Chapel Exhibit
Coming Soon!
The Alliance Heritage Center is excited to announce renovations on the exhibition in the Alliance Chapel are underway. Visit the center's Facebook page for updates.
New photographs of the exhibition and a video walk through are coming soon.
Thanks to the Mellon Foundation for their generous support. We're also grateful to the staff of the Noyes Museum of Art for their valuable help in the design and installation of this exhibit.
Thank you!
Introduction
Agriculture has held an important place in southern New Jersey’s history since the 18th century. The Lenni Lenape were the first to clear land and cultivate certain crops including sweet corn, kidney and lima beans, sunflowers, pumpkins and more. 1 During the 1881 pogroms in the Russian Empire, a group of Jewish intellectuals formed the Am Olam (“Eternal People”) movement based on the idea that Jewish settlers could become “tillers of the soil” in America. On May 10, 1882, the first families arrived at Alliance, a small area in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, New Jersey. Through the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society, each family was allotted fifteen acres of land to farm and live on. With largely uncleared pinelands stretched out before them, the first settlers faced a monumental task. Although the sandy soil of southern New Jersey was not suited for every crop, the colonists of Alliance soon found that berries and sweet potatoes thrived in the unique ground. According to William Stainsby, who reported on the Jewish agricultural settlements for the Bureau of Labor Statistics of New Jersey in 1901:
“The soil at Alliance is a light, sandy loam. Not well adapted to cereals, of which little is raised but a small quantity of corn for home use, but it is as good as any in the country for growing fruits, berries, grapes and sweet potatoes, and to these from the very beginning the people of Alliance have turned their attention to with marked success. They raise very fine strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, pears, peaches and immense quantities of sweet potatoes of very excellent quality”2
Moses Bayuk’s vineyard, c. 1889. First published in Moses Klein’s Migdal Zophim in 1889 (the image has been colorized).
Stainsby also noted the value of sweet potatoes carefully grown and harvested in Alliance, writing:
“The sweet potatoes raised in Alliance have attained such high repute in New York that they command from twenty-five to fifty cents per barrel more than can be obtained from those raised elsewhere”3
Farmlands at Alliance (view from Tiphareth Israel Synagogue). First published in Moses Klein’s Migdal Zophim in 1889 (the image has been colorized).
Aside from crops, colonists also raised cows and chickens:
“The farmers of Alliance have good stock, the cows especially being of the very best; the poultry also will compare favorably with any in this section of the state. As cows and poultry are prime factors in solving the problem of family subsistence, they receive a vast amount of care and attention”4
Raphael Crystal bringing water to a calf, 1928.
Rachel and Jacob Crystal holding their daughter, Gertrude, 1916.
Jacob Greenblatt delivering white leghorns to Vineland Station for transport to Front Street, Philadelphia, PA, 1915.
Eventually, more farmers in the area turned to poultry as a source of income. On Thursday, January 2, 1941, Abe Crystal wrote in his journal:
“Packed eggs this morning to catch up a little from the leftovers of the last two days. Moved two brooder houses making 10 and got one started but never moved as it commenced to rain and got muddy.” 5
For more excerpts from Abe Crystal’s journals, click here.
Crystal egg sales 1949
Crystal egg sales 1950
Martha and Abe Crystal on their farm.
Artifacts
Grindstone
A grindstone is a tool used for sharpening. Grindstones have been in use since antiquity. Usually made from sandstone or granite, these tools came in different sizes. Wooden mounts were used so the stone could be turned. Items typically sharpened with a grindstone included knives, axe blades, and other hand tools.
To prevent overheating, water could be dripped onto the stone. The residents of Alliance and surrounding communities used their grindstones to sharpen a variety of equipment essential to both farming and home life.
Ben Stavitsky at his grindstone, 1934.
Singer Sewing Machine Desk
The first straight stitch sewing machine (Standard 1) was manufactured by Isaac Merritt Singer in 1850. The next year, Singer and Edward C. Clark (a New York lawyer) established I.M. Singer & Co. (renamed Singer Manufacturing Company in 1865). Singer became a leading American manufacturer of sewing machines for consumers.
The first shop, originally located in Boston, was moved to New York City in 1853. According to the company website, “Singer became one of the companies which used ‘jingle’ in their marketing activities for the first time. The song “MERRY SINGER”, composed dedicatedly for Singer, made great contributions to reputation of Singer.”6
In the Jewish agricultural colonies of southern New Jersey, sewing became an important addition to farming. In Rosenhayn, industry became more prominent than agriculture. In 1898, Abraham Brotman built a three-story garment factory in Brotmanville.
Tailors working at Rosenhayn, c. 1889. First published in Moses Klein’s Migdal Zophim in 1889.
