Blogfinger

10 Main Avenue. 1896.  Some questions are now answered. Photo courtesy of HSOG. Click left to see the details.

Detail: verso (back of the image)

10 Main Avenue today. 2013.  Blogfinger photo

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger  (Originally posted on BF November 2013)

The Historical Society of Ocean Grove was recently presented with a sepia-colored photograph of an OG house dated “1896”. The image was donated by relatives of a man who had settled the estate of a Dorothy Quinn.

The image shows  “a two story stick-style house with Victorian trim including arches, square posts, shutters, a gull-wing roof, two wrap-around porches and a third floor balcony. Also shown in the photo are five people with bikes and a baby in a buggy, identified as possibly being a young Dorothy Quinn.”*

“On the right side, the building is cut off, but another gull-wing is suspected; although some houses in the Grove have a  single-gull-wing.  The square posts are said to be unusual.”*

The back of the photo is captioned in pencil with “House of La Vogt, Ocean Pathway. Mrs. PM Day (with buggy) and Dorothy in carriage. Ocean Grove Sept 1896.”

Ted Bell, HSOG historian, sent Blogfinger the photo for scanning and presentation on the blog.  He said that his people would call my people when more research had been done regarding the image.  Knowing that Ted took many years to complete his book on the Great Auditorium and knowing how meticulous he is, I thought that I should grow a beard and swear not to cut it off until I hear from him.

Well, la-dee-dah— a short while later I receive an email from someone I never heard of before:  Roxanne Greco, “HSOG history intern.”  It seems that Ms. Greco had done some original research on the photo with the encouragement of Mr. Bell. Voila!  Ted had found a researcher to help him, and we thank Ms. Greco for the quick turn around.

She tells us that the building in the photo was probably at 10 Main Avenue rather than the Ocean Pathway and that it was likely a boarding house owned by Louis A. Vogt. Ms. Greco found old records that multiple families lived there “at once and in short periods throughout the late 19th century as found in the Ocean Grove House Occupancy Directory by David H. Fox.” She also found  Mr. Vogt listed at 10 Main Avenue, when checking another source.

In 1939 the Pine Tree Inn was listed at 10 Main Avenue.  Mrs. John Shafer proprietor.  Greco’s research found nothing else about Louis A. Vogt, and one of the goals is to find out more about him.   Ms. Greco says, “The mystery continues into the 20th century when the house was converted into the Pine Tree Inn (aka The Arsdale,) with many of the Victorian features removed.”*  That building was recently changed from a small hotel into a private home.

The photo above doesn’t look much like the current structure at that Main Avenue location, but Ted and Roxanne see similarities in the windows and a suggestion that the earlier wrap around-porches had been removed. They would like to evaluate the interior of the building to check certain details such as the width of the floor boards. The idea that the building in the photo was on Main Avenue and not Ocean Pathway is strongly suggested by the information at hand, but it is not certain. The “Ocean Pathway” address on the back is not explainable so far.

Roxanne says that the history of 10 Main Avenue remains a mystery due to “several gaps in the timeline of our resources.”  “Further investigation is necessary,”

She says, “Normally we prefer to confirm our research from more than one source. We need a solid timeline.”    She and Ted will continue researching those gaps.  “This photo is now part of the known history of 10 Main Avenue, and we look forward to filling in in the existing gaps.”

She says that the HSOG is “currently soliciting donations to install a word/phrase search feature on the recently completely digitized Ocean Grove Record/Times newspaper. This search feature will enable those interested to perform a more efficient and quicker inquiry as to their house’s history.” and the people who lived there.

Blogfinger has been interested in OG history since the birth of the blog  (which is after the birth of the blues)  and we welcome information that helps our citizens understand the history of our town—religious and secular. Contact us if you have a story to tell.

*All quotes are by Roxanne Greco, HSOG history intern, who provided the research results for this article with the assistance of Ted Bell.   You can see how tough the process can be. —PG

FRANK SINATRA    (from the movie  Pal Joey)  Can you see that steeple?