Echoes of LBI - 2019 Spring into Summer

elcome back. Here on LBI winter has given way to a glorious spring. And though it’s only been spring for a few weeks – already the Island is transformed. The effects of longer daylight hours and warmer ocean currents can be seen everywhere. Morning fog is burned away by brilliant sunshine that lasts much later into the day. Breezes are filled with the fragrance of warming sand and surf; and the marshes are brushed with a hint of green. Even the daffodils, jonquils, and narcissus seem particularly abundant and beautiful this spring.

Traveling through coastal towns, it is not unusual to see old ships anchors permanently dropped on front lawns, public buildings, and shops. LBI is the perennial resting place for many old anchors. These great iron devises, like the Baldt anchor in front of my shop, once held ships in place during storms or moored them at the safe end of a long perilous journey. Sitting on dry land, they are symbolic of strength, faith, stability, solidarity, and hope.

But not all anchors are made of steel. Instead they are made of family, friends, memories, and love. These are the anchors in life that keep us from drifting, moor us in place, and steady us in the rough waters of life.

One of my favorite memories of my childhood in Harvey Cedars is of venturing out on early summer-mornings with my sister Merry to catch soft shell crabs for our Mom. Before the March 1962 storm there were more saltwater tidal ditches for them to hide in. Bucket in hand, we’d sneak up on crabs resting in the bathtub warm water of a ditch and snatch them up. Mom loved them. But as children, we found the idea of eating the whole crab – spidery legs and all – absolutely gross – so Mom never had to share them. Jumping the ditches, we often left a shoe on the other side. Each evening, my brother Bobby was tasked with finding all lost shoes before we turned in for the night.

As we grow older, we learn the importance of family memories. So often young families share their memories with me of the time they spent on LBI as children, and of the lasting impression those wonderful days made on their lives. Many came to LBI with their parents and grandparents. Some were fortunate enough to enjoy the Island with extended family and close friends. But for most, spending time on LBI was eventually overtaken by the demands and pressures of college and career. Now as parents they return to LBI with their children to create new family memories for another generation. Many times, they are accompanied by their own parents, who now have more time to enjoy their adult children and grandchildren. Together they will create new memories that will anchor their family for generations.

So, come to LBI. Drop your anchor and make generations of memories.

Enjoy the sunsets.

Cheryl Kirby, Publisher

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My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea...

...and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.� —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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THE MOON, THE STARS, AND THE PLEIDES Of this, and similar trinities Was the universe created In the span of a six-day week?

Don’t make me laugh, Although the option tempts.

One dried weed, after all, Can span all four earth seasons, Spore, to sprout, to stalk, To scattered fluff, desiccated, Clicking like false teeth Under an enormous harvest moon In a sky crammed with more heavenly bodies Than an infinity of fingers can tabulate.

Am I to believe it was all created, As opposed to evolved, In one day short of the arbitrary span We’ve come to call a week?

Poetic license, taken to such extreme, Surely beggars belief, of even true believers.

Although the Book of Genesis certainly is And was, and always will be, One beautiful read.

Poetry by Jeanne Sutton • Original Artwork: Ut Pictura Poesis by Chuck Person • Interpretation

PISCES I am the thin, finned Piscean who swims deep in currents of crises and emotion; the dreamer fish who slips through seas of the subconscious and knows– the mystic fantasy fish.

I am the Alpha & Omega of the Zodiac and contain a piece of each of you in me– keys to my spiritual empathy.

I run with the moon and tides– no schools.

Sometimes you'll find me among the stars.

Make a wish on me. You have three.

Poetry by Frank Finale • Interpretation Artwork: Fish on Ice by Arlene Marcoe • Original Page 26 • Echoes of LBI

PLATO THE SEAGULL A yolk-colored sun scrambles above a sky-blue horizon flat as a table-top, another extraordinary shore day begins.

I’m hungry for more of what it offers: salty air, silky sand and blinding light.

Can’t get enough of this stuff, another chance at heaven, another day in Eden.

I’m not greedy, I’m willing to share.

There’s more than enough for all of us.

At the beach, a seagull can be generous, and smugly philosophical.

Poetry by Richard Morgan • Interpretation Artwork: Strutting Along the Shore by Nancy Edwards • Original

MY FRIEND WAS BURIED TODAY My body is a reed, that plays a mournful song, as ancient as the sea.

Tears, like stones, tumble down my face, spill onto the ground like a heavy rainfall, touch my lips with the taste of salt. My pulse is a thunderous wave of pain, that hurts my ears.

This slipping away hits me with the force of a thousand tidal waves, as it dives into the depths of my despair. While ghost like clouds threaten overhead, a sliver of light carves itself into the sky, a warm reminder of her smile, now a cold comfort as I lay my woeful heart to rest with hers.

My body is a reed, that plays a mournful song, as ancient as the sea.

Poetry by Dianne Alvine • Interpretation Artwork: Rocky Coast by Willy Mueller • Original

Join us for Painted Poetry VI. A unique display of local artists and poets inspired by one another's works. Open reception August 14, 6-8pm, includes reading and slideshow starting at 7pm. Ocean County Library – Long Beach Island Branch, 217 S. Central Ave., Surf City, NJ. For more information call or email Carol Freas at (609) 294-0218 • freasart@aol.com

I CAPTURED THE OCEAN I was taught to play by the ocean’s edge Within the view of merchant ships and sails Before the sand dunes, crowned and bound by sedge Armed only with clam shells and an old pail My task was to build a mighty castle Protected by a deep and daunting moat And I, its sole residing vassal Imprisoned there with neither horse nor boat And so, I’d run ‘twixt moat and tidal pool To gather water for my porous trough Anon, I realized I’d played the fool As all my efforts were pursued for naught So I sat with my pail at the water’s tide And captured the ocean there inside —Randy Rush

BE4TLES FAN YESTERDAY – SOMETHING very sentimental was lost. I never thought I would GET BACK my precious Maltese Cross.

IN MY LIFE my smiles turned to frowns. I kept on saying DON’T LET ME DOWN. So then ACROSS THE UNIVERSE I sent out a prayer. Soon after I SAW HER STANDING THERE. She had found my cross – there’s no doubt. I just really wanted to TWIST AND SHOUT. We had to COME TOGETHER to let the story be told. It’d been a journey – part of THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD. The police had found me – their work was done. After many dark days HERE COMES THE SUN. We can all use a little HELP or a little more luck.

Enjoy your days after the fire Joe – in your BE4TLES TRUCK. —Diane Stulga. Read the story behind the poem on page 80.

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LBI FLY features giant kites, including a full size whale, fairytale creatures, flying scuba divers, sports, and so much more! Events throughout the weekend include a Mayor’s Cup Kite Battle with all six LBI mayors, a night fly at Barnegat Lighthouse, a kite garden installation by local school children, indoor kite flying demonstrations, children’s kite making, buggy kite rides, and a special candy drop.

This event is free to the public. LBI Shuttles will be running throughout the weekend. For more information visit lbifly.com Page 32 • Echoes of LBI

Before me was a path toward the beach Sandy, marked with footprints placed before me Cloaked on either side within my reach Old cedar fencing holding back the trees Twisted pines, oaks and wild plum Poison ivy knitted amongst the shrubs All reaching high enough to shroud the sun Providing shelter for all the birds and bugs I paused before the brush had given way And stood within its shaded canopy As suddenly I felt that I should stay Within this shelter, bordered by the dune and trees

All alone without an earthly care

I took into my lungs the salted air —Randy Rush. Artwork by Carol Freas.

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Over 40 years on Long Beach Island Nautical & Natural Design Home & Wedding Decor Original Local Artwork Shells & Shark Teeth Authentic Sea Glass Artisan Jewelry Books & Local Authors Gourmet Foods and more!

Customize your living space Drop by for a consultation

406 Long Beach Blvd., • Ship Bottom, NJ 08008 (609) 361-1668 • echoesoflbi@gmail.com • thingsadrift.com

Follow us @thingsadrift

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our dog may love to ride in the car with the breeze in his face and the wind in his fur. From the car window he can catch the scents and watch the world wiz by. Unfortunately, some pet parents allow their dog to hang its head out of the rolled down window of a moving vehicle. It is a dangerous activity that can result in injury or death. High winds and flying debris can cause serious damage to a dog’s ears, eyes, and face. Unexpected bumps, turns, and stops can eject the dog from the vehicle.

Excitement along the road, may cause the dog to leap from the moving vehicle to investigate. For their safety, dogs should be secured with a safety vest or harness, and windows shouldn’t be open more than an inch or two for ventilation. Remember, both you and your dog can enjoy those sweet sea shore breezes once you arrive safely.

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everal changes have sprouted from the sands of Long Beach Island since the last time some visitors crossed the Causeway.

While construction on the bridge unfortunately continues to remain a fact of life, other additions to the Island have changed the face of the gateway to LBI. After several years of discussions and planning, Hotel LBI now greets everyone who arrives on Long Beach Island. The large complex has 102 rooms, space to host events, a pool, and more.

It is the first impression people have of the Island and has altered the landscape of the circle forever. Hotel LBI is just one of two transformations to our gateway. The second is the Arlington Beach Club condominium complex which is located between 8th and 9th Streets and Long Beach Boulevard. It was a busy winter for Ship Bottom.

Not to be outdone, Beach Haven has seen its own flurry of construction over the past few months. Buckelew’s added a large addition and deck, and the Black Whale has expanded to include a room suitable for parties and events. And while the south end expands, Barnegat Light has added a miniature golf course and Page 42 • Echoes of LBI

a bandstand. Expansions were the big news throughout the off season.

Across the pond, on Route 72 eastbound, The Mainland at Holiday Inn in Manahawkin is deep into the process of adding a whole host of things to their property, some of which may include a zip line.

Nice weather for the Christmas parade provided fun and good cheer to kick off the 2018 holiday season. And speaking of weather – Mother Nature was kind to us this winter. There were no single digit temperatures for days on end – so our water pipes survived quite well.

As winter always melts into spring, the days are finally a bit longer.

Flowers show the promise of blossoms and birds can be heard in the early mornings chirping their welcome back messages to all.

And that is what you missed while you were gone.

I hope you all had a healthy and safe winter. Let’s move into the summer with joyous expectations. —Maggie O’Neill

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ye-catching color and contrasting textures create visual and tactile interest in the garden. Grasses rustling in the breeze and the gurgle of a water fountain add relaxing auditory pleasures. The perceptual delights that abound in the garden can be further elevated when fragrance is considered in the design of planting beds and flowering containers – adding a whimsical element to the environment.

While planting for fragrance can be employed with reckless abandon, a few guidelines should be followed. Consider placing fragrant plants where they will be most appreciated – adjacent to an entryway, next to a patio, or near an open window where the fragrance can drift through the house to the delight of all it embraces. Keep in mind, if planted too close, heavily-scented flowers may overpower a confined area. Instead, consider staggering their placement throughout the landscape.

Most fragrant plants prefer full-sun and are generally deer resistant.

