New Blog

I’ve decided to create a new blog. I may continue this one in the future, but the odds are slim.

Here is the link.

WheatonArts in Financial Crisis

WheatonArts and Cultural Center, located in Millville, NJ, needs your help and support. This past week, promised funding was frozen by Gov. Jon Corzine to this nonprofit cultural center and all nonprofit groups in NJ. The grants had been committed to the running of the facilities since July. Overall, 10 million dollars have been frozen statewide.

Housed on 65 wooded acres, WheatonArts, formerly known as Wheaton Village, consists of The Museum of American Glass, Hot Glass Studios, and various stores targeted mainly at the glass industry in southern NJ. They feature special exhibitions, programs, workshops, performances, and weekend festivities.

“This funding freeze has created a financial emergency. It may result in jobs lost, programs cut, vendors not being paid and other financial obligations,” said Susan Gogan, Executive Director, in a Dec. 10 e-mail to the staff.

“What are we going to do?” said Lynne O’Neill, manager of the General Store.

In the General Store, you can find unique Christmas gifts for your family and friends. You can also shop online.

Although Black Friday was successful in WheatonArts, O’Neill hopes locals will visit more often.

“We just wish people would remember us more during the rest of the year. It’s kind of sad,” she said. “The local people are our biggest challenge.”

The vast majority of visitors to the center are not from the Cumberland County area.

You can visit seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of the year. They are closed on Christmas, and close at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The shops and museum have no entrance cost. It is located directly off of Route 55, exit 26. Simply follow the signs.

View WheatonArts in a larger map

Exhibitions taking place:

Museum of American Glass

“Treasures From The Collection” Through Jan. 3, 2010

“Handmade Gift” Through Jan. 3, 2010

The Gallery of Fine Craft

“The Handcrafted Gift” Through Dec. 24, 2009

Down Jersey Folklife Center

“Understanding Others: Philippine Traditional Arts and Culture” Through Jan. 3, 2010.

Photographs of WheatonArts (all taken by me, some this month and some back in June when I brought my friend from NC to visit the sights):

A look into the future

this is me inside WheatonArts this past summer

As the semester comes to a close, I have one more (graded) post ahead for you. I kept my promise and got us to the Malaga exit after all.

In the next couple of days (possibly today), I will be posting an article on Wheaton Arts, located off of Exit 26.

Yes, I know I skipped a few exits (Vineland altogether, for starters), but I won’t have time to post detailed entries on the rest of Route 55. Instead, I have chosen to give you a peak in on one of South Jersey’s most interesting places. I hope you enjoy it.

I’d like to thank everyone for reading my blog (over 300 hits this semester–wow). It has been a fun learning experience, that’s for sure. There’s a chance that I might keep the blog going, but the posts will be different from what you see now. It would be way more opinion based and not so broad.

Again, look back soon for my final post of the semester!

Exit 39a: Malaga, NJ

Here’s some of what you’ll find in Malaga:

1. Malaga Lake Park

You can fish, picnic, or play on the playground. It’s basically a park.. and a lake. Surprising, I know.

2. Wawa

I think it’s safe to say that you will not be able to get off of any exit in South Jersey without finding yourself face to face with this convenience store.

3. CVS

This has also been a repetition in our journeys. You can also find them in various other states.

4. Malaga Diner

I have one experience with this diner from about three years ago. It was gross and the waitress basically forgot about my table for half an hour. I haven’t been back since. It might have gotten better!

5. Pegasus Restaurant

Uh, my grandmom likes this place? It’s a greek restaurant that I’ve never really been a big fan of.

6. McDonalds

Self-explanatory.

7. La Pizza

Pretty good pizza, actually. I’ve only had it a couple of times though.

Obviously there’s more to Malaga than what I’ve mentioned. If you’re interested, get off the exit!

Exit 39b: Elmer, NJ

You won’t find much of anything off of Exit 39b for a little bit. It will be you and nature. And Wawa, obviously.

When you get off of this exit, you’re arriving on Route 40, also known as Harding Highway.

If you continue to take this straight down for about half an hour, you will reach Delaware.

Before that, though, you’ll see Elmer. A town the size of one square mile, complete with a little diner. It’s cute in an old way. A good place to take black and white photographs.

But like the other little towns that we’ve been recently visiting, there’s not much to it.

Check out their website though. You can learn all about Harvest Day 2010. …Yes, as in… October of NEXT year. Interesting.

Exit 43: Franklinville, NJ

Welcome to the sticks. You’ve now arrived in one of South Jersey’s most boring communities. Yet, with every boring, wooded, and virtually empty land, there is always something interesting hidden.

In this case, it’s hidden on Federal Avenue and is named Jim Quinn.

Quinn is the local sales representative for an international log home dealership, Kuhns Bros.

They build homes in 26 countries and all across America. “Ireland’s a big market,” said Quinn when I recently sat down with him to find out more information about his business. A home was also recently built in Budapest, Hungary.

Quinn was more than happy to answer my questions. It became increasingly apparent that his log home business was more than just a job– it’s his lifestyle.

Q. What kind of business do you own?

A. “Log home dealership.”

Q. What does that entail?

A. “Selling complete log home kits. It’s basically just the material. It includes all you need to structurally build a house.”

Q. How do you advertise… being in the middle of nowhere?

A. “Through the web– personal and corporate websites. Also Log Home Living Magazine, a monthly magazine on log home lifestyle.”

Q. Do you get much business?

A. “Well… it depends on what you call a lot of business. It’s a niche market and there’s not a huge demand. It really depends on the market. I do good for New Jersey. The Midwest is more productive. Water is the major selling feature.”

