Echoes of LBI Spring into Summer 2016

Let Reynolds create something extraordinary just for you!

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iving in the indoor and outdoor spaces of your home has never been more peaceful, or possible, with Reynolds Garden Shop, Floral Market, Nursery & Landscaping.

Whether you’re a D.I.Y. gardener, or collaborate with Reynolds’ landscape design professionals, they’ll make your home truly a one-of-a-kind showplace.

Reynolds magically blends the unique features in the natural and built environments of your home’s outdoor spaces in creating a design that is aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Call or stop by today and let Reynolds create something extraordinary just for you.

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Design Studio Inside Oskar Huber at 101 West 8th Street, Ship Bottom 201 East Bay Ave., Manahawkin • 609.361.1300 ReynoldsGardenShop.com • ReynoldsLandscaping.com

his issue is once again filled with stories about those who had an impact on LBI. The Arts on LBI are a big part of our community. Echoes of LBI showcases some of that history and the wonderful local talent that makes us proud.

Many people living on or visiting LBI share their stories and love of the Island in every issue. Long time Islanders are getting older yet their memories of times gone by are still vivid. Each issue features their passion, love and information about Long Beach Island.

We saw more visitors come to LBI through the winter and spring possibly due to the above normal temperatures.

Many businesses opted to stay open longer or decided to open earlier than they normally would have. New businesses are opening and we welcome them to the Island.

Echoes of LBI would not be possible without the staff, writers, artists, poets, advertisers and others who help produce this magazine. As I’ve said many times before, “It takes an Island.” And I thank you.

Please continue to send stories, articles, photography, family history and photos. We’re still looking for more “original selfies” (old photo booth shots) to feature in upcoming issues.

Copies of Echoes of LBI are available at the Southern Ocean Chamber of Commerce and at all Echoes advertisers. Past issues are archived and can be read online at issuu.com/echoesoflbi.

Echoes of LBI - Where past memories and present day experiences shine.

Have a beautiful sunset!

Cheryl Kirby, Publisher

First In • Sunrise in Harvey Cedars

Stephanie Chase photo

From left to right - back row: Scott Huber, Richard Philhower, Steve Papiez, Anthony Scillieri, Jason Odman, and Mike Toye.

Second row down: Anthony Farinella, Stephen Szymanski, Jeffery Conrad, Randy Barker, Shana Davis, Chris Ribinsky, Rich Melton, Adam Marshall, Tony Green, and Anthony Roberts.

Third row down: Danielle Gillen, Evelyn D’Antoni, Jessica Gentile, Diana Boyle, Christine Kranz, Raymond Jones, Caitlin O’Connor, and Jim Schmidt.

Fourth row down: Jennifer Cangelosi, Susan Blackmore, Debbie Mattson, Lynn Migliorino, and Tommy Craig.

Kneeling in front: Jonathan Surowitch, Ryan Ford, and John Hagan.

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his year Rick Aitken Builders celebrates 30 years in the construction industry with a team that is built to last. Rick works alongside his staff of 65+ extraordinary professionals who share his passion for custom quality home building. His construction experience and eye for design is complemented by the strengths each staff member contributes to the success of his company. Rick firmly believes that, "If you surround yourself with the best people and products, you will be successful – and we are fortunate to have some of the best people in the industry."

Rick's skilled carpenters take ownership and pride in the structural integrity and attention to finishing details of each unique project. The Andersen department consistently ranks in the top 2% in the nation for customer satisfaction and timely repairs. The service department has developed and sustained 600+ relationships, providing the peace of mind that your home is safe when you’re away.

The Aitken team continues to raise the standard for new home construction on Long Beach Island. Offering a wide range of services that include house checks, leak repairs, renovations, additions, or custom home building – you can trust that Rick and his staff are equipped to take care of "all your shore home needs!"

From left to right - back row: Bradley Gard, Gregg Juszczak, David Zuczek, Kenny Ott, Chris Slavin, Mike Brewster, and Bill Nelson.

Second row down: Jim Sigmund, Eric Samila, Joe Bisogno, Chris “Mac” Adams, Stephanie Sheehan, Wes Whited, and Michael Kau. Third Row Down: Ron Wardell, Rick Aitken, Bob Rizzo, Maryann Toddings, Kathy Penna, Jessica Lyle, Christina Heussner, Amanda Brown, and Donna Wightman.

Fourth row down: Heather Aitken, Davina Dib, Christine DiTomas, Eileen Ferraro, Patricia LaGanga, Denise Weiner.

Kneeling in front: Jim Crouch and Robert McTague. Missing from photo: Pete Laugois and Keenan Cowles.

Art Pat Morgan artwork

LBI ARTISTS OPEN STUDIO TOUR

HIGH BAR HARBOR

Susan Hennelly 30 Amherst Rd.

Linda Ramsey 26 Antioch Rd.

BARNEGAT LIGHT Valerie Fenelon & Andrea Sauchelli North End Trilogy • 406 Broadway Cricket Luker - Wildflowers Too • 506 Broadway Connie Pinkowski - LBI DreamMakers • 802 Central Ave.

LOVELADIES

Lynne Berman, Sandi Kosinski, Janet Nelson, and Sara Setzer - LBI Foundation • 120 Long Beach Blvd.

Sandra Anton • 284 Riviera Rd. Margaret Feudi • 1 Ladybug Lane Anita Pfeil • 159 Marina Blvd.

HARVEY CEDARS

Roberta Giannone James Cordasco Roberta's Studio 5505 Holly Ave 6105 Long Beach Blvd.

June 25 & 26 10A - 4P

Free, self-guided tour of local artist studios on Long Beach Island., NJ Buy local art • Be inspired

SURF CITY Franny Andahazy • Solace Studio & Gallery • 2316 Long Beach Blvd.

Connie Beggs • Art & Decor at Surf City • 1918 Long Beach Blvd.

Lori Bonnani • 1919 Sunset Ave. Cathleen Engelsen • 234 N. 19th Street Matt Burton, Alice McEnerney Cook and Ann Kinney m.t. burton gallery & 19th St. Clay Studio • 1819 Long Beach Blvd.

Ann Coen • Ann Coen Gallery • 1418 Long Beach Blvd.

Mary Tantillo • Swell Colors Glass Studio & Gallery • 1715 Long Beach Blvd.

Stacey Fuessinger • Just Bead It • 1616 Long Beach Blvd.

Joanne Dozor and Jason Huber • Firefly Gallery • 15 Long Beach Blvd.

SHIP BOTTOM

Carol Freas, Robert Sakson, Pat Morgan, Ryan Paul Marchese & Susan Spicer-McGarry • Things A Drift • 406 Long Beach Blvd.

BEACH HAVEN TERRACE Dick Jefferies • Jeffries Floor & Decor • 2904 Long Beach Blvd.

BEACH HAVEN Audrey Schwind • 320 2nd Street Lisa Ball • LBI Creative Minds • Schooner's Wharf at Bay Village

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he LBI Arts Council was formed to cultivate and sustain working artists, attract patrons and establish a cultural district on Long Beach Island. It was made possible by a grant from an Our Town/National Endowment for the Arts just prior to Superstorm Sandy.

Feedback and discussions from the local art & cultural community gathered at those grant meetings helped set the groundwork for the formation of the LBI Arts Council.

The seeds for a non-profit Arts Council were germinated in the early fall of 2014 by Matt Burton of the m.t.burton gallery in Surf City. His ideas and input were planted and took root during monthly pot-luck dinner meetings open to the public and anyone interested in promoting the arts and culture on the island. Twenty-five to thirty-five artists, business owners, magazine publishers, township and LBI marketing gurus met at private homes and business locations on the island. Those early meetings were exciting and interesting because of the camaraderie and the ideas hatched.

The main goal was to keep the arts alive on LBI by developing new venues for both the arts and artists. It was exciting for me to watch the formation of the LBI Arts Council and the energy it created among its members. It gave other artists and me a voice on the island as a group, and it will promote the diversity of the arts through events and alliances with other organizations. It’s one of the best perks for becoming a member.

Council President Matt Burton said, "We now have a way to nurture both the arts and the artists. We do community outreach, hold networking events, and provide all manner of professional development for the artists. We're also using Facebook and social media to get the word out. Without a doubt, the council is taking arts on the island to an entirely different level."

"We're collaborating with independent artists, businesses, nonprofit organizations and local leaders throughout the island," Burton said. "Not only does this collaboration meet the needs of the arts community, but it sparks interest, energy, and income for the businesses and everyone else, including visitors” Benefits of membership include networking, the LBI Arts Council newsletter, and discounted entry or vendor fees on LBI Arts Council sponsored events and exhibition opportunities, including a hefty discount for the 11th Annual LBI Artists Open Studio Tour. Participating artists and galleries in the tour will have their work, websites and bios listed on our website www.lbiartists.com which has kept a database of artists since the tour’s inception.

This year’s free self-guided tour is June 25 & 26, 2016 at artist studios and galleries all over the island. Go to our Facebook page (facebook.com/ LBIArtsCultureCouncil) or Twitter account to post events that relate to the arts.

For membership information, email lbiartcouncil@gmail.com or send requests to LBI Arts Council, PO Box 373, Ship Bottom, NJ 08008.

—Linda Ramsay

Page 12 30 • Echoes of LBI

Art

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he word abandonment receives a negative reaction but that is about to change with the increasing popularity of Art Abandonment.

Its originator, Michael deMeng, left an illustration on his napkin in a Eugene, Oregon, restaurant and posted it on his Facebook page. When people responded to his post, he repeated the simple act. He and his wife, fellow artist Andrea deMeng, were surprised by how quickly interest spread so they organized the Art Abandonment Project which now boasts worldwide membership.

The concept is a simple one. You need not be a trained artist, which is appealing to individuals who have talents outside the scope of traditional arts. There are knitters, potters, jewelry makers, woodworkers, mixed media designers, leather crafters, magnet makers, bookmark creators and any other type of art you can create. There are no rules or patterns.

Once the abandoner chooses a dropsite, he posts a picture of his artwork to the group Facebook page. What adds to the challenge is that the drop must be made without being noticed! The artist attaches a tag that usually contains information about the project. If you would like to report your lucky Page 14 • Echoes of LBI

find, send a message to the website ifoundartwork@gmail.com.

Sometimes there will be an explanation of Art Abandonment on the tag, but since artwork is left anonymously, unless the finder comments, the artist will never know the fate of their work.

So why are there Art Abandoners? They are a worldwide group of crafty, imaginative, and caring individuals who enjoy sharing “random acts of art” to bring a smile to others. The idea of a stranger sharing their art with an unknown recipient touches upon the very heart of humanity, the fact that we are all connected.

Recipients often tell of the joy they have with the unexpected gift.

Thus, the level of artistic ability really doesn’t matter. Anyone can participate because membership is free. There are no rules or regulations, only a group of like-minded individuals. Maybe someday you will be lucky and find a random act of art! However, if you decide to join, be ready to start crafting because Art Abandonment can be addictive! For more information: The Art Abandonment Project written by Michael deMeng and Andrea Matus deMeng. —Random art pictured above and text

by Ellen Hammonds. Photography by Sara Caruso.

Art

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ince I was a baby, I spent all my summers playing on the beach at LBI. Summer nights involved going to Hartman’s Amusements, now Fantasy Island, walking around the Lucy Evelyn and exploring the shops at Bay Village.

Long days were spent fishing for snapper blues, sea bass and fluke off the old pier in front of Andy’s at the Light. Then we would walk up the Barnegat Lighthouse.

My parents had a bungalow in Harvey Cedars before the 1962 storm. Later, my mother built a home in North Beach, where she retired. Currently she is active in the Garden Club of LBI and the Lighthouse.

In 1987, I joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego. Throughout the years, I would get back home as much as possible, always looking forward to that drive over the causeway bridge. I met my wife in San Diego and our daughter was born there. Hannah is now in 4th grade and always asks about her next trip to LBI to visit Nana.

As a San Diego girl, Hannah loves surfing, paddle boarding, and swimming each day, usually off the golden beaches in Coronado. She loves her cats and also spends time painting in acrylic and watercolor.

After seeing some old pictures of me fishing off the pier at Andy’s, she then painted her own version.

Even though we live in beautiful San Diego, my daughter always asks, “When are you going to retire?” I asked her why and she replied. “So we can move in with Nana and live on LBI!” —Brian Duddy Page 16 • Echoes of LBI

Above: Hannah surfing in Coronado. Below: Artwork by Hannah.

Carol Freas artwork

Pat Morgan (artwork right)

Photography

Photography

Tonya Wilhelm photo

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Diane Stulga photo

Stephanie Chase photo

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Olivia and Isabella

Roman and Isabella

Ingrid

Ashley

Twins Stephanie and Samantha with cousin Ashley

Olivia

Ella

Amelia

While You Were Gone

Diane Stulga photo

While You Were Gone

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Chelsea Stulga photo

Sara Caruso photo

Diane Stulga photo

Sara Caruso photo

While You Were Gone

Mary Marino photo

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Diane Stulga photo

While You Were Gone

Chelsea and Vic Stulga, with Vic's grandchildren Gabbie and Michael Diane Stulga photo

"The Muff Sisters" • Cheryl Kirby photo Page 30 • Echoes of LBI

Jane King and Rena DiNeno's first dip in the ocean of 2016 • Merry Simmons photo

Murphy under the rainbow on St. Patrick's Day 2016.

