Pegi comforts a wounded rooster. Blogfinger photo. 9/21/22.
By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net.
Pegi Costantino is known to some of you as the Chief Woman at the Ocean Grove Woman’s Club. She is also an author and radio personality–an expert on gardening and do-it-yourselfing. If you go to Blogfinger.net you can click on “About” and scroll down to the section on Miss Pegi.
Today we are visiting their “Tiny Farm” to view the progress made in the last few years.
Pegi and Tom are Grovers and they have a historic Victorian home in town. Pegi loves colors, and some years ago they had another home in the Grove, and she struggled with the HPC to get what she wanted—to paint the home a bright orange. Some of you may recall that orange house.
In the last few years she and Tom have been bringing an old farm back to life on Old Corlies Avenue– a historic rural street in Neptune. Across the street is an old cemetery, and Tom says that his neighbors are “quiet.”
After buying the property, one thing Pegi was sure of was that she wanted the house and barn to be purple, and that is what occurred.
The couple have been working to redo the farm inside and out. There is a chicken coop with two roosters and an ample supply of eggs. They feature a huge vegetable and flower garden where Peggy has chosen some exotic plants. Pegi starts many plants from seed in the greenhouse, attached to their home.
Miss Pegi at the Ocean Grove Woman’s Club. 2020. Paul Goldfinger portrait..
Tom is a business man who works from home, so, needless to say, he is enlisted to be a farm hand and a maintenance man, and he loves those jobs. Right Tom? Tom also is a musician and performs with a rock duo.
You saw some of Helen Levitt’s street scenes, but here is a shot from Eileen’s family album–Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.
c. 1950’s. Photographer is Dad—Bernard Harkavy. Eileen is big sister. Hope is little sister. There is some drama going on, but what is it? Re-post from Blogfinger 2013.
Chef Justin Skribner greeted us when we strolled into “Little Gem.” Eileen’s so hungry she grabbed a menu and sat right down, forgetting to take off her coat. . This is an inviting place. In the back is brother Steve and Grace the server. Click once to enlarge. Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net
By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger, Editors, Blogfinger.net from Ocean Grove, New Jersey, USA.
Steve and Justin Skribner grew up in Avon-By-the Sea, a Jersey Shore town with more hyphens than anywhere else. They love the town, and as the years passed, they had a dream that someday they could open a restaurant in A-B-T-S.
Justin the younger brother became a chef, and he worked for 15 years in some high-end restaurants in New York City.
In recent years they formulated a plan, and they kept their eyes open for a site. The location they chose was superb at 300 Main Street at the corner with Lincoln. It is a bright and cheerful space with sunshine pouring inside.
The mural in the back was created by a local artist, Urté from Asbury Park. It depicts a lemon tree, and some cardinals can be seen. Ask them to explain the symbolism in the tree.
The Skribner brothers hope to draw on their roots in Avon and have a restaurant that will be a local gathering place. At the same time they hope to have some amazing gourmet dishes to delight diners.
We walked in by chance today (March 25, 2026); it was their 3rd day open, and there was excitement in the air as diners and friends began to stop by.
Justin’s 15 month old daughter was happily running around, and when Eileen smiled and waved to her, she waved back. “Hey, what about me?” asked Uncle Steve who was trying to receive one of her smiles.
We also met Grace, the waitress whose parents live in Ocean Grove. Little Gem is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8-4 for breakfast to lunch; for now.
This is Grace who seemed happy to be part of the joyful opening.
But with the leadership of chef Justin, the team at Little Gem is aiming high to create an imaginative and delicious cuisine. The brothers said that their restaurant will have a French-European style and their culinary variety will be evident even more when their dinner menu begins in 4-6 weeks. For breakfast they have imaginative French style omelettes; steak and eggs; fried potato skins, chorizo hash, and poached eggs with cheese sauce.
They also have a yogurt ball with berry compote and housemade granola.
And there is French toast with rhubarb jam , banana and vanilla. Breakfast also features Maypink’s pancakes with berry compote and whipped cream. The menu has more innovative treats. WOW!
