Echoes Midsummer Dream 2013

Echoes of LBI Magazine

TM

2013 Midsummer Dream Edition

Long Beach Island Arts and Lifestyle Magazine

Photograph by: John

Martinelli

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Publisher’s Note

his year I am proud to celebrate five years of Echoes of LBI magazine. It’s been a labor of love that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Through sunny and stormy weather, it’s taken an Island to publish this magazine and I want to thank all of the generous advertisers, contributors and volunteers.

I’m also celebrating forty years in business with Things A Drift. Smiling faces of visitors and homeowners who stop by with their best wishes make this one of the most rewarding summers I can remember. Business owners appreciate the loyal vacationers who show their commitment by returning and patronizing local establishments; they wouldn’t think of summering anywhere else. Yet, we always welcome first-time visitors to share our Island beauty and resources and hope they will return for more vacation time.

Be safe, be careful and enjoy the summer. Remember to come back in the fall for some Endless Summer events: Sea Glass and Art Festival, Chowderfest, Lighthouse Challenge, Holiday House Tour and Ghost tours.

Have a great sunset.

Cheryl Kirby, Publisher

P.S. The special storm issue is still available at our advertiser locations.

Visit www.Echoesoflbi.com to read past issues and check our Facebook page to view updates and the video of the Guinness World Record Conch Horn Blowing event.

If you have an historical anecdote you’d like to share with Echoes, please contact me at Echoesoflbi@gmail.com.

Echoes of LBI

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First In

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Barnegat Light

Echoes of LBI

photo credit Nancy Kokos photo

Marjorie Amon photo

Corvettes year and owner’s names, left to right: 07 Convertible - Ed Montefreddi; 96 Convertible - Wayne Wright; 74 Convertible - Steve Crisalli; 63 Coupe - Bob Steele; 05 Coupe - Ray McDermott; 70 Coupe - Larry Whyte; 66 Convertible - Mike Adler; 62 Convertible - Dave DiEugenioa; 67 Coupe - Howard Welch; 63 Convertible - Dick Schuetz; 02 Coupe - Andy Kmosko

I have always loved Corvettes and, in 1972, I was able to buy my first one, a used 1968 bronze convertible. Since then, I’ve owned eleven Corvettes, one at a time.

While teaching at Southern Regional, I met Dave DiEugenio in the early 1970s, who had a photo of his Corvette in his classroom and I convinced him to add a photo of mine. We’ve been to many car shows since then but never joined a club because of our teaching and coaching commitments.

During the last ten years, a core group of eight guys who love Corvettes, and anyone else who wanted to join, began meeting for breakfast or a “Hot Dog Run” once every week or so throughout the year.

Weather permitting, we ride together on our way to places like the Stafford Diner, ScoJo’s, Mustache Bill’s, Captain John’s, Sweet Jenny’s (before the fire) Page 6

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and the Forked River Diner, which has a photo of our cars on their menu.

We prefer to ride on less-traveled roads through the Pines to Medford, Batsto, Sweetwater, Smithville, and Tuckahoe to name a few. Every August we caravan to “Corvettes at Carlisle” (in Pennsylvania), the largest Corvette car show in the world with more than 5,000 attendees.

In the past few years we have joined with the Ship Bottom Merchants Association and held the “Ship Bottom Classic Car Cruise Night” once each summer month. Our group has blossomed into very rewarding friendships.

Besides our love for Corvettes, we appreciate all types of classic vehicles and support the Vintage Automobile Museum of New Jersey and would encourage all to join. – Andy Kmosko

“You need to find a love that’s gonna last.” - Little Red Corvette by Prince

i n s i d e art & photography, lifestyle, looking back, marine science, poetry, beach reads, shore things, beach break

Echoes of LBI Magazine • 609-361-1668 • 406 Long Beach Blvd • Ship Bottom, NJ 08008 All content of magazine & website remains copyright of Cheryl Kirby. No part of publication may be reproduced.

Advertisers and Business Owners: Readers collect Echoes of LBI, so advertise with us and your ad has the potential to be seen for years to come!

EchoesOfLBI.com for on-line magazine and media kit. Email articles on history, nostalgia, poetry and art to: EchoesofLBI@gmail.com Cheryl Kirby - Owner & Publisher Magazine Designer - Gina Viggiano • Copy Editor - Joyce Poggi Hager • Photographer - Marjorie Amon Graphic Designer/Pre-press - Vickie VanDoren • Graphic Designer - Sara Caruso • Science - Ryan Marchese, Sara Caruso Contributors - Maggie O’Neill, Diane Stulga, Rena DiNeno, Karen Korkuch Kirk Lutz photo credit: See page 13 for bio and shell description

Art

Art by Carol Freas

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Art Robert Sakson Robert Sakson is one of New Jersey’s most accomplished watercolorists. He is a Fellow of the American Watercolor Society and the New Jersey Watercolor Society. Sakson’s love for Long Beach Island is reflected in his art. By portraying local landmarks and historically significant buildings, he shares his love of LBI.

Pat Morgan Pat and her husband Richard have retired to their much loved LBI where Pat’s passion for watercolor and the island will be her constant inspirations.

Carol Freas Carol Freas, a watercolor artist, captures our shore environment, its history and color with integrity.

She teaches locally at Foundation of Arts in Loveladies and Pine Shores Art Association.

All art is available at Things A Drift • 406 Long Beach Blvd.

Ship Bottom, New Jersey • 609.361.1668 Page 10

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Chowderfest

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Available online @ Saturday, October 5 MERCHANTS MART

services Outdoor Food Court, Sponsored by U.S. Food

Sunday, October 6

ASSIC CHOWDER COOK-OFF CLwde r ing Cho Your Favorite Restaurants Serv Under The Big Top

Sponsored by: Supported in part by a grant from The New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism

CHOWDERFEST.COM Adults $20 • Children $10 • VIP $50 (VIP includes T-Shirt & Exclusive Early Admission) To order by phone: 609-494-7211 or 800-292-6372 or pick up at Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, 9th St. Ship Bottom, Also sold at CHOWDERFEST

Lifestyle

Art in Bloom Comes to Long Beach Island

T

he Garden Club of Long Beach Island took a page from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Having survived a winter of “Renew, Recover, Restore” in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy, the club decided an Art in Bloom Flower Show would be most appropriate.

The concept of an Art in Bloom Show was introduced by the Boston Museum in the spring of 1976. The goal was to enrich the spirits of Bostonians by coupling magnificent fine art pieces in the museum’s permanent collection with fresh flower arrangements designed by the city’s most renowned floral professionals.

The difference here on LBI, 37 years later, means both the art and the floral designs would be the creative work of Garden Club members and the newly renovated Harvey Cedars Bible Conference would be the backdrop for the show. The intention of the Art in Bloom Committee was to open the show to the public as a thank you to the community for their support of the club in the aftermath of Sandy.

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When Sandy hit our Island last October, the Garden Club’s major fundraiser, The Holiday Tour of Homes, was already four months in the planning. All 800 tickets had been sold. Sandy severely damaged two of the six houses intended for the tour and caused major devastation to our entire Island. Canceling the House Tour put the scholarships and community programs supported by the House Tour’s revenue in jeopardy. However, while struggling with their own “Renew, Recover, Restore”, club members and members of our Island community chose to donate their ticket money back to the club. As a result, the Garden Club was able to continue their community projects, and make donations to Long Beach Island’s and Stafford Township’s volunteer fire departments and first aid squads.

To express their gratitude, for the first time in its history, the Garden Club invited the public to an “in-house” flower show offering free admission for all in need of a fresh breath of spring.

Echoes of LBI Magazine

TM

Floral designers Pam Masturzo and Mary Stevens and artist Chris Vohden pose with the Leeds family – (Dad) Doug, Ian, Laura, Jordan, Emily and Taylor

The show opened on May 9th with 22 pieces of art including acrylic and oil paintings ranging from an abstract Manhattan Skyline to a smile-inducing rooster, The Smithville Inn Show-Off. There were photographs of lighthouses, sunsets and a whirling dervish, quilted wall hangings of flowers and sassy bathing girls, needlepoint and an egret woodcarving.

One of the highlights of the show was a bronze sculpture, Woman, created many years ago by Dina Bickel (Lowden), an original charter member of the Garden Club.

The show was beautifully presented and all the visitors enjoyed the art and accompanying arrangements.

Since 1976, many museums and garden clubs have undertaken Art in Bloom Flower Shows. With the heart and enthusiasm shown by the Garden Club of Long Beach Island, no show could have been better received by a community learning how to “Renew, Recover, Restore.”

– Nancy Kunz Artist - Mary Ann O’Neill Art - Garden Melody - Wall Hanging Floral Designer - Betty Frey Artist - Marilyn Thomas Art – Central Park – Watercolor Floral Designers - Bette Dellatorre - Julie Eller Artist - Dee Muoio Art – Rough Water – Needlepoint Floral Designer – MaryEllen Bigham Artist - Barbara Russell Art - My Mother Loved the Color of Roses – Wall Hanging Floral Designer - Serena White Artist - Diana Woodward Art - The Chase - Acrylic Floral Designers – Pat Hough - Jen Figurelli - Grace Tsokanos – Donna Evleth

2013 Midsummers Dream Edition

Long Beach Island Arts and Lifestyle Magazine

Echoes of LBI Cover Photographer Kirk Lutz W. Kirk Lutz grew up in Cherry Hill and Long Beach Island. His family bought their first home in on 76th Street in Harvey Cedars in the 1940s.

Kirk graduated Penn State with a major in advertising and a minor in art. He is a lifelong artist and the owner of LBI Photos.

In addition to photography, he illustrates, designs websites, and programs sites at his other company, Lutz Creative Group. Kirk visits the island often and plans on moving to LBI full-time in the next few years with his wife Shannon.