Aside from uses in industry, sewing machines were also important in meeting the needs of households. Mollie Kravitz Greenblatt recalled:
“Aunt Ella used to make all of our clothes, and sheets and household linens. I remember watching her at the machine before every holiday, making shirts and blouses for the boys and dresses for the girls.”7
The Asparagus Buncher
Asparagus bunchers like this were typically made from cast iron with a base that could be attached to a work bench. This artifact, “The Handy Buncher” was manufactured by the Wyckoff Bros Company in Hightstown, New Jersey.
“Italian workers from Trenton and nearby areas grading and bunching asparagus in packing house. Starkey Farms, Morrisville, Pennsylvania.” Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Asparagus Knife
The asparagus knife, donated to the Alliance Heritage Center by Nolan Helig, was a useful tool in harvesting asparagus and weeding. The forked design helped to pierce the soil and cut the asparagus spear quickly.
Crystal Cascade Washboard
The Crystal Cascade Washboard was manufactured by the Columbus Washboard Company beginning around 1931, when the company moved away from their only washboard, the “Bear Easy” and introduced other variants. Due to wartime shortages, this washboard was constructed with spiral glass instead of the typical metal.8
A woman uses a washboard on a Kibbutz in Israel, c. 1930-1940.
Wooden Mallet
Wooden mallets were useful for many carpentry tasks including driving dowels and connecting wooden pieces. This tool was beneficial in crafting furniture, fences, and more.
Planer
A planer or hand plane is used to shape wood by shaving away pieces. Hand planes have existed in varying forms since antiquity. These tools were useful in a variety of woodworking tasks.
Scythe
The hand scythe is used for harvesting crops, cutting grass, and other tasks.
Four men use hand scythes to mow a field, first published in Harper’s Weekly, 1875. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Corn Husker
While mechanical corn huskers existed by the 1920s, they were expensive, so most corn husking was still done by hand with the aid of tools such as this.
Corn Sheller
Lester E. Denison (Connecticut) is credited with patenting the first modern corn sheller in 1839. While this hand-crank sheller saved time, it was still a labor-intensive process.
Walk Behind Cultivator (Plow)
In the agricultural communities of southern New Jersey, horses were essential for farming, moving equipment and supplies, and for transportation. As more farmers acquired walk behind plows, cultivating land became a little easier. The 1837 invention of the “first commercially successful, self-scouring" steel plow is credited to John Deere. 9
Abe Crystal stands in the background, Shirley Crystal sits on Socrates the horse, the other woman is unidentified.
Jacob Crystal with horses Boyd and Daisey, 1920.
Brotmanville Bima (or Bimah)
This artifact is an elevated podium with a reading desk. In Hebrew Bima (בּימה), means “platform,” “pulpit” or “elevated place.” According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the bimah is a “platform in the synagogue on which stands the desk from which the Torah is read. Occasionally, the rabbi delivers his sermon from the bimah, and on Rosh Ha-Shanah the shofar is blown there.” For more information on the Bimah, click here.
Ark (Torah Ark)
In a synagogue, the Ark is an adorned cabinet that holds the Torah scrolls. The Ark is usually placed at the focal point of worship in the synagogue.
Brotmanville Synagogue
Construction of the Brotmanville Synagogue began in 1900 and was completed in 1902. It was last used for High Holiday Services in 1979. In the early 1980s, Jay Greenblatt, whose grandfather had helped to build the synagogue, supervised its closing. Three torahs were moved to other synagogues and the Bima and the Ark were moved to the Alliance Chapel.
Micrometer Scale
Artifact description coming soon.
Drawknife (Shaving Knife)
This tool was commonly used in woodworking, helping the user to shape wood by drawing back with the blade.
Spokeshave
This tool was used to shape the wood necesary to make essential farm and home items like cartwheel spokes, chair legs, and more.
Sources
1 “Historic Themes and Resources within the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trails-Agriculture," National Park Service, http://npshistory.com/publications/new-jersey/historic-themes-resources/chap4.htm.
2. William Stainsby, The Jewish Colonies of South Jersey: A Historical Sketch of their Establishment and Growth (Bureau of Statistics of New Jersey: Camden, 1901, republished Galloway: South Jersey Culture and History Center Press, Stockton University, 2019), 11.
3. Stainsby, The Jewish Colonies, 11.
4. Stainsby, The Jewish Colonies, 11-12.
5. Abe Crystal, Journal, Thursday, January 2, 1941. Alliance Heritage Center of Stockton University.
6. “History” Singer Sewing Machines, accessed November 11, 2024, https://www.singer.com.tr/en/corporate/history.
7. Tom Kinsella, Growing American: The Alliance Agricultural Colony in South Jersey (Galloway, NJ: South Jersey Culture & History Center), 90.
8. "Heritage," Columbus Washboard Company, accessed November 11, 2024, https://columbuswashboard.com/pages/columbus-washboard-company-heritage?srsltid=AfmBOoqdxQP0Wyi_an80xWyB-lt_J4gf2BTElbc8jW5NOxc2QwAYmjOL.
9. "John Deere," John Deere Company, accessed November 11, 2024, https://about.deere.com/en-us/explore-john-deere/history-heritage/john-deere.