The Vineland Historical & Antiquarian society hosted the October meeting of Greenwich Tea Burning Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. The president of the New Jersey Bluebird Society (NJBS), Allen Jackson, was guest speaker. NJBS is a non-profit dedicated to increasing the population of bluebirds with a mission of education, conservation and research to promote the recovery of bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds.
Jackson enumerated the many factors involved in management practices such as properly designed and located nesting boxes, protection from predators and monitoring of nests. Negative impacts on the bluebird population that threaten survivability include loss of habitat, inadequate food supply, exposure to chemicals and cat predation.
As part of his stewardship, Jackson has a special banding permit. He told his audience, “While we banded 3,272 bluebirds that only represents about half of the bluebirds we were able to manage and keep records on. We anticipate the number of bluebirds fledged in New Jersey this season will exceed 7,000.”
Following this inspiring report about the successful conservation of the New Jersey bluebird population, Patricia A. Martinelli, curator of the Vineland Historical & Antiquarian Society, invited all those in attendance to see an interesting exhibit of WWII artifacts from the Society’s collection. The items on display included a WWII-era American flag; an army machine gun cartridge belt; commemorative plate with the inscription “Remember Pearl Harbor”; a pink silk fringed pillow sham from the Atlanta Ordinance Depot in Georgia and a German pickelhaube helmet (spiked officer helmet).
The exhibit was particularly appropriate for members of Greenwich Tea Burning to see in anticipation of “Female Spies of WWII,” a program and fundraiser sponsored by the Chapter to take place on Saturday, November 20, at 1 p.m. The program to remember and honor the many women who engaged in dangerous espionage to assist the Allies against the Nazis is a first-person portrayal of a legendary British spymaster, by actress Alisa Dupuy from “Ladies of History”. Cost is $15 per person. Location: The First Presbyterian Church, 119 N.2nd St., Millville, NJ. For more information, call 609-364-8525 or 856-691-7278.
“Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission/ Department of State and the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners through the Cumberland County Cultural & Heritage Commission.”