About the Shell Murex Ramosa (Chicorius ramosus) is a species of predatory sea snails, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae. The carnivorous species mostly feeds on bivalves and other gastropods by mounting and drilling into clams, scallops, and mussels. This murex snail inhabits sandy, rocky and stony bottoms near coral reefs found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

The shell is thick and heavy with large, wide ribs with long spines. The long spines protect this gastropod from predators. The Murex Ramosus grows to 13 inches in length; the spines can be four inches in the top area and bottom, and up to six inches in the middle. Colors range from a creamy white to a bright white with brownish orange bands.

Lifestyle

“Forever Unloved” by LBI Bars

R

acing against the clock to finish renovations, striving to keep a blend of cherished old and needed new, and fighting with insurance companies is enough to try even the hardiest of souls. Our bar owners and tradespeople survived the stormy waters of Sandy and emerged with their senses of humor intact.

I visited some of our landmark bars to see if they had plans to christen a libation in memory of the infamous superstorm. Since there’s already a drink called a hurricane, I was curious to find out if they were in demand this year, or if any special twist on the drink was being offered.

Everything new at Nardi’s is new again. Having been remodeled not too long ago, Nardi’s had to renovate yet again after the storm. Its recent facelift didn’t change the updated establishment, and the cherished mural is still intact. I asked Ashlee the bartender if they had an increase in requests for hurricanes. She said not yet, but agreed it could be a hot drink this summer. She told me about a local New Jersey beer company who had brewed a limited batch of beer and called it F U Sandy. That got my attention. Ashlee said it supposedly stood for Forever Unloved Sandy. Sure it does except if you live in Jersey.

Amish, owner of Shell Liquors in Ship Bottom, is my go-to guy with liquor questions. He confirmed the story and said he would definitely stock some if it becomes available.

In my research, I discovered Flying Fish Brewery of Somerdale, New Jersey did indeed come out with a limited run of draft beer, available by keg only, with the name F U Sandy.

Founded in 1995, the company started out as a virtual brewery on the web. Flying Fish is the first microbrewery in Southern New Jersey and the first new brewery built in our part of the state in more than half a century. According to their web site, the owner stated, “After the events of the superstorm we thought what better to help our state than to come up with a tasty brew with Jersey attitude and donate all proceeds (not just profit, but every darn cent) to grass-roots organizations helping rebuild in New Jersey. Hence the name Forever Unloved Sandy, which I think we all would prefer to abbreviate.”

I ventured out to see if I could locate some F U Sandy beer.

Stepping into the vestibule of Joe Pops, I opened the doors to a new, yet familiar, Pops. Gone are the two bars that nestled in the somewhat dark interior. Instead, bright denim blue walls lighten up the room. A large, gleaming, mahogany bar sits front and center where the dueling bars had stood for so many years. New tile floor, dining tables and chairs give the room a warm and Page 14

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inviting feeling. The dance floor is bigger than before, providing lots of room to boogie the summer nights away.

When I asked Sherri the bartender if they had the beer or any other Sandy related specialty drinks, she said not yet, but did have new shirts. The back of the shirts read, Pops Back! Legends Never Die. And in very small letters under that, F U SANDY. I was determined to see if I could track down some of the wellnamed brew. Next stop, daddy O. Daddy O also had forced renovations due to Sandy. I was as curious about the new look as I was about finding out if they carried the Sandy beer. Sue’s smiling face was the only thing recognizable about daddy O. The bar and restaurant were completely transformed with a glorious new look. The change from red and stainless steel to soft wood and earth tones suggested casual elegance from one end to the other.

Sue said they did not have the Sandy beer since it was only brewed in kegs for a limited run. Pete, the manager, did say they had plans to stock some when it comes out in bottles this summer, since the proceeds all go to a good cause.

The Black Whale did not have as extensive renovations as the other bars and had been open since March. Brianna, the bartender, told me they are serving a new concoction made with passion fruit vodka along with other ingredients and have christened it the High Water Mark. When I asked if they had F U Sandy she said they did, but not right now. “We had a keg when we opened in March. We also had the pint glasses that had F U Sandy imprinted on them. We sold out in the first two hours. People came specifically for the glasses and the beer.”

Sally, a local customer having lunch at the bar, told me, “I’m not a beer drinker, but I would definitely drink that.” So would I, if I could find any.

My last stop was the Sea Shell, which took one of the hardest hits on the Island, so I was glad to see them open and busy. The outside tiki bar was like greeting an old friend. I ventured inside to check out their new martini lounge and wine bar. The new interior and the martini lounge is an oasis of tranquility, oozing class with its rich wood and candlelight.

The upscale menu and drink selection is a perfect compliment to the revitalized space.

I asked Tommy, the owner, if any of the Sea Shell bars would be serving Sandy-themed cocktails. “No, I never want to hear that name again,” he said. A little later on, he wandered back and said, “If I did serve a drink made about

the storm, I would call it, Flood Insurance. It would be expensive, very weak and take a long time to get!”

I asked Willy, the bartender at the tiki bar, what ingredients he’d make the fictional Flood Insurance drink with. “I would use some purple alcohol mixed with another dark liquor so it would look like the black and blues I had all over my body after being trapped behind the bar when the ocean rushed into the building and pinned me there,” he laughed. It takes special people like Willy and Tommy to come up with a hilarious take on a devastating situation.

LBI bars will be serving up cocktails, F U Sandy beer and a healthy dose of humor all summer long. As far as I’m concerned, that is the magic of LBI and why our Island will be forever loved. – Maggie O’Neill

Marjorie Amon photos

Lifestyle

Sea Shell Decor Chikee Ocampo Phillips photo

Robert Phillips photo

My love of shells started many years ago with a sparse collection of decorative shells from my native Philippines. After many vacations to Florida, Hilton Head and the Jersey shore, I was enthralled with the different species I collected. Searching for a place to channel my creativity, I covered an old chandelier with my collection. I became addicted and started other projects including mirrors, frames and more chandeliers. – Chikee Ocampo Phillips Page 16

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The only Donut Sundae on Long Beach Island!

Long Beach Island Specialty Donuts Marjorie Amon photo

If you think Shore Good is your average donut shop, you’re in for quite a surprise.

At Shore Good Donuts™, we always have new, homemade creations ready for you to order. And we serve great, locally made ice cream and a variety of hot and cold beverages to make sure every sweet tooth is satisfied.

phone (609) 492-0100

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fax (609) 492-9000

1211 Long Beach Blvd., Ship Bottom, NJ 08008 ShoreGoodDonuts.com • facebook.com/shoregooddonuts

Lifestyle

Cheryl Kirby photos

Letters in the Sand

I

t was a simple request that began with “Do you think you can...?” Our son Michael and his fiancée Marisa are planning their wedding. Although they live in League City, Texas now, they plan on coming home to Toms River, New Jersey get married on July 26th and celebrate with friends and family. They decided on a beach theme and asked if my wife, Susan, and I could create a centerpiece for their reception.

Marisa requested the word “Love” be represented in a seashell motif and be a specific size. Susan and I agreed on a particular font that we thought appropriate and proceeded to cut the letters out of plywood.

So there we were with four large wooden letters. Now all we needed were shells to cover them. How big? How many? What color? What shape? We did what any retired couple would do and searched Google. After viewing an endless variety of shell encrusted LOVE letters, we remained stumped.

Our son Brian, who runs the irrigation department for Reynolds Landscaping, suggested visiting Things A Drift. We drove from Barnegat over to Ship Bottom

Bride and gr

oom, Maris

a and Micha

el

and met with Cheryl Kirby, owner of the unique store. We explained that our woodworking skills far exceeded our shell creativity and needed help. Cheryl enthusiastically offered up suggestions of shell varieties and shared some professional secret techniques.

We left the shop with several bags of shells and great advice on how to complete the project. After clearing off the dining room table, we began a labor of love, and proceeded to create the centerpiece. We followed Cheryl’s mantra, “The shells will tell you where to place them.”

As the shells directed us, we began to see an amazing change.

Our simple wooden letters became a true symbol of love that we hope will bring Michael and Marisa happiness in their new adventure.

Just as the shells led us, love will steer the newlyweds on their lifelong journey. – Edward McLaughlin

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Marjorie Amon photo

Hailey and Ally cartwheel on the beach Cheryl Kirby photo

Walking the Wrack Line

“I

can hardly wait until I get down the shore to walk the wrack line!”

The wrack line? Although few people could identify the term, many look forward to not only walking the wrack line, but picking up both trash and treasure buried in its midst.

The wrack is the uneven line of natural and manmade debris that runs parallel to the shoreline after the last high tide. The word itself comes from the Middle Dutch work “wrak” meaning, “something damaged.” Much of this material has begun to decay, and while many beachgoers would complain of the smell and bugs that can often accompany this configuration, others look forward to finding hidden treasures. For shore birds, crabs, and sea fleas, the wrack offers a feast of delectable organic material such as seaweed and decaying shellfish, while humans look forward to finding a piece of sea glass, a sand dollar or that special shell. The wrack can also contain other debris that doesn’t contribute to healthy beach ecology, like ribbons, balloons and other bits of plastic that could harm the shore creatures if eaten.

The next time you arrive on the beach in the morning hours before the sanitation vehicles have arrived, smile as you hurry down to investigate the wrack line! – Cindy Andes Model Allison Morgan is the “Woman of the Wrack Line” (from the “Junk Art show”).

Created from both man-made and natural beach debris found on the LBI’s wrack line.

Lifestyle

Marjorie Amon photos

Decorations from the Sea

I

find the ocean peaceful and soothing. Recently, I began redecorating my home and wanted to create that tranquil feeling. After all, what’s a beach cottage on LBI if it doesn’t reflect the beauty of the ocean? Being on a tight budget proved to be a challenge when it came time to spruce up the house.

I started with the most cost effective remodeling tool available – paint. For under $150, I transformed the living room, kitchen and bath by choosing shades of the beach. Beige, sea green, and white soon covered the walls. I matched color samples to the sand, water and shells.

Once the walls reflected a walk on the beach, I added a few authentic items. New hardware for a repainted desk was found in my shell collection. Small moon, conch and whelk shells made perfect knobs. Just a dab of super glue and the patience to let it dry transformed the old piece of furniture into a designer’s delight. The bathroom door needed a new handle, so another shell, with a bit more bulk, provided the right touch.

