Vineland Historical & Antiquarian Society

I had the opportunity to go up to Clayton yesterday to visit Philip J. Gilson, whose glassmaking shop sits on Delsea Drive opposite the Acme at the center of town. As many of you know, Clayton was once the home of the legendary Clevenger Brothers Glass Works, whose work I have only begun to appreciate in recent years. The Clevengers not only produced their own unique pieces, they also kept alive many of the South Jersey glassmaking traditions, some of which dated back to the days of Wistarburgh in Salem County.

Well, I am pleased to report that Phil Gilson has dedicated himself to not only keeping those techniques alive in the 21st century but he is also following in the Clevengers’ footsteps by reproducing some classic South Jersey glassware. In addition to log cabin bottles, turtles, witch balls and pitchers, Phil also makes Jersey lilies that are as delicate and lovely as anything I have ever seen. In fact, I was thrilled to watch as he demonstrated how the lilies were made. As always, I learned a little bit more about the art of glassmaking as I watched. According to Phil, the lilies technically were not “whimsies” (also known as end of day glass). After the furnace was heated, a gob of glass was gathered on the end of the pontil rod, then pulled by the glassblower to test the consistency of the liquid glass. If it was hot enough and malleable enough, then the glassblower could get to work.

I am a little envious that Phil has collected a number of glassmaking molds from Vineland glassblowers, including August Hofbauer, Adolph Macho, and Oscar “Skip” Woods. But he has graciously offered to loan them to the Society if we ever need them. And I can’t be too upset because, as he explained, the molds need to be used in order to keep them in good condition. From what I saw, they’re certainly in the right hands.

We’re going to sell Phil’s Jersey lilies at the museum. If they catch on, then we may consider adding some other items as well. In the meantime, if you enjoy watching a glassblower with a real passion for the history of his craft, stop by his shop and say “hello.” You’ll be glad you did.

And, don’t forget: The Society will have a table at the upcoming Founder’s Day festivities on May 19. Make sure you stop by and say “hello” to us, as well!

We’re taking a break from hosting special events at the museum for the next few months. In May, the Society will be participating in Founder’s Day on both May 18 and 19, so I hope you will have a chance to stop by our booth and say hello. In addition to all of our literature, we will have history-related handouts for the kids.

During the summer, we’ll be busy fixing up our museum exhibits. A lot of wonderful new artifacts have been donated to us over the past few months and we want to share as many of them as we can with the public. I don’t have room to list everything here but they range from an old-fashioned waffle iron to photographs of a beautiful bride in her wedding dress. So, as you can imagine, we’ll be quite busy trying to find room in the exhibit galleries for these things.

However, by September we plan to ask local auctioneer Bob Brooks to return for our second annual Antiques Identification Clinic. Since the first was a success, we’re hoping that more local residents will bring their treasures in for evaluation. Mr. Brooks has been in business for a long time and knows a lot about antiques so it should once again prove to be an interesting afternoon.

In between everything else, we’ll be working on our programs for the coming 2012-13 school year. We had a wonderful time meeting with the third and fourth grade students at local schools this year, and hope to have the chance to work with them again. Any local teachers who are interested in further information on available programs are welcome to contact Ruth Shropshire at 856-691-1111 or by e-mailing vinelandhistory@gmail.com.

Well, I guess that’s all for now. Have a great weekend and, if you’re in town, don’t forget to come by the museum on Saturday afternoon and enjoy a tour!

I’ve been digging through drawers and files again, and reaching out to folks via the Internet to see what bits and pieces of information I can add to our already substantial collections. Following a recent discussion about Richard Meade Worsen Landis, one of Charles K’s sons, I contacted the University of Pennsylvania to find that he had in fact taken classes there part-time as an architectural student. Unfortunately, Richard–an extremely talented artist–seemed more interest in pursuing romantic relationships with local women in town than he did in his studies. It seems that one of his misadventures forced his father to travel into Philadelphia to collect his son, after the younger Landis had brawled with another man over a woman. The incident, which made the local papers, was probably responsible for Richard leaving the university soon afterward and going instead to Europe to study art. Sounds almost like a modern-day soap opera, doesn’t it?

I’ve also uncovered some more interesting tidbits about George Daynor, creator of Vineland’s Palace Depression. However, since I’m in the midst of writing that whole story for my next book, Fallen Angel: George Daynor and the Palace Depression, I don’t want to give too much away at this point. Let’s just say that the stories he told to the public back in the Palace’s heyday are turning out to be more fiction than fact, at this point in time.

In other news, we’ll be attending to first annual McPhee Conference held on May 12 at Stockton State College. The event will be sponsored by the college’s new Culture and History Center, so it should be pretty interesting. Guest speakers will discuss both the environment and culture of the Pine Barrens. If you decide to go or need to learn more, visit http://wp.stockton.edu/sjhc/.