Win Taylor and Liz Elko photo

Vic and Diane Stulga with their winning float from the 2015 Ship Bottom Christmas Parade • Diane Stulga photo

From left to right: David Brown, Kathy Brown, Kathleen Schneider, Elizabeth Brown and David Graham on their annual trip to LBI • Kathleen Schneider photo

Poetry

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Kelly Taylor photo

Poetry SEA GLASS WINDOWS Build me a house, facing the water, with sea glass windows that let the light in to color my mind: a princess pink sea at mid-morning, a yellow surf in the afternoon.

Then late at night, a moon hangs low in the sky, almost ruby red, while whitecaps dance like pixies at the edge of soft, amber sand.

Color my dreams in seafoam green with lavender love followed by cobalt blue.

Build me a house, facing the water, with sea glass windows that let the light shine through.

—Richard Morgan

Sea Glass Windows, Richard Morgan’s fourth book of poetry in the Sea Glass Series, is a collection of his words and his wife, Pat Morgan’s watercolors. The poems are accessible, sometimes humorous and often give insight to the challenge of being fully human. Topics include love and conflict, Superman and Santa, and youth and old age.

TENDER

So many days Life gets in the way of tender.

Wake up, get up, get going.

Jellyfish

Today I woke up and got down.

Down under the covers, back down with myself.

Should I study your vibrant

I found tender.

Not with another, not with TV.

touch your pearly layers,

I took a break from get going.

Time from a busy life to read, to snuggle, to daydream.

To pierce my skin,

This quiet part within myself needed this time from that get up, get going life.

to slide through the grit To the waiting sea.

—Carol Freas

—Lynn Reebe

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Ancient mariner, Fiend or friend,

yellows, and violets,

your tentacles ready

or should I allow you

Painted Poetry Exhibition Renewal Some mornings I stop by 36th Street – my favorite “Brant Beach” street – to see the sand and sea and the jagged jetty jutting

A unique display of 15 artists and 15 poets, each inspired by and creating new interpretations of the others' work.

Meet the artists and see the works at Ocean County Library, Long Beach Island Branch, 217 S. Central Ave., Surf City, NJ. Exhibit viewing August 1 to 30, 2016 Special reception Monday, August 8, 6-7pm Poetry reading and slideshow from 7-8pm

out beyond the waves where everything is pink and pearl.

And the smells of the shells and the seagulls remind me of my mother who loved the sea at dawn.

I’m at peace with the world and eager for the day I hurl my heart to heaven and my soul sings!!

Some mornings I bypass the water and head straight to work.

The ocean is too lovely, too open and too deep I need small spaces somewhere until this feeling goes.

It’s the same me and the same sea yet, I am separate from it all in this solitary space where the shadows fall...

My feelings are still a mystery.

At times, they get the best of me but they have lost some power; now – I know: my moods are like the tides they will come and go.

I am like a shell dancing with the tides in brutal waves that pound me until I’m purified in gentle waves that leave me– when the dance is done– basking in renewal under Jersey’s sun.

—Lyn Procopio

"Three Cats" • Janet Nelson artwork

A BOOK OF DAYS Yesterday we walked these old familiar paths, and you built walls between us.

Folded yourself up in colorful Matisse cutouts, perched on a fence, aloof, distant.

Today, we try again in honest, ancient reds, blues, greens, to find a way through undergrowth that we have sown through days, weeks, years of silences….

Let us go back to primary palettes, When rainbows broke open in showers of light, and our voices purred like cats sitting in the sun.

All our walls soon will tumble.

—Katherine Santangelo

Poetry For Mom Little arms Clasp tightly around your neck, Hold you forever, Never let go.

Little fingers Circle your head, Entwine your hair.

Little face, Pressed close to your cheek, Imprinting her smile, Gifting her kiss.

Warmth and tenderness, The bond of love.

Forever understood, The universal language...

Of a hug.

—Loretta Krause CLOUDS I have drawn clouds all my life.

Their pages in my notebook have grown old and turned yellow.

They’ve become my memory.

Clouds filled my imagination.

Once, I saw a mother elephant leading her calf to safety.

I longed to be him.

My Mother taught me faith pointing out clouds: prayed-for rain clouds over her gardens, and clouds that let God-light stream through.

Margaret McLaughlin photo

Today, a sky full of clouds tells me I’d better draw them quickly, and bring them inside with me where my memories stay warm and dry.

DAN'S STUDIO

an abandoned hive where he sold equipment/half price, lost his students & wife who grabbed house, car & kids; who found herself a lover in the paper lawyer, and forced Dan to face the music he hardly wrote anymore.

The wooden guitar on the hip side of the house begins its slow rot. He's south hot over court decisions; she's north, frozen to her position. In silent discord blue & splintered the guitar's gone ground.

—Richard Morgan

—Frank Finale

But there were also charcoal clouds: thick ones hovering over the ocean, and thunder clouds that flew by refusing to be quiet.

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2016 REC LITE SPARK

Beach Paws Tank • Christine Orlandoni photo

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Sophie and the shark • Carole Bradshaw photo

S

ummer is upon us and that means nasty biting flies and mosquitoes. Like us, dogs hate summer bugs and it's a good idea to limit their time outside on especially buggy days. Mosquitoes can carry heartworm and other diseases that can affect your pet, so make sure to keep them up to date on their vaccines and medication. How can you keep biting flies away from your dog? Make sure their ears are clean. The wax and bacterial build-up in their ears can attract flies and, with that, infection. You may notice an unpleasant odor coming from your dog's ears; it could be an infection brewing. Check with your vet on the best way to approach this. If you let your dog outside in a backyard to do its business, make sure that the area stays clean to reduce the amount of flies. Always cover or dispose of any garbage and never leave the dog's food, especially wet food, outside for long. When your dog dines outdoors, be sure to wash the food bowls as soon as he or she is done. These simple tips will help your dog have a happy and safe summer down at the shore.

Beach Paws

T

elling anyone you feed your hermit crabs pizza gets you quite a lot of looks. Hermit crabs, in fact, need a varied diet to survive. When adopting a hermit crab for the first time it is important to understand what the crab likes to eat.

Hermit crabs are scavengers in the wild and will eat pretty much anything they come across. Too many times crabs don't get enough nutrition because of misinformation. Those little brown pellets new crab owners are told to feed them are boring to crabs.

Ironically, the best diet for a crab is what you like to eat.

Giving the dog table scraps is a bad idea but not for hermit crabs!

Chicken on the bone, ribs, corn on the cob, and the leftover tails from shrimp are a crab's dream food. Crabs are nocturnal feeders so feed them right after you eat dinner. Cooked meat such as beef, pork or chicken, eggs, and any kind of seafood are a great source of protein. Fruits and vegetables such as bananas, peaches and apples, broccoli, carrots, and sweet potatoes can provide crabs with vitamins and minerals. Crabs particularly like pungent foods. Even if the food isn't pungent to us, crabs will rub their antennae on it and then “taste” their antennae to see if it's edible.

Hermit crabs like pizza. It should be given in moderation, but the cheese is a source of calcium.

Pumpkin bread, corn bread muffins, and coconut macaroons are their favorites. Hard dog or cat food in a pinch can also substitute for their usual diet. Organic blue chips are the perfect source of sea salt, which they need in their diet as a constant. Otherwise sea salt in

Page 42 • Echoes of LBI

a canister also works. Stay away from iodized (table) salt as it can poison them. As with dogs, some foods are toxic to crabs so avoid onions, citrus, and chocolate. Some people suggest peanut butter for crabs, but it can clog their gills. If you are at a loss for food ideas, some commercial pet foods can be an option.

Not all store bought foods are bad for crabs. Birdseed sticks and cuttlebones are a great vitamin source for crabs and a good way to keep them fed if you have to go on a trip. Turtle medleys with freeze dried crickets and meal worms are always a hit with crabs as well as freeze dried shrimp. Crabs love the smell of them, not to mention they can act as an easy source of protein for a newly molted crab.

Always remember to never leave food in their habitat for more than a day. It can grow mold, attract mites, and make the crabs more susceptible to bacterial infections. So many crab owners think it's safe to leave moldy food in their tanks, but think about it, would you want your children eating moldy bread? Dry foods, like the bird sticks, can be left in a little longer as long as they are hanging away from moisture and the bottom of the habitat where they can become contaminated.

Feeding crabs every other day and changing their water at the same time you feed them is the best way to keep them healthy. You don't have to give them a lot of food all at once, since crabs only eat about a pea-sized portion at a time. Try these alternatives to the standard hermit crab food and give your new friend a healthier diet. —Photography and text by Sara Caruso

Smokey • Diane Stulga photos

A Dog's View of Life and Love (Inspired by Max)

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am ready to go, to close my eyes and rest. I hear your tears and know your heart is breaking. There are some things I need to tell you so the memory of our time together shines on, strong and bright.

You gave me a home and a life that was easy, beautiful and safe. I gave you unconditional love in return. I was your truest companion and you were my best friend. We taught each other so many things. We spoke the same language of trust and gratitude.

I know there were times you changed your plans or canceled going out because you didn’t want to leave me alone. I didn’t like leaving you, either. That’s why I was always under foot, even tripping you from time to time.

Mornings came earlier than you may have wanted but you never complained. You held the door open and just waited until I came back. That’s how I learned to sit patiently, looking out the window whenever you went out, waiting for your return.

Watching TV, you would often reach over and scratch my back or rub my belly. My eyes would half close with contentment. Other times I would lightly lay my paw on your arm or put my head in your lap. Just a gentle touch, our way of saying I love you.

Some of our best times were out in the yard when I would chase a squirrel or run after the ball you’d throw. I got you off the couch and gave us some time together in the sun.

I will never forget when I had that virus. I was sick and stained the rug but you didn’t yell. You just stroked my back and held me until I drifted off to sleep. You nursed me back to my usual self Page 44 • Echoes of LBI

with kindness and concern. That is why I slept by your side when you had the flu. I watched over you, on high alert for any scent of danger, and licked your face to try and cool your fevered brow.

I admit there were times when my barking was out of control.

Thanks for understanding. I hope you know the reason I would nuzzle you whenever you had a yelling fit was to try to tell you it was going to be okay.

I didn’t worry that my meals would not be on time or that you would forget my water. I was never an afterthought to you.

Sometimes I dropped a bone at your feet to thank you in my own way.

The memories of our time together reflect our love. The give and take, the shared lessons of life, the perfect balance between you and me. I could not have done it without you and I suspect you could not have done without me. We were a team. You taught me well and I taught you right back.

Now I have only one request: share the wisdom we learned from each other. Take the time to run in the sun with someone you love. Be there to comfort your family and friends in time of pain or need. When things get stressed, remember our gift of patience.

Never walk away and don’t bark too often or too loud. Most important, never forget to reach out with a gentle touch every once in a while to let someone know you care.

As I leave you, I hope you remember all the gifts we gave each other. Don’t lose those lessons; they are the only things that matter.

Share them well and my memory will burn bright.

—Maggie O’Neill. Photography by Sara Caruso

Eye on the Sky

Photos on these pages: Various storms at Surf City Bay Beach

E

veryone loves the summer days of sunny skies and cool sea breezes. Thunderstorms, however, can bring us mixed emotions. If you’re like me, you love when the radar lights up with favorable thunderstorm returns. Others exhibit fear.

Actually, I experience fear when directly under lightning. I try to stay at a safe distance when practicing storm photography, which I love.

There are different types of thunderstorms experienced in the peakcoastal New Jersey season of April through July. Each type has its own signature characteristics. There are warm front thunderstorms, cold-front thunderstorms and warm sector thunderstorms which can further be broken down into air-mass thunderstorms, sheardriven thunderstorms and supercells thunderstorms.

Warm front storms occur to the east of synoptic low pressure systems. They normally pass through New Jersey from south to north and feature warm air sliding over existing cold air. The warmer air ramps upwards vertically and throws enough moisture Page 46 • Echoes of LBI

into the colder air aloft to saturate and downpour as rain on the surface. You’ll notice a muggy feel with this rain, especially afterwards. Signature qualities are mostly cloudy skies (low puffy tropical-like clouds but higher storm bases) and enhanced humidity. Moderate lightning frequency is common.

Cold front storms occur to the south of synoptic low pressure systems. They normally pass through New Jersey from west to east and feature cold air sliding under warm air. This wedge ramps the warmer air vertically and forms the thunderstorm. Just like the warm front but with opposite transition of air masses. You’ll notice an increase in winds. First from the south ahead of the cold front.

Then higher gusts under the storm in erratic directions and finally from the west or northwest behind the cold front which ushers in colder and drier air. This change in wind direction is usually an indication of wind shear, especially in the mid-to-upper levels of the atmosphere. Signature qualities are damaging wind gusts, lower cloud storm bases, and low-to-moderate frequency lightning.

Warm sector thunderstorms occur between the warm front and cold front attached to the synoptic low pressure system. On a clock that’s normally between 6 and 3 o’clock, sometimes between 7 and 2 o’clock.

You get the picture. These are my favorite kinds of storms because they are normally fed by instability only. Very little shear exists. Therefore, the storm forms from rising air, heated from the hot daytime sun, and falls exactly on top of itself. This chokes out the storm but creates enough of a gust front to spark neighboring thunderstorms. I like to call these pulsers because they pulse on radar when they move as just described.

Signature qualities are jungle-like humidity, frequent lightning, and hail when the downpour is hard enough.

