Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove beachfront, Ocean Grove boardwalk, Ocean Grove portraits, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger on March 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Ocean Grove, 2009. Paul Goldfinger photo. Ocean Grove, N.J.
MICHAEL PENN. “Good Girl Down.” from the HBO series Girls, Vol III. Last posted 2016.
“You can’t keep a good girl down
No you can’t keep a girl down
I’ve been lost and I’ve been found
You can’t keep a good girl down.”
Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove lifestyles, Ocean Grove portraits, Ocean Grove storm stories, Ocean Grove weather, tagged Blizzard of 2010, Ocean Grove portraits on February 22, 2026|
Digging out. Pilgrim Pathway Ocean Grove. 12/29/10. Paul Goldfinger portrait. ©. Click to enlarge.
Pilgrim Pathway, OG. 12/29/10. Paul Goldfinger photo ©
MADELEINE: From Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.
Posted in Music from the Broadway stage., Ocean Grove portraits, tagged Fred and Linda in Ocean Grove, Potraits of Ocean Grovers on January 25, 2026| 1 Comment »
Linda and Fred Ohleth. Auditorium refreshment staff. 2014. Blogfinger photograph
THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST OF “BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA” “The Sea Song”
Posted in Ocean Grove memorabilia, Ocean Grove portraits, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, tagged Cindy and Eileen portraits Ocean Grove on September 10, 2025|
Cindy (L) and Eileen. Mt. Hermon Way block party.. By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net Click once to enlarge
ASHLEY GRAMINS: From album Mama Rocks!
Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove lifestyles, Ocean Grove portraits, tagged LIfestyles in Ocean Grove on January 24, 2025|
Town wide yard sale on Heck Avenue west. May, 2015. Paul Goldfinger photo.
On Blogfinger we have a number of themes, but one of them is to portray the lifestyles in our town. The demographics and life forces in Ocean Grove keep evolving, like the dunes at the beach. We want to dispel false impressions, and we often do that via photography.
If you have any lifestyle images, please share them with us. Send to Blogfinger@verizon.net. Publication is not guaranteed.
Lately we have been delighted with our “around town with Jean Bredin” posts. She is buzzing around the Grove like a hummingbird.
–Paul Goldfinger, editor @blogfinger
BARBRA STREISAND:
Posted in Ocean Grove portraits, tagged David Bates, retired actor on October 8, 2024| 12 Comments »
David Bates in Ocean Grove. Retired New York actor. By Paul Goldfinger. Now departed since 2018.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net.
We knew David Bates of Ocean Grove. He was often seen riding his bike around town, and he also had a residence in Greenwich Village. He did not have a car.
One time he pedaled by our house and he stopped to chat. It was the summer of 2012. I took his picture and posted it on Blogfinger. Recently. (2018) he biked by my house again, waving as he went.
In recent days I noticed quite a few “hits”on that 2012 post, especially yesterday and today, totaling over 100 visits. A Google search revealed nothing, but a comment today indicates that he has passed.
We do not do obits on Blogfinger, but re-posted portrait falls under the “by popular demand” category. Read the comments.
THE FANTASTICKS ran for years at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, New York City. Here is “Try to Remember” by Jerry Orbach.
Posted in Ocean Grove beachfront, Ocean Grove portraits, Ocean Grove storm gallery, Photography at The Jersey Shore, tagged Ocean Grove after Sandy, Ocean Grove portraits on May 29, 2024|
Surf fisherman shows up at the OG beach on Nov. 3, 2012. Paul Goldfinger photo Ocean Grove portraits. Click once to enlarge.
BLOSSOM DEARIE:
Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove businesses, Ocean Grove lifestyles, Ocean Grove Musical Event, Ocean Grove portraits, tagged Daniel Hickman, Don't Fret Music on May 23, 2024|
Daniel Hickman, luthier. “Don’t Fret Music.” Jersey Shore Arts Center. Paul Goldfinger photograph © Here Daniel checks the “playability” and alignment of an instrument that he has been working on. 7/18/17. Click to enlarge
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
Did you ever dream of traveling around the country in a van with a rock band? Well, Daniel Hickman of Tennessee, currently of Ocean Grove, did just that for five years when he was in his twenties. But he wasn’t a musician. He was a technician who made sure that the group’s guitars were fit as a fiddle. Daniel loved the experience; is there any doubt? ——– especially if you read Keith Richards biography.
Daniel has trained for years working on guitars—-repairing them and building them. He continued studying his craft with experts along the way as he traveled all over America with the Latin Rock group “de Sol.” He calls himself a “luthier” (definition: “a maker of stringed instruments such as violins or guitars.”)
