Beachwood Fourth of July – Photo Collage 2009

Below is our 2009 4th of July collage coupled with additional shots of postcards depicting our waterfront (likely taken on or around the 4th).

The Beachwood Historical Alliance thanks our Fireworks Committee, our borough fire, police and first aid, our borough officials and all other individuals and organizations that worked to make our 2009 4th of July fireworks display happen.

More photos from this collage can be seen by visiting our Flickr page here. A big thanks to all who contributed.

The BHA is also looking for photos from our borough taken all summer long for use in a Summer 2009 photo collage, set to be published here on or after Labor Day Weekend.

Snapshot of the Past: Beachwood Yacht Club Sailing Program, 1958

Just a quick update with a snapshot from 1958 that longtime resident Geoff Brown found while seeking July 4th photos for our collage, coming tomorrow.

From Mr. Brown: “This was taken for the Asbury Park Press July 11, 1958. It depicts the Beachwood Yacht Club Sailing Program TR Pram fleet. With the clip board is instructor Ginger Culpepper talking with Robin Brown. On the bench are Dot Caldwell and Carol Brown.”

The BHA thanks Mr. Brown again for his great contribution to our site and our borough’s historical record. If you have photos you would like to contribute to our site and future publications, send us an email at beachwoodhistoricalalliance@gmail.com . If you do not have the images scanned on a computer, we can borrow and quickly return all items after digitizing them on our state of the art equipment. Physical mail regarding this or other matters can be sent to:

Beachwood Historical Alliance

P.O. Box 3

Beachwood, N.J. 08722

Check back tomorrow for our 4th of July 2009 photos.

Berkeley Twp. Council Moves Forward on Trail to Beachwood

Central Railroad of New Jersey right of way, seen here from Berkeley/Beachwood border facing south.

As reported this week by Micromedia Publications’ Berkeley Times, the Berkeley Township Council unanimously approved measures toward transferring land to the county that would be used for the further construction of the Ocean County Rail Trail to the southeast Beachwood border.

See the 2007 Rail Trail Concept Plans Here

As reported in previous articles here, this countywide connection will soon translate to thousands of annual patrons that can potentially aid in revitalizing downtown Beachwood, in addition to increased pedestrian patronage of the Beachwood waterfront including Beachwood Beach, Mayo Park and the boat slips, community center and Beachwood Yacht Club. The Beachwood Historical Alliance is currently working on applications and plans that would see state programs and other improvement directives to aid the downtown property owners, business owners, residents and general area. The Alliance is also developing ideas for joining with borough and county officials in rebuilding the borough train station as a rail trail visitor center and heritage site. Volunteers and aid are needed for these and all other Beachwood Historical Alliance projects. Those interested in helping and/or formally joining the BHA can e-mail us at beachwoodhistoricalalliance@gmail.com .

Beachwood Station, seen here circa 1920. The tracks in the distance head south towards Berkeley Township.

Rail Trail May Extend Through Berkeley

Daniel Nee
Staff Writer
Berkeley Times

Berkeley may soon be added to the list of Ocean County communities that contains a park based on the path of local history. County officials were in town during last week’s Berkeley Township Council meeting to pitch an idea to the governing body that would continue the Barne­gat Branch Trail County Park through Berkeley. The park, which already runs from West Bay Avenue in Barnegat north to Wells Mills Road in Waretown, is slated to be extended north to Beachwood.

Eventually, said Andy Strauss, an engineering consultant hired by the county to work on the trail, the park may be further extended to run from Long Beach Island to Brick.

Andrew Strauss, shown here near the New Jersey Pulverizing Company which sits beside the former railroad right of way, addresses his class of University of Pennsylvania students in February.