Air mass storms are typically the warm sector storms. They can however be enhanced by a sea breeze cold front backing off of the ocean. Coastal New Jersey has a tendency to see this from time to time. A thunderstorm will form on the coast and virtually sit still. This leads to flash flooding in most cases. Shear-driven thunderstorms are typically along a cold front. The change in wind direction over multiple altitudes creates horizontal roll in the atmosphere.

This can bring down damaging wind gusts from aloft.

Supercell thunderstorms form when shear separates the updrafts of warm energy and downdrafts of cold into an almost doublehelix shape. This allows the entire system to slowly rotate and stay alive as it moves, unlike the air mass thunderstorms that collapse over themselves. There are other severe weather instances such as derechos and microbursts.

A derecho is a wind storm that has satisfied a certain criteria (width of severe winds area over a minimum geographic distance traveled). Microbursts occur when a downdraft overperforms the entire system and can generate tornadic wind damage via straight line winds.

There are lots of types of thunderstorms.

Hopefully you can now pick them out when they happen along the Jersey Shore this summer. —Photography and text by Jonathan Carr

Lifestyle These ladies have been my friends for over 20 years. We have been through a lot together, from breast cancer to the loss of Tracy's husband from a brain aneurysm, to the loss of my son this year.

Through thick and thin, we remain a family. —Linda Czarzasty.

From left to right: Debbie Johnson, Debbie Noble, Lisa Magno, and Tracy Medford, with Linda Czarzasty in front.

Spending every summer on Long Beach Island since their youth, Tom and Linda Seiz have shared that magical experience with their children and grandchildren. Pictured with them is their granddaughter, Zoe (2 1/2 years old). —Tom Seiz Page 48 • Echoes of LBI

My mom encouraged my love of collecting sea glass while vacationing on LBI. Recently, inspired by my daughter’s sketches – I used a new tool to cut tiny hearts through the sea glass to create bracelets. This new method is helping me to refine my jewelry making process. —Photography and text by Carroll Owsinski

Lifestyle

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n the summer of 2012, after 10 years of renting a place at Barnegat Light for a few weeks each summer, Danielle and Jeff Lumby finally found their LBI dream home, one that would accommodate their four boys, then 9 to 19 years old. It had solid bones, a great location with quiet beaches, and plenty of improving to dream about. They bought it.

Relatively unscathed by Hurricane Sandy a few months later, the Lumbys’ beach house, which Danielle described as a “house that happened to be at the beach” and was ready for some serious beachifying, is now, she says, “a little resort.”

That is all, she says, because of Reynolds Landscaping.

“Every once in a while clients like the Lumbys come along who will allow me to actually create what I see for them and their space,” says Mark Reynolds. “When that happens, you get things like their serpentine pergola. We had to deconstruct the beam to create that flexibility, and then put it back together. We’re talking 30 feet and a lot of time and effort.”

“I can’t say enough about Reynolds,” Danielle says. “I have eclectic taste. You might describe it as an urban/rustic feel so I’m open to working in different styles and so are they. I also love that they hear what I’m saying and they do what they say they will when they say they will. They make the entire process simple and painless.”

To make the challenging and difficult seem simple, and to assure it would be painless, the Lumby home was transformed in phases: Phase 1 (2013): A fabulous “surf ” room for the boys was built on the side of the garage with hooks, cubbies, lofts, and a custom-built library ladder. For the adults, up front, a wet bar was made from a variety of rough-cut cedars.

Phase 2 (2014): The backyard was restructured for smart living, with patios and a designer-made concrete fire pit.

Because of that freedom, the Lumbys “now have a beach house that is everything they ever wanted.”

Phase 3 (2015): A new pool was installed in a new location “that now makes sense” with exquisitely colored hand-built tiles from a Vermont artisan; the serpentine pergola was crafted; an open-air shower was installed; and landscape lighting highlighted it all.

With all their services in-house, including electricians, tile setters, and carpenters, Reynolds Landscaping can not only maintain the highest standards but can also handle the smallest as well as the most complicated projects, all while creating a pace of work that allows a family to be a family.

Phase 4 (2016): Remodeled interior bathrooms.

Danielle says, “I give Mark my idea, then he puts his spin on it. I don’t worry because I know I don’t have to.”

For a person who likes to express himself creatively, Mark Reynolds says, “this kind of freedom is amazing.”

“My boys are now 13 to 23, one is a senior in high school; another is autistic. They all have friends over. Jeff is here as much as he can be,” says Danielle. “We have a wide range of interests and needs but at the top of the list for all of us is celebrating this life we have here—together.” —Annaliese Jakimides

Lifestyle

I

’ve become addicted to Stand Up Paddling (SUP). About six years ago I learned it’s a great way to be outdoors, get a workout and be on the water. Spending all my summers on LBI, I love waterskiing, swimming, beach time, boating and basically anything having to do with the bay or ocean. Now I SUP several days a week. There is nothing like getting outside in the fresh air and being on the water for my workout instead of going to the gym. I love that anyone can do it. It really is easier than most people think and you don’t have to be a fitness guru.

One of my favorite aspects of SUP is that it does not damage our fragile ecosystem in Barnegat Bay. George Ghales, owner of Surf Unlimited, rents paddleboards and offers classes where visitors can learn to paddle and see our beautiful surroundings in a noninvasive way.

Last summer George, Kathleen Wells, Colleen Panetta and Lisa Braunwell teamed up to offer paddleboard rentals and lessons as a way for visitors to experience our beautiful bay and learn about some of the wildlife and plant life.

Many of us need to get out on the water other than just in the summer months. Sure New Jersey winters can be cold and we cannot paddle when there is ice on the bay. However, this past year Page 52 • Echoes of LBI

Colleen Panetta and Donna Bradley

I paddled in December and then again in March when we had an unusually warm week.

People ask me all the time, “Isn’t the water cold? How do you paddle in April?” My answer: “Well, my feet are not in the water when I paddle.” I wear wetsuit boots because I have to step in the water briefly as I leave the shore and step on the board but then they are on the board.

Companies have created fashionable SUP gear to wear in the colder months such as neoprene pants, jackets and gloves that keep us warm and still look fashionable. I have a wetsuit for scuba diving but I feel that if I wore that to paddle it would restrict my movement and flexibility. I certainly don’t want to look like Randy when I am on my board – the little brother in the movie A Christmas Story who could not move in his snowsuit.

As I write this, I am getting ready to travel to Key West for a 12-mile race around the entire island. This is more than I have ever paddled before and I know I can do it! Colleen and I love to paddle. After this picture was taken, we paddled out to the islands with the wind blowing and temps in the 50s. We got a workout and stayed warm while we counted down the days until summer!

—Donna Bradley. Photography by Cheryl Kirby.

Lifestyle

M

ost children experience a fantasy or repetitive dream. For Robert, it was swimming with a mermaid. This dream was fulfilled in 2010 when he met Leslie, a beautiful tall redheaded mermaid with long flowing hair.

Robert, a designer and remodeling contractor and Leslie, a designer and artist joined forces in life and professionally. Together they have developed a partnership designing wonderfully unique spaces and rooms for their clients.

Leslie and Robert came to LBI with one of their clients from Basking Ridge, who had purchased a house in Loveladies. The house was a wonderful blank canvas with little personality. There were nice interior architectural details that needed emphasizing with a unique sense of imagination and creativity.

Their clients’ desire was for their beach house to encompass a rustic, urban feel with a hint of an industrial edge. The clients' desired look for the house gave Robert and Leslie a springboard that sent both designers into a passionate brainstorming session.

You Dream. We Listen. Robert and Leslie welcome and embrace challenging projects. They stretch the imagination into creative problem solving. —Photography and text by Leslie Brown and Robert Lynch

Photography The Stairwell: Architecture was enhanced with multiple finishes and effects, including weathered wood grained risers, hand rails with a steel-like effect, and multiple layering of distressed colors on each thread.

The Walls: Embellished with rivets and weld lines, then painted with black iron paint and a solution to encourage the iron to rust, creating the look of a rusted ship's hull.

The Tiki Hut Bedroom: A fabulous retreat for six very happy campers. The vaulted dormer was treated with real grass thatching and three sets of bamboo bunk beds. LED lights accent each wall and a palm tree serves as a corner post for elongated mattresses for older children.

The Window: A custom patchwork, designed to incorporate the clients' love of the ocean and many elements of LBI, hangs in an upstairs window.

Lifestyle

The outdoor system creates an entire outdoor living space.

W

e Long Beach Islanders spend as much time outside as possible: reading, eating, cooking, and showering. Now, we’re bringing our entertainment systems outside. Even in my brief 2 1/2 years working at Island Audio Video, I’ve seen some really cool outdoor systems: outdoor TVs, outdoor speakers, and wireless connectivity to control it all.

I decided to bring my DSLR camera to work with me to photograph these great systems.

There was one problem, though – nothing to photograph! Rock Speakers blend into the landscaping. Box speakers blend into the siding. Outdoor TVs are installed so cleanly that the photos look desperately unspectacular. Did we do something wrong? No, I don’t think so. I think this “problem” may have accidentally been a solution all along: creating a lasting outdoor entertainment oasis that blends in, becoming part of the outdoor living space.

Page 56 • Echoes of LBI

Weatherproof speakers are engineered for the outdoors.

The Island Audio Video crew was involved with a job in Loveladies from the ground up. When framing of the new construction was almost completed, we got involved. We planned all the indoor and outdoor systems and created and installed the wiring infrastructure. Then, as the house and the back yard took shape, we installed the system components and programmed the control.

porch. There are “rock” speaker pairs at the pool, at the jacuzzi, and by the fire pit, which exceed military anti-corrosion specifications and are both UV and water-resistant.

The outdoor TV is engineered and designed to withstand the elements. Its LCD panel has a high haze factor that absorbs ambient light, making the screen resistant to glare from the sun. All you see in the installation is the TV itself.

The cable box is hidden and controlled with the main remote.

We continue to use these particular speaker series year after year because they deliver the best audio and aesthetic quality and they stand up to the elements for long periods of time. In fact, we recently revisited a customer’s oceanfront home where outdoor surface-mount speakers have been used every year since we installed them fifteen years ago!

The way the new outdoor systems are controlled is part of the appeal. Don’t get out of the hammock.

Everything is controlled wirelessly with any smart device – music source, volume and zone, all from one app.

You wouldn’t know it, but upon first glance of this backyard, you are enveloped in awesome audio. We have surface-mounted speakers in the outdoor kitchen, on the deck, and on the screened

When you see Island Audio Video ads with my photos in them, go easy on me: the systems are invisible. —Photography and text by Halley Feaster

Lifestyle

The coastal cottage – a classic look with timeless forms – are only enhanced by its thick columns over river rock bases, covered porch, and mahogany decking. Although the house sits lower on short pilings, this home does not fall short of any residence on LBI. Beautiful geometry and a form that is well balanced makes this home one to admire.

Below: 3D Rendering by Mike Bonelli: Project Architect at Michael Pagnotta Architects.

Page 58 • Echoes of LBI

L

ast summer, Echoes of LBI did an article about Michael Pagnotta, architect and builder from our island. To update our readers, Mike just completed another architectural wonder in Barnegat Light: a vintage seashore home lacking only one thing – the maintenance required to keep its beauty.

In 2014, Mike met with owners Alan and Teresa Egler to design their home. As usual, it started with a program provided by the client resulting in sketches incorporating their needs and illustrating how to conform their home to the lot. The design process continued and the next step was to make their dreams come alive with 3D visualization on the computer. Here, any final minor modifications were made to the design. Lastly, a miniature 1/8” scale structure of the home was made from Mike’s 3D printer.

Architectural construction soon commenced and by spring of 2015 the house was completed inside and out.

Looking at it from the outside, its cottage-like appearance makes it hard to imagine that there are 2,800 square feet of living space under its gambrel roof. The first floor consists of a living room, kitchen, dining room, mudroom, master suite and office. On the second floor, there are three spacious bedrooms. There are a total of 3 1/2 baths. The detached one-car garage, which has the same siding and rooflines as the main house, brings the old beach house theme all together. It provides a place for bikes and beach gear as the members of the family and their guests participate in outdoor activities typically enjoyed on LBI.

The dark blue paint and materials of the bunk room are youthful but classic and express the maritime inspired trundle bed built-in.

The exterior is made from cellular PVC shingles and look identical to authentic cedar shingles except they will not suffer the effects of the sun and salt air. Due to the way homes are built on pilings in this area, the stonework on the exterior of the house was sourced from man-made cultured stone.

Inside the house, there are reminders of old times past such as hickory wood floors and a stone fireplace. Mike even found an appropriate place to put an old brass porthole the owners had and used it for an interior window. All the nooks and crannies were fully utilized by building in drawers, cabinets, shelves and a window seat with cabinets under it beneath a large bay window in the den. There are even two built-in trundle beds in one bedroom.

Much of the interior home has a nautical design to it, emphasized by a red, white and blue décor. This architectural masterpiece can be seen on a quiet ocean block in Barnegat Light.

—Mike Pagnotta. Photography by John Martinelli.

Not even the shed goes unnoticed as the same detail and craftmanship that went into designing the home is transferred to its smaller accessory counterpart. The nautical light fixtures and oval window make this piece stunning all by itself.

Growing Up

E

d Heitman is a true Renaissance man. Ed first visited Long Beach Island in 1947 and has enriched the lives of many by sharing his art talents for almost 70 years. He spent summers living in Surf City as early as 1959 and later had a contemporary round house built in Barnegat Light in 1961.

the Philadelphia schools. After he retired, he volunteered for the Pennsylvania Horticulture shows and spent the following 16 years helping with the world-renowned Philadelphia Flower Show. Ed also taught preschoolers at the Long Beach Island Arts Foundation for many years.

