Blogfinger

The Lenape Indians fished in Long Pond (later called Wesley Lake.) Ted Bell is in the foreground, having caught his dinner in the pristine waters extant at that time.

Early photo of Wesley Lake, from Ted Bell’s book “Images of America: Ocean Grove.”  Note the natural banks of the Lake.

Blogfinger reporters attended the September 20 meeting of the Wesley Lake Commission. Below is a link:

Wesley Lake Commission September 2017 meeting

During that meeting, Jack Bredin got into a disagreement with a member of the Commission over whether Wesley Lake is a natural body of water or a man-made lake.

While Jack was trying to address the meeting, a member of the Commission—the representative of Neptune Township’s Department of Public Works–shouted and interrupted Jack:  “Did God make that wall?”   He didn’t explain himself beyond that, but evidently he believed that the Lake was man-made as evidenced by the wall around the Lake’s perimeter.

There is no doubt that Jack is correct when he recalls the history of Wesley Lake as being natural.  This opinion was verified by Ted Bell, Ocean Grove historian, during a subsequent  interview with Blogfinger.

Above is an early photograph of Wesley Lake.  It shows that the original shore of the Lake was quite natural. No wall at that time.  The Lake was called Long Pond and it was probably present when Lenape Indians lived along its edges, catching fish and keeping the Lake pristine without any help from the Neptune DPW.

The Lenape  would undoubtedly go on the war path if they could return and see the filthy condition that Neptune Township has allowed to persist.

After all, Neptune was not even a town until 1879 when Ocean Grove was, unfortunately, attached to it by the State Legislature.  Prior to that, OG was part of Ocean Township.

So Jack goes to the meetings and tries to speak truth to power, but sometimes it is frustrating.  Here is his theme song:

THE ROLLING STONES: