Williamstown Farmers' Market

     Thursday, July 22, 2021: For the last of my Gloucester County, New Jersey trips, I went to the Williamstown Farmers’ Market, 701 North White Horse Pike, Williamstown (856-875-8039). This was the largest farmers’ market in Gloucester County, and about two-thirds of this market contained food vendors, many of them Amish, selling a variety of foods: produce, meats, and cheeses, as well as baked goods, preserved foods, bulk foods, etc. In another section I noticed close to two dozen vendors selling non-food merchandise: furniture, books, and clothing, as well as toys, gifts, and other stuff. Outside, this market displayed storage sheds for sale. I easily spent a few hours here!     

Haynicz's Orchard View Farm Market

      Sunday, July 18, 2021: Although the Haynicz’s Orchard View Farm and Greenhouse, 1093 Elk Road, Monroeville, New Jersey (856-340-6370) wasn’t as large as the other farm markets that I’ve been to in Gloucester County, it did sell certain items that I didn’t see in abundance elsewhere: flowers, herbs, and other plants. Of course, this market also sold its share of produce (most of it grown in the surrounding fields), preserved foods, baked goods, and so forth. Meanwhile, looking at the surrounding farmland, one gets to understand why NJ has been known as “The Garden State!”  

Pitman Laurel Farmers' Market

 

     Saturday, July 17, 2021: The Gloucester County town of Pitman, New Jersey, has been a lively, walkable town with its share of retail businesses, restaurants, and a theater—all within a few blocks! Nevertheless, on a Saturday morning in summer, another place worth seeing has been the Pitman Laurel Farmers’ Market, at Sunset Auditorium, 200 Laurel Avenue, Pitman, NJ (856-256-8380). Here, I saw about a dozen and a half vendors selling produce, baked goods, and preserved foods, as well as non-food vendors selling jewelry, crafts, and soaps, etc. Therefore, before seeing downtown Pitman, I would recommend visiting here on a summer Saturday. Between this market and downtown, you could spend a whole day there. 

Duffield's Farm

      Thursday, July 15, 2021: I visited another farm market in Gloucester County: Duffield’s Farm & Market, 280 Chapel Heights Road, Sewell, New Jersey (856-589-7090). This place was bigger than the farm market I went to the other day, and their variety of produce was vast as well. They also stocked much more in baked goods; plus, they had a deli! Most all of the produce for sale grew in the surrounding fields, and some of the produce ended up being sold in jars of preserved food. In addition, they sold jars of preserved food from Kitchen Kettle Village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As for baked goods, they offered many kinds of pies, cakes, and breads, as well as cookies, donuts, and so on. Throughout the year, the owner plays host to special events for the whole family, especially for children and school trips.   

Maugeri's Farm Market, Swedesboro

      Tuesday, July 13, 2021: Thus, I went to a farm market. (The differences are that a farmers’ market had different vendors selling their merchandise in one place. Whereas a farm market is a retail business located on a farm, and the owner owns both the farm and the retail business that can be anything from a farm stand to a mid-sized store.) On the date above, I browsed and bought a few items in Gloucester County at Maugeri’s Farm Market, 1991 Oldman’s Creek Road, Swedesboro, New Jersey (856-294-9900). Unlike many farm and farmers’ markets that only operate one or a few days a week—mostly on weekends, this market operated seven days a week. While that market from the outside didn’t look large, it was surrounded by fields where most of the produce grew. In addition to produce, this place sold baked goods, gift items, and cheeses, as well as preserved foods that they canned there, food items in freezers, etc. Therefore, what they lacked in building size, they made up for in variety—especially in produce!  

Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse

      Sunday, July 11, 2021: Because the weather was nice, I decided to do a quick visit to Gloucester County, New Jersey, and the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, 70 Second Street, Paulsboro (856-423-1505). Although this place wasn’t open for tours to the top, I didn’t mind because I have not been a big fan of climbing up a lot of stairs—even if the views were good! (I also saw the views online, and they were good.) Nevertheless, I looked at the outside of this lighthouse and the 1880 building below it. Throughout the year, the society who maintained this place played host to special events. Otherwise, if you have been visiting someplace else nearby and wanted to visit a quiet place later, then I would recommend coming here. Be warned: Use your GPS, MapQuest, Google Maps, or some other maps because many of the local streets didn’t have signs. 

Scotland Run Park

      Sunday, June 27, 2021: I had nature on my mind as I headed toward this destination: Scotland Run Park, 980 Academy Street, Clayton, New Jersey (Gloucester County) (856-881-0845). As soon as I arrived, I entered the nature center! In this small, one-room, mini museum covering the flora & fauna of the area, I saw one wall that showed five display tanks of reptiles, amphibians, and insects, as well as a showcase exhibiting human-made items in glassware, pottery, and metal pieces that go back to the last few centuries. Along the other side of this room, I looked at bones from different animals—especially deer, taxidermy animals & birds, and cases displaying butterflies, moths, & insects. In addition, pictures and texts explained more about the natural attractions around the area. As for the rest of the park, along the lake, the public could rent canoes and kayaks, launch their own boats on this lake, fish, and walk the trails. There was also a playground for children, a picnic area with grills, and nearby pavilions. I also noticed some people paddle boarding on the lake, but many people just relaxed and sat by the picnic tables. This was one of those places where you could be as active or relaxing as you want.   

