Thanks to Lee Morgan of OG who sent us a poem entitled “Farmer Stebbins at Ocean Grove.” It is from a book by Will Carleton titled City Ballads published in 1885. Lee says, “Your readers will be delighted and amused. Note the caracatures of the folks in the poem.”
Ocean Grove, June 30, 18—.
Dear Cousin John:
We got here safe—my worthy wife and me—And took a tent here in the woods contiguous to the sea; We’ve harvested such means of grace as growed within our reach— We’ve been to several meetings here, and heard the Bishop preach; And everything went easy like until we took a whim—My wife and I—one breezy day, to take an ocean swim.
We shouldn’t have ventured on’t, I think, if Sister Sunnyhopes hadn’t urged us over and again, and said she knew “the ropes,” And told how soothing it would be “in ocean rills to lave,”And “sport within the bounding surf,” and “ride the crested wave;” And so we went along with her—my timid wife and me— Two inland noodles, for our first acquaintance with the sea.
They put me in a work-day rig, as usually is done— A wampus and short overalls all sewed up into one. I had to pull and tug and shrink to make the thing go ’round (You are aware my peaceful weight will crowd three hundred pound). They took my wig and laid it up—to keep it dry, they said—And strapped a straw-stack of a hat on my devoted head.
They put my wife into a frock too short by full a third: ‘Twas somewhat in the Bloomer style—I told her ’twas absurd! You know she’s rather long and slim—somewhat my opposite— And clothes that was not made for her is likely not to fit; But as we was we vent’red in—my timid wife and me—And formed our first acquaintance with the inconsistent sea.
Miss Sunnyhopes she waded out a-looking nice and sweet (She’d had her dress made to the store, and trimmed from head to feet); And I went next, and grabbed their rope just as she told me to, And Wife came third, a-looking scared, scarce knowing what to do.Then Sister Sunnyhopes a smile of virgin sweetness gave, And said, “Now watch your chance, and jump—here comes a lovely wave!”
I must have jumped, I rather think, the wrong time of the moon; At any rate the “lovely wave” occurred to me too soon! It took me sudden, with a rude and unexpected shock; I’d rather meet the stoutest pair of horns in all my flock! And then to top the circus out, and make the scene more fine, I tried to kick this “lovely wave,” and let right go the line.
“TWO INLAND NOODLES, FOR OUR FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE SEA.”
On county fairs and ‘lection days, in walking through a crowd, I’m rather firm to jostle ‘gainst—perhaps it makes me proud; But if it does, that wave just preached how sureness never pays, And seemed to say, “How small is man, no odds how much he weighs!” It kicked and cuffed me all about, in spite of right or law, With all the qualities they give an average mother-in-law!
And then it set me on the bank, quite thankful for my life, And looking ’round I give a gaze to find my faithful wife; But she had kind o’ cut this wave with all the edge she had, And stood a-looking ’round for me, uncommon moist and sad; While Sister Sunnyhopes with smiles was looking sweet and gay, A-floating on her dainty back some several rods away!
She looked so newish pretty there—(she knowed it, too, the elf!)— The crowd was all admiring her, and so was I myself; And while I once more grasped the line, beside my wife of truth, My eyes would rove to Sister S.—her beauty and her youth; When all at once a brindle wave, uncommon broad and deep, Came thrashing down on Wife and me, and flopped us in a heap!
Heels over head—all in a bunch—my wife across of me, And I on some misguided folks who happened there to be, My hat untied and floated off, and left my bald head bare— When I got out, if I’d have spoke, ‘twould warmed up all the air! We drank ’bout two-thirds of the sea—my gasping wife and I—While Sister S. still floated soft, a-gazing at the sky!
“WE VOTED THAT WE’D HAD ENOUGH.”
We voted that we’d had enough, and got right out the way Before another wave arrived, and bid the sea good-day. We looked as like two drownded rats as ever such was called, With one of them a dumbed old fool and most completely bald. But, like a woman true she says—my shivering wife to me— “We will not mind; there’s others here looks just as bad as we.”