Well, that’s it for this week. We’ve finished the glass room exhibits so, if you haven’t been by to see them yet, come by for a visit soon. Although all the signage isn’t in place, the rooms look great, thanks to all the hard work everyone invested in the project. Just don’t forget, we’re having our Civil War Poetry Tea this coming Saturday, so there will be no formal tours. Otherwise, we hope to see you soon!

One of the best parts of being curator at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society is the opportunity to learn more about some of the unique pieces we have in our collections. This past week, we re-installed the glass exhibits to focus primarily on items that were either made or used in Vineland and the South Jersey region. In addition to our wonderful paperweight collection, primarily donated by Harry Doerr, we have beautiful cut glass, colorful tableware, and of course, our Durand pieces. However, one item that recently demanded my attention has turned out to be a milk glass oversized mug with a hand-painted eagle and the word “Liberti” enameled on one side. At first glance, some might not think it was anything special but we were able to uncover the fact that this piece was actually made in Bristol, England, around 1780. Just think about it! The mug, probably around during either the American or French Revolution, was already about eighty years old when Charles Landis founded Vineland. If you have a chance to come by the museum some Saturday, your tour guide will be happy to point it out.

There’s been a lot of discussion in the museum world recently about the value of preserving actual artifacts as opposed to digital copies. To me, this is a no-brainer because nothing can compare to seeing the real thing in person. I appreciate how the Internet has made a lot of the world’s treasures accessible to a wider audience but hate to think that the day might come when significant objects, like the ones in our collections, won’t be around anymore.

Other than that, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who visited the museum and purchased a copy of my new book, New Jersey Ghost Towns. In less than two weeks, we raised close to $150 for the museum! Your generosity is greatly appreciated by everyone here.

Well, that’s it for now! I’m off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day. I don’t know about you but I’m really happy that Spring has finally sprung!

I don’t know about you but I wasn’t sorry to see February slip on its shoes and sneak out the door. I’m always amazed that such a short month always seems to take forever to get finished! Although I know we’re not out of the woods yet as far as the threat of cold weather, it feels better just knowing that Spring will spring upon us in just twelve more days.

We are currently re-installing the exhibits in the glass rooms and I think all of our members and visitors will be very pleasantly surprised when they see the results. Of course, we’ll be adding new objects and signs in the coming weeks but, right now, we’re all very happy to see the rooms coming back together. A lot of hard work on everyone’s part went into the changes so I hope you’ll stop by and see us when you can.

We’re also very excited that the Historical Society Magazine will be released next week. I think everyone will enjoy the new format created by board member Lois Genovese, who served as editor. If you enjoy Vineland history, copies will be available for $15 each at the museum after next Wednesday.

Well, that’s it for now! See you next week.

The work in the glass rooms has been picking up speed lately. Thanks to Joe Filippi and his two sons, Jestin and Nico, we now have beautiful new energy-efficient track lighting in place. The Filippis completed their work last week and, this week, the painters–courtesy of Mike Kagansev–are here to freshen up both the cases and the walls. They expect to finish their work in a few days, which means we will be able to start getting the glass back into the rooms by next week.

In other news, we’d like to thank Bob Swanson of Swanson’s Hardware for his continued support. Not only did Bob donate the paint for the glass rooms but he recently donated some rather interesting items for the collections. In addition to giving the Society a file of information on the construction of Vineland’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, he also gave us a copy of Charles Landis’ book, Vineland and Its Attractions (published in 1880), and a photo album of life at Kimble Glass in the 1950s. The album will be especially useful since it includes pictures of the men and women who blew the glass and tested the finished products. We plan to include some of the photos in the new exhibits.

Finally: Don’t forget that I’ll be signing copies of my new book, “New Jersey Ghost Towns,” at the museum on Saturday, March 10, between 1-3 p.m. The Society will receive a percentage of the sales (please don’t ask me to do math at this hour…) so your support will be greatly appreciated! I’ll look forward to seeing you there.

In between all of the cleaning and cataloguing, we were able to sit down and start looking at programming for the coming year. Here at the Society, board member Nancy Steelman serves as chairperson of our Lyceum Committee, which includes other interested board members and some very dedicated volunteers. Although we’re still working out some of the details, here’s what we have so far:

Meet the Author: My next book, New Jersey Ghost Towns, will be officially released on March 1. I will be hosting my first book signing at the museum on Saturday, March 10, from 1-3 p.m. The book is $12 and $2 from every sale will go to benefit the museum. I know that’s not exactly 20 percent but math and I aren’t always on good terms so I decided just to round it out in a way that works for me. I will be autographing copies for anyone who buys them and, if we get enough people together, I’ll share some of the more unusual stories that I included in the book.