When “the love of his life,” a three-story 1886 Victorian, finally came up for sale in 1968, he purchased it. In 1970, he moved in and began to design and nurture the lush garden that surrounds the house today.

When Ed moved into the home in 1970, only a narrow dirt driveway existed. Four cedar trees and a locust tree had to be cut down to provide additional light for the rest of the property. The lone apple tree was located in the back yard as were hollies, other cedars and some wisteria native to the area.

Ed’s garden continues to be a labor of love for the artist who is best known for his realistic watercolors. Growing up in Philadelphia, Ed's father was in charge of the garden. The larkspur that grew there has yet to thrive in Ed's garden.

Ed spent most of his adult years teaching junior high school art in Page 60 • Echoes of LBI

He gradually designated different areas in the garden and added a gazebo in 1978 that was given a new life after friends were about to discard the intricately forged iron pillars. Another cozy garden section is surrounded by what looks to be rusted gates, originally grills for cellar windows found in a cesspool in Miquan, PA, and cleaned by Ed.

The entire garden area has undergone many changes over the years.

Brick edging that used to surround the garden spaces has been overtaken by the plants and is barely visible now. What can be seen are the luscious plants and flowers Ed cares for from early May when he arrives on the island until mid-October when he departs for Warminster, PA. When he pulls into the driveway in the spring, his car is filled with houseplants eager to make their home on the wrap-around porch.

The foxtail fern is one plant that makes the trip annually and has a special place in the corner of the porch beside a unique statue.

Many other stone fountains, statues and urns surprise visitors throughout the garden.

While the pink Crapemyrtle (Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica) is one of Ed’s favorite plants, color comes from the Limelight hydrangea, pink mallows, Phlox, Eupatorium, black-eyed susans and blue morning glories. Lacecap hydrangeas, pink, white and red azaleas, and Clematis are part of the summer and early fall garden.

The Clematis provides those taking outside showers with color and a wonderful fragrance.

While Ed has to contain the trumpet vine and the Jerusalem artichokes so they won’t take over, he still nurtures one tomato

plant in season. Many of these plants surround a small garage that has become his workshop and framing station over the years. The cedar trees that surround the property were not as tall as Ed when he first moved in, but now are as tall as the house.

Ed’s daily schedule is quite ambitious. He is “bottom up” out in his garden around 6a.m. greeting his flowers, pulling weeds and watering plants until he hears the sound of the boat whistles leaving Viking Village docks at 8a.m. Then he goes inside and makes himself breakfast. If company arrives later in the day, they might be surprised when Ed asks them to join him for an afternoon swim in the ocean.

Ed’s advice for novice gardeners is “Plant anything you’d like and it will grow!” His secret garden has certainly added a lot of beauty to the island over the years. —Cynthia Andes. Photography by Sara Caruso Pictured left to right: Brilliant blue morning glories; red and pink begonias tucked behind iron fencing which began its life as a basement grate; Ed Heitman between his Limelight hydrangea and pink Crapemyrtle; Ed’s “garage” used for potting plants and framing paintings; and one of Ed’s favorite plants, the pink Crapemyrtle.

Growing Up

O

ur gardens and outdoor spaces are a reflection of things that make us happy. Some gardens are formal, some are whimsical and others are filled with random items such as Patrice Pottichen’s garden in Brant Beach.

Patrice is an elementary school teacher here on LBI. For years, in her spare time she combs the beaches for sea glass, driftwood, bricks, and anything else she can find to use in her yard. She also frequents salvage yards, antique stores and finds outdoor vendors who sell items that she adds to her outdoor space.

Everything in her yard speaks of her creativity and eclectic taste.

Old pieces, newer items and even broken pieces find a home in this garden. Glass, wood, metal, pottery and an element of unusual can be seen too.

Her walkways are lined with sea glass embedded in concrete.

Instead of a lot of flowers to provide pops of color, she uses

brightly colored bottles, some filled with sea glass, on posts or on branches of a “bottle tree.” A few pink flamingos peak out from between shrubs. A crab she found in her travels made from discarded tools and a fish made from charred wood nestle between the greenery.

Throughout Patrice’s back yard, you can see “faces” made from bricks, glass, shells and stones. Each one has a different expression and personality derived from items she used to create these wonderful “people.”

Clay pots and bricks don’t have to be perfect; they just have to be able to accommodate plants or other random objects.

Some recent additions to her garden include bowling balls and bowling pins. The colorful bowling balls resemble gazing balls.

Under the steps leading up to her house I spotted an unusual item for a garden: a mannequin leg with a gazing ball perched on top.

At one corner of the yard, Patrice used an old metal fish tank stand to place a dollhouse decorated with a roof made of sea glass. In another corner, up in a tree I spotted a hula hoop once tossed there and remained.

Patrice has created an outdoor space that reflects her hobbies and showcases her unique personality. —Photography and text by Vickie VanDoren

Marine Science

Great Black-backed Gull • Tonya Wilhelm photo

Above: Northern Gannet at Holgate. Below: Marine hermit crab with sea glass.

Sara Caruso photos

Black-crowned Night Heron • Tonya Wilhelm photo

Marine Science

A

nyone who beachcombs has a dream find. If you ask a sea glass collector what their dream finds are, they will probably tell you a glass stopper, marble or red piece. Perhaps the most romantic and amazing discovery is a message in a bottle.

began to make out the text, which was on both sides of the little note.

For hundreds of years before the advent of technology and GPS tracking systems, a message in a bottle may have been the only way to tell how a ship wrecked – and that's only if it the bottle was found. The story of the bottle is less romantic when you think about a boat filled with forlorn sailors. However, the real treasure within the bottle is connecting with someone new. In a way, the bottle harkens to simpler days when technology didn’t take over our lives.

October 24, 2015 We love each other Long Beach Island, New Jersey Beach Haven 39.5760 N Latitude -74.2518 Longitude We are together again...

Lisa, Jaymie, Tammy, Kelly So if you find this email us at...

I was walking the beach in Holgate late in November at low tide.

There were quite a few pieces of sea glass and other finds along the way. On my way back up the beach I saw something glisten in the surf. As I bent over to pick it up I noticed it was a fairly new bottle.

That alone would have been enough to make a sea glass hunter's day. Then I noticed a message inside it. It was sealed with a cork and scented candle wax (which unfortunately didn't smell pleasant after being in the sea). The wax had chipped, allowing water inside and soaking the note. I could only make out the words “instantly connected.”

Once I got home I chipped off the rest of the wax and uncorked the bottle, dumping out the water to let it dry. Using long tweezers I gently teased out the scraps of the note, careful not to rip it any further. Even though it was obviously not that old, it felt like I was about to decipher an ancient text. After getting it out I gently unrolled the note onto a plate for drying. It took all night to dry and most of it was in pieces. Like a puzzle from an Indiana Jones film, I carefully put the note back together. I could make out a date, October 24, 2015 – it was only in the water for about a month. Any longer and the note may have disintegrated. Slowly I Page 66 • Echoes of LBI

Side 1:

Side 2: ...and we will be instantly connected for life...

Jersey Shore for the 1st time and we love it!!!

I sent an email and got a reply from Tammy from Long Island, NY. She explained that every year she and three high school friends have a reunion. They go to a different beach and this year was the first time they chose LBI. With family and work separating them by states, they only have one time of year to personally connect and catch up.

Some argue that throwing a message in a bottle into the sea is polluting. The bottle managed to travel about five miles south before I found it based on the coordinates Tammy and her friends wrote on the note. These girls always dreamed of finding a message in a bottle so they did this to make another beachcomber's dream come true. It was nice connecting with someone from far away and I hope to find another bottle some day. You just never know what you'll find with each tide. —Photography and text by Sara Caruso

Cover Photographer: RYAN PAUL MARCHESE is a South Jersey native. He graduated with honors from the Art Institute of Philadelphia for photography where he was awarded best portfolio and outstanding achievement. Currently, he works as a product photographer in addition to running his own business. His works can be seen on exhibit locally within the Ocean County Library system. He recently displayed images from the fish factory on Crab Island at the Surf City Ocean County Library. His next exhibit is tentatively set for September 2016 at the Beachwood Branch.

Rarely caught without his camera, Ryan enjoys documenting the world around him. His subject material ranges from portraits to architecture, still life and nature. Whenever he can, he explores abandoned structures, spends nights creating long exposures, and hikes through landscapes to observe wildlife.

About the Cover: Found in the Pacific, white finger sea stars are an elegant member of the class Asteroidea and the phylum Echinodermata. Like all sea stars, their underside was once covered in tiny "feet" that help push them across the sea floor in a continuous search for food.

Their diet consists of clams, mussels, small crustaceans, snails and sponges. If they lose a limb they have the ability to regenerate it, but this can take up to a year.

Found in Holgate, this 4 inch long stone is actually a very rare crab fossil. Unlike most crab fossils, its shell has been opened by the tumbling waves, exposing the inside of the crab. After about 10 million years, the tide has sealed the crab in a concretion and buried it under thousands of tons of sand. After winter storms churned up the surf, the crab washed ashore. What's even more amazing is that there was very little to be found on the beach that day. Many beachcombers probably stepped right over this thinking it was just a rock.

—Photography and text by Sara Caruso with Derek Yoost, local fossil expert.

While out beachcombing one day, I got bored with no shells or sea glass to find so I started picking up plastic. My sister, Geri LenartDerrico, found two beach badges. One is a 2013 Harvey Cedars Seasonal badge and the other a 1977 Bradley Beach day badge. In all my beachcombing days I have never found a beach badge, let alone one from 1977. —Ginger Lenart Oliszewski Page 68 • Echoes of LBI

O

n July 1, 1916 at approximately 5pm, opposite Centre Street in Beach Haven, Charles Epting Vansant, 23, decided to take a dip in the ocean with his dog. Only a few feet from shore, Vansant suddenly heard other beach-goers calling out to him. Before he had time to react, a shark bit his left thigh, tearing at his flesh.

Seeing the chaos, Alexander Ott, a former US Olympic swimmer, darted into the water to assist the flailing man. With the help of other beach-goers, Ott retrieved Vansant and dragged him to shore where a tourniquet was placed around his leg. Unfortunately, Vansant's femoral artery had severed and by 6:45p.m. he was dead from blood loss and shock.

Those who saw the shark described it as eight feet long, dark gray

or black, and weighing about 500 pounds. This attack was one of several during the “Summer of Terror” in 1916.

The next attack was only five days later in the town of Spring Lake (roughly 45 miles north of Beach Haven) when Swiss immigrant Charles Bruder was swimming 400 feet from shore. Lifeguards noticed the man struggling to keep afloat and yelling “...a shark bit my legs off!” In fact, the mystery man-eater had ripped off Bruder’s feet. Soon after being brought to land, he too succumbed to blood loss and shock.

Then on July 12 in Matawan, Lester Stillwell and his friends were swimming in deep water when they felt something “like sandpaper” brush up against them. Stillwell began to struggle and the other boys swam to shore and ran through town in search of

Philadelphia Inquirer article detailing several large sharks caught off the coast of New Jersey in July 1916.

Photography provided by National Geographic.

help. By the time help arrived, Stillwell drowned.

Stanley Fisher, a tailor, and George Burlew, who had aided in the search, waded through the creek when the shark struck Fisher's right thigh. The 210-pound man was repeatedly pulled under like a bath toy. When rescued by a boater, Fisher noted he had a 14-inch bite on his right thigh. The closest hospital was almost two hours away. Fisher too succumbed to his injuries. However, the shark was not done with its rampage.

One hour after the attack on Stillwell and his friends, another group of boys were attacked further down the coast. This time though, the boy who was attacked was able to receive medical treatment early enough to spare his life.

Afterward, New Jersey locals took up arms against the shark with whatever they could get including dynamite.

Several sharks were caught, the largest reportedly being nearly eight feet long and weighing 250 pounds. Taxidermists claimed it was a great white shark, albeit a juvenile. The content of its stomach revealed it had about 15 pounds of flesh inside which was identified as human by doctors.

Ever since, researchers tried to understand why the sharks attacked and whether it was a great white in the first place.

After the attacks and the blockbuster film Jaws by Steven Spielberg in 1975, the fear and hatred for sharks grew. Rather than listening to science, some people were eager to wipe the animals off the face of the planet. Fisherman would take large groups out to hunt sharks, profiting from fear and misunderstanding. In a few years, the shark population plummeted resulting in the animals nearly going extinct. New science shows that the shark may have been misidentified as a great white when it was actually a bull shark.

Bull sharks are said to be the most aggressive of all the shark species. This is often attributed to the fact that they have the highest testosterone levels of any animal, leading them to be unpredictable. Bull sharks, unlike great whites, can live happily in fresh water. They often come into creeks and rivers to spawn and

to catch easy food. They have similar coloring to great whites but tend to be much smaller. Their size is similar to the captured sharks from the attacks with bull sharks weighing 500 to 700 pounds.

Great whites can grow to more than three times this weight.

While great whites have the highest reported number of attacks.

Most of these are mistaken identity because humans are not the shark's preferred prey. Surfers look like seals or sea turtles from the bottom, leading to many attacks. Bull sharks may be causing the great whites to have a bad reputation.

