By Kathy Arlt, Blogfinger contributing writer

The Ocean Grove Record didn’t have a regular medical column, but articles about physical health appeared occasionally. One, titled “Shut Your Mouth,” warned about the dangers of not breathing through your nose:

This was probably good advice in 1877, when homes were often lit with gas lights (although it’s worth noting that natural gas was odorless until the 1930s), heat was provided by burning coal or wood, transportation was by horse, and modern sewage systems were a recent development.

But if you couldn’t get much health information from the Record, you could buy medicine.

And if you really needed a doctor while you were summering in Ocean Grove, the advertising section of the Record could help you find one.

I wonder what kinds of treatment un-“Special Cases” were offered.