Additionally, flowering plants attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinating insects to the garden. When choosing fragrant annuals, perennials, flowering vines, shrubs, and trees to enhance your outdoor living area and add sensory enjoyment to your experience, consider the following: Sweet alyssum, a flowering annual, makes an effective six-inch high boarder plant in the garden and trailer in the container. Stock is Page 48 • Echoes of LBI

also fragrant, and, at six to twelve inches tall, can be utilized in both early spring container and cutting gardens. Sweet William, at a height of twelve to eighteen inches, is ideal for a mid-garden location. Nicotiana, or flowering tobacco, is a three-foot tall annual that bears delicate sweet-smelling trumpet-like flowers from late May to early June.

Lavender, with purple or white flowers on gray green foliage, is a twelve to eighteen-inch tall perennial herb prized for both its culinary uses and calming medicinal properties. When dried, lavender has further applications as both a moth repellent and fragrant sachet. Always a popular offering at Reynolds Landscaping is the three-foot tall perennial Phlox; a late summer to early fall fragrant perennial that adds impact as the flowering garden begins to wane.

For fragrant impact on a trellis or pergola, consider the magnificent cascading inflorescence of the gardenia-scented Wisteria vine. A vigorous grower, this purple or white spring-blooming perennial vine requires durable foundational support. The intoxicating scent of annual Jasmine is a super-star among fragrant performers.

Trailing over trellises or evergreen shrubs; it dies with the first frost. To extend the sensory impact of flowering vines into the late summer, plant the perennial Sweet Autumn Clematis whose lovely and distinctive scent mimics that of Jasmine.

Easy to grow and naturalizing bountifully throughout the spring flower beds, the unmistakable scent of Lily of the Valley conjures up memories of grandmother’s garden. This ground cover with diminutive white or pink bell-shaped hanging flowers is best grown in light shade, adding a fragrant pop along the base of trees and shrubs. German or Bearded Iris is among the most beautiful flowering perennials. Available in a rainbow of colors, and standing up to three feet tall, they are a site to behold.

Several cultivars of spring-blooming Jonquilla Narcissus are highly fragrant as well. The large creamy yellow clusters of flowers of Ehrlicheer and the yellow blossoms of Baby Moon are especially fragrant. For a highly scented, summer blooming rhizomic perennial consider Oriental lilies – Star Gazer in deep pink and white or Casa Blanca in white. Keep in mind, Oriental lilies pack a strong fragrance and if clustered in a confined setting the scent can be overpowering.

No fragrant garden would be complete without the distinct and ubiquitous scent of the classic English Rose. The David Austin English Rose collection offers several outstanding performers including coral colored Evelyn and the fuchsia toned William Shakespeare. The large beautiful flowers of the peony are delicately scented and come in a diverse color palette. These sun-loving plants range in size from eighteen-inch perennials to six-feet tall tree-form varieties, and if properly sited, can live in the same locations for over 100 years. Korean Spice Viburnum is another heavily-scented spring-blooming shrub for the fragrant garden sporting white to light pink spicy-smelling flowers.

Another highly fragrant shrub, and always a popular seller at Reynolds Landscaping, is the summer blooming six to eight-foot

tall Clethra – a deer-resistant native that grows locally in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The vertical candle-like inflorescence of the Clethra attracts both butterflies and bees and comes in shades of pink and white. Ruby Spice is a particularly attractive pinkblooming cultivar. An old time favorite for the fragrant spring garden is the Lilac with its easily recognizable scent and color palette ranging from white and pink to lavender. Miss Kim is an exceptional performer and ranges in height from six to eight-feet tall.

Finally, for larger, structural fragrant plant material, consider Chionanthus, also known as fringe tree, a small patio tree, approximately twelve to twenty-feet tall, with delicately sweetscented feathery white flowers that bloom in mid-spring. The evergreen Southern Magnolia, makes a large, eye-catching addition to the summer garden with its bold white eight-inch wide saucerlike flowers. The sweetly scented blossoms delight during the warmer months.

The addition of fragrant plants heightens the pleasures of the garden and outdoor spaces. Reynolds Landscaping offers many cultivars of annual and perennial fragrant plants. —Elaine Sisko, Reynolds Landscaping.

Visit Reynolds Landscaping and Garden Center located at 201 East Bay Avenue in Manahawkin, NJ to view these and other fragrant and ornamental plants for your gardens. In-season hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. – seven days a week. To check on availability of a specific plant or cultivar please call the Garden Center at 609-597-6099.

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ongratulations! You just bought a new house on LBI – your new home away from home where you can relax on the deck or pool side, entertain old friends and new, and just get away from it all. But first, you want to make it your own.

New furnishings and redecorating will express your style, and new landscaping will freshen up the exterior. Some of this you can do yourself, but some things you might need help with.

The prior owners left an entertainment system. But how it all works is a mystery and the wires and cables look like Medusa lives in the component closet. Maybe you would like to improve the system with new components. But if you take it apart, will you know how to put it back together?

Realistically, you would like to add smart home improvements, like a Nest thermostat, a video doorbell, a keyless lock, security cameras, and an alarm system. This is great for long-distance monitoring of your home. But will these amenities work together from one app, or will you have to open each one in a different app?

The key to making a smart home truly smart is synergy – making the multiple technologies in your home work better together. But if each of your smart home technologies has its own discrete control, they are not working in concert with each other and won’t be working to the highest level of convenience for you.

Island Audio Video is a certified ClareControls dealer and installer. They custom design and integrate technology for your home. Island Audio Video coordinates and integrates your home technology into one platform with a ClareHome automation system of energy management, entertainment controls, security and access, and video monitoring. One app controls everything and it all works synergistically – together.

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Hiring knowledgeable trustworthy people for your audio/video and smart home installations is vital to getting the job done right. You need a team that works neatly, accomplishes the goals you have for your systems, and creates a system that is simple to operate. This only happens when the design and installation technicians listen to and communicate with their customers. Being polite and friendly, as well, should be a given. You want to find a home audio/video systems design and installation company that has a well-established, time-tested reputation, and a large base of loyal customers.

Wayne Feaster of Island Audio Video has been in business for more than forty-five years. In 2002 Wayne transitioned his retail store, Island Record Shop into Island Audio Video – offering design and installation of home audio/video systems. Wayne and lead installer, Keith LaRocca have twenty-five years of experience working together designing and installing audio-video systems. For the past five years, they have been at the forefront of smart home technology on LBI. Smart home technology devices and systems work better with a well-designed Wi-Fi network, and Island Audio Video has raised the level of their technological expertise with the addition of Mike Smolens to the team. Mike is a Cisco-certified network technician with twenty-years of experience in the managed IT field.

Your audio/video system needs may be small or large; straightening out a confusing system, expanding an existing system, or designing and installing a new one. You might already have a smart home system of discrete components and want to integrate them to work synergistically. Or, you may want to cover your home with a whole new system. Large or small, the experts at Island Audio Video are here with ongoing guidance and service to help make your new home smart and entertaining. —Linda H. Feaster

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ichael Pagnotta Architects are often called upon to design a big home on a small lot. Once the physical limitations are determined, it is good design that allows a house to live big on a small lot. One way to describe how this is accomplished is to document the experience of walking through the home from the ground up. There is no better place to start than our two-story reverse-living home on a tall piling foundation.

One of the first challenges to address in a small home is the importance to a client of their front door presence.

Some people want a strong sense of entry, while making a visual statement of who they are. Others prefer an understated entry where the front door may not be visible from the street. The choice directly affects the layout of the home. On a lot that is 50 feet or wider the entry could be on either end or in the center of a home. A 40-foot wide lot requires a side entry. For the home to be above the base flood elevation, the landing begins a half flight above grade. A short exterior stair leads to a covered porch and light-filled entry vestibule.

A switch back stair is often used in reverse living homes to make the vertical procession – the act of walking up or down stairs – as safe and pleasant as possible. Landings can be small and utilitarian or expanded to become charm filled spaces for reading or puzzle tables.

Elevators are included in most new homes; and in any case, accommodations for later installation are made when possible.

A reverse-living layout provides the best opportunity to take advantage of views. Stairs open to the view in spacious great rooms with soaring ceilings and natural light provided by large expanses of glass.

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Communal settings like eat-in kitchens, expandable dining spaces, and event-friendly gathering areas, centered around the fireplace or entertainment center are easily accommodated in great rooms and dens. Smaller spaces and intimate settings can be created in various locations having varying degrees of privacy. Reading nooks and dining booths are examples of these warm and fuzzy spaces.

Most small home bedrooms tend to be scaled down and rather unexciting – with bunk rooms being the exception! Here is where Michael Pagnotta Architects can express our creativity and provide some whimsical attitude to the night time storage of tired bodies.

The switch-back stair lends itself extremely well for roof deck access. Gone are clumsy spiral stairs and in their place is a safe and comfortable interior stair to an exterior landing. From there the fiberglass roof deck awaits, complete with electrical outlets and dramatic lighting.

Having a small lot doesn’t mean there is less demand for outdoor activities; it means being even more clever in the design of outdoor spaces. Pools are growing in demand as are other outdoor living areas such as screened porches, gas fire pits, covered shaded areas, and open-air grade level kitchens; and of course, these spaces need to be screened, buffered, and accented by lush, attractive, and indigenous landscaping. Toss in the outdoor shower and dressing area too. No problem. Michael Pagnotta Architects do it all the time – and with great success.

The secret to maximizing a small lot is spatial efficiency and that comes from good design. Good design begins with strong communication between client and architect in determining a hierarchy of functional needs before they are arranged within a given site. After that it’s the creative process that results in homes of many shapes and sizes.

How does one judge the success of a new beach home — especially one on a small lot? Only the end user can make that call. Does it facilitate living at the beach? Does it maximize space without making the site feel cramped? Is circulation through the home made easy and unencumbered; and is it attractive inside and out? Ultimately, does it meet the needs and expectations of the family who calls it their home? —Michael Pagnotta. Copyright John Martinelli Photography • JohnMartinelliPhotography.com

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very summer, pirates descend on the Loveladies home of artist Ardeth Schuyler.

Like all pirates, these mangy ruffians are in search of buried treasure.

Ardeth, their grandmother, has an annual treasure hunt for her special pirates Taegan, Madeleine, and Gabriel. Throughout the winter, she collects pirate treasure – jingly coins, necklaces, various trinkets, and toys – for the hunt. Other finds, such as a kite in the shape of a pirate ship, add to the décor.

The night before the hunt, Ardeth’s husband Marty secretly buries the treasure trove – which sometimes elicits looks of surprise from their neighbors. The next morning, dressed in their best pirate gear, Ardeth and Marty kick off the hunt. Ardeth reads from her scroll instructing the children, in rhyme, to grab their booty bags and put on their pirate rags. And though each year the clues are different, the first clue always rests with Pirate Petey, the family’s lovebird. One year the children might be told to find a “bag of pieces of eight” in Pirate Petey’s cage. Assembling the pieces of eight, also known as puzzle pieces, reveals the next clue. Like all good treasure hunts, each clue leads to another.