Q. How many employees do you have?

A. “None directly. That’s where the subcontractors come in.”

Q. What’s the wood made out of?

A. “Eastern White Pine, the predominant species of the area. It’s the easiest to use and most stable in the Pennsylvania region. If you go to New England, you’d use cedar. Some use oak or cypress, but pine is probably the most popular.”

Q. How elaborate are the log homes?

A. “You can customize them to whatever you want. The biggest is over 12,000 sq. ft. My home is less than 2,000 sq. ft. They can cost millions of dollars or a log cabin could be as little as $45,000. They can be as elaborate as you want.”

Q. How do you wire electricity?

A. “As the builder stacks the logs they drill for the electricity. You have to know where every outlet, switch and receptacle is going before you build the house. There’s no going back.”

Quinn shared some other interesting facts:

1. The foundation of a log home is the same as a stick frame (regular) house. You can use block concrete, poured concrete, or whatever you want.

2. Kuhn’s Bros. kiln dries all of their logs before being milled into shape. The process is at 170 degrees Fahrenheit and it removes all moisture from the logs to minimize shrinkage. It’s a big feature with log homes and alleviates a lot of problems down the road. You have a more stable log as it kills bugs, prevents twisting, and other occurrences.

3. The average price of a log home is about 20% more than a conventional home because it is more customized to the buyer’s preferences. You can even sheet rock some of the walls if you wish. It doesn’t have to be 100% logs, although that is what most people like.

Interior Photographs:

Exterior Photographs:

For more information, e-mail Jim Quinn at logman1@verizon.net or stop by the open house on Dec. 12, 2009 from 1-4 p.m.

Exit 45: Clayton, NJ

Looking for a Christmas tree (or “Holiday Tree” if you’re being politically correct)?

Look no further than Kozy Acres Tree Farm and Apiary located just a couple of miles off of Exit 45!

You can choose and cut your own tree here, even tag it.

Oh, and they also have soap products?

So basically, bees and trees. Nice advertising slogan in my opinion (although I just made that up).

Town itself?

Clayton, Clayton, Clayton… what a strange town!

When thinking about what to write about Clayton, I had a mind-block, just like Elk Township.

Clayton is a tiny town that finds itself on Delsea Drive between Glassboro and Franklinville.

To put this in the nicest terms possible: the town needs a touch of paint. Terribly.

Also, watch out for the cops. The speed limit changes many times– 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 30… you get my point. Be careful!

Exit 48: Elk Township, NJ

Elk Township: Home of… what? A CVS and a Wawa? Anything else? Well, trees, land, houses, and… that about covers it.

Just kidding.

I actually had to go to their website (I’m shocked they have one) to find out anything.

I went to this exit with this knowledge: Elk Township kids attend Delsea Regional High School. That was my high school. They hated the commute, which, for some, was half an hour or more (depending on bus rides).

But anyway, from the website I learned that there are different “settlements” or towns within this township:

Hardingville- I knew this existed because of the church located there. I’ll keep my extremely biased opinions of that place out of this blog though. Let’s just say that the church owned my middle school, and that middle school was probably the worst time of my life.

Lawns- This I’ve never heard of. According to the website, “The area has grown into quite a community since 1929. It presently (1976) has two stores, one gas station, four churches and one volunteer fire company.” Quite a community, huh?

Ferrell- This is marked by a firehouse. It also is home to lots of fruit stands.

Ewan- Only the southwest section is part of Elk Township.

Aura- Aura is more built up than other sections. The elementary school is named after this section.

Wrights Mill- Chief product? CHRISTMAS TREE STANDS! How appropriate for this time of the year. Apparently they are made of “Poplar, pine and gum.”

Also noted on the website are Lakes Gilman and Garrison, and Pine Tavern.

I wouldn’t say that this is a must-see exit unless you’re really into fruit stands. If that’s your thing– then head on out into the near-empty lands of Elk Township!

…or if you prefer, you could just make a left off of the exit and head into Glassboro.

Exit 50a: Glassboro, NJ

Over the course of the past several days, I have repeatedly attacked my brain cells attempting to figure out what exactly I should report on for the Glassboro exit. There are just so many possibilities:

1. Local businesses
2. Rowan University
3. Art galleries or the glass museum

In the end, I found my topic by driving around aimlessly:

Manahath Cemetery.

I admit, I have a thing for cemeteries. Morbid? Probably. I find them to be so interesting and full of history. And Manahath? It’s in the middle of town! The entrance is located on Main Street, and Delsea Drive, the most well-known road in Glassboro, borders the back.

The location just, well, amused me. It’s not every day that you notice a cemetery in the middle of an urban area. Well, at least it’s not every day for me.

Following are some creepy snapshots I took of the cemetery from my car:

Time is A’Tickin

There’s now less than a month left in the semester and I’m only on Exit 50a. Tonight I drove down to Exit 27 for an interview for another class and attempted to figure out how many more exits I would probably get to by the end of the semester. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Exit 50a, Glassboro

2. Exit 48, Elk Township

3. Exit 45, Clayton

4. Exit 43, Franklinville

5. Exit 39b, Elmer

6. Exit 39a, Malaga

 

After that, you’re heading into the Vineland/Bridgeton/Millville area. I may attempt to sum them up for the class in one post. I assume I’ll keep this blog up and running after the class ends, so I could go more in detail with those exits at that point in time. In the meantime, I’ll try to do the best I can to at least get to Malaga!