DUNROVEN, ALLENWOOD

A Missionary Life:
Rev. J. Wesley Day
China, Malaysia, Indonesia

Sidetrip: Allenwood

In December, 1915, as shown by the deed, my father bought a farmhouse in Allenwood, New Jersey. He borrowed the money from my mother 's brother, Uncle Willie Walker, to pay for it. Uncle Willie had a peach farm in Ridgeville, Maryland. I think I was on vacation from college when Dad finished paying for it, and I attended a little mortgage burning ceremony. On the wall over my desk at Ocean Grove hangs a photograph of the house with Mrs. Alonzo King (I assume) standing on the porch. On the back of the picture was written in pencil someting like, "Mr. Day, this is your new home that you have just purchased." My brother, Roby, and his wife, Joy, had this picture framed, then presented it to Mom and me as a "Christmas present" February l, l96l. Above the picture hangs a large hand-drawn picture of the house by Jeff Propert.

So December l6, l9l5 Roby F Day bought the house from Alonzo King. June 3. 1959, retaining life use, he sold the house to J Wesley Day and Ruthydia S. Day. In January 1979, retaining life use, J. Wesley Day transferred title of the home to Jackson H Day and Vivia Day Tatum.

During the school vacation, 1916, the Day family lived at Allenwood. After our arrival from Inwood the first big job was to pull weeds from the garden. I remember many of them in early June were already bigger than I was and I couldn't pull them. Mother objected to my working in the sun during the hot days, so my work was optional. One day mother got Indian suits out of a trunk or siutcase which she put on Roby and me. We played in them and someone took our picture.

After working through the heat of the day in the yard and the garden, sometimes we would walk down to the Manasquan River. There was a swimming hole a little down the river and just in sight of the bridge. Sometimes mothers would watch their little ones play in or near the water. Farmers put up a diving board which the older boys, especially, enjoyed. Some brave boys would jump off the bridge. I remember one time only the boys were there and some of the big ones said they were going to throw the little ones into the river to teach them to swim. I didn't want to learn to swim in this way so I went and hid. I don't think my brothers were there that day.

If families were present we wore bathing suits. If just boys were there we didn't bother..... but if a wagon or car approached we would dive into the water till it crossed the bridge.

When I was eight I was allowed to go fishing with a kind and elderly neighbor. I caught a few perch and sunfish. They were full of bones but they tasted good.

Our first smmer in Allenwood, one day the Woolleys said, "Huckleberries are ripe. Let's pick some." So the Woolleys and the Days went huckleberrying in the open wooded country near our homes. I was just turning six, I was following the others when I began to cry. Someone saw what had happened---I had walked into a nest of wild bees or yellow jackets. I was quickly lifted out of the situation and ministered to. But I shall never forget the fuzzy bees that stung.

That year Mother killed one or more rattlesnakes on our farm. She had a collection of rattlesnake eggs, some in the act of being hatched, which she preserved. It is said there are now no rattlesnakes in Allenwood. There were some in 1916. I saw a little gartersnake near the house once and stood looking at it, friendly and curious, for about five minutes. People told me I was "charmed" by it. It was a charming little creature who seemed as curious about me as I was about it.

A humming bird, hardly bigger than a bee, drank nectar from the flowers at the end of the porch, standing on nothing to do it, just humming away.

Mother used to take us to the window, or out to the porch, to see the "pretty lightning." One time, however, while we were watching pretty lightning from our porch, the lightning struck the church steeple, a block away, and we retired into the house.

Reflections on Dunroven, by Vivia

We all have memories of the house in Allenwood our grandfather named, "Dunroven." Granddad bought it in 1915 as a summer home. Their boys lived in this house each summer until they were grown. They enjoyed the country, river, and nearby golf course. Our grandparents lived there upon their retirement until they passed away. Dad and Mom, who had bought the home in 1959, in turn, retired there in 1974. Mom died in the living room in 1975 and Dad lived there until 1996 when he moved to Ocean Grove where he would receive the care he needed. He had just survived an operation to remove a small cancerous growth in his lung and he realized, after almost 40 years of thinking of Dunroven as his home, that the time had come to move. It was a difficult move but one he has not regretted.

Jim and I lived at Dunroven for 6 years before building our own home. Both of our girls were born during our time there. Many years later Brenda and DJ lived there before buying their first home. All the generations of the Day family have visited through the years as various family members lived there. In particular we remember with great fondness the yearly visits by Uncle Roby and Aunt Joy who parked their trailer in the yard. They stayed in the camper when they visited and felt they had come "to the country." We had wonderful visits and Brenda and Carolyn declared them to be their favorite uncle and aunt. They were both sad when Uncle Roby and Aunt Joy were not up to attending their weddings. After they had both passed away cousin Roby showed us Aunt Joy's brag book and there among her own grandchildren were pictures of Brenda and Carolyn.

Jack and I have kept up the home since ownership was transferred to us in 1979 (Dad retained life right). We have had a new roof put on, replaced the front porch, filled in the old well, had a new well dug, replaced all pipes, and added filters to make the water usable. Last year we paid to have the two septic tanks filled in and paid for sewer pipes installed by the township. The minimal rent we have received has not covered these added expenses. The rent barely covers the taxes, minor repairs, and insurance. I no longer live nearby to monitor its needs and care.

We have come to the conclusion that the time has come to sell the Allenwood home. We're so glad the house in Allenwood was in our family for close to a century. It gave us all a chance to visit and gather together. We have a sense of family many do not because of the contact this home and its occupants afforded us.

Vivia Day Tatum, Febrary 1, 2005