Ted Bell conducts his annual Sunday historical walking tour. Here he demonstrates the size of a finial. Paul Goldfinger photo. 2013 in Ocean Grove, NJ.
By Paul Goldfinger, guided tour editor @Blogfinger. Re-posted from 2013 and 2015, but it never gets old.
You can always learn something about Ocean Grove history when you join the late historian Ted Bell on his annual HSOG tour of Beersheba award winners. But Ted didn’t exactly stick to the script, so the group got to hear some unusual factoids. Here is a sampling of Ted Bellisms:
1. Ocean Grove is 350 square acres. 640 square acres equals a square mile. But if you take into consideration that Ocean Grove extends 1,000 feet into the ocean, you come up with “God’s Square Mile.”
2. Neptune Township controls the streets from curb to curb, whereas the Camp Meeting controls the edge of the roads beyond the curbs. Thus, Neptune Twp. could not have parking meters without the cooperation of the CMA.
3. There are about 200 Sears and Roebuck prefabricated houses in the Grove. You ordered your house from a catalogue, and it came in pieces on a big truck, with instructions included.
4. 5 tents have bathtubs.
5. Each OG lot is 30 feet wide x 60 feet deep. Some houses are built on two lots, while others are build on half lots.
6. The “perfect” Victorian cottage can be found at 29 Bath avenue. The light in front is from the original bridge that connected OG to Asbury Park.
The “perfect Victorian cottage” 29 Bath Avenue . Note that there are no railings around the ground floor porch. Paul Goldfinger photograph
24 1/2 Atlantic Ave. Beersheba award winner for new construction. Replaced an identical home destroyed by a recent fire. On half lot. PG photo
I miss Ted Bell. He was a wonderful Grover and American, and he laughed at my jokes and helped us get the historic Grove story told correctly . PG
FRANKIE RANDALL