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A “flying bird that points, north, south, east, and west” turns out to be a weathervane. The clue to find “four light houses and six sailboats” leads to a nautical doormat. A rhyming clue “Achoo!

Achoo! Where are you, oh box of blue?” takes the pirates to a box of tissues. Following the clues, the scallywags stop and play Ardeth’s custom-made games like Pin the Tail on the Albatross, and a beanbag toss into the mouth of a pirate dog named Blackie.

After clues instruct the pirates to “walk the plank” and “give a yank”, they finally dig for treasure. Alas, when the sand is cleared away, the box contains only a note – someone has stolen the treasure and they must now dig in a different location. When the new spot is found, the children shovel sand until a curved brown chest finally appears. At last, the chest is opened, and the treasure revealed.

After taking some time to revel in their booty of toy cars, silly socks, and other gifts, the happy pirates enjoy a board game called Pirate Adventure featuring Ardeth’s hand painted canvas map of the Caribbean Islands and wooden boat game pieces previously decorated by the children.

Then it is time for the tired ruffians to sing pirate songs and dream about next year’s treasure hunt. —Photography and story by Devon Schuyler

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tlantiCare, a member of Geisinger, provides residents and visitors of Manahawkin with a variety of healthcare services housed in a state-ofthe-art health park. The health park offers pediatric, primary, specialty and urgent care services.

The AtlantiCare Health Park, Manahawkin Campus just off Route 72 includes a $25 million, 60,000 square foot main building. Specialty care services available

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on site include cardiac diagnostic testing, cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, OB/GYN, rheumatology, and the Rothman Institute at AtlantiCare. Surgical services featured include bariatric, breast reconstruction and surgery, colorectal, vascular, general surgery, and Jefferson Neurosurgery. The site also features Atlantic Medical Imaging, as well as a clinical laboratory, community pharmacy, and other services.

From the moment guests enter the building, technology helps to make the patient’s visit a breeze from beginning to end. Fingerprint/biometric kiosk scans are used for checking-in and confirming appointments, plus there is free Wi-Fi throughout the building.

The modern décor inside the building welcomes visitors with an open and airy entrance. A café and indoor tables as well as a courtyard garden add to the inviting

environment. Social spaces provide a living room atmosphere and include comfortable seating, tables with charging stations, and interactive play devices for children.

AtlantiCare strives to incorporate into its locations the flavor and culture that represent the communities in which it serves. The Manahawkin location is no exception. Through its healing arts program, AtlantiCare commissioned ninety pieces of art from local and regional artists that reflect the beach and nature theme of the area.

AtlantiCare remains committed to the people, neighborhoods, and health of Manahawkin.

For more information about the AtlantiCare Health Park Manahawkin Campus, visit www.manahawkinhealthpark.org or call 1-888-569-1000.

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he blast of an air horn and the pop of a champagne cork marked another achievement for the remodeling project at The Dutchman’s Brauhaus Restaurant.

Members of the Schmid family gathered on site for this remarkable event...the rolling of The Dutchman’s.

After months of preparation, on October 16, 2018, Atlantic Structure Movers successfully completed the second part of this phase with the moving of the largest section of The Dutchman’s.

Moved approximately sixty-feet – the 19,000 square foot structure now sits in the temporary staging area with The Quelle, where both sections will undergo extensive remodeling.

Previously in preparation of this move, The Dutchman’s Brauhaus Restaurant was reinforced, lifted from its foundation – where it had rested since 1963 – cut into two sections, and placed on a system of strategically placed wood blocks, rollers, and steel beams. The smaller section – The Quelle, was moved last summer.

As planned, over the winter of 2018, the existing substructure, including the 107-year-old wood pilings under the building, docking structures, and bulkheads were extracted. Installation of the new piling system is slated to begin in May. “We are using sustainable environmentally safe hardwood piles with a ten-inch concrete slab on the top,” explained Richard Otto Schmid.

“We worked hard throughout the fall to be able to dredge during the winter months,” said Schmid.

Despite the gains made, it was not possible to have the schedule changed. Dredging will start in June as originally planned.

The Quelle at The Dutchman’s Brauhaus Restaurant is scheduled to reopen in early 2020.

When the remodel of the recently moved main structure is completed, the sections of building will eventually be reunited. And, the iconic Dutchman’s Brauhaus Restaurant sign will be repurposed within the restaurant. The full scope of this extensive project will take The Dutchman’s into the future.

Since its inception in 1952, The Dutchman’s Brauhaus Restaurant has been family owned and operated, and an integral part of Long Beach Island lifestyle.

For more information visit thedutchmans.com/ about-us/remodeling —Susan Spicer-McGarry

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new sea glass record has been set. Never attempted before, the first-time record for The Most Genuine Sea Glass in a Pile by Weight was achieved at the 11th Annual Long Beach Island Sea Glass & Arts Festival 2018. The genuine sea glass of each participant was carefully placed into special individual bags, weighed by officials, and added to the pile. The official record setting total weight is 947.5 pounds!

Special thanks to John & Christine Novak, our volunteers, staff, and Sea Glass Record participants.

To see more photos on this and other festival events, follow us on Facebook @lbiseaglassfest

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hen it comes to finding sea glass, most people think of walking along the ocean. These smooth colorful glass gems have made their way into the hearts of many beachcombers. However, many sea glass collectors do not realize there are other places where nice and potentially rare pieces and unique treasures can be found.

Bays are quickly becoming popular places to beachcomb because they often lack the crowds of ocean beaches. The term beach glass is often used to describe naturally worn glass not found along ocean shores. Along with beach glass, a few centuries of treasures can be found bay side due to the long history of the use of waterways for trash disposal. Though no longer the practice, many rare and vintage finds remain hidden along the bay shores, slowly being revealed by wind, water, and time.

Because bays do not have rough waves like the ocean – much of the glass found there remains sharp. However, this is not the case

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for every bay. A common misconception among beachcombers is that it takes ten years for sea glass to reach a collectible state, but in truth it all depends on the beach. Bay beaches with many tiny pebbles and coarse sand often produce beach glass with fully rounded edges exactly like sea glass. Although, it can take much longer to reach this point because of the weaker waves. As a result, some bay beach glass will remain sharp no matter how long the piece stays in the water. Learning about the area where you are hunting can help determine if a bay beach might produce any rare finds.

Even if pieces are sharp, the type and age of glass found at a site can help determine the history of a location. For example, lavender glass can mean things found there may date back over one hundred years or more. Clear glass produced prior to the 1930s contained manganese, which if exposed to direct sunlight over many years can give the glass a lavender tint. While more modern clear glass, made with selenium, develops a pale yellow or champagne color.

Along with glass, other types of artifacts can also be found bay.

Prior to modern environmental laws, anything seen as trash could end up in the mud and sand of the bay, including old toys, ceramic figurines, coins, and bottles to name a few. These finds can also help to date a beach and determine the potential age of artifacts found there.

For example, a silver spoon dating prior to 1940 was found on Sunset Beach in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island.

This spoon was possibly lost in the storm of 1944 which wiped out a portion of that part of the island. Many people who scuba dive the bays of LBI have found whole bottles that date back to the 1800s.

Old lead toys and hand-poured decoy weights act as time capsules to simpler years. Such finds are a representation of the people who once lived in an area.

While holding them in your hand, you can’t help feeling like an archaeologist.

Whatever form your beach finds take, collect what makes you happy. Too many beachcombers get hung up on the idea of purity or perfection when it comes to glass and other finds. Each piece

found, no matter how old or weathered, holds the history of the beach. This, in the end, is the greatest treasure. —Photography, story, and all pieces featured found by Sara Caruso

Page 68 • Echoes of LBI

M

any of us have searched the beaches since childhood for treasures hidden in the sand. Shells, sea glass, and driftwood are among the favorites sought by beachcombers. One rare find that always captivates seekers – young and old – is the sand dollar. Beautiful gifts from the sea that enchant and fascinate, sand dollars can become the highlight of a beach hunt and a valued part of any collection. Delicate as they are, these simple sea creatures have quite a long legacy to share.

Commonly called sand dollars because of their resemblance to silver coins used in the past, they are also known as pansy shells for the flower-like star pattern on their upper surface. Sand dollars are technically a flatter form of sea urchin of the order Clypeasteroida.

An ancient animal, the first true sand dollars first appeared 6656 million years ago during the Paleocene and are currently found worldwide. Their flat structure enables them to burrow into the sand to escape predators.

Living sand dollars are usually a deep purple or pink in color and covered in fur-like cilia. Spines on their underside allow them to travel across the sea floor in search of plankton, crustacean larvae, algae, and detritus.

Like sea stars, this food is forced to the mouth located at the center of the sand dollar’s star-like grooved underside via tube feet called podia. The mouth apparatus, also known as Aristotle’s lantern, consists of tiny teeth-like structures arranged in a star-shaped section designed for grinding prey. When the dried endoskeleton of a dead sand dollar is broken open the tiny structures, resembling angels or butterflies, fall out.

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After a sand dollar dies, the cilia covering decomposes, and its pale gray endoskeleton is all that remains. This is when it should be collected from the beach. Most sand dollars are not bright white unless bleached artificially or by the sun. After death, the endoskeleton can absorb the color of the mud or sand in which it is buried. Because of this, gray, brown, and even dark black endoskeletons are possible. If you find one sand dollar you will likely find more in the same area because they live in large colonies.

Sometimes more than 600 individuals live in one square yard. As they live, grow, and die, sand dollars stack up on one another creating layers in the sea bed.

Like growth rings on a tree stump, the age of a sand dollar can be determined by counting the rings on the endoskeleton.

The growth plates extend outwards as the animal ages, which can be seen in the form or dark spots on the top of the shell surrounding the petal-like pores.

A sand dollar can live up to ten years.

Prior to the beach replenishment after Superstorm Sandy, sand dollars where rarely found on Long Beach Island. Today, sand dollars are emerging from the dredged-up sand and clay as it erodes back into the ocean.

The sand dollars of LBI tend to be fragile as they have been buried on the ocean floor for many years. As a result, the center often breaks, so finding a whole sand dollar is a real treasure.

But no matter where they are found, sand dollars are always a beachcomber’s delight. —Sara Caruso.

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“I

’m not sure if I’ll retire this year or not,” said Millie Hughes about her job with the Borough of Ship Bottom where she sells beach badges while attending the tennis courts. “I haven’t decided yet,” she said with a broadening smile. “I really enjoy it.”

At a time in life when most people are long retired, Millie pursues life with the energy of someone half her age. By the way, Millie is 98 years old.

“In the 1920s and early 1930s, my father and a friend frequently came to LBI to fish,” said Millie. Her parents, Fred and Freida Burfeind purchased a home is Surf City in 1934. While Millie’s Mother and her sister settled into year-round residency on LBI, Fred Burfeind continued to work as a silver chaser for Tiffany’s in Newark, New Jersey and became a weekend commuter. To attend school, Millie also remained in Belleville and traveled back and forth to LBI with her father.

