Maiden grass

I wasn’t quite sure what to call this stuff— is it wheat, is it grass, is it wheatgrass, is it…?— but a quick Google search for “decorative grass” has assured me that this is in fact “maiden grass,” also known as:

• Zebra grass
• Porcupine grass
• South African Elephant grass
• Squid grass*
• Chinese silver grass
• Eulalia grass
• Susuki grass

* Squid grass is a joke. There’s no such thing as squid grass.** BUT MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE. Botanists, take note.
** There is no such thing as squid grass, but there IS a such thing as a grass squid. WHOA.

Mayo Performing Arts Center

Ah, the Mayo Performing Arts Center! Home to… performing arts! In a center!

Well, actually, it’s only been the “Mayo Performing Arts Center” since May 2011. Before that, it was “The Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts” (a name adopted in June 2007, after longtime chairman Bud Mayo), and before that, it was simply “The Community Theatre” (maintained by the South Street Theatre Company).

The building was built in 1937 to serve as a movie theater, and did so until the 1980s, when it was abandoned and left to rot in downtown Morristown. In 1994, the long arduous process of renovation began anew, and “the Mayo Performing Arts Center has become one of New Jersey’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations” (Mayo Performing Arts Center, 2011, para. 4).

Past and upcoming performers include Aretha Franklin, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Kenny G, Tracy Morgan, Mike Birbiglia… I could keep going, but you get the idea. This theater isn’t entirely small potatoes.

To see a current list of upcoming events, and to order tickets if you feel so inclined, check out the MPAC’s website here.

 

Reference:

Mayo Performing Arts Center. (2011). “A History of The Mayo Performing Arts Center and key historical milestones.” http://www.mayoarts.org/history.htm#.

Lonely little Gillette

The Gillette Station is, as far as I can tell, one of two stations on the Morris & Essex Gladstone branch that doesn’t actually have any kind of a depot. (Stirling is the other one, according to Wikipedia.) There’s just a tiny little bus shelter, which now has ticket vending machines crammed into it, so it can only protect maybe two or three people from inclement weather.

When I visited the station on Sunday afternoon (Thanksgiving weekend), there were ZERO cars in the parking lot. I watched two trains go by— one going into New York, one coming back out— and nobody boarded or disembarked either one.

It’s a very lonely station.

Farmer’s Market 4!

This is a little out of date— since it happened A WEEK AGO and all— but I thought you might get a kick out of one last photo of Summit’s last farmer’s market (farmers’ market? dang apostrophes) for the season.

Don’t those cabbages look tasty? And I don’t even like cabbage.

Mountainside Library

This building for the Mountainside Library was built from 1966-1968, but Mountainside has had a library in some iteration or another since 1934 (originally in Borough Hall, and later in several rooms within the ‘Echobrook Building,’ of which I know nothing).

The library’s collection has grown from barely a bookcase full in 1934, to 8,000 in 1940, to 24,000 in 1970, to over 50,000 in 2011.

…Well, actually, instead of reading my blather, you could just check out the PDF I’ll link to below (and here). It’s well-written, and thorough, and it mentions chow mein parties (p. 20).

 

Reference:
Entering Mountainside: 1895-1970. (1970?). “Book Power.” 20-22. http://www.mountainsidelibrary.org/history.html. [Brochure].

Sunrise 4

As I’ve said: I’m a fan of sunrises.

Tangent: I did virtually no post-processing on this photo (aside from nudging the black point up a teeny smidgen).

(For Skywatch Friday.)

Thanksgiving wishes

If you’re in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! May you have a holiday completely devoid of horrible turkey-carving or turkey-burning mishaps.

Raising voices = raising money

Drama students from Summit High School are trying to raise enough money to go to Scotland for a competition this summer. So they’ve been selling coffee at the Summit Farmer’s Market, and performing songs from Urinetown [Wikipedia entry]. I talked to some of them beforehand, and they seemed like a nice bunch of kids. Of course, if people are trying to convince you to give them money, they’re not gonna be jerks, are they?

Regardless: yay local high school arts!

Maple and vine

I know this whole “autumn leaf” thing isn’t a phenomenon unique to this area, but it sure is pretty to look at.

Out of the Woods

Kenny Woods [website], a local singer/songwriter, came to the final Summit Farmer’s Market, and played a few tunes for us. Talented musician, he is.