Fletcher Lake. c. 1999. No condos at the south end. Paul Goldfinger photo
40 years ago, the citizens of Ocean Grove fought off a proposed condominium on the South End of Fletcher Lake. It has been done before and can be done again!
Note that citizens formed a group to fight this thing. That citizen opposition was loud and insistent, and it plus the rejection of the idea by the Fire Department ultimately finished off the plan.
This 2 part video is shared by someone who is familiar with this precedent setting event.
Wake up and smell the sweet aroma of history in Ocean Grove. Thanks to the friend of OG who sent this to us.
2025; The Independence Day parade will be on July 5instead of July4 this year.
Over the years, we could count on the amazing Days Kazoo Band to be featured in the parade, and everyone loves these hummers who wear their Kazoo Band T shirts, and they love to perform patriotic music.
But it was absent last year and will be AWOL this year. It seems that the person who usually organizes this unique kazoo musical event is unavailable, and there is no Plan B.
You would think that the CMA could have found a volunteer to organize the kazooers. And it could have been pretty easy for some Grover organization such as the OG Community Association or the Chamber of Commercials to organize the Kazooers . But no such luck.
This photograph in front of the Tabernacle represents the secular side of Ocean Grove. Paul Goldfinger photo. 8/30/2019. Blogfinger.net
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net. August 30, 2019.
Over the years I attended many of the annual Labor Day meetings sponsored by the OGCMA. They usually consisted of reports by each of the departments involved with CMA functions. Usually the reports were enthusiastic and optimistic, and for those involved with the CMA mission, it was a satisfying event, lasting about 90 minutes.
What was unique was the idea that this was a meeting for the public to attend if it so chose. I usually took notes and posted the news for Blogfinger, and I would get to speak to some of the participants. People from the community came out of interest or curiosity, but sometimes they came because they had an “axe to grind.”
At the end of the meeting there was an open mike, and anyone could go to the mike with a question for the CMA President. Sometimes the question would be critical of CMA policies or would try to clarify some point of interest that was causing friction. For some, the open mike was the best part of the Labor Day meeting because it was dramatic, interesting and sometimes startling. Usually the CMA President was quite deft at deflecting criticisms.
Well, it seems that the CMA has decided to abandon that tradition. This year there will be an event held on Sunday 5 pm in the Auditorium Pavilion. The public is not invited since the announcement says “for friends of the organization.”
I didn’t get an invitation nor would I want to go, but someone sent their copy to me (below).
There will be a picnic in the Pavilion followed by a hymn sing in the Tabernacle followed by a “praise report meeting that celebrates the blessings we have experienced this season.”
And there will be no open mike (ie no surprises) during the part where questions are usually asked of the CMA. Instead, those who received the email invitation can send in their questions in advance.
So it appears that the CMA is in no mood to be surprised by an open mike, and for those who submit questions, there is no promise that their questions would be answered. In fact, it is unclear if the questioner can be present for the answer or if the questioner can ask his approved question or respond to the answer.
If any of you want to react to this change, feel free to comment below.
I always thought that it was generous of the CMA to let us all (those interested) hear such transparent information. And I thought that those asking embarrassing questions were out of line. I never asked a question.
Most OG citizens won’t care about this change, and those fair minded individuals who hear this news will understand that the CMA is in the midst of redefining itself, and that it is not our business to expect everything from this private organization to be transparent.
On the other hand, surely the CMA understands that some of what they do will generate skepticism because they are in the public arena and what they do may impact all of us who live in the Grove.
On Blogfinger, the religious beliefs of the CMA are not our concern. But their public policies will continue to be discussed here and we do offer an open mic for those who have something wise, tolerant, fair, and useful to say about our friends at the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN “Jacob’s Ladder.”
We are climbing Jacob’s ladder Yeah, we are climbing Jacob’s ladder We are climbing Jacob’s ladder We are brothers, and sisters, all
From the album We Shall Overcome–the Seeger Sessions.
July 6, 2019, parade in OG for Independence Day and the 150th birthday of Ocean Grove. But read the banner, to see what the CMA is celebrating. Click image to read it. Paul Goldfinger photo.
