OG 1903. Mrs. M. Wilhelm (in the buggy) named her summer cottage (shown in photo) “Martha.” Now you know where Muriel’s smokey icy manure pile came from, although some years later. Photo from Wayne T. Bell’s Images of America: Ocean Grove. ©
By Muriel Wilson:
I was born in 1928 at the southwest end of Ocean Grove. A block away there were two billboards on the very end of Inskip Avenue. The favorite playground in the area was behind the billboards – piles of large discarded blocks of street curbing which had been haphazardly thrown there – wonderful climbing opportunities.
My question is, does anyone remember what the billboards advertised?
In addition to our “mountains” to explore, there was often a pond there where apparently Fletcher Lake once extended. It was unfortunately also the spot where the horse manure was stored. When iced over in the winter, it was a great place to “slide”, if you were not so unfortunate as to fall through the thin ice.
One block over, there was a mound of ashes to ascend,which ruined any leather shoes completely and was off limits.
Editor’s note: Thanks to Muriel for sharing her memory with Blogfinger. As for the billboard, perhaps it advertised shovels. —PG
PAUL SIMON “Slip Sliding Away”
Fletcher Lake extended somewhat beyond Route 71 but it was more or less a small stream at the point. That western end was filled in and now ends at Pennsylvania Avenue. What a marvelous clear photo of this turn of the century Ocean Grove scene.