This is our fried chicken sandwich lunch which we split, and it was wonderful. You could just look at and know that it would be delicious. The photo shows Eileen’s half of the sandwich. And there are fresh flowers which we loved. Blogfinger photo. The coffee is from the Asbury Roastery.
For lunch we shared the fried chicken sandwich with pepper relish, cole slaw, arugula and lemon aioli, It was served in a triple decker design on a toasted roll with excellent French fries and perfectly prepared chicken—and it was terrific There also was a super- duper grilled cheese sandwich on the lunch menu called “McNorwood Smash” made with an English muffin, American cheese, onion ring, and Russian dressing.
There is an air of happiness, optimism, and success at Little Gem.
We will go back and visit “Hyphen Village.”
PETER, PAUL AND MARY:
FRANK SINATRA: (See today’s comment–click below 3/30/26)
This unisex character was rejected for the crew to the moon. So it found a job guiding customers around at Stop and Shop on Rt. 35 in Neptune City.
Blobfinger Department of healthy eating:
Woodstock peanut butter in glass jar.
There is reason to believe that peanut butter, a nutrient rich food, can reduce heart disease and death rates. The daily dose, recommended is 2 tbsp. (30 gms) I was attracted to this brand at Stop and Shop because it is organic and was the only choice packed in a glass jar. The nutritional components for peanut butter includes healthy fatty acids, protein rich, a variety of other nutrients such as copper and good vitamins such as E and B3 , but read the ingredients and make sure there are no added sugar or oddball oils, or transfers.
The peanuts should be roasted before being turned to paste. Expected benefits include lowering bad cholesterol and blood sugar. One You Tube advocate suggested 2 tbsp each day. After opening keep in fridge, or, at lease in a cool place. This brand has no unworthy components, but is no better than other brands which offer healthful ingredients. Mostly look for peanut butter that contains only roasted peanuts and maybe a bit of salt. The sodium content is minimal at 50 mg per portion. And calories are uniform at 190 per serving.
Paul Goldfinger MD. Co-Author of “Prevention Does Work”–a guide to a healthy heart.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger on Martin Luther King’s birthday—-Re-posted 2022. It was first presented on Blogfinger in July, 2014.
It was Saturday night, July 18, 1925, at 8:15 p.m., when vocalist Paul Robeson and his accompanist Lawrence Brown strode onto the stage of the Great Auditorium to present a concert of “Soul Stirring Negro Spirituals” (1) to an integrated audience of three thousand people. Mr. Robeson, an imposing black man, was twenty seven years old. He was already famous as a screen and stage actor as well as a singer. He was a true Renaissance man who would become one of the most popular performing artists of the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Robeson, who was born (1898) and raised in New Jersey, was an All-American football player and Phi Beta Kappa at Rutgers University and an honors graduate of the Columbia University Law School. As a college student, Robeson was friends with the Day family who owned Day’s Ice Cream “Gardens” in Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. He had a summer job as a singing waiter at Day’s. (3) When he came to Ocean Grove for his 1925 concert, he had just completed a triumphant run at The Provincetown Theater in New York, where he performed the lead role in Eugene O’Neill’s “All God’s Children Got Wings.”
He had friends at the Algonquin Round Table in New York City, and it was there, with the encouragement of his colleagues, that he decided to do a concert tour with an entire program of “Negro” spirituals and secular songs also known as “slave or plantation music.”
This would be the first time that this music would be performed in concert, and he would appear with his close friend Lawrence Brown, also an African-American, who was a gifted composer, pianist and singer. The two would work together for thirty years. The first stop on the tour was The Greenwich Village Theater in New York City, and then, three months later, he appeared in Ocean Grove.
The concert was reviewed by the Asbury Park Press, which said, “Robeson showed an intelligent appreciation of his task and a splendid voice.” They called him “a talented son of this state” and they described “great applause” in the Auditorium. Among the songs which he and Lawrence Brown sang were “Go Down Moses,” “Weepin’ Mary” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.”