The county purchased the rem­nants of what was once known as the Toms River and Waretown Railroad in two parts in 2003 and 2006, and has been planning a walking path through the natural, pine tree sur­roundings of the railway ever since. According to Strauss, who addressed the coun­cil, current areas of the park include a resurfaced walking area, interpretive signs to explain the plant and wildlife of the area and parking lots at “trail heads,” which are built in certain locations to allow access to the trail. In order to begin work on the phase of the park which runs through Berke­ley, the council would have to authorize the transfer to some land to the county so work could begin on the trail heads and adjacent infrastructure to support a park. County officials would improve crosswalks on local streets that pedes­trians would have to cross to continue on the trail, and construct security bol­lards and other measures that would prohibit motor vehicles from accessing the walking path. Emergency vehicles, however, would be able to access the trail by way of the trail heads.

“We construct what we like to call ’safe havens,’” said Strauss. “They are islands in the middle of the road that allow a trail user to cross one directional lane and wait in the middle for the traffic in the opposing direction to clear.”

One of the safe havens would be in­stalled at Serpentine Drive, Berkeley, one of the busiest roads in town that the path would cross.

Future rail trail, Berkeley Township, with Beachwood water tower in the distance.

Some members of the council said they were mainly worried over potentially new responsibilities being assigned to the Berkeley Police Department as a result of the trail, specifically the mis­sion to curb the use of ATVs in the area. ATV use, said Mayor Jason Varano, has been a problem in the township’s wooded areas, and combined with a walking trail, could pose a possible safety risk. Town­ship police would have to devote man hours and resources to patrolling the trail area, though Strauss said Ocean County Sheriff’s officers and other agencies may also pitch in. “Once the trail is built, and the signage goes up, neighbors begin to recognize it’s an asset, and the bikers and ATVers begin the move somewhere else,” said Strauss.

Generally, he said, an enforcement blitz once the trail opens will get the word out that ATVs are no longer allowed in the area. Varano said he is in support of the project. “I think this is going to be a beautiful improvement to the township,” Varano said. “I think it will benefit the hom­eowners and residents and get people out there to exercise and enjoy the out­doors.”

According to Township Attorney Pat­rick Sheehan, the final property transfers from the township to the county would have to be undertaken by ordinance. The council voted unanimously after the presentation to authorize Sheehan to begin the paperwork to get the transfer ordinances underway.

View looking southwest from the Berkeley/Beachwood border rail trail area to land once used for a gravel mining operation. It is slowly returning to its natural state.

See more photos of the Beachwood/Berkeley border rail trail area here.

Learn more about the Ocean County Rail Trail here.

More photos from Mr. Strauss’ February class trip to the Berkeley Rail Trail area here.

4th of July Photo Collage

The 4th of July sack races, circa 1930s. Courtesy Geoff Brown.

With the 4th of July coming up in less than two days, the Beachwood Historical Alliance wants to see how you and your family or group celebrate our day of independence within the borough. To submit photos, please either e-mail them to our e-mail address at beachwoodhistoricalalliance@gmail.com, send us a link to a photo site where they may already be posted, or physically mail them to our post office box at Beachwood Historical Alliance, P.O. Box 3, Beachwood, N.J. 08722.

Captured moments from past Independence Days are also welcome. Final submissions should be received no later than Friday, July 10th 2009 for inclusion in a photo collage placed here on the site.

Pass it on!

Aerial Snapshots of the Past: Beachwood, 1939

Today we’re going to take a quick look at two aerial views of the borough, taken on July 3, 1939 by the Dallin Aerial Survey Company and courtesy the Hagley Digital Archives.

Looking east from above Toms River/South Toms River. Beachwood is on the middle right of the frame; Pine Beach and its gridded pine lots follows in the distance.

Looking west from above the Central Railroad of New Jersey line. For location reference, this shot was taken from above the New Jersey Pulverizing Pit/Beachwood Plaza area.

High resolution copies and enlargements can be purchased from the Hagley Digital Archives. More photos from the Ocean County and Jersey Shore area can be found by searching their site.

