Happy Birthday New Jersey! archived

On this day in 1664 King Charles II's brother James, Duke of York, established New Jersey.

Taylor Ham was soon to follow.

RED: taylor ham

BLUE: pork roll

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What exactly IS Taylor ham? Nobody ever has an answer yet they eat it nonetheless.

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Posted By: sheltiemumWhat exactly IS Taylor ham? Nobody ever has an answer yet they eat it nonetheless.

That's because you didn't ask the right person...

"Taylor" ham is pork roll made by the "Taylor" company...

Just like "Kleenex" is a brand name of a facial tissue and "Band-Aid" is a brand name for a bandage, "Taylor" ham is a brand name for pork roll...

Pepsi has spent many years trying to break America's habit of ordering a "Coke"...

I'm with sheltiemum, but even moreso. Literally. What is Taylor Ham? I mean I spent the first 18 years of my life in Maplewood and never even heard of it until recently by trolling around on the internet. I certainly have, to my knowledge, never eaten it, and don't recall seeing it on a menu. Same goes for "pork roll." Is it really that big a part of New Jersey culture? Am I really that clueless?

I guess it could be compared to my ignorance about one or two regional foods of the hoi polloi of my adopted town of St. Louis. I'm down with the local favorites of "toasted ravioli" and mostaciolli (which one is supposed to pronounce "muskacholie" for some reason), but I was mystified by references to a supposed local specialty of "gooey butter cake" for 35 years. I finally encountered it and tried some. My reaction was -- eh.......

Oh, and buzzsaw...

Your jug handle picture will get someone killed...

Unless they move to England halfway through the turn...

Love the thread.

"I Like Jersey Best" - John Pizzarelli

Download or listen - http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/2006/11/jersey/19_-_John_Pizzarelli_Jr_-_I_Like_Jersey_Best.mp3

Travelling down the Turnpike
heading for the shore
A thought just then occurred to me
I never thought before
I've been a lot of places
Seen pictures of the rest
But of all the places I can think of
I like Jersey best.

Betting halls, shopping malls,
good old Rutgers U,
47 shoes stores line Route 22
The Meadowlands, the root beer stands
Main Street Hackensack;
I may leave for a week or two
But I'm always coming back.

The Pinelands and the Vinelands
Seaside Heights Margate
You can have Miami
I love the Garden State
I've been a lot of places
Seen pictures of the rest
But of all the places I can think of
I like Jersey best.

We have horses, Princeton courses,
Gas stations we have scores
Trenton, Hopewell, Lake Hopatcong,
Mantoloking Shores;
Some states have their rock stars,
But Springsteen beats them all --
And our beautiful arena has
Brendan Byrne carved on the wall.

Lots of dineries, oil refineries,
Our highways make you cough,
But Spring Lake Heights and Belmar
Are places to get off.
Drinking spots and used car lots
Make the place just grand,
If you want to pay a visit,
Newark Airport's where you land.

The Pinelands and the Vinelands
Seaside Heights Margate
You can have Miami
I love the Garden State
I've been a lot of places
Seen pictures of the rest
But of all the places I can think of
I like Jersey best.

Philly dogs like Chili dogs
They eat in Cherry Hill
Woodbridge they make Haagen Dazs
I can't get my fill
Saddle River ain't chopped liver
Nor is Lavallette
There are no Jersey strangers,
Just friends we haven't met.

The Jersey Nets went thataway, Piscataway
No more, had another winning season
And next year they'll win more;
Our Giants could go all the way
If they could win just one,
But the parties in the lots
Before the games are really fun.

The Pinelands and the Vinelands
Seaside Heights Margate
You can have Miami
I love the Garden State
I've been a lot of places
Seen pictures of the rest
But of all the places I can think of
I like Jersey best.

Our famous Parkway is the darkway
Home from Manasquan
You'd think for all those quarters
They'd turn the road lights on
And have no pity, Jersey City
Once again will shine,
With Holmdel, Cape May, Highland Park
I like our state just fine.

The Pinelands and the Vinelands
Seaside Heights Margate
You can have Miami
I love the Garden State
I've seen a lot of places
Seen pictures of the rest
But of all the places
I can think of, I like Jersey Best!

King Charles gave New Jersey to his brother in order to get him out of England. Charles was worried that his brother had too many friends and supporters, and too much ambition. The brother (James?) sold New Jersey to two of his friends--Lord Carteret and Lord Berkeley, who then proceeded to divide it up into East and West Jersey. The city of Elizabeth was named after Carteret's wife. They, in turn, sold off chunks of their portions to their wealthy friends, who became known as the Proprietors of East and West Jersey. The proprietors sold off their parts, also, except sometimes they would sell the same parcel more than once to different people. This caused a lot of confusion and contention.

The proprietors of East Jersey, whose offices were in Perth Amboy, went out of business only recently. The West Jersey proprietors my still be around--I'm not sure. They still owned property until recently--there would be a couple of feet of land here, a right of way there, water or mineral rights that they would sell for huge amounts of cash when a survey showed that these bits were necessary for some development project.

