to time.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
It was about 80 miles and it took an hour and 45 minutes to get there. We drove the Mill Mile and visited the Paterson Museum which featured artifacts from many of Paterson's most famous former industrial products, the silk mills Paterson was once called Silk City) and locomotives, patent medicines, aircraft engines (the one in Lindbergh's famous trans-Atlantic flight airplane), and a facsimile of the house where Lou Costello of Abbott and Costello lived. There were many other treasures in the museum, too, gems and minerals from the mines and some historical artifacts from the nursing and medical history of Paterson.
The Falls were magnificent and there was good parking beside the now closed stadium alongside the Falls.
Alexander Hamilton had engineered the rise in industrial manufacture in Paterson as an antidote to dependence on British manufactured goods at the time of the Revolution. He utilized the formidable power of the falls to power the mills.
Paterson is still a city of great ethnic diversity, featuring a section inhabited by Peruvians, for example and showcasing a lively array of eateries catering to various ethnic cuisines.
It was an easy day's trip to the second greatest waterfall East of the Mississippi River (needless to say the Niagara Falls are the other one.)]
The Jim Jarmusch film Paterson, is a charming homage to the poetic spirit of the city. The star of the movie is Adam Driver who plays a poet bus-driver and there is a lovely scene at the Great Falls.
While there, we stopped in the National parks visitor's Center and met a delightful and informative Park Guard who had a been a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama signed the National Park designation for the Great Falls in 2013. It is wonderful to know that this magnificent natural wonder will be protected.
If you go, be sure to walk on the bridge over the falls for the best viewing angle!
There was hardly any traffic on the turnpike going up to Paterson or back, and the day was delightful from start to finish despite the overcast cloudy skies. We only had a slight drizzle from time to time.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Archaeologist speaks about Native American artifacts found in digs at former shipyard site on Delaware and Newton Creeks.
Today at Camden County Historical Society, an archaeologist spoke of the hundreds of artifacts found in digs near the former shipyard site on Broadway between Camden City and Gloucester City.
What was most interesting to me, however was some remarks by Chief Sam Beeler of the Sand Hill tribe of the Lenape. He briefly and generally discussed how the current day existence of the tribe is being erased by the New Jersey Government, and when I looked it up later, I saw that it was true.
Perhaps you, like me, had gone to the Pow Wow at the Rancocas Indian Reservation in October of each year. I wondered what happened to it when I tried to go one year and found it was gone. What happened was that in retaliation for a law suit filed by the Sand Hill tribe attempting to get the government to recognize their continued existence here, funding was cut for the reservation museum and office and it was demolished! Documents were supplied proving the existence of the tribe, of which Dr. Sam Beeler is current Chief, to no avail and to further retaliate the government cut the retirement benefits of the men, who were veterans!
As Buffy St. Marie said so eloquently in one of her songs Now That the Buffalo is Gone, "And it's still going on today." From the North Dakota protest where the pipe line is cutting through Native American protected treaty land, under their river, which is their water source, to the ongoing struggle for our native New Jersey tribe the Sand Hill to even get the government to acknowledge that they exist. Unjust and depressing.
My friend, Barb Solem and I tried to find Benjamin Cooper's Ferry house at Erie Street but we got lost and gave up for today. We'll try again another time.
Happy Trail, Sad Trails, but always on the trail!
Jo Ann
What was most interesting to me, however was some remarks by Chief Sam Beeler of the Sand Hill tribe of the Lenape. He briefly and generally discussed how the current day existence of the tribe is being erased by the New Jersey Government, and when I looked it up later, I saw that it was true.
Perhaps you, like me, had gone to the Pow Wow at the Rancocas Indian Reservation in October of each year. I wondered what happened to it when I tried to go one year and found it was gone. What happened was that in retaliation for a law suit filed by the Sand Hill tribe attempting to get the government to recognize their continued existence here, funding was cut for the reservation museum and office and it was demolished! Documents were supplied proving the existence of the tribe, of which Dr. Sam Beeler is current Chief, to no avail and to further retaliate the government cut the retirement benefits of the men, who were veterans!
As Buffy St. Marie said so eloquently in one of her songs Now That the Buffalo is Gone, "And it's still going on today." From the North Dakota protest where the pipe line is cutting through Native American protected treaty land, under their river, which is their water source, to the ongoing struggle for our native New Jersey tribe the Sand Hill to even get the government to acknowledge that they exist. Unjust and depressing.
My friend, Barb Solem and I tried to find Benjamin Cooper's Ferry house at Erie Street but we got lost and gave up for today. We'll try again another time.
Happy Trail, Sad Trails, but always on the trail!
Jo Ann
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Some things that look like fun in May
Whenever I am out for lunch for for events, I pick up the flyers and booklets about places to go and things to do. One of the best for Camden County small towns is called Out and About. I clipped four events that looked appealing to me:
May 12 - Down by the Station Day from 10 to 3 - FREE with a number of events for families, children, and model train aficionados. I love model trains and I really like the men who have the Delaware and Susquehanna Model Railroad Club, which will have their platform up and running in the train station in Haddon Heights, there will also be train film in the Borough Hall auditorium.
May 17th Thursday night will feature Cruise Night again in Collingswood. Although I am no car expert I do enjoy the classic cars and the memories they inspire. For example one Cruise Night a few years back, there were a number of VW camper vans from the 1960's and 1970's and as I had lived and traveled in one in 2969 for a year, it brought back a lot of memories.
May 6, Clover Market just off Haddon Ave. on Irvin Street. I am sorry I will have to miss this event as I am meeting a friend for lunch and heading over to Camden County Historical Society for a lecture on archaeological discoveries about the Native Americans who lived where Camden and Gloucester City are now. The CCHS is right behind Lady of Lourdes Hospital and the talk is a 2:00 if you are looking for something interesting tomorrow afternoon. You could probably grab lunch at the Clover Market from a food truck and then head on over for the lecture - what a fun day that would be!
In Cherry Hill on June 12 at 7:00 pm. there will be a flower show at the Tilelli Community Center, 820 Mercer Street, Cherry Hill, FREE. I have never been to this flower show and I would like to go and I probably will be able to a now that it stays light longer I can attend some evening events
Last night I went to the Train Station in Merchantville for the Eilandarts 4 Corners, Nature in Art show (which will be up all month of May) and it was delightful. I ran into 2 artist friends of mine with work in the show, Colleen Hammond and Diane Paul, and we had a fine time visiting and viewing the art which was varied and beautiful and inspiring.
There is a coffee shop there and I think they serve various kinds of food along with a good many kinds of pastries to go with your coffee and many people were enjoying coffee and treats at the outside patio tables because it was such a stunningly beautiful evening altogether.
Spring is finally here in all its glory, so get out and ENJOY!
Today I am off to Pratt's Garden, 158-B County Home Rd., Pilesgrove, to see the azaleas which are in full flourish at present. Now, pay attention - that s PRATT's not Platt's. I was at Platt's Garden center three times already for plants this spring. Pratt's is a private garden opened to the public for walking and enjoying the flowers and for bridal photographs. I have never been there before and today is so gloriously perfect a spring day that I am very much looking forward to going there.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
May 12 - Down by the Station Day from 10 to 3 - FREE with a number of events for families, children, and model train aficionados. I love model trains and I really like the men who have the Delaware and Susquehanna Model Railroad Club, which will have their platform up and running in the train station in Haddon Heights, there will also be train film in the Borough Hall auditorium.
May 17th Thursday night will feature Cruise Night again in Collingswood. Although I am no car expert I do enjoy the classic cars and the memories they inspire. For example one Cruise Night a few years back, there were a number of VW camper vans from the 1960's and 1970's and as I had lived and traveled in one in 2969 for a year, it brought back a lot of memories.
May 6, Clover Market just off Haddon Ave. on Irvin Street. I am sorry I will have to miss this event as I am meeting a friend for lunch and heading over to Camden County Historical Society for a lecture on archaeological discoveries about the Native Americans who lived where Camden and Gloucester City are now. The CCHS is right behind Lady of Lourdes Hospital and the talk is a 2:00 if you are looking for something interesting tomorrow afternoon. You could probably grab lunch at the Clover Market from a food truck and then head on over for the lecture - what a fun day that would be!
