THE SEASONAL CYCLE AND THE CULTURE OF THE PINELANDS

With the failure of rural industries (iron, glass, cotton, and papermaking) in the Pinelands in the latter part of the nineteenth century, large numbers of people were left jobless. While many Pinelands residents left to find work elsewhere, others remained and turned to a self-sufficient lifestyle. This has come to be known in the Pinelands as "working the cycle" (a yearly round of seasonal activities), offered by the many natural resources of the woodlands, plains, and coastal environments. Since the eighteenth century, the waters and the forests of the Pinelands have supported lifestyles based upon lumbering, hunting, trapping, fishing, and boatbuilding. Residents returned to these occupations when the jobs provided by the failed industries of the Pinelands disappeared. Agriculture and the gathering of wild plant species for retail sale by florists were added to these traditional activities.

"Working the cycle" is a way that many Pinelands people make a living today. Those who "work the cycle" may have year-round employment working the many occupations offered by the natural environment, or they may supplement their incomes with full-time jobs in the casino industry, the highway department, the government, or the park service. Pinelands residents who have full-time employment can and do grow and harvest

cranberries and blueberries throughout the summer and fall; trap, fish, and hunt in the winter; and gather wild plants and berries throughout the year. Others who have seasonal work, such as baymen and fishermen, can fill in during the off-season with trapping and lumbering. Still others have a revolving series of jobs related to the time of year: fishing in the summer and the fall, trapping in the fall and winter, lumbering in the winter and early spring, and berrying through the summer and into the fall.

Gathering, berrying, fishing, hunting and trapping, and woodcutting are the major subsistence activities offered by the Pinelands. Gathering sphagnum. moss for florists, called "mossing," was a more prevalent activity in the past than it is today. However, this spongy moss that grows in Pinelands wetlands was once in wide demand, and many local residents gathered it in the spring. Sphagnum moss was used medicinally, as dressing for wounds in the Revolutionary war, and was important in floral decorations. Today, florists have largely replaced sphagnum moss with plastic; however, they still use the plants, grasses, and fruits of the Pinelands in seasonal decorations. Pinelands residents who are familiar with the woods and plains known where and when to gather wild flowers and grasses which they dry and sell to florists throughout the Delaware Valley. Pine cones are also in demand by florists, especially in the winter months. Gathering and processing pine cones is still a viable economic activity.

Berrying for wild and cultivated blueberries, and working the cranberry bogs is another seasonal activity. The summer months offer work for many in the blueberry fields, and in forested areas where wild blueberries grow. Some people work in the fields of large growers while others have small fields of their own. Summer blueberry harvest is followed by fall cranberry harvest. Also, during the summer months, fishing and the tourist season keep many busy. Pinelands residents fish and clam, charter fishing boats and rent campsites to tourists.

With the coming of fall, the trapping and hunting season begins. Some Pinelands residents set traps for turtles and muskrats, hunt ducks, and are guides for many visitors who return annually to the Pinelands to hunt ducks and railbirds.

In the winter, woodcutting is another activity which supplements trapping. Until recently, charcoaling provided winter work for many Pinelands residents. But with the advent of factory-made chemical briquettes and other sources of fuel, charcoaling died out in the Pinelands.

The round of the seasons and their corresponding work cycle are the framework for cultural and recreational activities known as the "cultural calendar. " The cultural calendar is related, in part, to the seasonal cycle, in that many cultural activities of the Pinelands are related to the work cycle of the seasons. The cold winter months which put a halt to most agricultural activities are the times when quilting is done in farming communities. These same winter months are the time for deer hunts and venison dinners. Winter trapping on the bay gives way to muskrat banquets and snapper dinners in the spring. With the coming of spring, gardens are set out, farm markets reopened, and weddings are celebrated. Summer is the season for clambakes, garvey and sneakbox races, Independence Day celebrations and strawberry and blueberry festivals. The harvest of the fall is celebrated throughout the months of September, October, and November with apples and cranberries highlighted in local festivals. Homes and gardens are decorated with symbols of the harvest and many communities celebrate the "Harvest Home" festival. Late in the fall, the graves of family members are decorated with sprays of evergreens and grasses, a Pinelands tradition known as the "grave blanket."