Now, Sister Sunnyhopes, by’m-by, came back into our tent, As sleek or sleeker than before, and asked us “When we went?” Said I, “My dear good Sister S., please do not now pretend You did not see our voyage through, and mark its doleful end. If you would play the mermaid fair, why such I’d have you be; But we’re too old to take that part—my faithful wife and me;
“Some folks may be who ocean waves are fitted to command, But we’ve concluded we was built expressly for the land. And when I want amusement for an uncompleted day, I guess I’ll go and take it in some good old-fashioned way; And will not stand upon my head ‘fore all the folks that’s there, And wildly wave my dumbed old feet in all the neighboring air!”
MUSIC FROM THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL:
Ocean Grove, 1917 Submitted by Rich Amole, Blogfinger staff.
Hi Paul:
This post card image with a post mark of September 1917 appears to of been taken from the Great Auditorium roof. Perhaps someone who may have been working on a ladder on the roof or poking his head out some opening thought it would be a nice photo.
At the time of this photograph, except for a few trees, there are no gardens to be seen along Ocean Pathway. Even though the post mark is 1917 , the image may have been taken years before, but what a difference 103 years makes, and special thanks to the folks who tend those gardens & planters all over the Grove.
STANLEY TURRENTINE (tenor sax:) “Then I’ll be Tired of You.” By Arthur Schwartz and Yip Harburg. Harburg, the lyricist, also wrote the words to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
“You look at me and wonder, you look at me and doubt,
Darling your eyes are asking, “Will the flame burn out?”
Well, no one is sure of sun shine, no one is sure of dawn,
But I am sure my love will live on and on.…”
This article from 2017 is being re-posted because it not only addresses the issue of placing a drug rehab center in the Grove, but it also is about the risks of forgetting our historic designations and about the importance of vigilance by the citizens of OG.
The agreement between the owner of the Laingdon Hotel on Ocean Avenue and the Sprout Health Co. was evidently decided upon last summer. The plan was to open a drug rehabilitation facility in that historic hotel after getting a use-variance from the Neptune Board of Adjustment. Essential to those best laid plans was the need to close the hotel to the public and to use it to house addicted individuals who would stay there for up to 30 days while undergoing treatment at the Sprout clinic in Eatontown.
Most Grovers who weighed in on Blogfinger were opposed for a variety of reasons. An intelligent discussion ensued, and there were no personal attacks–just identification of the issues. No one disparaged those unfortunate patients who would have been candidates to stay in the OG facility. No one got to attack the owner for wanting to make a profit on his investment or the company whose business is to help others.
It’s just that the people of Ocean Grove did not believe that such a project would be suitable in our town for a variety of well considered reasons.
This was not a blind case of “not in our backyard.” Not every town is appropriate for setting up shelters for the unfortunate. I doubt you would find a drug rehab facility in Colonial Williamsburg, but that doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t be located in a town nearby. The citizens of Ocean Grove would likely be supportive of such a project in a neighboring town where the fit would be more sensible.
Importantly, the discussion of the Laingdon did allow the consideration of a bigger picture: Ocean Grove is vulnerable to the conversion of historic buildings into uses that do not fit our Master Plan or the designation of our town on the National and State Historic Registers. It’s work to keep those designations, and “if you don’t use it, you will lose it.” If the Laingdon idea had been implemented, then a dangerous precedent would have given permission to approve all sorts of decidedly non-historic projects that would change our town forever. Now perhaps such projects would be discouraged.
The Laingdon opposition is only one piece of a town-wide effort which will be required to avoid more condominiums and commercialization while pushing for continued development as a single family residential/historic community.
There is a need for a group of citizens to dedicate themselves to be watchdogs on behalf of the town of Ocean Grove. It will require standing up to Neptune Township politicians, developers, and to the derelict HOA to beat back the anti- RSIS crowd.