Finning is a form of shark hunting whereby the shark is caught and, while still alive, has its fins cut off. The shark is then heaved overboard only to float to the bottom and slowly asphyxiate. A shark must keep swimming in order to breathe. If water can't pass through its gills, it dies.

In the Asian market, shark fins are sold to make shark fin soup and for medicinal purposes. Some commercial fisherman had used finning as a way to supplement their income. Some species have dropped by 80% in the past 50 years. Worse, finning is extending from the Asian market into South America and the Caribbean. With education, however, there is hope for a future with sharks.

After finning was brought to the attention of the world, a surprising amount of response against it surfaced.

Many Asian countries banned finning by 2011 with other countries following suit by 2013.

Commercial fishermen found they could make more money through shark tourism where people come to see sharks rather than through finning.

Biologists have been able to track sharks using GPS technology to better understand their lifestyle. Science and education are finally outpacing fear. —Sara Caruso. Written with information collected from The Jersey Man-eater by Richard G. Fernicola, M.D., with special thanks to Don Myers.

Long Beach Island Historical Museum of Beach Haven presents The Shark Attacks of 1916 Al Savolaine, Matawan Town Historian lectures • Monday, August 8, 2016 at 7:30pm Free to the public • (609) 492-0700 • lbimuseum.com

Marine Science

A

place as beautiful as Long Beach Island with summer sun and plenty of seasonal visitors doesn't seem like a home for a forest animal like a red fox. Foxes were considered game animals in New Jersey ever since settlers from Europe came to the New World.

Red foxes are native animals to the state and can be found in most wooded areas along the Eastern seaboard, North America and around the world.

One story of how foxes got onto Long Beach Island suggests when people first decided to settle there they wanted to continue hunting foxes, so they decided to capture some and bring them over along with rabbits to supply the foxes with a food source.

The more likely reason they are here is due to the bay freezing over each winter. The swift-footed foxes are light enough to dash across the ice on the search for food and most likely came here long before the European settlers.

Page 74 • Echoes of LBI

Foxes are great for keeping the rodent population in check, especially off-season when the mice are more likely to try to come indoors. They are nocturnal and feed on invasive species including mice, squirrels, and rabbits. They can also eat insects, fish, birds, amphibians, small reptiles,and, because they are opportunistic, even garden vegetables.

Unfortunately foxes have been seen as a pest and people try to poison or shoot them. Not only is this an illegal practice it's a shame because, unless you are a mouse, you have nothing to fear from them. There is a myth that they are killing off the shorebird population in great numbers. Foxes have little effect on the wild bird population because they don't rely on the birds for their primary food source.

Since foxes have been here for several hundred years, both the bird and fox populations have stabilized with the aid of government

funded environmental conservation programs.

Many shorebird populations have been decreasing due to removing their habitat and creating private beaches, forever damaging age-old nesting grounds.

Foxes have gotten used to humans being around.

Scientists refer to foxes that live close to people as “urban foxes� because they have adapted to city life. Rather than be hindered by human encroachment, these highly intelligent creatures have learned how to use us to hunt. The warmth of our houses and habits of littering attract mice and rats during the summer. Fattened up, these little pests hide under our homes away from the elements outside. The fox has learned to hunt here, hiding in wait for the perfect chance to pounce.

Even the frozen bay is not a barrier for them. They stride across the ice and come back in the night with dinner for the kits. Foxes dig out burrows in the sand and both the male and female raise their young together. If something happens to the mother, the father will take over watching the kits.

They can have up to six young per litter, though there have been cases of more.

Foxes are opportunistic, even when it comes to finding water.

At four weeks old they have developed enough to venture outside the den and explore, and by seven weeks they are weaned off their mother. They only need seven months to reach adult size and some reach sexual maturity before their first year. The red foxes of LBI are usually found in the wildlife refuges on either side of the Island and tend to be elusive.

The red fox, like any wild animal, should be treated with a healthy dose of respect and distance.

While they seem cute and dog-like, they should never be approached. Though harmless to humans, the foxes of LBI should never be fed or considered as pets. Feeding them is not only illegal but can encourage them to get closer to homes and people. Trapping or hunting them can result in steep fines or jail time.

Foxes are not a nuisance and removing them from the Island would only cause more damage to its ecosystem. The best thing to do is leave them alone and be thankful they are taking care of LBI's rodent population. —Sara Caruso. Photography by Margaret Pisciotta.

Juvenile red fox.

Legends & Lore

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cacophony which confuses the senses. Fogs and mists tantalize the eyes. A tangled clump of seaweed a hundred yards up the beach is a frightening gruesome thing to approach with cautious care in case it is not what it is.

By night, the beach can become a foreboding place. The sea breeze wafts through grassy dunes, playing mournful tricks on the ears.

The relentless, eternal surf roars in and whispers out in a ceaseless

The beach at night is home to nocturnal creatures that feed on it, cavort on it, and die on it. To most of those people that revel in it under the sun, the beach by the dark of night is a fearsome experience.

n a warm summer day, the beaches of Beach Haven, Surf City and towns the length of Long Beach Island are sandy playgrounds, that play host to volleyball, sunbathing, girl and boy watching, and swimming. There is laughter, music, and quiet relaxation.

It is said that on the darkest evenings, when the moon is new or shrouded by thick clouds, the ghost of a young woman walks in eternal sorrow from one end of the island to the other. Her plaintive sighs are not unlike the whisper of the receding surf and the windswept songs of the dunes. But somehow, they are more recognizable as the pitiful pleas of a girl.

Legend has it that the maiden’s heart was first to break, then her mind and spirit were shattered, and finally her lonely life was ended in utter misery. She never recovered from the one incredible experience that touched off the tragic chain of events.

Her story harkens back to the tales of “wreckers” on Long Beach Island. She was an unwitting member of a band of these beach bandits, of which her father was the leader. Blindly obeying his wishes, she would follow his gang to the surf each time a ship met its fate on the shoals, or at the hand of the tempests.

One particular night, a storm brewed off shore. The lights of a brig were visible, bobbing violently in the distance. The lights seemed to get brighter, bigger. It was apparent that the ship would succumb to the storm and become another victim of the unpredictable and unbridled ocean.

Sara Caruso artwork

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The wreckers assembled on the beach, ready to pillage the hulk.

Sure enough, the screams of twisting timbers and hopeless people could be discerned above the roar of the surf. The helpless ship, in its dying gasps, floated closer and closer to the shore.

Soon, bits of flotsam appeared in the waves. Then, bodies.

Miserable corpses, some with their faces contorted, in their dying anguish, rolled onto the sand as unceremoniously as the wrack and tangle of seaweed.

The task of these people was morbidly simple. As the dead reached the land, their bodies would be stripped of any worthwhile adornments.

The grisly thievery was proceeding well until a ghastly scream split the night. Members of the party looked toward the young woman, whose arms were flailing about as she knelt beside one of the bodies.

The girl’s father, confused by her actions, whisked her away to higher ground. He calmed her down and urged her to explain her sudden display of grief.

Through uncontrollable sobs, she tried to tell her story. The words did not come. She grasped her father’s hand and ran with him to the cadaver that sparked her outburst. It was face down in the wet sand.

The man was instructed, through now-crazed and incoherent yelps, to roll the victim onto his back. The father took a shoulder, and did so. As the face became visible, a shudder of pity, fear and outrage shot through the man’s being. The body was that of his daughter’s lover.

He had joined the crew of the ship being ravished by the wreckers, and fate brought him and his lady friend back together in one final, cruel moment.

It is believed the young woman suffered much following the incident. Her heart and mind broken, she weakened and died in short order.

Today, her ghost walks the beaches from Barnegat Light to Beach Haven, in a never-ending search for redemption. Beware, should you walk the shoreline on a moonless night. That shadowy figure just beyond your clear vision could be her spectral form. The melancholy moaning you think is the breeze could be her perpetual weeping.

BEWARE! Reprinted with permission from Legends of Long Beach Island, ©1985, 2012 by David J. Seibold and Charles J. Adams III.

50 & Counting The beauty of Cuba as seen from the top of the 1558 Real Fuerza Castle looking across Havana Harbor.

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eborah Whitcraft, and I have made three trips to Cuba in the past five years and have friends of all ages and backgrounds. Our first trip was to do research for our book Inferno at Sea. Off we went, two women alone with full access to the country. We were greeted at Jose Marti Airport in Havana by author Randy Wayne White’s friends, Roberto Giraudy and his wife Ela. Roberto is a lawyer and Ela is a publisher.

“I cannot understand you,” Roberto laughed, “You New Jersey people speak much too fast.” It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Roberto and Ela work for the Cuban government and are paid in government pesos, worth 1/20th the value of the Cuban peso used by all visitors. Almost impossible for the older generations to live, many are moonlighting in the service industry, driving taxis, or are tour guides.

Roberto is the Cuban liaison to Randy’s Doc Ford’s Cuba Expeditions. Deb and I just returned from lending our services to one of these tours, knowing it would help Ela and Roberto, and plan another next January. We took our tour all over Habana Vieja explaining how the harbor overflowed with ships, talking maritime history, and remembering how close our two countries were.

This year we stayed at the home of Celia Sanchez, the original force behind the 1959 Cuban Revolution, said to have been Fidel’s mistress until her death in 1980. Her daughter-in law, a well-respected University of Havana professor of Architecture, now rents out rooms, more lucrative than her profession. Her grandson, formerly a chef at the Nacional Hotel, runs La Habitania Restaurant at the mansion.

Inferno at Sea was honored at the 2015 Havana International Book Fair. We did a program at La Cabana with a simultaneous translator, the only Americans to be so honored. We have been among a

1862 statue of Christopher Columbus in the Plaza de Armas – flanked by the historic and architecturally beautiful Capitaines Generales Palace, now the Havana City Museum.

Old American cars barely function, but are part of Cuba's charm.

handful of Americans over the years to have access to the Cuban National Archives and Cuba’s National Library, where all records are in pieces with no climate control, and are not preserved to professional museum standards.

We went to our first Cuban wedding, missing the ceremony because of a plane delay, but catching up at the casual reception still in our traveling clothes. We had cake and celebrated with old and new friends. Through the Internet at the Hotel Armadores de Santander, we stay in touch regularly via email and Facebook.

Yenedit and her sister-in-law Tamara work the front desk at the hotel while Tamara’s husband Franqui runs his own taxi service working almost around the clock during the winter months. Most Cubans are not so lucky.

Our wedding presents to Yenedit and her husband Amaury were unlocked international Samsung cell phones. Roberto and Ela received Fitbits from us. We always take presents for our Cuban friends who expect so little but give so much of their hearts to us.

Each trip to Cuba shows changes, some good, some bad. There was no Internet service this year at our usual spots. The infrastructure is worse than ever with buildings crumbling. At Cojimar (where Ernest Hemingway once fished) the small fishing fleet was monitored: a shark was quickly taken away by government officials.

Deb Whitcraft and Gretchen Coyle explore the work of modern Cuban artist, Jose Rodriquez Fuster who expresses his talent by adorning his and his neighbors' homes with mosaic creations, handmade broken tiles.

Europeans, Canadians, and South Americans tour in big buses. Few Americans are in Cuba despite what one reads and sees on TV. Sadly, the word on the street is “Everyone go see Cuba now before the Americans come and ruin it again.” Memories of Battista, gambling, prostitution and the raping of the Cuban economy are still fresh after half a century. Similarly, the atrocities, imprisonments, and killings of the Castro brothers remain too. Nothing in Communistic Cuba is simple or as it seems.

Maybe the British Rolling Stones, who recently brought so many people together at a concert in Havana, can help improve Cuban/ American relations. “I (we) can’t get no satisfaction, (but we) try, and we try and we try.” —Photography and text by Gretchen F. Coyle

Cuban friends Brittany Padron, her aunt Yenedit Padron Chapman, and Gretchen Coyle.

50 & Counting

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he Long Beach Island community has always loved and supported its library. Ocean County Library services began on LBI in the 1920s with library stations in Mary and Al Houghton’s Clam Bar in Harvey Cedars, and Mabel Butler’s home in Barnegat Light. As our communities grew, it became impractical for private citizens to maintain them.

In order to keep library services available, the Ocean County Library used a panel truck as a primitive bookmobile during the summers of 1949 and 1950. It became so popular that service went year round, one day a month in winter, and one day a week in summer. By 1953, the bookmobile was circulating 1,000 books per trip to Island residents. Service steadily increased to meet demand to three days a week in summer, and every other week in winter. It became obvious the bookmobile was not going to suffice.

In 1956, Long Beach Township officials, with the help of the Page 80 • Echoes of LBI

Rotary Club of LBI, designated a 20’ x 20’ room in the township building that became the first branch of the Ocean County Library. The books and library staff were provided by the County.

The branch was open every day except Sunday in the summer and one day a week in winter. The local collection included 3,500 books and many other titles could be requested from the main branch.

1971, that the library would have to go.

Even that room was quickly outgrown; there was no room for tables and chairs for customers to read or do reference work. Long Beach Township was also growing and needed that room back.

At the end of 1958, Mayor Howard Schifler advised Miriam Evans, the Director of the OCL from 1948 to

The Ocean County Library Commission did not budget funds for renting or building library facilities. Neither was the initiative forthcoming from the Island towns to finance and construct a library building. Director Evans made the proposal that a group be

formed to work quickly to find a permanent home for the Island Library. This is when the Friends of the Island Library was founded and they sprang into action.

