Borough Fireworks a Decades-Long Tradition

This article originally appeared in the Riverside Signal on July 13th, 2010. It has been reprinted below. The Riverside Signal can be found at www.RiversideSignal.com

by Erik Weber

BEACHWOOD – Last week, thousands of area residents lined the banks and side streets along the Toms River to witness the borough’s Fourth of July fireworks display, here.

Many in attendance likely did not know that the show, which today is a carefully planned and executed annual volley of pyrotechnic glory put on by a professional contractor, holds roots dating back to earlier days of the borough fire company, when million-dollar event insurance was a fantasy, funds for each successive year were collected by passed-around tin cans, and the explosives were purchased and transported from Maryland in the back of a station wagon.

Fireworks on the Toms River: A Look Back

George W. Symington, a 56-year member and past chief of the borough fire company, recalled earlier incarnations of the fireworks display and Fourth of July daytime games, which have not been held for many years.

Confirming earlier memories given by Beverly Clayton, a borough councilwoman, lifetime resident and current member of the borough fireworks committee, he said that the earlier fireworks displays were dug into the sand at the beach and then lit by members of the fire company with cigars.

“We had a few close calls, but thank God nobody ever got hurt bad,” the past fire chief said. “But then, we were very good at it.”

He said that the collection of funds for the following year’s display started even while the current year’s show was going on.

“We had rowboats with outboard motors on them, and four containers, and we went to every boat in the water,” Mr. Symington said. “There used to be, oh God, hundreds of boats out there – you almost could walk across river on top of the boats.”

“While that was going on, other people in the fire company auxiliary went anyplace [the fireworks] could be seen from,” he continued. “They walked the beach up to Toms River, down past the golf course to Point ‘O’ Woods and down the river on this side to Pine Beach.”

“Whatever we collected – nickels, dimes, quarters, maybe $1,000 or $1,500 – all had to be hand counted and hand rolled and taken to the bank,” the longtime fire company member said. “That’s what we used for the next year’s fireworks.”

After sufficient funds were totaled and deposited, he said that he would order next year’s batch from Keystone Fireworks of Pennsylvania, who would ship them down near the state border at Elkton, Maryland. Mr. Symington then jumped in his station for the over two-hour drive.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge.

“The station wagon would be loaded from front to back, top to bottom, with just enough room for me to sit and drive,” he recalled. “I would then drive across the Delaware Memorial Bridge, stop for lunch with the loaded car sitting there in the parking lot, and then when I got home I loaded it all into the basement of my house for safe keeping til the Fourth of July.”

“It could probably have put the house in orbit if it ever caught fire,” the past fire chief speculated, laughing about his memories driving the explosives cache across the interstate bridge and leaving it to sit next to the diner where he ate lunch.

Fourth of July sack races at Beachwood Beach, circa 1940s.

When Independence Day finally arrived, he said, the entire waterfront was a beehive of activity for most of the day, with land and water games bringing many borough and area residents and their families out to celebrate the holiday together.

“The first aid squad and fire company went down to the ballpark on top of the hill there, and we ran the land games from 10 til noon,” Mr. Symington stated. “Three-legged races, egg tosses, stuff like that – then we went home for lunch.”

An hour later, he said, everyone returned to begin the water games.

“We had diving contests, swimming races, stuff like that until maybe about four,” the past chief continued. “Then at six we came back to the beach to start digging the trenches to put the steel mortars in.”

Crowds line the Beachwood Beach shoreline to view the water games, circa 1942. In this picture, spectators look on as the watermelon scramble takes place.

The size of the shot used at the time for the regular part of the show, he recalled, were between three and five inches in diameter, while the finale packs came in at about twelve.

“It was like a 60-shot finale, and we had to fuse them ourselves and tie the string around and make sure it was tight so that it carried from one twelve inch to the next,” Mr. Symington said. “Also, there used to be a permanent 8-foot by 10 foot floating dock in the water maybe 75 or 100 feet offshore, and in the afternoon myself, my son and a couple of firemen would float out on top of a rowboat and put two set pieces on top of it – one had the American flag, and the other said ‘Goodnight.’”

