Went down to my local library today...

[MikeBickerson]

I went down to the central Camden County Library in Voorhees today to pay off a book fine I've been avoiding (I can never seem to get them in on time!), and went up to the history section. While browsing, I realized that although I've coming to the library since before I can remember, I've never walked around the place (I tend to get stuck in the history section and never leave). There was almost no one there (it was a half hour 'til closing), so I took a walk around. I went into the reference center and was flipping through some Pinelands Commission reports they have. I put them back, looked around the corner, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a jolly old elf and ... wait, that's not right. Actually, they have an entire room dedicated to New Jersey! The regular part of the library has a million books on the shelves about New Jersey (alright, maybe around fifty), the usual Beck and Pierce books, as well as "Down the Long-A-Coming", "Down Jersey", etc. I never thought they'd have reference copies stashed away in a far corner of the library.

Anyway, the New Jersey room has to have two hundred books there, it's unbelievable. They are not at all organized, and the library was closing, but I glanced for a few minutes and found a copy of "Early Furnaces and Forges" by Charles Boyer. I'll have to go back after school ends after next week and see what else they have there...

So yea, the lesson for the day is don't talk to anyone or walk around too much and you too can find large suprises in a library you've been going to for twenty years.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Sounds like I may need to make a road trip.

Ocean County Library in Toms River has something very similar, but it's got it's own building.

 

[Teegate]

They also have the microfilm there for the Courier Post which I have used quite a bit. There also is quite a bit of info there on on the US Gelogical Survey. I learned there that the Harrisville papermill had a geodetic marker on the door.

Guy

 

[MikeBickerson]

Hey Guy, I'll have to check out the microfilm...

I noticed a new book in the regular check-out section of the library (or maybe it was just out last time I was there), full of old photos of Cherry Hill. I flipped through and saw some pictures of the Holly Ravine Farm in Cherry Hill at Springdale/White Horse and Evesham Roads. I can remember when I was little, my dad used to stop there to get cigarettes, and my brother and I would always bug him until he'd get us some animal feed, so we could feed all of the pigs and whatever else was running lose at the farm. They also had an ice cream palour there, so you could feed animals and eat ice cream at the same time (what more could a kid want?). It's a shame the place was turned into strip stores, the young kids these days are missing out on a wild time...

 

[Teegate]

Mike,

I grew up in Marlton and remember the Holly Ravine farm. We would pass it al the time, even in the later years when we would go to the Country Club diner.

That book on Cherry Hill has quite a few photo's in it taken by the founder of the company I work for. He is still alive living in Cherry Hill and is about 85. He stopped in just last week to work and we talked. I know for certain the last photo in the book is his. His first name is Lew or it may say Lewis. He carries a camera with him all the time ad takes photo's. Unfortuantly, he even went on Henry Beck's tours in the late 50's and early 60's and never took a photo of Beck.

He lives in the Barkley Barms section of town, and if you have ever been there you may notice there are trails around the Barkley farmstead area. There are people from the area who take credit for making them, but the true facts are he made them all. Twenty years ago he was telling me about how he had made them, and it is sad that somone else is trying to take credit for it.


Guy

 

[bach2yoga]

Thanks, Mike!
Several of our local libraries have New Jersey rooms, but I've never visited Vorhees. I agree with Ben, sounds like a road trip is in order!
Renee