They searched for land, noting that the library should be centrally located. Their big break came on May 19, 1959 when Oliver and Josephine Cox offered to give the Friends a 40’ x 100’ lot on West 16th Street in Ship Bottom. This development really got things moving, and donations began rolling in – donations of not only money, but labor, architectural plans, legal services, and building materials.

After seven months of diligent organizing, negotiating, planning, and fundraising, the trenches were dug for the foundation on Saturday, August 15, 1959. In the ceremony on August 22, the cornerstone was dedicated to Josephine Thomas, who had passed away the week before.

Walls were erected, concrete poured, utilities connected, and doors and windows installed. Over Christmas break in 1959, students from Southern Regional High School helped transport the 3,500 volumes from the municipal building to the spacious new library on West 16th St. In less than a year, the LBI library had gone from the threat of homelessness to a 1,750 sq. ft. building built by the community.

Yet within ten years, what had once been considered spacious, the new library, that should have housed a recommended 10,00015,000 volumes, contained over 20,000 books and had become the third busiest branch in the system, circulating over 40,000 volumes a year.

It should be noted that because the Friends owned the library building they were responsible for paying the utility bills, and for maintenance, repairs, landscaping, etc. While the towns had always given some financial support to the Friends, no money had ever been forthcoming without annual requests. Years ago, the towns had made the commitment to provide County library services through the dedicated tax, but no commitment had been made for the periodic expansion of the library building to keep pace with the needs of the growing community.

made for a new location opened up a new round of debate and controversy with the mayors and governing bodies of the five towns, the Ocean County Freeholders, and the Ocean County Library Commission and Administration.

Right into the middle of this walked Elaine McConnell, the brand new Director of the Ocean County Library. When a proposal to create three regional libraries in Ocean County was proposed, the Friends went on the offensive and wrote up a resolution to withdraw from the County system in favor of a joint Long Beach Island Library Commission. This got attention.

Not wanting to see the Island withdraw from the County library system, Freeholder Mancini convinced the other Freeholders to change the way libraries were built in Ocean County. He also became a catalyst for more serious and productive negotiations with the other mayors on LBI. A study was conducted in 1985, paid for by the five towns that recommended that a larger facility of 5,767 square feet be built.

The County committed to the Ocean County Library Facilities Development Plan in July 1986 and groundbreaking for this library took place on March 15, 1988.

The campaign had started in March 1981 and the doors opened on May 7, 1989. On the first anniversary of the building, the Friends made a major gift of the sculpture, “Dolphins,” which hangs over the circulation desk.

Today, the Long Beach Island branch of the Ocean County Library circulates over 77,000 books, audio books, DVDs and CDs to more than 7,500 customers of all ages. Seven computers are available for the public to use for research, writing, scanning documents and photos, email and games. The meeting room is well-used year-round for meetings, programs, concerts, lectures, and art exhibits.

In addition to materials, the Ocean County Library has three libraries of e-books, access to more than 100 online databases, 500 online courses from Universal Class, online tutorials from Lynda. com, a collection of e-zines, genealogical materials, and much more.

Therefore, the Friends assumed it was incumbent upon them to obtain a larger facility, so, in the early to mid-1980s, they began to look for a larger property.

From bookmobile to community center, books to electronic resources, the Long Beach Island Library has always been at the heart of the community. —Photography and text supplied by Linda H. Feaster, Branch Manager, Long Beach Island Branch of the Ocean County Library.

Things were going nowhere. The Friends had taken the lead position in striving for a goal that involved the interests of many different entities. Consequently, each suggestion the Friends

To learn more, read the book, The Best of Friends, by Linda Feaster and Barbara Jaskolowski available at the branch to borrow, or to purchase for $10, which benefits the Friends of the Island Library.

50 & Counting

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n May 23, 2016 Robert H. Potter will see something never seen by most people: his ninety-ninth birthday.

After all, at this age he has seen many things others have not and never will: from driving his Model-A Ford over the old wooden Causeway Bridge and sailing a sneakbox beneath its rickety boards to witnessing the conflagration of the Hindenburg; being entertained by Al Jolson in a local courtroom; seeing firsthand the emergence of his cousin Doc Cramner as a major league baseball star; to watching bootleggers smuggle liquor through local creeks during Prohibition. Robert recalls these fading events of local history with youthful ease and bright eyes that belie his ninety-eight years.

Born in 1917, Robert H. Potter is the oldest full-time resident of Long Beach Island. That year Beach Haven saw the completion of the twenty-two block long boardwalk at the Engleside Hotel.

Horse-drawn carriages delivered patrons to the few hotels on Long Beach Island. Most homes were still lighted by gas lamps, and automobiles were started with the turn of a crank instead of a key.

The Tucker’s Island lighthouse was still standing and the ocean hadn’t yet created Beach Haven inlet.

When the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 reached New York, Robert’s parents Edward F. Potter and Mary A. Struthers fled bringing one-year old Robert and his brother Edward to the safety of the house built by his paternal grandfather on Willets and Thomas Avenues in West Creek. Later, Robert’s parents adopted brothers Ralph and Walter Cramner, the orphaned children of his cousin. “My parents raised us as brothers.” Robert recalls. “There was a lot of love.” Surrounded by extended family, Robert lived there until entering the Army.

Sunday dinners were in Beach Haven at his Uncle William’s house.

His cousin Roger “Doc” Cranmer of Beach Haven would go on to become a major league baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia A’s and the Red Sox. “Sometimes my brother Edward caught for him.”

Robert attended school in the local one-room school-house. “Every child in the area went to that school.” For him it was the kind of place “where everyone knew each other and watched out for each other.” Robert laughs recalling the day he ate strawberries from a neighbor’s garden. “Oh…you couldn’t get away with anything. The news reached home before you did.”

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Above: While serving in the Philippines in 1946 during WWII, Robert's son was born. It took two months for the news from home to reach him.

Right: Robert H. Potter, U.S. Army, Ft. Slocum, New York, 1942. Robert would go on to serve in the Medical Corp.

Time seemed to move slower in those days. Summers were spent fishing, clamming, and swimming. “There were no big summer crowds in those days,” recalls Robert. “No traffic or traffic lights either.” The train brought summer tourists to Long Beach Island.

“Bathing suits were a little different too,” he jokes. Robert recalls building fires on the beach at Barnegat Light House – fires built with salty wood that sparked and crackled. “We used to sit on the beach and watch the embers float up into the night sky like stars.”

Robert’s father Edward F. Potter was the local Magistrate when Al Jolson was brought in by State Troopers for speeding in Tuckerton on June 21, 1923. His appearance brought excitement

and a crowd of locals hoping to see the world famous entertainer.

Six-year old Robert and his brother watched from a seat in their father’s courtroom. “He paid a fine. Then he stayed a while and entertained everyone in the courtroom,” recalls Robert. “Everyone thought he seemed like a nice sort of fellow.”

Robert remembers sailing his sneakbox up to the hand-operated drawbridge of the old wooden bridge that connected Manahawkin to Long Beach Island. “It had a big sail and a real tall mast. The bridge tender wasn’t too happy to have to come out of his house to open the bridge for a couple of kids to sail through,” laughs Robert. “Sometimes he threw garbage down at us when we sailed through.”

According to Robert, the old Causeway bridge was avoided because the boards on deck were not nailed down. “The boards flew up and gave you a flat tire.” One night in 1937 to avoid taking the bridge, Robert decided to take the train tracks across the bay to the island.

Located to the left of the old bridge, the unlighted railroad track had open water on both sides. Before driving onto the railroad tracks Robert let some air out of his tires. The partially deflated car tires “fit right on the railroad tracks,” he explains “And, the heat from the friction kept the tires on the tracks.”

As a young teen Robert spent summers working on fishing boats.

He worked on party boats from Tuckerton and fishing boats out of Beach Haven Yacht Club on Dock Road. “In those days you slept on the boat and your wages were paid to your father,” Robert says smiling and shaking his head. “I got a 15 cent weekly allowance and I was allowed to keep my tips.” He also worked as a Captain’s Mate on Captain Finamore’s fishing boats the Rainbow, and Four Sisters. Robert recalls the excitement of a huge swordfish hooked by a customer while working on the Rainbow. “It danced on its tail – up and out of the water on its tail.” A passing cruise ship, The Queen of Bermuda, cut its engines. Its passengers took photographs and watched.

Robert Potter (in the cart) and friend Bob Rutter in West Creek, 1934.

Robert and Rita in 1956 with their children Robert Jr., baby Cathy and Robert's mother, Mary Struthers Potter (center).

Over some months Robert and his friends had watched the German airship Hindenburg “sail up and back over Long Beach Island.” On May 6, 1937, Robert and three friends took his Model-A Ford to Lakehurst, New Jersey to watch the Hindenburg dock. “We wanted to go see what all the excitement was about.”

Unable to get close to the docking area because of the crowd, Robert drove down a small back road and up to the fence.“ We could see the Hindenburg as it was coming in just above the tree line.” Determined to get a closer look, Robert and his friends were climbing the fence as the Hindenburg exploded. “We saw the burning ship, smoke and fire,” recalls Robert. “We got out of there fast.” Only later did the boys realize that the heat from the fiery explosion had singed their hair and scorched their faces red.

“Mother was really upset with me that night,” he said. “I gave her an awful scare.”

After graduating from Tuckerton High School in 1937, Robert worked at the A & P in Tuckerton and as a local bayman. Enlisting

Robert married Rita Morrissey in 1943. Even today Robert beams when he mentions her beautiful red hair.

50 & Counting in the U.S. Army in 1942, he served in the Medical Corp. He was 82 miles from Hiroshima when the first Atomic bomb was deployed. Serving in the South Pacific as a medic, “You see things that never leave you – things you can never forget.” Robert says softly. “It does something to you.”

Robert and Rita Morrissey of Prince Edward Island, Canada married in 1943. “She had beautiful red hair,” Robert recalls with a huge smile. Their son Robert Jr. was born in 1945 while Robert was in the Philippines. News of the birth didn’t reach him for two months. A daughter Cathy would come along at a later date.

After discharge from the Army, Robert worked for the U.S. Postal Service. He retired in 1962 and moved his family to Surf City.

The house he built at 234 6th Street still stands. “I built that one myself,” recalls Robert. He laughs and shakes his head “I had to pay a $100 fine for building it too high. Today you have to build them even higher.”

Today, Robert shares a home with his daughter-in-law and son Robert Jr. in Brant Beach. He has glimpsed historical events of Long Beach Island and the world for nearly a century. “When you get to be this age you’ve seen a lot,” he laughs warmly. “It’s hard not to.” —Susan Spicer-McGarry. Photography supplied by Robert Potter.

Mary Struthers Potter, Rita, Robert and Robert Jr. in West Creek around 1958.

1924 Robert (front center) and his brother Edward (back row, third from the right) attended the one room school house in Tuckerton, NJ. Page 84 • Echoes of LBI

50 & Counting Lifestyle

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et me tell you about my mother Jane Smith, the consummate worker.

She was a woman who exhibited a strong work ethic of capital "C’s": Cooperative, Considerate, Conscientious, Congenial and altogether Confident. She was successful in a simple way by doing what was right, the right way by following the golden rule.

Here on LBI in the early 1940s, Jane worked the counter at the Beach Haven Laundry owned by Esther and Frank Sheck. In those days, weekly pickup and delivery was available for the smaller hotels, guesthouses and seasonal families. Her daily routine included sorting garments, boxing starched shirts, tying bundles of ironed sheets (no plastic bags then) and often helping in the hot washroom. Her blonde good looks, accurate accounting and congenial personality were a welcome to everyone.

This was the heyday of fancy dinners and dancing at the big hotels in Beach Haven. Jane and Esther heard that vacationing city women needed more party clothes, so for several summers these classy ladies opened a small boutique under the long porches of the Baldwin Hotel. In 1945, near the end of the season, a fire broke out upstairs. Luckily, their stock was quickly removed to safety. The difference between try and triumph is more “umph” which these two savvy women used on their next venture.

They moved the Esther Jane Shop to a mid-island rental on 19th Street in Ship Bottom (today Surf Unlimited). In the 1950s there wasn’t a TJMaxx on LBI for mid-priced, stylish women’s and girl’s clothing so their business thrived as did all small, unique shore businesses on the island. As times changed and more businesses opened, Esther retired from both businesses and Jane closed the store to be at home with her family.

Many years later, ever the confident sales lady, Jane’s next job was in Zena Josephson’s A & H Hallmark store in Ship Bottom. She knew her customers well and was dedicated to helping them find the perfect card for a loved one, wrapping an anniversary box of specialty chocolates, or keeping track of which Christmas ornament you needed for your collection.

Eventually, Koseff’s department store in Beach Haven remodeled to an indoor mini-mall with pizza and food vendors and a variety of seashore shops. Today Silver Sun occupies the building. Then in her late seventies, Jane managed the candy counter, sometimes working a ten-hour shift, having Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream for dinner, and leaving at 11pm to drive home to Surf City. She marveled at the youngsters who came every night to spend $20 on sour patch kids, saltwater taffy, gummy bears and other treats. Her high standards kept the glass display cases sparkling inside and out, plus her genuine love of people brought families back for fresh fudge each season.

Sadly, Jane left us in December. She left a wonderful group of volunteers at the Surf City Fire Company Auxiliary and her “Kitchen Boss” apron.

