John McCormick

Diaries donated to PH&CS illuminate Cinnaminson’s Civil War era

Jay Howard presents his findings to a well-attended meeting

The Palmyra Cultural and Historical Society had a huge turnout for its free presentation on the Civil War at the Palmyra Community Center on January 9, 2014.

The publicity blurb promised material history archives and comprehensive research on the socioeconomic impacts of the war specific to Palmyra.

Jay Howard of the Palmyra Cultural and Historical Society delivered on that promise and gave a detailed analysis of Palmyra’s social and economic condition during the 1860s.

He based his conclusions on an incredible present that a very generous Cinnaminson resident gave them–a set of Civil War diaries.

one of Capt. Hall's Civil War diary volumes — one of Capt. Hall’s Civil War diary volumes

We could look at, but not touch, one ledger of the multi-volume diary written by Capt. Charles Hall, Fourth New Jersey Volunteers, which was passed down through his family. His great-great-granddaughter Virginia Harding donated it to the Palmyra organization a few months ago. .

Muster sheets list names of Union soldiers

Jay Howard, who is also a professor at the Community College of Philadelphia, has been engrossed with their contents since. He coordinated the names mentioned in the diaries with names listed on local Civil War muster sheets and consulted Adjutant General William S. Stryker’s two-volume Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861-1865.

I confess that I went hoping to freeload some information about Riverton’s involvement in the War between the States because at that time, the towns of Riverton and Palmyra were still part of Cinnaminson Township.

While the focus that evening was definitely on Palmyra, there may be some Civil War vets from Riverton we’ll hear about later when the PH&CS finishes transcribing the diaries. We have a short list of Riverton Civil War vets compiled, but part of the difficulty is sorting out names of Riverton residents from the Cinnaminson records.

Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Edward Colimore interviewed Mr. Howard about the author of diaries, their donor Virginia Harding, and the information he has gleaned from them. You can find the philly.com article here.

PHCS screenshot — Palmyra & the Civil War screenshot

Here is a link to his a PDF file for Jay’s slide presentation in which he examines Palmyra society of the Civil War era. Note slide #7 which gives a general overview of the economic situation in Riverton. You’ll want to see this separate Word .doc which includes Jay’s explanations of the slides.

This is a perfect example of the tremendous value that primary source materials serve in documenting local history. We thank Ms. Harding for her extraordinary generosity to the community and Mr. Howard and his research team at the Palmyra Cultural and Historical Society for their contribution to our understanding of the region’s history.

I certainly look forward to the next chapter in Jay’s investigation. Let us know what you think and we’ll pass it along to Jay. – John McCormick

Revised 2/10/2014: Note that the Word file explaining Mr. Howard’s slides has been revised, and if you visited earlier, you may want to see his much amplified version.

Get used to it – more on the way

So thoughtful of you to check on the elderly here at the Society during today’s snowstorm.

I’m fine, thank, you.

Just be careful if you’re shoveling this heavy snow.

I had to go out, so on the way I took a few pictures with my phone just in case our members in California and Florida are missing the snow.

Membership Chairperson Pat Brunker sent me the latest membership list on an Excel file and it shows 154 addresses for 11 different states – Florida to Maine and New Jersey to California. About 2/3 of the addresses are in the 08077 zip code, which includes Riverton and Cinnaminson.

Here’s a few more pictures.

You don’t have to be a Society member to check out the website or send us a comment. There must be some better photos out there, folks. We’d love to post your snow scene pix, new or old. – John McCormick

ice - WmMcDermott — Icy Riverton Yacht Club – Bill McDermott

Added 2/8/2014: Thanks to Bill McDermott for this photo and a poem, first published in December 1920 Harper’s Magazine.

Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
– Robert Frost

Meeting notice – March 2, 2014

See the January 2014 Gaslight News for more details.

Meeting notice – February 12, 7 p.m. at The Bank on Main

See the January 2014 Gaslight News for more details.

History Repeats Itself as Ice Jams the Delaware River

As last night’s (Jan. 9) Action News segment explained, the sight of recent ice jams on the Delaware brought out spectators with cameras to record the “once in a lifetime” event. However, for our friend William Hall this makes at least twice, as regular readers of our newsletter will recall (“Adrift on the Icy Delaware,” Gaslight News, January 2013).

IMG_6279 [1024x768 PPt] — ice jam RYC pier 1920

This stereoview of ice shards clustered up over the pier by the Riverton Yacht Club in January 1920 comes from Elsie Waters. There is another view on a Feb. 2011 post along with a few other images from this rare collection.

Say, doesn’t that pumper in the Feb. 2011 post look like the same one depicted in the photo I bought on eBay, mentioned here Dec. 22? But, I am off topic.

March 8, 1934 Courier Post ice-bound RYC

Back to the ice conversation.