In Cherry Hill on June 12 at 7:00 pm. there will be a flower show at the Tilelli Community Center, 820 Mercer Street, Cherry Hill, FREE. I have never been to this flower show and I would like to go and I probably will be able to a now that it stays light longer I can attend some evening events
Last night I went to the Train Station in Merchantville for the Eilandarts 4 Corners, Nature in Art show (which will be up all month of May) and it was delightful. I ran into 2 artist friends of mine with work in the show, Colleen Hammond and Diane Paul, and we had a fine time visiting and viewing the art which was varied and beautiful and inspiring.
There is a coffee shop there and I think they serve various kinds of food along with a good many kinds of pastries to go with your coffee and many people were enjoying coffee and treats at the outside patio tables because it was such a stunningly beautiful evening altogether.
Spring is finally here in all its glory, so get out and ENJOY!
Today I am off to Pratt's Garden, 158-B County Home Rd., Pilesgrove, to see the azaleas which are in full flourish at present. Now, pay attention - that s PRATT's not Platt's. I was at Platt's Garden center three times already for plants this spring. Pratt's is a private garden opened to the public for walking and enjoying the flowers and for bridal photographs. I have never been there before and today is so gloriously perfect a spring day that I am very much looking forward to going there.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Art Show at Eland Art in Merchantville, NJ
4 Corners Nature
Group Show
May 1 to 31
Eilndarts Center, 10 E. Chestnut Ave., Merchantville, NJ 08109
www.eilandarts.com
Gallery hours: Monday to Sat. 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The sad news is that Main Street Art, the front gallery and shop, are closed. The Sip and Paint parties continue through June in the rear activity room, with parking back there too. The shop was a partnership with one partner supplying the building and the other supplying the artists and the sip and paint parties and kids classes. The Real Estate partner, the landlord, didn't make enough profit and so the Main Street Art enterprise was forced to close down. I will really miss all the art and the artists and the great effort to keep culture alive in Maple Shade.
Nonetheless, the beat goes on at the old train station in Merchantville called ElandArts. And the artist in residence at Main Street Art has work in this show. I hope you go too!
Last night at Cherry Hill Library there was a brilliant lecture on the Revolutionary War in South Jersey, in my humble opinion a very neglected topic. The speaker, Mr. Colden, I believe is his name, i currently director of Pitman Libr. formerly head of Salem County Historical Society. I took his tour of the Salem County Historical Society and that was also brilliant. He is a very good speaker and the extremely large audience was entirely engaged such that the debates and comments went on well after the lecture was over. A good sign in the history world.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Group Show
May 1 to 31
Eilndarts Center, 10 E. Chestnut Ave., Merchantville, NJ 08109
www.eilandarts.com
Gallery hours: Monday to Sat. 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The sad news is that Main Street Art, the front gallery and shop, are closed. The Sip and Paint parties continue through June in the rear activity room, with parking back there too. The shop was a partnership with one partner supplying the building and the other supplying the artists and the sip and paint parties and kids classes. The Real Estate partner, the landlord, didn't make enough profit and so the Main Street Art enterprise was forced to close down. I will really miss all the art and the artists and the great effort to keep culture alive in Maple Shade.
Nonetheless, the beat goes on at the old train station in Merchantville called ElandArts. And the artist in residence at Main Street Art has work in this show. I hope you go too!
Last night at Cherry Hill Library there was a brilliant lecture on the Revolutionary War in South Jersey, in my humble opinion a very neglected topic. The speaker, Mr. Colden, I believe is his name, i currently director of Pitman Libr. formerly head of Salem County Historical Society. I took his tour of the Salem County Historical Society and that was also brilliant. He is a very good speaker and the extremely large audience was entirely engaged such that the debates and comments went on well after the lecture was over. A good sign in the history world.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Monday, April 30, 2018
Revolutionary War in South Jersey
Tuesday, May 1st, at the Cherry Hill Library, Andrew Coldren (former director of the Salem Co. Hist. Society) will be presenting on the Revolutionary War in South Jersey. 1100 Kings Hwy., North.
For those of us who have spent any time in the history world of South Jersey, it is nothing short of ASTONISHING how much Revolutionary War history took place in our patch.
You may have read my piece about driving the Old Salem Rd (Kings Highway) on Saturday down to Salem and then to Hancock's Bridge, the site of a Revolutionary War era tavern where American militia men met, and were slaughtered one night by a Royalist force under Col. Simcoe. The British offered freedom to enslaved people in the colonies if they would spy for them or guide for them. Two enslaved men led the British force through the wetlands of the Always Creek, to sneak up on the sleeping militia men and slaughter them all, including the tavern keeper.
Salem County was also the site of a famous raid by "Mad Anthony" Wayne, to round up all the livestock left on the already ravaged farms in that area, to march them to feed the starving men of our Continental army in Pennsylvania winter quarters.
For a time, one of the many places I volunteered as a docent was Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, where the New Jersey State Constitutional seal was adopted. And lest we forget, there was a TEA PARTY in Greenwich, on the Cohansey River at the southern most border of South Jersey, when a black marketeer attempted to hide contraband tea until he could sneak it into Philadelphia, but local patriots discovered it and burned it in the town square!
I hope to learn even more, much more of our fabulous an often forgotten Revolutionary War history at the lecture. Hope to see you there.
Oh, also, I just bought a book for a birthday gift for a friend called 266 Days, which uses primary sources such as diaries and other documents to describe the period when the British forces had invaded and held our once capitol city of Philadelphia. I may have to buy a copy for myself!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
For those of us who have spent any time in the history world of South Jersey, it is nothing short of ASTONISHING how much Revolutionary War history took place in our patch.
You may have read my piece about driving the Old Salem Rd (Kings Highway) on Saturday down to Salem and then to Hancock's Bridge, the site of a Revolutionary War era tavern where American militia men met, and were slaughtered one night by a Royalist force under Col. Simcoe. The British offered freedom to enslaved people in the colonies if they would spy for them or guide for them. Two enslaved men led the British force through the wetlands of the Always Creek, to sneak up on the sleeping militia men and slaughter them all, including the tavern keeper.
Salem County was also the site of a famous raid by "Mad Anthony" Wayne, to round up all the livestock left on the already ravaged farms in that area, to march them to feed the starving men of our Continental army in Pennsylvania winter quarters.
For a time, one of the many places I volunteered as a docent was Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield, where the New Jersey State Constitutional seal was adopted. And lest we forget, there was a TEA PARTY in Greenwich, on the Cohansey River at the southern most border of South Jersey, when a black marketeer attempted to hide contraband tea until he could sneak it into Philadelphia, but local patriots discovered it and burned it in the town square!
I hope to learn even more, much more of our fabulous an often forgotten Revolutionary War history at the lecture. Hope to see you there.
Oh, also, I just bought a book for a birthday gift for a friend called 266 Days, which uses primary sources such as diaries and other documents to describe the period when the British forces had invaded and held our once capitol city of Philadelphia. I may have to buy a copy for myself!
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Vegetarian Events
As any of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know, I am a vegetarian. Often, over the years, I have posted on places to go for good vegetarian and vegan food such as Wildflowers in Millville. Fortunately, most places now offer some vegetarian selections, though, sadly, they are often limited to "veggie burgers."
Still, I am to complaining, one is better than none. Some places don't have it on the menu but if you ask they serve it, such as Applebees, which mysteries does not put their veggie burger on their menu but my friends and I often get veggie burgers there.
Well, also, at some point in the past, I blogged about visiting he South Jersey Vegetarian Society, which has a bookstore! Two of my friends are activists for this group and do "tabling" which means they hand out literature from tables at events.
Since I am on their mailing list, I thought I would share with you their latest e-mail of upcoming events:
Mark Your Calendar
Potluck May 12 Medford Friends Meeting House
Free Lecture Series Monday June 25, 6:30pm Margaret E Heggan Library, Sewell, NJ
Details coming
Picnic Potlucks June 30 Longbridge Park and Sept 1st Smithville Park
Thanksgiving Annual Potluck Nov 11 Moorestown
Not being much of a 'grouper' myself, I don't attend many of their events, and I am not very interested in food, though I am a devoted vegetarian since the 1970's with some minor detours over the years while I was raising my daughter.