Vigilance is the key word in the future, because other mice and men with big plans will try to nibble away at this very special town, turning it into Asbury Park south or Bradley-Beach-By-the Sea. Even Sprout might show up again with a renewed application.
Just because the Laingdon plan has caved, doesn’t mean that we should not keep watching and discussing how to protect the Grove. After all, it all depends on you.
Ted Bell giving a historic tour in Ocean Grove. Here he demonstrates the size of a finial. Paul Goldfinger photo
Ted Bell, an author, a naturalist, and an Ocean Grove historian died this past week. An obituary can be found in the Coaster. Ted will be missed in the Grove.
At Blogfinger we will especially remember his willingness to help us with authoritative information about OG history. And, at a personal level, we will miss his wonderfully good-natured sense of humor.
Most recently Ted left his mark by championing the restoration of the historic Fitzgerald Fountain in Founders Park. Many of us saw him there for the dedication.
Here is a link to a Blogfinger article about a Ted Tour from 2015:
PAUL ROBESON once performed in the Great Auditorium. Here is a tribute to Ted: a re-post of our 2016 article about Paul Robeson in the Great Auditorium and a recording of one of the great spirituals that he was famous for.
They used to have wonderful Civil War reenactments in the Grove. The camp set-ups would be at the Ocean Pathway, but they would have African-American soldiers replay the “Glory” battle on the beach. That battle was about the all black 54th Massachusetts Regiment who heroically attacked the Confederate Army holed up at Ft. Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina. The movie “Glory” was about that.
“This public property……” Read the bottom sign! Blogfinger photo at Fireman’s Park. August 2018. Today is a re-post from one year ago because of our discovery of the fountain photograph shown below.
So why is this “public property” locked in the center and surrounded by iron spikes and brambles with sharp needles? Where are the barbed wire and the guard dogs? The symbolism is horrible.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor@Blogfinger.net
This park is historic. It used to be Woodlawn Park. There were stables nearby, and folks could walk through while watching horse drawn carriages roll by.
And then it was Alday Park, dedicated to Dr. John Alday in 1915, an important CMA figure at the time of Stokes, who lived across the street, and there was a beautiful bronze fountain placed there in his honor. It was to be the first important site seen by visitors after coming through the “gates.”
The fountain was not locked in—-anyone could go up to the fountain and dunk their hands or feet into the cool water. The water was said to be “clear and pure.”
Whatever happened to that fountain and why was it never restored as has occurred this year in Founders’ Park? Wasn’t historic preservation important during that early phase of CMA history?
John H. Alday, MD. Memorial Fountain erected in 1915 in Woodlawn Park (now Fireman’s Park) This photograph is from the earliest history book of Ocean Grove (1869-1919.)* The photo was taken between 1915-1919.
In 1959 it became Firemen’s Park. Why was a public park shut down in the center? Why has it become less public than before?
The result is a barricaded bell in honor of deceased firemen. But why is the center closed to the public? There are benches inside. Why can’t the public sit down there? Is it not “public property?” Why can’t the kids come in, run around, and touch the bell? Why are those dangerous shrubs and iron spikes allowed to remain? Is this the North End version of the private place that used to be at the end of the pier?
This is not a criticism of firemen, whose heroism and sacrifice in this town has saved lives and property; it is about the unfair misuse of a public park.
The Township Committee should reevaluate the dedication to firemen. After all, the park is poorly kept. Go check out the miserable plantings, the uncared-for trees and the toxic “grass.” Give the park back to the people and appoint a citizen’s commission to take care of it and put it to better use. How about this park being dedicated to all of America’s heroes, including firemen, and have events there such as poetry readings, art shows, military bands, small concerts, picnics for kids, nighttime gatherings in the summer, Wiffle ball tournaments, and dog shows—for example.
This park is on the new Christian Walking Tour of Ocean Grove. What will those walkers think about the entombed bell in the middle?
Why are the Grovarian park names so confusing? Here is a link:
Some Grovers are investing huge sums to create authentic Victorian restorations like this gorgeous newly redone Main Avenue showplace, but that alone does not define us. Paul Goldfinger photo May 2, 2017.