His son, George C. “Mickey” Symington, joined the fire company in 1979 and is today also a past chief.

As daylight turned to twilight and eventually night, the firemen were joined by first aid squad members who stood by as thousands of area residents and tourists filled the beach, bluffs and general waterfront areas, with hundreds more small craft moored offshore for the show.

As the show went on and the fund-raising cans were passed around the riverfront, Mr. Symington said he and his son would slip away and prepare for part of the grand finale.

“Pretty close to the end, my son and I would swim out on our backs with cigars in our mouths to the floating dock,” he recalled. “On my signal the guys on the shore would light off the finale, and as soon as the finale was just about done my son and I would light the two pieces, shake hands, dive the hell overboard and swim back.”

“We always shook hands,” he noted.

Longtime Beachwood resident Geoff Brown remembered watching the fireworks while growing up.

“As a family we watched the fireworks from the yacht club dock in the 50s [today the T-dock in front of the Community Center, which is the former site of the earlier yacht club building], as it was at the foot of our street, Brigantine,” he said. “The show was about 20 minutes [long] and always ended with a parachute with an American flag.”

“There were still few ‘speedboats’ on the river,” he added. “However, some would race in the dark to capture the flag.”

Above, a photo taken by Mr. Brown's my wife, Bunny, on Dec. 29, 1958, of the three Beachwood lifeguards of that summer. From left: Joe McCulley, Dave Melchinger and Bob Glenny. "Dave is Bunny's older brother. My sister Robin, then 8 years old, had a huge crush on the lifeguards, especially Dave."

Over the years, the past fire chief said, the culture of the waterfront and putting on the fireworks display changed with the introduction of more regulations, pollution of the Toms River by the Ciba-Geigy chemical plant and influx of new residents not as heavily involved in the annual tradition.

After the fire company stopped hosting the land and water games, he recalled, the borough recreation commission kept it up for a while but also eventually abandoned it due to lack of interest.

“I was also a lifeguard and we used to have about 400 people a day on that beach,” said Mr. Symington. “But then with people starting to get pools and Ciba dumping into the river, everything like that sort of dwindled down.”

“It’s a sin, we’ve got the most beautiful beach on the river and now it only gets about a half dozen people a day,” he added.

After a woman was killed as a result of a fireworks accident in the Seaside Heights area, Mr. Symington said, the fire company was told they would need to come up with a million-dollar insurance policy for the annual display.

From there, he stated, the borough established a “Bang Committee” with members of the fire company, first aid squad and other residents in town that was able to continue the annual event through sponsors and contracted pyrotechnic firms.

Fireworks on the Toms River: The Modern Era

Above, Beachwood’s Fireworks on the Toms River grand finale, as shot by YouTube member Stealthlsc.

Today, the fireworks display on the Toms River is still hosted by Beachwood Borough through the contemporary equivalent of the “Bang Committee,” said Gerald W. “Jerry” Lacrosse, a former councilman and current member of what is now called simply the Fireworks on the Toms River Committee.

With feedback from the 2010 display, particularly the grand finale, sitting squarely in the “very positive” end of the spectrum, he said the year-round work to hold the event was well worth it.

“I’ve gotten nothing but compliments on it,” the committee member said, adding that during the show, “the boats out in river just went bananas,” sounding horns and sirens and flashing lights, and that “the crowd was very pleased with it.”

Picking up where the fire company left off, he recalled that he was first asked to serve on the committee sometime in the early 1990s by then-Mayor William T. “Bill” Hornidge, who wanted to form a coalition committee with surrounding municipalities in order to meet the growing demand for regulation and high insurance costs.

Included in the early coalition were Dover Township Mayor Clarence E. “Bud” Aldrich III, Island Heights Mayor David Siddons, and Pine Beach Mayor Russell Corby.

“Those four guys put together what we call the ‘Fireworks on the Toms River Committee’, and off we went,” said Mr. Lacrosse, who said early sponsors were Adelphia Cable, before it was purchased and became Comcast Cable; the Asbury Park Press, before it was purchased and became a Gannett-run publication; and 92.7 WOBM. Comcast and 92.7 WOBM continue as sponsors today.

