Echoes of LBI 2017 Midsummer Dream

ummer is once again in full swing on LBI. A recent blast of hot air arrived, blanketing the Island with some of the warmest days we've had in years. Hot days make the ocean water and ice cream feel refreshing as summer fills our days with bright blue skies and temperate breezes. Many people say it was one of the best Independence Day weekends we have experienced in a long time. That is great news for everyone who lives on or vacations at Long Beach Island.

Along with spectacular weather, this summer also brings us the return of our beloved Surflight Theatre. The brief closing of the iconic Surflight left a hole in our community that we all knew would be hard to fill. But through the persistence of a few dedicated individuals and a lot of hard work, LBI once again hosts one of the premiere live theatres in the Northeast. It seems the fans share this enthusiasm. Surflight and the Showplace Ice Cream Parlour are both filling seats and serving up smiles. Congratulations on a wonderful opening.

The 9th Annual Lighthouse International Film Festival brought a bounty of great films to LBI. Many thanks to those who attended and to those whose hard work helped make it another great event.

For this issue, Echoes had the privilege of interviewing Chief Mark Quiet Hawk Gould – Principle Chief of Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. A team from Echoes of LBI was honored to join Mark at the Woodruff Museum inside the Bridgeton Public Library to learn about his life and the history of his people. It was a humbling and enlightening experience not be forgotten. Over the years, some members of the Echoes of LBI team have found artifacts in this area, both on and off the Island. The artifacts I found came largely from the farms in Waretown next to my grandparent’s house in the 1950s. My Uncle Gordie Penn gave me my first artifacts. I was so fascinated by them that I continue to search for and collect them. In the future, the Echoes of LBI team plans to visit the Tribal Headquarters in New Jersey to learn more about the original people of this region.

On September 30 and October 1, join Things A Drift for our annual LBI Sea Glass & Art Festival and Southern Ocean Chamber of Commerce for Chowerfest. For more information and other business fall events, check out visitlbiregion.com/calendar It takes an island to publish Echoes of LBI. Enjoy more sunsets,

Cheryl Kirby, Publisher Please call or email us if you would like one of our talented staff members to write about your family history and have it appear in Echoes of LBI. Stop by Things A Drift to see a local collection of artifacts. echoesoflbi.com issuu.com/echoesoflbi Follow us @echoesoflbi

PAT MORGAN is an award-winning watercolorist and signature member of several art societies. A Beach Haven resident, Pat is known for the soft, dreamy qualities of her paintings. New art prints, cards, and originals are available at Things A Drift in Ship Bottom, NJ. Pat is available for commissions. Please call (609) 361-1668 for details.

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ROBERT SAKSON is one of New Jersey's most accomplished watercolorists. He is a Dolphin Fellow of the American Watercolor Society and member of several state and national art societies. Sakson's love for Long Beach Island is reflected in his artwork chronicling the changing island since 1958. New art prints, cards, and originals are available at Things A Drift in Ship Bottom, NJ. Robert is available for commissions. Please call (609) 361-1668 for details.

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Barbara Kraemer

Judi Silvano

Carol Sapp

Dominica Busicchia

Paul Bauldinger

O

ur 7th Anniversary! Janet Campbell and I welcomed our artists for another glorious week of learning new techniques, painting beautiful flowers, and new this year – drawing and painting from a live model. Judi, a professional singer, closed our "Meet and Greet" with a song. Jim’s annual barbeque and Rich’s kayaking evening all added to the comradery of this very special vacation on our beautiful LBI. We are very pleased with the variety of beautiful paintings done by our artists: Carol Sapp, Mary Walker Baptiste, Laura Kohlmann, Judi Silvano, Gloria Granatelli, Midge Monet, Jim Rathbun, Lonny Hall, Paula Baldinger, Rich VanTieghem, Barbara Kraemer, Lynwa Kreimann, Maryann Cassidy, Alan Lewis, Kathy Zoback, Carolyn Gillan, Dominica Busicchia, Kathy Tatlow, Lois Rusch and Hilde Dluhy. Instructors: Pat Morgan and Janet Campbell. —Pat Morgan Page 12 • Echoes of LBI

Lonny Hall

Laura Kohlmann

Rich VanTieghem

As a native of Northern New Jersey with a background in union sheet metal work and welding, DARRYL HALEY has always used his hands to alter the form of metal. A job related permanent injury suffered in 2008 forced him to find another way to earn a living. Darryl decided to work with what he already knew – metal. Partnering, with his fiance, artist Elizabeth Carol Winchester – Metal Elementz was established in 2014. Currently residing in Waretown, their studio produces everything from metal wall art and free-standing metal sculptures to garden stakes. Since relocating to the New Jersey shore, their work has taken on a nautical focus. Drawing inspiration from everything around them, Darryl and Elizabeth's work is constantly evolving with new designs and mediums, including stone, glass and driftwood. Available at Things A Drift in Ship Bottom, NJ. Page 14 • Echoes of LBI

NORMAN DODGE is a designer and artist of eclectic passions and pursuits. For most of his life, his primary occupation was as a creator of dramatic environments for over 150 stage, film, and real world productions. Norman started doing his mermaid sculptures as a vacation pastime over twenty-five years ago. "I got the idea from my little girl, Arielle. She watched the other children at the beach making sand castles and wanted to watch me sculpt something different."

Norman starts with a pile of sand and no particular plan. Five to nine hours later, a sculted mermaid is born. No tools are used – just his bare hands. His mermaids have graced beaches the world over, from the United States and Ireland to Lithuania and most places in between. Once it's done, Norman photographs his piece, then adds color with photo editing software.

"It is a labor of distant and soulful longing, performed in her own domain at the water’s edge," says Norman.

"Like real mermaids, my sculptures always return to the sea with the next high tide."

T

he We Create exhibition opened on May 5, 2017 at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences. A special element of the exposition was displayed on May 20 at the opening reception. The faculty of Rowan University Department of Art were joined by members of the Garden Club of Long Beach Island for a creative collaboration – inspirational works of art interpreted through floral design – Art in Bloom.

The connection between Rowan University and the Foundation, established in 1948 goes back many years. Boris Blai, RussianAmerican sculptor, LBI resident and founder of the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, offered art courses to the students of Glassboro State College, now known as Rowan University. In 1975, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by the college for his work as an outstanding artist and educator.

The first Art in Bloom show of The Garden Club of LBI was held in 2004 when they partnered with Pine Shores Art Association to interpret the works of Pine Shores artists through floral design. Since that time, Art in Bloom has been a yearly project for the Garden Club – collaborating biennially with exhibits at the Noyes Museum and holding in-house shows at various venues in the alternate years. We Create is the first time the Garden Club has teamed with exhibiting artists at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences.

On the evening of the opening reception, floral designers met with the artists whose individual works they had chosen to interpret to discuss the inspiration for their botanical designs.

We Create reflected the diverse media of the Rowan artists. Among the works were three-dimensional puppets designed for theater Page 18 • Echoes of LBI

productions by Pat Ahearn, and multi-disciplined work with computer controlled moveable screens by Mina Zarfsaz. Only one floral interpreter selected a three-dimensional piece. Judie Alloway chose as her vessel a soft pink flowing hat and unique light pink ranunculus to match the soft flesh-like appearance of the sculptural jewelry pieces by artist, Jill Baker Gower. Fleshgem Brooch #3 and Fleshgem Brooch #4 crafted from flesh toned rubber augmented with sterling silver, pearls, garnets, and small acrylic mirrors.

Collaborating floral interpreters, Maryann Chatfield and Pat Murphy chose for their container a whimsical Mexican sombrero. Inspired by the colors of the sombrero and sarape in Nancy Ohanian’s digital piece on aluminum entitled, Donald Trump, President, the iconic Mexican was hat filled with brightly colored iris and gerbera daisies and accented with a pair of sandals as depicted in the painting.

One of the more somber pieces in the show, Man and Boy

by Ekaterina Vanovskaya was interpreted

by Debbie McWilliams. A first-time Art in Bloom participant, Debbie selected orchids and allium to interpret emphasized vertical and horizontal lines, and the mood of the subjects.

Green Pastures by Herbert Appelson is an appealing abstract with thread embossments. Floral interpreter MaryEllen Bigham used a variety of flowers including blue dynamite, athos green, and iris to interpret the soothing blues and greens, along with the movement and texture of the painting.

The Garden Club of Long Beach Island, faculty of Rowan University Department of Art and attendees were clearly pleased with the success of this creative and intriguing collaboration.

—Cindy Andes

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Watercolorist CAROL FREAS captures the history and color of our shore environment with integrity. She teaches locally at the LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies and at Pine Shores Art Association in Manahawkin. New art prints, cards, and originals are available at Things A Drift in Ship Bottom, NJ. Carol is available for commissions. Please call (609) 361-1668 for details.

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Megan Smith photo

Howard Wohlgefahrt photo

Catherine S. Robertson photo

Last year we came close to breaking the Guinness World Record™ for most conch horns being blown at one time. We needed 300 participants to beat the current record and only made it to 247. Come out and help us reclaim the record for LBI which we held in 2012.

Official Guinness guidelines require that all shells used must be the Queen Conch (Strombidae).

Bring your own conch horn, purchase, or rent one day of the event (driver's license or ID required).

Sign up on Saturday, September 30, Noon-2:30pm, event begins at 3pm in the street. Free lessons will be given all day. All participants will receive a certificate.

Call 609-361-1668 or email at echoesoflbi@gmail.com for more inforamtion.

Stop by Things A Drift in Ship Bottom, NJ to pick up your shell today!

406 Long Beach Blvd., Ship Bottom, NJ • (609) 361-1668

FAMILY OWNED FOR OVER 55 YEARS LBI'S ONLY FULL SERVICE BIKE SHOP

Your World I watch you slowly fade as your mind slips deep into a place I cannot know.

You do not recognize me anymore, existing in a private world, beyond us.

I wonder what you are seeing as your frail hands reach for the air And wish, as I do so many times, we still had time to share.

If I could choose what you are seeing, and the life you think you’re in, If I could be the one to decide your day, It would be filled with us, the way it used to be.

And I would make your shaking hands reach out and hold onto me.

If I could pick your memories they’d be only gentle moments.

I would fill your mind with every time we laughed until we cried.

I want to turn your head, look into your eyes and see me there, And banish that far away, frightened, vacant stare.

My wish for you is simple, and holds all of the love I have; I wish your last visions to be of the sea or shining stars.

I want your fading thoughts to be filled with joy, not sad or scared.

And to remember those sacred moments that only sisters share.

So I place one more kiss upon your brow, One more hug you won’t remember, One more soft touch to show I care.

And hold tight to the memory of you.

—Maggie O’Neill

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Always share with others... ...the gifts the ocean gives to you.

—Maggie O'Neill. Pictured: Rachel. Marjorie Amon photo

OUR SHIP HAS COME IN Our noses are again pressed against the window pane, Praying for an end to all this nor’easter wind and rain, It’s blowing up a storm with no signs of stopping in sight!

Hope it calms down before high tide rolls in later tonight.

The lagoon is rising as is the water in our yard and street, Before too long it looks like these bay waters will meet, Our home will be surrounded by rising water once more, But wait – what is this, as I keep my eyes peeled out the door?

