1905 Ocean Grove. Submitted by Rich Amole, Blogfinger staff. Source: Ebay
Hi Paul:
This post card of Ocean Grove shows some ladies out for a stroll on the plankboard in their Victorian garb accompanied by a gentleman in his finest walking apparel. A sailboat passes by off to the right of the photo with a beach that is not discernible.
Postmarked from 1905 , and a short message indicates that they were staying in that hotel with the X that was marked on the upper left hand of the card.
In that year, Teddy Roosevelt was in office, and the Wright Brothers were still trying to figure out how to keep their flying invention in the air for longer periods of time. Cabin attendants need not apply just yet.
Rich
Editor’s Note: Rich Amole, thanks. For perspective, in 1903, the women’s suffrage movement had a meeting in Ocean Grove, and that same week, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union also had a gathering in the Grove. Those two groups worked hand in hand. Women were very involved in temperance because alcohol was causing widespread damage to families.
Interestingly, if you watch the HBO mini-series called “Parade End,” set in England before and during WWI , you will meet some suffragettes who were fighting for the vote on that side of the pond. —-Paul
CAST OF SWEET CHARITY:
The boardwalk that you see in the photo is pretty much where the post sandy boardwalk was always located. I have a photo from winter of 1905 that shows that the support posts had at least three feet of an opening under the boards. There was a lack of beach then and that posted photo sort of implies that.
Looks like the boardwalk was very close to the water. Did it used to be set much closer to the Ocean? Not much beach in between.