I was first converted by Frances Moore Lappe's book Diet for a Small Planet, a book as timely now as it was back when it was first published and popular among alternative lifestyle hippies. We were becoming more health minded and we were not averse to change. Back in those days, I did a lot of cooking with a pressure cooker, a lot of beans and rice dishes and stir fry dishes. Today, I live a lot on my Nutribullet, and I make smoothies and soups. Yesterday I made a broccoli/cauliflower soup using the NutriBullet that ws heavenly on a rainy at-home-reading day.
So, if you want to learn more about this 'easier and easier all the time' way to improve your healthy and save our planet, get a book from the library, or visit the Vegetarian Society or go to an event! Your heart and arteries will be glad you did, so will Planet Earth.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Still, I am to complaining, one is better than none. Some places don't have it on the menu but if you ask they serve it, such as Applebees, which mysteries does not put their veggie burger on their menu but my friends and I often get veggie burgers there.
Well, also, at some point in the past, I blogged about visiting he South Jersey Vegetarian Society, which has a bookstore! Two of my friends are activists for this group and do "tabling" which means they hand out literature from tables at events.
Since I am on their mailing list, I thought I would share with you their latest e-mail of upcoming events:
Mark Your Calendar
Potluck May 12 Medford Friends Meeting House
Free Lecture Series Monday June 25, 6:30pm Margaret E Heggan Library, Sewell, NJ
Details coming
Picnic Potlucks June 30 Longbridge Park and Sept 1st Smithville Park
Thanksgiving Annual Potluck Nov 11 Moorestown
Not being much of a 'grouper' myself, I don't attend many of their events, and I am not very interested in food, though I am a devoted vegetarian since the 1970's with some minor detours over the years while I was raising my daughter.
I was first converted by Frances Moore Lappe's book Diet for a Small Planet, a book as timely now as it was back when it was first published and popular among alternative lifestyle hippies. We were becoming more health minded and we were not averse to change. Back in those days, I did a lot of cooking with a pressure cooker, a lot of beans and rice dishes and stir fry dishes. Today, I live a lot on my Nutribullet, and I make smoothies and soups. Yesterday I made a broccoli/cauliflower soup using the NutriBullet that ws heavenly on a rainy at-home-reading day.
So, if you want to learn more about this 'easier and easier all the time' way to improve your healthy and save our planet, get a book from the library, or visit the Vegetarian Society or go to an event! Your heart and arteries will be glad you did, so will Planet Earth.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Friday, April 27, 2018
World War II comes back in a box
Today, I got a book from amazon.com called War in the Ruins by Edward G. Longacre. This post is going to be filled with coincidences and a bit of resolved mystery from personal history with World War II.
When I was a child growing up, our house was saturated with World War II history as my father had been in the U.S. Navy as had his uncle and his brother. His father had been in the Merchant Marines but had died before the war. My father had served in troop transports in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and we watched Victory at Sea the way some folks go to church.
Dad was a big reader too, and a heavy collector of vcd's devoted to the war. We watched them all, so I knew quite a bit, but, as it turned out, not much about the end battles in Germany.
None of the movies we watched seemed to cover that either, now that I think of it.
In 1967, I married my teenaged sweetheart, after he was drafted into the U.S. Army. We were thrilled when he got his orders for Germany and not for Vietnam. My brother, in the U.S Marines was already in Vietnam.
So, we got married and I went to live in a small town called Heilbronn. I was only 21, and it wouldn't be too much a stretch to say I was like Alice in Wonderland, naive, innocent, inexperienced and full of wonder. We lived in the village not the army base because the swollen forces due to Vietnam had filled the army housing. We found this a great benefit, however as it provided a close hand experience with the culture and the people. Needless to say, though, it was somewhat isolating for me as my young husband spent a lot of time "in the field" and I was learning to speak German but it was a long process, and my language skills didn't progress too far from einkauffen (shopping).
Heilbronn was, to me, born and bred in Philadelphia, an impressively clean and tidy place. Also, the concrete atrium style housing was so new. People had courtyard gardens and window boxes filled with bright red geraniums. I didn't know anything and I couldn't really ask anything, and no one that I encountered knew anything about the past, or if they did, they kept it to themselves.
Just a few years ago, on a hunt for a vintage postcard from Heilbronn, I discovered the the old Medieval city of about a hundred thousand had been bombed into acres of rubble during the war. And then, the acres of rubble, underneath of which were market tunnels, had been turned into an end of the war battle zone between conquering American forces and a retreating "last stand" German rag tag army of boys, old men, and left overs from the Luftwaffe, the navy, the SS, and released prisoners, about a thousand strong.
Their last stand necessitated house by house and street by street combat on the part of the Centurymen American forces.
I can't believe that, not knowing anything about this event, only 22 years before, I walked those streets, and shopped in those little corner markets every day with people, many of whom must have been survivors of that battle, including our landlady, Frau Froeschle. She would have been around 50 then, and so she would have been in her early 20's during the bombing and the battle. Perhaps she had been married and her husband had been a soldier killed in the war. Perhaps she had lost her family in the bombing.
And my neighbor and friend, Trudy, who made her living off GI's as a kind of temporary full time wife, had parents who must have lived through all of that as well. I met her mother often, a woman in her 60's.
Two years I lived in Heilbronn, with never a guess about what devastation had occurred there so recently, even though a desolate spire of rubble stood in the center of the town left from the destruction of the Kilianskirche, a cathedral destroyed in the bombing. Truly, however, I think it is a mercy and a lucky break that I didn't know more, because I could go to this new and foreign place without preconceptions about the people and without awareness of the ghosts to taint my experience. Having been a child of the war, I couldn't have looked at those people with unbudging and friendly eyes if I had known it was a Nazi stronghold.
When I was a child growing up, our house was saturated with World War II history as my father had been in the U.S. Navy as had his uncle and his brother. His father had been in the Merchant Marines but had died before the war. My father had served in troop transports in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and we watched Victory at Sea the way some folks go to church.
Dad was a big reader too, and a heavy collector of vcd's devoted to the war. We watched them all, so I knew quite a bit, but, as it turned out, not much about the end battles in Germany.
None of the movies we watched seemed to cover that either, now that I think of it.
In 1967, I married my teenaged sweetheart, after he was drafted into the U.S. Army. We were thrilled when he got his orders for Germany and not for Vietnam. My brother, in the U.S Marines was already in Vietnam.
So, we got married and I went to live in a small town called Heilbronn. I was only 21, and it wouldn't be too much a stretch to say I was like Alice in Wonderland, naive, innocent, inexperienced and full of wonder. We lived in the village not the army base because the swollen forces due to Vietnam had filled the army housing. We found this a great benefit, however as it provided a close hand experience with the culture and the people. Needless to say, though, it was somewhat isolating for me as my young husband spent a lot of time "in the field" and I was learning to speak German but it was a long process, and my language skills didn't progress too far from einkauffen (shopping).
Heilbronn was, to me, born and bred in Philadelphia, an impressively clean and tidy place. Also, the concrete atrium style housing was so new. People had courtyard gardens and window boxes filled with bright red geraniums. I didn't know anything and I couldn't really ask anything, and no one that I encountered knew anything about the past, or if they did, they kept it to themselves.
Just a few years ago, on a hunt for a vintage postcard from Heilbronn, I discovered the the old Medieval city of about a hundred thousand had been bombed into acres of rubble during the war. And then, the acres of rubble, underneath of which were market tunnels, had been turned into an end of the war battle zone between conquering American forces and a retreating "last stand" German rag tag army of boys, old men, and left overs from the Luftwaffe, the navy, the SS, and released prisoners, about a thousand strong.
Their last stand necessitated house by house and street by street combat on the part of the Centurymen American forces.
I can't believe that, not knowing anything about this event, only 22 years before, I walked those streets, and shopped in those little corner markets every day with people, many of whom must have been survivors of that battle, including our landlady, Frau Froeschle. She would have been around 50 then, and so she would have been in her early 20's during the bombing and the battle. Perhaps she had been married and her husband had been a soldier killed in the war. Perhaps she had lost her family in the bombing.
And my neighbor and friend, Trudy, who made her living off GI's as a kind of temporary full time wife, had parents who must have lived through all of that as well. I met her mother often, a woman in her 60's.