“It just snowballed – we hired professional pyrotechnic outfits to put on the show, rather than us going out and purchasing five, ten or fifteen thousand dollars’ worth of fireworks,” he continued, adding that a lot of contributions came in from area residents. “We had little canisters in a lot of different stores, and people put in dimes, quarters, dollars and whatever else, and we had enough to hire the companies that came in.”

In the years since the formation of the committee, the former councilman said, between four and five different pyrotechnic firms were hired. The current company, Pennsylvania-based Schaefer Pyrotechnics, was contracted for the 2010 through 2012 displays.

For about the past decade, he added, the committee and display have “mostly been a Beachwood effort,” as the original mayors from surrounding municipalities who formed the committee either retired or passed away. The current committee consists of former Beachwood mayor, Hal Morris, current Beachwood councilwoman, Beverly Clayton, Mr. Lacrosse and Kevin Williams from 92.7 WOBM.

Although sponsorship continues from some of the original corporate entities, “a good portion of the money that goes to put the show on comes from the general population,” Mr. Lacrosse said.

“It has always been a Beachwood kind of show, ever since the fire company started it way back when the Borough of Beachwood had their own committee that used taxpayer money [for funding],” he stated, noting that the scale of the display since the new committee took it over has increased. “I believe this year something like 7,200 shells went off, all in 27 minutes, so that’s a lot of booms going off in the air, that’s for darn sure.”

“And a lot of oohs and aahs, too,” the committee member added. “We tried to estimate the area of the sky they take up, and someone said 750 feet or more – that’s a huge explosion.”

In planning this year’s display, billed as the 70th but with acknowledgment that fireworks displays appear to have been hosted by Beachwood even earlier than 1940, Mr. Lacrosse said the committee “wanted something special – you have a lot to see in the finale, a lot of fireworks, but we said, ‘Can we throw in something a little different that people would remember for the next year, at least?’”

The result, he said, was a series of stars, hearts, and red, white and blue bursts alongside their regular synchronization to patriotic music played through 92.7 WOBM, both on the radio and through a sound system at the beach.

In the years since the current committee took on the task of providing the Toms River area with their yearly fix of explosions and color, the committee member noted that they had never once been rained out.

“We’ve come close, and it’s rained right up to the point where we were going to set them off, but we got a one-hour window where the rain stopped for the show, and twenty minutes after the grand finale, it came down in buckets,” he said, joking that he is in charge of the weather on the committee.

In the end, Mr. Lacrosse said, it’s the knowledge that borough and area residents will be able to go home with a smile on their face and the knowledge that next year the show will be there, in bigger and better form, to take their families and friends to.

Area residents interested in seeing the annual show continue to go on are encouraged to make their donations to Fireworks on the Toms River – Beachwood, c/o Beachwood Borough Hall, 1600 Pinewald Road, Beachwood, N.J. 08722. Contributions are accepted year-round.

Shore Vineyard Church Activities Debated

This article originally appeared in the Riverside Signal on May 19th, 2010. It has been reprinted below. The Riverside Signal can be found at http://www.RiversideSignal.com

by Erik Weber
Chapel dates back to start of borough

Shore Vineyard Church, current occupant of the Beachwood chapel, May 2010.

BEACHWOOD – A heated conflict between Shore Vineyard Church and its neighbors boiled over during the May 5th borough council meeting, here, as residents and church officials debated for over an hour before the governing body, which found itself in the position of mediator.

Since at least January, Barnegat Boulevard resident Roy Miller has appeared before the borough council to petition for action against his neighbor, Shore Vineyard Church, citing parking, noise and general quality of life issues related to the church’s group meetings and events. Borough code enforcement officer William Knapp, Sr., has said that upon investigating, he can find no legal ground to cite the religious organization with, as there are no specific ordinances restricting their various activities, and that parking on surrounding borough streets was available and open for the public.

Last month, the governing body requested that William T. Hiering, borough attorney, look into the potential that the church was operating as an expanded allowable use.

