Christmas Lights For Elaine

It had become a Christmas tradition that Jackie and I would drive Ben and Elaine Allen around New Gretna to see the Christmas lights. Ben is no longer with us and Elaine is in Alabama with her son Mike and daughter-in-law Helen for the Christmas holidays. We are going to miss them both this Christmas.

Today's Blog entry is a Christmas present for Elaine. I drove around parts of New Gretna this evening and took some photos of the Christmas lights to keep our Christmas tradition alive. I hope others out in the Blog-O-Sphere enjoy it, also.

I made some historical identifications for a few of the houses. They should be familiar to our regular Blog readers. I know they will be recognized by Elaine.

I may add a few photos from time to time from now until Christmas, so check back now and then.

The old Mathistown School House - Rt. 9

Route 9 House

Miss Margaret Adams' old house - Rt. 9

Teacher & Principal in New Gretna School for 44 years

Methodist Parsonage - Rt. 9

The old Chaulkley Cramer house - Rt. 9

Rt. 9 House

Rt. 9 House

Rt. 9 House

The old Jessie Loveland house - North Maple Avenue

Across the street from the New Gretna School

The old Russie Adams house

Corner of North Maple and Adams Avenues

Russ & Ben Broome had a saw mill back in the woods across the street.

This last house is not from New Gretna, but I couldn't resist taking a photo of it. I'll let you guess whose house it is. It's either John Gourmley's house on Marine Street in Tuckerton or the Griswald's house from the Chevy Chase movie, "A Griswald Christmas". You figure it out. I'm just glad that I'm not paying the electric bill.

Happy Holidays!

Pete S

The Tuckerton Railroad

I included a story about the Walter Adams farm in New Gretna by Ben Allen in the December 7, 2009 Blog. Ben mentioned, in the first paragraph reprinted below, that Walter Adams' stage coach made trips from New Gretna to Tuckerton where your could catch the train to New York City and beyond. (I still don't have a photo of Walter Adams. I wonder if there is a member of the Adams family out there in the Blog-O-Sphere who might have a photo of Walter and his family?)

The big barn on Walter Adams farm housed four cows, a bull, four or more horses plus salt hay, bedding hay, a stage coach, a sled, and several wagons used to haul hay, wood, etc. The cows provided milk for many people in the area. The stage coach was used to take people to and from Tuckerton. I don’t know what the fee or schedule was, but you had to go to Tuckerton to catch the train to New York, etc.

That there was a train line and railroad station in Tuckerton may come as a surprise to some of our Blog readers, as there is little evidence that such a service ever existed. The only hint that I have seen while travelling around Tuckerton is the street sign at an intersection of North Green Street and Railroad Avenue the street that I take to get to the Tuckerton Lumber Company for my home improvement projects.

The street sign at the corner of North Green Street and Railroad Avenues provides a hint that a railroad station was once present nearby. (December 9, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

The old Tuckerton Railroad station was located at the corner of North Green Street and Railroad Avenue about where the Concrete Depot building is now located. (December 9, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Present day site of the old Tuckerton Rairoad Station at the corner of North Green Street and Railroad Avenue. (Map courtesy of Bing Maps.)

The Tuckerton Railroad was built in 1871 from Whiting to Tuckerton, mainly to meet steam ships that would bring summer tourist to Long Beach Island. Over the years additional track was layed and the line was linked to others that ran to New York and Philadelphia. The railroad became a boom to the local shell fish dealers as they were able to get their oysters and clams to big city markets on a regular schedule. They no longer had to depend on the weather for the shipping of their products by schooner. The railroad was also popular with the locals as they could travel from Tuckerton to West Creek, Mayetta, Manahawkin, Barnegat, and other shore towns.

The increased use of the automobile, along with better area roads, led to decreasing business for the railroad, and it gradually became less and less profitable. It finally closed in 1940 with the scrapping of the 50 year old Engine No.5 at Barnegat.

Engine #5, shown above at Tuckerton in 1933, was scrapped in 1940 at Barnegat. (Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society.)

I'm not sure when the Tuckerton railroad station and the auxiliary buildings on North Green Street were dismantled or demolished. Perhaps one of our Blog readers can fill in those details.

