Open: The museum is seasonable and open for special events. Please check out their website for more information. Open for the Sussex County Heritage weekend event.
I visited the Old Sparta Train Station Museum as part of the Sussex Heritage Weekend and it was a fascinating trip back in time to when these rural communities started getting connected to the cities after the Civil War.
The museum was at the beginning stages of development with displays being created in the rail system in Sussex County and train artifacts that were mounted on display. There was a model train set chugging along a train route.
The side view of the station
The plaque dedicated to the train station
The water tower outside the train station on the station’s grounds
The grounds where the station and the water tower are located are still an active train line.
The inside gallery at the Sparta Train Station Museum
The back part of the station’s gallery
Old travel equipment used on the train rails
Though the collection is small for now, the docents explained they will continue to add more to the collection. They were also a wonder book of knowledge on the history of this area of New Jersey.
The history of the museum
The building and the museum have had quite the history. This includes the fire and the rebuilding.
The train displays
The train display
The engine display
The docents were a wonder book of information on the history of the rail system and of the station building itself. The museum is just starting to develop so for now it is quick visit through the museum when it is open and visits back to see how it grows it collections. For now, it was a very interesting visit.
I was recently traveling around the Newfield, NJ area, where a small museum dedicated to Matchbox cars was located. I had enjoyed playing with them and collected them when I was little and it sounded fascinating to have a whole museum dedicated to them.
They were not open that day but arranged to visit the museum when I was in the area on my next trip. A few weeks later I arranged a private tour of the museum and got a very interested and detailed tour of the collection, the history of Matchbox cars and the owner of the collection and his collection.
The museum sign at the front of the museum
The rows and rows of cars and trucks
The museum houses one of the most extensive and complete collections of Matchbox cars from not just the collectibles but cars that were part of their promotions in Happy meals and in boxes of Kellogg cereal.
The rows and rows of the collection
The collection also extended out to toys from the company that manufactured the cars from Universal Toys to Tyco Toys to the current owner, Mattel (Wiki.com).
The first car created as part of this vast collection
The collection contained some of the original die cast cars from the first set that were created.
All the cars are so neatly organized
We went row by row and room by room and I was fascinated by the detail and extensive knowledge the docent had on the collection and the history of Matchbox cars. This is a great museum to take kids on just for the sheer collection and for toy collectors who are interesting in Matchbox items.
Our Story, Our Passion
(From the museum website)
The concept of Matchbox Road Museum was formed out of a life-long interest in miniature automotive perfection. The personal collection turned into a well-renowned museum of the preservation of the rare, discontinued and historically important die-cast models. Every item in our assortment symbolizes the art, nostalgia, and cultural impact of the small cars over time.
The inside of the Galley
We think such miniature cars are not just collectibles but narrators of innovations, design and childhood fantasy. By means of professional conservation, careful exhibitions and devotion to authenticity, we give our visitors and collectors an experience that is informative and inspirational.
The Matchbox cars in Happy Meals
The cars available in cereal boxes
The models of Queen Elizabeth II coronation carriages that helped start the company
We have a very easy mission to fulfill, which is to secure the legacy, celebrate the history and make sure these small cars keep on telling big stories in the coming decades.
The Legacy of Matchbox Cars
(From the museum website)
Since its inception in the year 1953, Matchbox cars have changed the way we view toys as well as the toy industry.
They were not only iconic in size but storytelling. Real-world vehicles. Authentic detail. The palm of your hand Dreams at affordable prices.
These small masterpieces attracted the minds of millions of people during decades. Nowadays, they are not just toys, but a part of history, art of engineering, and culture.
We celebrate that tradition at Matchbox Road Museum.
Video on the tour
The museum also has an extensive collection of toys and playthings on display.
Walking around the extensive collections of cars
About the Founder
(From the museum website)
Every great collection begins with a single spark.