The Island was very quiet in those days. Off season, there were few full-time residents. “There weren’t many places to shop,” recalled Millie. “We ordered groceries from Grey’s Market in Barnegat.”

Locally Millie’s family shopped at the Acme in Beach Haven and the drug store in Ship Bottom. “During the summer months the drug store became an A & P,” explained Millie.

Eventually, Millie stayed in Belleville for work. For a time, she worked in the gift-wrapping department at Bamberger’s. By 1940 she was employed at Ice Atlantic in Belleville. “I worked there until 1943. My department applied glaze on the spark plugs used by the government for airplanes,” she explained. While working there she met her future husband. Millie’s eyes sparkled as she spoke about Joe. “I brought him to LBI,” she said. “He fell in love – with the Island and me.”

During the last two years of WWII, Millie served in the United States Coast Guard. Stationed in New York, she was responsible for photographing and fingerprinting the crews of incoming foreign vessels from 1943 to 1945.

After finishing her obligation with the Coast Guard, Millie and Joe married on January 25, 1946 at Kynett United Methodist Church in Beach Haven. They rented their first home on 14th Street in Surf City. In 1955, they purchased a house in Beach Haven Terrace. Ten years later they bought their home in Ship Bottom where Millie still lives today. Joe went on to become the vice president of the Beach Haven Bank for twenty-seven years.

After working at the Ship Bottom 5 & 10 store for approximately eighteen-years, in 1972 Millie – with Joe’s help – opened High Tide Gem Shop on 23rd Street in Surf City. “We were the very first shop on LBI to offer ear-piercing,” said Millie. “I ran the jewelry shop. Joe made jewelry with the stones he tumbled and cut.” Millie went on to reminisce about the things Joe created and about rainy summer days when their shop filled with children.

On those days, Millie enjoyed teaching workshops. “I loved helping the children with their projects.” The shop was sold in 1982. Just two years later, Joe passed away.

Millie went on to work at The Shell Shanty in Beach Haven from 1985 to 1995.

Working with the national headquarters of the Girl Scouts of America in New York, Millie organized the first troop on LBI in 1955. After laying the groundwork, she attended monthly meetings in New York and brought the information back to share with fellow leaders. Eve Van Meter of Harvey Cedars, the late mother of Cheryl Van Meter Kirby, was very knowledgeable about plants and gardening. “In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Eve was instrumental in helping the girls earn many badges,” recalled Millie. “I was Cheryl’s Brownie and Girl Scout leader here on LBI.” She went on to describe the Girl Scouts annual closing ceremonies. “It was held on Dr. Gove’s Island in the bay at Brant Beach,” said Millie. “The girls were boated out to the island.” Because of Millie’s efforts the Girl Scouts on Long Beach Island were established.

In 2011, Millie was honored to share the title of Grand Marshall of the Ship Bottom Christmas Parade with her friend and fellow veteran, Beth Thomas.

Today, Millie is a member of the Order of the Evergreen – an alumnae group at the Jersey shore for retired Girl Scouts, leaders, and volunteers. Recently, she was presented with a pin in recognition of her 75 years of service.

As always, Millie’s service to others continues. She is a member of Soroptimists International of Long Beach Island and volunteers at Southern Ocean Medical Center – Hackensack Meridian Health in Manahawkin and local schools; additionally, she helps raise funds for local volunteer first aid squads.

At age 98, Millie Hughes is simply amazing.

—Diane Stulga. Photography supplied by Millie Burfeind-Hughes

Page 78 • Echoes of LBI

“S

he restored my faith in people,” said Joe Healy about Betty Sullivan. In June of 2016, after returning home from a day on the beach at 68th Street in Brant Beach Joe realized he had lost his gold Maltese cross. It had been a gift from his sister Patty the first Christmas after he joined the New York City Fire Department. Emblematic of firefighters everywhere, the Maltese cross is a symbol of strength, protection, loyalty, courage, and sacrifice. Retired since 2006, Joe had worn the cross, engraved with his firefighter badge number, for more than twentyone years. “We searched everywhere,” recalled Joe. “It was lost.”

In August of 2018, Joe’s wife Liz answered a phone call from Sergeant Michael Nash of the Ship Bottom Police Department.

“He asked if anyone in the family had lost anything,” recalled Liz. “We just looked at each other and said no,” said Joe. He went on to explain how the fleeting thought of a lost beach badge brought to mind something he had lost more than two years ago. “The officer on the phone overheard me mentioned to Liz the gold Maltese cross and chain I had lost in Brant Beach,” said Joe. “We were shocked when he said they had it.”

At the Ship Bottom police station Joe and Liz learned that his cross had been found Betty Sullivan of Brant Beach while metal Page 80 • Echoes of LBI

detecting in the 68th Street bay beach parking lot. Unable to successfully track the firefighter badge number, Betty brought the gold Maltese cross to the local police department. The badge number led them to Joe. “We were so surprised Betty had tried to find me,” Joe said with gratitude. “We wanted to meet her to thank her in person.”

Thinking back, Joe believes his Maltese cross may have fallen from the pocket of his beach chair in the bay beach parking lot.

During the two years that Joe’s cross laid there, the parking lot was refurbished. Remarkably, it survived hidden under the new layer of gravel until it was unearthed by Betty.

After retiring from the New York City Fire Department, Joe and Liz relocated their family to Manahawkin. Sons Jack and Paul are involved in township municipal sports. Both are students at Southern Regional High School where Jack plays volley ball and Paul is a member of the marching band and jazz band.

Time is a gift promised to no one, as Joe knows only too well from his career as a firefighter. Having served his community for more than twenty-one years, Joe says he is grateful for every day spent with Liz and their sons. “I haven’t missed a single game or concert.”

F

or more than thirty-five years Betty Sullivan of Ship Bottom, New Jersey has enjoyed the hobby and sport of metal detecting. She is a member of the Mid-Jersey Research & Recovery Metal Detecting Club and the South Jersey Metal Detecting Club. Periodically, clubs host treasure hunts in which participants search for silver coins or tokens that are hidden for the events.

Often the hunts are a competitive team sport with prizes awarded. Betty has participated in hunts in Atlantic City, Virginia, and New Hampshire.

Over the years, she has won seven metal detectors – earning her the nickname “Lucky” from her team mates.

Despite her nickname, not every outing produces treasures. “I went to Seaside after a nor’easter and didn’t find anything,” recounted Betty without a hint of disappointment.

“Each time out is a wonderful experience. It’s fun and it is a passion I’ve enjoyed for decades.”

Although it can be hit or miss, thirty-five years of metal detecting has turned up a bounty of finds.

Among the countless items Betty has unearthed over the years, a few of the more memorable include a hockey championship ring and a nurse’s ring.

Frequently, on the off-chance an item she found was reported as lost, Betty contacts the local police department.

Some of the things Betty finds have been lost for years. But not always.

Last summer while using her metal detector on the beach a young couple enlisted Betty’s help to find their lost car key fob. Using her metal detector in the area where their child had been playing, Betty soon found the key fob in the sand.

In addition to the thrill of finding treasure, Betty finds metal detecting to be personally gratifying. Recently, after contacting the Surf City police about a wedding band she found on the beach, Betty had the opportunity to meet the owner and his young son when they came to claim the ring. When Betty asked the little boy if he was happy she had found his daddy’s ring, he gushed. “My Mom is the happiest of us all.”

On a hot afternoon in June 2018, after a less than successful morning of metal detecting in Beach Haven, Betty decided to try her luck in Brant Beach at the 68th Street bay beach parking lot. Walking the parking lot with her metal detector, it wasn’t long before Betty heard that familiar signal. As she scraped away the new gravel that had been laid down when the parking lot was recently refurbished, “I got another signal,” recalled Betty. “I thought it was a piece of gold chain.” Further investigation revealed the gold chain was attached to a beautiful gold Maltese cross – a fireman’s shield pendant. Realizing the numbers engraved on the back of the pendant were most likely a fireman’s badge number, Betty telephoned her nephew Mike. She went on to explain, “Mike contacted his friend who is a firefighter. I hoped we would be able to track down the owner.” In the interim, Betty reported her find to the Ship Bottom Police Department.

Twenty-four hours later the police department had good news for Betty.

Using the badge number on the cross, they had found and notified the owner – firefighter Joe Healy.

Joe Healy, a veteran of the New York City Fire Department, had lost his gold Maltese cross in August of 2016 after a day on the beach. He had served for twenty-one years as a firefighter. Now retired, Healy and his family live in Manahawkin, New Jersey. Somehow, his gold Maltese cross had survived for more than two years in the parking lot – it even withstood the refurbishing of the lot.

“Joe’s wife Liz called me,” said Betty.

“She thanked me for finding his cross and for my honesty.” Eventually, Joe and Liz met with Betty to express their gratitude. Joe presented Betty with a New York Fire Department shirt.

The thrill of the hunt and finding treasure is only a part of what Betty loves about her hobby. For her, the human connection made when returning a treasure to its owner is priceless. According to Betty Sullivan, “The greatest treasures found are the friendships made.” —Stories on these pages by Diane Stulga. Photography

by Denis Kirby

“I

’m the fourth Frederick,” said Rick Baldt as he explained an enduring family tradition.” His name Rick is derived from Frederick as is his daughter’s name Erika. Together they carry on the name of Rick’s great grandfather, genius, inventor, and steel industry visionary Frederick Baldt.

“He was the most sought-after man in the world by the developing steel trade. He invented bigger, faster casting methods that revolutionized the industry,” said Rick of his namesake. “He was a true genius.”

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1841, Frederick Baldt rose to superstar status in the steel industry at an early age — eventually holding several U.S. and Canadian patents including the Baldt Stockless Anchor. Marketed under the logo “When all else fails — they hold”, today it remains the gold-standard for ships moorings. Baldt produced DiLok marine chain, the first 6-inch high pressure-rifled cannon and invented the box wheel system for railroad cars. He was integral in the development and growth of steel manufacturing in the United

States. “He was known in the industry as Vulcan Baldt with good reason,” said Rick.

Between 1871 and 1896 Baldt founded no less than five steel production companies including Eureka Cast Steel Company of Chester, and Baldt Steel. Formed in 1901, the Baldt Anchor Corporation was renamed Baldt Anchor, Chain and Forge Corporation in 1926 and remained in business under various names and owners until 1975. “He had the reputation of being a hardworking, very proper, staunch gentleman,” reflected Rick. Nearly a century later, the inventions and innovations of Frederick Baldt are still in use. Massive Baldt mooring systems are used to stabilize offshore rigs and his anchors and chains secure ships of the U.S. Navy.

The legacy of the Baldt anchor continues in Rick’s life as well. Its serendipitous presence in miniature form had a role in the decision of Rick and his wife Beth to make the 175-year-old life-saving station in Ship Bottom their home.

While looking at the property they stumbled across an old lamp made from a rare salesman’s sample size Baldt anchor. “It felt like a sign that we were in the right place,” Rick recalled. “It was like we just needed one more Baldt anchor and all would be right with the world.”