I spied beautiful napkin ring holders of ceramic shells in an upscale gift shop on LBI. Eureka! Those exact shells are in my collection, but mine are real. Instead of spending money on new items, I gathered up six broken whelk shells of my own to make perfect napkin holders. Now I was on a roll. Looking over my bin of sea treasures, I located ten scallop shells I found in Barnegat Light last year. Each half made a wonderful snack plate.

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A large glass bowl filled with shells serves as my centerpiece.

The final touch is a piece of sea glass. It is the broken bottom half of a green bottle. It became a candleholder, the votive casting a soft reflection upon my trinkets from the sea. Setting the table with these natural gifts from the ocean, arranged on a crisp, white cloth, turned a plain table into a marvelous beach themed lunch.

The shelf in my kitchen displays the best of my beach finds; conches, sea glass, starfish and colorful shells. Adding some candles and sea grass created a gorgeous ocean scene.

The only thing left to do was buy some starfish from Things A Drift. I painted them to match my walls and placed a selection of various sizes in my lanterns, along with shells and bits of seasonal flowers.

The ocean is a magical and generous friend. The next time you want to bring a touch of its beauty inside your home, just take a walk on the beach. Everything you need to decorate your home is right there, fresh from the sea. As the song says, “The best things in life are free.” – Maggie O’Neill

Heart felt love for LBI..

Even on vacation, local resident Juliana still has her heart set on LBI!

Jessica Gen

tile photo

Lifestyle

Pathways F

rom meandering and naturalistic to straightforward and formal – pathways link functional elements in a landscape and help define the style and intent of the space itself. In all cases, however, in order to be successfully utilized, a pathway must provide an easy means of circulation to and from the individual destinations within the outdoor living area – from front to back yard or between outdoor kitchen and dining area.

Once optimal circulation has been established, the individual style and personal aesthetics of the homeowner can be integrated into the design plan. Curving, meandering pathways create an informal sensibility, encouraging relaxation and pause. A straight, hardscaped walkway, on the other hand, provides formal and well-defined access suggesting a quickening of the pace. Arbors, ornaments, fountains and even specimen trees and shrubbery can act as signposts, guiding forward or encouraging contemplation.

At night, landscape lighting integrated into the garden beds can Elaine Sisko, Landscape Designer Reynolds Landscaping & Garden Shop

Residential Landscape

in the

provide this same function and subtly and safely link outdoor living spaces.

The choice of material used to create the path and walkway is essential in defining the intentions of the outdoor living area.

Brick pavers, natural stepping stone pads, IPE decking, washed pebbles and even sand are just a few of the options available for use in the pathway system. Each will aid and enhance the mood and stylistic effect of the landscape design. A combination of materials can be used to differentiate pathways of primary and secondary importance. However, an overuse of varying materials will create a confusing and dysfunctional effect.

Walkways and pathways are an essential feature in the outdoor living space of every residence. To be considered successful, functionality and aesthetics must be combined to create a unifying element to the overall outdoor design plan.

– Elaine Sisko John Martinelli Photography

Family owned for more than 53 years, Walters Bikes is LBI’s only full service bike shop.

Check out our huge selection of mountain and road bikes, hybrids, cruisers, townies, and BMX bikes. All in stock. Famous brands like Trek, Schwinn, Giant and Eastern & more. Open all year with sales, service & smiles!

418 Long Beach Boulevard • Ship Bottom, NJ 08008 • 609-494-1991 Performance Bikes For All Levels!

Looking forward to 2013!

show your colors.

We Now Carry Pedego Eletric bikes!

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Lifestyle

Nicholas and Sophia having fun in the surf

Gina Viggiano photo

Lexi Brown (age 14) photo; model Caleigh Schmid

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Ryan Johnson photo

Looking Back

Finding Gold in Our Golden Years

W

e began our golden years on Barnegat Bay, with LBI about three or four miles to the east underlining each rising sun. The house we bought was big enough to accommodate my wife and me and each of our children’s families to allow them to spend their summer vacations with us. We would live on the bay and savor all it offered, experiencing the ambience from a front row seat.

When not on the beach on LBI, we went crabbing, fishing or tubing in the bay. There were jaunts up the bay to Old Barney by wave runner or just flopping into the Jacuzzi in the afternoon. At night, Fantasy Island brought us searching for a parking spot, the seemingly endless carnival rides, sugar-laden funnel cakes leaving tell-tale evidence, and repeated tries to burst a balloon using a water pistol stream.

We bought all the required toys: a 21’ Sea Ray Cruiser, SeeDoo 3-seater Wave Runner, kayaks, crab traps, crab keeper trap, crab nets and crabbing lines, boat fishing poles, beach fishing poles, bait buckets, fishing gear boxes, wiffle balls and bats, baseballs and gloves, bicycles, and more.

Without the kids we’d dine at the Starboard Inn, the Dutchman’s, the Engleside, Roberto’s Dolce Vita or Raimondo’s.

For breakfast I might pick up bagels from Bageleddi’s or we’d go to Uncle Will’s in Beach Haven for 2-2-2.

Our kids brought the grandchildren. They would learn many things about shore life: how to bait a minnow on a hook, to never pet the crabs we caught, that hermit crabs don’t live long when kept in a glass of fresh water, and that everything that spills in the street eventually ends up in the bay.

How right my wife had been. What a wonderful way to spend our golden years!

After about five or six years, the kids and their families visited less often. Dance recitals, little league baseball, little league football, trips to Disney and vacation plan changes intercepted

Bruce Beveridge, Morgan Seidler, Joe Biscaha, Jack Duggan Page 26

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Biscaha family photos

Nicole, Bill, Anthony White, and Bev White Biscaha

visits to grandfather’s house. The toys began to accumulate dust and rust. It was time for my wife and me to begin a new chapter.

We downsized and bought a condo on the island. One evening, we went to dinner and a show at the Surflight Theater.

Without warning, it seemed that fate seeped into the vacuum of our newfound free time. Right there in the Surflight program: “We need help, become a volunteer!” Why not? We liked the shows and we had the time. So we became volunteer ushers at Surflight once or twice a week for the summer and we loved it!

While attending mass at St. Francis, another sign came to me from the weekly bulletin. Right there it stated: “We need help. Become a volunteer.” Why not? We attended mass weekly and we had the time. I became a volunteer usher (Hospitality Minister) and my wife became a Eucharistic minister for the summer. And we loved it!

I had been meaning to visit the local Maritime Museum in Beach Haven for some time, so I went one Friday morning. As I

entered, I observed a gentleman named Rick wearing what looked like a park ranger shirt addressing a group on “A day in the life of a clam.” I had to stay, watch and hear. At the end of his presentation, he summarized the problems in our bay facing clams and other wildlife. He was pulling me in! In closing he remarked, “We need help, become a volunteer.” It was the trinity of an epiphany.

I approached him before leaving and asked how I could get involved. He directed me to a guy named Al down on the wharf to get me on the Beach Haven crew. Since then, I have taken classes leading to certification as a Shellfish Gardener. Every week, as part of our assignments, we help clean and measure shellfish, and assist in museum presentations on “A day in the life of a clam.” I love volunteering and so does my wife.

There’s more when retiring to LBI than first meets the eye.

We’ve enjoyed the island with our children, grandchildren and community in more ways than we ever expected.

– Joseph Biscaha

Looking Back

Agnes and Thomas Wood (Diane and Fred’s grandparents), Diane Stulga and Fred Wandras (Diane’s brother) at Beach Haven Terrace in the 1960s

Sunrise to Sunset

F

rom the time I was first introduced to LBI in the early 1960s, I felt a connection that I still have today. Every year my family rented a house on Pennsylvania Avenue in Beach Haven Terrace. While on vacation those last three weeks in August, I was aware of how much those weeks meant and how important it was to make every day count.

I’d get up early and watch the sunrise. Then it was home to eat breakfast and then head to the beach with my brother Fred.

We lived only five houses to the beach so it was a quick run. In those days I traveled light — a towel and transistor radio was pretty much it. I would hit the ocean and spend hours jumping the waves. Then it was time to walk the beach in search of sea glass, shells or any other treasures that might have washed in with the tide. At noontime, I’d head home for lunch.

Back to the beach after a quick lunch was always an event because the tides had changed. It was high tide and the beach was completely covered with ocean water. As I climbed over the dunes, it was all water and no sand for as far as you could see! No towel or transistor radio accompanied me during those hours. The sand bars were amazing. I headed out to the ocean with my raft to begin hours of riding in the waves. The third wave in each series of waves proved to be the best because it as the biggest and provided me with the longest ride.

After a few hours the tide changed and it was time to hang on the beach again. You could always find a game of volleyball, football or horseshoes going on. Often, we’d head down to the bay where my brother anchored his skiff. We’d ride around the bay and sometimes crab or fish until it was time to head home for dinner. After eating and doing the dishes in record-breaking time, it was back to the beach. We’d plan a game of wiffle ball that ended in time to walk down to the bay for sunset. After sunset, we’d indulge in ice cream and head back to the beach with our cones to watch the moon rise over the ocean.

Every second of every day was spent doing what I loved to do the most — being a total beach bum. I was never bored and never took one second for granted. In our rental, there wasn’t any TV, air conditioning or phone. Sometimes at night my Mom and I would walk over to Freddie’s Tavern to peek in the window at a Giants pre-season game on their TV. We would then stand in a long pay phone line next to Marvel’s Market to call my Granny up north to be sure all was well.

Back then there weren’t many stores on the island so I’d have to sacrifice one day to drive to Toms River to go school shopping with my parents and my brother. I dreaded that day and couldn’t wait to get back to LBI. I stayed on the Island until after Labor

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Day when we’d drive back to Central Jersey and I would go right off to school on the same day we drove back. Those were the most amazing and carefree years of my life and I will treasure them forever. – Diane Stulga

Looking Back

Four generations of the Miele family enjoy summer life on LBI. Here are 26 of the 34 members at the place on Kentucky Avenue that Joe and Lu have called home for 65 years.