Hooray for Hollywood: In the 1970s, a documentary was made about the migrant farm workers in Vineland. Local author Vincent Farinaccio will present a copy of the video and offer a talk on the subject afterward. There will be a reception at the museum from 6:30 to 7 p.m., followed by the video and lecture.

Civil War Poetry Tea: The Society will host a Civil War-themed tea on Saturday, April 14, from 1-4 p.m. complete with light refreshments and readings by Scott Summers, who wrote a book of Civil War poetry. Musical entertainment will be provided by Union re-enactor William Yeager of Bridgeton, who will play period songs on his fife. Since seating is limited, advanced registration is required for this event. The charge is $10 per person (over age 12) and $5 for those 12 and under.

Well, that’s it for now. There are still bottles to be cleaned and catalogued! See you next week!

Today, I’m celebrating my first anniversary as administrator/curator of the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society. Even though 365 days have passed, every day at the museum continues to be a learning experience. For example, even though I spent almost eight years working at the Museum of American Glass at WheatonArts in Millville, I never knew that Vineland actually had its own cut glass company at one time. I knew about the ones in Hammonton and Bridgeton but had never heard of the Frizlen Cut Glass Company, which was started by William L. Frizlen in Vineland around 1907.

At that time, it was located on the corner of Fourth and Montrose streets. The company made cut glass pitchers, compotes, cream sets and punch bowls, as well as vases and wine sets. Business was apparently so brisk that it moved to a larger building at the intersection of Montrose and the Boulevard by the following year. Unfortunately, six years later, the company abandoned Vineland for a new location in Mt. Holly. William G. McIlvain later rented a part of the Frizlen Company’s Vineland plant, where he sold their cut glass. He remained in business with Frizlen until the 1920s, when cut glass went out of fashion.

Although the museum doesn’t appear to have any Frizlen cut glass in our collections, we do have some other beautiful pieces that will soon be on exhibit once again. Unfortunately, the glass rooms will have to remain closed in the coming weeks but we’re hopeful to have the work on those exhibits completed soon.

I can’t believe that we’re three weeks into the New Year already! We’ve been so busy at the museum, cataloguing, sorting and organizing that I was surprised to look at the calendar and see that we re-open to the public in less than two weeks.

Someone asked me today if I knew how labor-intensive it was going to be when we decided to renovate the exhibits in the glass rooms. I said that I did know, in fact, how much work was involved because I had been involved with similar projects in the past. When I worked for the State, we had to catalog the entire contents of the Mansion at Batsto Village, and the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield. Believe me, it was very useful experience for what we’re doing now.

In other news, Board member Lois Genovese is putting the finishing touches on the combined 2010/2011 issue of the Historical Society Magazine. Members will receive their copies in the mail but anyone who is interested in purchasing a copy can call the museum for further information. The new issue will offer some insight on the current museum, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, and a section on Vineland’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2011. Some of our members were kind enough to share their memories with us so I know it will be a very entertaining read. Don’t forget, if you have a story or an idea you would to share for future issues, we’d be happy to hear from you.

After slacking off last week, I promised myself that I would make time to give you folks a real update on what we’ve been up to at the museum this week. So, ready or not…

Thanks to the assistance of some board members and some dedicated volunteers, we have managed to almost finish cataloguing our entire paperweight collection. In addition, we’re getting ready to paint the rooms where the glass is exhibited thanks to Swanson’s Hardware, which is generously donating the paint we need. We are also going to change the signs in those rooms so that you’ll learn a little more about the pivotal role of glassmaking in Vineland. I have always been fascinated by glass, even before I worked at Wheaton Arts in Millville. The incredible artistry that goes into making everything from scientific ware to art glass never ceases to amaze me. Although I may never play the violin again after filling out all the paperwork involved with cataloguing, I don’t mind because I know it’s in a good cause.

In addition, the Society is currently preparing programs for the students of Durand and Petway elementary schools, which will be presented in the spring. We are really looking forward to sharing some objects from the collections with the kids and teaching them more about some of Vineland’s early residents. Hopefully, even though they can’t come to the museum on bus trips, it will inspire them to come and see us on their own.

Another area resident, Mark Demitroff, has expressed interest in offering a presentation on early settlers of the Pine Barrens. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Mark speak, so I know it will be an interesting and entertaining program. We’ll keep you posted on the actual date and time.

Finally, I’m creating a “wish list” for the museum that starts with a request for a pair of storm doors that are needed to protect our beautiful original front doors from the elements. Board members Jim Marone and Jack Carr were responsible for restoring them last year but the potential for damage is still great. If you or someone you know is interested in helping us obtain new storm doors, please call or e-mail the museum as soon as conveniently possible.
Thanks! See you next week!