Ocean Grove July 4 parade, 2015. A truly unique community event. Paul Goldfinger photograph
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger–updated and re-posted from 2017.
In 2019, on its 150th birthday, Ocean Grove is a small town without a clear sense of identity. It has a local government that treats us like an appendage to be milked, but otherwise there is no love emanating from Neptune Township. We may be part of Neptune officially, but we are clearly NOT part of Neptune in our hearts. Most towns have a continuous thread of history that has resulted in a strong sense of identity, but not Ocean Grove.
Citizens say that they “love” the town, but the definition of that love remains undefined. Many just like being here at the beach. Is the Grove just a collection of old houses interspersed in another cozy shore town? Or maybe it is the perception of the town as a place with an unusual and special culture that attracts people to live here.
Many like the urban feel, the friendly neighborhoods, the comfortable sidewalks for walking, the porch culture, and the magic of summer evenings on the boards or fun at the beach. And for some it is the closest nicest shore town to NYC.
Those who say they “love the town” often have little knowledge of the town’s history as a religious enclave. They have no interest in it as a historic place recognized by State and Federal historic registries. So, to what extent is OG an authentic and serious historic district—a very special place for that reason?
A related question is whether this town was conceived as a tourist attraction? The answer to that is an emphatic no. Sure, in the late 1800’s, religious tourists came here in droves, mostly by train, and that identity persists to a lesser extent today, but the CMA community is no longer as central to life in Ocean Grove as it once was. OG evolved into a residential community with cottages and boarding houses. The Victorian buildings were less valued than they are today and many had gone into decline. Its census population was more than it is today.
Forty years ago, the downtown was not a tourist place to have a burger, buy a T shirt, take a tour, go to a massive craft show on the Pathway, or close down Main Avenue to sell Thai food or sell shlocky art or display old British cars.
Instead the downtown had a serious grocery/butcher shop, several doctors’ offices, a video store,a flower shop, a cleaners, a cafeteria, a newsstand, a newspaper, a drug store, a barber shop, a fishing club, a seashell shop, and a town pool. In other words it was a town that was largely for the residents. So many towns at the shore are not primarily for tourists, for example Atlantic Highlands, Avon-by-the Sea, Long Beach Island, Spring Lake, Deal, Avalon, and Allenhurst.
But now Ocean Grove has become a mish-mash—a combination of all of the above; but for those who actually live here (year round or part-time), or want to live here, we need to define our situation more clearly: what is the heart and soul of this town? Or maybe those attributes don’t even exist. Maybe it will never be that sort of town.
Elected officials do not really represent the Grove’s citizens. So democracy doesn’t exist as defined by representative government. The Neptunite governing operation is like a secret foreign occupying power that has undercover agents and contacts who live among us, but has underlying agendas based upon self interest.
A local government is supposed to represent its community of residents and try to make their lives better, but our situation now is the opposite. Witness the efforts to bring large numbers of tourists to town to the consternation of those who live here, and the failure to solve problems like zoning abuses, over-building, and the invasion of the parking snatchers.
The Camp Meeting Association ran the town for 111 years. During that time, until 1980, they had reason to believe that the unique religious culture which prevailed till then, as odd as it was in America, would last forever. They certainly did not envision the town becoming a historic site. They had no problem letting many of the early houses deteriorate. And it is unclear if stores during those years sold T shirts, surf boards, jewelry or pizza.
But when Ocean Grove was handed over to Neptune Township in 1980, and with the CMA giving up governance and most blue laws, it was like a child who lost his parents and was given to someone for foster care—for money.
The town, which was becoming quite diverse by 1980, went forward without a clear sense of who or what it was, and today, what is its character and purpose?
The result is a place with a variety of power centers, all self interested and largely propelled by an active real-estate market; and all without the will to find a framework, a common identity, and direction for the town as a whole.