Since its purchase in 2015, the building has undergone substantial renovations. “Most recently, we’ve replaced thirtytwo windows, installed a new duel zone HVAC system, and repaired and remodeled the three bathrooms,” he explained.

“I anticipate replacing the side porch next because it’s run out of wood for me to sink nails into.”

Ricks memories of LBI span every decade of his life. “I’ve been coming to LBI for sixty-six years,” he said. “I have fantastic memories of the Surf City Hotel when Leroy Lewis played the Wurlitzer [organ] and of Kubel’s in Barnegat Light. When it was closing time — no one wanted to leave.” Days were spent on the beach and in the water. “I was the best bodysurfer on the beach Page 84 • Echoes of LBI

then, and I’m still the best. Well...in my mind,” declared Rick with a laugh.

Over the years, with an enduring sense of permanence, Rick and Beth brought their daughters Erika, Jessi, and Amanda to LBI. “We brought them here throughout their lives,” said Rick. “Family, that’s what it’s all about.” Today, their grandchildren spend time at the Baldt’s home in the old Ship Bottom life-saving station.

“Having them run through the house...well...it’s something else,” chuckled Rick.

Unlike the ship anchors created

by Frederick Baldt, not all Baldt anchors are made of steel.

Inspired by the symbolism of an anchor as a family insignia, in 2010 Rick’s daughters Erika Baldt and Jessi LaGrou had a small Baldt anchor tattooed on the inside of their left wrist. “I thought it was amazing,” said Rick. Now, like his daughters, Rick’s left wrist bears the same permanent insignia.

—Susan Spicer-McGarry. Photography supplied by Rick Baldt.

M

y heart was failing for the second time in my life. The first time, at the age of thirty-nine, I narrowly escaped death and loved to tell the story of how I survived a condition that defied all medical odds. Not only had I survived, I experienced a complete medically inexplicable healing of my heart and other organs. I believe it was a miracle.

Shortly after my recovery, I was hired as a high school teacher. My supervisor had a tough exterior but eventually revealed a more peaceful and loving interior.

Ten years later I lay in Cardiac Critical Intensive Care, hovering between life and death. The prayers, and good wishes of multitudes of family and friends combined with my strong faith, gave me hope. The doctors had been keeping me alive artificially one day at a time, and those days were running out. I needed a new heart. I had been placed at the top of the transplant list, a 1A, but based on the particulars of my medical condition, the chance of my receiving a matching heart was about “one in a million…like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“But one in a million can happen,” I pressed the doctors, “I mean sometimes needles are found in haystacks. Right?”

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“Yes,” they answered and smiled. My broken heart flooded with hope.

I felt like a pin cushion stuck through with multiple IV’s, and various wires, one of which snaked up through my inner right thigh into my heart where a balloon was inflated and deflated by a machine at the foot of my bed. It heaved and sighed in a reassuring rhythm. I could move my arms a bit save for the pinches and pulls, but not my leg.

I had been gravely ill since May and it was now late August. My initial plan of recovering in time to return to my classroom in September had vanished. My heart had completely given out, and I struggled to remember not to move my right leg lest I crimp the slender tube carrying air to the balloon. Acutely aware of the seriousness of my condition, I continued to hope, pray, and prepare myself for death.

Attempting to make the best of my situation, and though exhausted by speaking, I began to engage everyone who came into my room – doctors, nurses, food service staff, and custodians. I genuinely wanted to know how their lives were going. It brought me tremendous peace as the seconds, minutes, and hours passed to

the pulse of the beeping and swishing machines that surrounded me.

At one point, I was seized by an intense craving for fried chicken, as well as a powerful desire to see certain people – one of whom was my supervisor Barbara from the high school where I was employed – a highly intelligent and difficult woman. She had been both my harshest critic and my greatest cheerleader. Her unrelenting criticism, both positive and negative, had helped me grow into my potential as a teacher. I wanted desperately to thank her for believing in me, and for caring enough to challenge me.

My teacher friends were eager to visit, and I implored them to bring Barbara along. When they arrived in the CCICU, I recognized the same nervousness I had seen in all my visitors. I was gravely ill, and while a sense of peace and ease surrounded me, my friends were shocked by my condition. As they stood at my bedside looking over me, I couldn’t help but notice Barbara was holding a small jewelry box. I thought to myself, wow, she brought me a gift! I wonder what it is?

As usual, she monopolized the conversation – bemoaning the state of education today and the inherent challenges to her effectiveness especially when working alongside imbeciles. I felt proud when the head of the transplant team, a brilliant and personable man, came in for a visit and the two of them hit it off.

My surgeon was the president of his local board of education. Their conversation was lively and stimulating, but I was becoming increasingly fatigued. My gaze fell on the small white box in her gesticulating hand.

I had begun to wonder if it was for me.

Finally, I couldn't stand the suspense any longer and asked what was in the box.

“Oh, that’s for you,” she said and proceeded to explain her gift before placing it in my puppet-like hand. “A few days ago, I was walking the beach along the water’s edge while talking on the phone with our new principal. I was telling him about you when I happened to look down and a perfect sand dollar floated to the surface of the water at my feet. As I bent down to pick it up, I thought to myself, this is for Marie.”

She handed me the box. Inside was the perfect sand dollar. “Do you know the legend of the sand dollar?” asked Barbara.

When I responded that I had a vague recollection, she suggested I look it up on the internet. Just then the nurse came in to tell everyone it was time to leave.

As they turned to go, one of them asked if there was anything I needed or wanted. “Actually, yes,” I responded. “I have been craving fried chicken.”

As soon as they left, I pulled my laptop to my chest just beneath my chin and typed “sand dollar legend” in the Google search bar, and up popped several options. The first one explained how the markings on both sides of a sand dollar illustrate the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But there was one entry I couldn’t ignore, “The Legend of the Sand Dollar a beautiful video – Must see!” I clicked on the link and remained transfixed as the legend scrolled down the screen accompanied by soothing background music. At the end, the poem was signed, “Peace, Love, and Greasy Fried Chicken!”

At that moment, I began to cry. I was certain it was an affirmation – a sign. I felt more assured.

The next day, as I continued to make my craving known to both staff and visitors, offers began pouring in, but the staff warned my friends and family not to leave the grounds of the hospital.

The local restaurants were within gangcontrolled territories and much too dangerous. My nurses assured me even they didn’t dare.

When the weekend shift arrived, I received amazing news. I would have my fried chicken! A hospital aide from the neighborhood would go out that night during her break and get us a bucket.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to eat fried chicken?”

“Honey,” the nurse replied, “Your heart is so beat nothing can make it any worse than it already is,” and off she went to arrange for the bucket of contraband. A few hours later, I gratefully sunk my teeth into the most succulent fried chicken I have ever tasted.

The next day I was moved with all my attached equipment to a different floor.

This is where I would wait, and in the meantime, prepare by enduring multiple painful procedures in case a matching heart became available. If I didn’t receive a heart within the next few days, there was no chance for my survival. Although I knew the outcome was not in my hands, I prayed I would get a heart for all the people who had sent well wishes, prayers, and stood by me during my lengthy illness. It was August 29th.

On August 31st, at 10 a.m., I became the grateful recipient of a donor heart. The doctor’s said it was a perfect match – a one in a million heart. Something that happens once in a blue moon – and it was a blue moon!

“Next time,” I replied wistfully.

I returned to teaching the following September, and just a few weeks into the school year, my supervisor showed up at my classroom door with something wrapped in a plastic grocery bag.

“This is for you,” she said, and discreetly handed me the bag. “It belonged to my mother – one of the few things I have of hers. It’s yours.” Inside the bag was a beautiful framed print of the Legend of the Sand Dollar. Today it hangs in my home office.

“Next time,” Anita echoed.

Peace, love, and greasy fried chicken. —Marie O’Hara

“Oh, I wish I had known,” said Anita, “I definitely would have brought you some.”

A

friend recently told me that I'm living proof you can go home again. So far, after a couple months back in South Jersey, I'm happy to report she may be right.

Born in Camden in the shadow of Walt Whitman's grave, raised in a pregentrified Collingswood with summers on LBI and fishing from my uncle's garvey out of Waretown, a graduate of Stockton State College before it was a university, I shook the sand out of my shoes and left Surf City in September of 1975 for Manhattan and never looked back.

Forty-five years later, with extended stops in Los Angeles; the Twin Cities; Taos, New Mexico; Denver and the mountains of Colorado, twice, my wife and I have returned to what I like to call my ancestral homeland, to see what this once-familiar place still holds.

As it's turning out – quite a lot.

Not that we didn't enjoy the natural beauty of living in those far-

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flung locales; the friends we made along the way, the adventures we had, and the work we did. But were any of those places we lived and called home ever truly home? And did I even give any of that a second thought when at twenty-four I'd just set sail on what appeared to be an endless sea?

As a writer and marketer, I've been fortunate to have found career opportunities beyond this place, connections which didn't exist here at that time, openings elsewhere which gave my destiny-shaping wanderlust free rein. And sure, there was a price to pay, a line to join where I'd start closer to the end than the beginning. The new kid in town; not a local, not a native, the transplant, just a guy passing through.

But pretty much every time the dice were offered, I rolled them, which rolled me further and further from this place I was from.

—Photography and story by Andrew Flack

M

ay 7, 2019 will mark the 30th Anniversary of the dedication of the building that is home to the Long Beach Island Branch of the Ocean County Library. It’s easy to think that this solid edifice has always been there, that library services to the Island were born there, and even that it was always assumed a library for the community would exist.

However, the history of the Long Beach Island Library reveals a different story.

The Ocean County Library, whose headquarters are in the County seat of Toms River, was founded in September 1925. Books were provided to library stations – farmhouses, private homes, firehouses, stores, and bars – around the County. Beach Haven had opened its municipal library in 1924 but did not join the Page 90 • Echoes of LBI

Ocean County Library. The rest of Long Beach Island’s community was served by the library stations via generous neighbors such as Mary and Al Houghton in their clam bar in Harvey Cedars, and Mabel Butler in her home in Barnegat Light.

This system, however, became impractical as more and more vacationers discovered LBI. So, in the summer of 1949, the Ocean County Library began sending a panel truck specially outfitted with shelves for books.

This early bookmobile service, despite its irregular schedule, became very popular on the Island, and requests for year-round service began coming in. In 1951, the bookmobile began monthly trips in winter, and weekly trips in summer to Long Beach Island, and, by 1953, was circulating an average of 1,000 books per trip. With the growth of

Ocean County came an increased demand for library services, and one bookmobile became two with trips every other week in the winter, and three days a week in summer.

Eventually, it became apparent that there needed to be a permanent location for a library on LBI. In response, in 1956 the Rotary Club and Long Beach Township worked together to provide a 20 by 20 foot room in the township building, and Long Beach Island became the first permanent branch of the Ocean County Library. There, Island residents and visitors had access to over 3500 books one day a week in winter and every day but Sunday in the summer. They could also request additional titles from the library’s headquarters.

