The Wildwoods: Then and Now by Joseph Popovich

Joseph Popovich

Growing up, I was always under the impression that I could stay young forever, that time is no issue and that things will always stay the same. Now that I am getting older, I’m starting to realize that time is flying by, and the world is always changing. When I was a kid, I remember going to Atlantic City with my parents, not for the casinos, but to spend all day on the beach and all night walking down the boardwalk. Every young child was wearing a neon-colored bathing suit, baggy muscle shirt, and a pair of LA Gear sneakers or Reeboks with the pump on the tongue. As we can see from the photographs, a lot has changed. Everything about the photographs is different, from the way they dress to the number of people on the beach, to the very sand they sit upon; It’s different.

Image 1. was taken in the summer of 1944, on the beach in Wildwood NJ. The couple in the photo are Edna (left) Fred Long. I know this because they are my great-grandparents. As World War Two was finally coming to an end, our country was starting to see some relief and families started feeling better about getting on with their lives. For this couple, that means going to the beach. By the 1940s, the flash of an arm or a leg was no more an outrageous sight. As the hemlines started inching up, the spaghetti-strap-like styles started emerging and women became more comfortable with their midriff showing as evident from the two-piece suits that started doing the rounds. This new boldness and independence can also be attributed to the period of the Second World War when women were left to be the heads of the house and managers of businesses in many cases. We see the huge leap that women’s fashion took after the war (“The Indian Express From the 1800s to the 90s”) .

It’s not hard to see that this couple is at the beach, they are together, and they are happy to be that way. What they are wearing is just a bonus to accent the photo. The woman seen in Image 1. is wearing a vintage bathing suit, sun cap and is generously covered in what I would assume to be dark colors considering it is a black and white photo. Similar qualities are found in Fred’s beach attire. He is most likely wearing a suit with little to no design and a dark-

Image 1. Edna and Fred Long. The Wildwoods, NJ 1944 (unknown)

colored tank top with no print; he shows his wisdom with the thinning of his hair and lack of body definition. A strong glare on the lens of the camera has left discoloration on the photo changing the black of the woman’s dress from grey to purple to blue . That same glare also streaking across the faces of the couple almost seems to be the reason for her squint and crooked smile . Captured perfectly, the boardwalk sits at the top left-hand side of the picture . I also notice a child sitting in the sand and someone running in the distance. It’s almost as if the photographer made sure to get everything in the shot to capture every possible aspect of being on the shore . Just short of having a seagull flying overhead, this photo accurately represents a perfect day at the beach in the 40s . From what I understand, Image 2. was taken on the same beach on the same day at around the same time as Image 1. I can’t be certain about that, for it’s just an educated guess . There also seems to be a lot more history in this photo as far as some of the hotel’s architecture and the boardwalk. “The Wildwoods began developing as a resort in the last decade of the 19th century . A building boom began in the 1950s, due partially to the construction and completion of the Garden State Parkway in 1955” (Lange). This is also right around the time of the “doo-wop” era and Atlantic City making a reputation for itself in the music industry .

Image 2. Edna Long. The Wildwoods, NJ (Fred Long)

In Image 2, Edna is seen wearing the same vintage bathing suit. She stands with her hands on her hips with the same smile that we see in Image 1. She is a small and skinny woman with little to no curves despite her size; she seems to stand confidently as if she was trying to mimic or compete with the large building seen over her left shoulder. The young man in this photo probably has no idea that he’s getting his picture taken, yet he will be captured at that moment forever. I am going to imagine him as being someone’s grandfather by now. The yellowing of the photograph is almost like a mark of authenticity representing the time in which it was taken. If these images were taken today, I don’t believe it would be as easy as sitting down in the sand and asking someone passing by to snap a photo . Beaches are overpopulated and depending on what time of the year it is, it could be hard to find a spot to lay a towel down. Everyone just takes “selfies” and filters are being applied to change their appearance. Women wear bikinis now and they are not afraid to show off their bodies. The men are almost always shirtless and bathing suits are colorful and designed to fit any body type. So much has changed, from our ability to take photographs whenever we’d like, to how we dress on the beach and even the sand under our feet. It’s just going to keep on changing. There is no stopping time. All we can do is evolve and try to keep up . B

Work Cited “From the 1800s to the ‘90s: How bathing suits have evolved over time.” Indian Express [New Delhi, India], 31 May 2018. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A541024792/ GPS?u=nant9483&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=42bb9083. Accessed 31 Mar. 2022. Image 1. 1944 Edna (left), Fred Long. “The Wildwoods.” Lange, Linda via Scripps Howard News Service. “Wildwoods Preserve Family Fun of the 1950s.” Reading Eagle, 5 Oct 2005, https://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=108529. Accessed 11 Apr. 2022. Long, Fred. Image 2. 1944 Edna Long. “The Wildwoods.” Wikipedia Contributors. “Wildwood, New Jersey.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 22 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildwood,_New_Jersey. Accessed 11 Apr. 2022.