Two years I lived in Heilbronn, with never a guess about what devastation had occurred there so recently, even though a desolate spire of rubble stood in the center of the town left from the destruction of the Kilianskirche, a cathedral destroyed in the bombing. Truly, however, I think it is a mercy and a lucky break that I didn't know more, because I could go to this new and foreign place without preconceptions about the people and without awareness of the ghosts to taint my experience. Having been a child of the war, I couldn't have looked at those people with unbudging and friendly eyes if I had known it was a Nazi stronghold.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Great lecture on New Jersey's historic women painters
Sunday at the Burlington County Historical Society was very interesting. They actually have on display one of the paintings described by the speaker, so you could go up close and see the details.
The lecture was called Sunsets to Sheep and described the lives and works of half a dozen notable artists from New Jersey including wax sculptor Patience Wright, and Lily Martin Spencer to name just two.
The detail above is from the painting on display at the Burlington County Historical Museum.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Sunsets and Sheep Today, April 22, 2018
Later today I will be going to the Burlington County Historical Society, 457 High St., Burlington for program on Burlington's historic and famous women artists, Patience Lovell Wright, among them. She was a wax sculptor, but the other featured artists include a painter specializing in domestic animals, and a landscape painter. Since I have painted both animals and landscapes, I will especially enjoy this! And I have seen Patience Lovell Wright's house in Burlington and read her life story - she was a spy for the Continental army in London during the Revolution.
The lecture is at 2:00. Hope to see you there!
Jo Ann
The lecture is at 2:00. Hope to see you there!
Jo Ann
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Exciting and fun events in May and June 2018
May 6, Spring Fling Artisan Craft Fair noon to 6 p.m.
Flying Fish Brewing Company, Somerdale
Talented Crafters will be selling their wares both inside the tasting room and outside on the brewery patio and lawn, rain or shine!
May 19, Pitman Spring Craft Show
Downtown Pitman
uptownpitman.com
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more than 30 years this festival has brought more than 200 crafters displaying handcrafted wares from jewelry to florals, wood, sewn items, foods and more!
May 19 & 20 from 10 am to 5 p.m.Arts in Bloom Free Artist Studio Tour, Salem County
artsinbloomnj.com
self-driving tour of 30 artists studios
painting, pottery, sculpture, glass, wood and more!
May 19 & 20, from 10 to 4, 41st Annual Bordertown Street Fair
Farnsworth Avenue, Bordertown
An eclectic array of shops and restaurants
May 26, 10-5, May Fair, Downtown Collingswood
More tha a mile of arts, crafts, MUSIC, and food on Haddon Avenue, plus classic auto show
June 3, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gloucester County Water Fest
Scotland Run Park, Clayton
gloucestercountynj.gov
canoeing and kayaking on the lake and music on the beach, free and rain or shine
June 2 & 3 from 1 to 6, South Jersey Arts Fest
Appel Farm, Elmer
appelfarm.org/south-jerey-arts-fest
June 23rd and 24th, 10a.m. to 4p.m. 15th Annual Blueberry Fest
Whitesbog Village, Browns Mills, NJ
whitesbog.org
June 24 from 10-4, Red, White and Blueberry Fest
Old Forks Road, Hammonton
hammontonnjus/red-white-blueberry-festival
Visit the blueberry capital of the WORLD for live music, jugglers, classic car show, and all kinds of blueberry treats from pie to muffins
All this info came from
VisitSouthJersey.com/Here
Excellent article in the latest edition of this free delivered magazine on The Hancock House in Lower Alloways Creek, NJ, also the site of many great re-enactments and events, my favorite being the spinner and weaver who brings hand spun yarns dyed with natural ingredients and shares her noted expertise in the processes of textiles in the Colonial period. She also teaches classes in these processes, including spinning at Wool Bearers in Mount Holly.
I always wanted to learn this but I find my life, time, and money cannot stretch any further than I have already stretched them!
Hancock House, built in 1734, is on the State Register of Historic Places and is open for tours. It is a beautiful building, but, more importantly, it was the site of a historic massacre during the Revolutionary War.
www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com
www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/historic/
Happy Trails!
I hope with my help, you need never have a day where you say, "I don't know what to do today." All you have to do is look on this blog and resolve the issue. Keep scrolling till you find something that strikes your fancy.
Jo Ann
Flying Fish Brewing Company, Somerdale
Talented Crafters will be selling their wares both inside the tasting room and outside on the brewery patio and lawn, rain or shine!
May 19, Pitman Spring Craft Show
Downtown Pitman
uptownpitman.com
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more than 30 years this festival has brought more than 200 crafters displaying handcrafted wares from jewelry to florals, wood, sewn items, foods and more!
May 19 & 20 from 10 am to 5 p.m.Arts in Bloom Free Artist Studio Tour, Salem County
artsinbloomnj.com
self-driving tour of 30 artists studios
painting, pottery, sculpture, glass, wood and more!
May 19 & 20, from 10 to 4, 41st Annual Bordertown Street Fair
Farnsworth Avenue, Bordertown
An eclectic array of shops and restaurants
May 26, 10-5, May Fair, Downtown Collingswood
More tha a mile of arts, crafts, MUSIC, and food on Haddon Avenue, plus classic auto show
June 3, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gloucester County Water Fest
Scotland Run Park, Clayton
gloucestercountynj.gov
canoeing and kayaking on the lake and music on the beach, free and rain or shine
June 2 & 3 from 1 to 6, South Jersey Arts Fest
Appel Farm, Elmer
appelfarm.org/south-jerey-arts-fest
June 23rd and 24th, 10a.m. to 4p.m. 15th Annual Blueberry Fest
Whitesbog Village, Browns Mills, NJ
whitesbog.org
June 24 from 10-4, Red, White and Blueberry Fest
Old Forks Road, Hammonton
hammontonnjus/red-white-blueberry-festival
Visit the blueberry capital of the WORLD for live music, jugglers, classic car show, and all kinds of blueberry treats from pie to muffins
All this info came from
VisitSouthJersey.com/Here
Excellent article in the latest edition of this free delivered magazine on The Hancock House in Lower Alloways Creek, NJ, also the site of many great re-enactments and events, my favorite being the spinner and weaver who brings hand spun yarns dyed with natural ingredients and shares her noted expertise in the processes of textiles in the Colonial period. She also teaches classes in these processes, including spinning at Wool Bearers in Mount Holly.
I always wanted to learn this but I find my life, time, and money cannot stretch any further than I have already stretched them!
Hancock House, built in 1734, is on the State Register of Historic Places and is open for tours. It is a beautiful building, but, more importantly, it was the site of a historic massacre during the Revolutionary War.
www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com
www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/historic/
Happy Trails!
I hope with my help, you need never have a day where you say, "I don't know what to do today." All you have to do is look on this blog and resolve the issue. Keep scrolling till you find something that strikes your fancy.
Jo Ann
Friday, April 20, 2018
Burlington County Historical Society Program Sunday Apr. 22
At 2:00 a Stockton Professor will present on several wonderful New Jersey women artists including Patience Lovell Wright (who has wax sculptures on permanent display in the London Wax Museum) and an artist who specialized in domestic animals as well as a NJ Pinelands landscape painter.
It will be a great day to get out and about now that the weather is friendly and perhaps you will be inspired to some Art experience, visiting a museum, painting, photography, visiting some farms like The Funny Farm, or taking a walk around historic Burlington or Bordertown.
Oh yes, one of the artists was the niece of Joseph Boneparte who, as you probably know, had his residence in Bordertown during difficult times in France when he was safer in New Jersey.
Hope to see you there,
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Whoops, forgot to tell you the presentation is at the Burlington Historical Society at 2:00 in the afternoon and $5 donation is requested.
It will be a great day to get out and about now that the weather is friendly and perhaps you will be inspired to some Art experience, visiting a museum, painting, photography, visiting some farms like The Funny Farm, or taking a walk around historic Burlington or Bordertown.
Oh yes, one of the artists was the niece of Joseph Boneparte who, as you probably know, had his residence in Bordertown during difficult times in France when he was safer in New Jersey.
Hope to see you there,
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Whoops, forgot to tell you the presentation is at the Burlington Historical Society at 2:00 in the afternoon and $5 donation is requested.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Apple Cider Donuts chase the blues on a gloomy Day!