A small wooden boat just floated right up to our home, It had been sailing up and down in this storm all alone!

Don’t know where it came from or where it had been, We just know that OUR SHIP HAS COME IN! It’s a symbol of hope and a sign of reassurance too, That to keep our faith and believe is what we had to do, We weathered many a storm, riding each one of them out, Just knowing that this is what living at the shore is about!

The rain had stopped and the wind had finally diminished, We sigh a big relief as we now know this storm is finished, Our ship is a reminder for us to gain strength from our past, And to go with the flow – remembering these storms don’t last!

—Photography and poem by Diane Stulga Page 34 • Echoes of LBI

GRASSHOPPERS AND ANTS Grasshoppers and ants wearing shirts and pants, both blessings and rants, some cans and some can’ts.

Her name was Megs, he liked her slim legs.

After finishing 3 kegs, they married and laid eggs.

Blessings and rants, some cans and some can’ts, grasshoppers and ants wearing shirts and pants.

She knew he was a winner, but she was a sinner.

He was so much thinner, she ate him for dinner.

It’s fate and it’s chance, both blessings and rants, grasshoppers and ants, some cans and some can’ts.

Anthony Pitale photo

—Richard Morgan

MY SHELL IS A BOAT My shell is a boat when I go for a ride on a becalmed and star-sparkled sea.

I pleasantly float and the stars are my guide to whatever port beckons to me.

The oyster whose shell this was, left me a pearl. Reflecting the light of the moon, I need never fear - because whitecap or curl will be gentle and I'll be home soon.

Once out of the sea, safe back on the beach, I pull my shell high on the land.

My friends soon show up, beach critters come by. We play and we dance in the sand.

The shade from the grasses and plants aren't enough for the heat of the afternoon sun.

So drowsy, I work very hard to stay up, just retreat until evening's begun.

My shell is now my bed; I lay down my head and sleep until the day comes, and then Count the days, watch the sky until the full moon is high and I can go sailing again.

—Linda Reddington

H

ermit crabs are one of the most popular first pets for children. With the right care this inquisitive, quiet little animal can be a wonderful pet. Learning how to properly handle your new friend can make for a closer, more enjoyable relationship between crab and caretaker.

An active, healthy crab should come out of its shell to investigate you and its surroundings – even if it’s new and feeling a little shy.

To help it adjust, when picking up your new crab, it's a good idea to hold it by the shell for the first few days. Let the crab see your face and hold it over the palm of your open hand so it knows you are friendly.

Once it gets used to you, try placing the crab on your hand, making sure your hand is completely open, palm up, and flat. Take care not to cup your hand around the crab. When you cup your hand, your skin folds and the crab might grab on to it for support.

As a result, you can get pinched. Should that happen, don’t assume the crab is bad or aggressive. That's just not the case. Hermit crabs like to climb, it’s their natural-instinct to hang on to anything.

Often, people get pinched simply because they don't know how to properly hold their crab. Sadly, some people have hermit crabs for

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years and never interact with them because they are misinformed.

As with any pet, washing your hands before and after handling is always a good practice. Washing prevents the crabs from ingesting chemicals from lotions or other things that may be present on your hands. Hermits like the natural salt produced by our skin and may occasionally pick at your hand with their feeding claw. It tickles like crazy. Most importantly, there is no truth to the myth that hermit crabs can spread disease. This myth may have started because hermit crabs are scavengers in the wild.

The hermit crab you adopt may be understandably timid or even frightened at first. Gentle handling at least once a week will help the crab become more comfortable. Less stress is always a good thing too. Hermits love to explore. A dollhouse, or little obstacle course built from LEGOS can provide stress reduction and enjoyment. Let your crab enjoy a well-supervised crawl around your room now and then so it gets used to your routine. Lastly, adopting a crab that is receptive to you from the start will make handling easier. By following this basic guide, you and your hermit crab will have many happy years together.

—Photography and text by Sara Caruso

We all love the idea of sharing our summer vacation with our favorite furry friends. Boating is a great pastme to spend together. Just like humans, dogs need time to get used to the water and boat. Walk your dog around the dock and boat until he or she feels safe. Make sure you both have a well fitted lifejacket. Practice your emergency procedure to be ready if your dog falls overboard. Bring a first aid kit, water and sunblock. Keep outings short until your dog is ready. Have a safe and fun summer fom one pooch to another!

E

arth’s hydrosphere represents all 1,386 million cubic kilometers of water found on our planet. This includes atmospheric water vapor, oceans, seas, lakes, ponds, streams, and all underground aquifers and reservoirs. For as long as this hydrosphere has existed, there has been prismatic wavelength refraction phenomena that we know as rainbows.

While rainbows have sparked numerous mythological beliefs over the course of human history, over the last half-millennium science has been able to offer an explanation. The setup criteria are simple.

The observer needs to be between a light source, typically the sun, Page 40 • Echoes of LBI

and condensed water vapor such as rain.

In the case of the sun being the light source, traditional solar rays penetrate raindrops, focus inward like a magnifying glass, separate into multiple colors of human visible spectrum and reflect off the back of the rain drop towards our line of sight. Sometimes a second order happens. The light re-reflects off the front of the rain drop, re-reflects off the back of the rain drop and makes it back to the observer as a double rainbow. While third and even fourth order rainbows are possible, most humans are limited to just a second order rainbow.

In many cases LBI’s thunderstorms form from orographic Appalachian Mountain lift and diurnal solar destabilization across the Eastern US. This typically results in thunderstorm development over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys earlier in the afternoon with east coast storm arrival timed closely to the setting sun. This doesn’t happen every time but enough for me to notice a trend. This timing allows for optimal half-circle rainbows and double rainbows as the solar rays parallel the terrain just before sunset.

It’s very rare that you will see a rainbow from the ground when

the sun is at peak mid-day angle. You would have to be at high altitude looking downward and that would actually form a full circle rainbow. You might have seen quarter-circle rainbows when the sun is not quite on the horizon but a few hours above. You also might have seen a small-scale rainbow when misting with a garden hose. The principals are the same whether small or large-scale. In my opinion, nothing beats the tall double half-circle rainbows as seen in the photo I took earlier this year. Folklore says there’s a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. For me, that pot of gold is the Jersey Shore. —Photography and text by Jonathan Carr

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C

ertain drinks are famous for how much fun they are to imbibe. Building on that idea, daddy O and her sister establishments, The Plantation and Tuckers, designed new cocktails that are meant to be shared with others and foster camaraderie. Introducing the Fishbowl.

According to Andrew, barista at daddy O, “The new drinks are perfect for enjoying with friends or for the very thirsty. They are vacation mode drinks, lively and entertaining.” Daddy O offers several Fishbowls, each containing a whopping fifty-one ounces of summer brew that serve several people per drink. Andrew is the brainchild behind the recipes. “There are three different variations of the Fishbowl at daddy O. They include the 18 Mile Run, which is rum based, the tequila based Mother of Dragons, and the Shark Bite, a vodka brew.” Andrew said they use only fresh ingredients and make their own purees and infusions.

Fresh juices, fruits and other unique ingredients are blended together to create memorable, and very large, cocktails.

The themes are fun and they make a big impact. “We live in a social media world,” Andrew said.

“If you don’t want to Instagram your drink, we should not be serving it,” he laughed. Pete, manager at daddy O, said they have been toying with this idea for a few years. “We wanted to do something big and bombastic – something over the top. The visual is the selling point. We have a captive audience at the bar and we wanted to do something that would impress them.” I asked some patrons at the bar to try them and see if the Fishbowls met their goal. The drinks delivered on all points, exactly as planned.

Customers Brian and Janet enjoyed exploring the new libations.

Brian opted to try the Shark Bite. It comes with a last minute pour of pomegranate schnapps which slowly sinks into the drink like blood. He said, “The presentation was awesome and the taste was amazing.” His wife Janet was wearing a Life Is Good shirt. When I

mentioned it she laughed and said, “Sitting outside on a beautiful day on LBI sipping a fifty-one ounce drink, life is indeed good.”

A fellow patron from the bar, Daniele, shared her Fishbowl and enjoyed the communal experience.

Another willing taste tester, Sean, liked the Shark Bite Fishbowl because it came with a gummy shark on the side of the glass. “I like drinks that come with snacks,” she laughed.

Sisters Sandy and Julie, sitting at the bar when Andrew delivered the drinks to us, were intrigued. “The visual presentation caught my eye,” said Sandy.

“We wanted to get in on the fun.” That is precisely what the drinks are intended to do; catch your attention and entice you to enjoy the experience. They ordered the Mother of Dragons. Julie appreciated the bold taste of the spicy, jalapeno infused tequila concoction.

“It’s like an afternoon version of a Bloody Mary.”

I tried the 18 Mile Run along with the other intrepid tasters. The drink was delicious. But a libation that large is definitely a marathon, not a sprint. Fifty-one ounces of any drink cannot be served in a small glass. You need something big, like a fishbowl. The goblets are too heavy to pick up so drinking it requires a different approach. I bent my head down to the straw rather than pick up the glass.

If you are a nose breather you have a real advantage when drinking a Fishbowl; just put your face down and sip. Crossing the finish line of the cocktail felt like quite an accomplishment.

The friendly patrons who helped evaluate the new drinks were all in agreement; Fishbowls are a fun and delicious way to share good vacation vibes. On the roof deck of daddy O, they are a perfect accompaniment to LBI sunsets, although the sun will probably go down faster than you can finish your drink. Before this season is over, grab your friends and make it to daddy O, The Plantation or Tuckers for some happy hour diving into a Fishbowl of summer fun. —Maggie O’Neill. Photography by Guy Cash Fleming

L

ike many of you, I have wonderful childhood memories of summers on LBI – with unusual side stories tagged on. For me, the summer of sixty years ago left an itchy memory. At that time, most empty fields and building lots on LBI were host to an all too common odious plant that if touched sends the body’s immune system into an overdrive of discomfort. This noxious plant known as Eastern Poison Ivy, Toxicodendron radicans delivers itches, blisters, and rashes that last sometimes up to three weeks.

Prior to the 1970s, poison ivy was abundant on open land throughout LBI. It found a place to grow on the islands west facing dunes and the edges of streets and paths. It wound through the trees and climbed out buildings. Poison ivy is not particular – it only needs bit of soil and a few rays of sunlight to flourish. It has a sinister beauty from a distance with pinkish leaves in the spring that transition to a shiny green in summer – finally turning orange and red come autumn when tiny white pumpkin shape berries appear. Poison ivy can sneak into your yard or nestle in the flowing sea grass along the path to the beach. The adults always warned us, “Leaves of three, let it be.” Watch for a trifoliate pattern of leaves – each poison ivy leaf consists of three leaflets with a shiny top and a slightly fuzzy underside.

There may be gray-brown aerial twining stems growing from a long shallow root system.

The toxic part of poison ivy is a sticky, colorless resin known as urshiol that is found in every part of the plant.