Daniel comes from an artistic family and he probably inhaled guitar music living near Nashville. His career as a luthier has been progressing since 2005. After that rock gig, he moved to New Jersey and found himself with a very special business opportunity at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove (66 South Main Street in Neptune) where he has had a workshop/studio since 2015 called “Don’t Fret Music.”
Daniel is grateful to the late Herb Herbst and the staff at the JSAC for providing him with a rare situation. He not only builds and repairs guitars and other stringed instruments,, but he has begun a program to provide lessons in guitar, piano, and uke. Dan has recruited a talented young teacher to work with students of all ages, and the lessons are given in a separate space off Dan’s workshop. He also repairs amps and he is moving into “retail.” Daniel plans to develop a “full service guitar shop and music store.” His shop is downstairs off the parking lot, with a private entrance to the left.
At the age of 32, Daniel is ambitious and enthused. “We are in the infancy of Don’t Fret Music.”
Daniel’s workshop/studio is a fascinating place, and to watch him work, you get the impression that he is highly competent. He worked on my guitar–he is an exacting craftsman.
Daniel is excited about the future of the Jersey Shore Arts Center. “There is a lot going on here,” he says; “The venue is full of talented artists in residence ,some of whom paint, do screen printing, social media, and photography.” There also is an acting ensemble “La Strada.” He wants to be supportive of his artist colleagues at JSAC.
One of his ambitions is to see a variety of new music performances in the JSAC theater. He hopes for bluegrass and jazz among the choices. This ambition seems very real given the recent downsizing of the secular programming in the Great Auditorium and the real need for some musical variety to satisfy OG’s diverse demographics and to balance against the music scene in Asbury Park.
Blogfinger will help promote new music and arts programs in Ocean Grove. It sounds like the JSAC may be on the threshold of something more than yoga and children’s ballet. Currently there is an arts show going on. Call them for details.
Daniel’s shop is open Tuesday through Saturday 3 pm -7 pm except Saturday which is 11 am to 5 pm. Call 732 361 5060 or DontFretNJ@gmail.com or the web site: DontFretNJ.com.
And, for the record, Daniel lives in Ocean Grove and he “loves the town.” It makes him happy because he knows his neighbors, people say hello, and the town is charming. Daniel knows most of the business people in the Grove and he feels at home here.
de Sol “Blanco y Negro.”
Here is a link to a 2018 piece about “Don’t Fret.”
Posted in Blogfinger photo news, Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove portraits, Photo news from Ocean Grove, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photographic Gallery: Ocean Grove, tagged Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo in Ocean Grove on March 4, 2024|
Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo about to step onto the stage of the Great Auditorium. He called the GA “A spiritual, renewal place” and he said that “having love is most important….” Photo by Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net . 8/16/15. Ocean Grove, NJ, USA
JOHN DENVER:
Posted in Feature article, Ocean Grove portraits, tagged Mayor on life in Ocean Grove on February 7, 2024| 8 Comments »
MAGIC. Ocean Grove. Click to enlarge. Paul Goldfinger ©
Reposted from 2010 with the comments. Blast from the past, with a memorable last line:
By Mary Beth Jahn, former mayor and Committeeman. She is the only Committeeman ever to comment on Blogfinger.
Hey OG Resident – Oh My!, guess what? I was one (a Grover), too, from 1993 to 2006. I lived in the big orange apartment building on Main and Pennsylvania. I got used to throwing my blinkers on for a few minutes in the fire zone, unloading the car, and heading for the 100 blocks of Heck or Abbott to park on Saturdays until the Aud. let out.
The bus service was there when I moved in, and it came in darn handy when the train to NYC went down. In 1993, the majority of the Grove was serving mental patients, so the renaissance with stores and eateries has been and continues to be a delight and a true wonder of how determined citizens who are willing to take a gamble on a magical place can turn it around.
There was a time when Ocean Grove was much more isolated – no Dunkin’ Donuts (though we briefly had a Wawa there), no Windmill, no West Grove Square. Not all progress is bad. I’ll agree the density went wildly out of control in the 70s, 80s, and probably the the 90s, but when the state is paying you $1,600 per person, it was hard for owners of large hotels to turn that money down. As for the triage bus the county has asked us to house, fuel, and insure, I haven’t spoken to one first-responder who says we shouldn’t have it, especially as the southern Monmouth area consolidates services.
That aside, what are the things you love about the Grove? All that seems to be getting lost here. I can’t tell you how many people in town I initially met at the old Wachovia ATM. The Jersey Shore Arts Center is pretty amazing. Shuffleboard is tons of fun. The Historical Society and Camp Meeting have great events. There’s Nagel’s and Day’s and the Starving Artist. Smuggler’s Cove and Ocean Grove Flowers always have the perfect gifts for any occasion. For a town that size, that’s hardly shabby.
