Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
We interviewed Steve Valk last year in Ocean Grove and we discussed his fascinating work in Germany with a new field called “social choreography.” He is an innovator and a social scientist who is interested in how our communities can function in order to help people live better lives. His ideas have culminated in some tangible results.
Here is a link to our 2013 article about Steve: Steve Valk 2013 BF article
Last year our conversation was about his concepts, but this time we met at the Bean to talk about Ocean Grove. I have long been interested in how this fascinating small town actually works: its evolving demographics, its institutions, and its progress or lack thereof. What are the dynamics that propel those who live here and how they relate to each other, their history, and to their town?
Steve has a unique perspective, having summered in OG for over 40 years and now looking at it from the vantage point of living in another country. He can see the town through a special prism that might interest those of us who wonder about this place that we call home. It’s such a small space and it has some unique properties that make it a fascinating case study. Valk is a thinker who is seriously considering studying Ocean Grove towards a Ph.D thesis.
He is the Director of the Institute of Social Choreography in Frankfurt. His most recent project there has been to create a residence for those who have no place to stay, where urban bee keeping is done. Those who live there, even for short periods, are engaged in the business of bee keeping. It is a startlingly creative idea to keep the homeless sheltered and productive.
For our Ocean Grove discussion, Steve had to first go back and talk about his history in the Grove. He needed to do that to establish a baseline for our current topic. As a boy, he was impressed by the relationship back in the ’70’s and ’80’s between the Grove and Asbury Park. Many Grovers, although mainstreaming the religious life, would seek variety in Asbury where they could hear major New York dance bands in the Paramount Theatre and where they could go to Mrs. J’s, a sort of biker club near the Stone Pony, where rock was heard. He says that Grovers needed that Asbury link, and that sister city mismatch was attractive to home buyers who liked both sides of the coin.
Back in the Grove, he had young friends to hang with, and even though the town was in a state of “decrepitude” (NY Times) in the ’80s–into the /90’s, all the “good stuff” was still happening: the beach, the Great Auditorium, the religious life, the music, and the eateries such as the Sampler and the Grand Atlantic where “half the town ate.” (Although both those places eventually closed, so that was a blow.)
Valk also began to notice the appearance of gays in town and he was impressed that there was no discrimination against them and that they brought life to the community. He says that the “transition” which occurred in the late ’80’s into the ’90’s was “a serious change for good.”
Soon he worked himself up to the present time where he now finds Ocean Grove to be “functioning very well.” He recognizes the changes that continue to occur but he sees a dynamic process that merits analysis. Valk finds that the town consists of “multiple separate resonating vertically integrated layers” including, for example, the Methodist community, the lifeguard/firemen , the merchants, the retirees, the part-time young families, the singles, the gays, etc. He says that there are “activists” at each level who create motion vertically, and “that ‘s what makes the town work.”
He has high praise for the Jersey Shore Arts Center where he walked in one day, not expecting much based on the outside appearance , but inside he loved the space and the “excellent arts community—-a collective project for the people.” He wondered why the Camp Meeting Association was not supportive of that Center.
He admires Blogfinger because he sees us crossing the vertical barriers and examining those components in our articles, augmented by the music and photography. He believes that such enhanced vertical integration, such as he also saw at the Arts Center, will make the town better.
Steve Valk feels the same way about the Camp Meeting Association which has its core mission, but it also crosses vertically. Steve thinks that the townspeople tend to underestimate the religious life here. Valk goes to Sunday services—he comes from an old OG religious family. He says that if outsiders were to listen to some of these visiting preachers, they would hear “great orators with radical ideas.” For example, the speaker last week has an extraordinary congregation consisting of over 700 addicts that he helps.
Regarding the Ocean Grove gay community, he is a strong advocate for that group. I think he sees Europe as being more open to the gays than in America. Germany, like many European nations, is more socialistic , and there is more money available for programs focusing on social improvements.
He says that there are techniques that could be used in OG to promote better relations between the various groups in our town, some of which are quite insular. The town would improve more if the groups were communicating better.
He left on Saturday to attend an NFL pre-season game (he’s a Pittsburgh fan) and to visit his friends in the art world. Then it’s back to Frankfurt.
We’ll definitely see Steve again in the Grove. He loves to bike all over, crisscrossing from here to Asbury Park. We asked him to reflect some more on his views about Ocean Grove and to consider sending those ideas to us for posting on BF.
KEVIN KLEIN:
Liked your article very much…
Thanks…
Paul – While we may observe now that Ocean Grove has a range of socioeconomic groups, as home values and property taxes continue to escalate, working middle and lower income people and retirees are having difficulty meeting the costs associated with what was once an affordable place to live.
Many of my neighbors have been forced to leave Ocean Grove for these very reasons. These individuals had planned and budgeted and were not saddled with huge mortgages. Unfortunately prudent planning does not anticipate the tripling of local property taxes. I believe we will see the demographics here continue to change and, from my perspective, not in a good way.
Paul: As an historic district, I think you are right. You won’t see us turned into a wealthy barely inhabited Stepford town like Spring Lake, Deal, etc.
I think this is a very interesting post and very relevant. Ocean Grove is an amazing combination of people. I also agree with Mr. Valk that if more people took the time to hear the voices that speak in the auditorium on Sunday mornings and evenings they would be amazed. I feel the CMA has done a fine job this year with inviting so many different viewpoints within the Christian faith.
Wisher: You say that you believe that this perceived demographic of “super wealthy” home owners is “one danger” to Ocean Grove. But unlike Rumson, Deal or Spring Lake where the rich predominate, Ocean Grove is not like that. This town has quite a variety of socioeconomic types who own homes here, despite the perception by some in Neptune that OG is a wealthy community. The census median income data does not back that idea. In addition, it is not easy to knock down a home here and build a mansion, especially on these tiny lots, so there is no danger that OG will become a monolithic sort of place like the towns which you mention.
It would be hard for you to defend your theory of harm caused by the “super-rich” without some data to back it up. They may leave their houses empty most of the time, but they do pay large taxes. Many people in the Grove leave their homes empty much of the time, but they are not likely to be super rich.
What would you propose: banning super rich people from town? And, by the way, how do you define “super-rich?”
I think one danger for the community is too many of the super-wealthy buying properties as just one residence for occupancy for just a few weekends a year. That happened in Spring Lake which is a ghost town most of the year and culturally monolithic and not interesting. Deal is like that. I have never even had one occasion to go to Rumson or Colt’s neck.
In the west side of this town, you see people on their porches, young professionals laughing it up and patronizing businesses. But the rich owners with very large houses near the Ocean? I have never seen one resident of some of these homes, only maybe their contractors or landscapers. Those houses are ghostly.
New Kid: When Steve and I were discussing his work with the homeless in Frankfurt, he pointed out that funding from the government was readily available for his socially oriented projects. But he understands that the system in America is different, so when he was admiring the ongoing projects at the Jersey Shore Arts Center he suggested the possibility that the Camp Meeting Association might help them.
As for the “point of this article,” it is about insights into Ocean Grove’s history and it is about someone who has a unique perspective regarding how this town works as a community and who is interested in seriously studying those dynamics further.
What exactly is the point of this article? And what is Mr Valk trying to teach us about our community? That we need to be more like Europe where socialism is bankrupting countries that embrace it? I’m a simple person and I’m sorry, I don’t get it. Poppycock!