Here is mention of a close call for some ice skaters rescued from an ice floe in 1900 by Charles Biddle.

Mary Flanagan’s scrapbook continues to be a goldmine of source material for this blog. This newspaper clipping provides another example of the uncommon phenomenon.

Or is it?

Can any reader recall another occurrence of glacial blockage on the Delaware?

If you have an old one or a new one, please send us a scan or donate it for our archives.

River Ice, undated, from Bill & Nancy Hall's family photos — River Ice, undated

Please appreciate the view from a safe distance.

NYT, Feb 11, 1917 Charles Durbonard, possibly Durborow

This is NOT to suggest that anyone should actually risk going out on the ice.

Or in it, as evidenced by this clipping from a Feb. 11, 1917 New York Times showing Riverton’s Charles Durbonard taking his usual morning dip in the Delaware prior to going to his office in a Philadelphia bank.

I believe this is the same Charles Durborow referenced in news articles of the 1910s-1920s as being a champion long-distance swimmer associated with the Riverton Yacht Club.

Again, I digress. – John McCormick

Civil War muster sheets and diaries lend new insight to War’s local impact

You ARE in the right place, but our friend Will Valentino of the Palmyra Historical and Cultural Society asked that we remind you of this upcoming presentation. Local history buffs, genealogists, family tree makers, and Civil War fans will not want to miss this timely presentation that compliments our nation’s celebration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial , or its 150th anniversary.

P R E S S R E L E A S E

FOR GENERAL PUBLICATION

For additional comments /questions /photos

Contact: JIM MAY, PHCS President @ 856 829 6725 or JAY HOWARD @ jp912@hotmail.com

PALMYRA HISTORICAL & CULTURAL SOCIETY REMEMBERS

THE CIVIL WAR AND OUR LOCAL VETERANS

The Palmyra Historical & Cultural Society and The Palmyra War Memorial Committee invite you to revisit The Civil War and its local impact on society, culture, economics and politics. A recent donation to the Historical Society of Civil War era Muster sheets and diaries by Virginia Harding has sparked renewed interest in Palmyra’s role in America’s only Civil War .

Join Jay Howard of The Palmyra War Memorial Committee and The Palmyra Historical Society’s Genevieve Lumia in this unique free presentation.

The evening will feature Mr. Howard’s presentation on his research on the War’s effect on our local residents, and Genevieve Lumia will discuss her involvement in transcribing these historical documents that lend greatly to the understanding of Palmyra’s contribution and sacrifice to this struggle. Come discover what we have learned through this important donation to our archives !

The free event will take place at 7PM on Thursday January 9, 2014 at Palmyra’s Community Center located in the heart of Historic Palmyra at 20 West Broad Street. Light refreshments will be served.

Residents are encouraged to contact Jay Howard at the above email with any information on local veterans and to bring any artifacts or photographs on Palmyra they wish to donate to The Palmyra Historical Society for preservation. Become a part of Palmyra History…TODAY!

After more than 20 years, the Palmyra Historical & Cultural Society is still going strong vitalizing and instilling pride in our community through free events and the conservation of local history. In addition, every month, join trustee Will Valentino as he journeys “Back In Time” in the pages of THE POSITIVE PRESS exploring our towns unique contributions to the local historical tapestry.

For more info go to www.boroughofpalmyra.com Help us in making Palmyra a better “Place to live and grow”. Permission is granted to copy , distribute and post the attached flyer on our event. Thank You.

Commemorative Abraham Lincoln postcard, 1909. courtesy Mary Flanagan

P.S. SAVE THE DATE FOR A VERY SPECIAL HSR PRESENTATION ON FEBRUARY 12.

Mr. Bob Gleason, a highly regarded historical interpreter associated with the American Historical Theater will visit the HSR in the Bank on Main as he channels one of his most complex and fascinating historical figures on the very anniversary of the Great Emancipator’s birth.

Once a real bank, built in the late 1920s, The Bank on Main is on the United States Federal Register of Historic Places and is a marvelous venue for such an extraordinary Society meeting. More details to follow. – John McCormick

Snow Day 2014!

Gertrude Wright out for a sleigh ride in Riverton, 1914

Snow day!

When I started working at Riverton School in 1974, I remember the squeals of childish delight that followed that anticipated KYW radio announcement that school was called off on account of snow.

And that was just the teachers.

Later, administrators and PTA members developed complex phone chain networks that started with key people calling two people, who each called two more, and so and so on.

http://www.riverton.k12.nj.us/ screenshot Jan 3, 2014

Now, I guess the kids get automated phone calls, text alerts, or check their computer.

I wonder how they got the word out a century ago when Gertrude Wright was a Riverton schoolteacher. Former resident Richard Flach sent this image from Florida of his relative enjoying a sleigh ride near 413-415 Elm Street in Riverton.