But the little library became a victim of its own success and the growth of Long Beach Island. The 400 square foot room was inadequate for the recommended collection of 10,000 to 15,000 books, and too small to provide tables and chairs. In addition, the Township was growing, and in December of 1958, Miriam Evans, Director of the Ocean County Library, was informed the Township offices now needed the room for expansion. Faced with losing their library, and probably returning to bookmobile service, a core group of friends mobilized to find a permanent home for the Island library.

This remarkable group of volunteers became the charter members of the Friends of the Island Library. They obtained a one-year extension to continue using the room in the township building.

Remarkably, during that one year they found land, obtained donations of money and materials, and recruited volunteers to build the first Island library located on West 16th Street in Ship Bottom. It was a true community effort, even down to the day that the books were moved in to the new library building by students and volunteers on December 28, 1959. More than 200 people

attended the open house gala on January 16, 1960.

Within ten years, this library facility was outgrown as well. As those years passed, the building had come to house a collection of 20,000 volumes, nearly double that for which it was designed.

The surrounding neighborhood had developed, leaving no room for expansion of the building. The Friends of the Island Library had assumed the responsibility for maintaining library services for the Island and, therefore, felt it was incumbent upon them to find larger quarters.

It is here the story of the Long Beach Island Library on Central Avenue in Surf City begins. However, this time the challenge went beyond uniting the community, or finding eligible locations, for those already existed. This was a challenge of finding the right advocates and negotiating Ocean County Library policy to get the library that the Long Beach Island community needed and wanted.

To learn about the dedicated people who became the first Friends of the Island Library, their endeavors to build the first library building, and the saga of obtaining the building we know today as the Long Beach Island Library, join the Friends at the 30th anniversary party at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at the Long Beach Island Library, 217 S. Central Avenue, Surf City.

Speaker, Linda Feaster will delve further into the history, showing photographs that will inspire a greater appreciation of the library and those who made it their mission to bring and keep it here.

The book, The Best of Friends, written by Linda Feaster and Barbara Jaskowloski, gives the full story of the Friends of the Island Library.

It is available at the Long Beach Island Branch of the Ocean County Library, proceeds benefit the Friends. —Linda H. Feaster, Branch Manager, Ocean County Library, Long Beach Island

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ike many houses built by M. L. Shapiro, in 1968 our new house in Holgate came complete with a gas lamp post in the front yard and a gas grill in the back. For our family, that gas lamp post became the natural place for taking photographs and decorating for holidays and special events. Every spring, flowers – mostly red geraniums – were planted around its base. Of course, for the 4th of July the gas lamp post was adorned in red, white, and blue.

Every July, a group of family friends visited our house in Holgate.

Over the years, what started out as a weekend stay grew to be Page 92 • Echoes of LBI

a gathering that extended over several days. For everyone, the highlight of that visit was Mom and Dad’s annual summer party.

Each year their party had a different theme. One year the theme was Halloween, another year it was Christmas. Whatever the theme – the gas lamp was decorated accordingly.

Super Storm Sandy tried to bring the gas light to its demise. But it survived to remain the source of many fond memories. These days, the fifty-one year old gas lamp remains lit from spring through the end of summer in memory of Grandma, Mom and Dad. With special recognition to Ralph Garlick, Dad (not pictured).

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n 1968 Dad decided to buy a beach house on Long Beach Island.

In the past, our family had always summered in Wildwood, but LBI was where we could get a new house near the beach and bay.

The front porch of our beach house in Holgate was open aired with a roof. It was the perfect place for a wooden porch swing. Grandma often accompanied us to the shore, where she loved spending time swinging on the front porch.

Over time, many visitors enjoyed the summer breeze from that special seat. After about ten years or so the entire porch was enclosed with walls and fifteen windows. But the wooden swing remained.

For years, the swing continued to be the focal point of many gatherings.

Eventually, more dining space was needed, and the wooden swing was taken down, but the front porch remained a gathering place for family, neighbors, and friends.

The wooden porch swing is missed. And though it’s gone the memories remain. I can still see Grandma – sitting on the front porch wearing her straw hat – swinging with a friend or two by her side. —Photography and stories on these pages by Claire Lecuona

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ogophile – log·o·​phile (lȯ´gə fīl´), n. a lover of words. If you are a frequent visitor to the Beach Haven Library or LBI Branch of the Ocean County Library – you might be a logophile – a lover words. Undeniably, one of the most recognizable local logophiles, was Marden Dahlstadt, an accomplished poet, writer, and librarian at the Beach Haven School library and the public library. Marden’s students benefitted from her enthusiasm for books. She showed them how books opened their world to new ideas and adventures. And she taught them to use library resources to find answers to all their questions.

Marden is fondly remembered by many. “How could anyone forget Mrs. Dahlstedt?,” said Sherry Johnson of Beach Haven.

Born in 1921, Marden attended Pennsylvania College for Women at a time when career choices for women were generally limited to nursing or teaching. She graduated in 1942 with a master’s in education, and later earned a master’s in library science.

Though Marden and her husband, Dick Dahlstadt, were from the suburbs of Pittsburgh, each had early ties to Long Beach Island. As a child, Marden had joined a friend for vacations on the Island and Dick’s family had rented a house on the beach near St. Francis. When Dick became ill in 1968, they moved to LBI, a place both remembered fondly.

Eventually, Marden and Dick opened a gift shop, which morphed into an antique store. The Attic, at 2107 Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City, was known by its iconic outdoor sign – a large flying pig.

By this time, Marden was a well-established poet with active membership in the prestigious New England Poetry Club, founded by Robert Frost in 1915, and the publication of her poem, The Hunt by the Beloit Poetry Journal. But her first year on LBI was very lonely and she realized she needed to write even more. During the winter, when the gift shop was closed, she would retreat to the attic with her beloved dog Sam to write.

Marden’s books were based on what she knew best and personal experiences. She wrote for children between eight and twelve years old; an age when independent reading begins.

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Shadow of the Lighthouse was based on LBI and set in the 1840s.

Inspired by Horace Sprague, Marden added his tale of the Imperatrice Elizabetta that wrecked off the shores of LBI in 1869 with a cargo of one-hundred cases of prunes.

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The Terrible Wave is a story about the Johnstown flood of 1889 which affected Marden’s family. Some of the characters were based on friends from LBI.

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The Stopping Place was sparked by a Jam for Sale sign that led Marden to a cabin the Pine Barrens. Interestingly, the woman she met at that cabin was Barnegat librarian Jean Vogrin.

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In 1977, Marden became the librarian for the Beach Haven Public Library. She arrived with a vision to expand it into a community gathering place. Her plan instituted community events and special services. Marden drove to the New Jersey State Library in Trenton to pick-up books that were not available locally for clients. Books were delivered to those who were unable to visit the library, and the library catalogue was greatly expanded.

Former Beach Haven Mayor Watson Pharo credited Marden with making the library a part of continuing education for the community. In his tribute to Marden, John Lloyd Bailey referred to the Beach Haven Public Library as her monument. Others, like Mike McMann have more simplistic memories. “She read her books to the children and loved how much they enjoyed the stories.”

Words, however, were not Marden’s only passion. She also loved her adopted home – Long Beach Island. She believed the history of LBI needed to be preserved. Marden, along with other like-minded citizens founded the Long Beach Island Historical Association.

Though Marden Dahlstadt passed away on Christmas 1983, her impact on her beloved island community is still evident today. Her books, poetry, visionary plan for the library, and determination to preserve the treasured history of the Island were precious contributions.

Perhaps, though, Marden’s most important contribution was that some of her students became logophiles – lovers of words – as she truly was. —Pat Dagnall and Ellen Hammonds. Echoes of LBI would like to thank Ellen Irwin for sharing the story of her parents.

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t was 1929 - the beginning of the Great Depression. I was about four-years old.

My siblings were ages two, five and eight. I remember we left Massachusetts with our Mom and Dad and traveled into New York State, arriving in time to pick apples. We made this trip in a Model-T Ford. Mom sold her coat for fifty-cents which was the cost of the toll to travel through the Holland Tunnel. The trip moved slowly as the top speed for cars back then was 30 or 35 miles per hour.

We also stopped wherever we could find work – mostly picking crops – to earn a few pennies. At one stop we were allowed to pick up peaches that had fallen to the ground. We couldn’t take them across the state line. So, we ate them right then and there. Life was a struggle back then.

At night we pitched a tent and slept along the roadside. We were on our way to Florida in search of work. But we were not able to find work there, and soon we were on our way back to Massachusetts. Before leaving Pensacola, Florida, Mom gave birth to our baby brother. He was born in our tent. On the way back to Massachusetts

our car broke down in Manahawkin, New Jersey, so it was here that we stayed. We pitched our tent in a field on Route 9 and became squatters. The field where we lived is now the ball field across from the Oxycocus School.

Our next move was to a little cottage in Barnegat on Route 9. The cottage is still there. However, it is a produce stand now.

Two of my siblings and I were of school age. We walked to school on Birdsall Street – which was just under two miles – one way. The schoolhouse is now the Barnegat firehouse. We weren’t at this location for long when we moved back to Manahawkin to a house on Bay Avenue.

From there we moved to a farm on Parker Street. It was known as Gill’s Crossing.

We used the chicken coop in the back as a playhouse. The house is no longer there.

The train crossed the street here and went along to the Manahawkin Station by the schoolhouse. The train station has been moved and restored and is now a museum at Heritage Park.

All the homes we lived in had no facilities.

No electric, running water or inside bathroom. We grew up with kerosene lamps, a hand pump for water, and a path to the toilet. Wood burning stoves, a black kitchen range, and a parlor stove were the only sources of heat. The bedrooms were unheated. The stoves used a lot of wood.

So, our Dad would go into the swamp and cut wood. My older sibling would help him stack the wood in the wood box behind each stove.

We walked to school along the railroad tracks. There was an area we called Saw Dust Alley where the road there was covered with sawdust. It was a favorite place to check out on the way home from school.

The fields and woods had an abundance of huckleberries. My siblings and I picked them and sold them along the roadside. We also picked blackberries. Some of these were canned and some were sold. Blackberries were ten cents and huckleberries were twenty-five cents a quart.

Mom did our laundry outside on a scrubbing board in a galvanized wash tub.

We helped pump the wash water. Our yard was our clothes dryer. In the winter she did the wash in the kitchen.

Our shoes and clothes were always handme-downs. Mom had a treadle sewing machine. She would remake the clothes to fit us. She was so handy at making do.

I surely learned a lesson or two from her throughout the years.

In the summer we walked to Manahawkin Lake, which is now A. Paul King Park.

We learned to swim there. We all wore homemade bathing suits that stretched down past our knees when they got wet. In the winter we went ice-skating on the other side of the lake.

We always had a Christmas tree.

Mostly, our ornaments were handmade. No matter how humble or plain, the excitement and anticipation were always high.

We got used toys and maybe a small new item. For Christmas, Mom always made something new for our dolls. All my dolls had been loved before, so I was a foster mom to them. We helped make holiday wreaths from grape vines and sprays of holly. We went around town selling the homemade wreaths for fifty-cents each. We did pretty well. Dr. Hilliard gave us a box of chocolates and some fruit to share. He was a godly man. Dad worked around the grounds and flowerbeds of Dr. Hilliard’s home.