This fine work of fictionalized history is by an Ocean Grove author. It is about Victorian OG in 1905. It describes a life of over 100 years ago in the Grove that had nothing to do with the Camp Meeting. The book is available on Amazon. Posted with permission.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor@Blogfinger. Blogfinger videos.
At the concert on July 14, 2019, in the Great Auditorium, Gordon Turk, the host for the concert, said to the audience that “we are celebrating the birthday of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.”
If you read the recent writings of the CMA, it is quite evident that their main goals for this 150th anniversary are based on their religious “mission.” Just read the 2019 “Ocean Grove Summer Program Guide” and you will see what they are doing in addition to what they are saying.
In other publicity ads, the wording for the 150th seems to say that we are celebrating the birthday of the town of Ocean Grove. And yes, there are many secular events scheduled as well, but it all happens without an effort to clearly define what this town is really about and, in particular, to recognize that there is another Ocean Grove besides the religious based community.
After the founding of Ocean Grove in 1869 by the Camp Meeting Association, the Town’s public taxpaying community and the private religious organization called the OGCMA were essentially one and the same.
But as time went by, considerable diversity evolved, and many residents were not affiliated with the CMA; but they all had to follow the CMA rules (“blue laws”) based on religious principles, and those rules were enforced by their own police force and court.
However, in 1980, Neptune Township took over governance, and the CMA was no longer in charge, although it subsequently brought to bear considerable influence— moral, practical, and political.
The historical truth, looking back, is that there were groups of residents who got together to oppose the CMA governance as early as 1898 when a group of “lessees” in town sued to get the CMA to pay property taxes to the Township. The lessees lost the suit at the NJ Supreme Court.
OG historian Gibbons said in 1939: “Many times residents and land lessees of the town have voiced their objection to the local rules, to the tax situation, or to the form of government, especially from 1900-1925, and there have been many court fights.”
There were those who wanted secular public governance not private religious based rule. In 1920 there was a law passed in Trenton called the “Ocean Grove Borough Bill.” There actually was a public democratic town of Ocean Grove established, but for only one year; the law was reversed because the new Borough failed to rid itself of the blue laws.
This anniversary is about 150 years of history in this town, and there are many elements that the CMA had nothing to do with such as Presidential visits by Teddy Roosevelt, McKinley, Garfield, Wilson, and US Grant among others; commercial district with historic businesses such as Days; historic organizations such as the Historical Society of OG; State and National historic designations, Ocean Grove United; the Homeowners Assoc; suffrage and feminist movements; architectural design and historic preservation; celebrities such as Caruso who visited Grovers here; businesses that started here such as Mrs. Wagner’s pies; giant events such as craft shows and flea markets; Town-wide Yard Sale; OG Film Festival; tax and zoning issues; garden and house tours, land use issues; famous hotels; shipwrecks; Wesley Lake pollution; wildlife; restoration of homes around town including the famous Ocean Pathway; developed of the Arts Center, demographic evolution; residents’ issues with Neptune Township; parking challenges; relationship with Asbury Park; condoization, and more.
The point is that this 150th anniversary is both that of the CMA and the Town of Ocean Grove as separate but related entities. One is a private religious based group–the CMA, while the other is a public, largely secular community with taxpaying residents often on a different wave length. The situation, of course, is complicated by the CMA’s ownership of the land. This unique connection has yet to be ironed out.
Currently the CMA, which is promoting this 150th anniversary celebration, is behaving as if it is all one and the same, and their writings confuse the distinctions. If you read their summer program guide, there is no doubt that they are mostly celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Camp Meeting Association.
The idea of another historic “Ocean Grove” is getting lost in the shuffle; the “other Ocean Grove” is a historic 150 year old residential small town with much to celebrate besides religion. And don’t expect the media to “get it” because most of the citizens don’t “get it” either.
So, regardless of these distinctions, we are in the midst of a festive sesquicentennial, and we can thank the Camp Meeting Association for organizing it and paying for it. And they have every right to do this celebration in whatever way they choose, but at least let’s speak clearly and factually about what is happening.
Let’s enjoy the events, but not lose sight of the strange admixture of three factions that goes on here—perhaps the only such arrangement anywhere in the US.
Don’t depend on Neptune Township to help with our understanding of these distinctions, even though they have a sign on Corlies Avenue, near the Grove, that says that we are their “Historic District.”