Snapshots of the Past: Beachwood Clubhouse

Today we’ll take a quick look at the original Beachwood Clubhouse, built by the New York Tribune to benefit our borough’s earliest residents. The exterior postcard shot is courtesy longtime seasonal resident Geoffrey Brown, and the interior postcard courtesy postcard dealer Kari Garell. 

From Mr. Brown: “The photo was taken from the island in the middle of Club House Road near the end of Lookout around 1920 (Lookout went through to Club House until about 1960). The building burned before WWII. It was an outstanding example of Arts & Crafts Movement rustic architecture.” 

The site of the clubhouse today, a parking lot with stairs leading down to the water, sits directly across from the Mayo Park Playground on the bluff overlooking Windy Cove. It offers one of the best views in the borough, and includes a couple of picnic tables nearby. The closed end of Lookout Street allows for safer pedestrian access between the two sides of Mayo Park, and was later partially redeveloped into a parking lot.

Local Founders Profile: Edward and Annie Robinson

From the pages of his own 1924 Beachwood Directory and Who’s Who, here is what William Mill Butler wrote about original residents Dr. and Mrs. Edward Percy Robinson. Click on all the embedded links for a broader understanding of their lives and background:

Circa 1924.

Robinson, Edward Percy, M.D., west corner Beachwood and Barnegat Blvds., Block D-40. Other address, 420 Nuber Avenue, Mt. Vernon, N.Y.

Born in the parish of St. James, Island of Barbadoes, of English parents, his father being  planter. Educated in private schools there and in the Coleridge School, an academy. Heard much about the United States and at the age of seventeen came to this country, and became a drug clerk in Philadelphia. He had studied the British Pharmacopoea before leaving home and now applied himself also to the study of American Pharmacopoea. In 1892 he was registered as a pharmacist in New York City, where he remained several years and became chief apothecary of the Presbyterian Hospital before he had attained his majority, being technically put on “probation” a year on this account. About 1903 he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, graduating in 1897 [ 2009 BHA Ed. note: it can be assumed that these dates are reversed; Robinson likely entered in 1897 and graduated in 1903].

Robinson home, circa 1924.

Engaged in general practice for several years and then entered the New York Post Graduate Medical School and Hospital in New York, and studied diseases of the nose and throat. For a time he was assistant to the chief of clinic in rhinology and laryngology at this institution, and he also served as assistant in the genito-urinary clinic at the Presbyterian Hospital Dispensary. His practice having reached a point requiring all his time, he gave up hospital and dispensary work.

Robinson home, Winter 2009.

For the past eighteen years or more Dr. Robinson has devoted his studies to the nature of the cell, and from these researches he wrote the epoch-making hypothesis on the cause of cancer and his reasons for the use of potassium nitrate in its treatment. His contributions to medical publications include: Use of Paraffin in Surgery, New York State Journal of Surgery, May, 1902; Artificial Cell Proliferation with Horse Serum in the Treatment of Burns, Annals of Surgery, March, 1917; A Plea for Potassium Nitrate in Cancer, Medical Record, May 4, 1918; Does Analogy Exist Between Animal and Vegetable Tumor? Medical Times, August, 1918; Does the Cure of Cancer Depend Upon Oxidation of the Tissues? Medical Record, July 5, 1919; The Influence of Potassium Nitrate in Nephritis, Medical Council, May, 1919; Is the Endamoeba Buccalis the Real Cause of Pyorrhea? Dental Cosmos, October, 1919; Electrochemism in the Etiology and Therapeusis of Cancer, Medical Record, July 24, 1920. Other important contributions since.

Dr. Robinson was married to Miss Annie Reinacher in New York, 26 years ago. They have one son, Beverly Kerr Robinson, who served in the infantry overseas during the war, as a runner, carrying messages in the thickest of battles, without being harmed. Dr. Robinson is a member of the College of Pharmacy in New York. Is a charter member of the Polyhue Yacht Club, at present serving his second term as Commodore. Also a member of the Property Owners’ Assn. His son is also a charter member of the Polyhue Yacht Club.

Original Polyhue Yacht Clubhouse.

Beachwood Carpet Land / Circle Shop Fire: Before and After

Posted below you’ll find photos our organization took prior to the fire at the Carpet Land / Circle Shop building, alongside similarly positioned ones afterward. Following that is today’s Asbury Park Press article on the fire. The BHA will keep you posted on any new developments and information on how our residents can help the property owners and tenants recover from this unfortunate event.

Beachwood Fire Being Probed

Chelsea Michels
Toms River Bureau
Asbury Park Press – June 15, 2009

BEACHWOOD — Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a historical landmark on Route 9 Saturday night.

The Beachwood Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze at Carpetland shortly after 9 p.m., according to Chief David Petracca.

The fire spread through the top floor, which contains apartments, fire officials said. Two families were displaced, according to Petracca, who said he believed the the business, on the bottom floor, is currently closed.

Petracca said the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ocean County Fire Marshal, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Beachwood Police Department.

“Everybody did an excellent job and the damage was kept to a minimum,” he said, adding that one firefighter suffered minor injuries but the residents were unharmed.

He said due to the type of occupancy, several fire companies from the surrounding area responded to the fire.

According to members of the Beachwood Historical Alliance, the structure was built in the late 1920s and was originally the Beachwood Circle Inn, which formed a circular intersection with the other buildings on each corner.

It became the Beachwood Circle Shop in the 1930s, and “enjoyed prominence as the cultural hub of the local community, from Berkeley to Beachwood to Toms River,” according to the Alliance.

During World War II, many servicemen gave their military photographs to then-proprietors, F. Steven and Florence Demor, who hung them in the window for passing residents to see.

The Circle Shop changed hands in the 1950s, and continued operation until the late 1960s when it became Carpetland.

On Dec. 26, Rite Aid had submitted a proposal to the borough Planning Board to build a Rite Aid Pharmacy over the Beachwood Circle Shop/Carpetland site and surrounding area. According to the historical alliance, application fees were never paid by Rite Aid, causing speculation that the corporation has discontinued their interest in the site.

Beachwood Carpet Land / Circle Shop Fire

It is our sad duty to bring you news which many already know - Saturday night, June 13th, the Beachwood Carpet Land / Circle Shop building, located at the corner of Beachwood and Atlantic City boulevards, caught fire around 9 p.m. According to witnesses, it appeared to have started in a second floor apartment and traveled through parts of that area before being controlled and extinguished by local fire companies. Further information is not available at this time, except to say the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating early Sunday morning, June 14th. Any new information learned will be posted here.

The Beachwood Historical Alliance would like to join the rest of the local community in extending its sympathy and support to Carpetland’s residents and its owners, the Barrett family and Viking Management. Messages have been coming into the BHA’s various online addresses with concern and questions of how to contribute aid. We hope restoration work is possible and that they will be able to recover quickly from this unfortunate event, both for the future of their business and the health of our downtown overall, and we will keep everyone posted on potential future programs and events to support this site, its owners and residents.

We also would like to thank our local fire and first aid companies for their diligence and success in getting everyone out of the building safely and treated properly while still managing to control the fire from spreading through more of this important community business and cultural landmark.

Photos of the fire and following morning are posted below. Anyone wishing to share further photos of the fire for our archives may write to beachwoodhistoricalalliance@gmail.com, either to attach them in an email or inform us as to how or where we can receive them.

The following morning.

MORE PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING HERE.

Snapshot of the Past: Beachwood Boy Scouts Pack 14, Camp Roosevelt, 1951

Submitted by former longtime Beachwood Police Chief John Moody, we have here a photo of Beachwood Boy Scout Pack 14 (today 114), at Camp Roosevelt, 1951. Mr. Moody is in the second row from top, far right. More information on the camp, located in Elmer, Salem County, N.J., can be found here.