There were no craft stores back then. But in those days, Sears and Roebuck mailed out a sample wallpaper book. It became our crafts. We made paste from flour and water.

We made chains for the Christmas tree, Valentines, and dresses for our paper dolls.

On Sundays, dressed in our best clothes with a penny for the collection – if we had one – we walked to church on Stafford Avenue. I learned of Jesus early. When I was hurt, or something just wasn’t right I would lean on him to make it better.

Through the many trials and tribulations of my life I have always trusted in my faith.

list of clothing items needed and her order would be filled there.

We were surrounded by nature. Sometimes, Mom would take walks with us. She taught us the names of the wildflowers and showed us teaberries. One of the nicest gifts from nature was to hear the Whip-poor-will bird sing at dusk. If we were still outside when it started to sing, we knew it was time to head home for the night. The 8 pm train whistle signaled it was time for bed.

While living in Cedar Run, every year on October 12th we went to Cedar Run Bog to pick cranberries. I loved to do this. Many years later I passed my love of cranberries on to my family. Over the years, I received quite a few ribbons from the Chatsworth Cranberry Festival for my entries of baked goods, food, and various crafts.

When I was seven-years old my little brother died. He was just three-years old. Shortly after that, in 1937 our house burned to the ground. Two of our

We again moved to Manahawkin on Stafford Avenue to the Calvary Cottage, which is still there. It is in between the Methodist Church and what was the town hall. I attended Tuckerton High School.

My heart will always belong to Manahawkin where the years of my youth were spent.

neighboring families took us in for a while.

The townspeople helped with a rental house, some furnishings, clothing, and other small things.

Next, we moved to Cedar Run on Oak Avenue. The house is no longer there. Now the walk was much longer to Manahawkin for our groceries. During these years, the WPA [the Work Progress Administration] came into existence. Dad now had a job.

When we had money or relief orders [food stamps] Mom would take the wooden wagon and all of us to the American Store on the corner of Stafford Avenue and Route 9. Occasionally, she bought a roll of Necco Wafers – multi flavored candy wafers about the size of a nickel. They were easy to share.

The little schoolhouse, which is now part of the Cedar Run Church, was a sewing factory at that time. Mom would make a

During the 1940s I worked at the Beach Haven laundromat and at Fort Dix. After it opened in the mid 1940s, I was a seamstress at the Barnegat Sewing Factory. At first, we made dolls. Later, we made clothes. I taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir, was an usher, and a greeter.

My brother-in-law and I started the first Boy Scout den in Barnegat.

My oldest son Allen was a Boy Scout. He went on to receive the God and Country Award from our church. This is a very special award received by only a few scouts. My younger son Tom worked in the mission field from 1977-1988. He met his wife Mary there. They did missionary work in Texas and Brazil. I was a member of the Women’s Society of Christian Services and served as secretary. I also made many dinners for the covered dish suppers at our church.

Born in 1925, Dorothy West Thompson has lived in Barnegat, New Jersey for more than sixty-three years. In 1999, Dorothy wrote a personal memoir documenting her family’s journey through the Great Depression to share with her younger sister Ethel. —Dorothy West Thompson as told to Diane Stulga. Photography supplied by Dorothy West Thompson

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ast summer, Nicole Tesoroni, assistant nurse manager of Hackensack Meridian Health Southern Ocean Medical Center rescued Bo, a Jack Russell terrier and her patient’s lifelong buddy and best friend, from the animal shelter one week before his ill-fated demise.

Nicole and the nurses brought Bo to the patient’s bed where he surprised his owner with wet kisses.

Linda Geary, RN was caring for a patient who was about to start chemotherapy and didn’t have enough money for hearing aids and cancer treatment and had to choose between the two. Linda brought in hearing aids she had from her grandfather and gave them to the patient with the hope they would be of use. The patient was so grateful.

These small acts of kindness embody the nursing team at Southern Ocean Medical Center who are inspired every day to do their best to care for the Southern Ocean community with compassion and empathy.

“As chief nursing Officer, one of the most outstanding characteristics at Southern Ocean Medical Center is the vested interest the nurses have in the community in which they live and work,” said Micki Patrick, MSN, RN, NEA-BC. “Every day I hear of nurses going above and beyond to make patients feel special, and no matter how difficult a day may get, they never forget why they became a nurse.”

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In 2017, Southern Ocean Medical Center achieved Magnet® recognition the highest national honor awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for nursing practice, quality, and safety in patient care. This distinguished honor is evidence of the dedicated and compassionate caregivers who are at the core of the medical center’s success. Of the registered nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center, 68 percent are certified in their specialty which demonstrates the unique importance that nurses place on advancing their skill and knowledge toward a path of continuous improvement.

Under the leadership of Chief Hospital Executive Regina Foley, Ph.D., MBA, RN, nurses are empowered to do the right thing for patients and their families.

They are surrounded by the support of managers who believe in and demonstrate every day the heart and soul of nursing – care and compassion. “When one of our team members reaches out for support, we are there for one another to do whatever we have the power to do to make it right,” says Ms. Foley.

At the very heart of nursing is the relationship the nurse develops with patients and their families. Of the many nursing specialties, oncology nurses play a significant role in supporting and interacting with the patient and caregivers throughout their cancer journey.

Patients treated by the multidisciplinary team in the new Cancer Center at Southern Ocean Medical Center receive comprehensive infusion and radiation oncology services in one convenient location.

The nurses and nurse navigators guide patients and their families every step of the way, from the stress of diagnosis and treatment, to the anxieties of many uncertainties, including mortality.

These nurses are dedicated to their patients and are committed to excellence. In fact, 92 percent of oncology nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center are certified in their specialty.

Robert Powell (front) and pilot Jim Lonergan (rear) take an aerial tour of Barnegat Light and the New Jersey shoreline in the antique biplane Cannibal Queen. Photography by Ryan Paul Marchese.

Biplane Rides Over New Jersey (800) 247-2371 • BiplaneRidesOverNJ.com Ocean County Airport 101 Airport Road Berkeley Township, NJ 08721 Page 100 • Echoes of LBI

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n a cold and stormy morning in February 1963, Marion Larson was in the kitchen of her 12th Street cottage in Barnegat Light making breakfast for her five children before they went off to school. Captain John Larson was still upstairs getting ready for the day.

The radio was on, filling the room with news from New York to go with the aromas emanating from the stovetop. The routine of a normal morning was upended when local news came over the radio. “Two ships aground off Barnegat Light,” the announcer said.

“I ran up the stairs and looked out the bathroom window,” Marion recounted as vividly fifty-five years later as the day it happened. “All those houses [toward the beach] weren’t built then. I yelled to John, he was still in the bedroom, ‘John, there’re two wrecks right out here on the beach!’ He jumped up and ran up to the attic to get a better view.”

Seven-year-old Karen Larson and the rest of the kids in the kitchen wouldn’t miss out on the excitement. “All the kids ran after

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Dad,” recalled Karen. “We were all trying to peer out these two little windows on the third floor. And as we finally got our eyes close to the window, Dad ran back down the steps.” Captain Larson was already heading out the door to the Independent Docks on 18th Street and his excursion boat, the 58-foot original Miss Barnegat Light.

Earlier on the morning of February 12, 1963, the 95-foot Sea King, a scalloper out of Atlantic City, was towing the 136-foot PCS-1423 Prescott, a decommissioned Navy minesweeper, from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Atlantic City for conversion into a scalloper. Passing the Barnegat shoals on the way, the Sea King was battered by a nor’easter and found herself at the mercy of the furious sea. The next day the Asbury Park Press reported, “Trouble developed at about 1 a.m. yesterday when the Sea King apparently ran aground and the towline slacked, fouling in the fishing boat’s screw.” The Coast Guard stationed at Barnegat Light responded, but even they encountered trouble when an engine failed.

Captain Larson aboard the Miss Barnegat

Light with his mate, James Thomas, arrived on scene to support the rescue efforts.

Captain Walter Jaggard, Ener Gunderson, and Arthur Fjereide were aboard the sinking Sea King, floundering in ten feet of water just off 11th Street about 100 yards from shore, while Martin Ferkingstad was riding the Prescott up onto the beach, rocking back and forth in the waves. “It had no fuel in its tanks, which helped it get so far up the beach,” explained Marion.

Captain Larson brought his boat as close as he could and urged the men to abandon ship.

“It was...really sinking bad,” Marion told of her late-husband’s efforts. “John said, ‘Come on! Hurry up! Get in the boat, get in the boat!’ They were trying to save their wine or something. He said, ‘Get in the boat, quick!’ So, they got in a little dingy or something to try to get closer to John and... banged into [the Miss Barnegat Light]..., and they all fell back in their little boat.

They finally got on board and John brought them in.”

The question now had become how to refloat the two beached boats. The owner of both, Captain William McConnell of Pleasantville, arrived in town and worked closely with Captain Larson over the next month to salvage his property.

“I never made so much coffee in my life,” Marion remembered. “They were always in the kitchen planning what they were going to do,” recalled Karen.

Several attempts to pump out and raise the Sea King failed. Holes in the hull below the waterline made efforts difficult.

Weather forced delays. As part of the effort, Captain Harry Livingston of the Albatross III brought in pumps. February 21st saw the Sea King rise off the bottom for the first time, but the Asbury Park Press reported it nearly ended in calamity. “The listing trawler heeled over as a line between her and the Albatross [sic] pulled the two boats together. Capt. Livingston’s boat was threatened by damage as the vessels bobbed side by side in rough water, so pumping was halted, and the Sea King sank again.”

McConnell abandoned salvaging the scalloper for the time being. Larson and McConnell had already removed valuable

equipment from the boat and the owner was looking at costs approaching $20,000 to save the uninsured Sea King. McConnell had bought the Prescott to help secure his financial future. Now, he faced possible ruin if both ships were lost.

The Coast Guard, Navy, and Captain Larson worked together to dig out the intact Prescott from its beached position.

The sight had quickly become the newest tourist attraction in Barnegat Light. Weekly stories in local and national newspapers tracked the efforts to free her. Karen remembers “coming home from school…

just hordes of people…crowds and crowds of people coming to 12th Street.” Even locals got into the fun. Captain Larson would take his four-wheel drive truck up on the beach with Karen and the kids.

“Dad would put us all in the truck and at low tide you could drive around the minesweeper.”

After clearing away sand from under the Prescott and tugging at her for weeks, on the night of March 9 they finally got the 136-foot vessel off the beach. In the end, the efforts were heroic. “It was a full moon; high tide,” explained Karen. “I know my

father. When he was determined to do something, he did it.”

Anchors in the sand and winches on the stern would right the boat, but time was of the essence. The Asbury Park Press recounted the dramatic final efforts. “John Larson...saw the ship bobbing in the water at high tide Saturday morning. He climbed aboard and began tightening the cable extending from the winch to the anchors.