Second day of local joy! Yesterday it was Maritza's followed by Rails to Trails in Merchantville with banks of daffodils in bloom, and a trip to Platt's Farm for pots of winter pansies.
Today my best buddy and I had lunch at Station Ave. Cafe' followed by a trip to Duffields, off Ganttown Rd/Chapel Heights Rd., Sewell, Nj for Apple Cider Donuts coated with cinnamon sugar! They have hundreds of other delicious things from the farm there too, though, and a bakery, AND you can get a coffee to go with your donuts. They have a brochure filled with delicious seasonal baked goods, pumpkin things in fall, blueberry baked goods in summer.
Last, we went to Antiques Only, on Ganttown Rd - a treasure trove of every imaginable thing from the old days. My favorite things were a light up globe and a painted lunch box. Gail liked an iridescent-salmon colored, fluted candy dish. I resisted buying the lunch box though I REALLY wanted it because just this morning I paid a giant dental bill with more to come and it made me a little more budget conscious than I might have been otherwise.
It may have been cold and damp and gloomy outside but it was cheery everywhere we went and the fun we had brightened the day considerably AND tomorrow morning when the Sunday New York Times comes, I will have Apple Cider Donuts to have with my coffee and paper!
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Today my best buddy and I had lunch at Station Ave. Cafe' followed by a trip to Duffields, off Ganttown Rd/Chapel Heights Rd., Sewell, Nj for Apple Cider Donuts coated with cinnamon sugar! They have hundreds of other delicious things from the farm there too, though, and a bakery, AND you can get a coffee to go with your donuts. They have a brochure filled with delicious seasonal baked goods, pumpkin things in fall, blueberry baked goods in summer.
Last, we went to Antiques Only, on Ganttown Rd - a treasure trove of every imaginable thing from the old days. My favorite things were a light up globe and a painted lunch box. Gail liked an iridescent-salmon colored, fluted candy dish. I resisted buying the lunch box though I REALLY wanted it because just this morning I paid a giant dental bill with more to come and it made me a little more budget conscious than I might have been otherwise.
It may have been cold and damp and gloomy outside but it was cheery everywhere we went and the fun we had brightened the day considerably AND tomorrow morning when the Sunday New York Times comes, I will have Apple Cider Donuts to have with my coffee and paper!
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Friday, April 6, 2018
Daffodil Festival April 14th 12 to 3 pm in Merchantville, NJ
Daffodil bulb sale
Horticultural Hand-on Workshop
Peter Rabbit's Mother - Celebration of the work of Beatrix Potter
Spring Market, off Centre Street.
My intrepid road trip pal, Gail and I had lunch at Maritza's in Maple Shade then walked the Rails to Trails in Merchantville and admired the beds of bright butter yellow daffodils! We ran into the daffodil lady working there and she told us about the Fair coming on Saturday April 14th. I photographed the flyer from the front of a building and will post it here when it gets to the cloud, meanwhile, here is the information!
The Festival is sponsored by the Merchantville Garden Club and the raindate is Sunday the 15th should the weather go bad on the 14th. Don't forget the lovely little coffee shop in the old train station! You can get something to eat and drink while at the Festival. Hope to see you there! Gail and I are all set to go back, I wouldn't miss a celebration of Beatrix Potter for anything!
This is a painting I did of a bunny who lives in my yard His family has been here as long as I have, which is 30 years! Happy Trails and Bunny Tails!
Jo Ann
Horticultural Hand-on Workshop
Peter Rabbit's Mother - Celebration of the work of Beatrix Potter
Spring Market, off Centre Street.
My intrepid road trip pal, Gail and I had lunch at Maritza's in Maple Shade then walked the Rails to Trails in Merchantville and admired the beds of bright butter yellow daffodils! We ran into the daffodil lady working there and she told us about the Fair coming on Saturday April 14th. I photographed the flyer from the front of a building and will post it here when it gets to the cloud, meanwhile, here is the information!
The Festival is sponsored by the Merchantville Garden Club and the raindate is Sunday the 15th should the weather go bad on the 14th. Don't forget the lovely little coffee shop in the old train station! You can get something to eat and drink while at the Festival. Hope to see you there! Gail and I are all set to go back, I wouldn't miss a celebration of Beatrix Potter for anything!
This is a painting I did of a bunny who lives in my yard His family has been here as long as I have, which is 30 years! Happy Trails and Bunny Tails!
Jo Ann
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Burlington County Programs April 2018
The following history and natural science programs are upcoming in April. Registration is suggested for all programs. Please see below for instructions on registration.**
April 7, 2PM – Geology Field Trip, Mount Holly
During this geology walk, participants will look at and learn about the local rock used to construct the Historic Prison and other early buildings of Mount Holly. We will climb up Mount Holly and discuss the geology that created the Mount. Led by Pierre Lacombe, retired USGS geologist. Meet at the Historic Prison Museum (128 High Street, Mount Holly 08060).
April 10, 6PM – A Walk Through History: Industrial Mount Holly
Enjoy a leisurely stroll through Mount Holly while hearing stories about the town’s industrial past. Learn how the town progressed from saw mills and iron mines to factories. Meet at the Shinn-Curtis log cabin (23 Washington Street, Mount Holly 08060 – behind the municipal building).
April 19, 7PM – Burlington County: Rooted in Agriculture
Find out how the changing face of agriculture affected the farming families of Burlington County. Learn how some held on through the years while others did not. See how Burlington County fought back against the growing tide of development to become the frontrunner in the state in Farmland Preservation. Finally, see what new way farmers are finding to conduct business in an ever changing landscape. The presentation will be held at the Smithville Mansion, Billiard Room (803 Smithville Road, Eastampton 08060).
April 19, 7PM – Burlington County and the American Revolution
Burlington County was a hotbed of activity throughout the Revolutionary War. Many battles were fought in our towns, local individuals took on roles they never dreamed of, and the lives of our citizens were affected. Learn the significant, yet often overlooked, role Burlington County played in securing our independence. Presentation will take place at the Crosswicks Library (483 Main Street, Crosswicks 08515).
April 21 at 1 pm- Hunters of the Sky
Hunters of the Sky presented by Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge will allow you to view a variety of New Jersey's raptors (birds of prey) up-close during this engaging and educational presentation. You will learn about the characteristics that makes these birds amazing hunters and the special adaptations they have for survival. Ages 10 and up are welcome. The program will take place at the Burlington County Library.
April 23, 2PM – Read and React
This unique approach to history opens up discussion that links our history to current events. A document, photo or artifact will be provided for review. Open discussion on the provided material is encouraged but not required. You may come to simply experience various viewpoints on the subject. You never know where the conversation may lead. The program will be held at the Smithville Mansion, Billiard Room (803 Smithville Road, Eastampton 08060).
**Registration instructions
2. Create an account
3. Select “history” from the tabs in the catalogue
4. Choose the program you are interested in registering for
5. Follow prompts
6. You will receive a receipt, reminder email, and any updates to the program following registration.
If you have difficulty, please provide the program you are interested in, your home address, email, phone, and age via email. We will then be able to create a registration for you.
Thank you,
Marisa Bozarth
Sunday, March 25, 2018
NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem, and Jewelry Show and Sale, Edison, NJ
April 4 - 8, 2018, Edison NJ www.NJ.show
Featuring Titanoboa, the 48 ft monster snake from the Smithsonian Institution, Dinosaur Skeletons, Glow in th dark UV minerals, Trilobite treasures and activities for children AND 400 Display booths with crystals, emeralds, gold, silver, and many other natural history wonders.
A FREE dinosaur bone specimen for every child!
This advert comes from the April 2018 Smithsonnian and if my eye sight were better and my car newer, I would def. go and enjoy this event, but that is not the case, so all I can do is forward the info and hope that YOU will go and enjoy it.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Featuring Titanoboa, the 48 ft monster snake from the Smithsonian Institution, Dinosaur Skeletons, Glow in th dark UV minerals, Trilobite treasures and activities for children AND 400 Display booths with crystals, emeralds, gold, silver, and many other natural history wonders.
A FREE dinosaur bone specimen for every child!