A childhood obsession turned into a lifetime goal – retain the heritage of miniature car perfection to the generations to come. The creator of Matchbox Road Museum devoted several decades to the collection of rare, discontinued, and historically important models.
This museum is not constructed using shelves of cars.
It is built on passion. Dedication. Obsession with detail.
And now that heritage open to you is there.
The museum is open for private tours that can be arranged in advance. The tour will take about an hour and you will see a lot. I was taken in by the sheer collection and the walls filled with rows and rows of cars. I really is a fascinating museum.
I recently visited Lewes, DE for ‘Maritime Day’ by the harbor and there were a lot of interesting booths on the watersheds, environmental agencies that discussed their purpose with harbor issues and what the town of Lewes does for the environment.
The historic Blizzard from 1888
History of the Lewes Life Saving Station & Museum:
(From Historic Lewes.com)
It was also a busy station, guarding both the mouth of Delaware Bay and the protected waters created by the massive breakwaters of the National Harbor of Refuge. Its string of Keepers and their six- or seven-man crews of Surfmen enacted scores of rescues through the years and in particular won great praise for their tireless heroics during the Great White Hurricane of 1888, when they pulled scores of sailors from the frigid waters and iced-over hulks of wrecked vessels to safety.
The front of the museum
The History of the Lewes Lifeguard Museum:
(From the Historic Lewes.com)
The United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS) protected the American coast and saved lives in peril at sea from 1871 until 1915, when it became a part of the new United States Coast Guard (USCG). This incredible humanitarian mission came to Lewes in 1884, making it the fourth of six stations to be established in Delaware. Lewes was among the most desirable stations for the Keepers and Surfmen who manned it, with its original location on the site of the present-day Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal placing it not far from town and therefore civilization.
The view of the harbor which has changed over the years
I spent my time touring the Lewes Lifeguard Museum, which is an interesting little museum on the history of life saving along the Delaware coast. The museum’s artifacts show some of the earliest and innovative forms of rescue equipment from before the Civil War. This was the precursor to the United States Coast Guard.
The inside of the museum
The lower part of the museum contained most of the equipment, items like rescue ropes, wenches, rescue apparatus, lanterns and uniforms like jackets and boots.
Pulled and equipment used to rescue stranded people
History of the Lewes Historical Museum:
(Historic Lewes.com)
The United States Coast Guard maintained the Station Lewes from 1915 until 1969, when it was closed, declared surplus, and sold. The original main station building was relocated numerous times and still stands today, heavily modified, as the Rehoboth Beach VFW. The Boat House preserved by Historic Lewes, a unique 1884 addition to the USLSS station intended to launch lifeboats on a marine railway directly into the harbor, was acquired from the Pilots’ Association of the Bay & River Delaware in 1979 and moved to its present home at Canalfront Park. It stands proudly beside the Lightship OVERFALLS (LV-118), together commemorating the nation’s and community’s efforts to preserve life on hazardous waters.
The bullies and wenches used by the men
Information in the Lewes Life Saving Station
Biography of the men who worked there
Information on the Boat House
Some of the ropes and wenches used in the rescue procedures
On the other side of the building was the rescue boat the ‘Life Car’, a rudimentary form of rescue boat that the docents said was effective but clunky and hard to use. It shows how we have progressed in life saving.
The Life Car rescue unit
Information on the ‘Life Car’
The ‘Life Car’
The ores and other rescue equipment used
The small rope cannon
The ores
The rope equipment
The story of the ‘Great White Hurricane of March 1888’
The Men’s Dining area in the front of the building
There was no living area in the facility but a place to gather the team, eat and socialize when manning the station.
History of Lewes Lifeguard Museum:
(From the Lewes Lifeguard.com)
Guests visiting the USLSS Boat House today will find it furnished just as Keeper John Clampitt and his courageous Surfmen left it on March 12, 1888, as they pushed out into the roaring gale and whipping snow for their finest hours. It also features a display of early life-saving equipment, including the rope-and-pulley Breeches Buoy rescue system, a steel life-car, and a rare 1887 Long Branch, New Jersey-style surfboat under restoration.