Following are some photos of the old Tuckerton Railroad station and auxiliary buildings.

Tuckerton Railroad Station - 1940

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Tuckerton Railroad Station - 1930

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Tuckerton Railroad Station Old Freight House - 1946

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Tuckerton Railroad Station Coal House - 1946

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Tuckerton Railroad Station Water Tower - 1946

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Tuckerton Railroad Engine #4 on a turntable - 1899

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Tuckerton Railroad Coach #6 - 1933

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Two Tuckerton men, Archelaus Pharo and Theophilus T. Price, were largely responsible for the railroad coming to Tuckerton.

Archelaus Pharo

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Dr. Theophilus T. Price

Photo courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

You could take the Tuckerton Railroad line going north or south to a variety of towns and larger cities, according to the following 1874 Time Table.

Time Table courtesy of the Tuckerton Historical Society

Following are samples of some of the tickets that you may have collected when travelling on the Tuckerton Railroad.

Tuckerton Railroad ticket courtesy of Tuckerton Historical Society.

Tuckerton Railroad ticket courtesy of Tuckerton Historical Society.

Tuckerton Railroad ticket courtesy of Tuckerton Historical Society.

Tuckerton Railroad ticket courtesy of Tuckerton Historical Society.

Tuckerton Railroad ticket courtesy of Tuckerton Historical Society.

Just think, you could get to all of the above destinations from New Gretna by first taking Walter Adams' stage to Tuckerton.

Pete S

PS-

Anyone wishing additional information on the Tuckerton Railroad may find the book "The Tuckerton Railroad: A Chronicle of Transport to the New Jersey Seashore" by John Brinckmann at the Bass River Community Library. The Tuckerton Historical Society also has the book in its library collection as well as an exhibit on the Tuckerton Railroad which includes photos, tickets, and memorabilia. The Society Museum, housed in the old Giffortown School House, is on Leitz Boulevard in West Tuckerton and is opened on Wednesdays from 10 AM to 4 PM. It will be closed for the Christmas holidays from December 10, 2009 thru January 12, 2010. It will reopen Wednesday, January 13th.

The Tuckerton Railroad exhibit at the Tuckerton Historical Society. (January 17, 2007 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

You can visit the Tuckerton Historical Society's Web Site by clicking on the link below:

http://tuckertonlehhs.org/index.php

An Allen Family Tragedy

Every now and then, when I am looking through old photos of New Gretna, I can't help getting nostalgic and thinking that it would have been great to live in New Gretna a few generations ago. There was a tremendous pride in hard work, family togetherness, and a community life that revolved around the Presbyterian and Methodist churches in town.

Were I given a chance to accept an opportunity of living in the first part of the 20th century in New Gretna, it would have to be with one important caveat. I would like to go back to this simpler time, but with today's health advances. This becomes shockingly obvious as one walks on the hill at Miller Cemetery and observes the many small tombstones of young children who were the victims of diseases we seldom hear about today, such as diphtheria and fatal cases of measles.

The tragedy of a family losing young children came to my attention this past week as I have been looking though old photos from Ben and Elaine Allen's family albums. Ben's parents, Harry and Ray Etta Allen had nine children, with five either dying at birth or in their early childhood. (See these children's names highlighted in blue below)

Ray Etta Mathis, daughter of Joshua H. (2043) and Rebecca (Grant) Mathis, born December 26, 1892, died 1973, married (a) John Allen Jr. and (b) Harry Allen, both are sons of John and Sarah (Gray) Allen. Harry was born July 27, 1890, and died January 29, 1983. They are buried in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna.

i. Leon Allen, born July 19, 1911, died January 30, 1983, married December 31, 1941, Georgia Griffin and had Anna Rebecca Allen (b 11-16-1943) and Sara (b 9-16-1946). John Allen, Ray Etta's first husband, was Leon's father.

ii. Benjamin Allen, born December 10, 1917, married Elaine Bangert, born April 10, 1924. Their child: Philip Michael.

iii. Lawrence Allen (died in infancy). Buried in Atsion Cemetery.