So the town of Ocean Grove, lacking leadership and a sense of town-wide community, is adrift and thus what goes on here is helter-skelter and out of focus. That is why no progress is made in solidifying the town as a real place with its own sense of being. If it weren’t for the homeowners who have brought to life historic homes that had been on life-support, this would be a pretty disheveled and much less desirable place.
The vision of an authentic historic town, defined by its historic designations, is currently fraudulent because most citizens don’t give a rat’s tail about its history. Even the “Historic Preservation Commission” has gone dark and has seemingly slipped into the shadows, never to be trusted again.
It is rare to find a historical event here such as re-enactments, poetry readings, vintage music concerts, classical street musicians, jazz, and educational programs about the town’s history for those who actually live here. Instead we shut down Main Avenue for car shows and we crowd the town with huge numbers of strangers (ie tourists) to have giant retail events of no value to the town itself while the residents struggle to find a parking place and to share our streets with the free parkers heading to Asbury.
We have had a major Walt Whitman Poetry Festival and a Blogfinger Film Festival (for collegiate film students.) And we had arts in the parks, People’s Garden Tours, classical street musicians, and other community cultural events, but most of them died on the vine.
The Ocean Grove Homeowners Association has no idea what it should be doing, and its leadership has no idea what its mandate is. It is not only essentially worthless in terms of bringing this town together and forward, but it has actually become a force working against the people—a subversive presence.
Jack Bredin is correct that the only workable solution is to become our own town again (it actually happened for one year in 1925, but the church vs state dilemma caused it to collapse on itself.) Perhaps it is possible once again, but not in a place where the citizens are apathetic and don’t seem to care about a vision for the town.
So Ocean Grove, despite some wonderful attributes, is poorly defined, and the citizens are seemingly satisfied to ride the waves, sleep on the beach and enjoy being here, much like so many other Jersey Shore towns, although many of those towns actually have their acts together and know who they are or what they want to be. For example Belmar has only one mega-event each year. Its mayor says that his main concern are the town’s residents. The beach scene is a given in all Shore towns.
Bradley Beach , our neighbor to the south, which lacks the history that we have, knows what it is. Go there to experience a true Jersey Shore town. Forget the architecture, just view it as a fine place to enjoy the shore. Take a deep breath and smell the ocean. Go on Main Street on a summer night and have some Thai food or terrific Italian delicacies. Sit outside at a real coffee shop and watch the young people walking by or heading towards the boardwalk. Bradley Beach has a heart and soul which goes all the way back to its founding. It knows what it is, and that’s a good thing.
And here’s a song for the kids in town, especially the teenagers who breathe life into the town no longer known as “Ocean Grave.”
The 16 foot 1907 4 tiered fountain has been restored and is now erect in Founders Park. Yesterday, July 9, was the final installation.
Some more minor work needs to be done for it to be flowing on Saturday, July 27. (see information below). The fountain last displayed water in the 1970’s. Thanks to a fund raising effort by Ted Bell and the Historic Society of Ocean Grove, over $100,000 was raised, and some more donations would be helpful for the finishing touches including landscaping.
We went over there tonight and were able to photograph it in very low light using an extremely sensitive digital camera.
10 am – 4 pm: Mrs. Joseph Thornley’s prayer tent in Founders Park
10 am – 3 pm: History of OG video shown continually in the Great Auditorium
11 am-11:30: Dedication of the Fountain (DO NOT MISS THIS) and Re-enactment of Bishop Fitzgerald by Rev. Dr. Tom Tewell. Founders Park
Note: from Cindy Bell: “The restored fountain is back in town, and Robinson Iron anticipates the final installation on Tuesday July 9th. Landscaping and final touches will be put in place the week of July 15th. Dedication ceremony: Saturday July 27th at 11:00 am. Community members are invited to stop by the park to watch the action.”
