Apples Galore At Allaire

Allaire Village held it's Harvest Fest on Sunday, a family friendly event that featured activities and demonstrations unique to the villages’ 19th century roots.

Among them were a puppet show, spoon playing, a militiaman competition, apple snapping, apple pressing, and apple toss. The activities gave visitors an insight and feel into what the village was like back in the 19th century.

“Everything is about apples and apple harvest,” said John Curtis, Allaire’s executive director. “The activities show the village in its 1836 original village with the history of Allaire.”

The Daly family from Toms River were enjoying some old fashioned spoon playing with Bonnie Leigh, of Brick, playing a mountain and hammered Dulcimer and banjo.

"The Dulcimer is a traditional American folk instrument. It's something the hill people played and the spoons would have been played along with it back in the 1800s," Leigh said.

"We come here every year and always look for her," said Kathleen Daly, 42. "We love the Dulcimer."

Allaire volunteer Meaghann Brown, 17, of Moorestown explained that apple snaps used to be an adult game.

“It was a couples game. If they were at a get together, the boy and the girl would play,” Brown said of the game that involved an apple hanging from a tree with a string and being snapped by its players’ mouths.

Her father Tim Brown, 44 of Moorestown, also a volunteer, explained the militiaman competition. He noted that it’s a series of activities that show various skills.

“The men would have a tomahawk (ax) throwing, knife throwing, fire starting, arm wrestling and fire firing muskets (to see who can fire and shoot shots the fastest,” Tim Brown said.

An Allaire Village quilt also was being raffled off for $2 a ticket.

Wall Township resident and volunteer Pat Lundervoid said that the Bog Iron Quilters work all year to prepare the quilt for the raffle.

“This year's quilt is about Allaire people,” Lundervoid said.

The quilt was made up of squares that narrated different times of the year at Allaire -- the 4th of July celebration, a rainy day in April, a teacher in February, a June wedding and more. In its patterns, the women’s faces were not shown -- instead, their bonnets were so that the patterns on their bonnets could be seen, according to volunteer Joe Ercdino of Neptune.

“It’s a beautiful day. There are great events here,” said Jamie McAllister of Atlantic Highlands. “The thing I’m enjoying the most is the history.”