iv Ann Allen, born May 19, 1922 married (a) August Hickman and (b) Ralph Newman.

v. George Allen, born February 10, 1925, married Pauline Buss. Their children: Arthur (b 10-15-1953); Susan Rebecca (b 5-26-1955); George Jr, (b 5-2-1958); and John Austin (b 4-13-1963).

vi. Sara Allen, born August 5, 1927, married Howard Ware.

vii. Jessie Allen, buried Miller Cemetery (died in infancy).

viii. Harry M. Allen Jr., born July 21, 1932 buried Miller Cemetery (Died of measles at age 2).

ix. Joshua Raymond Allen, a twin to Harry M., born July 21, 1932 (Died of measles at age 2. Joshua and Harry M., Jr. died only hours apart.)

x. Esther (stillborn).

Reading the names of the lost children in a genealogy list is sad enough, but the tragedy really struck me in an unexpected way. While working on an ongoing obituary collection project and also scanning photos of Harry Allen's family for our photo collection, the two projects came together. I had come across an obituary for Harry and Ray Etta Allen's two year old twins in our obituary files and a photo of their burial in an Allen family photo album. The tragedy suddenly became more meaningful as names on an heretofore impersonal genealogy list suddenly had a face. I couldn't help thinking about the sorrow of Harry, Ray Etta and their surviving children. Two small children who had been born on the same day, less than two years earlier, now leave this life together, on the same day, because of measles which was often fatal to infants and young children just a few generations ago.

April, 1934 obituary from the Tuckerton Beacon.

Joshua and Harry Allen, Jr., twin sons of Harry and Ray Etta Allen, are buried in the West section of Miller Cemetery in New Gretna, in April, 1934. (Photo courtesy of Elaine Allen.)

I paid a visit to Miller Cemetery a few days ago and found Harry and Ray Etta Allen's family plot containing a large stone for Harry and Ray Etta, a veteran's foot stone for Harry, and three small stones for Esther and the twins, Joshua and Harry.

The Harry and Ray Etta Allen plot in the West section of Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Harry and Ray Etta Allen's tombstone in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Harry Allen's veteran's foot stone. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Baby Jessie Allen's stone on the Harry and Ray Etta Allen family plot in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Baby Esther Allen's stone on the Harry and Ray Etta Allen family plot in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Twin baby Joshua Allen's stone on the Harry and Ray Etta Allen family plot in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Twin baby Harry Allen's stone on the Harry and Ray Etta Allen family plot in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. (December 3, 2009 photo by Pete Stemmer.)

Well, that ends today's sad journey into a time when it was not unusual for families to endured tragic deaths due to diseases that, today, would be nothing more than minor annoyances. So, the "good old days" may not have been so good, after all.

Pete S

PS- You can read more about the Harry Allen family in the May 8, 2009 Blog entry which can be found by clicking on the link below:

http://bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2009/05/harry-allen-family-4-generations-photo.html

The Walter Adams House Uncovered

One of the ongoing projects that I am working on is collecting photos of the old houses in and around New Gretna. Part of the fun is the hunt for photos of old houses that no longer exist, as many old houses burned down or became so dilapidated that they were torn down.

One of these houses that I heard about belonged to Walter and Edna Adams and was located at the end of Adams Avenue, off North Maple Avenue, which was named after them. Walter ran a dairy farm there for many years. Benny Allen, a son of Harry and Ray Etta Allen, grew up just a stone's throw from the Adam's farm and remembered the old farmhouse and large barn that is no longer there. Ben used to deliver milk for Walter when he was a small boy by pulling a wagon around the neighborhood and, from time to time, told me stories about the old place.

You can read about and see photos of the Harry and Ray Etta Allen family on the May 8, 2009 Blog entry by clicking on the link below:

bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2009/05/harry-allen-family-4-generations-photo.html

Walter Adams' old barn fell down many years ago, and Walter Cutts pulled the old house down sometime in the early 1970's, burying it in a large hole that he dug on the property. I've been looking for a photo of the old farmhouse for years, as it was probably one of the oldest houses in the area, but was having no luck in finding one.