The following month he performed his concert in Spring Lake. They would tour for five years, all over the world, with this program. Later, Robeson would become the third most popular radio artist in the USA in the 20’s and 30’s. In the 1940’s he was the highest paid concert performer in the country and he was also successful as a recording artist. He would sing in the first production of “Showboat” and he would play Othello on Broadway and in England. He would star in eleven movies.
But his visit to OG that night was not only about music; it was also about recognition of African-American culture and the elevation of that folk music to high art. In addition, Robeson always was about hope for African-Americans, and performing that music was his way to offer pride and encouragement to his people. In 2004, when Barack Obama gave his “Audacity of Hope” speech at the Democratic convention, the first example he cited was, “…the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs.”
Robeson would accomplish much in his life, but his greatest contribution would be his tireless and life-long advocacy for civil rights. In 1925, Martin Luther King wasn’t born yet, and the “civil rights movement” would not begin until the 1950’s. Imagine how much courage was required for a black man to step forward publicly on behalf of racial justice at a time when lynchings were still occurring in this country. In 1921 a race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma resulted in the deaths of 20 whites and 60 blacks. In 1922, an anti-lynching bill was defeated by filibuster in the US Senate. In 1925, the year of the concert, there were 17 reported lynchings in the US. Jim Crow laws could be found in many states, but Paul Robeson pressed for racial justice wherever he went and for his entire life.
Robeson had been “eagerly” (1) looking forward to his concert in The Great Auditorium. It is likely that he was aware that many “extraordinary African Americans” (2) had appeared there in the past, including the famous Marian Anderson (1921), Booker T Washington (1908), the singing evangelist Amanda Berry Smith (late 1800’s) and many renowned black preachers. The Ocean Grove Historical Society has documented the African-American History Trail in our town. (2)
In 1998, the Ocean Grove Historical Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of Robeson’s birth by a day-long commemoration featuring lectures, dance, a book signing and an exhibition. The centerpiece of the program was a re-creation of the 1925 concert in the Auditorium. They brought the noted African-American bass Kevin Maynor, who used the original program and reproduced the concert from 73 years earlier. This remarkable event was made possible by a committee of Ocean Grovers led by Rhoda Newman (chairman), Kevin Chambers, Phillip May, Jr., and others.
Paul Robeson’s contributions have been recognized many times in the form of tributes at Carnegie Hall and NJPAC, plus many articles, books, exhibits and documentaries. He is a part of Ocean Grove’s musical heritage which includes Enrico Caruso, Duke Ellington, John Phillip Sousa, and Pearl Bailey (2). Paul Robeson died in 1976 at age 77. Five thousand people attended the funeral in Harlem.
Paul Robeson sings “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” from The Complete EMI Sessions 1928-1939, remastered 2008.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
1. Asbury Park Press Archives (Asbury Park Library)
2. Ocean Grove Historical Society Archives (Ms. Rhoda Newman)
3. Mr. Kevin Chambers, Ocean Grove Historian
4. Ocean Grove Times Archives (Neptune Township Library: Mrs. Marian R. Bauman, Director)
Current comments are welcome; Just write me at Blogfinger@verizon.net. 4/02/2006
Kevin Chambers still lives in the Grove and he sometimes has something to say for Blogfinger.net. He is a true hero of this town.
New OG pier opens. : 4/15/23 Paul Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net“
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net. 04/02/2026.
1891. 500 foot pier is built at Embury Avenue at cost of $4,060. It was built to supply support for sewage pipe. Stokes idea. Another pier was also built at north end, but it came down in a storm.
October 29, 2012 . Sandy hits and damages pier and boardwalk in Ocean Grove, NJ.
Bob Bowné. Shortly after, the Fishing Club and the distal pier vanishes. 10/29/2012. Award winning image for Bob.
Walking on the pier the next day. 10/30/2012. Police asked them to come off. Paul Goldfinger photo.
2012. day after. Paul Goldfinger.
The pier is repaired out to 250 feet. The original length was 500 feet.
11/1/13. Paul Goldfinger photo.
7//9/14. Paul Goldfinger.