For 45 years, her quiet presence and respect for others added to the organization’s fundraising in the community. She left long-time friends and neighbors with memories of early Our Gang shows, cold Christmas parades, groans over the Phillies, recovering from all our major storms, the rickety wooden bridge, and seeing her beloved Island grow. And she left a large family who dearly miss her. —Photography and text by Carol Freas.

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50 & Counting

Sally Vennel photo

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or those of us who live and breathe to cross the Causeway Bridge onto a little piece of heaven called Long Beach Island, that movement across the bay from Manahawkin to Ship Bottom is the time where we can take a deep breath and begin to relax.

In our excitement to get onto the Island, we rarely acknowledge more than the fact that we are finally home. Having been coming here practically since birth, my husband and I both thought we knew all there was to know about our favorite place but a walk through a flea market at the Surf City Firehouse changed that.

At that flea market we strolled among tables filled with books, dolls, ID bracelets, fishing gear, socks, flags, and a variety of homemade and second-hand items. This is an avid hobby of ours we share with many residents of LBI. We are motivated by the search for the next treasure. True to form, the highlight of this shopping adventure was meeting a wonderful woman when we walked into the firehouse.

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As we admired her painting skills intricately demonstrated on the inner side of large clam and oyster shells, one particular shell stood out to us Amid shades of dark blue stood an arc of glimmer. We noticed immediately it was a painting of the Causeway Bridge at night. It truly is a majestic sight when you take the time to observe.

We complimented this lovely woman on her attention to detail. In her thanks, she noted that it was only right to capture LBI’s “string of pearls.” This series of lights mounted on the railings of the bridge as the sole access point to the Island illuminate the night sky and the Island’s beauty.

Although it is being replaced, rumor has it the "string of pearls" will be replicated on the new bridge. Until then, the next time I travel across the “string of pearls” at night, I will enjoy it even more because – like a pearl, unique, rare, and started with a single grain of sand – LBI and its bridge are truly unique. —Candice Osmond

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50 & Counting

Bill's work bench

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nside the workshop of Bill Cordrey’s Long Beach Island home the fragrance of cut wood lingers. Several beam sized barn pieces of New Jersey cedar stand in front of drying cabinets filled with wood that line the wall. Wood carefully stacked by species fills the center of the room. Bill, an award winning decoy carver, picks up a shoebox size block of wood and turns it over in his hands “There’s a decoy in there. There’s one in every piece.”

Decoys in different stages of completion fill his workshop as proof.

A retired building contractor, self-taught carver, and lifetime resident of Long Beach Island, Bill Cordrey grew up next to the old fishery on Lavenia Avenue in Beach Haven Crest. The house built by his father and grandfather still stands. Bill recalls, “It was a great place to be a kid. I loved to fish and hunt.”

Weather was never a factor in his younger days, “It didn’t matter if we were wet or nearly freezing to death – as long as we were fishing or hunting.” Necessity inspired Bill to briefly take up decoy carving. Decoys were expensive, and like many young teens Bill “lacked the money to buy them.” He stopped carving after building two dozen Black duck decoys. Over the years, he took up collecting instead of carving, amassing an extraordinary decoy collection.

Bill retired in 2009 and found new inspiration in an uncommon Page 90 • Echoes of LBI

and challenging carving style known as Modern Antique. It has become his passion. Carving in the Modern Antique style, Bill works to create technically exact replicas of antique and vintage decoys for competition. Bill has a preference for pre-Civil War decoys.

“The antique decoys I work from are one hundred years old or older,” he explains. While technically exact, no decoy may be an exact copy of a particular antique decoy. Completed decoys must be branded with the date and initials of the carver. Time acquired nicks, dents, dings, shot marks, and even evidence of old repairs present on the original antique are carefully recreated. Decades of use, wear, and weathering are replicated through Bill’s perfected proprietary aging techniques employing physical, paint, and chemical processes. He has perfected imperfection. It is an art form closely resembling alchemy.

Working directly from antique decoys on-hand, photographs, and his own patterns, Bill carves completely by hand using antique drawknives, spokeshaves, and small steel blades. He works painstakingly in the style of the original carver, employing the same ancient techniques, transforming blocks of wood into decoys that appear to have stepped out of the past. His award-winning Modern Antique decoys meticulously reproduce the grace, flow, and imperfections found in antique and vintage decoys.

“New Jersey cedar, teak and apple are my favorite woods.” Foraged from old wood piles, salvaged or searched out, “The best wood is old, wide grained, and aged,” offered Bill. Some of the wood drying in the workshop is from local beaches and marshes. It is ideal for decoy building. Bill picks up old weathered wood pieces that have been washed in by the tides. “Sadly, after Hurricane Sandy some of the wood that washed up was recognizable” as part of one or another local structure destroyed in the storm.

Standing in front of a floor to ceiling rack filled with a mixedspecies flock of handmade decoys, Bill smiles as he gently shakes a completed Bufflehead decoy. It’s hollow and a muffled rattle can be heard. “Most antique decoys rattle. They were used for hunting, and most got shot through at some time.” He explains that hollow decoys are built from two carved-out halves. “I put a piece of birdshot inside so they rattle like the originals.” The primitive looking decoy in Bill’s hand bears shot mark into which pieces of chemically aged birdshot have been carefully fitted.

“The shot holes are made with an ice pick,” he explains, noting that even the leather tie-down has been made to look appropriately

Bill carving a new piece

The shelves of Bill’s den are meticulously lined with dozens of duck decoys. Bill knows each one personally. “I like the Black duck decoys best,” he explains. weathered and aged. The metal weight on the underside appears ancient, and the black and white paint is weathered and scuffed to perfection. Skillfully replicated and imbued with the appearance of treasured folk art through the application of Bill’s artful carving and aging techniques, it is easy to believe this decoy was afloat on a misty morning a century ago.

2016 Show Best in Show Winner, a Gray-backed Gull

Bill competes annually in the “It Ain’t Vintage Yet” division of the Ohio Decoy Collectors and Carvers Show and has won numerous awards for his Modern Antique decoys. In 2010, his Labrador duck was awarded Best in Show. His Long-tailed duck (oldsquaw) drake placed second in 2011. In 2012, he won Best in Show and second place for his Curlew and Goldeneye.

Additionally, in 2012 Bill was honored with induction into the New Jersey Decoy Collectors Hall of Fame as Collector of the Year.

His Red-breasted Merganser drake was awarded Best in Show and his Curlew won second place in 2013. In 2015, Bill again won Best in Show for his Curlew. His Black duck took second place.

Most recently, Bill won Best in Show and ten other awards at the 2016 Ohio Decoy Collectors and Carvers Show. Bill continues to enjoy carving, and competing locally, nationally and internationally.

—Photography and text by Susan Spicer-McGarry

2015 Best in Show Winner, an Eastern shore feeding curlew

Selfies

Marcia Kretzer and Andy Besch Stephanie Chase photo

Chris Doyle, "Hi Mom!"

Marcia Kretzer and Keith Limbo Stephanie Chase photo

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Debbie Hanaway (left) with her children Clint and Ashley.

Looking Back

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arnegat Lighthouse, affectionately known as “Old Barney,” has been a symbol of Long Beach Island and the Jersey shore since its construction in 1835. First illuminated in 1857, it provided a lifesaving beam for sea vessels along the East coast helping them to avoid treacherous conditions and shoals extending from the shoreline.

As a state park established in 1951, Barnegat Lighthouse is also a maritime site on the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. Visitors can challenge themselves to climb the 217 steps to the top of the structure looming 172 feet above sea level. Their reward is the panoramic view encompassing LBI, the Atlantic Ocean, Barnegat Bay, Barnegat Bay Inlet, and Island Beach State Park.

Ike's nephew Eric

Every person who makes the climb has a story. One such individual is Ike Johnson. Ike, the son of Dan and Martha Johnson of Beach Arlington, now Ship Bottom, lived in the Railroad Station at Barnegat City, now Barnegat Light, from 1917 to 1923. As she lay in bed at night, Martha was fascinated by the light cast by Old Barney. The stories she shared with young Ike are what he feels has given him a lifelong attraction towards all lighthouses, especially Old Barney.

Ike has climbed Barnegat Lighthouse too many times to count. He even enjoyed the experience with his son John who wasn’t able to climb due to a heart condition. Undaunted, Ike carried him all the way to the top and remembers that day 59 years ago! Years later he enjoyed many return trips to the top with his sister Nora and her four children who have since moved to Ohio and still visit frequently. One of his nephews, Eric, would ride his bike with Ike from Ship Bottom to the lighthouse. Ike remembers his last climb in 2014 with his niece’s two sons, Jonathan and Matthew.

Ike has climbed lighthouses in Cape Hatteras, Cape May, and many throughout the state of Florida. His most memorable visit occurred in Cape May. The Lighthouse had just reopened the day he arrived after having been closed for renovations. Some would consider this fate because when he reached the top he discovered a distraught man who had just received a “Dear John” letter at the end of his military service and was contemplating jumping.

Ike was able to talk the man down. As they joined Ike’s wife Dolly sitting in the gazebo overlooking the water, they listened to his story and convinced him life would get better.

Like his beloved lighthouses, Ike and his wife were truly lifesavers that day providing hope and reassurance to help a stranger through his personal hour of darkness. Surely the warmth of his mother’s stories which Ike holds dear to his heart provided him with the ability to also become a beacon when it was most needed. —Diane Stulga. Photography supplied by Ike Johnson.

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Ike (center) with nephews Mathew (right) and Jonathan (left). Below: Grown up Eric with wife Alyssa

2016 VXS

Looking Back

Keith Holley in a racecar. March 1975, Ship Bottom.

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n the spring of 1974 when I was five years old, my grandfather and a friend went to north Jersey to bring back the racecar that grandfather had driven after WWII. In the nineteen years that had passed since he last drove it, the car seemed to become a pile of rusted old parts.

It took almost a year to restore it with after-school and weekend assistance until my grandfather made it look new again. I remember doing lots of cleaning and other chores as the year passed from fall to spring and the car was ready to start.

We jump started the old car and took it for a spin around the block in Ship Bottom where my grandfather lived. I got to ride shotgun and that was the start of my love of cars. At first I couldn’t Page 96 • Echoes of LBI

make many of the races and meets that my grandfather entered, but as I got older I went to many meets with him.

As my grandfather’s health declined, I would spend a lot of time on my own or with other members of the club that my grandfather and I belonged to. We went to Latimore Valley Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

I made lots of memories spending time with my grandfather and some of the other original racecar drivers from those post-war days.

Having driven the cars many times at both tracks, I can look back and remember having lots of fun. It was a great way for me to experience history and enjoy the present. —Photography and text supplied by Keith Holley

W

hen my father, Ship Bottom resident Amleto (aka Babe) Poggi, was 17, he was on a crew that put the bow of a ship together at the Philadelphia Navy yard. Several men had convinced him that the Navy was the best branch of the armed services. They told Dad he’d have a warm place to sleep every night, make lots of friends, learn skills, and eat well. The only risk was that the ship might sink.

Babe went through some preliminary testing. Then an officer asked him to pick out an orange ball in a box of colored balls. When Babe failed, the officer said, “You’re color blind! You can’t be in the Navy. You won’t be able to identify the colors on flags.”

That was the end of my father’s Navy dream. Three months later when he was halfway through his senior year of high school, an Army recruiter came into his classroom and told the students they could receive their high school equivalency diploma in exchange for signing up for the Army. Babe raised his hand along with about ten other guys.

Babe did his basic training in Florida, then went to New York and soon crossed the country to San Diego, all via an open train. From there, his unit was shipped to the Philippines where they built bridges.

A few weeks before V-J day, Babe boarded one of six LCI (landing craft infantry) ships that left Leyte, Philippines for Japan. A violent storm hit and was expected to increase in intensity the further north they travelled. Three of the ships, including the one my father was on, turned around and headed back to Leyte. The other three ships continued in the storm toward Japan.

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Mayhem ensued. Soldiers rushed below deck. The lieutenant kept shouting, “Get down in the hole!”

Despite the command, one of Babe’s buddies refused to go. “If we go down there, we’ll never get back up!” he shouted through whipping wind and rain. He convinced my father and two other buddies to take a chance. They refused the lieutenant’s order and used the hawser (a large rope used for towing or mooring) to tie themselves together by the anchor. When the lieutenant saw this, he finally went down below and locked the door.

The ship bucked. Thunder roared and waves crashed in the black of night soaking the four comrades. They endured hours in the cold, relentless storm until sunrise.

When they arrived back in the Philippines, the head officers of the three ships were to be court-martialed for disobeying orders but the charges were later dropped because the other three ships were never found.

Eventually, Babe’s unit did go to Okinawa, Japan. He was at sea when Truman dropped the bomb. Later while in Matsuyama, the captain urged Babe to re-enlist saying he’d promote him to sergeant because he had the loudest voice.

That didn’t bode well with my grandmother when she read the letter her son had written her. She immediately telephoned Dad overseas and told him to get home. When he finally arrived home in Philadelphia, the front door was locked. So he dropped his duffle bag and waited on the steps for his mother. —Photography and text supplied by Joyce Poggi Hager. Read Joyce's blog, Musing Off the Mat, at joycepoggihager.com

Looking Back

Beach Arlington fishing pier in 1941. Jack Lamping photo

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hen the 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane hit LBI, Ike Johnson was just a lad. The Johnson family rode out the storm in their home on 17th St. in Beach Arlington (now Ship Bottom). Ike has vivid memories of that destructive storm.

At the time, most of the dunes were between 20 and 40 feet high.