I had pretty much given up hope of finding a photo of the old Adam's house, when I made an unexpected discovery two days ago. I was going through some old photos from Elaine Allen, Ben's wife, and came across a photo from the 1940's of Elaine and the family dog. Loving animals, I paused and took a closer look at the photo. Elaine and the dog were standing in their front yard and, low and behold, there in the background was the elusive Walter Adams' house.

Elaine Allen in the front yard of her Adams Avenue home, circa 1940's, with the Walter Adams' house, an outbuilding, and barn in the background. (Photo courtesy of Elaine Allen.)

I nearly fell off my chair. Finally, a photo of the Walter Adams' house had surfaced. It's not the best photo as it is in the far background, but it gives us a pretty good look at the old house, an outbuilding, and the corner of the big barn. After scanning the photo into my computer, I enlarged the background to get a better view of the house and surrounding buildings.

The Walter and Edna Adams' house can be seen just over Elaine Allen's shoulder, at the end of the dirt lane. A small out building is to the right of the front porch with the big barn further to the right. (Photo courtesy of Elaine Allen.)

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of Walter or Edna Adams. Perhaps someone out in the Blog-O-Sphere can give me with a lead as to who might have photos of the Adams family to add to our history photos collection . . . and I don't mean the Adams Family with Uncle Fester!

I do have a short story from Ben Allen where he shares some of his memories of the old Walter Adams' farm which I would like to share with you.

The Walter and Edna Adams Farm

by Benjamin Austin Allen

The big barn on Walter Adams farm housed four cows, a bull, four or more horses plus salt hay, bedding hay, a stage coach, a sled, and several wagons used to haul hay, wood, etc. The cows provided milk for many people in the area. The stage coach was used to take people to and from Tuckerton. I don’t know what the fee or schedule was, but you had to go to Tuckerton to catch the train to New York, etc.

Salt hay and three square hay were gathered from the marshlands in the summertime. The salt hay was used for cattle feed, and the three square was used for bedding. Salt hay is a finer hay and was also used to cover concrete while it cured.

Walter had several men working for him gathering the hay, tending the livestock, and helping drive the vehicles. My father, Harry Allen, used to take Walter’s hay truck with a load of hay to the Medford area.

One of Walter’s innovations to keep the hand pump for the cows and horses from freezing in the winter was to pack horse manure around the old wooden pump. This kept the area warm so the water could be into a huge cedar wood trough which was almost the size of a coffin or bigger. Those cows could drink almost as fast as I could pump.

Walter had a “curtain car”, a model T which required towing by a horse to start in the winter. It did start on its own in the summer.

Walter was a very busy man. He ate supper at 9:00 PM, after the animals were bedded down and everything on the farm was taken care of. My dad used to cut Walter’s hair, as he was too busy to go to a barber. Sunday the day for the haircut.

There was no electric, so we used lanterns to go in the barn in the early morning. We had a special place to hang them in the barn. There was no refrigeration either. Everything was hung in a well beside the house. Edna used to make her own butter.

February, 2001

Finding this unexpected photo of the old Walter and Edna Adams' house makes me want to go back through my old New Gretna history photo collection and take a closer look at what might have been previously overlooked in the backgrounds. Who knows what other treasures might be found?

Pete S

Aaron and Margery Kirkbride Mathis Portraits

A few weeks ago Elaine Allen loaned me a Mathis Family photo album that was compiled some years ago by Howard Ware's late wife, Sara Allen Ware who was Bennie Allen's sister. We met Howard in the Lee Brothers cranberry bogs on our Thanksgiving Day Blog.

Howard and Sara Allen Ware in 1945. Sara was interested in her family geneology which included the Mathis family. She compiled a scrapbook of some of the Mathis family members in her family line. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

When I turned to the first page in Sara's Mathis Family scrapbook, I found a pleasant surprise. I found myself staring at color photos of oil paintings of Aaron Mathis, Sr. and his wife, Margery Kirkbride Mathis. These paintings were done before the use of cameras and preserved the earliest likenesses of Bass River area residents that I have seen. Actually, they predated Bass River Township by more than 14 years, as Bass River Township was not formed from Little Egg Harbor Township until March 30, 1864. Both Aaron and Margery died in 1851 at the age of 61. The date of the oil paintings are unknown, but they would appear to have been painted late in Aaron and Margery's lives.