We all control our own quality of life. There are certain things we have to learn to live with, especially in a small area. When we let the negative aspects take over the positive, sometimes you have to make choices. I personally learned to turn a blind eye to parking on summer weekends so it didn’t make me crazy. I knew what it was when I moved there, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t signed up for it. I’m not saying that’s the approach everyone should take, but at some point, with this much anger roiling around some folks, maybe it’s time for some contemplative thought about focusing on the positive rather than the negative.
I moved out of the Grove for two reasons: one was that I was still not in remission with my severe rheumatoid arthritis, and therefore, unable to perform most home repairs, which would have left the bulk of any work we could do ourselves on my sister, which wasn’t fair. Second, we still weren’t sure whether I was going to fully go into remission (which I have, thankfully), but to be on the safe side, we needed a home which we could afford if I ended up on disability. So far, so good.
I miss the smell of the sea when I walk out the front door, walking down the street to the ATM and News and Such, and spending time on the boardwalk. When I think back on my time in the Grove, those are the things I remember most, not circling around blocks for a parking spot, and I suspect most people, when they remember this summer, will remember the great beach days, dinner parties, drinks on the porch with friends and family, Frisbee on the beach, and the like.
The sheer tininess of this town is part of what gives it the magic it has. We can choose to grasp the magic and work toward solutions, or we can become bitter and ruin an entire beautiful summer’s worth of memories.
Which side are you going to choose – the magic or the tragic?
THE DUBS (music added 2017)
Posted in Ocean Grove portraits, Photography portraits, tagged Ocean Grove usher in full uniform on January 13, 2024| 7 Comments »
Jim Carrano. In case you have never seen a Great Auditorium usher in a full dress uniform, here he is. Paul Goldfinger photo, with permission of Jim, the most respected usher in the mountains of Ocean Grove. Repost from August, 2014. Blogfinger.net (Ocean Grove, NJ,USA)
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
In order to read this post, you need to start the music first:
I went to photograph Jim—to ask him for help with Blogfinger, but as he looked at me through his sunglasses he stared for a short while and then he said, “Paul, we’ve known each other many years, but this is the first time you came to me for counsel, for help. I can’t remember the last time that you invited me to your house for a cup of coffee, even though my wife is godmother to your only child. But let’s be frank here: you never wanted my friendship. And uh, you were afraid to be in my debt.”
But it was Sunday morning, and Jim was wearing his Great Auditorium suit complete with a white flower. So I offered him my respect, and he felt compassion and he let me photograph him. I didn’t dare position him on the hatched yellow lines—-no way. I took only two frames for fear that he would make me an offer that I couldn’t refuse.
Finally he said, “Paul, some day, and that day may never come, I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But uh, until that day — accept this photograph as a gift on this fine Ocean Grove Sunday and you will photograph the flowers in front of my house…….won’t you? And you will put that photograph on Blobfinger!” (sic)
And we did!
Editor’s note: Jim Carrano and Lois moved out of the Grove last year. They sold their home in one day, but those flowers remain. He returns once in a while to make sure that his flowers are OK.
Posted in Blogfinger feature article, Ocean Grove portraits, tagged Dith Pran in Ocean Grove on December 30, 2023|
Dith Pran by Charlotte Pritchard. 2007 . Blogfinger.net. Posted 2014.
By Ocean Grover Charlotte Pritchard :
“Do you recognize this former frequent Ocean Grove visitor?
“Dith Pran loved our boardwalk. I once watched a grandmother ask him to take a photo of herself and her grandchildren on the pier: seeing that he had his usual collection of long lenses, she handed him her little point-and-shoot camera. He had trouble figuring out which little button to push. We laughed about his clumsiness with the tiny camera as he handed it back to her. She walked away happy, utterly unaware that her photo had just been taken by the NYTimes photographer and anti-genocide activist whose early years as a war photographer were the basis for a movie—“The Killing Fields.” This photo was taken about a year before he died in 2008.”
charlotte
Editor’s note: Yes Charlotte, I also met Dith Pran one day on the OG boardwalk, near the Pavilion. I recognized him, and we spoke briefly; I photographed him as he photographed others. He seemed like a gentle and kind man, and I remember wondering if anybody else on the boards that day recognized him.
As Charlotte points out, he was a Cambodian journalist who showed great courage during the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970’s. He barely survived his ordeal, and many members of his family perished during that era. The movie describes his relationship to Sydney Schamberg, the New York Times reporter covering that story.
I knew that Pran often was assigned to Ocean Grove when the Times wanted some shots from here. Given his amazing story (obtain “The Killing Fields” if you haven’t seen it.) I always thought that it was wonderful that he became a photographer for the NY Times .
Here is the NYT obit. from 2008. Pran died of cancer at age 65. He had been living in New Jersey.
Movie Trailer from “The Killing Fields:”
——Paul Goldfinger, photography editor @Blogfinger
