VINELAND, NJ

SUMMER, 2001

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2

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Vinel
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Friends of

Special Founders Day Edition

Founders Day was everything we
could hope for. Even Charles K. Landis would have been proud. Many
people worked hard to make the day a
success, and in this issue of the Newsletter of the Friends, we want to give
credit where credit is due.
First and foremost we must thank the
Downtown Improvement District
headed by Linda Schimmel. Because
of the involvement of the District
Founders Day is an official city
event. Linda has worked incessantly
for many years to bring good things to
downtown Vineland and has many
accomplishments to show for it.
Founders Day Event is one of them.
Her goal is to help restore the prominent place central Vineland played
during the early years of the town.
She has been intimately involved in
many of the details of Founders Day
and has been instrumental in bringing
groups to the event. Finally, she was
with us on the two days of the event
to help and direct where ever needed.
A big step forward for us this year
was the use of the extensive and beautiful Training School grounds as the

location of the event. Over the years,

the Training School has been a world
famous institution that has been an
integral part of the community. Much
of Vineland has forgotten what the
institution has done for the community, but this year we saw it back in its
traditional role of being involved in
community activities. Much of the
credit for this goes to Mr. Allen Samuels of the Training School who
worked out the details of using the
grounds, and then was here, there, and
everywhere the two days of the event-helping out where ever needed.

In This Issue

The event took place on Friday and

Saturday. On Friday, all the third
grade students of Vineland were present in the morning, and the fifth
grade students were present in the afternoon at the camp site for some fast
moving history--something like 1,400
of them. On Saturday, the event was
open to the public from 11:00 to 5:00
in the afternoon.

Note: We will be
starting to put together the Calendar
of the Friends for
the year 2002. This
issue will highlight
the Fire Department
of Vineland. If you
want to place an ad,
please let us know.
Also, we can always
use old pictures of

A number of people were there to represent historical characters. For example, Mr. (Continued on page 2)
George

Page 1-5: special

Founders Day Edition with thanks to
all that helped with
Founders Day
Page 6: Thanks to
our financial supporters and Dandelion Salad recipe of
Mayor Fiorelli

Page 2

(Continued from page one)

Daynor of Palace Depression
fame was there, represented by
Kevin Kirchner. Kevin had a
beautiful display of the old Palace Depression. He has become
an expert on the Palace, and on
June 2 of this year will have the
kickoff for the ground breaking
for the reconstruction of the palace. It promises to be quite an
event.
Terry Kuhnreich was there to
help with the history of the Jews
of Vineland. This year she was
ably assisted by Sue Maron who
did an excellent job of explaining much about the religion and
the history of Judaism. This was
the first year that she was involved, and we hope it means
that we will see more of her.
John Makos made sure that a
Pinkerton guard was present to
protect president Lincoln. We
understand that when Lincoln
was shot, the guard had been bypassed and was not there to protect the president. Mr. Makos
was also able to make contact
with the Boy Scouts, and for the
first time, they also took part in
the event. Later, on Saturday, he
put up quite a fight against those
Yankee soldiers that had come to
Vineland to protect the Union.
Sorry to say, he lost!
Antonio Mennone, gave a good
account of himself explaining
the history of Vineland. Charles
K. Landis was supposed to do
that, but he was so busy with
other matters, that Antonio had
to do it for him. Antonio loves
his work, and does the same job
at the Historical Society. This

year, he was assisted by Matilda

Landis, Charles K. Landiss sister. Matilda (Mary Ribaudo)
showed some of the deeds she
had signed for her brother, and
explained the very important role
she played in his business dealings.
Janice Olivio again was present
to make sure that Marie Durand
explained why they named the
Durand school after her. Marie
Durand was the wife of Victor
Durand, creator of the famous

MARIE DURAND & HER GLASS

Durand glass. Janice has been

very active in getting crafters to
come and display their skills to
the students, and she also displayed the glass work she creates. She is getting so good at it
that someday one of her students
will be reenacting Janice.
Rosanne Hughes made sure that
Clara Barton was present to explain how she started the American Red Cross. Rosanne is a real
live nurse in real life and portraying Clara is a natural for her.
She has researched the role so
well that when she talks about it
you begin to think that she was
actually there. Come to think of
it, she might have been there.
Rosanne has received many hon-

ors in nursing, and perhaps

someday they will name part of
our new hospital after her.
Matthew Jordan, or should I say
Abraham Lincoln, was again
with us.
When Matt walks
around with his stove pipe hat
you begin to think that its really
Abraham Lincoln playing the
role of Matt Jordan.
When
Abraham (I mean Matt) begins
to speak, you are sure of it. We
understand that Matts wife,
Mary Todd Lincoln, will be with
him next year when he comes
back to Vineland during our
day.
Mary Ann Kirchner was there
representing Mrs. Richardson,
the first school teacher of Vineland. In real life Mary Ann is a
teacher in our school system.
She did a great deal of the
behind the scene work to get
the teachers and students ready
for our event. She was the person behind the quiz given to the
students. Those that get no more
than one question wrong (we are
tough!!) will be given a beautiful pen that has printed on it
Founders Day Genius.
Carol Paterson, other wise
known as Dr. Mary Dunlap, was
back again as part of The Womans Club, along with a close
group of friends from the club.
Mary Dunlap was the first female superintendent of the Vineland Training School, and the
first president of the Womans
Club. The club sponsored The
Womans Fashion Show and
gave prizes for the beautiful
dresses and hats that the contest-

