8 minute read
Message from the President
Cape May MAC’s Cultural and Preservation Partners
Why are so many people buying expensive homes in Cape May and why are visitors to our city approaching record high numbers? It certainly isn’t because we have ample parking, low prices, free beaches, sporting events, casinos or great amusement parks. I firmly believe it is because we don’t have these things but, instead, within our beautiful, walkable, bicycle-friendly city we have attractions that are unique, educational and culturally oriented. Cape May MAC certainly didn’t create these attractions alone, but we did set the stage, starting 51 years ago. And many other organizations have joined us to round out the variety of attractions that makes our community a nationally recognized site to live, play and work. I would like to offer recognition to this amazing collection of nonprofits that have helped make all this happen.
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Historic Cold Spring Village:
Founded by Dr. Joe and Anne Salvatore, this group helped save numerous architecturally significant buildings such as inns, stores, schools, printing, and blacksmith shops, even a large Grange, and moved them from around the county to a beautiful setting on Seashore Road. It is a wonderful village to wander through and enjoy music, lectures, fairs, antiques and car shows as well as reenactments through many seasons of the years. The crafts from our colonial years are presented by costumed interpreters with great interaction for all ages of visitors.
Naval Air Station Wildwood:
Also saved by the Salvatores, houses a wonderful collection of historic aircraft in a 1942 all-wood, double-wide aircraft hangar where pilots were trained for dive bombing missions in the Pacific during WWII. After purchasing the hanger for $1, the Salvatores and the NASW Foundation worked to restore it to its original condition. It is a must visit for all ages. Cape May Stage and East Lynne
Theater Company are longstanding equity theatre companies in Cape May. Resort communities are always very proud of the presence of live theater companies that add so much to their cultural attractions. Cape May has not just one but two, both using historic buildings for their productions and attracting many visitors that also support the businesses of our community.
Greater Cape May Historical
Society: This group maintains probably the oldest home in Cape May, dating back to 1730, and offers a delightful presentation of life in Cape May before the town exploded with wealthy visitors in the 19th century.
Coast Guard Community Found-
ation: This non-profit was formed in 2015 to nurture the relationship and friendship of their members with residents of the community. The Cape May Coast Guard Training Center open house is one of the most popular events on our city calendar as well as the Sunset Parades in the summer.
Cape May Community Food Closet:
An all-volunteer organization, this has a far different mission than most of the others. It is focused on making sure that disadvantaged members of the community are provided with food that can be picked up or, if necessary, distributed by their volunteers. Many local organizations support their efforts with food drives and fund raising. Cape May Bird Observatory and Nature Center of Cape May: Both of
these New Jersey Audubon entities have attracted a wide audience of visitors and locals who enjoy the abundance of wildlife that live, swim and pass through our region seasonally. They serve as stewards of our beautiful open spaces and encourage all to enjoy them while protecting them from development. Exit Zero Jazz Festival, in both the spring and fall, SpyBoy Productions
brings world class music and performers to Cape May using numerous venues all over town and sometimes jazz musicians can be seen parading through the streets of Cape May giving impromptu performances. You might feel like the whole community has been transported to New Orleans. Center for Community Arts: This
group sponsors numerous programs that foster an appreciation for diversity in our community. Among them are the local 101.5 FM radio station, an African American Heritage Walking Tour and partnering with us for the Underground Railroad Trolley Tour. They’ve also hosted an Annual Cookie Exchange and the Soup-er Bowl. Cape May Film Society: This non-
profit is in the process of being reinvented and relaunched in 2022. It will focus on celebrating the cinematic arts through year-round movie screenings, educational opportunities for video enthusiasts, and cultural enrichment events for residents and visitors alike in the nation’s oldest seaside resort. Cape May Maritime Museum: Sea-
farers that comprise this group have undertaken the restoration of a Coast Guard motor lifeboat, typical of the early 20th Century, that had been left to rot away. It is their hope to have it operational and able to take small groups on board for tours of the Cape May Harbor and visits to the Coast Guard Base and Cutters aboard a craft from their own CG history. Harriett Tubman Museum: One
of our newest non-profits, it has saved and restored the parsonage of the Macedonia Baptist Church to create a museum honoring this famous abolitionist who worked in Cape May between trips conducting enslaved people to freedom along the Underground Railroad. With great community support, they are working hard to protect an important part of our culture and history that unfortunately has been lost in many other communities. Fund for Cape May: After rather widespread disappointment with attempts to beautify the main entrance to town, this fund was created to try to see that such “improvements” were sufficiently funded to make additions to our town shine as bright as our historic attractions. Through donations rather than taxpayers’ dollars, the Fund raised $580,000 for Rotary Park and $225,000 for the Soldiers and Sailors Park.
