Hi Ron, been away from this table for a few days, Billy and I have just watched a wonderful TV programme with kathryn Tickell and Alistair Anderson, we do not often get folk music on English TV, but this was great,then I thought I would come back to the table and catch up. Billy was brought up in Pennsauken and came to the UK in the 60s with the US airforce.He remembers the Pine Barrens, broke down there in his car with sister Connie en route to the Jersey shore. He also remembers the pumping heart on a 5th grade school trip.
My favourite part of NJ has to be Cape May and an early breakfast at the Mad Batter. Later that day we watched the World Clam Throwing Championship.returning to the Essex coast in England and to the annual Folk Festival we were running we held the world Whelk Throwing Championship but it did not live up to Cape May( great fun though)
We are trying to trace our family trees, I have got back to 1723, wish I had paid more attention to Grandma at her table as it has been hard work and I have missed out on all the anecdotes that I listened too but did not retain. We do not have much information about Billy's family. their name is French in origin but we do not know when they emigrated to the USA.His aunt, now 87, tells us her grandfather was Frederick Simon the Pennsauken iceman, he delivered ice by horse and cart in the summer and in the winter by Horse and sleigh.( he also did weddings taking brides to and fro from church in the sleigh)He was approached by Fridgeadair to go into a partnership but did not think it would take off!! Oh well!
I love this thread it has brought back many memories and quite a few phonecalls to my cousins to see what they remember of our grandma.One cousin recalled that Grandma's house was hit by a V2 during World War 2 and the rescuers dug her out of the ruins, she had been hiding under the kitchen table!