My understanding is that in parts of the U.S. people use the word "coke" to refer not just to Coca-Cola,and not just genericly to any cola, but to mean any carbonated soft drink, that North Jerseyans would probably refer to as a "soda." I have seen a map of the U.S. with every county color-coded for what word most used for the concept of "carbonated soft drink." Some people say "soda," some say "pop," some say "coke," some use other far-out words I never would have considered. I'll try to find the map; it might have been on a website about weird maps. I think the only regions where "soda" prevailed were the Middle Atlantic (including North Jersey), the St. Louis area where I currently live, and parts of Northern California.

We must remember that the first Europeans to settle N.J. were Dutch up north and Swedes down south.

And, of course, Dave Van Ronk's "Garden State Stomp"!

Consisting entirely of place names. Download or listen here -
http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/2006/11/jersey/22_-_Dave_Van_Ronk_-_Garden_State_Stomp.mp3

Allamuchy
Hacklebarney
Rockaway
Piscataway.

HoHoKus
Secaucus
Lower Squankum
Fair Play.

Wanamassa
Succasunna
Manumuskin
Plumbsock.

BiValve
Buckshutem
Turkey Foot
Macanippock.

Jugtown
Feebletown
Nummytown
Rahway...

Wickatunk
Manunka Chunk
Mantua
Mizpah.

Manasquan
Raritan
Matawan
Totowa.

Whippany
Parsippany
Penny Pot
Hackensack.

Batsto
Nesco
Metedeconk
Peapack.

Loch Arbour
Egg Harbor
Swinesburg
Caviar?

Cheesequake
Boy Scout Lake
Moonachie
Tenafly.

Netcong
Watchung
Pluckemin
Mount Misery.

Bardonia
Ironia
Colonia
Weehawken.
Manahawkin
Mantoloking
Mahalala
Pennsauken.

Dutchtown
Ironbound
Frelinghuysen
and Lodi...

Hardscrabble
Double Trouble
Picatinny
Montague.

Muckshaw Pond
Oakanickon
Espanong
Ocean View.

Navesink
Shabakunk
Ongs Hat
Jumbo.

Wortendyke
Waterwitch Park
Blue Ball
Ringoes.

Matchaponix
Delawanna
Wawayanda
Timbuctoo.

Posted By: lizziecatThe proprietors of East Jersey, whose offices were in Perth Amboy, went out of business only recently. The West Jersey proprietors my still be around--I'm not sure. They still owned property until recently--there would be a couple of feet of land here, a right of way there, water or mineral rights that they would sell for huge amounts of cash when a survey showed that these bits were necessary for some development project.

The proprietors owned any land which cannot be deternined to be owned by anybody else, through deeds, surveys, etc., as a continuation of the royal land grant.

For years, they would provide title documents to clear up land title discrepancies, such as where measurements from two different points of reference showed that there was a gap, or if the "high water mark" was measured incorrectly.

I know the attorney who sued the East Jersey Proprietors, because they wanted an exhorbitant amount of money (so he claimed) to settle a relatively simple matter. It was so much trouble that they disbanded, and turned everything over to the state.

That was only within the last decade or so, and when I found out it was him I told him (half jokingly) that he had ruined my chance at one of my fondest hopes, to someday be a Proprietor of East Jersey!

Posted By: chopinMy understanding is that in parts of the U.S. people use the word "coke" to refer not just to Coca-Cola,and not just genericly to any cola, but to mean any carbonated soft drink, that North Jerseyans would probably refer to as a "soda." I have seen a map of the U.S. with every county color-coded for what word most used for the concept of "carbonated soft drink." Some people say "soda," some say "pop," some say "coke," some use other far-out words I never would have considered. I'll try to find the map; it might have been on a website about weird maps. I think the only regions where "soda" prevailed were the Middle Atlantic (including North Jersey), the St. Louis area where I currently live, and parts of Northern California.

Trying not to thread drift here...

But you made my point...

It's not "I'd like a Coke, please"... It's "I'd like a cola, please"... But much to Pepsi's chagrin, CocaCola has dominated the market for so long that the two are interchangeable...

Getting bask to this thread, the same thing can be stated for a "Taylor Ham"... We really should be ordering a pork roll and cheese sandwich... But what we are used to ordering is a "Taylor Ham and cheese"...

There was an outcry quite a few years ago when it was proposed to change the name of the Pavonia PATH station in J.C. to Newport after the then new real estate development. Someone pointed out that "Pavonia" was actually the oldest European place name in the whole state and shouldn't be thrown in the garbage. I seem to remember that "Pavonia" is a Latinization of "Pauw," the name of one of the first Dutch settlers, and that the name in any version means "peacock."

There was a similar outcry when it was propsed in Florida to rename Cape Canaveral as Cape Kennedy. It was pointed out that Canaveral was the oldest European place name in the whole state. They wound up keeping the name of the cape as "Canaveral," with only the Space Center being called "Kennedy."

Maps and statistics about varying terms for "soft drink" can be found at popvssoda.com and strangemaps.wordpress.com. New Jersey's preference for the word "soda" is evidently shared by most of the northeast, eastern Wisconsin, the areas of Mo. and Ill. closest to St. Louis, northern California and, to a lesser extent, the rest of California, Arizona, and the Miami area. You can see that western N.Y. (Buffalo, Rochester) and western Pa. (Pittsburgh, Altoona, Erie) are really Midwestern. But you always thought so, didn't you.