Front row: Dana Miele, Sarah Benton, Michael Miele Jr., Nicky Miele, Gregory DeSantis, Tyler Miele DeSantis.

2nd row: Christine Miele, Jeff Miele, Martha Miele Davis, Jenna Miele, Natalie Miele, Joseph Miele III, Emily Benton.

3rd row: Maria Miele Boyd, Mariel Boyd, Lucia Miele, Joseph Miele, Sr. Back row: Elena Benton, Joyce Miele, Michael Miele, Sr., Linda Miele Benton, Charlie Benton, Rob Boyd, Laura Miele, Joseph Miele. Jr., Debbie Miele.

A Happy Accident

I

n 1948, my great-grandfather, William Miele, had just finished a job for army housing in the Philadelphia area.

The contractor said to William, “I’m building a house on Long Beach Island. Would you like to install the plumbing and heating for me?” Great-grand-dad gratefully accepted. The only problem was he didn’t know where LBI was located, having vacationed in Atlantic City and Wildwood.

William mapped his way to LBI on the old Route 9 and crossed the rickety, wooden bridge from Manahawkin to the Island. When he finished, the contractor moved into the house and soon said to William, “Bill, now you know I can’t pay you for this job. But the least I can do for you, since you were such a nice guy, I’ll give you the mortgage to this house.”

The soon-to-be beach house owner rode home to ask his wife’s opinion. I imagine it being a short conversation because who would pass up an opportunity like that? William and his wife sealed the deal with the contractor and that opened up a whole new chapter in the Miele family’s life.

William’s only son, Joseph (my grandfather) married Lucia DiNenno in 1951. The couple had spent weekends on LBI painting and doing other small jobs around the house. My grandfather recalled a funny incident that happened at the time.

He said, “We went down to LBI after our honeymoon and all the family was down. My father had seven brothers and sisters and my mother had three brothers and sisters and all of their family was down. There must have been 45 people in the house.

Well, Lu and I walked into the house with no place for us to sleep! So they sent us across the street to our neighbor’s, the Kite’s, house to sleep for the night.” That’s probably not how the two wanted to spend a romantic night at the beach.

When the end of the 1950s rolled around, William was still paying the monthly mortgage for the LBI house and decided to sell the mortgage to his son, Joseph for just one dollar. Joe accepted the offer from his father and used the next seven years to pay off the mortgage.

Joe and Lu started their own family and their seven children were ecstatic to find out that they had a summer home where they could vacation. The girls – Linda, Maria, and Martha – quickly made friends with the neighborhood ladies on Kentucky Avenue.

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The boys – Bill, Phil, Joe, and Michael – formed a baseball team with all the guys on the street. They called themselves the Haven Beach Hawks. The team consisted of the four Miele boys, Ed Bowman, Rubin (he had a first name although the boys only called him by his last), and Ed Norton among others. There were five or six teams and even a couple of lifeguard teams joined the league. They played their games at the municipal field by the Beach Haven Yacht Club. My father, Joe, recalls those glory days, “The Hawks were perennial contenders for the league championships.”

The family quickly settled into their new digs. Soon they were having street cocktail parties every month and block parties on the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Everyone would take a turn hosting the party and the rest of the attendees brought food and supplies. The sounds of fireworks cried over the laughter of the children and the small talk of the adults. As dusk began to settle, the sand became chilled and the sunset hugged the street party.

The family expanded with each child getting married and having their own children. That meant creating more space for everyone and renovations. The only two renovations of the house took place in 1957. The first was in my grandparents’ current bedroom. It wasn’t always where they slept; it used to be a sundeck used for lounging and mid-afternoon cat naps. The second renovation involved the current four-bed “Girls’ Room.”

Before 1957, it was an attic used for storage and old knickknacks. The house has been through it all: hurricanes, brotherly fights, and maximum capacity.

Now, in 2013, our family includes sixteen grandchildren, one great-grandchild for a house full of 34 people. When I asked Pop about his favorite part of summer he replied, “The best part, I think, is when my whole family comes down- all 34 of us- for Lu’s birthday, August 12th. That’s the best part, when the family is all together.”

Family is the key to the Miele’s summer. If it weren’t for our family, we wouldn’t have a house to retire to in the summer.

We wouldn’t have these memories that hold true to our hearts.

And we wouldn’t have such wonderful neighbors to share some of those memories with. What started as a happy accident has turned into the place to be during the summer. My grandfather’s wish for the house in the future is for it to stay in the family and live on through more storms, more summers, and much more family. – Jenna Miele

Marjorie Amon photo

Marjorie Amon photo

Into The Mystic Adds Ghost App to Haunted Tours Technology has changed the face of ghost hunting and paranormal research in many ways. Laser thermometers, electronic voice recorders, digital photography and motion detectors have fine-tuned the interesting pastime over the last few years.

Now, smartphones put that technology into our hands, literally. Many apps can be down loaded to a phone specifically used to hunt ghosts. Most of the systems used in these apps were not originally designed for paranormal research, but their capabilities are being applied to record and track unexplained phenomena. Audio detection instruments, phonetic pattern detection algorithms, and sensory locators all provide an interesting and easy to use app right in the palm of your hand.

This year, Into The Mystic Ghost Tours has added the fun of ghost hunter apps to the tours. What are those blips on the radar screens? Are the random words that appear on the screen electronic voice messages from beyond? The answer to these and other questions surrounding the unexplained are explored every Tuesday and Wednesday night as we tour the haunted spots of Beach Haven with our electronic ghost hunting apps.

Are ghosts as smart as phones? Join us to find out. Call Maggie at (609) 709-1425 for more information about LBI’s only ghost tour. – Maggie O’Neill

Looking Back

Marjorie Amon photo

Quilting a Story W

hen it comes to telling a story, antique quilts can be open books.

A box of old quilt squares discovered in the Barnegat Light Historical Society Museum created a mystery about their origins. Where did the quilt blocks come from and who owned them?

The mystery of the quilt squares turned into a history lesson when a museum docent discovered a letter. The letter, penned by a Mrs. Mavis Reid of Olympia, Washington, had been tucked in with a parcel of quilt panels she was sending back to the museum.

Reid explained she’d come upon the box containing the panels during an attic cleaning spree. Her close friend Elizabeth Mosher of Genoa Bluffs, Iowa had given her the quilt squares, which dated back to the mid-1850s. Elizabeth was the great granddaughter of the quilt squares’ original owner, Hulda Fuller. Reid felt it was time the quilt squares were returned to Barnegat Light.

Why Barnegat Light? “According to the letter, the quilt squares belonged to the first lighthouse keeper’s oldest daughter, Hulda Elizabeth Fuller,” said Karen Larson, museum president.

“Her father, James H. Fuller, was the first lighthouse keeper at the Barnegat Lighthouse from 1856 to 1861.”

The display is a splash of color. Each unbleached muslin panel bears a hand stitched, colorful turkey red and green applique design. Each design contains a signature of one of Hulda’s relatives and friends and the town where they lived.

Names such as Mathis, Berry, Wever, Idell, and Gifford, along with locations such as Barnegat, Camden, Crossroads and Tuckerton are visible. Each of the signatures, penned in ink, appears to have been done by one person possessing excellent penmanship skills.

Along with the box of quilt panels and her letter, Mrs. Reid also enclosed a hand written letter from Elizabeth Mosher, Hulda’s great-granddaughter. In the letter, Elizabeth mentions stories she grew up hearing from her mother, Clara Morse Mosher, about her grandmother Hulda’s exciting days at the Barnegat Lighthouse.

“I grew up hearing about the ocean storms which brought about strange wreckage and interesting drift to the beaches, where early day pirates had lured ships onto rocks and disaster, where flocks of wild ducks and geese provided feathers for many a pillow and feather bed. I recall playing with some very fragile blown-glass animals which had been made in some far off country, and had been found after shipwrecks, in broken boxes on the beach, toys my mother and grandmother also played with.”

Each of Hulda’s colorful calico squares had been hand sewn and signed by her friends and relatives. The squares were a token of a fond farewell when the Fuller family decided to leave Barnegat Light and “go West” to Iowa in 1861. Hulda took the quilt panels with her, intending to fashion the squares into a friendship quilt once she settled into her new home. Life got in the way however and Hulda never finished the quilt.

It’s no mystery that these humble squares of fabric are themselves a history lesson. Visitors to the museum are invited to view the panels and read a booklet accompanying the exhibit.

The booklet contains color copies of each of the squares to examine up close as well as copies of letters explaining the origins of Hulda’s quilt.

The quilt remains unfinished. Larson said the passing of time and the age of the material have rendered the panels too fragile to consider piecing together into a quilt. Instead, they have been mounted in plexiglass panels and displayed on the wall at the Barnegat Light Museum.

Barnegat Light Historical Society Museum, located on the corner of Fifth Street and Central Avenue, is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in July and August, and on weekends from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm June through October. For more information, call 609-494-8578. – Marjorie Amon

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SHOP ONLINE

PURAKAI.COM

Looking Back (top) Book signing of Mother Cat by Dotti (bottom) Television commercial advertisement for a pharmaceutical company

Dotti’s Recess

K

nocking on Dotti Turkot’s door, I noticed a small sign that said, “Is it recess yet?” Approaching 90 years young, I can verify that Dotti deserves a recess after living a life of adventure.

As a young child growing up in the hills of Knoxville, Tennessee, Dotti had no idea where life would take her. She remembers curling up in her mother’s lap while her Mom read an article from a magazine about a little shack in New Jersey that sat along the beach road to Long Beach Island. The little shack intrigued Dotti and it remained in her memory, as did her curiosity about New Jersey. Never did she imagine the shack would become a neighbor.

At age 16, Dotti left Tennessee to pursue an education in art at the Chicago Institute of Fine Art. Every June she’d study with artists in New England.

Some of her art has been purchased by Patricia Neal (her best friend since grade school), Alex Haley, Molly Picon, Donald Trump and Fashion Show Modeling at the Quarter Deck Happy Rockefeller.