What a find! I have no idea who took the photos or where the oil paintings hung, but I'm indebted to Sara for preserving them in her Mathis Family album. Many Blog readers are somehow related to the Mathis family and may be in the same line as Aaron. He was the great grandson of Great John Mathis through Great John's second son, Job.

Aaron Mathis, Sr, (1790-1851) the great grandson of the Great John Mathis through the line of Job Mathis. (Photo of an oil painting from Sara Allen Ware's Mathis Family photo album.)

Margery Kirkbride Mathis (1790-1851), the daughter of Phineas and Martha Rogers Kirkbride, and wife of Aaron Mathis, Sr. (Photo of an oil painting from Sara Allen Ware's Mathis Family photo album.)

Below, I've included the genealogy from Murray and Jean Harris' book, "The Mathis Family of Little Egg Harbor" showing the line from Aaron Mathis, Sr. back to the Great John Mathis. The numbers preceding some names are reference numbers used by Murray and Jean related to navigating through their book. The line continues forward to Sara Allen Ware who was Aaron Mathis Sr.'s great great grandaughter. Perhaps we will include that in a future Blog entry.

Aaron Mathis, Sr. to Great John Mathis Line

2007. Aaron Mathis, son of Daniel (2002) and Phoebe (Smith) Mathis, born 1790, died June 28, 1851, married May 19, 1814 Margery Kirkbride, daughter of Phineas and Martha (Rogers) Kirkbride, born 1790, died January 28, 1851. They are buried in Miller Cemetery, New Gretna. Children:

2015 i Daniel M., married Rachel W.Gifford

2016 ii Phineas Kirkbride, married Mary Ann Cramer

____ iii Enoch, born October 3, 1826, died November 5 1895, unmarried, buried Miller Cemetery.

2017 iv Phoebe, married (a) Thomas Cartright and (b) John P.Leek

2018 v John O., married Elizabeth O.Sears

2019 vi George W., married Abigail Mathis (1008)

2020 vii Aaron Jr., married (a) Zelphy Anderson and (b) Esther A.Rake

2021 viii Marjorie, married Lemuel R.Adams

____ ix Martha Kirkbride, born December 15, 1815, died December 29, 1872, married Jauary 18, 1840 Samuel Oliphant Shinn, born January 27, 1804

x Leah

xi Esther married Joseph Church, no children

xii Elizabeth married Jerry Church

2002. Daniel Mathis, son of Job (2001) and Phoebe (Leek) Mathis, born July 21, 1761, died March 10, 1836, married 1786, Phoebe Smith, daughter of Micajah and Sara (Owen) Smith of Port Republic, born June 30, 1764, died September 1, 1836. They are buried in the Methodist Cemetery, Tuckerton. Children:

____ i Owen Mary, married Jonas Miller

2006 iii Sarah, married James Downs

2007 iv Aaron, married Margery Kirkbride

2008 v Leah

2009 vi Micajah Smith, married Nancy (Gamage) Mathis

2010 vii Daniel Jr., married Elizabeth White

2011 viii Phoebe S., married Captain William French

2012 ix Anna Maria, married Francis French

2001. Job Mathis, son of John and Alice (Andrews) Mathis, born May 13, 1719, died 1771, married May 15, 1760 Phoebe Leek, daughter of John and Phoebe (Deviney) Leek. He is buried at the Tuckerton Friends Meeting House with no stone. Children:

2002 i Daniel, married Phoebe Smith

2003 ii Enoch, married Nancy Gamage

2004 iii Phoebe, married John Forman

____ iv Mary

1000 John Mathis, or Mathews, is said to have emigrated from Wales to Oyster Bay, Long Island around 1700. According to one family tradition his birthplace in Wales was Merthyr Tydfil. There are early colonial deeds to show that he accumulated property near the village of New Gretna. By 1714 he had moved to an island along the Bass River. In 1716 John married Alice (Andrews) Higbee, the daughter of Mordecai and Mary Andrews, and the widow of John Higbee. Some sources list Edward Andrews as her father, but reference to the will of Mordecai Andrews shows that she was, in fact, the daughter of Edward's elder brother Mordecai. John Mathis died October 23, 1779 and is buried beside the Friends Meeting at Tuckerton. John and Alice had seven children, as follows:

1001 i Micajah, married Mercy Shreve

2001 ii Job, married Phoebe Leek

3001 iii Sarah, married (a) Marmaduke Coate (b)John Leeds

4001 iv Daniel, married Sophia Gauntt

5001 v Jeremiah, married Hannah Andrews

6001 vi Nehemiah, married Elizabeth Cramer

7001 vii Eli, married Phoebe Devinney

I would encourage anyone who is a descendant of Aaron Mathis, Sr. to drop a comment below and let us know. You may find out that you have a previously unknown aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. somewhere out in the Blog-O-Sphere. There may even be some Kirkbrides out there who can trace their roots back to Aaron's wife, Margery Kirkbride. I would love to hear from them, too.

Pete S

The Blogs First Birthday and Cranberries Revisited

Today marks a milestone here at the Blog. It was a year ago on Thanksgiving day that the Bass River Township History Blog was born. It was, in a way, a serendipitous happenstance, as it was never planned. I had no intention of starting a blog.

Jackie and I were at Jackie's sister Jean's home in Charlottesville, Virginia for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our niece, Catherine, and her dog, Jack, had just moved into a rustic cottage in the mountains outside of Charlottesville.

My niece, Catherine's, cabin outside Charlottesville, Va. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Boston.)

Nestled in a wooded mountain slope, there was a beautiful view from the cabin overlooking a beaver pond. A wide variety of birds and animals provided an almost endless parade of interesting observations and experiences.

The beaver pond was a stone's throw, just down the hill, from the cabin. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Boston.)

The beaver left their calling call on trees surrounding the pond. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Boston.)

Jack after a hard day of patrolling the beaver pond. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Boston.)

Catherine mentioned that she planned to start a journal of her wintertime experiences in her new woodland home. It put me in mind of Thoreau's journal, “Walden”, which chronicled his experiences living in the woods by Walden pond. I suggested, in passing, that she should consider writing a blog for her journal. That way she could share her experiences with the family as she chronicled her daily activities around her modern day Walden pond.

Little did I realized that my blog suggestion would result in the birth of the Bass River Township History Blog. Catherine had not heard of a blog and asked me to explain how they worked. I knew what a blog was but had no idea as to where or how to start one. That evening, I logged onto Jackie's sister's computer and Googled “How to start a blog”. After reading a few web pages on establishing a blog, I soon realized that I would have to go through the process of teaching myself to set up a blog in order to teach my niece, Catherine, how to start her own blog.

Rather than randomly choosing a theme for my blog, I asked myself if I were to actually write a blog what type of blog would it be. The first thought that came into my mind was a Bass River History blog. It was something I was interested in, knew something about, and had a lot of photos that could be included. It was a natural!

Surfing the net, I found a good home for a blog, Google's Blogspot, and taught myself how to design, write, and maintain a blog, so that I could explain it to Catherine. My first blog entry was short and had a Thanksgiving theme featuring Ry “Piper” Allen and his New Gretna cranberry bog. The next day it was published on the net, so that I could show it to Catherine. Little did I realize that the Bass River History Blog was being birthed, nor did I have any idea that it would be around for an entire year.

Well, here I am in Charlottesville for another Thanksgiving, writing the first anniversary edition of the blog, and what subject would be more fitting than cranberries which were featured on the first blog. Last Monday's blog with Tom Doherty's cranberry picking video actually began the cranberry theme which will be continued today.

When I think of cranberries I can't help thinking about another adventure involving my good friend, Murray Harris. You might remember Murray from previous blog adventures involving picking peaches and an exciting expedition to ancient graves at Clark's Landing. You can refresh your memory regarding these two adventures by clicking on the two links below.

Peaches - http://bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2008/12/peaches-and-plane-crash-in-pines.html.

