The Hammonton Gazette 04/06/16 Edition | Page 6

Page 6 • Wednesday, April 6, 2016 • The Hammonton Gazette The Hammonton Gazette “The Paper of Record” Gabriel J. Donio, Publisher Gina rullo, Editor-in-Chief Dan russoman, Sports Editor Benny Mendez, Staff Artist Marysusan Hoffman, Michael Hozik, Donna Brown, Joseph Bruno, Kevin troilo, tania rivera, Kelly Hunt, Staff The Hammonton Gazette is located at 233 Bellevue ave. to reach a staff member, call [phone] or fax at [phone]. the mailing address is P.o. Box 1228, Hammonton, nJ 08037. eDitoriaLs The Hammonton Gazette is published Wednesdays, by The Hammonton Gazette, Inc. Copyright © 2016. All rights reserved. ISSN 1093-6181 Boutique Week One of the top shopping weeks of the year is here in Hammonton. As Boutique Week arrives in the downtown area for the third straight year, expect to see plenty of people sporting Boutique Week’s signature pink tote bag as they move in and out of the stores and restaurants from April 16 to April 23. In addition to great finds and deals, there will also be opportunities to win prizes, like a one-night stay and dinner for two at the Tropicana Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, or $300 in gift certificates that can be used at participating local businesses. The winners will be selected on April 23, which is also the date of the third-annual Spring Jewelry Fair. That one-day event features handcrafted jewelry and accessories made by local an d regional artists, live music and more. Boutique Week’s participating businesses include: Behind the Moon, Bow Wow Boutique & Dog Supply, Casciano Coffee Bar & Sweetery, Chroma Beauty Bar, Erika’s Alterations & Designs, GorJess & LoveLee, Hammonton Arts Center, Hollywood Dog Salon, Kitchen 19, La Mia Couture, Lil’ Buddy’s Bath & Boutique, Noyes Museum Shop, Our Expressions Florist, SaDee’s Clothing & Boutique, Sassy Sweets, Sweet Creations, Three 3’s Brewing Co. and Toy Market. Downtown Hammonton’s Boutique Week is a great reason to shop and eat in the downtown area or throughout town and enjoy the community during its sesquicentennial year. the fun continues As the town’s sesquicentennial year continues, events are being held in the spirit of celebrating 150 years of Hammonton. Two of them were held this past weekend. Many people attended Stockton University’s Digitization Day at Kramer Hall on Front Street, home of the university’s Hammonton Campus, on April 2. On April 3, Hammonton High School hosted “Taste of the Town,” a fundraiser for the Hammonton Education Foundation that features many of the restaurants of Hammonton and the surrounding area. Both used the Hammonton Sesquicentennial as their theme, and the pride in the community was evident at each of them. Digitization Day at Stockton University’s Kramer Hall featured the digitization of photographs and other items brought in by Hammontonians, as well as interviews with individuals about the history of the town. Lectures were given during the day by Gazette Publisher Gabriel Donio, who spoke on “The History of Hammonton” and Assistant Director of the South Jersey Culture & History Center Paul Schopp, whose subject was “The Blue Comet,” the famous New York to Atlantic City train that traveled through Hammonton in the 1920s and 1930s. A play written by and featuring Nick Zebrowski and Katie McGough inspired by postcards donated to Stockton University’s Hammonton History Project by James Donio was also staged at Kramer Hall. Coupled with the “Taste of the Town” at HHS on April 3, the weekend’s two events became another successful step in the yearlong celebration of Hammonton’s Sesquicentennial. The town is certainly enjoying itself, and why not? It’s not every day we all can celebrate a 150th birthday. Congratulations to everyone involved at Stockton University and the Hammonton Education Foundation for making the two separate events of Digitization Day and “Taste of the Town” possible. PersPective/Pastor’s corner As an amateur wordsmith, I am fascinated with words and phrases. I love my cell phone because I have a dictionary and thesaurus all ready for my personal touch and I can research any word or phrase I hear. You can tell a lot about a person by the words and phrases they use. Of course, most use words and phrases they have no idea what they mean. Perhaps, they heard somebody else say these words or phrases and so they incorporated them into their vocabulary, which says more about them than anything else. I grew up in a very strict Amish/Mennonite community where speech was a very guarded activity. Although not Amish or Mennonite, I still had to be careful what I said and how I said it. Curse words were completely off limit. No circumstance ever existed, according to these people, warranting any curse word. My maternal grandfather was like this. He never had much to say and did not say that very often. I