Under the Leadership of Cape May MAC, these organizations share their experience, successes, challenges, and a few failures through The Cultural Organizations Roundtable (Cape May COR), a coordination of efforts that is beneficial to all of the organizations and certainly to Cape May. We at Cape May MAC are grateful for the many hours of volunteer work offered by
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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5) using industry standard archive filing, labeling and materials, and they’ve created a workable storage area.
Their work has paid dividends with leadership staff already being able to easily locate historic organization documents and materials. I tested that theory in the process of writing this story.
“Can we find the awards that the World War II Lookout Tower received upon its restoration in 2009?” I asked.
Coupland said “Sure!”
She led me to a box labeled “Awards” and showed me the two plaques honoring the million-dollar, award-winning restoration of the Tower, all stored and labeled with archival quality materials.
“Very gratifying,” I said.
“Yes,” she agreed, and smiled. “I wanted to help honor MAC’s history and all that’s been accomplished in 50 years. This archive is a testament to that rich history that will stand the test of time.”
-- SK
Summer Wrap-up
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2) production of Clueless at the Physick Estate, Hook, Line & Sinker. It was a hot ticket, too! Aleathea’s also hosted three mornings of Brunch & Bingo at the Beach, which is a partnership with the Cotton Company and Lace Silhouettes. Janice also organized several Crafts & Collectibles Shows on the grounds of the Physick Estate, and at the Cape May Lighthouse, Janice’s crew organized the Family Fun Crafts Show every Wednesday throughout the summer. The Lighthouse had more than a little activity in the evenings as well with two Dinner & Fireworks events partnering with Vintage and Full Moon Climbs in June and July. Overall, attendance at the Lighthouse is up 5,000 from 2019.
The Gardens of Cape May Tour was a big success. It seems that outdoor experiences are still high on everyone’s list. This tour gave you the chance to explore the private plants and blooms of some of the Cape May area’s natural areas and most dedicated gardeners. This year, in addition to the Physick Estate gardens, The Nature Conservancy’s Garrett Family Preserve was included.
Walking Tours continued to be popular.
The Painted Ladies, Porches & More
Walking Tour was offered twice weekly
Photo by Susan Krysiak
Shown here, Janet Coupland assessing the huge collection of stored documents in the Physick House Museum basement. She and her team are in the midst of selecting items to be archived as part of the Cape May MAC Archiving Project. capemaymac.org
with an option to enjoy brunch at Vintage. Without a Cue Productions introduced The Murder of James Cosgrove, a walking tour with a mysterious twist. Your guide just happens to be the victim of a 100-yearold murder! The same group performed And Then They Were Dead, an interactive theater event on the outdoor stage at the Emlen Physick Estate.
If anything seemed to be on trend this summer, it was interest in ghosts, spirits, and oddities. The Magic & Mystery House Tour at the Physick Estate plays up the Victorians fascination with mystery and illusion. Other popular tours that play on the theme include Historic Haunts Combo
Tours, Ghosts, Graveyard & Mansion Tours,
Spirits & Oddities Trolley Tours and the grandaddy of them all, Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tours. Thousands of visitors have indulged their curiosity so far this summer on our tours.
The Tour Department folks did have time to develop a new offering, tailored to visitors desiring a more intimate experience. The Backstreets & Byways City Tour is a tour for four or six offered with guide and driver on an electric cart off the beaten path.
The Museum Education Division offered a series of virtual Lunch & Learns in the Spring, featured such diverse topics as The Roaring Twenties, and the Great Fire of 1878. Our newly appointed Curator Ben Ridings presented this program from a forensic perspective, hoping to prove the culprit’s guilt. We also delivered several programs for our friends at the Blind Center of the Jersey Cape. Our new Museum Education Manager, Elan Zingman-Leith, plans to pick up with Fall programs.
While the staff was engaged in all this activity, entertaining our visitors, the Physick Estate was a beehive of restoration activity too. The folks from Eastern Industrial Services, Inc. and Assured Envelope Solutions have been busily working on the Estate outbuildings as part of a grant project funded by Open Spaces Cape May County and the New Jersey Historic Trust. Thankfully, it’s been a busy season.
-- MES
Partners
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6) these remarkable organizations that have helped to protect and improve our quality of life in our National Historic Landmark community.