Gertrude Wright, undated Riverton School photo

Gertrude Wright was the mother of Bay Wright Ruff, Riverton author and artist who passed away last year. Her family displayed much of her work along with many photos at her Quaker memorial service, including this remarkable undated Riverton School class photo, which I photographed.

The many characters of the Wrights, Showells, Flachs, and Waters families, like so many other Riverton clans of yesterday and today, have played out their parts on this Riverton stage, and much of it must be recorded in family albums, now even on computer memory and Facebook pages.

Some of the rarest images of old Riverton are probably the backdrops of family portraits stored in attics and drawers all across the nation. If future history buffs are to have any images of today’s ‘good old days’ to look back upon, please let’s try to supplement what seems to live on forever on YouTube.

As Betty Hahle, former Town Historian, told me, be sure to document what is going on today, for this is tomorrow’s history. One of her favorite memories was looking up Elm Terrace lined with gas lamps as the snow fell.

Please send us, or post on Facebook, any photos that show us how you have spent any past or present Riverton snow day. – John McCormick

REVISED 1/20/2014: While we hardly can be said to go viral, this post engendered more interest than most. Visitor engagement is what every blogger strives for, including me, especially when I hear from people who take the time to respond to our work here. We got 10 “likes” on Facebook for this post, several of whom reminisced at the very thought of those childhood times of getting the day off on account of snow.

Hey, I’m retired now. Every day is like a snow day.

I was especially gratified to hear from Michael Cattell who pointed out a mistake on a caption when this post first ran and proposed an idea for a video with accompanying period music.

I sincerely thank Michael Cattell for correcting an error in the caption. Our conversation started on the Historical Society’s Facebook page and you can also see an exchange of our comments in the “comment” link below. His sharp eyes caught that the backdrop for the Gertrude Wright sleigh picture was actually on Elm Street in Riverton, and not in Palmyra as it was originally captioned.

He produced this short YouTube animated morphing video showing the old and new views dissolving back and forth as evidence. It is amazing how he perfectly duplicated the angle and perspective of the 1914 photo with his own new 2014 photo of the same Elm Street setting.

With some luck, this may develop into a longer video project contrasting his new photos and our vintage views of historic spots in Riverton.

To be continued, I hope… JMc

A New Year’s Potpourri

No, not the smell-good mixture of flower petals and spices here.

More like your mélange, pastiche, hodgepodge, mishmash, or miscellaneous assortment of stuff in the form of scans of images the Historical Society has acquired lately.

As 2013 wound down, several eBay auctions escaped our grasp and I was reduced to copying the images from the eBay auction pages. Since half a loaf is better than none, I post here those images as consolation for the actual items that I was not able to secure. Resolution does not allow for enlargement, but these unique and rare images may not come our way again.

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That one with the post office on the left is an exceptional shot showing shops along Main Street lined with the oil lamps that predated the Welsbach gas lamps.

No sense me whining about it since we scored some nice treats for you, nonetheless.

In the ‘win’ column are some postcards and other items that either I bought, or friends bought and sent me scans.

1909 RPPC postcard, Main Street, Riverton, NJ

1907 RPPC postcard, Bank Avenue, personal purchase

Riverton Free Library, scan courtesy of Nick Mortgu

I bought the Welsbach letter opener as a reminder of the time Jeff Cole and I worked on a presentation about the Welsbach gaslamps that line the streets of Riverton. If a Google search for that subject led you here, just go to our search box at the top of the screen, type in “Welsbach,” and you will find all that we have to offer. We do not sell parts.

I have had this Cinnaminson map since the summer – sorry to have been holding out on you. This one original page (p.36) from J.D. Scott’s Combination Atlas Map of Burlington County New Jersey published in 1876 was over $40.

Awful, I know.

But as I commiserate with my collector friends when we have made similar purchases, “It’s not like they are gonna print any more of them.”

But, c’mon. You have to admit that seeing this magnificent hundred and thirty-eight year old foxed and stained rag-pulp paper depiction of Cinnaminson is worth the price of admission.

It’s the same deal when we pay through the nose for that one more “must have” view of the Yacht Club, Knight’s Park, or Moorestown, or Stone Harbor.

The collector wants what the collector wants.

Wish we could work out some signals sometimes because I know we have run up the prices against each other. In fact, you guys can have the next few because I spent all my Christmas money.

Biddle Mansion 207 Bank Avenue, 1968 photo by Karl Livingston, photo donated by Keith Betten

Sometimes the Universe listens.

We recently received some photos of the Biddle Mansion taken before the fire (was it 1978?) that claimed the tower that once graced the Bank Avenue landmark.

Biddle Mansion by M. Robinson — Biddle Mansion, M. Robinson

One color Instamatic print, above, from Keith Betten and three other prints from Librarian, Michael Robinson, at right, add to our catalogue of Things That Aren’t There Anymore.

