RUNNEMEDE REMEMBERED

Growing up in a small town in Southern New Jersey


Saturday, January 23, 2010

Returning to Runnemede -- for Real

Yes, I'm going back to Runnemede, for real, in late May. The church in which I grew up is celebrating it's 100th anniversary, and my family, since dad was the pastor at the church for more than half of the church's existence, will be coming to town in droves, so to speak, at the end of May.

Most my children and grandchidren, several of my nieces and nephews, and their children, are going to descend on Runnemede. We're all looking forward to a great family reunion, as well as a reunion with some of the church members who are still around.

I guess the last time I visited the church was five years ago when our nephew (on my husband's side) got married. We arranged it so that we would visit the church on the morning after the wedding and worship with them and then head home after that. The only thing we missed that trip was the trip to Phily diner after church, which was a custom in the last years of my father's life. How he loved that place. And they loved him. He was a big tipper!

One of the ladies on the celebration committee called me today to let me know some of what is going on, and as time goes by, I'll add "events" to my BLOG. The church has quite a few planned starting in late May and going through December, with a planned Christmas celebration to mimic one they had in 1910. Ledgers written by the church "secretary" have given the committee lots of insight as to what it was like in 1910 and one of the events for which they have an old ledger is Christmas in the early 1900s. I would so love to see those old papers and read through them. Imagine what history there is in them?

So, I'm really gearing up for this trip "home". Maybe as the trip time gets closer my memory will be jogged and I'll be able to post more things remembered about Runnemede.

I am also enjoying the Facebook page: I grew up in ole Runnemede, NJ. It's a bunch of us oldsters talking about what we did as children and the memories we have of the town in which we were raised. You can read the entries by going to Facebook.com and then search to Runnemede. One of the search responses is the "I grew up..." site and you can read what many of us have written. I especially like the history discussion group.

So, for now, I'll say ta-ta. Be writing soon.

ttfn

2 comments:

The Lady of the Holler said...

Jude -- that's awesome that you're going back! So fun!

Bill Tracy said...

That's great news. So I'll lay my Wallace Stegner quote upon you:

"Some are born in their place, some find it, some realize after long searching that the place they left is the one they have been searching for."

-Wallace Stegner