Monday, January 7, 2013
The family regifting extravaganza sets the bar for the fun in recycling.
For some people, New Year’s parties mark the end of the holiday season. For others, it’s the feast of the Epiphany, celebrated on Jan. 6. Still others begin un-decking the halls as soon as the Christmas dinner dishes are cleared. For me, one event marks the end of another holiday season in a grand—and appropriate—style. That event is my Aunt Gerry’s Annual Re-Gifting Extravaganza. The 2013 version was held this Saturday, and as always, it set a high bar for the other celebrations this year. You may not be familiar with the term “re-gifting,” but I’m willing to bet you’re aware of the concept. Re-gifting is the term popularized in an old Seinfeld episode to refer to the process of taking an “undesirable” present given to you and giving it …
Monday, December 10, 2012
West Deptford's Nance Waye Reeves takes on the role of the meanest holiday character this side of Scrooge.
Nance Waye Reeves has a decent resume, both professionally and personally. The West Deptford resident can lay claim to some pretty impressive titles. Sociology professor. Writer. Actor. Wife and mother. Girl Scout leader and room mom. And, just in time for the holiday season, she’s adding another one: Grinch. Reeves has captured the role—and the spirit—of that iconic Dr. Seuss character, the Grinch, in the latest production by the Lucky Nickel Theatre Company of Barrington. “It’s been really fun being the Grinch,” says Reeves, who lives in the township’s GreenFields section. “He is someone who we find out in the end really cares about the Whos and Christmas. I love that! The character turns around during the course of the play.” The play…
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The mission field is in our back yard this time, but together we can restore the Shore.
For me, like most of us in the tri-state area, summer has always meant the Jersey Shore. Of course, that meant different things for different people. My kids will tell you the Jersey Shore is Ocean City, being brought up on Wonderland Pier, Johnson’s Popcorn and Mack and Manco Pizza. Others will just as fondly remember the gingerbread houses and promenade of Cape May, or the roller coasters and nightlife of Seaside Heights. It doesn’t matter which town, really. We were united by the sandy shoreline and spent our days jumping over the same waves in the Atlantic. When I was growing up, the Jersey Shore meant Wildwood, and my ties to the town went deep. My maternal grandmother grew up in North Wildwood, and my parents met on the boardwalk …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
After Sandy, a new appreciation for our home state emerges.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Mary Lebeau
-
Sunday, November 4, 2012
I’m having a hard time finding the words. This past week has been a long one for most of us. Long, and not particularly kind. We started the week preparing to ride the storm out, and ended it feeling a little older, a little broken, a little sad. All these things, and above all else, blessed. Is it possible to feel guilty about your blessings? This week, our hometown walked away almost untouched by the devastation that came with hurricane Sandy. Oh, sure, there were some broken tree limbs, some flooded streets and some power outages. Some of us were shut out of jobs, the schools were closed, and we all lived through a barrage of automatic phone calls about the date we’ll be trick or treating. But when we turned on the news or signed into …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
We're buying water and flashlights, attempting to have a bit of control in a week when the world seemed to so out of it.
