Chavurah (Jewish fellowship) meeting today in Ocean Grove, NJ. 10/6/13 Blogfinger photo

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger (reprinted and updated from the 2011 Blogfinger article )

October, 2013. Unlike most towns, Ocean Grove has been self conscious about diversity ever since it was founded. It all stems from the unusual design of how the town was organized at its inception, and then what happened subsequently, and especially over 100 years later, when the governance of Ocean Grove ran afoul of the Constitution.

In 1870, the Camp Meeting Association received a charter from the New Jersey Legislature which allowed a religious organization, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, to govern the town, backed up by lawful ordinances, many of which were based on religious rules (“blue laws”), and enforced by their own police department and court. This helped keep the town decidedly not diverse.

But it wasn’t long after the founding that people began to move into the Grove who were different from the homogenous group that comprised the earliest settlers. Diversity can be about religion, race, gender, age, etc, but, at first, religion was front and center. Initially it was the Methodists, but later other Protestant denominations came and then Roman Catholics. In recent years, the town has become quite diverse in many ways, as it has gained in popularity among a variety of groups who are here, not because of the Camp Meeting programs, but because the town is attractive to them for a multiplicity of reasons, usually secular.

It is hard to get clear data on demographics in the Grove. It has been my observation that they have been changing in the last 10 years, especially in relation to socioeconomic status. The town is 91% white and holding. African Americans are about 5%. There is no recent data about religions, but nearly 50% were Roman Catholic in 2000. About 60% of the population are over the age of 45, and most households consist of individuals. About 55% are females. The median income has gone up by 19% when 2010 is compared to 2000, but this is about average in New Jersey.

Link to article in Blogfinger about the population drop documented in the 2010 census: population drop in OG

In 2007 one of the minority groups in town formed an organization, Ocean Grove United, which is dedicated to representing the concerns of gays and others who want to see Ocean Grove be successful as a place which celebrates diversity, neighborliness and fairness. OGU has, in the last two years, become more involved in civic activities in town and has been prominently active in post-Sandy fund raising efforts. Next month they will sponsor a buffet lunch to benefit the St. Paul’s food bank.

Also in 2007, another minority group formed an organization: A Jewish Chavurah (i.e. fellowship) came together to share religious and cultural interests for the growing Jewish presence in the Grove. A few Jews from nearby shore towns have also participated. The group is fairly informal and meets in homes around town, often in relation to religious holidays.

Jews settled in Monmouth County in the 18^th Century. Bradley Beach (aka “Bagel Beach”) and Asbury Park later became resorts that attracted large numbers of Jews. Ocean Grove did not allow Jewish homeowners at first, but eventually some moved here. There is no data about this, but the late former Neptune mayor Joseph Krimko, who was Jewish, owned a home here since the 1970’s, when he was hired by the Camp Meeting to be a policeman. He told us that there were few Jews here back then. When I first met him in 1998, he thought you would have trouble forming a minion (10 men for a religious service) Two Ocean Grove historians told me that there were Jewish Grovers going way back, but that they were few in number. One even told me that there was a rabbi living in a tent. We have no confirmatory evidence for that assertion.

The most recent meeting of the OG Chavurah was held in the Ocean Pathway home of Dr. Mary Lou Armiger and Mr. Norm Goldman. Glen Goldman, their 25 year old son, related his adventures studying comparative religions and working with aid organizations during this past year in India and Israel. Glen dug into Jewish studies in Jerusalem at a Yeshiva (religious school). Now he’s back wearing a soccer jersey from the Jerusalem Beitar team, and he hung some Buddhist prayer flags on their front porch.

The OG Chavurah and the OGU are examples of how a person in a small town might still need to connect to their own group, so perhaps we will see some other minority organizations form in Ocean Grove.

At Blogfinger we would like to hear from other demographic groups or individuals in town who might want to share their experiences as a minority living in Ocean Grove.

JAY BLACK (of Jay and the American’s fame) recorded this song in Yiddish and English in memory of the Holocaust. The YouTube video is illustrated with paintings by Marc Chagall.