Highly potent, urushiol causes an allergic contact dermatitis, and penetrating the skin in minutes. What initially may look like an insect bite, leads to severe itching and blistered rash in twelve to forty-eight hours. Merely brushing against any part of the plant, or touching your pet’s fur that had contact with the floral toxin can cause problems for humans; animals are immune. Breathing the smoke of burning poison ivy can lead to severe internal illness.

Should you come in contact with poison ivy, shower immediately, Page 46 • Echoes of LBI

wash your clothes right away, and rinse the washing machine when your clothes are done.

Like most kids growing up on LBI in the early 1940-50s, my brothers and I had plenty of room to play. In Holgate, and from North Beach to Barnegat Light there were acres of undeveloped land with groves of native cedar trees, bayberry, black berries, sea oats and poison ivy. We spent endless afternoons on Holly Hill in Surf City.

When necessity called, my brothers simply ducked behind a nearby tree. Taking my cue from the boys, I did too. Days later at dinner, my mother soon realized all my squirming at the table was caused by the dreaded rash. One home remedy in the 1940s was a bright purple antiseptic from the plant gentian violet, triphenylmethane dye, which she added to my hot bath to sooth and dry up the blisters. That night, I went to bed a delicate shade of purple.

Maybe because modern medicine still hasn’t found a cure for poison ivy, the internet is filled with strange home remedies recommending long soaks in oatmeal baths; hot shower scrubs with Fels Naptha soap followed by vinegar compresses; rubdowns with old banana peels; and applications of everything from Dawn dish soap, to spray starch and hairspray. Among my favorite remedies, if needed today, would be to spray the rash with vodka and zone out with a Cosmo. Historically, the Lenni - Lenape Indians have successfully used Jewelweed, Impatiens pallida, as a cure for poison ivy for thousands of years. This native New Jersey plant also known as Spotted Touch-Me-Not sometimes grows right next to poison ivy.

Fortunately, our paradise now has few places to harbor this noxious plant. But as the 1959 Coaster’s song warns, if “Poison Ivy comes a-creepin’ around…You're gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion.” —Artwork and text by Carol Freas

A

ccording to the Harvard Business Review, family businesses retain talent far better than other businesses because “they create a culture of commitment and purpose...investing in people.”

Over the past three decades, Mark and Peg Reynolds have created such a culture – investing in people. They operate Reynolds Garden Shop in Manahawkin along with two of their children and their spouses. With ten full-time family members employed at Reynolds – family operates every aspect of the business from irrigation to bookkeeping. “It’s in your genes,” Peg says.

Mark and Peg are the product of entrepreneurial families. Both worked in their family business. Mark’s family owned Carrolls, a local restaurant. Peg’s folks owned and operated the local golf range Playland. In both families, everyone pitched in.

As the Reynolds children grew, the family business expanded. Mark and Peg found themselves working side by side with their adult children.

Today, housed in three interconnected buildings, Reynolds Garden Shop incorporates a florist, and a clothing store, in addition to the garage warehouse facility. “The most challenging part of a family business is allowing the kids to take over the business in their own way,” Peg says. “Rewarding and awesome, but challenging. I’m not the boss in the floral shop. I’m a worker, saying ‘Tell me what to do.’ They’re smart and creative and have great ideas”, says Peg with pride. “You have to trust them.

That’s one of the most important aspects of family – trust.”

This year the youngest member of the family has started showing up on the grounds. At six months old, Mark and Peg’s third grandchild, Nolan has the valued position of spreading joy and laughter throughout the company. Noland’s Dad, Luke manages the landscaping division. His Mom, Ashley manages the garden shop, advertising and social media.

With a full-service nursery and garden center, a florist, as well as residential and commercial landscape design and installation, including fire pits and pergolas, pools, outdoor kitchens, and Page 48 • Echoes of LBI

much more, there’s plenty of work to go around. For the Reynolds children, there is plenty of opportunity to explore new aspects of themselves, and of the company.

Mark and Peg’s oldest daughter, Katie Reynolds Hood, didn’t think she would join the family business. While in college, Katie came home during the summer to help-out, often on busy weekend. “I realized my passion was here”, said Katie. “I remember going to the growers with my dad when I was four or five years-old, unloading flats and being around all the tractors.” Katie manages the floral shop, designs wedding florals, handles all the potting contracts, and is the buyer for the gift shop and the clothing store. Her husband, Tanek Hood manages the lighting division. Their eight-year old son Cullen, offers important assistance with design analysis. At six-years old, daughter, Elle has a keen eye for color and a natural talent for storytelling.

At the Reynolds family business, the position of Storyteller is highly valued.

The area has grown tremendously. Peg says she misses the little cottages – but, it’s still a place where people become part of each other’s lives and look out for each other. It’s a community where people feel free to visit Reynolds to walk “just for the tranquility and the beautiful flowers, the color that feeds a heart.” Over the years, dozens of local young people got their workwings at Reynolds.

Some remain, others have moved on and sometimes a younger sibling followed in their footsteps – finding their first job at Reynolds.

Mark and Peg’s youngest child Ashley is a teacher in Baltimore.

Ashley continues to come home to Manahawkin whenever possible and whenever she’s needed. Even from Baltimore, Ashley is still part of the family business effort.

“How cool is it to work side by side every day, sixty to eighty hours on the clock and then we have a day off where are we? Usually with family!”, says Luke Reynolds. “What you learn in a family business, is that each of us has different strengths. We can always turn to each other. We’re so connected – it’s almost as if you have the other’s strengths”, he said with a smile. “Once we set our sights on something, we can get there. We’re like an army.”

—Annaliese Jakimides

W

hen Joe and Laura recently relocated Hutchison Fiberglass Pools and Spas to 3100 Long Beach Boulevard in Brant Beach they were unaware it was a bit of LBI history repeating itself. Hutchison, an exclusive dealer of Viking Pools and Spas is now located where the Viking Hotel once stood.

“We had no idea,” said Laura. The coincidence was a complete surprise.

Joe and Laura started their family business in 2001 in the playroom of their Barnegat home. “Laura wanted a pool installed in our back yard,” explained Joe. “I told her I could do it.” Their business grew-up around that one installation, with their first contracted installation in Loveladies the following year.

Today their award-winning business has grown to include the talents of the entire Hutchison family – Joe, Laura, Joey, Alyssa, Nicole and Laura’s dad – Al and new to their family Joey’s wife Natalie. Their commitment to providing world class personal customer service and building long-term customer relationships is evident. Hutchison’s ever-expanding customer base continues to be built upon those relationships. “We’ve served some of our clients for over sixteen years”, said Joe. “We value our customers, and we are available year-round to meet every customer’s needs.”

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Holding a Class A contractor’s license in addition to being a professional member of The Northeast Spa & Pool Association and having a retail showroom allows Hutchison to meet their client’s every need from design concept and pool installation to lighting, fencing, landscaping and selecting the perfect patio furnishings.

“Our goal is to create a personal oasis for each client,” says Joe. Hutchison’s expansive new showroom in Brant Beach show cases a

beautiful array of Viking Pool and Sundance Spa designs as well as state of the art, energy efficient equipment. In today’s energy conscious world, having the right equipment is essential. New technology, innovative user-friendly computer programs and smart phone apps make care and maintenance easier than ever for pool and spa owners. Hutchison Fiberglass Pools and Spas also offers top of the line maintenance chemicals and a variety of other fine products. —Diane Stulga

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ocated in the heart of Ocean County, Hackensack Meridian Health Southern Ocean Medical Center has been caring for the community for more than 40 years. More commonly known to local residents as Southern Ocean County Hospital or SOCH, the hospital opened in 1972 with 54 beds and a medical staff of 17 physicians. Steady growth continued with numerous investments to facilities and services and in 2010, SOCH became part of the Meridian Health network of hospitals and services. The hospital’s new name, Southern Ocean Medical Center, reflected its future direction and growth in enhancing the level of care and service to the community. In 2016, Southern Ocean Medical Center became a member of Hackensack Meridian Health, one of New Jersey’s most comprehensive health networks, providing local residents with more access to advanced specialized care, close to home.

In the past several years, new treatments, breakthrough technologies and skilled expertise have become available right here, and in many locations throughout the community. The new Emergency Department sees more than 38,500 patients and offers advanced 24/7 level of critical care in a comfortable and healing Page 52 • Echoes of LBI

environment. Urgent Care with locations in Ship Bottom, LBI and a RediClinic option in Little Egg Harbor offer convenient, immediate, non-urgent health care services.

In September 2016, a 16,545 square foot renovation and an investment of more than $20 million to the medical center’s campus was made to ensure that state-of-the-art, comprehensive cancer services are available to patients in one location. Key features of the expansion include 20 infusion stations for chemotherapy treatment, expanded nurse navigator services to guide patients through their journey and a multidisciplinary oncology suite where patients can schedule a single appointment with their entire cancer care team present.

The final component of the project was the renovation of the radiation therapy and installation of a TrueBeamTM linear accelerator. Through the fundraising efforts of the Boosters, Holly, Laurel and SOCH Auxiliaries of Southern Ocean Medical Center, $2.5 million was committed to fund this state-of-the-art technology.

Southern Ocean Medical Center is now a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering - Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership, which

means patients in the community will now have opportunities to benefit from world-class cancer protocols.

At the heart of Southern Ocean Medical Center is its dedicated and passionate team who touch the lives of countless patients and families. Under the new leadership of Hackensack Meridian Health Regional President Dean Q. Lin, FACHE; Southern Ocean Medical Center President Robert H. Adams, Jr., FACHE; and Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President of Nursing and Operations Myrna Capabianco, MSN, RN, these teams play a vital role in delivering compassionate care for its core patient services.

Great outcomes result from the hard work, dedication and support that its team members and physicians demonstrate every day in providing unsurpassed care at the Southern Ocean Medical Center’s Joint Health and Bariatrics, Women’s Health, the Martin Truex Jr. Pediatric Care Center, cardiovascular, emergency, and cancer services, advanced imaging services, diagnostics and treatment, laboratory services, pain management, telemedicine for stroke patients, maternity, sleep medicine, and rehabilitation, as well as convenient outpatient locations.

A dedicated commitment to safety and quality in health care has led to remarkable accomplishments including being named a finalist for the prestigious Hospital of the Year Award by NJBIZ. Other reminders of the great care they give include: an A grade from the nationally recognized LeapFrog Group indicating the hospital has the highest safety standards; and, achieving MagnetTM status, the Gold Standard for nursing practice, quality and safety in patient care from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Accolades from the Joint Commission include accreditation for Stroke-Level 1 Center, as well as accreditation for the Bariatric Center. These numerous awards acknowledge the diverse expertise and quality care available at Southern Ocean Medical Center.

SOUTHERN OCEAN MEDICAL CENTER 1140 Route 72 West Manahawkin, NJ 08050 609-597-6011 SouthernOceanMedicalCenter.com

COVER PHOTOGRAPHER: SARA CARUSO is a local graphic designer and beachcomber. Her photographic and design work has been featured in advertising, newspapers, magazines and on billboards. When not on her computer working diligently on another project, Sara spends her time walking the sprawling beaches of LBI, head down, seeking treasures that have been lost to sea and time. Her collection of beach finds contains sea glass, fossils, rare artifacts and everything in between. Her motto is, "Keep looking down, you find more cool things that way."

