Photos and text by Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor at Blogfinger.net
There were town-wide yard sales today in Ocean Grove (sponsored by Blogfinger), Bradley Beach (sponsored by the Ladies’ Aux.) and Belmar (sponsored by the Collegiate Thong Society.) There were visitors in the Grove from all over this part of New Jersey and beyond. The mood was festive—it was the weather, but just as important was the sense of freedom–people needed to get out and reclaim their old lives. And most were going maskless, and it felt safe.
As usual there were early starters, before the announced 9 am start. We humored them; they usually have specific goals in mind such as vinyl, rare coins, jewelry, and old sewing machines. One fellow arrived at 8 am and bought our two bistro chairs.
At 9 am, a large black sedan with New York plates stopped in front of us but they did not get out of the car.
He: (rolling down his window in front of our house as Eileen and I were looking for places to put items) “We wanted to buy those bistro chairs, and you weren’t supposed to start until 9 am” (He was angry.. He must have thought he was shopping at Tiffany’s. Evidently he didn’t know that yard sales have a certain amount of charming je ne sais quoi—- i.e. flexibility.)
Eileen: “Well, someone beat you here. We’re sorry.”
He: As he started to drive away, “No you’re not…”
Later our old friend Carl, the artist and former actor, came by. We told him the story—he was not amused by that behavior. That let him to contemplate what he calls a “change in demographics” in the Grove. And it is true that the personality of the town is evolving. But, for the most part, those changes are good for the Grove.
He wished that the Camp Meeting would take notice of those changes followed by his complaint that we no longer have secular concerts in the Great Auditorium.
Yard sales do prompt stirring conversations, but we heard not one bit of politics. A few people stopped by to talk photography and music with me; one wanted some medical advice. —that is great and shows why I had to get back from Florida.
But mostly the yard sailors and sea men and women were having fun on HMS Blogfinger—cruising the Grove. They evidently are sick of Covid and of politics.
So here is Billie Holiday with an eternal question posed at the Jersey Shore and still unanswered today:
I happened to transcribe the nearly 25,000 Ocean Grove lot book entries from 1870 to the early 1990s. In the early days, the names were strictly English and German. There was an increasing number of Italian names towards the end of the project.
Mr. Howes. Did you move to Ocean Grove because you thought it was a “Christian seaside community?” Did you know that the Grove is part of Neptune Township, a city which is home to a variety of religions, sexual preferences and races, and that Ocean Grove itself has had evolving demographics for years ?
You are not the first to suggest that anyone “who does not enjoy this reverential atmosphere” should move out of town. But if you really believe that, then I am afraid you are out of touch.
For your information, the idea of having this town be an exclusively “Christian seaside community” was rejected many years ago, and I for one know nobody that would want that for Ocean Grove in 2021; probably not even the CMA itself unless they are engaging in fantasy.
As for my conversation with Carl, a citizen who has lived here for years, he was referring to the fact that many new Grovers have moved here from urban secular environments, and the demographics in town have been evolving in a more secular direction for years, but particularly since the pandemic began.
Carl was suggesting that the CMA should pay attention to this evolution, and that one thing they could do to retain popularity in the Grove would be to bring back the secular Saturday night concerts in the Great Auditorium which were hugely popular. And this discussion between him and me was about culture not religion.
Re: the person’s comment about Ocean Grove’s “change in demographics” for which “the Camp Meeting would take notice of those changes.”
For us out-of-staters (Florida) and non-residents who travel hundreds of miles to Ocean Grove specifically for its unique character, could you elaborate on what has changed and what the CMA should do about it?
Surely, out of the 3.8 million square miles in the US, the Methodists should continue to have their one square mile as a Christian seaside community. If one does not enjoy that kind of reverential atmosphere, there’s the other 3.7999 million square miles that are completely secular.
The Town Wide Yard Sale was amazing ! I loved the energy. Shoppers coming and going all day. There were so many people returning year after year. We have pleasant conversations, some laughs and they acquire some new treasures.
My most favorite, was meeting a fellow kazooer in the Fourth of July parade.
But, there was little interest in my Englebert Humperdinck playbills from the 7O’s, but they created a big stir. One little boy questioned me ‘Who is that?’