But the Neptuners really don’t care much about the Grove. Look at what they do, not what they say.
The Neptuners enjoy the apathy and the distinctions, because they get to milk the cash cow, exploiting whatever differences we have in our town.
JOHN LITHGOW sings about knowing who we are and appreciating our differences–It’s a secular point of view.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger. Shaboom, Shaboom.
The Doo Wops used to usher in the summer season in OG and then return in September with a different lineup. But in the last couple of years, the CMA has eliminated most pop concerts from the summer schedule—except for the Beach Boys.
But now, in a surprise announcement, the CMA has taken seriously the adage “See You in September” with a “Doo Wop Extravaganza” on September one in the Great Auditorium. The program contains all excellent choices, so this concert should not be missed if you like the music from that era.
There is magic associated with the Doo Wops in Ocean Grove, because every year a large crowd would assemble, and they always seemed to be the same age year after year, never getting older than old enough.
This Doo Wop concert is one of two secular pop musical shows this season. The other is The Beach Boys on August 18.
After Sandy the CMA mobilized citizens and other volunteers to work together in the cleanup of Oct 2012. Paul Goldfinger photo .
Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor @Blogfinger.net.
Once again the role of the CMA in the life of Ocean Grove has resurfaced. Re-post from Blogfinger.
This post first appeared June 2019 (see below) regarding how the CMA affects the life styles of secular residents in town.
On Sunday June 2, 2019 a religious event occurred that alarmed some residents who live near the Great Auditorium on Ocean Pathway in Ocean Grove, NJ, USA.
The Liquid Church brought a crowd of religious tourists here for a morning service in the Great Auditorium. Apparently it was noisy, then lunch on the Pathway with 7 food trucks, and then later with baptisms on the beach. A usually quiet OG Sunday had changed. The Liquid Church was scheduled to be returning every Saturday night in July and August 2019.
This change raised these questions: Is Ocean Grove once again becoming a Christian town? Does the CMA have unlimited power to expand in ways that can impact the quality of life of all who live here? Does owning all the land give it that power?
Our 2019 article below gets into some of these issues:
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association used to run this town, but all that changed in 1980 when the N.J. Supreme Court turned over our historic village to the municipality of Neptune Township.
None of the “blue laws” were left in effect, except for bans on selling tobacco, sales of alcohol, and closing of the beach on Sunday mornings. There have been no coherent explanations for those bans and beach closures as initiated by a private group in a public town.
The CMA retained control over the beachfront and they actually own the boardwalk but not the sand underneath and they and others worked together to press FEMA in 2012 to help pay for the boardwalk restoration.
The Camp Meeting still owns most of the land in town as they pursue their religious “mission” which is growing year-round and has an effect on all who actually live in the Grove.
Interestingly, they have no membership list, so we don’t know how many residents in the Grove are committed to the CMA organization. Most of their supporters seem to be religious tourists, not counting those who only make contributions, support lucrative events, or stay silent when the CMA is criticized. In any case, it seems to us that the majority of citizens in town have a predominantly secular lifestyle.
As an example we buy season beach passes each year but almost never go to the beach. We do it consciously as a small offering to the CMA and we have contributed to their various funds, such as the Together Fund after Sandy. We even organized a fund raiser after Sandy with our Ocean Grove Film Festival, but we are basically secular full time residents with our own perspective about the town.
We are part of a community here of private residents who are mostly secular and who probably number over 5,000 if second homers are included. But, that group doesn’t have much influence.
So how does the CMA, a private religious organization, maintain the reigns of power here, in a democracy, to influence all the residents of this town?
Around 2011, Blogfinger became interested in the role of the CMA as it relates to the “community ” of Ocean Grove—ie the residents of the town.
We interviewed the President of the CMA. He said that this group would focus on its “mission” and not on the community of residents. That’s when I first learned that the CMA actually had a policy regarding the rest of the Grove.
After Sandy hit, the CMA stood tall to deal with the beachfront damage, but they also opened their arms to the secular OG community to help pay for it via the Together Fund. We were “one” at that time
2024 Perspective: Clearly the CMA is a sort of neighbor for all of us, but it is a peculiar sort. They have power and influence in Neptune that enables them to strong arm certain issues in the “Historic District” such as congestion, closing streets, parking dismay, land use (zoning aberrations,) pier construction, and illegal North End Redevelopment.
