My grandmother came through Ellis Island by herself as a young girl. She was from a family of sharecroppers in Italy. Each slave family had to have 10 members tending the fields and crops for the Don of the village. Once a family provided 10 workers, extra children were allowed to attend school up until 4th grade. My grandmother was the chosen extra child that got to go to school. The villagers pooled their change from goat milk sales, personal crops from their own plots and eggs and together, bought her a ticket on a boat and sent her to America.
I am very proud to be second generation of this family. I was blessed to hear many stories from my grandmother growing up on the hardships she overcame, not knowing English, being alone, finding work, eventually buying the home we all had our family dinners in and learning survival skills!
Tune into @denvillelibrary‘s Immigration and Ellis Island Virtual Program and learn more historic stories like mine!
Bruce E. Schundler, a long time volunteer for the National Park Service will present an overall summary of immigration to the United States, and the role Ellis Island played during some of the busiest years of immigration. Zoom link will be provided upon registration.
On August 31, David Chapa, whom many know from the tech world or the music world or just being a helluva guy, was in a motorcycle accident. He was cut off and thrown from his bike suffering a broken ankle and road rash. He has a series of screws and plates that have repaired the break, but is looking at insurmountable medical bills, potentially as much as $100k. I set the goal at $25k, but for all those lives that this man has touched, please- give what you can.
What a long strange trip it has been. As New Jersey takes another step on their path to reopening, Denville restaurants ready themselves to offer indoor dining at 25% capacity. With restaurant margins being what they are, while this is a positive next step, it still continues to be challenging to run a restaurant in 2020.
We checked in with several of our downtown restaurants to get their thoughts on indoor dining. Jason Robbins, General Manager of Thatcher McGhee’s said, “These bizarre times are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. But these bizarre times have brought out the best in many, especially the town and people of Denville. When restaurants couldn’t open at all, people supported small business by ordering in, and when outside dining opened, we were allowed to extend our area and people came out in droves. Now with the excitement of indoor dining, we know they will once again show us their support by joining us to celebrate.” Thatcher McGhee’s, on Broadway, was recently voted #1 Irish restaurant in Morris County.
Carver’s on First Avenue is a popular breakfast and lunch destination. A small, quaint restaurant with a downhome vibe, the lockdown hurt their business substantially. “The pandemic has decimated our daily business to a mere 1/3 of our regular sales. Each sale during this time kept us holding on. The greatness of Denville as a community has kept baking and soup making at a high in spite of everything. We are elated indoor dining is resuming and hope to serve as many folks as possible! We will serving at a first come basis as we try and navigate through the changes and requirements. Thank you Denville for keeping Carver’s strong,” said the owner, Carver Parrish.
Jesus Gomez, owner of El Mejicano, is “excited to be able to see our friends back in our home even if it’s in a limited capacity!” He and his staff have been busy with take-out orders during the pandemic, and he is also co-owner of the new bakery that is opening up in a few weeks, Vikingos Cake Shoppe & Bakery.
The Second Half on Main, a popular pub downtown, has been doing take out orders and serving in their beautiful outdoor dining area. Diane Gentile said, “We are beyond grateful to our awesome patrons and the Town of Denville for their unwavering support through these very difficult months. We cannot wait to welcome those that are ready back indoors.”
Whether a restaurant is doing indoor dining, outdoor dining, takeout or delivery, they all need your continued support to survive the current and ongoing challenges small business owners face in 2020. You can support them by eat locally, of course, leaving reviews on their Yelp! and Google pages, and following and sharing their social media accounts. A strong community is what allows small business owners to continue to deliver consistent and quality products and services. Our tag line, “where a community comes together,” has never been more true than this year.
Here, I am showing you how to take the essential oils from herbs to make soap. Let’s go over how to make those essential oils.
Even though I am explaining with Lavender, this is the same scenario for other herbs!
Equipment and Ingredients:
Flower buds of Lavender Grown organically (w/o pesticides or fertilzers)
Cheap vodka or grain alcohol (but do not use isopropyl/rubbing alcohol)
I have a mortar and pestle; but a bowl and spoon will work too!
Mason jars (you can keep and use glass jars from your sauces, condiments and jellies that you buy in stores)
Coffee filters
There are several ways to create a (Lavender) essential oil, tincture or extract at home, from distilling. Producing what is technically a true essential oil is also known as steam distilling. To make an essential oil, you have to distill the Lavender buds, capture the steam, and condense the steam into a liquid. This requires heat, pressure, equipment, skill and patience. And, distillery is where the word “still” comes from—yes, just like moonshiners.
Place (Lavender) buds into your bowl or mortar, and crush lightly with the pestle or spoon to release the aromatic oil. Don’t make mush!
Transfer the crushed buds to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cover entirely with the grain alcohol or vodka. Shake the jar to release more oil, several times a day, for several days in a row. A longer steep means more intense extraction.
After a week or so of this, you’re ready to refine. Use a coffee filter and strain the liquid and into a second jar. (The pour-off is technically lavender-infused vodka, I don’t recommend drinking it.)
Loosely tie off a coffee filter over the open mouth of the jar you just filtered the liquid into; but don’t put a lid on it. You want air to flow through the jar and allow excess alcohol to evaporate from the oil. Let this stand for about a week.
Now, depending on what you are using this oil for; you may want to strain it one more time through a coffee filter to remove any remaining sediment. Other than that, you can store it for your upcoming crafting, baking, making needs!