Dotti received awards and recognition by the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Bank Art Show, Cherry Hill Mall Art Show, Beach Haven Yacht Art Show, High Bar Harbor Yacht Art Show, Oreland Pennsylvania Art Center and Pine Shore Art Association.

For twenty-four years, Dotti was an unpaid art teacher at the Friends School in Haddonfield, New Jersey. She’d commute every day to the school from her home in Ship Bottom where she’s lived year-round since the 1970s. She opened her first art studio in this home. Many of her students have won both state and national awards for their artwork.

Dotti’s talents and experiences go beyond the world of art. She earned her pilot’s license, appeared in numerous TV commercials Page 34

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and on QVC, and was a model. She was in countless fashion shows and modeled for the The Engleside, Sink ‘R Swim Shop and the Quarter Deck (where she was also a hostess).

Performing arts was another passion. Dotti starred in many shows while traveling throughout the country with Patricia Neal who was a member of The New York Actors Guild. Dotti was also a member of The Bayshore Players. She remembers lovingly the Surflight Theatre when it was a garage with a tin roof called The Patio. When it rained you couldn’t hear the performances very well.

Dotti was a writer and published books including Mother Cat and “Star”lit Kitchen. She also wrote yacht club news for The Beach Haven Times. Dotti is distinguished as the first female member and first female officer of the Beach Haven Yacht Club.

Reflecting back on memories of her original beach house in Beach Haven West on Morris Blvd., she remembers how her 40 ft. houseboat used to be anchored up to her dock. Purchased from Morrison’s Marina, it was dry-docked in Morrison’s for two years while Dotti renovated it. The name of her boat was “Chicken Of The Sea,” and the boat’s dinghy was called “Chicken Little.” When traffic was an issue she’d hop in the boat, head over to the island, beach the boat and head to the shore.

Years after Dotti gave up all of her boats she never gave up her passion for being out on the water. She completed sailing courses offered by the Coast Guard. She’d take rides out on The Black Whale from Beach Haven to Atlantic City as well as fishing trips on Miss Barnegat Light. She relished the chance to relax and watch the sunrise and sunset.

Sailing on the QE 2 from Sydney Australia to Hong Kong, to countless excursions on Barnegat Bay and everywhere in between, Dotti was as a multi-talented woman. “You have to work at everything,” she said. “Things aren’t going to come knocking at your door.” – Diane Stulga

After moving from Michigan to New Jersey in the 1980s, Cynthia Zak Emerick fell in love with LBI the first summer her family vacationed here.

The beach, nature, flowers and shells are her favorite subjects to paint.

This painting of the 17th Street bath house in Ship Bottom was a frequent stop. Cindy brought her daughters, Anne and Sue, there often for day trips before she rented for the season.

art by cynthia zak emerick

I took this picture of ‘Old Barney’ from Island Beach State Park in July of 2008. We were on a kayak trip through the Sedge Islands and had stopped for lunch on a beach inside the Army Corp of Engineers dike when I took this picture. The dike that was protecting the beach and dune in this picture washed away as a result of storms in 2009. The dunes, snow fences and grasses which covered hundreds of yards both north to south and east to west were eroded and washed out to sea.

Where they once were is now just a large opening from the Sedges into the Barnegat Inlet.

I was lucky to have taken this picture before this occurred because this scene of the lighthouse cannot be captured again.

– Frank Grasso

Looking Back

The Party Aboard the Schooner Lucy Evelyn

“I

t was a dark and stormy night as terror unfolded on the windswept decks of the Lucy Evelyn,” would be a great way to start a story…but not this one. Although our story involves a pirate and the threat of “walking the plank,” it’s not scary.

It starts back in the late 1890s when a boardwalk was constructed between the Hotel Baldwin and Engleside Hotel in Beach Haven. In 1944 a major hurricane hit, similar to the destruction that Sandy unleashed on Seaside Heights but on a smaller scale. The entire Beach Haven boardwalk was destroyed leaving behind nothing but pilings in the sand. The boardwalk was never re-built. One of the businesses destroyed was the Sea Chest gift shop owned by Nate Ewer.

Four years later while vacationing in Maine with his wife Betty, Nate came across an old three-masted schooner called the Lucy Evelyn. Nate purchased the schooner, built in 1917, at auction for about $1500. He had the idea of dry docking the sea worthy ship and turning it into a gift shop to replace the one destroyed by the storm. After the Lucy Evelyn was towed to Beach Haven, Nate sought the aid of Reynold Thomas, owner of Barnegat Bay Dredging Company and later mayor of Harvey Cedars, to dredge a channel so that he could dock the schooner on land.

According to pirate law, Mr. Thomas would have to “walk the plank.” Shackles were placed on Reynold’s legs and a plank was extended from the side of the Lucy Evelyn. At this point as Tom so accurately remembers from more than 60 years ago, Reynold asked Tom to hold on to his watch, wallet and eyeglasses because “I don’t know what these crazies have in mind.”

With seconds remaining however, another guest announced that the governor had called and declared the trial was illegal and granted Reynold Thomas clemency, so his life was spared. It is not known how long it took for Reynold to speak to Nate again but it couldn’t have been more than after a glass of rum punch or two.

Soon after the party, the dredging did take place and the Lucy Evelyn with its Sea Chest gift shop was opened on dry land.

One of the guests at the opening in 1949 was the Lucy Evelyn’s original owner Captain Everett Lindsay and his daughters Lucy and Evelyn for whom the ship was named.

The Lucy Evelyn remained a popular LBI landmark until it was lost to fire in 1972. A replica of the old Lucy Evelyn stands in the same location on Schooner’s Wharf. – Frank Grasso

Having his equipment tied up on another project at the time, Mr. Thomas could not accommodate Nate in a timely manner. Nonetheless, Nate and Betty decided to invite the local Rotary Club members and town fathers to a party on the Lucy Evelyn still anchored off shore. Tom Oakley is one of only a few people still around who remembers the lively night at the Lucy Evelyn’s pirate party. A small boat brought Tom, Reynold Thomas, Dr. Merwin Todd, Richard Van Dyke and about 25 other guests over to the schooner. They were greeted by Nate Ewer who was dressed in full pirate garb and Betty dressed as, what Tom recalls for the sake of politeness, a wench.

As the party continued, Nate interrupted the festivities to announce that a violation of the law had occurred and punishment for the offense was in order. Apparently, Reynold Thomas’s delay in dredging the channel had caused Nate and Betty a great inconvenience and expense. image from the collection of David Ewer Page 36

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Gigi

Walking on hot surfaces is not only a potential hazard for humans, it is also a danger for dogs. Most dog owners are aware of common summertime ailments – dehydration, fatigue, and sun stroke – but they often overlook burned foot pads.

According to veterinarian Dr. Keith Warren of Doylestown Animal Medical Clinic, animal pads are thicker than the soles of human feet, and animals also advantageously limit contact with pavement through constant foot displacement.

Nevertheless, heat pressure for over a minute can severely injure your dog’s foot pads. If your dog appears to be limping and licking at his feet, or if his pads appear to be darker in color or blistered, he may be suffering from pad burn.

Marjorie Amon photos

Looking Back

The Union Church of Beach Arlington S unday School was held at the Beach Arlington Train Station and on the front porch of Molly Robinson’s home as far back as 1916. On train rides from Philadelphia to LBI, John A. Shill spoke to fellow passengers about his dream of establishing a church on LBI. In 1924, the Union Church was built in Beach Arlington on 19th Street and the Boulevard, thanks to passenger donations and numerous fundraisers.

From 1924 to 1929, Shill served as the first pastor. Aromas from the bakery, a diner and candy store wafted into the church during Sunday services. Surf Unlimited now occupies that building. Easter services were held on the beach. Early sunrise services weren’t complete without a trumpet player and the piano being moved from the church to the beach for sunrise service.

Many baptisms were performed at the sandy bay beach on 17th Street in Beach Arlington.

Pastor Jim Shanklin on the alter of the Union Church.

Organist Connie Shinn. Connie and her husband Bill built the Gurtcheff’s home on 19th Street in Ship Bottom, and his grandfather built what is now the Surf Unlimited Shop.

James Lawson painted a mural on the church’s altar, dated 1935. The ocean scene includes the words from Psalms 107: 23-24: “They that go down to the sea in ships: these see the works of the lord and his wonders in the deep.” The painting was covered with sheet rock many years ago, it remains a memory to many families and countless members of the Union Church’s congregation.

Over the years, purchases of adjoining buildings were used for Sunday School classes. The church’s steps were reconstructed and new amber colored windows installed. The church changed from a resort church to a busy year round place of worship. Today it serves as The Grace Calvary Church. Its current pastoral staff includes Pastor Dan Stott, Executive Pastor Craig Braun and Youth Pastor Casey Ellis.

The church remains an anchor in many a storm, most recently with Super Storm Sandy when the church remained open to the entire community and beyond. Church members helped numerous families and businesses in their time of need, housed the National Guard and Red Cross, and served meals daily.

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(Bea Shanklin, who was a pillar of the Union Church and 19th Street Ship Bottom community, passed away on June 9th 2013. Blest “Bea” the tie that binds.) – Diane Stulga

Railroad postcard from Ike Johnson Photographs courtesy of Ike Johnson and the family of Bea Shanklin

Bea, Jim and Carol Shanklin on the steps of the Union Church

Railroad station and train tracks, Beach Arlington, NJ. Sunday School was held on the porch of this railroad station until Union Church was built.

Ike Johnson (groom) and Ethel Argang (bride) in the Tom Thumb wedding scene on the altar of the Union Church.

The ship mural painted in the 1930s is in the background.

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Kirk Jarvis photo

Looking Back

If you have photos or information about storms from 1929 to Superstorm Sandy and would like to be included in future issues, please contact Cheryl Kirby at 609.361.1668 or Echoesoflbi@gmail.com.

From Trash to Treasure

in Connecticut

K

eith Holley can’t say how they got there, and he can’t say who took them, but he can say that he discovered some incredible photographs of LBI’s history and other parts of southern New Jersey and the world in a house in Connecticut.

Recently, Keith’s job took him to New London, Connecticut.

