PINELANDS PEOPLE GLOSSARY

ban

to forbid by law, prohibit (Housing developments have been banned in some areas of the Pinelands.)

bogs

a wet, level area with spongy soil where the water table is at or very near the earth's surface (Cranberries grow well in a bog.)

cedar

a hardwood evergreen found in the swampy areas of the Pinelands from which boats, houses, duck decoys, and tools have been and are made (Corduroy roads or cedar crossways are wooden roads constructed out of cedar logs that connect cedar swamps with main roadways.)

culture

beliefs, feelings and customs shared by people from a certain area or group (Children growing up in the Pinelands share a culture which differs from the culture found in cities.)

duck decoy

a carved wooden replica of a duck, used in duck hunting and collected for decorative purposes (The Barnegat Bay or Tuckerton style of decoy carving has made the southern New Jersey decoy and its carvers nationally known.)

environment

all the surrounding things and conditions which influence the growth and lifestyle of people and living things (Visitors to the Pinelands usually discover a different environment than the one they know at home.)

environmentalist

one concerned about or a specialist in the quality of the human environment (surroundings) (The environmentalist served on a Pinelands Committee.)

ethnic

refers to groups of people who are of a common race, nationality, culture or who share similar traits or customs (Many religious and ethnic groups have settled in the Pinelands.)

folklore

traditional culture comprised of stories, songs, skills, art, customs, beliefs and values, handed down from generation to generation (Many Pinelands customs, such as decorating family gravesites with grave blankets, are part of the folklore of Pinelands residents.)

garvey

a handmade boat constructed out of cedar used for work or pleasure, native to southern New Jersey. Its traditional and distinctive characteristics are a blunt bow and a flat bottom (The garvey, it is told in a story which has been handed down for generations in the Pinelands, is named for Gervais Farrow, the first garvey builder.)

immigrate

to come into a new country to settle there (Many Pinelands residents have immigrated from places such as Germany, England, and Italy; others have migrated or moved from other states to the Pinelands.)

industry

business, trade or manufacturing (Many industries are dependent upon the natural resources available.)

James Still

a descendant of an early African American family who settled in the Medford area of the Pinelands (James Still, the "doctor of the Pines", was well known for his extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of Pinelands vegetation.)

legend

an oral narrative concerned with remarkable people, places or events, not strictly factual (The naming of Ong's Hat is a Pinelands legend.)

lifestyle

the way a person or group lives including type of home, transportation, employment, recreation and use of free time (A person's lifestyle is influenced by the area in which he lives.)

National Reserve

a geographic area set aside by the federal government for management and protection (In a National Reserve, federal, state and local governments work together to manage the Pinelands in order to provide recreation and benefits to the greatest number of people without harm or destruction to its environment and resources.)

natural resource

matter or energy that is useful to man (Water is an abundant natural resource found beneath the Pinelands.)

non-renewable resource

a resource which is not readily replaced by nature when it is used up (Examples of non-renewable resources are iron, copper and nickel.)

preserve

to keep as is (Parts of the Pinelands are being preserved for future generations.)

recreation

play, relaxation, activities for sport or fun (Hiking, canoeing, fishing and swimming are common recreational activities in the Pinelands.)

renewable resource

an inexhaustible resource like solar energy or a resource that can be renewed by a man-made or a natural cyclical process (Bog iron is a renewable resource.)

skiff

a handmade Pinelands wooden boat with a long, pointed prow and flat bottom (The skiff is used to hunt railbirds in the tall grasses of marshy areas of Pinelands meadows.)

sneakbox

a small handmade wooden boat shaped like a melon seed (The sneakbox is designed for hunting and fishing in the shallow inlets and bays of southern New Jersey.)

story

an account of an occurrence or occurrences (The newspaper story told about last Friday's fire in the Pinelands)

tradition

that which is customary or ritualized in culture, handed down from generation to generation (Growing and harvesting blueberries is traditional Pinelands seasonal work.)

working the cycle

the method of rotating work based upon the yearly round of seasonal occupational activities offered by the natural resources of the various Pinelands' environments (Pinelands residents often supplement full and part-time jobs by working the cycle: fishing in the summer and fall, trapping in the fall and winter, lumbering in the winter and early spring, and berrying through the summer and the fall.)