Perfect storm (n): 1. A particularly violent storm arising from a rare combination of adverse meteorological factors. 2. A particularly bad or critical state of affairs, arising from a number of negative and unpredictable factors. As I write this, we still don’t know how the so-called Frankenstorm is going to play out. But I’ve been feeling the change of wind this entire week, feeling tides rise high then flow overhead, watching the leaves fall and the skies turn dark and ominous. This week has been crazy-busy in our house, and in most of your houses too, I expect. After all, the little ones are gearing up for Halloween, painting their faces and spreading cobwebs across the mums in the garden, anticipating parties and tricks or treats. I’…
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Woodbury welcomes the change of season with the annual Fall Festival Parade, celebrating community, tradition and all things local.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Mary Lebeau
-
Sunday, October 7, 2012
“If you’re not in the parade, you watch the parade. That’s life.” —Mike Ditka When I was in high school, my major goal in life was to get away from home. I wanted to go as far as I could, as fast as I can, and couldn’t wait to leave small town New Jersey behind. When I was choosing a college, I had two criteria—money (as in how much financial aid?) and miles (as in how far?) Which is why it’s a bit ironic that I’m back here in my hometown, and have been for most of my adult life. In fact, the only house I’ve ever owned is two blocks from the house where I grew up. And although I still have a bit of wanderlust in me, I am quite content raising my children in the same neighborhood I spent my childhood. In fact, I kinda like that the …
Sunday, September 23, 2012
West Deptford Little Theatre ends its 39th season with an awards ceremony and a lot of looking forward.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Mary Lebeau
-
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Tonight, the stars of Hollywood will gather to honor some of their own during the 64th annual Emmy awards. But the kids at West Deptford Little Theatre will tell Hollywood it’s too late. The important honors were given out last Sunday at RiverWinds, when the theater group closed its 39th summer season with a celebratory awards ceremony. Now, I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic—and, yes, old—as I sat with my friends at the ceremony. You see, I attended a similar event a lifetime ago, when WDLT was ending its first season. That was back in the day when we met in a backyard on Cromwell Court, when sets were painted by parents and friends in our driveways, and when every “older member” of the group had a job. Anne Cassabian, whose parents …
39.85848
-75.2046
RiverWinds Comunity Center
1000 Riverwinds Dr, West Deptford, NJ
/articles/looking-forward-to-forty
1224738
/locations/7891159
Sunday, September 9, 2012
An annual trifecta of events marks the change of seasons in West Deptford.
The season of change is upon us. Oh, sure, the pool is still up, the Mister Softee truck still makes its nightly rounds and our tans are just beginning to peal. But like it or not, summer’s over. Its unofficial ending, no doubt, was on Thursday, Sept. 7—the day West Deptford Schools reopened for the 2012-13 school year. The days are still hot, and the first official day of autumn isn’t until September 22, but we know better. No matter what the weather or the calendar says, autumn usually arrives in West Deptford with a trifecta of events—the annual Marty Gray games, West Deptford Family Fun Day and, of course, the first day of school. In our house, there has been a sort of easing in to the school year. My oldest son, a Fairleigh Dickinson …
39.85644
-75.161308
West Deptford High School
1600 Crown Point Rd, West Deptford, NJ
/articles/back-to-autumn
1224663
/locations/7754701
39.815175
-75.169572
Green-Fields Elementary School
15 Hill Ln, West Deptford, NJ
/articles/back-to-autumn
1818968
/locations/7754702
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Back to school packets arrived this week, bringing anticipation and stirring memories.
When the news broke this week, it had people all over our fair city scurrying to their mailboxes. No, we weren’t waiting for the latest on Prince Harry. Instead, my family—just like countless others throughout West Deptford—stalked our mailman, waiting for the arrival of the elusive, inevitable white packet, the one that would reveal the destinies of WD students for the coming year. “Who did you get?” the anxious call went out to friends as the “back-to-school” envelopes began arriving. I heard the news that they were out from—where else?—Facebook, where Libby’s Girl Scout leader posted that her third-grader had received his packet, but her fifth-grader was still waiting. It was lunch hour Wednesday, and immediately Libby ran to the …
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Facing the biggest "wrecking ball" of his life, my brother believes faith will be rewarded. Bruce Springsteen told him so.
“For the ones who had a notion, A notion deep inside, That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive.” I remember a time, when I was a little girl, that my brother Mark was very sick. Mark was my first brother, and at the time the youngest in the family. We were born one-two-three, the tag team of myself and Gina born a year apart, and Mark coming a few years later. So at the time I’m remembering, he was about three or four, and I was in first or second grade. I don’t remember the details, or maybe I never knew them. I just remember getting off the bus from St. Patrick’s and rushing into the house to share my day. My mom, in a sharp voice, told me to hush. My brother was in her bedroom, sick, and Gina and I would have to be quiet that day. I…
Tim Dixon
11:10 am on Monday, January 7, 2013
Gina gave up a glowing Pope!!!! I have to get up there for next year's re-gifting shindig!!! more ›