Clark's Landing - http://bassriverhistory.blogspot.com/2009/06/expedition-to-clarks-landing.html

Murray is always looking for adventures that usually involve unique ways of doing things that most people would not think of or actually consider doing. Procuring cranberries for the traditional Thanksgiving meal is an excellent example. Most of us would stop by our local super market to buy a can of prepared cranberry sauce or a package of cranberries to make our own sauce. Not Murray! That's too simple and not exciting enough for him.

Each fall Murray would tie his canoe to the roof of his car and journey through the pines to Batsto where he would put his canoe in a tributary of the Batsto River and hand pick wild cranberries along it's banks. We might have difficulty finding the elusive red berries, but Murray clearly knew the right locations, as he would return, year after year, with a couple of buckets of the tart treats.

My father loved cranberries and enjoyed making a variety of home made jams and jellies. When I told him about Murray's annual fall cranberry expeditions into the pine barrens, my dad's lips started smacking just thinking about a fresh batch of home made cranberry jelly and relish. He got in touch with Murray and the two planned a joint cranberry picking expedition. I remember hearing about my dad's cranberry recipe plans for weeks, as the day of the expedition approached. It would be a day to remember in the Stemmer household for years to come.

My dad arrived at Murray's house in New Gretna with a five gallon sheet rock bucket to hold the red treasures. I'm sure my dad was thinking that it was like being taken on a hunting trip by Daniel Boone with your prey clearly guaranteed. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. He was, likely, wondering if one bucket would be enough. Murray had already tied the canoe on the car, and they soon set out for the Batsto River where Murray would show my dad his “secret” cranberry locations.

I don't remember the exact details of their trip, but I clearly remember asking my dad how many cranberries they picked. “Three”, my father answered. “Wow, three buckets!”, I replied. “No, three cranberries!”, my dad exclaimed. Seems, it was a disastrous year for cranberries. Somehow, I couldn't help laughing. My dad's expectations were like a kid's at Christmas, and Murray was the Daniel Boone of cranberries. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for those of you who know Murray, anything could go wrong at any time and usually does. It's his great charm! It is a part of his very being . . . and it just happened to surface at a Thanksgiving season when, unfortunately for my father, cranberry expectations were running high. When my dad got back from the great cranberry expedition, he looked like the kid who got coal in his Christmas stocking. I still laugh thinking about it.

I thought I would end this Thanksgiving's Blog, as the blog started – with some photos involving cranberry harvesting. The first Blog's cranberry photos featured Ry Allen. This year's cranberry photos feature my friend, Howard Ware, who is mentioned on the Blog from time to time. Howard worked at the Lee Brothers cranberry bogs for many years, helping with their construction as well as helping with the annual cranberry harvests. I'm thankful that Howard has shared the photos with me.

Howard worked at cranberry harvest time in the Lee Brothers fields in Chatsworth, NJ for a few years. The photos below were taken in the late 1980's when Howard was in his late 70's.

A machine beats the cranberries apart from the plants. The berries rise to the surface creating a red sea of cranberries throughout the bog. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

The Lee Brothers bogs in Chatsworth, NJ are a sea of red during cranberry harvesting season. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Howard (center) wearing waders, raking cranberries at the Lees bogs in Chatsworth. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Closeup of Howard "pushin the berries". (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Howard (center) pushing the cranberries toward the conveyor system that loads the berries on waiting trucks. It's a far cry from the hand picking of cranberries at the time that Ry Allen harvested cranberries in his New Gretna bogs featured in the first Blog entry. (Photo courtesy of Howard ware.)

The cranberries are corralled by a yellow collar similar to those used to contain an oil slick, pulling them toward a conveyor belt which lifts them onto a waiting truck. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Howard also helped with the construction of the Lee Brothers cranberry bogs which were constructed on the site of their blueberry fields in Charsworth, NJ.