Making your own soap has several benefits. Saves money, it’s healthier and you can make money as a product for a side business.
The equipment needed is minimal. More than likely, you already own most of it!
Equipment:Double boiler* (pots* of different sizes can be substituted if a true double boiler is not owned), glass measuring cup, candy or meat thermometer, glass dish, whisk, gloves, goggles, mask and molds for the soap shapes.
*NOTE: Always use stainless steel pots when working with lye. Lye reacts with aluminum and produces toxic fumes*
Ingredients: 2 pounds lard (animal or plant based), 10.5 ounces water, 4.25 ounces lye (Sodium Hydroxide)* , Oils of choice for scent (Lavender recommended solely by preference!), herbs such as ground turmeric (type of ginger) for health benefits.
*NOTE: The gloves, goggles and mask are for working with the lye (sodium hydroxide). It is an inorganic compound commonly found in drain cleaners like Draino. It is caustic and can burn your skin. The mixture will also create fumes. Sounds intimidating; but, the basic safety tips are easy once you do it by the second time!
Instructions:
If you’re using a glass or wooden mold, line it with wax paper.
Put on your protective gear. Pour water into the jar until it reads 10.5 ounces. Then set aside.
Carefully pour 4.25 ounces of lye into the glass dish.
Put your goggles, mask and gloves on now. Carefully and slowly pour the lye into the water. Stir the mixture until the lye is completely dissolved. As you stir, the mixture will become quite hot so be careful if you need to move it. Let it cool to between 100-120 degrees.
Place the lard in a stainless steel pot and put it on the burner. Heat over medium heat until completely melted. Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool to between 100-120 degrees. Use a candy or meat thermometer to test the temperature every 5-10 minutes until it reaches the desired temperature.
Heat the oils and herbs you choose for your soap, like lavender and turmeric (this is where you can get creative once you have the hang of making soap!) in another pot to warm up while the lye mixture cools.
Slowly pour the lye/water into the oils. Blend in the pot, with a whisk, until it resembles a cake batter (3-5 minutes).
Put the mold somewhere warm (like an oven with the light on) and let it sit for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, pop your soap out of the mold and cut if needed. Stand bars up in a dry area with space in between each one to allow for air circulation. Let them sit and harden.
When you’re done (with your gloves still on) rinse any supplies that had lye or soap mixture in them with running water. Pour some vinegar in a sink filled with hot soapy water and wash everything in there, then set aside away from your food prep area to dry. Store all soap making tools in a closet or cabinet away from food making tools.
Homemade Soaps!
Now that you have mastered soap making; besides having your own supply, what to do with them all? Gift baskets for the holidays, set up a table in your driveway when there are yard sales on your block, set up a table at Farmer’s Markets, list them on eCommerce sites: Etsy.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com. Launch your own website (don’t know how? I am for hire!)
But now you know you can do it! And you further increased your self sufficiency!
Some small growers tend a few dozen plants in their backyard or indoors in buckets, and are happy to make a few hundred dollars.
Larger operations on acreage can bring in hundreds of thousands, especially if they also produce and sell value-added products (soaps, sprigs, oils).
Purple Haze Farms, in Sequim, Washington, for example, routinely grosses over a million dollars a year with about 8 acres of lavender. Fresh lavender bouquets are a very profitable way to sell lavender.
Most growers sell direct to the retail public (craft stores, florists), either from their garden or at the local farmer’s market. At our local Sunday farmer’s market, lavender bunches sell for $6 each. A 20′ x 20′ growing area can produce around 300 bunches each year, worth $1,800.
Larger plots are even more profitable. A quarter-acre can produce about 3,000 bunches, worth $18,000. Unsold lavender bunches can be dried and sold to crafters and florists, who use the bunches for dried floral arrangements.
Also, the flower buds can be removed from the bunches and sold or used to make sachets and other value-added products. Other lavender products, such as lotions, oils and soaps, bring 500% or more markups from the price of the basic ingredients.
EXCERPT: Denville has been crowned Best Downtown in Morris County by the 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards from Morris/Essex Health & Life magazine! Beyond the overall downtown award win, many of our stores, restaurants, and service-based businesses have taken top honors in their individual categories as well (see below). This comes as no surprise as downtown Denville is a consistent destination to many that seek out our top-rated restaurants, boutiques, and all ’round charming atmosphere.
September 15, 2020 – 7pm- 8pm – Another cool and unique virtual presentation at #Denville Library! Sign up for a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Climber Dan Stringham brings tales of scaling the highest peaks of Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro! He and his team came face to face with avalanches and survived! Hear his harrowing tale!
Denville Library is hosting a virtual meet with Karen Land, dog musher and three-time racer in the Iditarod, a race through the Alaskan wilderness. Meet two of her dogs, Noggin and Chloe, and learn about training and racing dogs. Wear your favorite winter hat to the presentation to help get into the cold-weather mindset. Your canine friends are more than welcome to join the fun too!
After you register, you will get a link for the Zoom meeting which you will need to access the program.
121 Diamond Spring Road Denville, NJ 07834 Phone: (973) 627-6555
The Denville Sunrise Rotary is proud to continue our long tradition of the Great Denville Duck Race. This year we’ve moved the fun online! You can order a duck using this online form and choose pick up or local delivery:
Each duck purchase enters you in both the Virtual Race and the Decorating Contest. Post your decorated duck photos to Facebook or Instagram using #Denville2020. Should you have any questions please reach out to denvilleduckrace@gmail.com. Thank you for your support!