5/16/14FEMA refuses to pay for pier:
Blogfinger post:
“Just when the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA) thought that everything was going right, the local FEMA project office notified the CMA that the fishing pier was ruled ineligible for FEMA public assistance because it is entirely recreational (unlike the boardwalk) and it falls under the rules for nonprofit entities. This notification was received on May 16, 2014.” It came after the CMA thought that FEMA would pay for the pier. This was a huge disappointment .
2015 Bob Bowné. Ocean Grove pier after Sandy.
.
2021: An excerpt from a Blogfinger discussion about the pier:
August 2021 update: I may have missed something, but if you actually read Michael Badger’s welcoming statement on page 1 of the 2021 Summer Program Guide, he says, “Architects are drawing up the plans for restoring the pier so that the OGCMA can begin the process of getting permits.”
About a year ago a design for a new pier was publicized. It was in the shape of a cross. We don’t know if that is still gospel, but such a design could be practical in offering more space for fishermen. We had a discussion on BF about pier design.
But we must go back to the post Sandy era (2014). when FEMA refused to pay to fix the pier. You will recall the “public vs private” debates as FEMA tried to figure out what to do. And back in 2007 there were debates about discrimination on the part of the CMA.
And when it comes to the pier, the 800 pound gorilla in the room which has not been discussed publicly is whether OG will ever again permit a private fishing club at the end of the pier.
Our impression is that such a segregated design will never happen again, because the pier is a public thoroughfare. Add to the mix the previous agreement to lease the end for the Fishing Club extends to 2024.
As Uncle Milty would say, “What the hey.”
2/27/22 ( ? 8/22) DEP awards Waterfront Development permit. No local (Neptune) construction permit is required.
7/30/22. DEDICATION. of new Camp Meeting Association Pier plan. Project engineer Peter Avakian speaks at the public meeting and brags about the planned construction:
Blogfinger: “I have some of Avakian’s quotes below, and the most impressive words of the evening were his when he promised that “no future storm could knock down the new pier and that the pier will be bigger, better, taller and longer.”
“The piles will be impressive--up to 60 feet long and driven 20 feet into the sand. The pile caps will be made of cast iron, and there will be “extensions” at the end of the pier which would provide a “pavilion area” where someone could get out of the sun and there will be a place. (? the cross) where lifeguards can survey the ocean and beach areas for safety.”
4/15/2023: Pier is open to the public.
Stays open for the summer of 2023. No problems
Pier opens. 4/15/23. Paul Goldfinger photo.
July 1 2023. NJ.com photo
October 2023. Pier is temporarilycloseddue to “pilings issues.” Then it is open again , but closed Dec 12, 2023 due to “pilings failure.”
December 24, 2023:Entire pier is closed.
12/24/23. Paul Goldfinger photo. Pier is closed.
NJ.com. “The pier opened in April 2023 but fully closed eight months. (12/12/23) later after three of the 88 newly-installed pilings were broken by waves”
“Loose pilings” are mentioned, and Neptune Township begins to pay attention to “safety worries.”
2/8/24. “Outside engineering firm” hired.
And they say that part of the pier (the old section) is safe–consider reopening.:
April 2024: NJ.com. “In April 2024, the first 243 feet of the pier reopened to the public while an engineering firm continued to evaluate the extension.”
5/22/24. Paul Goldfinger photo Click to enlarge…
5/8/24. Engineers say that the “cross” is a “north-south bump-out”. Fence is completed.
12/24/24.Pier closed. Press confusion about the pier: Click on link below
Oct 6, 2025: New section of OG Pier to close until further notice : Camp Meeting Association announcement:
“After many months of detailed investigation and analysis, we are in receipt of our engineer’s report on the structural sufficiency of the pier addition. Regrettably, we have been advised by our engineers that the pier extension may not be structurally sound enough to be used safely. Accordingly, the end of the pier will continue to be closed for the foreseeable future while we pursue remedial options. Thank you for your patience.”
This is how it looks in 2025:
OG pier, distal end as seen in 2025. Paul Goldfinger photo. Click once to enlarge. Blogfinger.net End of pier to close. (See below).
January 2026:
OG pier January 2026. Paul Goldfnger photo. Click to enlarge