The dining area and the schedule
The dining room table
The Lewes Life Saving Station & Museum is an example of early beach and shipping rescue at the East Coast Shore. It also shows the daily life of these brave men and how lonely and dangerous this job could be. It shows how times have progressed and how they have stayed the same. To save people and property.
The Institute of Italian Culture has a small gallery in it that several times a year hosts small art gallery events that are open to the public. This one caught my eye when I saw the picture of Sophia Loren looking back at me when I passed.
I thought it might be interesting and I stopped to see “Italians: Italian Women who changed the World” by artist Salvatore Catalano. The gallery held about fourth pictures of Italian women from all over the world and of different time periods who influenced art, fashion, politics and business.
There were many names I recognized and a few who I did not know. The works were very interesting and engaging.
The sign that welcomes you to the gallery
The main gallery at the Instituto Italiano di Cultura for the “Italiana: Italian Women Who Changed the World” exhibition
The exhibition Italiana: “Italian Women Who Changed the World” by artist Salvatore Catalono highlights the many impressive achievements by Italian women over the course of the last few centuries, until today.
(From the museum website):
These formidable women all greatly impacted the world in one way or another, often also against the odds imposed by a “male-ruled” society. The selection of 22 portraits includes scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, humanitarians and writers. These women all accomplished incredible feats and have contributed to the world in ways that still continue to resonate nowadays.
The Institute of Italian Culture exhibition sign:
The show Italiana: Italian Women Who Changed the World”
These were my favorite sketches from the show and women I most admired in the show.
Miuccia Prada, of the Prada fashion empire
Catherine de Medici, who revolutionized French Culture
Sophia Loren, the famous Italian actress
Lidia Bastianich, the Chef and restauranteur
The sketching’s represented different eras.
(From the museum website)
They are not all household names, but they are all at the top of their professions and exemplify the spirit of Italy. Salvatore Catalano uses his art as a vehicle to transmit these stories and to highlight the lives of these incredible Italian women.
(from the Italian Cultural Institute of New York website)
Salvatore Catalano is an artist, illustrator, and educator. Catalano works in all forms of visual communication. His art has appeared on everything from postage stamps to billboards and his work is in many private and corporate collections. He is an educator at the college level, teaching in New York City and Florence, Italy.
Catalano has worked with The United Nations, U.S. Government, Department of The Interior, National Audubon Society, The New York Times, The New Yorker, ABC, CBS, NBC, American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, N.Y. Zoological Society, Merck, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Seagram’s, General Foods, Sony, Panasonic, Citibank, Scholastic, Harper-Collins, Bantam-Doubleday, Dell, MacMillan, DuPont, Exxon, State of New Jersey Children’s Television Workshop, McGraw-Hill, Ranger Rick, among others. He has also worked on more than thirty books for children.
The History of the Instituto Italiano di Cultura in New York City:
(from the Instituto Italiano di Cultura website)
The Italian Cultural Institute in New York was founded in 1961 by the Italian Government. Its mission is to promote Italian language and culture in the United States.
Under the guidance of its trustees at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its advisory board, and its staff, the Italian Cultural Institute in New York fosters cultural exchanges between Italy and the U.S. in a variety of areas, from the arts to the humanities, to science, and technology.
Central to the Italian Cultural Institute’s activity is its collaboration with the most prominent academic and cultural Institutions of the East Coast. The scientific exchanges, the organization of, and support to, visual arts exhibitions, the grants for translation and publication of Italian books, inspire and nourish the Institute’s initiatives.
In particular, we focus on the relationship between memory and innovation, and the multiplicity of identities in the Italian civilization. The Italian Cultural Institute in New York, therefore, provides an “open window” on main cultural and social aspects of past and current Italy.