Mr. Larson “winched” the ship about 30 feet before the tide went out. That night at high tide he and three other men worked at the winch for two hours while the Coast Guard boat stood by. The ship was afloat by 8 p.m.”

The Prescott went on to a long life as a scalloper out of Cape Charles, Virginia. The Sea King though, remained in the shallows in the shadow of the old 8th Street inlet jetty. Children walked out to climb on the substantial wreck in the early days, which drew some complaints from parents to Mayor Otto Olsen. Because of its location near the jetty, the Coast Guard stated that it was not a danger to marine traffic.

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McConnell made additional attempts to raise it in 1963, but costs and the futility of it caused him to give up. His last words to a reporter from the Asbury Park Press on the matter were, “I’ve had a bad enough time already. Just forget about the boat.”

Over the years, people swam and windsurfed around the decaying wreck of the Sea King. Fisherman cast near her in the surf and children climbed aboard at low tide. The beach slowly advanced on the wreck. After the inlet jetty was extended from the lighthouse in the late 1980s, the sand built up quickly, putting the wreck on the beach and, now, far in the dunes of 11th Street. What was once in the water 100 yards east of shore...is now in the sand nearly 100 yards west of shore.

The Barnegat Light Museum features the story of the wrecks of the Sea King and Prescott, including artifacts such as helmets taken from the old minesweeper. For more information about the history and people of Barnegat Light please see facebook.com/ groups/barnegatlightmuseum. —Reilly Platten Sharp

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hanks to our Grandmother, Angelina Coppola, as children we were able to spend two weeks of the summer at 109 East 18th Street in Ship Bottom.

Growing up in Italy our Grandmother lived by the sea. After immigrating to the United States, her love of the seashore never left her. So, in 1942 she purchased a summer home on Long Beach Island from Zachariah Realty. She was a widow and had five sons to help her refurbish the house which needed repair. Two of her sons were in the Army at the time. Her wish was for them to return safely to this peaceful retreat.

We have such wonderful memories of those days. The adventure began with the ride down the shore on Routes 1 and 9. Before the Garden State Parkway, the trip took about five hours which seemed like an eternity to us. Often, there was breakfast at the Beachwood Diner and a stop for fresh eggs at Father and Son Farms. But as soon as we saw the orange pebbles and the Coppertone billboard,

we knew we were close to our destination. Finally, we would drive over what became known to us as the clickity clackity bridge – which was always a little scary. With the first smell of the salty sea air we knew we were in for two weeks of childhood bliss.

Some of our favorite things to do were fishing for fluke and blowfish, and to go clamming.

When we went up to the beach, we never had a difficult time finding our umbrella because the beach was rather empty, so there were only a few.

After a lunch of homemade pizza made by our Grandmother Imperato, we took off to the bay where we eventually learned to swim. After dinner, a special treat was to visit the original Lucy Evelyn or perhaps some beach combing. We were always so excited with the treasures we found.

Then of course there was the drug store with the soda fountain,

and the five and dime store. We were given a dime to spend and hopefully wouldn’t lose it in the sand while cutting through backyards on our way to McGee’s. McGee’s was the little convenience store just around the corner. They sold pickles from a big wooden barrel by the counter. During vacation, our Moms shopped for groceries there.

It 1972, it became necessary for the family to sell the house. But we decided that in our hearts it would always be our summer home.

The house at 109 East 18th Street in Ship Bottom remains as we remember it with a few changes. The wooden oar displaying the numbers 109 still sits proudly in the front of the house. Cement work in the rear of the house bears the initials of both our Dads; finding them brought tears to our eyes.

Today, most of our children are married and have children of their own. And though we are not so young anymore we feel young for one week in September when we visit our childhood summer home. —Beverly (Coppola) Caracciola and Rosemarie (Cotugno) Fusco

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s a child, June couldn’t come fast enough. June meant school was over and soon we would be heading down to the Jersey shore – Ship Bottom to be exact. Long Beach Island was a well-kept secret until the Garden State Parkway was finished in the 1950s.

I have such cherished memories about my summers at the Jersey shore. Just to spend the day on the beach was special. My dad and uncles went fishing. My mom and aunt took us to the beach. We had fun building sand castles. No sunscreen or lotions in those days; our skin turning red was part of the experience.

Around 4 p.m. we would head home and the fishermen would be pulling in. Grandmother spent the week with us, and she did all the cooking. Every night there was a different kind of fish for dinner. On Friday, she made pizza for everyone.

I remember going to the bay to swim after supper. My brother and I always looked at the colorful tubes that were for sale, but we never asked for one. We were content to float around in the large black inner tubes. All these years later, we still laugh about the indentation those tubes left around our waists. One day, to our surprise, Mom purchased tubes for us. We were so excited.

I share my memories about my summers on LBI with my children and grandchildren. I tell them about the beach – how big and deserted it was – and how that one special week was the highlight of every year.

Time has passed and certainly things have changed, but LBI remains the best place to spend the summer.

Now that I’m retired, in autumn I visit LBI with my cousins. The beach in September reminds me of that special beach of my youth. I will cherish these memories forever. —JoAnn (Saporito) Luzzi. Photography supplied by Beverly (Coppola) Caracciola, Rosemarie (Cotugno) Fusco and JoAnn (Saporito) Luzzi

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y parents beach and fishing supply store, Davy Jones' Locker was on the corner of Long Beach Boulevard and 6th Street in Ship Bottom where The Greenhouse Café is located today,” said Nancy Priff. “My brother Dan and I lived with our parents Fred and Diana Priff in an apartment over the store.” Later the family moved, making 218 West 11th Street in Ship Bottom their home.

Davy Jones' Locker was open from May thru September. “We sold a variety of things from boat parts and bloodworms to suntan lotion and little animals made out of sea shells,” explained Nancy. “We rented rafts, chairs and beach umbrellas, too.” As a teen, during the summer, Nancy worked parttime in the family’s store. She laughed as she recalled her approach Page 108 • Echoes of LBI

to retrieving bloodworms from the coolers for customers. “I wore gloves.”

Frequently after work she enjoyed a frozen custard next-door at Gibson’s Drive-In. Schultz, the family dachshund was also a regular at the custard stand. Over enthusiastic and forgetful of his manners, Schultz earned an unfortunate reputation. “On a hot day, he would knock the custard right out of a child’s hands...lapping it up the moment it hit the ground,” recalled Dan. Years later, when the family evacuated LBI for the storm of 1962, Schultz, and his reputation went along to stay at the home of their grandparents – where he was soon found guilty of stealing and devouring a leg of lamb from the kitchen table.

Through her teenage years in addition to working at the family store, Nancy worked at Captain John’s hot pretzel stand and the Amoco Gas Station on 18th Street and Long Beach Boulevard which was owned by Sara and Harry Holt.

Nancy is proof that contrary to popular belief at least one girl from New Jersey has pumped gas. Later, she worked for the Beach Haven Times while attending college.

Dan remembers playing miniature golf next door and jumping on the trampolines at Tumble Town in Surf City. He also recalled when the entire 4th grade class at Ship Bottom Elementary School was assembled on the playground to see history in the making as a nuclear reactor was transported by barge on the bay. They watched in awe as it floated right past the school on its journey to the power plant.

As a teenager, Dan clammed during the summer and worked for Ship Bottom checking beach badges. He also worked for both commercial and party boats out of Barnegat Light.

Nancy and Dan are third generation Islanders. In the 1930s, their grandparents Fred and Madeline Priff moved to North Beach on LBI. Fred was a machinist for American Can and Bowing. Madeline was a member of the Southern Ocean County Hospital Ladies Auxiliary. A talented seamstress and quilter, she donated many of her creations to hospital fundraisers.

“Our grandmother’s bed was always covered with her sewing projects,” recalled Nancy.

Nancy and Dan’s father, Fred Priff was a member of the Seton Hall Diving Team

Long Beach Township Beach Patrol. From left to right – standing, back row: Dave Monterastelli, Foster Sanford, Mayor Howard Schifler, Captain Norman Fromer, Dick Greenblatt, Bill Kenis. Kneeling, middle row: Kurt Kelly, Jerry Tyson, Jim Walker behind Levis Baldwin, Dick Ware, Bob Her. Sitting, middle row: Bob Moore, Bill Haymen. Front row, sitting: Fred Priff, Bud Benhayen. Circa 1950.

Nancy Priff on the job at the Amoco Gas Station, 18th & Long Beach Blvd., across from Hanneken's Deli and Bakery. Circa 1970. and a lifeguard for many summers in Ship Bottom. During his career as a teacher Fred taught elementary school in Lacey Township, Bayville, Waretown, and on LBI. The elementary school in Waretown is named Frederic A. Priff Elementary School in his honor.

Their mother, Diana Priff was a secretary for the Ship Bottom Elementary School, and receptionist and assistant borough clerk for the municipality of Ship Bottom.

In the summer months Fred worked on a deep-sea fishing charter boat owned by Axel Jacobsen. Coincidently, Axel was the husband of Ethel Jacobson for whom the Ethel Jacobson Elementary School in Surf City is named.

Growing up on LBI Dan and Nancy enjoyed the everyday summer routine of being on the beach and swimming in the ocean. She and Dan recall playing for hours on the wrecks of a pound boat and capsized sailboat on the Ship Bottom beach at 11th Street. “We rode our bikes everywhere,” said Nancy. There were excursions to Barnegat Light, adventures at The Point, and trips to Island Record

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Shop. Frequently on summer nights, the family piled into the station wagon and headed to the Manahawkin drive-in movie for the triple features where they watched horror classics like Hitchcock’s The Birds; and drive-in science fiction favorites like The Beast with Five Fingers, and The Blob starring Steve McQueen.

When Davy Jones' Locker closed for the off-season, the store supplies were moved aside to make room for the pool table. Over the years, countless hours of pool were played. An avid woodworker, Fred was known to have built a camper and a kayak in the garage while waiting for summer. The off-season also brought the annual LBI Halloween Night Parade and the Christmas Tree Lighting at the Causeway circle. Each season brought something special.

Though winter seemed long, in no time it would be Memorial Day, school would be out, and once again it would be summer.

For Nancy and Dan — their memories of LBI are eighteen miles long and as deep as the ocean. —Diane Stulga. Photography supplied by Priff Family

G

rowing up, one of the activities my brother, cousins, and I always enjoyed every summer at my grandfather’s home on LBI was seining in the bay. From killies, spearing, crabs, baby puffer fish, needle fish – and an occasional seahorse – we never knew what creatures our net would pull up from the bottom of the bay.

Whenever we started to seine, within minutes, we would have an audience of curious onlookers waiting to see what each pull of the net would reveal. Sometimes we would discover the young forms of fluke, weakfish, and even small oyster toadfish as we unloaded Page 114 • Echoes of LBI

our seining net to view our catch before returning them to the water.

Over the years, I passed on the interest in seining to my children and grandchildren. One of the rites of passage included the significant others of my sons holding one end of the net – with their future father-in-law holding the other.

To this day, I still enjoy watching the wonder on young faces as the seine net pulls in the little mysteries of the sea. —Photography and story by Tom Seiz

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