ABOUT THE COVER: SEA FANS or Gorgonians Alcyonacea are made up of a colony of polyps that form the flat branching structures. These branches extend outward to catch plankton floating in the water. This process is known as filter feeding.

Gorgonians have existed for millions of years with very little to no change in their overall form. Today, there are 500 known species in the oceans around the world. They are an integral part of a coral reef, providing camouflage for seahorses and as a food source to some fish.

Due to the destruction of coral reefs from warming seas, sea fans like this pink one are becoming rare. This species of pink fan originates from the waters around Spain.

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acific Northwest beach combers have the thrill of finding a particular treasure not found on the East Coast – glass fishing floats. Lost at sea decades ago by Pacific fishing fleets, swept by currents across the Pacific Ocean, these beautiful glass gems wash ashore.

Sought by collectors on every continent, they are a unique treasure.

Originally used to provide buoyancy, glass fishing floats were encased in netting and tied or woven onto fishing nets. Despite decades at sea, floats frequently are found still covered in their original hand knotted netting. Others lose their netting, sometimes leaving behind their silhouette on the surface.

Hundreds of thousands of glass fishing floats, tangled in acres of lost fishing nets are believed to be trapped in circular currents of Pacific Ocean. Storms and changes in currents limits the numbers of those floats to wash up along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, Northern California and Alaska. At times, after a storm hundreds of glass fishing floats have washed ashore en masse along the coast of Alaska’s Aleutian Island, and along the Pacific Northwest.

Though generally associated with Japanese fishing, the glass fishing float was invented in 1840 by Norwegian merchant Christopher Page 58 • Echoes of LBI

Faye in conjunction with the Hadeland Glassverk. The glass floats were manufactured in Norway by several coastal glass factories. By the early 1900s, glass fishing floats were manufactured throughout the world – including the United State for a short period of time.

Glass fishing floats were made in a range of sizes, from 1.5-inches to 30-inches in diameter, and a variety of shapes, including round, rolling pin and donut.

Smaller floats were generally used for hand nets, delicate mesh nets, hand fishing lines and octopus nets. More plentiful, mid-size glass floats were used for gill nets, trap markers and trawl nets.

Large floats were used to float and mark long-lines, and to mark net settings.

There are three categories of glass fishing floats: authentic, contemporary and curio.

Whether part of a serious collection or a colorful display each category has a place.

Authentic glass fishing floats were manufactured for the fishing industry between 1910 and 1970. Made of heavy glass, they frequently show signs of use and surface frosting from surf and sand. Silhouette net marks are sometimes visible. Less than 35% are embossed with a manufacture’s mark.

Generally, made from recycled glass, authentic floats are found in shades of green, amber, aquamarine, aqua, and clear – the colors of old bottles. Colors such as cobalt and amethyst are uncommon.

Sara Caruso photo

Occasionally, faint streaks of a second color are present. Authentic fishing floats were rarely manufactured in bright colors. Only a few extremely rare floats in yellow, red, and orange have been authenticated. Made from recycled Sake` bottles, many vintage Japanese fishing floats are green. Air bubbles trapped within the glass are very common and indicative of the recycling process. Very early floats may be hand blown. Many authentic glass fishing floats were made in molds.

Contemporary glass floats may also be made of thick glass and were manufactured during the same time period as authentic

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floats. Created for collectors, few bear maker’s marks and were manufactured in a variety of beautiful colors, including red, yellow and orange. The surface of contemporary floats may show slight nicks and dings sustained over time. Air bubbles trapped within the glass are common.

Curio glass floats or replica floats are made of thin glass and are intended for gift shops and home décor. Manufacturing began in the early 1980s and continues today. Curio glass floats are created in beautiful colors and are usually blemish free. More recently, surface frosting and net marks are frequently replicated by sandblasting or chemical application. —Susan Spicer-McGarry

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ince ancient times man has collected shells from the beach.

Highly prized and treasured, shell necklaces have been found in Neanderthal graves. In more contemporary eras, Native Americans used shells in jewelry, rituals and trade. Victorian homes frequently had a cabinet of curiosities displaying shells collected from around the world. World-wide, shell collecting continues to be an increasingly popular avocation. Travelers to tropical and subtropical beaches seeking souvenirs should be wary of a stealthy gastropod. Its striking beauty belies a deadly secretive predator with the potential to paralyze and kill.

The Lettered cone snail, Conus litteratus is part of a family of predatory sea snails that make up some of the most-deadly creatures in the world. The translation of its scientific name "cone marked with letters," clearly refers to the unique letter-like patterns on its shell. The original name of this species, Conus arabicus, may be attributed to the fact that some of the patterns are similar to early Arabic letters. Just like fingerprints each cone shell has a different pattern. Occasionally, words can be made out from the letter-like patterns. Interpreted by some as a secret message. Shells with words are popular among collectors.

Lettered cones are found in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean, a range stretching from Madagascar to Australia, the Philippines and southern Japan. Around 300 BCE , the Yayoi People of West Kyushu, Japan traveled extensively between the Korean peninsula Page 62 • Echoes of LBI

and Okinawa in search of Lettered cone shells. Fashioned into bracelets for an elite class of women, the shells were in high demand. Anthropologists believe the Lettered cone shell had such value to the Yayoi because of the treacherous journey and deadly risk required to gather them. Lettered cone bracelets have been discovered among remains in graves of Yayoi women of a specific elite class.

Despite its deadly potential, cone shells are prized for their unique beauty. The carnivorous cone snail uses a powerful harpoon, the toxoglossan radula, loaded on an extendable proboscis to stab fast moving prey. Unfortunately for careless beach goers and unaware shell collectors it also uses it for defense. Signs on many tropical and subtropical beaches warn visitors of the deadly danger of cone snails. Currently the subject of neuroscientific research, Letter cone snail venom or conotoxin may show promise in the treatment of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, depression, and epilepsy. Concentrated amounts of venom from some cone species has shown to be a potent pain reliever one-thousand times stronger than morphine.

The patterns on the Lettered cone shells are also reminiscent of chromosomes. Possibly this is the undeciphered story the Lettered cone shell is trying to tell; a glimpse into the genetics of life on earth.

For now, this deadly beauty will keep its secrets – possibly hidden in the letters of its shell. —Photography and text by Sara Caruso

The lifetime collection of Long Beach Island sea glass of Margaret Thomas Buchholz

Clay pipe from the mid-1800s found by Sara Caruso at Barnegat Light Page 64 • Echoes of LBI

Mastodon vertebrae found by Keith Holley in Holgate

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f you never scraped barnacles off the hull of a boat – chances are you never gave the crusty menaces a second thought. For boat owners, barnacles are the enemy, and their bad reputation is deserved. Aside from causing extra work for boat owners and marinas, the tiny, seemingly harmless creatures are responsible for an estimated two to seven billion dollars a year in wasted fuel due to the increased resistance caused by barnacle colonies affixed to the hulls of boats, tankers and cargo ships. A barnacle encrusted hull also increases shipping times, in some instances up to 25-30% longer than ships with smooth hulls.

Cast as villains, a closer look reveals barnacles to be fascinating creatures.

Individual barnacles range from less than half an inch to up to nearly three inches, depending on the species. Arrayed in a wide variety of colors including pink, yellow, green and brown, some species are mottled or striped. Their coloring provides camouflage and is based on where the barnacle chooses to settle down.

Described by SwissAmerican naturalist, Louis Agazziz as "... a shrimp-like animal standing on its head in a limestone house and kicking food into its mouth with its feet." The feet to which Agazziz refers are the feather-like cirri that protrude from the hard shells. Most barnacle shells result from the growth and fusing of six separate hard plates. Close inspection reveals seams where the plates grow together over time. From these sturdy limestone houses, tiny colorful feathers wave like tiny kicking feet as water passes over them. Stationary for most of their lives, the foot designation is a misnomer. Rather than feet, cirri are the breathing apparatus of the barnacle. As the current passes over them, cirri are used to draw needed oxygen from the water.

Barnacles are an oddity in the natural world. Possessing both male and female reproductive organs – they are simultaneous hermaphrodites. Barnacles join with a neighboring barnacle to reproduce, much like cross-pollination. Barnacles are prolific creatures. One species, the Leaf barnacle, lays up to seven broods of eggs each year Page 66 • Echoes of LBI

with an average of 240,000 hatchling larva per brood.

The tiny free-swimming babies, called naupleii, tend to swim in groups for up to six months before finding a suitable location offering a good current and food source for the colony. Once found, the baby barnacles enter the cyprid stage and their bodies undergo an incredible metamorphosis that includes the secretion of natural glue that serves to cement them to their chosen location. Once anchored, if undisturbed an individual barnacle can live for up to twenty years.

Some barnacles become unwitting travelers by affixing themselves to marine animals such as whales, turtles and crabs. This can be their undoing as barnacles require cold water temperatures for reproduction. If their host animal travels to warmer waters, the colony cannot reproduce. The barnacles will eventually die and drop off the host animal's outer skin. Manatees often show evidence of round barnacle scars for this reason.

Coal miners used to take canaries down into the mine shafts as an early warning system that carbon monoxide levels were reaching lethal levels. If the canary fell to the bottom of the cage – miners knew they were in danger. Current research indicates that barnacles may be the canary's equivalent in our oceans. Barnacles are at the bottom of the food chain and as their numbers dwindle, scientists are seeing major shifts in all other animal populations as a result. Huge colonies used to be apparent off the coasts of North America. The coast of Nova Scotia, along the Bay of Fundy was once known as the Barnacle Belt. Today, the Barnacle Belt is notable only by its absence. Global warming is steadily reducing the barnacle population. The effect on the health of Oceania is unknown. However, scientists are concerned the impact on sea life will be dire should the barnacle populations continue to plummet.

Like our ubiquitous mosquitoes and greenheads, the barnacle is a bothersome but necessary pest with an important place in the ecological fiber of Earth’s oceans. —Jill DeFelice

Check out our NEW website www.thingsadrift.com

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hose who walk the beaches of LBI occasionally come across a peculiar find – a bone sticking out of the wet sand where the last wave broke. The first thought is often morbid; perhaps a lost swimmer or sailor who was swept away by the deep.

Or perhaps something even darker. Given the shipping history of Long Beach Island, the most likely owner of that bone was a cow.

Over the years, large numbers of cow bones have been found on the beaches of LBI and with them a growing curiosity has risen as to their origin. Cow bones that wash up on LBI are roughly 80 to 150 years old. Beachcombers wonder if their find is a rare fossil, human remains, or remnant of a sea monster. Many tales have been told of the origin of these strange artifacts. Here, finally is the true history of the cattle bones of LBI.

avoid overgrazing. However, dairy farms were not the main source of bones found on LBI shores.

As early as the 17th and 18th centuries early European settlers introduced cattle to Long Beach Island. At that time, the island was believed to be inhospitable for people due to the marshes and cedar swamps. Settlers utilized the barrier island as pasture for cattle. As winter became spring, mainland farmers ferried their herds to the island. The cattle were left to forage during the spring and summer months, returning to the mainland as the leaves began to change.