If we ask residents of OG the question: “What do you expect from the CMA?” we suspect that opinions will range from “nothing” to “a great deal.”
If you try to answer that question by thinking about the recent history of the CMA as neighbors in town, consider this summary below. It is a short list of how the CMA impacts all who live here.
a. They have lucrative large events through the year, especially during “prime time” which affect all of us who live here and which bring no money to help the entire OG community.
b. They bring in thousands of tourists for their religious based events, but also for the town- wide clogging mega-secular events on Ocean Pathway such as the “Giant Flea Market” They hope to extend their reach year-round.
c. They don’t care much about the secular residents in town as evidenced by their seeming indifference to issues that effect all of us, such as when they threatened to sue over permit parking before the conversation ever got out of the starting gate.
And you would think that they would be concerned about the Master Plan, Land Use abuses, historic preservation, and other matters that involve them. But they never speak out about these topics.
d. They were found to be guilty in 2007 of discrimination in the boardwalk Pavilion, and that stained the reputation of the entire town.
e. They have been intimately involved with the worrisome plans for the grotesque project at the OG North End.
f. Secular programming has been cut back at the GA.
Of course, there are many positive attributes for the entire town that stem from the CMA’s presence in the Grove such as: the 4th of July parade; Illumination Night; Christmas events; a clean and friendly beachfront; a wonderful summer mostly classical music program; and activities for families, kids and teenagers.
The Lagoon* at Shell Point, a private contained religious-owned community in Fort Myers, Florida Paul Goldfinger photo. Jan, 2020. “Forever Friends.”
The Arbor at Shell Point. Internet photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor. Blogfinger.net. Ocean Grove, NJ. 2020.
Is the Camp Meeting Association’s unique status in Ocean Grove so unusual that there is no other town exactly like it? We would be interested to find another for historical and comparison purposes.
After all, the OGCMA is a religious organization with its own goals within the larger universe of Neptune Township and Ocean Grove. They own 99% of the land in OG and they have political leverage in Neptune Township even though they no longer have official power. When they governed the town—1869 to 1980, everyone had to follow their rules.
They functioned like a gated community. They would interview prospective residents and explain that all who were accepted had to follow those rules, many of which were religious based, such as the constraints on many activities on Sundays.
But OG is no longer like a gated community. No one can make laws for Ocean Grove except the elected officials in Neptune. Of course the CMA can make rules for its own buildings (like no food in the Great Auditorium and no gay weddings in its chapel.)
Some would say that the CMA can make rules for its public parks and for the beachfront (eg no admittance on Sunday morning.) But that is questionable since the CMA has officially opened such thoroughfares to the public.
We discovered a place similar to the OGCMA within the city of Fort Myers, Florida, called Shell Point. This is a 700 acre community that provides homes and life styles for retirees. Everything within its boundaries is owned by the CMA—the Christian Missionary Alliance.
Unlike the OGCMA, the Alliance owns both the land and all the residences (homes, condos, apartments.) And, unlike with the OGCMA, everyone who lives in Shell Point has signed a contract to follow all the rules. So if they say “no alcohol” within their boundaries, then that is what happens, and rule breakers can be forced out, and the city of Ft. Myers stays out of it.
The OGCMA insists on no alcohol sales in town by convincing Neptune to have an ordinance—an actual law, but only in the OG part of town. So the way that power is exerted, in this regard, is different for these two religious-based communities when compared to each other. In OG people have alcohol in their homes, on their porches and in restaurants if they are BYOB. They just can’t sell it.
Like OG, Shell Point is bordered by water on 3 sides and they have a large central auditorium where religious events are held. They also have parking problems.
Governance is by a board that has a mixture of religious and lay people. Residents do pay some property taxes, but the amount is small and shared with management. Everything is leased.
Unlike Ocean Grove, Shell Point does resemble a gated community but without gates. And it is different in other ways as well.
Geographically, the OGCMA is woven into the fabric of life in the Grove, whereas Shell Point’s properties, physical and otherwise, are clearly demarcated by boundaries and this characteristic reduces the chances of clashes within the community at large, as sometimes occur in Ocean Grove.