Page 3

Continued from page 2

ants were wearing. (The prizes

were obtained by B. J. Giercyk,
who is a fantastic helper for us in
many ways.) Carol also explained the history of the Womens Club, and the role that Mary
played in that organization.
We certainly appreciate the courtesy shown to us by some of the
politicians by showing up for the
event. Senator James Cafaiero
and Assemblyman Jack Gibson
were there, as well as Mayor
Doug Gibson, Freeholder Lou
Magazzu and Bob Smith, Coun-

his fathers hatchery in his own

back yard, so he spoke with experience. Herb is from Pittsgrove
Township and is very active in
the Historical Society of that area.
Bobbi Berg had no trouble representing Mary Treat, the famous
Vineland entomologist (the big
word means the study of bugs!).
Bobbie is one of the prime movers of the recently created Art Alliance of Vineland. She is every
bit as classy as Mary Treat, and
just like Mary has absolutely no
trouble making the school children fascinated with the study of
science (or art for that matter).
Good ol Pete Di Stefano was
there with his faithful camera.
Between explaining how tough it
was for Mathew Brady to take all
those Civil War pictures, he took
a few of his own of the event.
Pete sure knows his photography,
and a lot of the pictures used in
our publicity in the newspapers
are of his making.

MAYOR BARSE & GEN. LEE

cilwoman Sheena Santiago and

County Clerk Gloria Noto, and
last but not least our own Mayor
Perry Barse!
Herb Wegner is a newcomer who
actually could play himself. His
father was Mr. Egg Association
of Vineland. Herb would travel
around with his father when he
was young. He knows all about
the egg industry of Vineland. He
can hardly believe himself when
he relates how they would hatch
and sell up to 2,000,000 chicks a
week in Vineland. Herb actually
saw many of those chicks hatch in

Mark Demitroff and Ron Bates

teamed up to make a great display
on Vineland before Landis.
Ron has a great love of history,
especially of this area, and collects anything he can that recalls
old Vineland. Mark, on the other
hand, will tell you just about anything you might want to know
about the history of the land,
starting with the ice age thousands of years ago, right up to
why the Indians named their trail
Malago, and later it became the
Malaga road, and now the Delsea
Drive.
Jeanne Robbana was there to give
the history of the Vineland Public
Library. She had some great old

pictures of the library, and also

had the original letter from Carnegie that granted Vineland the
money that enabled them to build
the old Vineland Library that is
now the Senior Center. She had
her display right next to The
Womans Club because The
Womans Club was instrumental
in starting the library 100 years
ago and she thought that they
should still stick together.
Art Parkings showed how great
things could be made out of plain
wood and John Lupton explained
the work of a blacksmith. John
said that he wants to come back
next year with a forge and show
the folks just how iron can be
worked. I hope he doesnt expect us to provide him with a
spreading chestnut tree.
Joe Hampton came through with
his antique car display. If you
really want to learn some history,
ask the owners how they got the
cars to look so pretty. Joe was
also very helpful in a variety of
other ways, including helping to
make and place the signs that
were used.
Bob Olivio showed us again why
he was such a good leader when
he was on City Council. He was
there to help us solve problems
and anticipate and prevent others.
Much of the success of the day
could be attributed to people acting in that fashion.
Faithful Clarence B. (Buzz)
Smithcors was there again at the
head of the Lyons Camp #10. He
was with us from the start and has
faithfully come with his troop to
defend the Union against those
nasty Southerners who tried to
BUZZ SMITHCOR AND SOLDIER

Page 4

Continued from page 3

break
away. Once the ringing in my
ears (caused by his loud cannon)
stopped, I could almost hear some
people speaking with awe about
the presentation of his camp. (P.S.
we got the Southern soldiers to
train the kids becausewell, you
know!!)

When Harriet Tubman slipped

down to the south to free another
batch of slaves, little did she
know that she was going to end
up in our Founders Day Event.
But, Darlene Durham made sure
of that. She looked none the
worse for wear after her trek of
hundreds of miles with her brown
bandana on her head and her
worn out dress. The pictures that
she was able to collect helped tell

We must not forget the Boy Scouts.