By the late 19th century the dairy cow population on the island grew. Cows were transported on and off the island by ferry to

One such ship was the Spanish schooner Remedios Pascaul, built in 1885. On January 3, 1903, the Remedios Pascaul ran aground 200 yards off the coast of Ship Bottom during a storm. According to records, the twenty-one person crew survived. However, the ship and cargo were lost. Nicknamed "The Bone Wreck" by divers, thousands of cow bones remain scattered across the seafloor. About twenty years ago, dredging off the coast of Ship Bottom and Barnegat Light brought large quantities of bones into shallow waters and onto the beaches.

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In the late 1800s through the 1930s, large ships carried the bones of butchered livestock from slaughterhouses across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. Originating from Italy and Spain, bone ships sailed along the coast of Long Beach Island. Destined for New York harbors, the unusual cargo would be unloaded and later ground down into bone meal for fertilizer. When calcined heated to remove moisture - the bones and teeth became calcium phosphate, the main source of phosphate in fertilizers. Frequently ships were filled to the point of being bottom heavy, causing them to run aground on the infamous shoals of LBI.

Although cow bones were the most common livestock bones cargo, the ships hulls also contained the slaughterhouse bones of horses, sheep and pigs. It is a common misconception that the cows were still alive while on the ships. While there were large ships that carried live cattle across the sea to the United States to be slaughtered, their sinking was rarely the source of the bones found on LBI. The most commonly found cow bones on LBI are leg bones, molars, mandibles or lower jaws, ribs, and vertebrae. Many have mistaken the cow lower jaw for the lower jaw of a horse. Cow jaws are more curved while horse jaws are wider and more angled. Cow molars can be quite large and somewhat flat with vertical plate like ridges for grinding grass. They are shorter than horse teeth. A simple way to tell if the bone you found is from a slaughterhouse is the presence of cut marks from butchering. The leg bones of a cow can be quite long and at the thickest part near the joint, it can be nearly seven inches wide. Leg bones are the most likely to exhibit the straight, sawed ends of butchering, as bones were reduced in size for shipping. Beachcombers have mixed views on these bones.

To some, the antique bones are a welcomed wrack line oddity to be added to their shell display. Others find the livestock bones off-putting. Some mistakenly believe the bones would have foul odor. Odors from decomposing flesh are a result of gasses emitted by bacteria. A century at sea has scoured away any vestige of animal tissue from the bones. Clean, dried bones should not smell.

However, not all beach found bones have been a drift for decades.

Bones from an animal or fish that has died more recently may have an odor. If that is the case, soak your find overnight in a mixture of water and Dawn dish soap. Never use bleach, cleaning products, chemicals, or even household vinegar as they damage bone.

Bones should be cared for like fossils and historical artifacts.

Proper preservation and storage of bone artifacts are important.

Check your finds for green mold. Green mold destroys bone and is impossible remove once is penetrates the marrow. Bones with green mold should be left to nature. A gentle rinse in cool water is generally sufficient to clean way any sand or mud. Bones must be allowed to air dry. Depending on the thickness of the bone - drying can take several days. Once thoroughly dry, proper storage is very important. Bones should never be kept outdoors, exposed to direct sunlight, CFL bulbs, or temperature fluctuations. Doing so will cause deterioration and permanent damage. Bones should be stored indoors in a dry location. It is best to place them in a box or jar or display shelf away from windows and heater vents.

Whether you are an occasional bone collector, a bone collecting enthusiast, or prefer to pass them by - beach found bones are a unique part of the history of LBI. —Photography and text by Sara Caruso

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nyone who mentions a fondness for blowfish fillets should expect looks of shock and disbelief, followed by the big question, “Aren’t they poisonous?” Blowfish was enjoyed on Long Beach Island many years ago, and is still enjoyed today.

changing environmental conditions diminished the eel grass that is so important for small crustaceans, a main food source for blowfish. In recent years as conditions in the bay have improved, the blowfish have started to slowly return.

Known for its ability to puff-up into a spiny globe by sucking in water, or air if the fish is out of water, the blowfish or puffer fish may be seen in the waters or on the beaches of Long Beach Island again this season. However, it is no longer the meal time staple they once were. They can still be caught in the bay or ocean. But it is illegal to sell blowfish commercially. According to local Surf City restaurateur, Mike Sulish, blowfish are occasionally requested by customers seeking a dining adventure.

If a local fisherman or woman did happen to catch a blowfish with a net, or hook and line, the next challenge would be to properly clean the fish so that none of the toxins contained in skin and organs contaminate the small filets located on either side of fish.

Some old school cleaners nail the head of the blowfish to a board to hold it steady, and peel back the skin to reveal the edible filets.

Others, just hold the fish in-hand - make a horizontal slice behind each eye, and proceed to peel back the skin. Most of the fish itself is then offered to the gulls, crabs and other marine creatures waiting for a meal.

Those who have enjoyed this delicacy describe the flavor as that of any other mild fish, tasting much like perch cheeks to someone from freshwater areas, or flounder to those with salt water palates.

To someone unfamiliar with both, the fillets would be enjoyed by anyone who likes chicken, or appreciates the flavor and texture of another delicacy – frog legs.

Blowfish were abundant in the 1960s and 1970s. Over time, Page 70 • Echoes of LBI

Blowfish have a lot of character and have inspired many artists to render them in both serious and humorous ways. Although their spines can make them difficult to pick up, and their bird-beak like teeth sharp, blowfish are some of the most entertaining fish to watch and certainly some of the most delicious to eat.

—Artwork and text by Cindy Andes

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tudents, parents and alumni of the Rancocas Friends School look forward to their annual field trip to Barnegat Light every May. For Headmistress Nora Dunfee, it’s not just nostalgia that leads her back to the place where she spent every summer growing up.

It’s an important way to help young children connect with nature and learn about the science of the shore. Their trip includes a tour of the Viking Village Fishery, netting in the bay, and a treasure hunt on the beach. The children seek treasures like shells, skate egg cases, horseshoe crabs, gull feathers, and sea glass. Extra credit if a mermaid is spotted!

There may have not been a mermaid sighting, but this year there was a first: spotting a whale. Another activity the children enjoy is tossing a message in a bottle at the lighthouse inlet. The project Page 72 • Echoes of LBI

is intended to demonstrate the workings of the tide and currents, but the children are thrilled wherever their bottles are found. “You can imagine our surprise when we got a letter last summer saying a bottle had made its way across the Atlantic to Ireland!” says Dunfee. So far, the bottles tossed this May have stayed in the local area from north to Seaside Heights and inland up the Forked River. The students heard from seven Norwegian teachers who are doing a marine biology workshop at Sedge Island. They were delighted to find a bottle during their study of the area. Many have found this practice controversial, but knowing it can help scientists understand ocean currents always delights the students of the Rancocas Friends School. —Suzanne Banister. Photography by Headmistress Nora Dunfee

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hief Mark Quite Hawk Gould, is the elected Principle Chief of Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. As a tribal leader for over forty years, he has represented his tribal nation regionally, nationally, and internationally. Mark serves on the Chiefs Council of the Confederation of Sovereign NanticokeLenape Tribes and is a member of the Committee on Native American Ministry of the Greater New Jersey Conference of the United Methodist Church.

“Gould is an old Native name,” explains Mark. “It’s a core Lenape family names that goes back to the time of the arrival of English colonist.” Quiet Hawk is his ceremonial given name. “It describes my relationship with the Creator.” Soft spoken with an inner strength that is immediately apparent, he has been and continues to be an impetus of change to bring his people and their heritage into plain view.

“I’m just a country boy,” explains Mark. Born in 1942, Mark grew up on Buckshutem Road in Bridgeton, New Jersey in an area he refers to as Dog Patch near Gouldtown.

“My brother, Bill and I enjoyed being outdoors,” says Mark. “We rode bikes, fished, and walked the ditches.” For the boys, the gravel pit next to their house was the ideal playground. “We would climb to the top of one of the tall thin saplings growing at the edge of the gravel pit, and hang on,” explains Mark. Unable to support their weight, the slender tree would bow into a graceful arch, carrying them over the edge of the gravel pit. “We’d ride that skinny tree top all the way down to the bottom,” he says with a widening smile. “We played hard. But we worked hard too.”

Responsibility for family and community was taught from an early age. From age six, Mark and his brother Bill worked with their father, Wilbert Gould, a building contractor. While their Mother worked the boys helped with housekeeping. “We cleaned the house and did laundry,” says Mark. “I did the ironing.”

“We didn’t have any money” Mark recalls. “We ate what my Mother cooked.” A pot filled with a sweet fragrant mixture of local Page 74 • Echoes of LBI

blueberries, huckleberries, strawberries, and cherries was always on the stove. “We called it mush,” says Mark. “We were growing boys.

It seemed like we lived on Mom’s homemade mush and homemade bread.”

Mark’s mother, Marion Strong Medicine Gould was a tribal elder and well-respected herbalist in both the native and non-native communities. “Traditionally our people were not allowed to sell what they made,” says Mark. “My Mother bartered her LenniLenape herbal remedies to help provide for us.” Marion Strong Medicine Gould is the subject of the book “Strong Medicine Speaks” by Peabody Award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Amy Hill Hearth.

During WWII, Mark’s father was a POW in a German prison camp.

“A sympathetic German guard allowed my father and a few others to escape moments before they were to be executed,” explains Mark.

Mark recalls growing up in a loving environment surrounded by family.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” Mark says quizzically. “I am that child,” laughs Mark.

“Any adult could pull your ear or pinch your nose - It was for your own good.” Our tribal families have always lived in the regions of the Delaware Bay in South Jersey and Delaware,” says Mark. “We are a mixture of three regional tribes – Lenape of Cumberland County, Nanticoke of Indian River in Delaware and Lenape of Kent County, Delaware.”

The lack of factual information regarding the historical and current challenges faced by the Nanticoke-Lenni-Lenape to survive and hold onto their heritage has left a gap in the history of New Jersey. Historically disenfranchised and marginalized, Native Americans were denied citizenship until 1924. Unable to own land, with no way to survive many were forced from their home lands and relocated to reservations. For their survival and safety, those who stayed made a deliberate effort to hide in plain view.

“My family and others were determined to stay where they had always been. We were not allowed to talk about the history of our people,” explains Mark. “When my Dad was growing up they

were not allowed out after dark.” Mark further explained, “My Grandmother’s hair was very long – it reached the floor. At home, she wore a traditional headband. But she removed the headband whenever she left the house. Through the 1950s many of our older people didn’t want anyone outside our community to know we existed.” In turn, thousands of years of tribal history, culture and identity were hidden.

have been officially stripped of our identity for no reason,” explains Mark. The tribe stands out as a Native American nation whose constitution forbids their participation in any business that profits from the promotion of vice. The tribal law applies to the Tribe and all current or future subsidiaries. “The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation has always been a non-casino tribe. It’s one of our main tenants - that can never change.” explains Mark.

Early life experiences prompted an anger within Mark that strengthen him and eventually lead him to become to become a Tribal leader and educator.

