Category Archives: Columns
Food Adventures: It’s All Good Soul Food Comes To West Maple Avenue
By Rachael Rivera, AAP Columnist
This month’s food adventure takes me to It’s All Good Soul Food and Catering, located at 618 West Maple Ave. in Merchantville. This unassuming little shop front is home to some truly awesome soul food.
Demina Miller owns and operates the restaurant with the help of her daughters, Ajani and Asia, as well as other family and friends. She began cooking and learning her way around the kitchen at a young age by hanging out with her aunt and grandmother while her mother attended college. She is a self-taught food maverick who gained her skill out of necessity and found her niche in soul food.
Spring Cleaning In Pennsauken: Not Looking Too Bad For 125
By Joe Scavuzzo, Director, Department of Public Works
As 2017 pushes onward, ushering my fellow residents and I along our town’s 125th anniversary or “quasquicentennial,” I step back to take a look at our big picture.
As with most weighing of past and present, there are considerable differences. For instance, back in the late 1800s, the latter part of this article would not apply to early settlers of Pennsauken. Fast forward a bit, perhaps to the middle of the 20th Century around the 1970s. I think about the landfill here in town on River Rd. and all the items currently located towards the bottom of that site: TVs, cars, loose tires, fluorescent light tubes, endless amounts of hazardous waste not classified at that time. I ask myself, “How did we get to this point with all of the environmental awareness, regulations, etc.?” The answer I stumble upon is consistent, no matter the decade nor century the question is asked in: we adapt. I am tempted to begin a grand sentence with “Since the beginning of time.” However, I can see my wife rolling her eyes; so I will refrain. It comes down to this: we as a Township will adapt to the challenges we face. Whether it’s illegal dumping and littering, vacant and abandoned properties, or how to get rid of a TV, Pennsauken will step up to remain the friendly place to live and grow. That’s the mindset of your local Public Works Department; that’s the service we aim to provide.
Looking Back On A Well-Lived Decade, With Much More To Come
By Judith Kristen, AAP Columnist
Well, here it is, April of 2017.
And on April 3, it will be my 69th birthday, the last of my 60’s and one more move closer to the BIG 7-0.
Celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day In Pennsauken
By Rachael Rivera, AAP Columnist
This month, some people will be focusing on basketball and all the March Madness. Others will be awaiting the glorious holiday that is Saint Patrick’s Day. There are many different ways to celebrate this fun holiday.
Irish For A Day, Magical Memories That Last A Lifetime
By Judith Kristen, AAP Columnist
I guess it’s because I was raised around so many Irish Catholic families that yours truly tips her Viking helmet happily, every year, in celebration and honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
You know there’s a quote I love that goes something like this: “You may not always remember what people said to you, but you will always remember how they made you feel.”
And that’s my forever connection to St. Paddy’s Day – cozy feelings and happy memories.
Life And Events From 1892 In Pennsauken
By Robert Fisher-Hughes, AAP Columnist and Amateur Historian
The world in 1892 was different, but people were much the same. Things new then are old now, but they persist in our lives. It was the year the Nutcracker ballet debuted in Tsarist Russia; the rules of the new game of basketball were published; and the character of Sherlock Holmes first appeared as a collection of stories in book form.
Philadelphia Flower Show Gives A Dose Of Spring Fever
By Kathleen Harvey, AAP Columnist
As I write this month’s column, I am recovering from the worst case of the flu I have had in recent memory. Three weeks of coughing, sneezing, and other discomforts have left me tired, weak, and grumpy. Now that I am finally starting to feel a bit better, a different kind of fever begins to creep into my soul: spring fever. My gardening tools have been cleaned, oiled, and sharpened; seeds have been started. I am impatient to get back outside, bask in the sun, breathe the fresh air.
Even though spring isn’t quite here yet, we can get a taste of things to come. This month, the Philadelphia Convention Center will be overtaken by nurseries, men, women, and gardeners of all ages who will transform it into a gardener’s paradise. This year, the Flower Show is being held Saturday, March 11 through Sunday, March 19. This year’s show, titled “Holland: Flowering the World,” celebrates the flowers, art, culture and landscape architecture of this region.
Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet… We’re Hunting Potholes!
By Joe Scavuzzo, Director, Department of Public Works
As we look forward to the sunny days and warmer weather of spring, Old Man Winter leaves us a few reminders of his stay here in Pennsauken. Unfortunately, the groundhog saw its shadow and we’re in for a few more weeks of winter.
To begin, our Township roads have made out fairly well this winter, with very little precipitation and temperatures above freezing and in the 40’s. Only in New Jersey would we experience a 60-degree day on Wednesday and plow-able snowfall the next morning! As I sit down on a cold Saturday morning to compose this article, I think back to my childhood in the late 1980’s, the cartoons that would occupy my weekend and search for a clever title. Elmer Fudd reminds me that, regardless of the mild winter thus far, we are approaching the Department of Public Work’s hunting season… pothole season. No pesky wabbits here… just wild turkeys!
There’s Always Time For Flowers… Chocolate… And Planning
By Joe Scavuzzo, Director, Department of Public Works
In the U.S., 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine’s Day with their sweethearts. Although I will neither confirm nor deny whether or not this fact applies to me, I can report that the Public Works Department is in planning stages for this year’s activities. While our annual budget proposal process has been completed, we turn to the late winter/early springtime projects that are quickly approaching. Inclement weather can keep our crews unable to safely or efficiently operate. The “slow” days after snow has fallen and plowing is complete prevent us from taking a dead tree down or replenishing playground mulch in a park. We use this time to perform preventative maintenance services on our vehicles, equipment, and facilities.
After The Ball Drops, New Year’s Resolutions Soon To Follow
By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
Santa came and went in a cookie-fueled, toy-laden sojourn ‘round the globe; the giant ball dropped at Times Square at the stroke of midnight January 1, 2017; and we don’t have to listen to Jenny McCarthy blather on for at least another 360 or so days. We are now free to take a deep breath and get ready to pick up the soon-to-be broken pieces of our New Year’s resolutions. They. Just. Don’t. Last.