They came and pitched their tents.
What a bunch. The scout leaders
were and are fantastic people and the
scouts lived up to their reputation.
They helped where ever they could
and did such things as cook supper to
earn their merit badges. John Makos, Buzz Smithcor and I spent some

her story.
We were finally able to trap Sue Fenili to join our activities. She is better known for her weaving demonstrations, but this time she came up
with the novel idea of having the
BUZZ SMITHCOR & SOLDIER

SUE NAPIER & HER 5 LITTLE INDIANS

The detective with a smile, Felix

Martinez, spent the day with the
kids and their bikes. He operated
the Bike Rodeo and gave demonstrations on child car seat restraint
safety. He has done that for Linda on a number of occasions and
always responds with a smile.
A real hit with the antique lovers
was Bill Bertoia who was on hand
to appraise those old things that
either turn out to be a treasure or
some old junk. The real excitement consisted in watching Bill
carefully looking at the item and
hoping that he would say, Wow,
where did you find this!!!!! He
was located near the part of the
field containing the antique dealers and added authenticity to the
event.
Jean Basa pitched right in and
gave an account of the origins of
our three county hospitals. They
are really the parents of the new
regional hospital that will be built
in the near future. She jumped in
with the usual enthusiasm that she
displays at her regular job at
South Jersey Hospital.

time with them swapping stores

about ghosts and the Civil War.
Some of the kids knew more about
history than we did. What a great
bunch. The desert they served us
was also fantastic!

DARLENE DURHAM & DISPLAY

kids make paper from pulp. She had

all the equipment with her, and had
no trouble spreading her enthusiasm
with the young uns.
Toni Heavner was there with her
pottery making equipment, and
showed how it was done in the good
old days. Making clay objects aint
as easy as it looks, but she makes it
look easy as she turns out one good
piece after another.
Many times we forget that the original settlers of Vineland were the Lenape Indiansbut not Sue Napier
and her class of students. They had a
beautiful displaymade by the studentsof how the Indians lived in
villages, and then had the kids make
objects out of clay like the real Indians did years ago. They conveniently had chairs present so the parents
could sit and rest while the kids went
back in time. What a great job!

The Greek Dancers added a new dimension to the event. This was a
real bit of ethnic flavor. It was so
well received that we intend to do
more of it next year. It was so impressive, nobody shot off the cannon
when they were dancing.
Carl Biletta who came prepared to
discuss the manner in which Charles
K had to use and manipulate money
to start Vineland. Charles had only
500 dollars, given to him by his
mother, to start our town. He bought
the land for 7 dollars an acre, no
money down, and no payments due
for 3 years, interest free. Now that
is almost as good as a stock market
tip that Carl used to give his clients
when he was a stock broker.
Hay aint just for horses. Civil War
re-enactors need it also, and it is donated year after year to us by Adamo
Feed Store. What a nice lady. And
talking about horses, what would a
(Continued on page 5)

Page 5
Civil War army be without the cavalry. This was supplied by Andy Vera
and his family and friends in the way
of ponies that the kids could ride
after they took their training in the
infantry.

the tip of the iceberg.

Hope to see YOU at the event
next year!!
Frank De Maio, M.D.

Well, folks, that is it--my long list of

thank yous. I was just thinking
some of the people that portrayed the
famous people of Vineland have
probably done just as much for Vineland as the people they are portraying. I personally give them a lot of
credit, but the credit I can give is just

All expenses incurred for Founders Day were paid by the Friends of Historic Vineland.
Every penny collected is used for historic events. The money spent is obtained from donations from our readers, and members of the Friends. Also, there is a profit from the calendar
and that too is used for these events, as well as paying for the news letters, mailing the calendar to those that contribute each year, and so forth.
As the Founders Day Event becomes bigger, our expenses increase. We are more and more
dependent upon your donations.
If you have not sent in your dues for this year, or would like to make a donation, now is the
time.

We very much appreciate your help and we am sure the people who attended
Founder's Day (especially the children) also appreciate it. After all, you are the
real heroes of the event because without your help, there would not be an
event!!
DO YOU WANT TO JOIN??
TO BE A MEMBER
BENEFACTOR $100
SPONSOR..$50
FAMILY.$35
INDIVIDUAL.$30
STUDENT .$5
MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO THE:
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC VINELAND
The Friends have no connections with the Vineland

Name: ______________________________
ADDRESS: _________________________
CITY :__________________ STATE: _____
ZIP:. _______ PHONE: ________________
Mail to: Friends of Historic Vineland
C/O Frank De Maio, M.D.
1047 Almond St.