Official recognition of the Tribe by the State is required for most funding, initiatives and protections relied upon by the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. The change in status imposed by the State of New Jersey has caused the Tribe to lose important grant funding and partners. It strains existing relationships with banks and funding sources, and potential partners and has placed a significant hardship on tribal operations. The State’s refusal to recognize the Tribe has not only effected their ability to do business but has had a direct negative impact on the daily lives and future of its people. “Our youth no longer have access to Native American college scholarships. Our elderly no longer qualify for heating and cooling assistance,” Mark further explains. “Access to essential medical programs for Native Americans with diabetes has also been lost.” Without recourse, the Tribal Nation filed suit against the State of New Jersey more than two years ago. While the matter is litigated the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe perseveres.

Sitting on the steps of his home, Mark overheard a conversation that made an impression on his life. “My Aunt Marion and Aunt Mabel were talking and laughing about terrible things that happened to our people,” Mark explains with a tone of sadness in his voice. “It made me very angry. As a boy, I didn’t understand they were happy to have survived it.”

After graduating from high school in 1960, Mark enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving sixteen months in Korea. The military was segregated and devoid of opportunities. “Dark skinned people were privates,” explains Mark. “I was a no-rank rebel.” After completing his military service, Mark married and went on to raise a family in the Bridgeton area.

In 1976, Mark sought the guidance of the Chief of the Piscataway Nation in Maryland. Within their conversation Mark found the clarity of purpose he longed for. “He asked me one question,” says Mark.

“What are you doing for your people?” With that new-found sense of purpose, Mark returned to New Jersey. In the ensuing years, he became an instrument of change and a voice for his people. “My grandmother believed we had a responsibility to change what was happening,” says Mark.

Over the past four decades Mark and other tribal leaders have brought the tribe into the light. No longer hidden in plain view, the community has been strengthened through education and outreach. They have developed a reputation as a strong leader in the non-Native community.

“We have always been here, says Mark.” The Nanticoke LenniLenape Tribal Nation is historically well documented in New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania. “In the past, the State of New Jersey has recognized our tribe.” Since the advent of casino gambling, fearing competition, the State has refused to recognize the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe. “Currently, according to the State, New Jersey has never had a Native American tribe. We Page 76 • Echoes of LBI

Mark continues to invest his energy into opportunities to improve the lives of his people.

“At age seventy-five, I take one day at a time to continue to establish who we are and what we have accomplished with our own resources,” says Mark with resolve.

“We are survivors,” “We have always been here. We are not going anywhere.” In words that inspired Mark throughout his life, “Ain’t no hill to a climber.”

The traditional clothing worn by Chief Mark Quiet Hawk Gould in the photograph is known as Regalia. Worn for sacred and special gathering, Regalia is an important aspect of Native American culture as well as a way to preserve and pass-down vibrant traditions to the new generations. His Roach or traditional headdress is handmade from painted porcupine guard hairs and buck tail. It is a treasured gift from his wife Gail. The two American Eagle feathers in the Roach were honor gifts from tribe members. His Ribbon shirt, deer skin leggings and moccasins are handmade. —Susan Spicer-McGarry

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lmost everyone uses Internet services like Google and Amazon...even librarians. I use Google for a quick reference for a question or a pathway to a company’s website, and to buy an occasional book or CD from Amazon. These kinds of services are easy to use, and convenient to access from wherever we are. This is fine if you are alright with the relative reliability of the search results in Google, and for paying for books you will probably read only once. Unfortunately, such services might give the impression they are a virtual substitute for libraries, and that libraries are irrelevant and obsolete.

privacy in the selection or use of materials; access to materials that present a diversity of views and expression; and libraries should challenge censorship.

Libraries have responded to the changes in people’s needs and habits by expanding the educational and recreational resources and services that are available at your fingertips. But where results from an Internet search engine yield millions of results with no guarantee of accuracy or validity, the library’s databases provide authoritative, continuously-updated information for you wherever you are with your device and an Internet connection. With more people using tablets to read books, the four digital libraries available from the Ocean County Library meets the needs of most of our customers for free...and with no fines. These digital libraries are more than books, and include movies, music, and audio books.

Books and information are not the sum total of what libraries do, or how libraries fulfill their mission. Libraries also serve an important role in the life of the community. Ask any person who is a regular library user what their library means to them. They will tell you that it’s where they go for movies, programs, and games, to volunteer, to attend meetings of their community group, and be with friends. They appreciate the customer service and face-to-face interactions with library staff.

Unlike for-profit institutions, public libraries have the responsibility to uphold the tenets of the Library Bill of Rights, People’s Rights to Libraries, and the Freedom to Read, and Freedom to View statements, which guarantee, among other things: free access to the information and knowledge within the library; that all people are entitled to obtain current, accurate information; the right to Page 78 • Echoes of LBI

Probably the most basic American aspect of libraries is that they are institutions of equality. Anyone can use a library. No one is limited by how much something costs and whether they can afford it.

Anyone can go the library anywhere and read a newspaper, check their email on the public computers, or use the free Wi-Fi, no matter whether they are a resident of the community or are visiting.

Let’s not forget the experiences of the past decade for our country; particularly those of us in New Jersey, who experienced both the recession, when many people were out of work, and Hurricane Sandy, where our homes, offices, and government buildings were damaged, and access to the Internet and working space was limited. During the recession, people out of work could not afford internet access or a computer at home. Frequently, they needed computer skills for new jobs, or even to apply for new jobs, which usually had to be done on a computer. For more than a decade,

libraries throughout the country have routinely provided computer classes, and training in such databases as Job & Career Accelerator and Career Transitions.

attend workshops on consumer protection and FEMA mapping, and sometimes for respite from the mess, and to just watch a movie with friends.

Immediately after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, libraries were a haven where people could charge their phones, use library computers and access Wi-Fi to contact loved ones and friends. Libraries were warm, dry, friendly places that were part of their community.

During the recovery, people came to libraries for computer and internet access to work on their insurance and FEMA claims, to

What other institution provides such access or services? Only the library has the accommodations, resources and skilled, professional staff trained in information and digital services. In good times, and in bad times, libraries are essential to their community. —Photography and text by Linda H. Feaster, Branch Manager, Long Beach Island Branch – Ocean County Library

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mall things passed from one generation to the next bind people together in unique ways. Tokens passed between lovers, heirlooms and old photographs handed-down from one family member to another, recollections shared with friends – all carry with them the history of places and people. The porch of Holy Innocent’s Episcopal Church in Beach Haven was a place where friends gathered to pass the time shaded from the noonday heat and share a bit of LBI history or tell a personal story. Some stories, though are held close in the heart, where they wait to be told.

From New Brunswick, New Jersey, Dollie and Frank Reiter became enamored with the peaceful beauty of LBI in 1932 while visiting friends. By 1934, they had made the Island their summer home with their daughter Ann in a beloved house on East 26th Street in Ship Bottom. The sun porch at the back of

Page 80 • Echoes of LBI

house was formerly the Ship Bottom Post Office in the 1930s. The Reiter family filled the house with memories, love and laughter.

Occasionally, Dollie passed the time with friends on the church porch.

World War II brought Coast Guardsmen with dogs and horses to Long Beach Island to patrol the beaches and to watch from the tower constructed on 26th Street in Ship Bottom.

In 1941, a kennel was built on 25th Street to house the K-9 unit of the Coast Guards.

Dollie and Frank did their part for the war effort by opening the doors of their Ship Bottom home to the Coast Guardsmen stationed in Ship Bottom.

Located adjacent to the Coast Guard Station on East 26th Street, Dollie served home cooked dinners in their home to the young Guardsmen. After the war, the Coast Guardsmen and the K-9 unit and horses were

transferred. In the 1960s, the Coast Guard station was torn down and moved permanently from New Brunswick to Ship Bottom. In 1960, Frank passed away, and Dollie purchased the house at 107 East 26th Street. Coincidently, this new home had also served as the Ship Bottom Post Office in the past. As a teenager, Ann worked there. Once again, the Reiter family filled their home with the love and laughter of family and friends.

Dollie lived to be 104 years old.

Confident and lovely at sixteen, Dollie and Frank’s daughter Ann filled her summer days with hours at the beach with friends. In the 1940s, she finished first in the twenty-five-meter free style race at the second annual swim meet in Spray Beach. Ann graduated from high school and went on to attend college in Boston. It was there she met David Kendall. They married in 1949 and shared their LBI family traditions with their children - Margaret, Doug and Peter. Over the decades, even after the passing of Dollie and Ann, Margaret shared the recollections and traditions of LBI summers with her sons, Noel and Adrian.

A few years prior to her passing, Ann Reiter Kendall gave her daughter, Margaret Buschmann a small sterling silver ring bearing the inscription “To Ann Love Bobby.”

The story of the ring is one that Ann held in her heart for nearly a life-time. It is the story of her secret wartime love, known to only three people.

In 1942, at age sixteen Ann met and fell in love with a Coast Guardsman named Bobby Burns.

Stationed in Ship Bottom, Bobby was the dog handler for the Coast Guard K-9 unit. At night Bobby patrolled the beaches with a member of the K-9 unit. During the day Guardsmen watched the beaches of LBI for unseen enemies lurking beneath the waves. From the seventy-five-foot Coast Guard tower Bobby could have seen Ann Kendall arrive at the beach with friends. She was an excellent swimmer with delicate features and friendly laugh. Bobby would have noticed her immediately.

Fine Art • Antique Furniture • Classes Locally Made Pieces • Clothing & Jewelry Fresh Floral & Garden Market Chalk Paint By Annie Sloan® 100 Bay Ave • Beach Haven, NJ (609) 661-1586 www.artifactsandcompany.com

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itting in the living room of her Manahawkin home, Althea Fredrickson, shares her recollections of local baseball legend, Doc Cramer. At ninety-nine, she has witnessed a lot of history.

Althea Beatrice was the first child of Laura Hazelton Sprague Fredrickson and George Richard Fredrickson. Her younger brothers, George and Ken were delivered by midwife Eva Cramer, the mother of Doc Cramer.

Even then the name Althea was uncommon; it was considered old fashioned.

At an early age Althea’s cousin, Ethel Cramner, nicknamed her Tea. Since then generations of friends and children have known her as Aunt Tea. The title of aunt or uncle was commonly used out of respect for any older person. Over nearly a century, Althea has earned everyone’s respect.

Althea and her younger brothers spent their childhood in Manahawkin.

Her parents purchased the National Hotel on Route 9 from her Uncle Sprague. Originally known as the Manahawkin Tavern, it was the first hotel in Manahawkin. Historically, business at the hotel peaked in 1871 when the railroad first came to town.

The hotel was located across the street from Lake Manahawkin. The lake provided family activities such as swimming, ice skating, fishing, boating, Page 84 • Echoes of LBI

ice boating, and bon fires. For many local folks, it was the center of family life back then.

Althea recalls that in those days, the roads were sand or gravel, the street lights were gas lamps, and doctors made house calls in a horse drawn carriage. From 1886 to 1935, the Pennsylvania Railroad connected to LBI through Manahawkin.

As the only hotel in town, National Hotel had a lot of business. As gravel roads were replaced with pavement, there were plenty of working men who needed a nice place to stay and good food. Althea’s mother did all the cooking. “My Mother’s cooking brought people to the hotel,” said Althea.