This advert comes from the April 2018 Smithsonnian and if my eye sight were better and my car newer, I would def. go and enjoy this event, but that is not the case, so all I can do is forward the info and hope that YOU will go and enjoy it.
Happy Trails,
Jo Ann
Saturday, March 24, 2018
AUW sponsors Storyteller Dorothy Stanaitis at Woodstown Friends Meeting Today
Today at noon, the Association of University Women held their Tea at Woodstown Friends Meeting followed by Storyteller Dorothy Stanaitis presentation "Immigrant Girls" which was well received.
Dorothy is a spellbinding storyteller and everyone enjoyed her story featured three immigrant women from Lebanon, Lithuania, and England. Several of the women present remembered Mrs. Stanaitis from her days as Program Director at the Gloucester City Library and also from her work at various other venues.
It was such a glorious day to be out and a lovely drive from Gloucester City to Woodstown. The women from the AUW were lovely people and it was delightful to meet them and share the day.
There was a concert series at Woodstown Friends, two remaining concerts you might be interested in attending:
The Gabriels (Jazz Quartet) Sunay, April 22, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Woods town High School Choir Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 pm
Woods town Friends is 104 Main St., Woodstown, NJ
www.musicatfriends.org
free, and plenty of parking available
Dorothy is a spellbinding storyteller and everyone enjoyed her story featured three immigrant women from Lebanon, Lithuania, and England. Several of the women present remembered Mrs. Stanaitis from her days as Program Director at the Gloucester City Library and also from her work at various other venues.
It was such a glorious day to be out and a lovely drive from Gloucester City to Woodstown. The women from the AUW were lovely people and it was delightful to meet them and share the day.
There was a concert series at Woodstown Friends, two remaining concerts you might be interested in attending:
The Gabriels (Jazz Quartet) Sunay, April 22, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Woods town High School Choir Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 pm
Woods town Friends is 104 Main St., Woodstown, NJ
www.musicatfriends.org
free, and plenty of parking available
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Chair Yoga
Chair Yoga in Cherry Hill or Haddon Twp.
Camden County Board of Freeholders is offering one hour classes FREE in chair yoga. If like me, you have knee problems, you might want to try Chair Yoga. I have taken Yoga many times beginning in the 1970's when Cherry Hill High School offered night classes, again in the 1990's at Lady of Lourdes in Collingswood, and most recently at Collingswood Community Center, and Barrington Gym - Royal Fitness. All of them cost money, and this series is FREE! So why not give it a try. I have found yoga to be immensely helpful not only in flexibility in your body, but also in calming the mind. I missed not being able to do it anymore but I can't kneel, lunge, or squat due to cartilage loss in one knee and torn meniscus in the other and probably arthritis in both. Classes begin Monday March 26 and continue on Mondays through May. What an opportunity!
To reserve your spot call 856-858-2986 Tom Castellano or email tom.castellano@camdencounty.com
Classes are Mondays at 1:00 at William J. Rohrer Memorial Library, 15 MacArthur Blv.
For Cherry Hill clases, mostly on Wednesdays, at the Municipal Bldg. 820 Mercer St. also at 1:00 call 856-488-7868 or email recreation@chtownship.com
The classes are suitable for all experience levels.
I try to stay fit by going to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, and walking most days, but I was just lamenting to my gym buddy last week that I needed more stretching in my routine and I don't have the personal discipline to do it on my own, I need a group and an appointment to get it done.
Hope you are keeping fit so you can enjoy all the places to go and things to do in South Jersey - speaking of which:
This Saturday, March 24, Dorothy Stanaitis will be doing a program on Immigrant Girls at the Woodstown Friends Meeting House, Main Street, Woodstown. She has already registered me, so I don't have the number there but I am sure you can find it if you are interested. There is a tea at noon followed by the presentation at 1:00.
Book Recommendation for History Buffs: BEHEMOTH: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World by Joshua Freeman. Getting great reviews. I haven't bought it yet - I have a stack of books to et through before I buy any more, but I will get it eventually. Ever work in a factory? I did one summer while working my way through college. It was an experience. It was at Alchester Mills in Camden, Nj.
Camden County Board of Freeholders is offering one hour classes FREE in chair yoga. If like me, you have knee problems, you might want to try Chair Yoga. I have taken Yoga many times beginning in the 1970's when Cherry Hill High School offered night classes, again in the 1990's at Lady of Lourdes in Collingswood, and most recently at Collingswood Community Center, and Barrington Gym - Royal Fitness. All of them cost money, and this series is FREE! So why not give it a try. I have found yoga to be immensely helpful not only in flexibility in your body, but also in calming the mind. I missed not being able to do it anymore but I can't kneel, lunge, or squat due to cartilage loss in one knee and torn meniscus in the other and probably arthritis in both. Classes begin Monday March 26 and continue on Mondays through May. What an opportunity!
To reserve your spot call 856-858-2986 Tom Castellano or email tom.castellano@camdencounty.com
Classes are Mondays at 1:00 at William J. Rohrer Memorial Library, 15 MacArthur Blv.
For Cherry Hill clases, mostly on Wednesdays, at the Municipal Bldg. 820 Mercer St. also at 1:00 call 856-488-7868 or email recreation@chtownship.com
The classes are suitable for all experience levels.
I try to stay fit by going to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, and walking most days, but I was just lamenting to my gym buddy last week that I needed more stretching in my routine and I don't have the personal discipline to do it on my own, I need a group and an appointment to get it done.
Hope you are keeping fit so you can enjoy all the places to go and things to do in South Jersey - speaking of which:
This Saturday, March 24, Dorothy Stanaitis will be doing a program on Immigrant Girls at the Woodstown Friends Meeting House, Main Street, Woodstown. She has already registered me, so I don't have the number there but I am sure you can find it if you are interested. There is a tea at noon followed by the presentation at 1:00.
Book Recommendation for History Buffs: BEHEMOTH: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World by Joshua Freeman. Getting great reviews. I haven't bought it yet - I have a stack of books to et through before I buy any more, but I will get it eventually. Ever work in a factory? I did one summer while working my way through college. It was an experience. It was at Alchester Mills in Camden, Nj.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
New Jersey Folk Revival Music, Book Lecture Michael Gabriele at Cam. Co. Hist. Soc. Mar.25
Camden County Historical Society Hosts Program on New Jersey Folk Revival Music
The Camden County Historical Society will host author Michael Gabriele for a presentation about his book “New Jersey Folk Revival Music – History and Tradition” on Sunday, March 25 at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Gabriele’s book—190 pages with over 80 photos—provides a narrative on the evolution, traditions and history of folk revival music throughout New Jersey. The program will feature information on the legendary Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, where Woody Guthrie, Cecil Sharp, Paul Robeson, Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family all recorded their monumental first commercial albums.
The story begins in the colonial days of bawdy tavern revelers and fiddle players in the 1700s and moves to the music and folklore from the Garden State’s Pine Barrens; to advent of the “Guitar Mania” phenomenon in the mid-1800s; to the New Jersey activities of legendary artists such as Paul Robeson, Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan throughout the 20th century; to the achievements of world-class New Jersey musicians.
Folk revival music is a “living history” that builds upon time-honored traditions, which date back more than 300 years. The book documents the Garden State’s vast contributions to this musical genre and examines the effects of folk revival music on local history and culture, as well as how it has changed lives—those on stage and those in the audience.
This is Gabriele’s third book on Garden State history published by Arcadia Publishing/The History Press. A lifelong New Jersey resident, he’s a 1975 graduate of Montclair State University and has worked as a journalist and freelance writer for four decades. Gabriele is a member of the executive board of the Nutley Historical Society and serves on the advisory board of the Clifton Arts Center. Gabriele will have copies of his books available for sale.
The Camden County Historical Society is located at 1900 Park Boulevard, Camden NJ 08103. The site includes the Hineline Research Library, Historic Pomona Hall, Cultural Heritage Center & Gallery, African American History Room, and Camden County Museum, and is regularly open Wednesday to Friday from 10am to 4:30pm and Sunday 12-3pm, with a $5 admission fee for nonmembers. For more information, please call 856-964-3333, email admin@cchsnj.org, or visit the society’s website at www.cchsnj.org.