Overall, we would be hard pressed to find any towns in New Jersey that are comparable to OG, especially the way we have the CMA which is part and yet not part of our town at the same time. So, unlike Shell Point, we do not have a singular sense of community.
At a person-to-person level, an important difference is that there is considerable overlap of the OGCMA with the secular and diverse residents of Ocean Grove. And that is where conflicts may occur, as we saw in 2007 during the gay civil ceremony angry exchanges and the fight over Kirk Cameron’s appearance in the Great Auditorium. And now we have the Parking Wars.
In Shell Point, the residents are all on the same page and rarely overlap in important ways with those who live outside their invisible borders.
And unlike with many gated communities and unlike Shell Point, our CMA isn’t able to exert its powers of persuasion within a geographically demarcated zone as it did pre-1980, and the demographics in OG are now quite diverse. We are sometimes stepping on each others’ toes, priorities, and life styles.
So Shell Point does resemble Ocean Grove’s CMA in some ways, and that is interesting, but there are differences.
We are still looking for another community where a religious presence like the CMA coexists in a comfortable way with others in town. We have found no nearly identical community to compare with.
So we are on our own in OG, trying to find solutions to certain issues, and sometimes that seems insurmountable as with parking. And that is why parking is about more than parking.
* “Forever Friends” is a 1500 pound stainless steel structure by Douglas Hayes (b. 1968) and donated by a Shell Point benefactor. The birds have a 10 foot wing span. The lagoon features manatees which visit regularly. Shell Point is open to the public and has various races and religions among its residents.
This post from 2018 deconstructs a portion of a CMA letter about permit parking which revealed a great deal about how they feel about this town. Here it is again because of our recent discussions on this subject. Note the comments.
The quote below is from Rev. John DiGiamberardino’s statement to the Neptune Township Committee at their regular meeting on Monday, August 14, 2017, in the Municipal Building. He is the COO of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.:
“The OGCMA, founder of the community, has existed for 148 years as the leading organization and tax payer in Ocean Grove seeking the good of the community, residents, and visitors.”
The context of his statement was to object vigorously against the idea of permit parking for OG citizens and to threaten a law suit if the CMA’s demands are not met.
But if you read the CMA quote above carefully, you will see that we need to clarify some of his words and definitions. Words have meaning, and I assume that the Reverend wants us to understand his meaning.
a. “The OGCMA, founder of the community…..” What does “community” mean? He refers to the “community” as being separate from “residents” when he says that “OGCMA seeks the good of the community, residents and visitors,” so “community” evidently refers to something other than the citizens who live here.
He introduces the OGCMA as the “founder of the community” as if that has some special significance in terms of governance in this town in 2017. When the State Supreme Court turned Ocean Grove over to Neptune in 1980, that left the CMA as being just another group or entity in OG with no legal special influence in the decisions of the Neptune government, such as what to do about parking.
b. “ The leading organization..” Does this mean the most important organization in town? Does he claim special entitlement because of being “the leading organization?”
c. “The leading taxpayer” seems to refer to the OG entity which pays the most tax money to Neptune Township. Does he mention this because those who pay the most taxes deserve the most attention or the most influence? We have residents in this town who pay no property taxes. Do they have no influence?
d. “148 years” Does he mention this because he wants to teach us some history or does it mean that the oldest organization in town deserves some special consideration? Otherwise, why do we need that number?
e. ” The CMA is seeking the good of the community, residents, and visitors.” In order to understand this claim, we need to know the definition of “good.” It seems to be condescending for the CMA to know what “good” we residents need, and then to demand public policy based on that unique knowledge.
My guess is that the CMA thinks that it has some special advantage over the rest of us that entitles it to apply its unique influence in getting the Township to make decisions in its favor, such as re-zoning the North End and refusing to consider a permit parking plan.
The CMA threatens a lawsuit over this. If they think that they are more important than any other constituency in town, and if the Township agrees with that, then that seems like a potential Constitutional violation if laws are passed in their favor. (“Equal justice under the law.”)
Are we wrong? Are we totally misconstruing what Rev. John said in that statement? What do you think this means?
Written August 18, 2017, by Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