Throughout Prohibition, no alcohol was served in the hotel’s bar. It didn’t matter. The bar remained the center of local activity. Althea recalls how at four years old she leaped from the bar into the waiting arms of Doc Cramer. “I jumped,” explained Althea with a smile. “And he caught me.”

After graduating from Tuckerton High School, Althea attended business school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Perhaps after graduation she would have managed the hotel with her parents. Unfortunately, the National Hotel was sold after her father’s premature death in 1937 at age fortyseven.

Fresh from business school with her diploma, Althea went to work for the State of New Jersey for the Board of Children and Guardians, now known as the Division of Youth and Family Services. For the next five years, Althea worked in their Egg Harbor office.

Althea recalled the day a new opportunity literally knocked on her door. “The manager of Atlantic Electric Company came to my Mother’s house,” said Althea. “He wanted me to come work for them.” After briefly considering the difference in the commute - Althea went to work for Atlantic Electric Company in Beach Haven.

Back then men and women dressed for work. A business suit with white shirt, tie and a hat was proper for men – even if they didn’t have a corner office. For women, a dress, stockings, heels, gloves and a hat were basic.

On her first day of work, Althea arrived dressed accordingly. Her coworkers laughed and explained that this was the Jersey Shore – no hat was needed here unless you were going to the beach.

First located around 2nd Street in Beach Haven, the Atlantic Electric Company office later moved to Ship Bottom. It was a full-service office that handled accounts, and sold and serviced household appliances.

“Everything was done in person or by telephone,” explained Althea. “I met or talked to most of the people on LBI.” It was a community where people got to know each other. She fondly recalls one customer who always said, “This is Tom from ‘Hawkin’ talking” when he called the office. It was also a caring community.

Althea remembers when Phil Hart would quietly pay off the overdue electric bills of those in need at Christmas.

In those days, most summer homes on the Island had their electric shut off for the winter. Late spring and early summer were hectic.

Seasonal homeowners returned to LBI and needed their electric service turned on. On busy days workers usually ate a quick lunch at their desks.

As fall arrived, it was the reverse and just as busy with summer homeowners needing their electric turned off for the winter.

During the winter months work was very slow. “We had plenty of spare time,” laughed Althea. “So we would go down to the drugstore for lunch.” Back at the office, they kept themselves busy with a variety of things including knitting and cryptograms.

Atlantic Electric Company employees were crossed trained.

Uniquely, Althea could do everything. Because of her helpfulness, Ullman and Silvermaster builders named a street after her in Loveladies.

Even in the worst weather, if Atlantic Electric Company was open Althea was at her desk. During the March 1962 Nor'easter that cut through the Island, she remained at the office and evacuated from LBI at the last minute. “The water was coming up through the floorboards of the car,” recalled Althea.

Althea loved working on LBI. In 1972 Atlantic Electric Company moved from Ship Bottom to Pleasantville, New Jersey. All the friends from the Ship Bottom office carpooled allowing them to spend even more time together.

Althea is an active member of the Manahawkin Baptist Church.

She enjoys reading and continues to do cryptograms.

—Pat Dagnall and Ellen Hammonds​. Photography supplied by Althea Fredrickson and Larry Oliphant

How do you tell the forecast for Long Beach Island?

With a clam shell, of course!

Merry Simmons photo

Shell is dripping – Raining Shell is dry – Not raining Can't see the shell – Foggy Shell is smelly – Too hot Shell is moving – Windy dayz Shell is wet – Humid Shell is gone – Hurricane

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ong before I was born my family, the Cannons, began coming to Long Beach Island. In these early years, they rented a favorite little cottage that rested comfortably on the dunes in Harvey Cedars.

I don’t recall how my family got to the island. Like most city dwellers in those days they did not need to own a car.

Possibly someone at my Uncle’s Philadelphia law firm had a car. No matter the method of transportation, this early caravan to the shore would have included my Irish grandmother, Nana, and several of her children and grandchildren.

I remember the tales of several summers spent in that little cottage on the dunes; blowing sand, thin sleeping cots, ubiquitous mosquitoes, and of listening to the ocean’s constant cadence throughout the night. Back then, Page 88 • Echoes of LBI

Harvey Cedars was just miles of open beach, high dunes and few houses.

When I was very young a new rental in Harvey Cedars became another source of family get-togethers. I have vague recollections of walking down a long sandy path to the beach – tin pail and shovel in hand. I had to wear rubber beach shoes because there was often tar on the beach mixed in with the seaweed.

When I refused to wear to them, my mother used butter or something like kerosene to remove the stubborn mixture of sand and tar from the bottoms of my feet. The folklore or reality about the source of the tar centered around oil leaking from the hulls of sunken World War II U-boats offshore.

Over the years, my child’s memories grew to include those of a teenager and then a young adult. I recall dinners with family at the Surf City Hotel and Wida’s and going with my Dad and Uncle to pick out the best fish from the long boats docket behind the fishery in the middle of the island. We devoured platters of clams on the half shell – shucked with our special family clam knife that we took to LBI every summer. And of course, no summer was complete without a visit to the Lucy Evelyn and Old Barney.

Each summer as we approached the island just before we reached the first wooden bridge, my father faithfully called our attention to the left side of the road. There sat a shabby little shack with a barely legible sign, Axel's Bait and Tackle, Rowboats and Clams. If I looked hard, I might see Old Axel himself.

The sounds of the early island life still resonate with me, especially the distinctive sound of the old wooden bridge that signaled our arrival on LBI. The windows were down and the smell of the salt air was immediate and intense.

To this day, as I come and go from LBI, I still look to the side where the old wooden bridge stood before the causeway was built. I see a very dilapidated, barely standing little shack where I think Axel's once stood.

I wonder if under all the overgrowth there is a barely recognizable sign for the shop.

In the fifties, Axel’s serendipitously came to my parent's home outside Philadelphia in the form of a watercolor by artist Edith Brecht. My Dad and Uncle often met for lunch on a bench in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. They spotted a painting of Axel’s shack hanging on a clothesline exhibit during the famous Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show. The painting is of the unmistakable shack with its red lettered sign sitting on the left side of road just before the old wooden bridge. A gentleman, possibly Axel himself, rests on the front steps under the sign. I remember how pleased my Dad was when he came home with the watercolor of Axel's – a scene that was such part of our collective LBI family experience. I’ve often wondered what memories LBI may have held for the artist.

My Cannon family continued to rent a summer home on LBI summer home for many years. Having weathered the Great Depression of the late twenties, they were fearful of taking a risk on a property that was just sand. They were city people who lived in sturdy brick homes. However, the images of beaches and scenes of LBI populated their walls.

After years of vacationing elsewhere, I longed for a summer home in the sand with marshes around me – close to the ocean. I wanted to share the beauty

and treasures of LBI with children and grandchildren. Happily, I found it. Dad’s watercolor of Axel's Bait and Tackle, Rowboats and Clams hangs on my wall. Best of all, I now share my LBI island life with my children and their families. Julie, Alex, Pete, Lyndsay, Polly, Jenna, Rachel, Aidan and Graysen have embraced island life to the fullest. We enjoy the glorious Holgate sunsets and our long walks on the beach searching for sea glass. No summer is complete without a trip to Old Barney, plenty of ice cream, paddle boarding, fudge, and clams and oysters.

My teenage granddaughters like to shop ‘til they drop and my young grandsons are always eager to cross the dunes to see if tidal pools await them.

I have come full circle with my old friend – Long Beach Island. I hold the old memories near and dear; and cherish making new memories each day with family whom I hold so close to my heart. —Photography and text supplied by Dorothy Cannon Katauskas Page 90 • Echoes of LBI

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he crack of a bat making contact, cheering fans, and the umpire’s indisputable call are all sounds of America’s favorite pastime - Baseball. Ocean County has its share of tales about many local “boys of summer.” Membership has ranged from Babe Ruth and Little League to semi-pro and minor ball teams. Their ages have included T-ball beginners to seasoned players in their seventies and eighties. Indeed, baseball is a sport played and enjoyed for generations at the shore. Roger ‘Doc’ Cramer, our very own Major League player, certainly influenced that popularity.

Doc played in the majors from 1929 to 1948, primarily for the Philadelphia Athletics, and the Boston Red Sox. Despite his many impressive stats, he never was chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

For example, he played in five All Star games and had a career batting average of .296. Doc tied a major league record by going six for six in a nine-inning game - the only American Leaguer to have done this twice. All this information and more can be found on baseball-almanac.com Doc was a typical Jersey Shore kid. He was born in Beach Haven to John Roger and Eva Jean (Sprague) Cramer on July 22, 1905.

The family moved to Manahawkin when Roger was an infant. His nickname, Doc, was an interesting childhood addition. He loved to go with Dr. Joshua Hilliard on house calls, first by horse drawn Page 92 • Echoes of LBI

carriage and later by roadster. There were lots of opportunities to tag along because, according to Ed Hazelton of Manahawkin, Dr. Hilliard delivered over 2,000 area residents. ​ It is interesting to note that Roger preferred this childhood nickname to one that a sportswriter later gave to him. He was called Flit after a commercial fly catcher of the same name.

Although the nickname seemed a perfect match since Doc was a killer of fly balls, it never gained much popularity.

When not traveling around with Dr. Hilliard, Doc enjoyed the typical childhood activities. He did his chores, swam, fished, hunted and, of course played baseball. From his early days, Doc was obsessed with the sport, watching local games, and playing as often as possible. Back in those days, there were pick-up games where the boys learned from one another. In those days, only boys played baseball.

Doc played baseball in high school. After graduation, he apprenticed with Herb and Lonnie Cranmer as a carpenter. On December 26, 1927, he married his sweetheart, Helen Letts. They would eventually have two daughters.

However when baseball season rolled around, Doc played on one of the semi-pro teams. In 1928, he was playing for the Beach

Haven team when Cy Perkins, a scout from Philadelphia Athletics spotted him. Cy invited him to Philadelphia to meet the owner.

Even though his father did not want him to go, Doc went to Philadelphia and the legendary Connie Mack signed him up for $3,500. Doc started his career late at the advanced age of twentyfour. As a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower, weighing in at 185 lbs. and at six foot two inches, he was an ideal ball player.

In a 1933 newspaper sports article, Doc was described as “a man of highest character, modest, well-liked by everyone on the team.” For the next twenty-years, baseball was his career as well as his love. ​ In 1934, he held out for an increase in salary that would take his annual pay to $7,500. The year was the turning point of The Great Depression. The average annual US salary was $1,368. A ticket to a baseball game averaged $1.25; a fielder’s glove and ball was $5.00; a hunting rifle cost $30.00, and a 12-gauge shot gun was $60.00.

He was quoted as saying “I can always make a living running my meat shop in Manahawkin. I’m a butcher and I prefer lopping off sirloins to playing ball at the sum offered me.” He got his $1,000. raise.

In the off seasons, Doc worked as a butcher and later as a carpenter. He also loved the shore life. Hunting and fishing were part of his daily life. The Ocean County offices have an affidavit signed by Doc stating that he killed twelve foxes in 1939. He was to receive a bounty of $3.00 each.