--Bonny Beth Elwell
Library Director
Camden County Historical Society
1900 Park Blvd
Camden NJ 08103
856.964.3333
Camden County Historical Society
1900 Park Blvd
Camden NJ 08103
856.964.3333
Friday, March 16, 2018
Ocean City Historical Society Museum
Today, an adventure pal and I set off down the Black Horse Pike, then 559 (my favorite stretch of backroad in South Jersey, to Somers Point for lunch at the diner, followed by a visit to the O.C.H.S. Museum in the Library Community Center Complex on 17th Street.
After admiring the absolutely gorgeous white Easter dresses of the turn of the century and the many other items of interest, not least of which where the switchboard and collection of telephones, I found a beautiful postcard of the Sindia and the mast on the beach that I remembered from my own childhood. The Sindia went aground in December of 1901. Many households in Ocean City had collections of ceramics from the cargo which washed ashore in crates and was retrieved by the citizens. A good deal of it is in the Ocean City Museum collection now.
When I was a child, a portion of the mast was still visible sticking up about 8 or 10 feet from the sand down the 17th Street end of the beach. Sea life always held a place of mystery and fascination in my imagination, not least because of that mast and the ship buried beneath the sand, but also because of Scott Storage, next door to my Grandmother' house on Asbury Avenue. There were many ships mastheads and other paraphernalia in storage there, ships' wheels, for example. And I had been the kind of child who read voraciously from the treasure my mother made available to me of classics like Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe.
Also, you may recall a tv series called Adventures in Paradise that ran from 1959 to 1962, starring Gardner McKay as a sailboat captain who went from island to island in the Pacific solving crimes and ferrying mysterious clients. I was in love with him!
Today, Friday, March 16, 2018, the main exhibit was beautiful and unimaginably intricate Easter dresses from the Victorian period. The more you know, the more interesting thing are, and so, knowing that my grandmother (the one who lived in Ocean City) and her mother made a living as seamstresses, has always made clothing more interesting to me than its uses. I used to make all my own clothes at one time. My great-grandmother was listed in the census as a dressmaker when she was 16, in an age when all clothes were made by individual people.
The cutwork and beading and detailing of those Victorian dresses spoke to the eye straining, backbreaking labor of immigrant women who worked from sunrise to dark, seven days a week, to eek out a pittance to let them live on. Still, the dresses are a monument to their effort and creativity, as well as to the confinements and hampered lives of women of that time. Those corsets - that delicacy of cloth, a woman could hardly move!
From the museum, through the library! I found a book, Scenic road trips through New Jersey, on the sale shelf for $1. What a bargain!
But again, I had to marvel at how little is ever said about South Jersey other than the seashore. Has no one ever heard of Greenwich, Bridgeton, Salem? Still, it is a pretty book.
1735 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City 609-399-1801 is the address and phone number of the O.C.H.S.Museum
and the staff wants you to know about:
SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET
Historic Houses of Ocean City
fundraiser
April 15, 2018 12:30 Clancy's by the Bay, Somers Point, NJ, Tickets $25
I find this time of year especially enjoyable at the seashore - no traffic, free parking right at the foot of the boardwalk at 9th Street, and I am not a beach person, so the cold doesn't bother me. Today was sunny and bright and delightful!
I bought 2 postcards in the gift shop, one of the ship, the Sindia, and one of Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy to send my brother in West Virginia in honor of our shared childhood at Grandmom's in Ocean City, NJ. Also, Grandmom's brother, Yock, used to work at the postoffice and any post cards that came in with postage but no addresses, he would put our address (in Philadelphia) on it so we got mysterious greetings from total strangers all the time! He was a prankster as well as a postal employee.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
After admiring the absolutely gorgeous white Easter dresses of the turn of the century and the many other items of interest, not least of which where the switchboard and collection of telephones, I found a beautiful postcard of the Sindia and the mast on the beach that I remembered from my own childhood. The Sindia went aground in December of 1901. Many households in Ocean City had collections of ceramics from the cargo which washed ashore in crates and was retrieved by the citizens. A good deal of it is in the Ocean City Museum collection now.
When I was a child, a portion of the mast was still visible sticking up about 8 or 10 feet from the sand down the 17th Street end of the beach. Sea life always held a place of mystery and fascination in my imagination, not least because of that mast and the ship buried beneath the sand, but also because of Scott Storage, next door to my Grandmother' house on Asbury Avenue. There were many ships mastheads and other paraphernalia in storage there, ships' wheels, for example. And I had been the kind of child who read voraciously from the treasure my mother made available to me of classics like Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe.
Also, you may recall a tv series called Adventures in Paradise that ran from 1959 to 1962, starring Gardner McKay as a sailboat captain who went from island to island in the Pacific solving crimes and ferrying mysterious clients. I was in love with him!
Today, Friday, March 16, 2018, the main exhibit was beautiful and unimaginably intricate Easter dresses from the Victorian period. The more you know, the more interesting thing are, and so, knowing that my grandmother (the one who lived in Ocean City) and her mother made a living as seamstresses, has always made clothing more interesting to me than its uses. I used to make all my own clothes at one time. My great-grandmother was listed in the census as a dressmaker when she was 16, in an age when all clothes were made by individual people.
The cutwork and beading and detailing of those Victorian dresses spoke to the eye straining, backbreaking labor of immigrant women who worked from sunrise to dark, seven days a week, to eek out a pittance to let them live on. Still, the dresses are a monument to their effort and creativity, as well as to the confinements and hampered lives of women of that time. Those corsets - that delicacy of cloth, a woman could hardly move!
From the museum, through the library! I found a book, Scenic road trips through New Jersey, on the sale shelf for $1. What a bargain!
But again, I had to marvel at how little is ever said about South Jersey other than the seashore. Has no one ever heard of Greenwich, Bridgeton, Salem? Still, it is a pretty book.
1735 Simpson Avenue, Ocean City 609-399-1801 is the address and phone number of the O.C.H.S.Museum
and the staff wants you to know about:
SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET
Historic Houses of Ocean City
fundraiser
April 15, 2018 12:30 Clancy's by the Bay, Somers Point, NJ, Tickets $25
I find this time of year especially enjoyable at the seashore - no traffic, free parking right at the foot of the boardwalk at 9th Street, and I am not a beach person, so the cold doesn't bother me. Today was sunny and bright and delightful!
I bought 2 postcards in the gift shop, one of the ship, the Sindia, and one of Fralinger's Salt Water Taffy to send my brother in West Virginia in honor of our shared childhood at Grandmom's in Ocean City, NJ. Also, Grandmom's brother, Yock, used to work at the postoffice and any post cards that came in with postage but no addresses, he would put our address (in Philadelphia) on it so we got mysterious greetings from total strangers all the time! He was a prankster as well as a postal employee.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Lines on the Pines was Wonderful!
Held at Stockton State College (or University as I think it is now designated), Lines on the Pines was wonderful as always. There was music, art (Al Horner was there with his gorgeous Pinelands photographs), basket weaving spinning, twig and vine creations - chairs and plant holders, benches and so on, and there were many animal exhibitions involving service dogs of various types.
Several wildlife rescue groups were represented such as Cedar Run, and many Pinelands trail groups, and conservation groups.
Naturally, the backbone of the festival is literature, so there were many authors such as my friend, Barb Solem with her three books: The Forks, Ghosttowns and Other Quirky Places of the Pines, and Batsto. Also, the fellow who wrote the History of New Jersey Diners, and New Jersey Folk Music, whose name I have momentarily forgotten, was there. I had seen and heard him at the Pinelands Preservation Alliance summer fest with a dulcimer band performing, and again at the Burlington County History Lecture series on Diners. He is very interesting, oh yes, his name is Michael Gabriele!
I always have a favorite and my fav this year was the basket weaving. What I missed were the wood carvers, the soap makers, and the jam makers. Last year I bought a beautiful wooden bowl and wooden Easter eggs, and cranberry preserves, as well as some handmade soap for my daughter's Easter basket, but this year I didn't see those tables. I may have missed them.
I missed the film, too, on John Hart, New Jersey' Revolutionary War Patriot. I get overwhelmed by crowds and can't think straight.
So I ended up sitting down to rest outside the auditorium where the film was playing, but didn't get to see the film, and I do always enjoy independent film, especially on New Jersey history.