These are our heroesthe people that made donations that helped
support the activities of the Friends. Our heartfelt thanks to all of
you!!
De Rossi & Son Co.
Mr. Bob Albrecht Sr.
Dr. Caroline Amadeo
Mr. Ronald J. Angelo
Mrs. Joan Antonelli
Ms. Catherine Arpino
Ms. Cy & Joyce Baltus
Dr. & Mrs. Kevin G. Barber
Mr. Bennett Bardfeld
Mr. Gerald J. Batt
Mrs. Mary Bechold
Mr. & Mrs. Phil & Beth Bergamo
Dr. Joseph Bernardini
Mr. Carl Biletta
Mr. Jerry & Dolores Brown
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony & Dee Campanella
Dr. & Mrs Norman Cassett
Ms. Elloree Channels
Mr. & Mrs. Mike & Karen Cifaloglio
Dr. Ralph Dauito
Ms. Linda M. Dechen
Mr. Peter Di Stefano
Dr. & Mrs. Michael DiOrio
Ms. Jeanne Doremus
Ms. Darlene Durham
Mr. & Mrs. Bernard & Bernice Einstein
Mr. & Mrs. Spike English
Mr. Gaylord Evey
Mr. Matt Fisher
Ms. Alexandra Fox

Ms. Mary Frank

Mr. & Mrs. Jim & Faustina Geraci
Ms. Cornelia Getsinger
Mr. Donald Giacomone
Ms. B. J. Giercyk
Ms. Pearl Giordano
Mr. & Mrs. Dante & Dorothy Giuliani
Dr. Fazlollah Golestaneh
Mr. Jay H. Greenblatt
Mr. Daniel J. Grosso
Mr. & Mrs. Mickey & Mae Grotti
Mr. & Mrs. Bill & Eileen Hallissey
Dr. Andrew S. Heller
Ms. Patricia Howe
Mrs. Rosanne Hughes
Dr. Donald Huston
Dr. Seymour G. & Isabelle Hyman
Mr. Jerome H. Irick
Mr. Matthew Jordan
Mr. Kevin Kirchner
Ms. Beth Kocher
Ms. June Lang
Mr. & Mrs. Joe & Anna Leonardo
Mr. John Makos
Mr. William & Joan Martini
Mr. Antonio Mennone
Minotola National Bank
Ms. Viola Negherbon
Mr. & Mrs. Gerald & Gloria Noto
Ms. Janice Olivio
Ms. Nina Orlando
Dr. & Mrs. Gerald & Linda Packnan

Dr. & Mrs. James & Carol Paterson

Ms. Maria Perez
Mrs. Dolores Petalino
Mrs. Joanne Pettisani
Dr. John A. Pirolli
Mr. Joseph Pustizzi, Jr.
Mrs. Mary Ribaudo
Ms. Gloria Rochetti
Mr. & Mrs. David & Sybil Rosen
Alice Rosenfeld
Mr. & Mrs. Archimede & Antoinetta
Russo
Mr. & Mrs. Joe Santagata
Mr. & Mrs. Louis & Mary Schad
Mrs. Linda Schimmel
Ms. Alma Sessa
Dr. Inga Silberberg
Dr. Steven Soloway
Ms. Judith Stanger
Stanker & Galetto
Mr. & Mrs. Michael & Joan Stern
Dr. & Mrs. John P. Trabuchi, Jr.
Mr. Robert Trivellini
Mr. & Mrs. Donald & Thaddine Trucano
Dr. Narashmhaloo Venugopal
Ms. Florence Volpe
Dr. Joseph D Wachspress
Mr. John Whilhelm
Ms. Christine Zion
Mr. Robert Zuest

When Fiorelli was mayor of Vineland, he had a lot of ideas, but the one that really stuck was that involving the dandelion. Before becoming mayor, Mr. Fiorelli had a pizza shop, so he was no stranger to the kitchen. When he became mayor he would have
an annual Dandelion Dinner open to all comers. He was the main cook and bottle washer during this event. All the food had a
dandelion theme such as dandelion soup, dandelion salad, dandelion wine, and so on. This recipe is taken from the little cook
book that he prepared on dandelions and is being presented in his honor.
INGREDIENTS:
2 quarts of dandelions; 1/2 medium sized onion minced very fine; 1/2 teaspoon of salt, or to taste; 1 clove of garlic, cut very
fine; Olive oil & Vinegar
PREPARATION:
The dandelions should be obtained before they flower, as they become bitter after that. Wash well, allow to dry, then cut into
bite sized pieces. Mix the above ingredients. Use the amount of oil necessary to make the salad glisten. The vinegar should be
added carefully in small amounts, to taste. The above salad can be eaten with hard boiled eggs. They can be cut up and added to
the salad.
A big dish of this salad, some good white Italian wine, and a slice of Italian bread can easily make a meal! Also, forever after
this, you will no longer look upon the little weed as a nuisance but rather as a potential meal and a reminder of one of Vinelands
most colorful mayors.