Howard (right) helped to lay out and set the sprinker system in the Lee Brothers cranberry bogs. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Howard setting a sprinkler head in the new Lee Brother's bog in Chatsworth. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Howard (left) helping to join piping from the irrigation system by an earthen dike used to contain the water in the cranberry fields. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

Most things regarding the bogs have been mechanized, including the setting of the cranberry plants which was done by a tractor pulling a group of men who hand fed the plants into a mechanism that placed them in the sandy soil. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

The crew takes cranberry plants from a flat and places them in a wheeled contraption that plants them in the sandy soil. Howard is seated in the center of the first row. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

A closeup of Howard planting cranberry plants on the back of a specially built rig pulled by the tractor. (Photo courtesy of Howard Ware.)

I hope you all enjoyed our little foray into the evolution of the Blog, my father and Murray's cranberry adventure, and a visit with Howard Ware at the Lee Brothers cranberry bogs in Chatsworth. Hopefully, you learned something about cranberries and got a few laughs along the way.

Pete S

PS- Today's Blog entry was extra long, so the next entry will be Wednesday, December 2nd. I need a few extra days to catch my breath.

Tom Doherty - The Bicycle Man

I've talked about our Men's Breakfast here at the Blog from time to time. Today, I'd like to introduce you to one of our breakfast regulars -Tom Doherty. Tom is remarkable and unusual in many ways, and I always enjoy his company. Tom, unlike most of us in rural New Gretna, does not have a car. All of his travelling revolves around his bicycle which he uses along with public service buses and trains. He takes his bike along on the bus or trains to use when he arrives at his destination.

Toms and his bicycle have traveled all over the Pinelands, throughout our tri-state area, and in many parts of the United States. He frequently pedals from New Gretna to Haddonfield where he catches the train into Philadelphia. From the train station in Philly, he pedals to the art museum for their Friday night jazz concert. After the concert, he pedals back to the train station and catches the train to Atlantic City where he boards the bus which drops him and his bycloff at the corner of Rt. 9 and Maple Avenues in downtown New Gretna.

Over the past year or so since I met Tom, I've been fascinated by his stories of his many interesting bicycle trips. He clearly has an inquisitive mind and adventurous spirit which I find delightful.

Recently, while bicycling to catch the train at Haddonfield, Tom was pedaling past the Cranberry bogs outside of Chatsworth. It is cranberry harvest time, and Tom spotted picking activity while pedaling past a bog. Naturally, he had to stop to check it out and video it with his cell phone.

Tom maintains a web site to share his thoughts and experiences with friends. You may visit it by clicking on the link below:

http://web.mac.com/tommy.concepts/iWeb/tommy.concepts/Welcome.html

He posted the cranberry harvest video on his web site a few weeks ago. I thought I would share it with you here at the Blog. You can view it by clicking on the play arrow below. The video is a little grainy but, hey, it was taken by a little cell phone, so I can't complain. It is still interesting, never the less. I think you will agree. It's also timely with Thanksgiving just a few days away when most of us enjoy cranberries in one form or another.

My favorite cranberry dish is a fresh cranberry relish that Jackie makes each Thanksgiving. It sure beats that store bought stuff in a can. It's soooooooooo good that I often eat it for dessert as well as with the meal. It's especially flavorful after it has set for a few days. You may want to give it a try.

FRESH CRANBERRY RELISH

1 Pound of whole cranberries washed and cleared of leaves and/or twigs. (frozen whole cranberries work just as well)

1 Orange unpeeled, washed, and cut in eighths then seeded.

1 apple unpeeled, cored and cut in eights

3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if you like things on the sweeter side)*

*the equivalent of sugar substitute can be used for diabetics.

Combine the fruits together, and using a food processor, alternately process the mix till the consistency is like relish. Place the processed fruit mix into a bowl, add the sugar and stir. Refrigerate. The relish tastes best if it is allowed to sit for at least a day before eating to allow the flavors to meld.

Hope you enjoyed our little bike trip with Tom. We'll continue with the cranberry theme in our Thanksgiving Blog entry as we join Howard Ware, in 1998, working in the Lee Brothers Cranberry bogs, also in Chatsworth.

Pete S

PS- Anyone out in the Blog-O-Sphere that would like to share a favorite Thanksgiving recipe, just drop it in an email and I'll post it on the Blog.