So all in all it was a successful day, and my friends all went to Smithville afterwards for appetizers and drinks at the Tavern.
By the way, we had vegan lunches at a restaurant in a small shopping center across from the college. The food was great but the juice was atrociously expensive. I am too old to get used to paying $8 for a small bottle of beet juice, although people will pay $10 for a martini which has no nutrition whatsoever, so I guess you can look at it that way, but as I am not a drinker and would NEVER pay $10 for a martini, $8 for a juice was exorbitant in my book. Just letting you know as a warning in case you go there. The garbanzo bean fritters were delicious!
Don't know where I am off to next. Kind of in a hibernating pattern since the weather has been so inhospitable. Mostly I have been going to lunch at places close to home such as the often mentioned and much praised Maritza's in Maple Shade. Actually, I was there on Monday and I did visit a place worth noting - the Maple Shade Thrift Shop on the corner in the middle of town at the light.
They had lots of great stuff and I bought a big, beautiful African motif basket for $8 which I plan to give to my daughter.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Several wildlife rescue groups were represented such as Cedar Run, and many Pinelands trail groups, and conservation groups.
Naturally, the backbone of the festival is literature, so there were many authors such as my friend, Barb Solem with her three books: The Forks, Ghosttowns and Other Quirky Places of the Pines, and Batsto. Also, the fellow who wrote the History of New Jersey Diners, and New Jersey Folk Music, whose name I have momentarily forgotten, was there. I had seen and heard him at the Pinelands Preservation Alliance summer fest with a dulcimer band performing, and again at the Burlington County History Lecture series on Diners. He is very interesting, oh yes, his name is Michael Gabriele!
I always have a favorite and my fav this year was the basket weaving. What I missed were the wood carvers, the soap makers, and the jam makers. Last year I bought a beautiful wooden bowl and wooden Easter eggs, and cranberry preserves, as well as some handmade soap for my daughter's Easter basket, but this year I didn't see those tables. I may have missed them.
I missed the film, too, on John Hart, New Jersey' Revolutionary War Patriot. I get overwhelmed by crowds and can't think straight.
So I ended up sitting down to rest outside the auditorium where the film was playing, but didn't get to see the film, and I do always enjoy independent film, especially on New Jersey history.
So all in all it was a successful day, and my friends all went to Smithville afterwards for appetizers and drinks at the Tavern.
By the way, we had vegan lunches at a restaurant in a small shopping center across from the college. The food was great but the juice was atrociously expensive. I am too old to get used to paying $8 for a small bottle of beet juice, although people will pay $10 for a martini which has no nutrition whatsoever, so I guess you can look at it that way, but as I am not a drinker and would NEVER pay $10 for a martini, $8 for a juice was exorbitant in my book. Just letting you know as a warning in case you go there. The garbanzo bean fritters were delicious!
Don't know where I am off to next. Kind of in a hibernating pattern since the weather has been so inhospitable. Mostly I have been going to lunch at places close to home such as the often mentioned and much praised Maritza's in Maple Shade. Actually, I was there on Monday and I did visit a place worth noting - the Maple Shade Thrift Shop on the corner in the middle of town at the light.
They had lots of great stuff and I bought a big, beautiful African motif basket for $8 which I plan to give to my daughter.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Friday, March 9, 2018
Upcoming Film Series in Merchantville
While walking the Rail to Trail near the coffee Cafe the other day, we met the woman who is in charge of this film series. If you are free tonight and have dug your car out of the drive-way, you may want to take a ride over and enjoy the first in the series.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Book Talk - On Psychology: The Body and Trauma
On Psychology - The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Dr. Bessel VanDerKolk.
Where I get my books and reading tips - When I drive and as you may have noticed from my blog, I drive a LOT and to far places in South Jersey, I listen to NPR. That is unless I have a friend along in which case, we talk! Or I play music. But I LOVE NPR - and I get a lot of ideas about what to read from their interviews with authors.
Dr. VDKolk spoke about his work with Vietman Vets and the trauma they carried with them when they returned from war. That was the beginning of his career in the 1970's before the diagnosis of PTSD was developed. Of course we had "Shell Shock" in the first, and second World Wars, but these diagnosis and the treatment were not as comprehensive as they became when a new generation of psychologists began to treat Vets. Full disclosure: My brother is a Vietnam Vet, so this was of special interest to me.
Anyhow, the doc discovered that the returning soldiers had similar symptoms which were an emotional numbness interspersed with unexpected, uncontrollable bursts of rage. Now, this is a long book, so I have to shorten everything, and let me say now - you should get this book and read it for the full story and a more accurate and detailed account.
The doc discovered that victims of child abuse, and domestic violence shared some similar symptoms and psychologists and psychiatrists all over the country were trying to develop therapies to treat the aftermath of trauma in these folks, which often resulted in drug abuse and alcohol abuse as the victims struggled to control their emotional pain with substance abuse. Also, the cycle would repeat itself with each generation, the victims inflicting abuse upon their children and partners for example.
They developed a three prong approach that involved talk therapy in groups; often vets couldn't talk to outsiders but they could talk to other vets who had shared their experience, combined with medical intervention and behavioral therapy - strategies to identify behaviors and find strategies to short circuit the bad ones and build new ones. If you have ever seen the movie, Silver Linings Playbook, you'll see that in action.
Even if you don't have a trauma survivor in your family, we are surrounded by them in our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. So many soldiers coming home from the Middle East and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. It is always good to increase your sensitivity to others by understanding, even a little what they are going through.
AS a teacher, I often encountered children from dysfunctional families where one or both parents were in the grip of substance abuse of one kind or another. Often the children were the survivors of domestic abuse or had seen their mothers subjected to domestic violence. We don't have enough understanding in our society and we don't have enough help available in our schools, as evidenced by the last twenty years of gun violence in our public schools.
Anyhow, if you are looking for a good read for the long winter days that so hold us back from outdoor adventures, I recommend this one!
Happy Trails, Jo Ann
Where I get my books and reading tips - When I drive and as you may have noticed from my blog, I drive a LOT and to far places in South Jersey, I listen to NPR. That is unless I have a friend along in which case, we talk! Or I play music. But I LOVE NPR - and I get a lot of ideas about what to read from their interviews with authors.
Dr. VDKolk spoke about his work with Vietman Vets and the trauma they carried with them when they returned from war. That was the beginning of his career in the 1970's before the diagnosis of PTSD was developed. Of course we had "Shell Shock" in the first, and second World Wars, but these diagnosis and the treatment were not as comprehensive as they became when a new generation of psychologists began to treat Vets. Full disclosure: My brother is a Vietnam Vet, so this was of special interest to me.
Anyhow, the doc discovered that the returning soldiers had similar symptoms which were an emotional numbness interspersed with unexpected, uncontrollable bursts of rage. Now, this is a long book, so I have to shorten everything, and let me say now - you should get this book and read it for the full story and a more accurate and detailed account.
The doc discovered that victims of child abuse, and domestic violence shared some similar symptoms and psychologists and psychiatrists all over the country were trying to develop therapies to treat the aftermath of trauma in these folks, which often resulted in drug abuse and alcohol abuse as the victims struggled to control their emotional pain with substance abuse. Also, the cycle would repeat itself with each generation, the victims inflicting abuse upon their children and partners for example.
They developed a three prong approach that involved talk therapy in groups; often vets couldn't talk to outsiders but they could talk to other vets who had shared their experience, combined with medical intervention and behavioral therapy - strategies to identify behaviors and find strategies to short circuit the bad ones and build new ones. If you have ever seen the movie, Silver Linings Playbook, you'll see that in action.
Even if you don't have a trauma survivor in your family, we are surrounded by them in our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. So many soldiers coming home from the Middle East and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. It is always good to increase your sensitivity to others by understanding, even a little what they are going through.
AS a teacher, I often encountered children from dysfunctional families where one or both parents were in the grip of substance abuse of one kind or another. Often the children were the survivors of domestic abuse or had seen their mothers subjected to domestic violence. We don't have enough understanding in our society and we don't have enough help available in our schools, as evidenced by the last twenty years of gun violence in our public schools.
Anyhow, if you are looking for a good read for the long winter days that so hold us back from outdoor adventures, I recommend this one!
Happy Trails, Jo Ann
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