Hello 08071! Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather. I am excited for you to check out our Spring edition magazine dedicated to the lifestyle and community of Pitman.
In this issue, readers will meet Hometown Hero – Pitman native – U.S. Air Force Technical (USA T) Sgt. Derek S. Brown, who is a weapons loader and mechanic. Operation Yellow Ribbon of South Jersey hosted a Welcome Back Hero event for Brown and his family. Read about Brown’s welcome home and learn about what Operation Yellow Ribbon does for those on the frontlines on page 4.
Meet the Cottinghams, Ruth and Jim. They met at Millersville University and the love of the arts drew them together. The love of teaching led to teaching the arts at their home through Soli Deo Arts. While they consider themselves retired, teaching of the arts has never stopped. The Cottinghams offer classes, workshops and summer camps for individuals of all ages and skill levels, with Ruth teaching primarily elementary and middle school-aged children and Jim teaching high school students and adults. Classes include drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Learn about the Cottinghams on page 7.
Get ready to “crave” at Crave Pitman. Located at 9 S. Broadway, the bakery offers large, fun “soft and gooey” cookies and cookie bars. Owners Kathleen Bianco and her husband, Mike opened the bakery in 2020 essentially for fun. As longtime bakers, they were looking for a change from their mundane 9 to 5. Surviving COVID-19, the business has grown into a second location, the Pink Crave Cottage in Mullica Hill and its sister store Crazy Kat next door in Pitman. Get your crave on page 8.
Pitman’s annual Craft Shows in May and September have been going on for 50 years. In 2022, there were 260 vendors and a record attendance of about 10,000 attendees. The show is named after Lori Poisker, who passed away in 2017. She was the owner of Lori’s Loft in Uptown Pitman and was the coordinator of the Pitman Craft Shows for over 10 years and a member of the Pitman Chamber of Commerce. Learn about the magic of Pitman on page 10.
The Pitman Grove Auditorium offers “the closest thing to a time machine” or history buffs, according to Jane McCausland, chair of the Pitman Historical Museum. For over two centuries, the Pitman Grove Auditorium has hosted many of the town’s most important meetings and events. A prominent part of Pitman Grove lives on for future generations to experience by way of concerts, weddings and tours. The preservation of the structure stands as a symbol of unity and innovation that resembles much of the town’s spirit courtesy of the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the Pitman Historical Museum. Learn all about the history on page 12.
All of this and more awaits on the pages ahead! Happy reading!