Locals credit Doc for bringing the interest of the Big Leaguers to the Island which brought more jobs to the area. The Stafford Chronicles stated that in the early 1930s Doc brought the Philly Athletic players, B. Miller, Mickey Cochrane, and Rube Walberg, for gunning on the Bay. Babe Ruth was also a frequent visitor who went gunning with Doc. The Babe drank and ate at the Acme Hotel, and had evenings of revelry at the National Hotel.

After he retired from baseball, Doc continued to work as a carpenter. While living in the house his uncle built at 201 Amber Street, Beach Haven, he built many houses on LBI as well as in Beach Haven West.

He was a Freemason for over fifty-years, and was very involved in the community. According to local historian, Larry Oliphant, “Doc coached the Babe Ruth team. He would not coach Little League because he couldn’t put up with the nonsense. He felt that you had a choice – learn baseball or cry. He always autographed baseballs for whoever asked.” ​ Doc Cramer was native son of Ocean County. A street in Manahawkin, New Jersey bares his name. He was a son, a brother, a husband and a father, a hunter, a teammate, a Freemason, a butcher, and a carpenter. But, first and foremost, Doc loved the game of baseball.

Doc Cramer died on September 9, 1990 in his beloved Manahawkin. —Pat Dagnall and Ellen Hammonds​

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n 1927, my grandmother, Muriel Oliver Tooker, nee Howard, answered an advertisement in a Boston newspaper for a summer job at The Engleside Hotel. Here in her own words is her story of how she arrived in Beach Haven, and came to remain here for the rest of her life.

—Karen Larson

$22.50 a Month and No Days Off Waitresses wanted for the summer employment. First class hotel on the New Jersey shore. Apply in person to Scudder Agency, 428 Washington St., between 11:30 a.m and 2 p.m.

So, read the advertisement in a June 1927 issue of the Boston Sunday Globe, and to this address twenty-three young women found their way and were interviewed by Sam Leonis, who was the head waiter at The Engleside Hotel in Beach Haven. Sam was Greek, slim of body and angular of face, with a pair of discerning black eyes which missed nothing. He hired the three of us Boston University students who were together, Myra, Nola and myself, after the briefest interview one could imagine. We knew enough to serve from the left, and remove from the right. We had no experience, but Sam said he would rather train girls himself so they would know exactly how he wanted things done.

We were advised that the salary was to be $22.50 per month with a bonus of $5.00 per month if we stayed through the season.

The hotel also paid the fare to Beach Haven. If fired, you forfeited bonus and fare.

On June 28, we met at South Station at 2:30 p.m., then waited until about 5:00 p.m. and took the boat train to Fall River, then the Fall River Line to New York. We were thrilled with this adventure, as we had heard many things about the old Fall River Line. There was even a risqué song about it when I was a kid.

We arrived in New York to catch the early morning train from Jersey City, but several of the girls did not appear, and we waited to board the ferry at 23rd Street at 11:30 a.m.

Finally, we disembarked from Jersey City and caught a cinder-belching train that arrived at Whiting about 3:00 pm until Page 94 • Echoes of LBI

– mercifully – the train to Beach Haven came. We clickety-clacked through miles of scrub growth. At last we saw Barnegat Bay and smelled the salt meadows, arriving in Beach Haven at 5:17 p.m. The trip across on the Bay trestle seemed endless, and I recall looking at the water on either side and wondering where I was going. Finally, we came to the first stop, Ship Bottom, then another Brant Beach and another, Beach Haven Crest. All the way down, we had seen only the bay running alongside us, and it seemed we had stopped at every back door before we reached Beach Haven.

We were tired, hot and hungry as we were herded onto the platform to get the bus to the hotel. The bus was an old Auto Car with seats that ran lengthwise along the sides under a canopy.

As we stepped off the train a tall, blond, slender man stood near the bus driver.

He had come from the hotel just for the ride and to get a look at the girls. He was handsome and had a nice twinkle in his blue eyes. As soon as we were on the bus he began to talk to one of the girls who had delayed us in the morning. I thought, “You might know it, some people just know how to get attention!” I was annoyed with myself, but the whole summer stretched ahead and I resolved to have a good time and not get too involved with anyone.

The bus delivered several guests to the front

entrance of the Engleside – then drove into the service yard. A laundry with a wide porch was on the west side of the yard. Offduty bellhops were lounging there, along with chamber maids and a number of the laundry help who were enjoying the summer evening. Our luggage was put on the porch and as the girls came by, each picked up her suitcase. The handsome blond man was watching. My suitcase was one belonging to an older sister who had spent the previous summer in Europe. Consequently, it had a number of stickers from several foreign countries. Perhaps this led the handsome man to believe I had money, or had led a glamorous life traveling. But he decided he was going to make my acquaintance. I simply picked up the bag and headed up the narrow stairs and found my two friends from Boston University.

We settled in a room on the second floor which had three sick-looking beds and was opposite the bathroom. This proved to be a great convenience, as it was easy to tell when it was empty. It was a divided bathroom, really a bathroom with one tub and a toilet room. One bathed or washed and brushed teeth in the bathtub. It was not too many days before we wished we had gone further away from bathroom. The one on the third floor was directly over ours and to our dismay there was frequent trouble with the plumbing. Showers, unsolicited, descended upon us with exasperating frequency when we ventured into the hall. We laughed it off, saying we “By the Water of Minnetonka”, a musical score very popular in 1927.

The room had three cots that almost hit the floor when you sat on them, a bureau and a washstand. The walls had once been white plaster, but they had never been painted.

The remnants of squashed mosquito bodies and list of tips gathered by former tenants

were the only decorations.

We did have a nice large window, but after the first night and numerous mosquito bites, we discovered that the screen was fastened only at the top of the frame. Whether someone cut the sides and bottom to make a getaway we never knew.

I can’t recall when we went to bed that night, but things had just calmed down when we were awakened by terrible screaming. Upon investigating, we learned that the chef was chasing his wife with a carving knife. The chef was arrested and put in the local clink; we never saw his wife.

She left the next day and did not come back for the rest of the summer.

The next morning, we were issued our uniforms. Blue chambray with white collars and cuffs to be worn at breakfast and lunch. We had an all-white uniform at diner.

Of course, hems had to be adjusted, and before lunch.

Maybe we were able to get to the beach for a swim that day, but I can’t remember.

A half hour before lunch, all thirty-six waitresses appeared for roll call in our blue chambray uniforms, and Sam began to lay down the law. We learned that our salary of $22.50 a month paid us for serving ninety-three meals in July and ninety-three in August, three meals each day. In short, there was no such thing as a day off or even a meal off.

Before each meal, two tubs in the kitchen were filled with large cakes of ice. Armed with vicious-looking ice packs, our busboys Steve and Saratka worked on these, reducing them to pieces that would fit in drinking glasses. Each waitress was eager to ice up their table before the guest arrived; never mind if the glasses sweated and left wet circles on the tablecloths. It was part of the game. But after Sam’s long roll-call lectures, we had little time to ice up. As Steve and Saratka worked on the ice, we would try to get some. A foolish move, as we would get nicked by the picks.

If you were late for roll call, Sam gave you “6 o’clock”. This meant that you had to be in the dining room at six the next morning to serve the men who wanted to go fishing.

Sam seemed to know what every girl did in her off hours and what time each one got in at night. If a girl who stayed out late was also late for roll call, he took fiendish pleasure in giving her 6 o’clock. Mary Murphy

and her sidekick Agnes Divine got 6 o’clock more often than anyone else. Finally, Sam gave Mary 6 o’clock every morning until Labor Day. Besides serving meals, every waitress had side work; daily chores to be done after the meals were over. Some of the chores, such as sweeping the dining room had to be done after every meal. Some of the girls put away the fresh table linens which came in from the hotel laundry late in the afternoon. The same girls distributed the clean tablecloths and napkins and side towels after each meal when the girls set up again.

Two girls were given the honey and syrup table to keep clean. Sam’s eagle eye watched this table carefully to make sure no drops of sweetness on the outside of the containers drew flies or ants. I recall a couple of times when he was upset because things were not clean enough and that corner of the dining room was, Sam said in his accented speech, “fool of flice.”

After each meal, the waitresses washed the silver and glasses which had been used on their table. In the southeast corner of the big kitchen were two sets of twin sinks where this chore was done. Each girl was responsible for her glasses and silver.

Heaven help you if you broke a glass. New ones appeared from somewhere, but I don’t know where. As for the silver, there didn’t seem to be any extra pieces, but once in a great while my friend Myra Burke and I would find a stray fork or a serving spoon,

corroded almost beyond recognition with a green coating. We were at a loss to know what to do with these. Dispose of them we must, but where? Hardware of any description was forbidden in the garbage, because a man came from the mainland collected it to feed his hogs.

I don’t know what happened to broken glass, but the corroded silverware found a quiet resting place on top of the springhouse. We would go out on the little platform outside the kitchen door, and after a quick look around and a dexterous flip, the offending cutlery performed a beautiful arc and landed on the roof of the springhouse.

By the end of the summer, we figured we had a complete set up there.

Muriel Howard came back the next summer to work at the Engleside. Edmond Oliver, the tall, handsome man with the twinkly blue eyes made her acquaintance and she married him on November 17, 1928.

They made their home on 211 2nd Street in Beach Haven with their three daughters, Muriel, Chloe and Marion. Edmond died in 1961 and Muriel eventually remarried Dan Tooker. My grandmother lived until 2002. Her memorial service was held at her church, Kynett Methodist. Befittingly, the repast was at the Engleside – the place where her life in Beach Haven had begun.

—Muriel Oliver Tooker

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ine years ago, thirteen women from Jackson, New Jersey planned a ladies’ weekend on LBI. We never imagined it would become a tradition upon which important lifelong friendships would be built. Some of us had known each other for years because our children were friends. Many of us were only casually acquainted.

Over the years we have grown very close. Related by the deep bonds of friendship instead of genes – we call ourselves Sistas. We truly love and care about each other. We support and help each other as much as we can through life’s most difficult challenges and the good times too. Our children, known among the Sistas as cubs, are similar in age. We’ve shared the joy and pride of watching them grow, graduate high school, college and become parents. We feel lucky to have a dozen Sistas.

Our nine-year journey began in a beautiful Holgate oceanfront house until hurricane Sandy hit LBI. The following year our ladies’ weekend was in Brigantine. Knowing our heart and soul was in LBI, the following year we rented an oceanfront house in Page 98 • Echoes of LBI

Loveladies where we continue to gather each year. We all look forward to this weekend every year – the theme is always good food, music, and endless laughter with special friends.

It’s our tradition to spend our getaway in LBI the weekend after Mother’s Day. We have it down to a science. The annual planning meeting takes place two months in advance. The gourmet chef in our group graciously applies her talents in the kitchen. The rest of us filter in as the clean-up crew. Each year one of the ladies handles the creation of our annual T-shirts. As part of the fun, the T-shirt is always a surprise to the rest of the group. A special part of our weekend tradition is shopping in some of our favorite LBI stores while wearing our annual T-shirt.

Through the year our busy daily lives can keep us from getting together as often as we’d like. However, when we come together for our annual weekend it’s as if no time has passed. We are looking forward to celebrating the tenth anniversary of our Annual LBI Ladies’ Weekend and many more. —Photography and text by Cindy Joachim

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