Did you know that you can send a pre-written letter from Santa in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the USPS and Santa will return it to you postmarked from the North Pole? I recommend using a holiday stamp from the local Post Office for your returned envelope for extra cheer. Hurry! They want letters before December 10th so Santa can reply to your child’s letter - complete with the North Pole Postmark! The Greetings from the North Pole Post Office program adds to the excitement of Christmas and is ideal for getting kids interested in letter writing, stamps and penmanship. This is a great activity for Thanksgiving that the whole family can enjoy, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other caregivers. Instructions here.

Opening reception of the new show ’Closer Look‘ is this Friday, November 12th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Eilandarts Center, 10 East Chestnut Avenue. This show runs through the month and will feature art by four women, exhibiting four completely different ways of artistic expressions. Fiona Bearclaw, a talented embroiderer and artist who also creates prints from linocuts. Kate Cipriani, a south Jersey artist who works in dry and soft pastels and sells original pastel paintings, select prints, and greeting cards. Beth Fisher, of Gypsy Fish Studios, a mixed media artist inspired by nature, history and the magic that surrounds it.  And, Kerry Mentzer, an artist with varied interests - painting, photography, piano and the mosaic technique picassiette. Join us next month at 5:00 p.m. on December 10th for the Merchantville Holiday Market.

Now that the gardening season has ended and you've picked the season’s last vegetables, let some plants go to seed and harvest them for planting next year. “Saving seed can be really fun and is a great way to learn about plants,” Weston Miller, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service, said. “If you choose the right types of vegetables, you can keep them going year after year without buying them again.” The easiest crops for saving seed are annual plants that self-pollinate, such as lettuce, beans, peas, peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. Collect seed from the healthiest plants and allow them to dry. Store seeds in tightly sealed glass containers in a cool and dark location and label with the type and the date. The refrigerator or freezer is also a good place for storing seeds that you collect and also seeds that you buy. Put small seeds in envelopes and label them. Place the envelopes in sealable freezer bags.

The Board of Commissioners, in partnership with Cooper University Health Care and the Rutgers-Camden School of Nursing, began to administer the COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old on November 4th. The Camden County Health Hub, located on the Camden County College campus in Blackwood, will hold the first appointments to give the Pfizer vaccine. Residents who would like schedule their child for a Pfizer vaccine can go to https://www.cooperhealth.org/ or can call (856) 549-0530. Next week, the administration of the vaccine for children and regular Health Hub operational hours will be expanded to Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The expansion will provide the ability to add hundreds of new appointments throughout the day. Scheduling information here.

Shop small and win big in Merchantville on Small Business Saturday, November 27th. There is no better time to support local, small business than right now. Show your support for local businesses by shopping, dining and supporting the businesses that make Merchantville great! Specials, exclusives and sales await at your favorite Merchantville businesses and this Small Business Saturday in Merchantville get rewarded for shopping small! For each store you make a purchase from, earn a chance to win a two-day getaway to the Lancaster Penn Marriott, valued at $500. The more places you shop, the more chances you have to win! Doesn’t it feel good to support local? Merchantville is filled with a variety of stores and eateries offering the very best of small business in a variety of tastes, goods and experiences. With an array of restaurants boasting cuisines extending from Indian, crepes and Japanese to the eclectic offerings of fresh forage, Merchantville visitors can expect meals that intrigue the senses. Visit the Merchantville business directory here.

It's hard to believe that we're approaching the Christmas season and are thinking about purchasing gifts and cards for our loved ones. Students at Catholic Partnership Schools worked very hard to provide you with unique artwork to share with family and friends. We hope you will consider purchasing Christmas cards designed by students from all five CPS Schools; Dual-language Pre-K at Saint Anthony's, Holy Name School, Sacred Heart School, Saint Cecilia School and Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral School. For additional information, please contact Beth Lenkowski at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Order form.

The Borough Council of Merchantville passed a resolution on October 25th opposing a plan by New Fortress Energy to build a massive liquefied natural gas export terminal in Gibbstown, Gloucester County. The Merchantville resolution calls on Governor Murphy to reject permits needed to load highly explosive and polluting LNG onto ships for export out of Gibbstown, and calls on the Army Corps of Engineers to complete an environmental impact statement on the project. This week’s vote is the ninth resolution to pass opposing the project. “Twenty five residents showed up at Merchantville’s October 25th Borough Council meeting to support a resolution put forth by the town’s Green Team in opposition to the New Frontier Energy’s plan to transport massive quantities of LNG via rail and highway in South Jersey,” said Merchantville resident and Green Team member Dorothy Foley, who was one of the seven people who testified in support of the resolution. She added that they were “horrified at the foolhardy and dangerous plan to transport LNG but more than anything…the overall environmental impact of allowing this huge investment in fossil fuel infrastructure at a time when all efforts should be into transitioning away from carbon fuels.” So far, resolutions against the project have passed in Princeton, Pennsauken, Runnemede, Haddon Township, Riverton, Hazlet, Burlington City, and Merchantville.

Hope DeSales Caines (DeSales) of Maple Shade, New Jersey, passed away peacefully surrounded by family, at Cooper Hospital on October 23, 2021. She was 90 years old. DeSales was born in Camden, NJ on April 4,1931 and grew up in Pennsauken, NJ and graduated from Merchantville High School, in Merchantville, NJ. In 1949 she met Robert B. Caines and they married on July 8, 1950 and went on to have two children. She work for the Pennsauken School District as an Administrative Secretary and continued there until she retired. She is survived by her son Robert B. Caines Jr. (Patricia) and her daughter DeSales A. Bryson (nee Caines) (Edward). Also survived by five grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Full obituary.

During WWII, the east and west coasts of the United States were protected by civilian volunteer aircraft spotters, members of the Ground Observer Corps. The GOC was a component of the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) that was established in May 1941 in response to the development of heavy bomber aircraft capable of flying over 1,000 miles to keep watch for enemy planes entering American airspace. It became inactive on May 29, 1944. Almost one million men and women volunteer “soldiers out of uniform” served in the AWS. In 1942, it became one of Merchantville's most popular outdoor sports with many teachers from Merchantville High School volunteering for tours of duty at a post located on Kresson Lake in Burlington County.