12-4 pm Horse and carriage tour
Afternoon tours of Great Auditorium, tours of Historical Society Museum,and walking tours of Ocean Grove
OMARA PORTUONDO “Mariposita Primavera.” From the Buena Vista Social Club
John Phillip Sousa in his military uniform. HSOG Museum. Original post in 2013 BF. Blogfinger photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Blogfinger.net
I was over at the Historical Society a few weeks ago, and the subject of Sousa came up. Harry Eichorn, the long-time conductor of bands in Ocean Grove, had never seen the painting of John Phillip Sousa which hangs at the HSOG museum on Pitman Avenue, so I took him there to see it.
A few of the OG history mavens were there, and the story about Sousa’s clash with the CMA came up. This article first appeared in the Ocean Grove Record, Steve Froias’ on-line publication, in 2007. Now, six years later, we are reposting it on Blogfinger, with the author’s permission, as part of our ongoing goal of acquainting Ocean Grove’s citizens with the town’s history.
John Philip Sousa Follows the Swallow to Ocean Grove
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
John Philip Sousa, the “March King”, was a big star in 1926. The composer/musician traveled with his band all over the world, and his music was among the first recorded, on cylinders, following the invention of the phonograph in the late 1800’s. He was particularly popular in Ocean Grove where he had performed concerts in the Great Auditorium during the years of 1921-1926.
But Sousa hit a wrong note here in 1926, when political correctness caught up with him, and he was never invited back after that. It’s a story which has been buried in Ocean Grove history but is now being recounted in a new book written by the world’s foremost expert on Sousa.
The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa is by Dr. Paul E. Bierley, a musician and former engineer, who has been interested in his subject for 40 years. The book, published by the University of Illinois Press in July 2006, is 504 pages, but it is on page 137, in the section called “some lighter moments,” that we find out what happened to Sousa over 80 years ago in Ocean Grove.
To set the stage for Dr. Bierley’s fascinating anecdote, you should know that the founders of Ocean Grove were very strict about alcohol. They had many rules from day one, but they were especially concerned that no alcohol could be sold within a circle of one mile drawn around the town’s borders. The Methodist church was very active in the “dry movement” which had begun in the 1840’s. In 1920, Prohibition began, and by 1926, seven years before the repeal, it was becoming evident that the promise of Prohibition was failing. There was more alcohol consumed during prohibition than before, and the hoped for reduction in crime and other ills of society was not happening.
Pressure began to build to repeal Prohibition, and it is likely that the controversy was a touchy subject in the Ocean Grove of 1926. That year, the Federal Council of Churches presented a position paper during their testimony before the U.S. Senate. They pleaded for continued support of the 18th Amendment.
Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York City and an outspoken critic of Prohibition also testified. He said, “It is impossible to tell whether Prohibition is a good thing or a bad thing. It has never been enforced in this country.” He alleged that 1,000,000 quarts of liquor were consumed each day in the United States.
The University of Illinois Press has informed The OG Record that we may reproduce this anecdote, which Dr. Bierley has entitled “Follow the Swallow:”
“Sousa and the band played numerous engagements at the old Methodist Camp Ground at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, but wore out their welcome at a concert there on July 10, 1926.
“Although Methodists were staunch Prohibitionists, Sousa was featuring his latest humoresque, “The Mingling of the Wets and the Drys,” on the 1926 tour and planned to play it at Ocean Grove. The comical piece poked fun at Prohibition, depicting a “wet” and a “dry” drinking tea and water while longing for the days before Prohibition. The band might have played the piece with a minimum of objection had it not been for a publicity poster fashioned in the shape of a whiskey bottle. This caught the attention of members of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, who reasoned that a performance of the piece would not be in their best interest.
“The Rev. Charles M. Boswell, the Association’s president, was indignant and urged people not to attend the concert if Sousa insisted on playing “The Mingling of the Wets and the Drys.” The protest puzzled Sousa, but he agreed to play something else. Perhaps he was being contrary when he substituted another of his humoresques, “Follow the Swallow” which had nothing to do with drinking and was based on themes suggestive of a swallow’s flight from north to south.