While doing a clean-out of a house under foreclosure, he happened to come across a photo album stored away on an old bookshelf. Instead of throwing the album away, he paged through it briefly. At first he thought the pictures he was seeing were just beach snapshots taken on a vacation. Then he came across photos that surprised him. He recognized pictures from the 1944 hurricane and then the 1962 storm that caused so much destruction to New Jersey’s shore towns.

Firman H. Cranmer Company lumberyard, March Storm 1962

Emanuel’s 5 & 10, March Storm 1962 Dress shop on boardwalk, Storm of 1944 Page 42

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The photos in both black and white as well as color show the flooding, the beached and sunken boats and ships, and the damage to LBI that, prior to Sandy, were the most devastating weather events to hit our island. Keith was excited about his find and felt lucky that he didn’t toss the album into the garbage without looking inside it first. He feels his discovery was important and worth sharing with others. As the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. – Frank Grasso

Downings Skee Ba

ll, Storm of 1944

Close

n 1944

ch Have

eet, Bea

r Str to Cente

Paxson Pharmacy, Beach Haven, March Storm 1962

Looking Back

Marjorie Amon photo

Dave Sr., Dan, Dave Jr., Nick and Taylor – all Bonnanis.

Missing from the photo but part of the lifeguard tradition are Peter and his daughter Katie.

A Family of Lifeguards – Ron Weise photo

Bonannis at the Beach

S

eagulls have long life spans, so if there happened to be one on the Surf City Beach over seventy years ago, he might have some interesting tales to tell. He would explain how a group of young male lifeguards invaded his space on the island he called home, bringing with them newly constructed stands and seaworthy lifeboats.

One of the most distinguished lifeguards would be Lou Bonanni, from Trenton, New Jersey. Lou was captain of the Trenton High School swim team — a team that had competed with the newly selected Olympic team and won. The Trenton High group never did get to compete in the national limelight but a municipal official from Long Beach Island who saw their performance put their talents to use. That official decided to house the group in a small, one floor apartment on a back lot on 14th Street and make them lifeguards for Surf City. Thus began the Bonanni beach legacy.

A few years later, Lou’s love for the water took a turn when he enrolled in the US Marine Corps where he became a captain Page 44

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there, too. While still in the Marines, he had a military wedding, and brought his young bride, Anastasia (Nellie) Putzan, to honeymoon in the same little apartment on 14th Street where he spent summers guarding the Surf City beaches. When Lou left the military, he bought land across the street and, in eight days, put up the shell of the Bonanni’s summer house. He named the home “Surfwood.” His sons, David and Dan, grew up to become lifeguards themselves during the summer in the 1960s and 1970s.

Members of the Bonanni family continued to guard the beaches and successfully compete in lifeguard competitions.

Grandsons David, Ryan and Nick, and granddaughter Taylor all distinguished themselves in swimming and rowing events as lifeguards for Long Beach Island.

That old seagull might be still lurking around Taylor’s lifeguard stand still today, anticipating more Bonannis on the beach in the years ahead. – Cindy Andes

Art

Marine Science

Diving Treasures Ann Kugel photos

The Hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys Imbricata, is a critically endangered turtle whose range is the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea to Long Island and Massachusetts. This photo was taken in Saba National Park, a marine sanctuary off St. Martin and Saba in the Caribbean Sea. The Turtle Conservation Society used it in their calendar to promote environmental protection.

Tridacna Gigas is the largest living bivalve mollusk and one of the most endangered clam species. It can weigh more than 600 lbs, grow to four feet across and live 100 years. It lives in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. This tridacna photo was taken in Palau, Micronesia by Ann Kugel.

Ann Kugel started diving in the early 1970s and has never stopped. She grew up on Long Island in Kings Point on the water so she has been in love with the sea as long as she can remember; her first boat was a six foot pram when she was nine years old. She sailed in Manhasset Bay and was a lifeguard for a summer job in high school. She is in love with anything to do with the water. After becoming certified as a diver in 1972, she dove here off LI and NJ. Our diving here is difficult, diving shipwrecks, many of which were sunk in WWII. The Resor and the Varanger are two sunken ships that are easiest to reach from Barnegat Light on LBI.

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Since 1974.

Footwear, watches, dvds Women’s, men’s & kids’ clothing Surfboards, sunglasses, wetsuits Wave Riding Vehicles sales/rentals Large selection of wetsuits & Uggs.

609-494-3555 • Surfinglbi.com 1820 Long Beach Blvd Ship Bottom Largest distributor of Wave Riding Vehicles for over 30 years

Unleash Your Inner ALOHA Spirit.

Surf Unlimited LBI now has its own custom surfboards!

Stop by to see custom surfboards being built and designed. Watch Surfboards being made, or design and build your own surfboards with the help of Master Board Builder Bill Kretzer. The only surfboards made on LBI, NJ ... Designed for East Coast Waves!

Marine Science

The Science Behind Your Shell Collection

S

ummer after summer we find them scattered on the sands of our beaches and add them to our collections. Seashells are marvelous creations of nature, but where do they come from and why? They are created by members of the Phylum Mollusca for protection and body support, however, the process is much more complex than that.

Seawater is composed of the chemical ions: chloride, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, calcium, potassium, bicarbonate, bromide, borate, strontium, fluoride, and other dissolved materials. Their concentrations range from as high as 19.345%, seen in chloride, to less than 0.001% of other dissolved materials. Two ions found in seawater are of particular significance to mollusks (or molluscs).

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Calcium (Ca) and carbonate (CO3-2), a byproduct of the breakdown of bicarbonate (HCO3-), are the main components in shell formation. Mollusks absorb these ions as seawater passes over the gills and also directly through the mantle of the animal. Then, the ions are combined to form the compound CaCO3, also known as calcium carbonate. Following its formation, the calcium carbonate is secreted by the mantle, eventually becoming the prized beach treasures on display in our homes. – Ryan Marchese Source: Marine Biology 6th ed.

by Peter Castro and Michael E. Huber

Ryan Marchese photo

wyndecrest home interior design & home furnishings lee industries, ralph lauren home, jonathan adler, visual comfort lighting, jill rosenwald, dash and albert rigs, john robshaw textiles, bungalow 5, currey and co., baatrice ball, julian chichester, & unique vintage finds

please come and visit our expanded showroom bay ave and 2nd st, beach haven 609.492.7030

Marine Science

A

mongst the wooden trains and plastic soldiers in our toy box were the colorful glass balls we all cherished as children. Marbles were used in everything from child’s play to the railroad, even the ballast on ships. Artisan glass blowers in Germany would craft the precious orbs as art pieces and then ship them across the sea to the New World. Sometimes they never made the full journey and sunk to the bottom of the sea. Ships using them as ballast generally used cheaply manufactured marbles made of clay. When shipwrecked, their cargo would eventually wash ashore. Occasionally a sea glass hunter will find them while walking along the water’s edge, rolling and smoothing their surface. They have a colorful past but are getting harder to find while others seem to have a never-ending supply.

Glass artisans still find creating marbles the best way to showcase their talents. Eloquent art glass-filled orbs, some the size of golf balls, feature their skills at glass blowing conferences around the world. Marble making for games and gambling goes back to ancient times. Excavations in Pakistan and Egypt have found marbles of clay and glass that date back five thousand years ago. Today, marbles are usually made by large-scale factories that produce them from the leftovers used to make art and window glass called “cullet.” The colors are attractive to kids of all ages, considering a large portion of adults collect marbles as a hobby. How they end up in the sea is a mystery to most sea glass hunters.

There are theories as to why we find them on the beach.

One is that ships would use them as a form of inexpensive material placed low in the vessel for stability. However this didn’t

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save every boat that entered the angry sea and, as some crashed upon the rocks, they “lost their marbles” to the deep. Another likely possibility is children playing with them at the shore or flinging them from slingshots. Other sources for marbles include railroads close to shore. The marbles are used on the tracks to provide a cushion when the trains roll over them. Codd bottles were an early form of bottle that used a marble as a form of stopper. The strange looking pinched neck of the bottle holds the marble in place while the person drinks, but because of sanitary issues and an obvious choking hazard the idea soon faded into history. However, Asian countries, such as India and Japan, still favor the design of the bottle and make plastic ones today for soft drinks, minus the marble.

Lastly, before environmental laws existed, towns would often use the beach and ocean as the city dump. Anything considered trash was left at the beach to rot and some glass vessels became sea glass. Painters would often use marbles to mix the paint in cans, and then threw the leftovers at the beach with other trash.

Some beaches formerly known as dumps produced an endless supply of sea marbles.

Like sea glass stoppers, sea marbles are rare on Long Beach Island’s beaches, but nothing is impossible to find. Imagine walking along and seeing a striped piece of glass embedded in a dune, hiding and waiting for just the right person to find it. It’s just one of the things that will keep a sea glass hunter searching their whole life. If you look in the right place, you may not have to search long. After all, you never know what the next tide will bring. – Photography and article by Sara Caruso

Thank You to all the individuals & families who donated money to help the Fire Departments on LBI. A very special Thank You to Babe Poggi for his generous donation and Frank and Kathryn Grasso for getting the word out and collecting donations.

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Poetry

Nine Ways to Look at a Starfish I Look deep into the Pacific, Until blue water becomes black The Arizona sends up green ghosts And neon echinoderms illuminate the sanctuary.

II A long armed starfish Crawls slowly across the sea floor Suctions life from a mollusk Now who will spin the pearl?

III Spiny-skinned starfish, with your tubed feet you move Unfamiliar waters crash you to shore What allure inspired Van Clef? to stud you with diamonds for my lady’s shoulder?

IV Starry, Starry Night Dreams painted with palette Van Gogh’s ear listens as the starfish regenerates its arm Where lies creative genius?

V Spineless starfish, invertebrate of the sea Who gave you the power to regenerate when felled in battle?

If only the soldier in his wheelchair knew your secret.