Even at that height they could not prevent the ocean breaching them in several locations of Beach Arlington.

The ocean crossed the Island and connected with the bay.

Destruction was everywhere. The bathhouses along 21st Street and the Baker’s apartments located on the oceanfront were totally demolished.

Camp Dune-By-The-Sea, a girl’s beachside camp, was also damaged.

The Port Hole, also owned by the Bakers, had ocean water come through the back door and exit out the front door. Tables, chairs and even their shuffleboard table washed right into the street.

and the Army came to help. They set up a camp where the old CVS was located. Schools were closed for weeks. Even the children pitched in to help.

There was massive wind, water and sand damage and destruction everywhere. The devastating waves left over a foot of sand in the streets. Power was out for at least a week. Cleanup would be an enormous effort with everyone pitching in. The National Guard

The ocean poured down 8th Street. Herbert’s Store (now the 7-11) originally sold produce out of an old trolley car and was engulfed by sand. Later the store sold household goods, dry goods, produce, shoes and clothing. Ike along with his friend, Walt Shin, worked

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shoveling and carting out all the sand so the store could re-open.

Ike recalls that he and his friend were paid in shoes, clothing and a little cash for shoveling out all of that sand!

The storm affected the everyday lives of those living and working in Beach Arlington. Prior to the storm, the fishing was very good. Anyone could catch fish.

Individuals and pound fishermen were thrilled. The difference was that commercial fishermen used nets, not fishing poles.

Pond fishing was a thriving industry on the Island. Basically, pound fishing required placement of a huge barrier (weir) off shore that forced the fish into a net. Just about every type of fish swam into their system of barriers and nets. The pound fisherman would then boat out and lift the net to bring all the fish to the surface. The fish would then be scooped up and taken ashore. It

required several trips to get all those fish to shore.

Ike Johnson laments the loss of the Beach Arlington fishing pier located on the ocean at 20th St. It extended about 300-400 feet into the ocean. Many fish were caught from the pier. The pier was more than a fishing haven; it was a center of social life. Near the entrance were bathhouses and game rooms compete with pinball and other games. The pier was also the local hangout where teens would dance. Sadly the storm completely destroyed the pier and changed the lives of many living in Beach Arlington.

Ike has lived many years on the Island and survived storms both large and small but there is no place else he would rather be! His heart and soul is anchored right here on LBI. —Diane Stulga and Ike Johnson

From left to right: Noah Oliphant (grandson), Larry Allen Oliphant (son), bust sculpture of grandfather Joseph William Oliphant, and Larry (Lawrence William Oliphant).

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chair, a dreamer and a builder: what is the common thread between them? The answer is friendship and a vision of LBI.

THE CHAIR It is deceptively plain and simple crafted of mission oak style with a beautiful age worn patina. With an Adirondack style slant, leather cushions add comfort to the back and seat. The wide-armed enveloping chair invites one to settle in and dream. If it could talk, what great stories it would tell: tales of art, design, artists, students, friends and living life to the fullest.

THE DREAMER The chair started its journey from the studio of a dreamer named Boris Blai. Boris was a well-known LBI denizen. He was a renowned artist, a sculptor, and a student of Rodin. A Russian immigrant, he settled in the Philadelphia area and founded the Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art where he served as dean. Beyond the structured academic walls, Boris had a lifelong dream. He wanted to create a place where people could gather to do manual Page 102 • Echoes of LBI

creative art, sculpt, innovate and share art among themselves and the entire community: “Art as the total experience.” Boris believed “Mental ability increases as the ability to use the hands increases.”

The Builder: Perhaps one of the unsung figures who impacted the history and landscape of LBI in an understated way was builder Joseph William Oliphant. Commonly known as Joe Willy, he was a contractor throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Joe Willy was born in 1893 in Manahawkin, New Jersey. His pedigree stretched back to 800 AD when the family surname was Olifard. Sometime between 1100 AD and 1300 AD the family received the high honor of the duty as keepers of the King’s elephant. Thus, the name was then changed to Oliphant and elephants were added to the family shield.

Joe Willy’s family history is extensive and impressive. Oliphants were defenders of Sterling Castle. David Oliphant was the godson of King David I of Scotland. Sir William Oliphant was involved with Robert the Bruce in fighting for Scotland’s independence and even spent some time in London Tower for his efforts. Joe Willy was even related to John Davison Rockefeller Sr.

Above: Boris Blai with his scuplture of General George Mead at the Barnegat Lighthouse. Below: Boris (middle), George Daub (right), and Frank Hanle (left) on the planning board.

Above: Chair from Boris Blai's studio. Boris Blai called it his thinking chair. Below: Oliphant family crest.

Looking Back In 1682, Duncan Oliphant immigrated to New Jersey and the southern coast of the state has been inhabited by the Oliphants since then. They once owned the mill in Smithville. In 1742, Oliphants arrived in Manahawkin. They had followed the whaling industry and lived where the radio station WORZ is now located. In 1829, David Oliphant built the first Inn or “public house” in Barnegat. It seemed only fitting when he became the first postmaster of Barnegat because in 1910 he had built the post office building.

From these ancestors, Joe Willy inherited his love of the area and of building. In the 1930s and 1940s, Joe Willy was building dredges for Reynold Thomas of Harvey Cedars. At the same time, he was constructing buildings large and small all over the Island. For example, what is now the Stella Maris Retreat in Harvey Cedars was once the Small Estate. By the mid1930s, Fredrick Small’s multihome estate encompassing an area from ocean to bay was completed by Joe Willy. Many children raised in Harvey Cedars fondly remember Mr. Small. He paid for a YMCA membership for them. Stella Maris took over the property in 1962.

Joe Willy constructed the Millside Dairy building, real estate offices and many homes on the Island. By 1941, he incorporated his construction company.

THE START OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP Combine a dreamer and a builder and you get the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences (LBIF). The LBIF brought the two men together.

It may have started as a professional association but it ended as a friendship. Boris’s admiration for his friend is best exemplified by the bust he sculptured of Joe Willy.

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Boris’s dream of a place to provide art and educational opportunities was not just for the summer residents. He envisioned a year-round facility for the residents of the quiet island community. Boris wanted a place where there would be art classes, exhibits and other activities to give everyone the chance to create with their hands and expand their imaginations.

Boris had designed the LBIF building with architect George Daubb. The building was basically a square (before an assortment of additions), the challenge being the main gallery. That much open space in the gallery area was never done before. Daubb’s design called for a 20+ foot wooden slatted ceiling with exposed steel trusses to give the space unique character. The gallery was reminiscent of an airplane hangar and sometimes affectionately referred to as a pickle barrel.

Joe Willy welcomed a building challenge. He liked to build unusual and original buildings and this certainly was an opportunity to put his skills to work. So Joe Willy gathered others from the area to make this happen. They built the trusses and, with the help of Mr. Cox, set them by crane. Fred Grimski, who was responsible for most of the fireplaces on the Island, did the foundation. Fred used stones gathered from the shore and the Bartlett company did the block work. The Conrad Brothers Lumber of Ship Bottom made and installed the doors and windows.

Finally in 1948 the dreamer, with a little help from his friend the builder, founded the non-profit Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Science that we all enjoy today.

—Pat Dagnall and Ellen Hammonds. Photography provided by the Larry Oliphant Collection.

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Available in Original, Chocolate and Coconut 406 Long Beach Blvd., Ship Bottom, NJ (609) 361-1668

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n the Pharo family, that might just depend on your middle initial, if you have one! If your name is Watson Pharo, the name is quite significant considering there have been Pharos in this area of New Jersey since 1670. A namesake would have a lot to live up to because their ancestors were known for many and varied accomplishments.

James Pharo was a surveyor for William Penn. Jarvis was one of the first settlers of West Creek in 1705. Another Jarvis was credited with designing the first garvey in 1820, and in 1874 Archelaus P. Pharo founded Beach Haven.

The Pharo family had been prominent in politics. In 1833, Timothy Pharo became a Freeholder. By popular vote in 1862, Joseph Pharo was chosen as the State Senator of Burlington County. Through the years, they were delegates to National Conventions, Tax Collectors, and a variety of other positions.

In this family tree, one might wonder the origin of Watson’s name, which is the source of some speculation. It may go all the way back to 1680 when Joseph Watson and James Pharo were neighbors in Burlington County. The Widow Pharo eventually sold the Pharo property to Mr. Watson. The properties were combined, so perhaps the names were too.

The more recent Watson Pharos, likewise, have interesting life stories. Watson (no middle initial) Pharo, was born in 1903 in Staffordville (Eagleswood). At an early age, he moved to Beach Haven and attended Beach Haven Elementary and Barnegat High School. By age 17, he was a self-employed bayman. Except for serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, he continued as a bayman for the rest of his life.

Honorable Watson Pharo 17th Mayor of the Borough of Beach Haven, NJ 1982-1986 Portrait painted by Linda Reddington

Watson married Eleanor E. Fenimore from nearby West Creek. He honored his wife by naming the boat he built, The Eleanor. Even though the boat sank in the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, their marriage thrived and produced seven children: Watson F., Lucy (Adams), Eleanor (Aurand), June (Sprague), Stephen, Randy, and Edith June.

In 1938, Captain Watson Pharo made history. The first blue marlin caught off New Jersey was caught aboard his boat, The Eleanor.

The 10 foot 7 inch blue marlin still holds the record for the largest.

This catch started a sport fishing boom on the Island.

However, do not confuse him with the captain of the Siesta, Watson L. Pharo. Watson was nicknamed Kinky, a name that he used throughout his life. Kinky hunted, fished, played the banjo, and carved decoys. Another Pharo, Harold J., once described him saying, “Kinky is short, stocky and very strong. He grins from ear to ear.”

For Kinky, a hobby would become an award-winning accomplishment. Kinky was known to watch the ducks for hours – memorizing every detail. Those details showed in his decoy carving. Kinky’s decoys are prized possessions of friends and relative, and even graced the desk of Tom Kean, former Governor of New Jersey.

Since Kinky had no middle initial, he named his son, Watson F. Pharo, to differentiate between them. Watson F. was born on

Captain Watson Pharo, master decoy carver.

Opposite page: Examples of Pharo's carvings.

Looking Back

Engleside Avenue in Beach Haven. He loved growing up on the Island. There was always something for a child to do: clamming, fishing, sailing, ice skating, movies, picnics on the beach and all kinds of places to play. There was also hard work, which might have been shrimping, minnowing, working at Bob’s half shell clam bar, or at Joe Sprague’s diner.

After a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard, Watson followed in the Pharo tradition of serving his community through politics. Watson F. served as a Beach Haven Borough Commissioner for 12 years and served four years as the 17th mayor. He was the only Beach Haven mayor to have attended Beach Haven School and is proud to be “Island-grown.” To Watson F., the highlights of his years of mayor were unique. The very first marriage he officiated is still going strong. Perhaps even more memorable, using his mayoral salary, Watson F. bought and hand-delivered flowers to any Borough resident over age 80!

Watson F., almost 80 himself, is still involved in public service. He currently serves as a commissioner for the Ocean County Utilities Authority. It was his turn to receive hand-delivered flowers from the current mayor! —Photography and text supplied by Pat Dagnall and Ellen Hammonds.

Right: Beach Haven Commissioner Watson F. Pharo celebrating the 50th birthday of 48th Governor of New Jersey Thomas H. Kean in 1985. The Republican Organization of Ocean County presented the governor with this decoy, a blue ribbon life-sized brant goose, carved by Watson Pharo Senior.

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A terrific coming of age story of four inseparable teenagers in a small town in Brittany, France. Lifelong fans of the West Coast, they think they are real gangstas. As a gang, they are invincible, respected, fearless and nothing can touch them, not even the teasing and contempt of their fellow classmates. So when Fle-O, the leader of their gang, learns that he has to leave his town and friends at the end of the year, his whole world falls apart. This leaves him vulnerable when the most popular kid in school decides to make fun of them in front of everyone. Humiliated, our protagonists decide to take their revenge through one last expedition together that will lead them further than they would have imagined. Whip-smart, brilliantly conceived and gorgeously filmed, the film works on all levels.

A breakout documentary from the Sundance Film Festival, this film asks the tough questions. What does it mean to film another person? How does it affect that person, and what does it do to the one who films? Kirsten Johnson is one of the most notable cinematographers working in documentary cinema today, having shot Citizenfour, Happy Valley, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Oath, The Invisible War, and dozens of other essential documentaries. In her visually radical memoir Cameraperson, Johnson presents a deeply poetic film of her own, drawing on her remarkable and varied footage and reframing it in ways that have personally affected her.

What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between storytelling and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented in so many other directors’ films as one reflection of truth into another kind of story – one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

There have been surfers in New York rumored as early as the 1800s. The film starts with New Yorker Don Eichin as a young man in 1957 traveling to exotic Hawaii to become a merchant marine. While working on a ship and exploring the waters of Honolulu, a young woman teaches him to surf. He is changed forever by his experience it leads him on a path modern surfers could only dream about. He moves to the Banzai Pipeline and films his exploits and friends – who happen to be some of the biggest names in the history of the surfing. Returning to New York in 1968, he becomes a firefighter and passes his knowledge to others. Today his legacy continues in the New York firefighting and surfing culture. Blending incredible archival surfing footage from Hawaii along with terrific storytelling, the film is a must-see for surfers and documentary fans alike.

Photography and text provided by the Lighthouse International Film Festival.

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