“The Association was not amused and never again engaged Sousa. The following year, when reporters asked the Association why the band was not invited back to Ocean Grove, the reply was that it was the Association’s policy not to have the same attractions year after year. Policy or not, Sousa’s band had appeared there in successive years from 1921-1924. Whatever the reason, one of the favorite stories among former Sousa musicians concerned how their esteemed conductor, not a Prohibition supporter, lost business because of a politically incorrect decision.”
So here we are, eighty years later, and despite the unfortunate incident of 1926, Sousa’s music still lives on in Ocean Grove. He may have been banished, but his music never left, particularly through the summer appearances of the Allentown Band, which has been playing Sousa’s music here for years.
The Allentown Band has 70 of Sousa’s 136 marches in their repertoire, but the favorite here has always been “The Stars and Stripes Forever”, and that rousing piece has a special excitement when it is played in the Great Auditorium with 7,000 people on their feet clapping. And how many in town keep their red white and blue “I’m a Sousa Fan” fan as a unique Ocean Grove souvenir?
Last year the US Army Band from Washington, D.C. did a spectacular version of the “Stars and Stripes” at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park. It was a sight that Sousa himself would likely have loved, to see those soldiers (including quite a few women) doing his music in full dress uniforms and, especially at the end, when a row of piccolo players stepped forward to play the finale.
In Ocean Grove, the “Follow the Swallow” episode has now been told and can now be tucked away in the trivia file, but John Philip Sousa, an American icon, will remain a part of Ocean Grove’s history, past, present, and future.
JOHN PHILLIP SOUSA. This is a lesser known Sousa march—“The Gladiator.” (From the March Favorites album)
The original Ocean Grove. No North End Hotel and no Skill-ball. c.1869
The Ross Bathing Houses, 1878. North End, Ocean Grove Beach. From the Atlas of the Jersey Coast. Previously posted on Blogfinger. Do you see any historic condominiums there?
This is not a comprehensive list. Most CMA religious events are not listed here. Consult the CMA web site for more information: www.oceangrove.org
July 4 Thursday: The New Jersey Wind Symphony. 7:30-8:30 AUD
July 5 Friday: Navy Band Pop Rock concert 7 pm AUD
July 6Saturday isCommunity Day
10:30 am – 12:30 pm: Independence Day Parade
1-5 pm: Town Celebration. Along Pilgrim Pathway and Auditorium Square Park.
9 pm Fireworks
July 7 Sunday: 3:30 to 4:30 The Quartet: “America Sings” TABERNACLE Don’t miss!
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
July 27Saturday is Victorian Day
10 am – 4 pm: Mrs. Joseph Thornley’s prayer tent in Founders Park
10 am – 3 pm: History of OG video shown continually in the Great Auditorium
11 am-11:30: Dedication of the Fountain (DO NOT MISS THIS) and Re-enactment of Bishop Fitzgerald by Rev. Dr. Tom Tewell. Founders Park
Note: from Cindy Bell: “the restored fountain is back in town, and Robinson Iron anticipates the final installation on Tuesday July 9th. Landscaping and final touches will be put in place the week of July 15th. Dedication ceremony: Saturday July 27th at 11:00 am. Community members are invited to stop by the park to watch the action.”
12-4 pm Horse and carriage tour
Afternoon tours of Great Auditorium, tours of Historical Society Museum,and walking tours of Ocean Grove
There will be more events on August 10 forOcean Grove Forever Day.
Miss Sunnyhopes she waded out a-looking nice and sweet (She’d had her dress made to the store, and trimmed from head to feet); And I went next, and grabbed their rope just as she told me to, And Wife came third, a-looking scared, scarce knowing what to do.Then Sister Sunnyhopes a smile of virgin sweetness gave, And said, “Now watch your chance, and jump—here comes a lovely wave!”
Heels over head—all in a bunch—my wife across of me, And I on some misguided folks who happened there to be, My hat untied and floated off, and left my bald head bare— When I got out, if I’d have spoke, ‘twould warmed up all the air! We drank ’bout two-thirds of the sea—my gasping wife and I—While Sister S. still floated soft, a-gazing at the sky!