VI The starfish crawled Neptune’s floor From the day the Word was spoken His disguise never discovered Who baptized you? Certainly not Triton’s angel Do not masquerade; you are neither star nor fish Find your own identity

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VII I once saw a starfish tumbled from waves Deposited on bleached sand “Quick,” I whispered, “Stretch your arms wide for water Before sun leaves you deformed forever”.

VIII A child searches for treasure at water’s edge Finds a starfish floating limp, Death gives a gift to the young collector IX Exploring gift shops for souvenirs To remember water, sand, and sun Lazy days, nights of love Her dilemma: a starfish for the coffee table or gold ones for her ears.

Nancy Kelly Kunz

The Color of the Sea

The Magical Beach

I cannot touch the color of the sea.

Cupping it in my palms, Only clear water runs through my fingers, even as I watch emerald waves dance before my eyes.

The beach, the beach, a marvelous place!

But don’t forget the seagulls I love to chase.

Every day there is always something new!

Starfish, sand dollars, and jellies too!

You never know what you will ever find…..

Sunlight, like a philosophers’ stone, transforms the ocean to many shades of green and blue.

Yet I can only capture water the color of my hand, and marvel at her magic, the unobtainable hues of the mysterious sea.

Meghan Hall

Maggie O’Neill

www.echoesoflbi.com

Poetry

Sea Dog I must go back, Though the sea won’t take me, Would rather spit me out, Call me unfaithful, tell me I no longer belong.

It warns me, If I try, it will take me down, But I can’t live beside a potato patch, A garden and a grave.

I tell myself, set sail on the next tide

I stayed home When my wife needed me, Now the foam won’t forgive me Laughing like a jealous lover, Telling me, grow a garden.

If I drown, For the sea can be spiteful, My tale will be told He was a faithful sea dog and Husband who lived without regret.

Richard Morgan

Art by Pat Morgan

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Poetry

Coming Home

Mythical Creatures

This is the beach he walked in his youth soft dunes, tall sea grass, silver sand waves crash to white foam then caressingly lap the shore

An aquatic being of the deep, dark sea, Mermaids retain an air of mystery,

He checks for sun direction, shadows on distant roofs then settles, sketchbook on lap Sun warmed sand stretches before him Sandpipers search for breakfast Soft air gently whispers comfort The sea recedes and returns Children’s silhouettes stretch longer His work complete, as is the man Centered, balanced and renewed he packs pad, pencil and belongings Climbing the path to home, he thanks the Steward, grateful for this refuge, this beach of his youth Nancy Kelly Kunz

Mythic creatures, graceful and sublime, Etched in history ignoring tests of time.

Columbus reported sightings in his log, Sailors have seen them through mist and fog, Their pale, speckled bodies are full of grace, Their long, tangled hair surrounds a round face.

Swimming forever propelled by their tail, Capricious and light-hearted, a spirit that won’t fail.

Once driven into hiding, afraid for their life, Cautious and quiet, undeterred by strife.

During storms at sea appearing as a guide, Otherwise remaining secret, preferring to hide.

Inhabitants of a lost world under the sea.

Mermaids now live with the fanciful free.

Lynn Reebe

Apres‘ Sandy Broken Broken Broken Broken

windows beams hearts dreams.

Sun still rises Brand new day Time to rebuild Time to pray.

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Keep in mind Words from above: Faith n hope, Greatest: Love.

Mend our heart Mend our soul He is there.

He’ll make us Whole.

Knit together Family, friend Help each other Time to mend.

Karen Korkuch

Art by Karen Bagnard

Mermaid art is available at Things A Drift 406 Long Beach Blvd.

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Arts & Entertainment

Lighthouse International Film Festival Celebrates 5 Years

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he Lighthouse International Film Festival celebrated its fifth year of bringing independent films — full length narratives, documentaries, shorts, surfing films and student films — to Long Beach Island. Screened at various venues all over the Island from June 6th to the 9th, the films were selected from more than 200 submissions and from films shown at Sundance, Tribeca, South by Southwest and Cannes.

Filmmakers, directors, actors, sponsors and volunteers rejoiced that the festival marked a significant increase in attendance, awareness and prestige. It heralded the start of the summer season and showed that LBI is definitely alive and stronger than the storm. Filmmakers, who attend festivals all over the world, sang the praises of this festival for its organization, quality of films, venues and hospitality.

Benoit Cohen flew to the festival from Paris and was thrilled at his reception. Mr. Cohen is the director of the film You Will Be A Man which won two Golden Lighthouse Awards: the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. The low budget film stars his son and his wife and is loosely based on an incident his family experienced.

Even before the announcement of his awards, he spoke about how impressed he was with the quality of the festival.

A Community Leadership Award for outstanding community leadership and critical support of the festival was established this year. The award was presented to Lori Pepenella, Destination Marketing Director for the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce, for her support to the launch and development of the festival during its first five years.

With approximately 4,000 people attending the weekend’s events, The Lighthouse International Film Festival (LIFF) has grown in every way. Volunteers eagerly help; filmmakers want their films shown; locals and people from the surrounding states want to be here to see what is happening. LIFF is on the cultural map!

Next year’s dates are tentatively set for June 5-8. Check our website for updates and for Film Society screenings at www. lighthousefilmfestival.org.

Photo caption: Christine Rooney, Managing Director of the Lighthouse International Film Festival, presents the Volunteer of the Festival Award to Arlene and Fred Schrager for their tireless efforts on behalf of the festival. – Arlene Schragger

The festival was capped off with a jubilant closing celebration and awards ceremony attended by several hundred people in The Upstairs at The Dutchman’s Brauhaus.

The Community Leadership Award is presented to Lori Pepenella by Charlie Prince.

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Arlene and Fred Schragger celebrate after receiving the LIFF Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Charlie Prince, LIFF Executive Director, Benoit Cohen, French director, winner of LIFF’s Best Narrative Feature Film Award, and Eric Johnson, LIFF Executive Programmer. Cohen’s film “You Will Be A Man” (Tu Seras Un Homme) was also awarded the LIFF Juror’s Award.

Marjorie Amon photos

Sally Vennel photo

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Beach Reads

The Fighting Hawks at D-Day – A Tribute to our American Warriors

by Eileen F. Cosgrove As I sat on the Beach Haven beach reading Stephen Ambrose’s D-Day, my stepson Christopher came flying out of the water, sat down next to me, and started spouting facts about the invasion. I was amazed by his knowledge of our history. Christopher loved history and taught me to love it, too. He was enamored with the military from the time he was a child. He joined the Marines after his junior year at Monmouth University and was proud to serve the country he loved.

Lance Corporal Christopher B. Cosgrove III served with the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines in Iraq in 2006.

Due home at the end of October 2006, he volunteered to train the incoming Marines at his checkpoint in Al Anbar Province instead of going with most of his unit to Kuwait. That fateful decision cost him his life. On October 1, 2006, a suicide bomber detonated his bomb at the checkpoint, killing Christopher instantly. As we drove toward Dover Air Force Base to meet his body, my husband sadly declared, “He never got his last vacation on LBI.” While memories are all we have left, whenever we are on Long Beach Island, we feel a little bit closer to him.

In The Fighting Hawks at D-Day, Christopher lives on teaching young and old about the D-Day Invasion.

Written for children ages 9-12, it is the first book in The Fighting Hawks series.” Set in military history class at boot camp, Marine recruit Christopher B. Cosgrove III discovers a portal back in time in the blowing American flag. He arrives back in England weeks before the D-Day invasion with his friends, Kevin, Brian, Wags, Will and Jack. As members of the 116th Infantry, Christopher, Kevin and Brian are preparing to land on Omaha Beach. Wags, Will and Jack, members of the 101st Airborne, are preparing to jump behind enemy lines as the invasion begins.

Historically accurate, Christopher teaches his young readers the facts about the largest invasion in the history of the world by living through it with them. The Page 64

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Fighting Hawks at D-Day is a compelling and exciting way to learn our history. It teaches its audience why the United States fought in World War II. They learn the significance of the D-Day invasion along with the heroics of the Allied soldiers and the mistakes that were made along the way. Instead of memorizing dates and places, children will become active participants in the greatest invasion ever launched in the history of the world.

While written for middle readers, the book provides an excellent overview for adults as well. A mere 99 pages, it is a quick read. Whether merely curious or helping a child with a project, The Fighting Hawks at D-Day provides valuable information and references other sources.

Christopher would have loved to live on, teaching children about American History and the heroes who have preserved freedom around the world. The Fighting Hawks series allows him to educate children and adults. Through this series, he teaches the readers to appreciate the great history of our country and our military.

As the series develops, Christopher will fight at Pearl Harbor, Guadal Canal, the Coral Sea, Operation Torch, Midway, Tarawa, Anzio, Peleliu, Leyte Gulf, the Battle of the Bulge, the USS Franklin, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After he finishes covering World War II, Christopher will continue on to the major battles in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Eventually, he will find his way back to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War and World War I. Priced to encourage parents and grandparents to share with their children and grandchildren, it is available for $6.00 at Things A Drift. For more information, go to freedomisntfreebooks.com.

Under the Sea with Me – A Children’s Story

by Ted Irvine As an animal lover and former avid scuba diver, Ted had an idea for a series of paintings documenting marine life he had seen. It was not until he became a father when the pieces fell in place; he decided to turn those dives into a children’s story where kids can learn about the wonders that live below the ocean waves. Ted’s first book is titled Under the Sea with Me and can be purchased at Things A Drift.

By day, Ted is the award-winning Director of Design for Vox Media, the online publisher of consumer technology, sports and gaming publications including The Verge, SB Nation and Polygon. By night, after the kids are tucked in bed, he likes to draw and write. He lives with his wife, son, daughter, and Boston Terrier in Arlington Virginia, where he dreams of life without traffic. Ted studied Graphic Design and Painting at Tyler School of Art at Temple University.

Surf Angels

by Terry and Heather Kraszewski Illustrated by Bonnie Bright Includes a narrated CD performed by Kathy Kohner Zuckerman: The Original “Gidget.” The authors support both the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Surfrider Foundation.