remember one time sitting on the front porch with my grandfather and his brother, and we spent the whole afternoon together and probably did not say five words between the three of us. My grandfather certainly was not outspoken in anything. Whenever he got angry with my grandmother, he simply would leave the house, walk down to the barn and who knows what he did venting his anger at the time. Venting anger is quite an occupation these days. Whether a religious venue, a political venue or just some educational venue, people are filled with anger and are trying to vent it somehow and from what I see much of it is not working. An old saying goes, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Yet, names do really hurt us. One phrase my grandfather used a lot was “holy cow.” He was a farmer so I instinctively thought he was talking about his cows. Why his cows were holy and others were not was something I could never comprehend. But, he was my grandfather. I still remember the first time I heard him say that phrase: “Holy cow, it’s hot outside today.” When he said it, I was rather confused. What does a cow have to do with it being hot outside and are cows really holy? It just did not make any sense to me. Another favorite phrase was, “Holy cow, I’m tired.” Again, what does a cow have to do with him being tired? Maybe he worked a lot with the cows. I know he had about a half a dozen dairy cows, and he milked them all by hand. Maybe that is what he was talking about. But the thing that really got me was what in the world does “holy” have to do with a cow? As I got older, I began to realize that “holy” and “cow” had nothing to do with each other. It was just a phrase my grandfather used, and, to put it mildly, it really meant nothing at all. As I get older the more I realize that people say things they really do not mean. In fact, most people do not really think about what they are saying let alone know what they are saying. As an amateur wordsmith myself, I like to parse my words very carefully. I want to know what I am saying and say what I am thinking. Of course, according to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, thinking is not at the top of my list of activities. I cannot disagree with her on that one. Yes, words do matter. I need to be careful what I am saying, the more important it is, the more I need to be careful to understand what the other person is hearing. One of the things I have learned as a husband is that what I am saying to my wife may not be what my wife is hearing. Yes, sticks and stones can break my bones, but that is nothing to what harm w ords can do. At a real desperate point in my life, I responded to an incident involving my wife and almost automatically, the phrase, “Holy Cow” came tumbling out of my mouth. Needless to say, it was the last time anything like that ever happened. My wife looked at me with one of “those looks” and said, “Holy what?” How can you explain something you do not understand yourself? She looked at me, I looked back at her with one of those blank stares I am famous for, and had no idea what she was talking about. She had no idea what I was talking about and so I thought at least we were even. But not so. I had to promise her “and cross my heart and hope to die,” never to use such a phrase again. “That phrase,” she said most defiantly, “is not permitted in this house.” She said it in such a way that I have, to this very day, never questioned her on it and have never used that phrase again. James warned about this when he wrote, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!” (James 3:5). I do not know if cows are holy or not, but I will never put those two words together in a phrase whatsoever as long as the sun shines. the rev. James L. snyder silver springs shores, Fla. The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Fla. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores, Fla. Call him at [phone] or e-mail [email protected]. The church website is www.whatafellowship.com. The Hammonton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor that are no more than 800 words long. All letters must include the name of the author and an address and telephone number for verification. Letters should be mailed to The Hammonton Gazette, Editorial Page, P.O. Box 1228, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Letters also will be accepted via fax. The fax number is 704-1938.  Or by email to [email protected]. Deadline for all submissions is 2 p.m. Monday. The Hammonton Gazette reserves the right to edit any submissions. The opinions expressed in letters, perspectives or in guest columns do not necessarily reflect those of The Hammonton Gazette.  The Gazette is not responsible for factual errors in letters, perspectives or in guest columns. The Gazette retains the right to refuse any submission or advertisement.