Blogfinger

Russian winter traps German army at Stalingrad. 1942-1943. Later the Wehrmacht ate the horses.   Paul Goldfinger still photo from Netflix documentary on “Frontline  WWII”.   1942.   (A superb WWII doc.)

“Anthem of the USSR”. WWII. 1944.

Paul McCartney. “Air Mail” magazine. 1964.

By Paul Goldfinger, MD,  Editor,  Blogfinger.net.

In 1964 the Beatles were on a world  tour.  In addition to his musical activities, Paul McCartney kept busy photographing the band and the scenery.  He used a Pentax camera borrowed from a then-girl friend.

The online magazine Air Mail report said,   “This exhibition at Gagosian in Los Angeles features 36 photographs that the 21-year-old McCartney took while on tour in 1963 and 64. The subjects include his bandmates George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon, foreign landscapes from Liverpool to Miami, and himself. “Most of them I don’t remember taking,” McCartney has said, “because it was a whirlwind.” —Carolina de Armas

Back then most photographs were  obtained in 35 mm Kodak black and white.

It was in 1966 that I began my serious efforts in photography, but I needed a serious camera.  A friend in the Army returned from Korea with a 35 mm Pentax  (Japan) Spotmatic camera—that was the start of a new era in my life. I loved that camera.

I like this image partly because it was an early selfie, obtained long before digital cameras/phones.  And the slightly blurry image and off-beat composition was, like his music, totally original.

BEATLES:

Chris Sheldon of  “NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. ” A beautiful yet terrifying image that illustrates the close relationship  of photo journalism and fine art photography.  4/22/25.  Re-posted at Blogfinger.net 4/23/25.   Click once to increase the drama.

This photo was published by NJ.com on 4/22/25 with this headline:  “Massive NJ wildfire rages out of control. 3,000 residents evacuated.”

This impressive fire was reported yesterday 4/22/25,  but today, 4/23/25, the GSP is open again, and control of the fire is reported to be occurring.  Yesterday Grovers were concerned because the fire was in southern Ocean County, but we didn’t even smell any smoke here—a tribute to New Jersey forest fire fighters.  The blaze  originated in the Pinelands.

Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net in Ocean Grove, NJ, Monmouth

Changing demographics in OG raise questions about religious equality in this American town.

Ocean Grove boards: private or public?  Tax exemption here. Paul Goldfinger photo © c 2020.

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net   December 4, 2021.

In our post of Dec. 3, 2021 regarding the Ten Commandments,  we touched on some issues that specifically relate to Ocean Grove.

We reported that religious  displays were fine if implemented on private property, but not if on public spaces. This is based on prior court cases around the country, up to and including the Supreme Court.

In Ocean Grove, even though the Camp Meeting owns the land, the CMA argued after Sandy  (2012)  that the Boardwalk was a “public thoroughfare”  in order to obtain federal FEMA funds to repair the damage.   FEMA eventually agreed with that, although they did not want to pay for the fishing pier.  The CMA also gets tax credits for green acres designations for their lands.

This caused us to question such displays in public spaces such as the beach  (big cross) , the parks. and the ocean (baptisms)   There is a creche at Firemen’s Park and at Boswell Park. And there are a variety of displays on the Boardwalk.

One could debate whether the CMA owns the beach, but the beach is another public thoroughfare. The CMA certainly own the parks, the pier,  and the boardwalk.

All of those places are public thoroughfares, so the question remains if prior court rulings about public religious displays apply to the CMA parks, beach and boardwalk in Ocean Grove which could be considered public spaces  (per usage) despite being privately owned.

Today we received a comment from Ocean Grove historian David Fox. He reports that as early as 1907, the CMA received a tax exemption for the beach and the boardwalk on the grounds that those spaces are  “public highways.”  His comment is below:

December 4, 2021:   Methodism came out of the Church of England in the 1700s when it was very “low church.” Crosses were deemed to smack of popery and avoided. This changed very considerably as the 19th century moved on, but US Methodists generally did not use crosses until around 1920. The Auditorium has the memorial cross from the end of WWII, but the interior cross is of more recent origin and was supposedly installed upon the complaint of a Methodist bishop.

The beach is legally a more complicated situation mentioned in the NYT of 4 June 1907:

“By decision of the Monmouth County Board of Taxation handed down today, Ocean Grove’s $3,000,000 beachfront, the property of the Camp Meeting Association, is to escape taxation. It was shown to the board by the association’s legal representative, Samuel A. Patterson, the valuable strip of land, with its boardwalk, had been dedicated years ago by the association as a public highway, and was not therefore subject to taxation.”   (BF bold print.)

David H. Fox

Editor’s note: We now have documented that the CMA itself has sought benefits (federal funds and property tax relief) because some of its owned lands are to be treated as public.  But if they are to be recognized as public, then wouldn’t the rulings about religious displays on public lands apply in the Grove?  This is the sort of question that would have to be settled in court, but who would sue over this? Do OG citizens care about this?

At stake is the creche in Firemen’s Park, the religious setup in Boswell Park, the religious sentiments on the boardwalk, and the big cross and religious services on the beach.

Here is a Blogfinger link that is about some of these issues.  June, 2021

https://wp.me/pqmj2-K9G

You Tube video above is by NJ.com. May 24, 2024.

April 22, 2025: How are those pilings? Paul Goldfinger photo. Blogfinger.net.   80 degrees today. Click once to enlarge and stare at the pilings.

This is a Coaster drone photo, but I don’t have a date. Perhaps near the opening of April. 2023

“Welcome To The Pier.”    Photo by Paul Goldfinger.  . 4/22/2025.  Blogfinger.net

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor , Blogfinger.net.    4/22/25. Ocean Grove , NJ, USA: a seaside community for all who come here.*

A high power nautical engineering firm was hired last year to investigate problems with the pilings.  They were supposed to be monitoring the pier’s stability while the distal pier was closed to the public.  The CMA has been secretive lately regarding this matter.  (no mention on their web site) , but obviously they intend to keep the distal portion of the structure closed for now.

In October 2024, the CMA said, “The Pier investigation continues. Consultants have been retained to prepare necessary wind and wave and geotechnical studies. Their work is ongoing. Insurance claims have been made against the parties responsible for the design and construction of the Pier, but no litigation has been started pending further investigation and discussion.”

The last CMA President Michael Badger was often eager to speak to the press,  but he’s out of office now. His successor doesn’t seem to want to communicate with the entire OG community.   She says that the CMA’s “vision” (as seen on their site OceanGrove.org) is to be “the seaside community where all generations can know and grow in Jesus.”       However, their “vision” aside, there are many micro-communities in the Grove besides the CMA’s “seaside community”

This pier situation has been a huge disappointment for all those who live in  and visit  Ocean Grove.

Today I saw OG board-walkers  looking at the ocean and walking by the “Welcome to the Pier” sign.  Few were gazing  at the pier or walking on it as far as they can.

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND.  “You and Me” performed live at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Click the small box at the lower right hand corner to enlarge this magnificent performance.