Heritage Glass Museum

       Saturday, June 26, 2021: Of course, a town named Glassboro would have had many glass making industries in its past! Nowadays, the downtown included the following attraction: Heritage Glass Museum, 25 East High Street, Glassboro, New Jersey (in Gloucester County) (856-881-7468). On one floor, I could view different kinds of glass in chronological order by going clockwise around the room. Here, they displayed glass from the 1700s to the current time. I looked at glass in the form of bottles, plates, and lids, as well as glasses, vases, bowls, paperweights, jewelry, a glass-beaded dress from the 1920s, etc. In addition, packed into this room were exhibits of glass making equipment, pictures, and texts about the history of glassmaking in NJ and other parts of the USA. This small museum contained a lot of things to see.    

American History Museum of Deptford

      Friday, June 25, 2021: In a large white former farmhouse, I entered a museum that claimed, “Our museum is not a building filled with artifacts: It is a building filled with history…told with artifacts.” The Museum of American History at Deptford, New Jersey, 138 Andaloro Way, Deptford, NJ (in Gloucester County) (856-812-1121) contained six rooms of exhibit items, texts, and pictures on two floors. Each room covered a different theme: Local Deptford History, Pre-Columbian History, and a room with antique tools & equipment, as well as fossils, farm equipment, and glass & ceramics. Overall, I experienced an interesting and educational hour here!     

Woodbury

 

     Thursday, June 17, 2021: On this day I took a quick trip to the county seat of Gloucester County, New Jersey: Woodbury. My first stop was the headquarters of the Gloucester County Historical Society or the Hunter-Lawrence-Jessup House, 58 North Broad Street (856-848-8531). Although the first owner built the house in 1765, through the years, different owners altered it, and it looked like a Victorian Gothic house. When I was there, the museum was closed due to covid-19, but I did notice a nearby historical plaque which read that this was the site where British General Cornwallis had his headquarters on November 12-24, 1777. Later, I went to South Broad Street to browse at the businesses in Woodbury’s downtown. The styles of the buildings ranged from the 19th century to into the 20th century. My favorite shops were Woodbury Antiques and the Nerd Mall. This last place sold comic books, action figures, games, and so forth. If nothing else, I spent an interesting few hours browsing!     

Whitall House

      Saturday, June 12, 2021: This has been a place my parents used to take me to on a daytrip during my childhood in the 1960s. Back then, there was the “old house” on the property, a few monuments, and some cannons. We mainly enjoyed the parkland for a picnic and later did some beach combing along the Delaware River. Years later, the Ann Whitall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution restored the “old House.” Nowadays, it has been known as the Whitall House at Red Bank Battlefield Park, 100 Hessian Ave., National Park, NJ (Gloucester County) (856-853-5120) and had been opened for tours. I toured it in the early 2000s and on the date above. (I have a more detailed account about this house in Volume 1, Issue 3, of Dotty’s Dimensions.) Inside, this house has been restored to the way it looked on October 22, 1777 when the Battle of Red Bank took place. Outside, I saw an 18th-century styled garden containing plants that a family from the 1770s would grow for many purposes: medicine, to make dyes, flavoring food, and so forth. In addition, I also noticed some of the monuments, cannons, parkland, and beachfront that I remembered from the 1960s!   

Amish Farmers Market

      Saturday, June 5, 2021: I’ve been to Amish markets in Pennsylvania, but this is the first time I have been to one in New Jersey. The Amish Farmers Market, 108 Swedesboro Road, Mullica Hill, NJ (Gloucester County) (856-478-4300) included about 16 vendors selling the following merchandise: wine, baked goods, and a coffee shop, as well as gifts, candy (sweets), and seafood. Other vendors sold salads, cheeses, and deli meats, as well as fresh meats, pretzels, herbs, produce, soups, cooked chicken, and this place included an Amish-styled restaurant. Whew! From the outside, it looked like a strip mall, but inside, it was quite different from most grocery stores. After buying a few items here, we later drove down Main Street in Mullica Hill its colorful downtown of many Victorian buildings containing antique shops, restaurants, and other businesses.  

DDV01I03

 

DOTTY'S DIMENSIONS - A travelog of science fiction conventions, sight-seeing attractions, and other things.
I published these newsletters from the years 2000 to 2006.

VOLUME 1    

⤓ ISSUE 3 contains these reports:
A weekend I spent in Washington, DC;
a media-science-fiction convention called Shore Leave;
and weekends in other places: New Jersey; New York City; Philadelphia;
a revisit to Washington, DC; and a revisit in New Jersey.

01 - NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY EXPLORERS HALL
02 - NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
03 - SHORE LEAVE 2000
04 - ATLANTIC CITY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
05 - NEW JERSEY STATE AQUARIUM
06 - UNITED NATIONS
07 - OLD MERCHANT'S HOUSE
08 - MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
09 - NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDENS
10 - FRANKLIN INSTITUTE SCIENCE MUSEUM
11 - PHILADELPHIA ZOO
12 - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
13 - WHITALL HOUSE AT RED BANK BATTLEFIELD (FORT MERCER)