We sincerely thank these HSR members for their contributions to this growing archive of information about our favorite borough.

Biddle Mansion, M. Robinson

: Biddle Mansion, M. Robinson

As individual pieces they may seem trivial, but in filling in a few more missing puzzle pieces of Riverton history, they may have greater importance as part of a larger investigation.

Sometimes the puzzle pieces work for us, and sometimes they benefit a person or organization from far afield who is looking for just the piece of minutiae that we have.

Here’s a few from my friend, Harlan Radford, across the miles who sends us scans regularly of his choice auction finds.

Every picture comes with a complimentary lesson, courtesy of Mr. Radford.

The unusual German-produced butterfly card shows two Camden landmarks on each wing. On your left, Carnegie Library and Camden County Court House; on the right, Cooper Hospital and City Hall.

Another, out of the ordinary postcard is this image of a strange vehicle that looks like a cross between a bus and a train.

The 1921 postmarked card bears the following penciled message:

“Was in bathing this A.M. Quite a sensation for one who has never been in the ocean before. This is a picture of the trolley car here, they run by gas. I may go to N. Wildwood next week, not sure. Hope you are well.”

Last one tonight, kids.

Pennsylvania R.R. Terminal & Ferry, Camden, NJ 1906

Postmarked SEP 7, 1906, this undivided back early postcard depicts a front view of the Pennsylvania Railroad Terminal and Ferry building at Camden, N.J. circa the
beginning of the 1900s. Several trolley
routes terminated here and close inspection of this image shows commerce 1906 style with several horse-drawn wagons and electric trolley cars. This terminal provided not only important ferry boat service to and from Philadelphia on the other side of the Delaware River but a vital rail link to various locations in New Jersey including some of the Jersey seashore resorts.

Another post soon will wrap up several more of Mr. Radford’s donated scans to the Society.

When you give the Society a scan of your collectibles, souvenirs, photos, and printed matter, for us it is the next best thing to having the real thing. Plus, you can know that you are sharing your treasure with a large community that might not otherwise have access to it. Please contact us if you have something to donate or need help with scanning or photographing.

Happy New Year! – John McCormick

Could be our new catch phrase for 2014

For “Auld Lang Syne” could be our slogan, I guess, since so much of what we are about is being a resource for preserving the artifacts, ways, and ideas of Riverton.

The Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 was eventually set to the tune of a traditional folk song.

Literally translated as “old long since,” or “old long ago,” “auld lang syne” has come to mean “the good old days.”

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,/And never brought to mind?/Should auld acquaintance be forgot,/And auld lang syne!

The song begins with a question which asks whether one can forget the days that have gone by and the friends with whom those days have been spent.

The lyrics speak of the love and kindness that was experienced in the past and causes us to reflect upon our journey. But, mostly the song is about remembering friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten.

As the last chorus rouses us to raise a collective glass, know that it has been our privilege to help preserve the memory of the people and events of Riverton’s past so that future Riverton may know of it.

And there’s a hand, my trusty friend!
And give us a hand of yours!
And we’ll take a deep draught of good-will
For long, long ago.

We sincerely wish you a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2014.

Riverton’s variant of global warming and a Fire Co. History Mystery

time and temp on Rt. 130 North, Cinnaminson, NJ

Winter officially arrived December 21 at 12:11 p.m., but it felt more like spring with temps in the upper 60s and 70+ forecast for the next day.

I snapped this while finishing some Christmas shopping. No distracted driver here – I pulled into the bank parking lot.

Here’s a little History Mystery to solve.

Who is driving this 1926 RFCo pumper in 1956?

I scored this real 4×6 inch photo on a eBay auction a few weeks ago. The seller described it as “A very nice old 1956 original B & W 4 by 6 inch photo of the Riverton NJ Fire Dept 1926 ALF 750 pumper. This photo was taken by me at the NJ State Firemen s Parade in 1956 Atlantic City.”

Since no one else bid, it only cost $2 plus $1.97 shipping. It was worth the gamble. That is probably a member of Riverton’s Fire Company piloting that pumper in Atlantic City. He could be somebody’s Pop-Pop or great-granddad. Let me know if you can put a name to that face. – John McCormick

PS. HSR Vice-President Mrs. Cheryl Smekal added ten more pix to the Museum for a Day image gallery in the previous post below.

Revised 2/10/2014: Note that the Word file explaining Mr. Howard’s slides has been revised, and if you visited earlier, you may want to see his much amplified version.

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P R E S S R E L E A S E

THE CIVIL WAR AND OUR LOCAL VETERANS

For more info go to www.boroughofpalmyra.com Help us in making Palmyra a better “Place to live and grow”. Permission is granted to copy , distribute and post the attached flyer on our event. Thank You.

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Biddle Mansion, M. Robinson

Biddle Mansion, M. Robinson

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