Terry grew up in sunny Southern California with a love for saltwater and the surfing lifestyle. Her daughter, Heather, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at four months of age. Living a positive life full of laughter, mother and daughter inspire and teach valuable lessons about how life should be enjoyed and treasured each and every day. Heather earned a degree in film and television and worked on many television shows and feature films. She is also a gifted writer and storyteller. With the beach as her playground, Heather always felt a strong connection with the sea and the wonderful animals that share the ocean with her.

Books are available at Things A Drift, 4th and Blvd., Ship Bottom, NJ.

Marjorie Amon photo

Nancy Rokos photo

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Shore Things

Back: James Young, Michael Scott, Tom DeMichele, Tommy Joscelyn, T.J. Larke, Mark Blowers Michael Ianelli, Anna Hillbery, 3rd: Amanda Fannon, Moriah Lynk, Elizabeth Miller, Liz Howell, Teri Dale Hansen 2nd: Amelia Millar, Sam Berman, Janelle McCosh, Doug Smith 1st: Kristin Stowell, Jeff Sullivan, Hannah Huling

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Main Stage Memories

ast summer, fond memories of my flight as the fairy godmother in Surflight Children’s Theatre Cinderella appeared here. This summer, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, I was cast in a mainstage production of Sandy Wilson’s The Boy Friend, memorable for many reasons.

First was the fact that Surflight’s stage is here at all. As Executive Director Ken Myers pointed out before the first responders’ screening of Shored Up that kicked off 2013’s Lighthouse Film Festival, “Up to row H, you’d have needed bathing suits.”

Myers thanked everyone who came to restore what, at age 64, is an LBI institution. Restoration isn’t complete but it’s up and running, and theater supporters are proud of the progress made.

A local audition was announced for The Boy Friend, the first of this season’s five mainstage musicals. I lack dance training and don’t read music. This show boasted a speaking-only comic-relief role so I auditioned.

Weeks later, the call came. I’d play stuffy British matron Lady Brockhurst in the Equity production of this twenties-era romp set on the French Riviera. (Equity is short for Actor’s Equity Association, a union celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year.) High-spirited, high-stepping, The Boy Friend brought Julie Andrews to New York and got her the lead in My Fair Lady.

As one of only three cast members who weren’t Equity or EMC’s (Equity Membership Candidates), I was eager to see how these cardholders prepare and perform. As a union, it regulates all aspects of production, from one or more daily e-mails covering every last detail to rehearsals that begin and end on the dot. Breaks, too.

Principals and chorus settled in. The first rehearsal was held in one of three company and crew housing options: the cedarshingled Delores Moeller cast house next to Murphy’s parking lot; the “gray house” (really the yellow house) between cast house and theater; and above and beside the Show Place ice cream parlor.

Director/choreographer Norb Joerder and Musical Director Henco Espag know precisely what they want to achieve. They go about achieving it without a wasted moment, or note, until the production is set: every step, every line, every lyric coming in the right place, at the right time.

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Mutual respect is the order of these days. Seasoned pros share “been there, done that” wisdom while the new generation of “gypsies” living the artist’s life appreciate and add to it. The entire company embraces island life with enthusiasm.

Leading lady Teri Hanson praises a “wonderful community working to overcome the devastation.” Ensemble’s Matt Greenberg likes that “LBI’s thinking about the future — just like I am.” Ingenue Elizabeth Miller recalls her one and only trip here “to Show Place, in 6th grade. Yum!” For her “boy friend,” Newfoundland native Jeff Sullivan, “it’s like old home week. I grew up in a fishing village. We had cliffs, though, not this lovely beach.”

After a mid-run matinee full of Charleston, tap, waltz, tango, can-can, soft shoe, featured dancer Samantha Berman planted a scoreboard in the sand: “Let The Boy Friend Beach Olympics begin!” Competing teams of four had fun bag-racing, waterballoon tossing, and sand-burying hapless teammates.

Back in the dressing room, sumptuous best describes costumes and wigs. Equity dressers in both genders’ dressing rooms make on-the-spot repairs: pin hats, pat errant wig curls into place, handle dozens of costume changes. Who knew a spritz of vodka would eliminate stale costume smells? Although Equity pays for false eyelashes and such, makeup artists aren’t provided. Pros are expected to know how to apply their own makeup.

At the tech rehearsals — shorter and sweeter than any I’d ever experienced — the music director turned conductor, and the rehearsal pianist morphed into a seven-piece union orchestra.

Did I have stage fright, waiting for the opening night curtain to go up? Sure. I had experience, but not in an Equity production. With the first vo-do-di-oh-do notes of the overture, the set show kicked in. And went on, through the four comic scenes I played as rehearsed.

“Broadway at the beach” is a familiar Surflight slogan.

For me, it certainly summed up The Boy Friend. Since many of the company are here through the summer, that slogan should apply to the whole 64th season. Take that, Sandy.

– Jeanne Sutton

Michael Scott photo

Jerry Dalia photo

Jeanne Sutton as Lady Brockhurst in “The Boy Friend”

Hope Springs Eternal in Post-Hurricane Gardens

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ith all the ravages of Hurricane Sandy, the gardeners of Long Beach Island have been understandably concerned about salt and water damage, possible toxicity and planting and fertilizing decisions.

No Islanders are more concerned than the members of the Garden Club of Long Beach Island. Besides tending to their own gardens, many Garden Club members work to maintain the Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens in Barnegat Light and the Beach Haven Library Garden at the other end of the Island. Members volunteer in community and church gardens, too.

Past president and organic gardener Marilyn Flagler shared her experiences after Sandy. Although her home in Beach Haven was right near one of the breaches where the ocean met the bay, the Flagler’s garden fared quite well. Even after being covered by three feet of debris, her vegetable garden survived. The perennial garden is thriving, and most of her trees and shrubs have come back after being in shock from the storm. Marilyn feels that some lost shrubs had been pruned improperly beforehand, and Sandy merely hastened their destruction. Her junipers did not survive. As for salt damage, Marilyn’s opinion is that the heavy rains washed through the soil and rectified the problem.

She points out that plants are natural purifiers.

In Loveladies, Pam Masturzo, a Master Gardener Volunteer, had hardly any damage to her lush garden.

The water did not reach Pam’s house, but the high winds ruined her 12-year-old Scotch Broom and compromised her autumn olive trees. Pam has found seeds of other plants that blew onto her property during the storm.

She noted that most of the trees that suffered irreparably throughout the Island were victims of the salt water blown on them by the winds. Pam explains that because many plants had gone dormant before Sandy, their roots were protected. She feels that gardeners should not rush to replace their plants; they should be given time to grow back. However, if a garden suffered sewage damage, Pam encourages the replacement of new soil in that garden.

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Betty Frey, who oversees the maintenance of the Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens for the Garden Club, was happy to report that the gardens stayed intact. The only damage was to seven trees on its periphery; they had to be cut down. No water encroached on the gardens. The winds left many limbs strewn about but did not affect the integrity of the gardens. Thankfully, the Beach Haven Library Gardens survived without damage.

However, the Frey’s own garden in Surf City did not fare as well. Although it escaped toxins, the water inundated it, destroying some vegetables and flowers. Betty’s asparagus, chard, horseradish and garlic survived; her Jerusalem artichoke, burning bush and heather did not. The hydrangeas have leaves coming up at ground level, which indicates that they will bloom next year. Except for a variegated specimen, Betty’s holly is slowly coming back. The lilies and roses have blossomed beautifully. Betty suggests that gardeners should add gypsum to the soil if they are concerned about excessive quantities of salt.

Two days after the storm, Betty found a fall crocus sticking up out of the mud – a sign of hope and renewal after Sandy!

– Kay Binetsky Marjorie Amon photos

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Shore Things

Old Friends, New Places

E

very Tuesday night for more than eight years, friends gathered at the Bayberry Inn to sing, dance, and socialize. “Jammin’ Janice,” the Bayberry’s Tuesday night entertainer, would get patrons to play “Name that Tune,” form dancing lines, sing duets and even join together in a chorus. It wasn’t unusual for the whole bar to sing a closing song together or back up Carl Gallagher in a rendition of “Good Night Sweetheart.”

Janice’s love for music and desire to share it with others created a family of friends at the Bayberry. She said, “I think that music is universal, a common bond that brings people together.”

Even though the Bayberry never reopened after Superstorm Sandy, the familiar faces that came together to listen to and sing with Janice have been reunited in an unfamiliar place.

Last month, Janice was asked to perform at the Gateway in Ship Bottom. When she told me, I immediately passed the word around and, before we knew it, everyone from the old crowd knew about her upcoming engagement.

On Tuesday, June 4th at the Gateway, familiar faces reunited in an unfamiliar place for the first time since the storm. Janice recreated the same friendly and fun environment that we all shared at the Bayberry. Not only were we all back together again, but rumor has it that Janice is going to be appearing regularly every Tuesday.

So, put on your dancing shoes and get ready to sing along with Janice and friends. Or, if you prefer, bring your solo act to the Gateway on Tuesday night. The place may not be as familiar, but the faces will be. – Rena DiNeno Vickie Giberson photo

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Beach Break

Sorority Delta Xi Phi Mary Kate Kelly photos

Mary Kate Kelly, Alicia Totten, Casey Sewell, Gabrielle Bruno, Lauren Brescia, Veronica Smith, Amanda Toth, Jennifer Cannon, Nichole DePaulis

Delta Xi Phi Shadows in the sand.

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surf city marina

The Yamaha Waverunner

LBI locations For Sales, Repairs, Slip Rentals

Surf City Marina • 325 S 1st St, Surf City • 609-494-2200 Surf City Marina Boat Sales • 337 W 8th St, Ship Bottom • 609-361-5200 Bombardier Dealer • Sea-Doo personal Watercraft • Showroom in Ship Bottom

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Echoes of LBI

Nancy Rokos photo

Beach Beacon

Sara Caruso photo Page 78

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Reflect Your Own Personal Style

Southampton by Wood-Mode.

1418 Central Avenue, Ship Bottom, NJ 08008 609-494-0011 www.franciemilanokitchens.com

For your home. For your life.

For our environment.

Š2011 Wood-Mode, Inc.