Mr. Hiering stated that he investigated the church and its zoning documentation, but that upon seeking related cases for further insight, he found them to be “pretty broad in what they consider excessive use.”

Citing St. John’s Evangelical Church v. Hoboken, the borough attorney reported that the judgment found “daycare, orphanages and even drug counseling qualify” as falling under normal use for the church site.

Regarding noise issues, Mr. Hiering did point out that regardless of the zoning, a borough ordinance regulating noise levels between the hours of 9 pm and 7 am required levels not to be more than 45 decibels during that period.

Additionally, the borough ordinance restricts noise levels in a residential neighborhood to 55 decibels or lower between 7 am and 9pm. Exceptions and permitted variations include allowing the sound limit to be exceeded not more than one time per day for a 15 minute period; permitting peak values of short durations, referred to in the ordinance as “impact noises”, as not more than the more restrictive noise level of either 20 decibels above the restricted level or 80 decibels; and excluding “alarms, sirens, emergency warning devices, motor vehicles and other sources not under the direct control of a use.”

Beachwood Chapel: A Detailed History

The Beachwood chapel, within a year of construction, circa 1924. Reprinted from Beachwood Directory and Who's Who, 1924, by William Mill Butler.

The origin of the chapel building at Compass and Spring dates back to the earliest years of Beachwood, when property owners almost completely consisted of summering New York City residents and the newly incorporated borough was not yet four months old, in 1917.

Early borough resident and retired New York newspaper editor, William Mill Butler, recounted the burgeoning call for religious services that led to the construction of the chapel in his book on the first ten years of Beachwood, Beachwood Directory and Who’s Who 1924.

On June 30th of 1917, he writes that the Property Owners’ Association “decided to appoint a committee of three to make arrangements for union religious meetings at the club house each Sunday evening.”

From then, non-denominational Sunday services and “sacred concerts” were held at the clubhouse, which once stood on the bluff overlooking Windy Cove, across from what today is the Mayo Park playground. The original borough hall was also used; that structure was first known as the “Auditorium”, stood roughly on the site of today’s Mayo Park playground and, like the clubhouse, was built during the original New York Tribune promotion that started the town as a resort, in 1914. Numerous reverends, both visiting and borough residents, ran the meetings and eventually funds were donated for an organ to be installed. Two years later, the group formally organized and incorporated under the name of “Beachwood Religious Association.”

The only known photograph of Bertram Chapman Mayo, founder of Beachwood Borough. Originally donated by his family.

By the time Beachwood’s founder, Bertram Chapman Mayo, died unexpectedly while on vacation in Asheville, North Carolina in July 1920, the organization’s previous three years of forming connections with local reverends and practicing meetings allowed the property owners the ability to facilitate a memorial service in his honor, held August 8th, in the clubhouse.

Two years later, the association had gained a known musician and evangelical singer in the form of new summer resident Justin Lawrie, who began regularly accompanying the meetings and concerts with his work. That summer, the first borough marriage license was issued for a ceremony that took place on Barnegat Boulevard, and by the time of the August 27th annual meeting of the Beachwood Religious Association, newly elected trustees were “appointed a committee to obtain information regarding a chapel site.”

By the following Sunday services, the last for the season, on September 3rd, 1922, fundraising for the building got underway.

Mr. Butler writes:

“In the midst of the musical program, O. Frederick Rost, chairman of the board of trustees, launched a campaign for a non-sectarian chapel building fund. Subscription cards were distributed to the congregation, the members of which entered into he proposition with true Beachwood spirit, so that before the meeting closed in the neighborhood of $2,000 had been pledged in sums from $1 to $100. Besides this some fifty cards were taken home for consideration, with promises that they would be sent in by mail. Nor was the enthusiasm confined to money subscriptions. One of those present, who wished his name left secret, offered to purchase four lots and donate them for a chapel site; another offered to do the electrical work and supply materials free of charge; still another offered to draw the plans and specifications free of charge. A building contractor offered to erect the chapel, charging only actual cost of labor and materials, and to make no charge for the work of supervision. A special committee was appointed, consisting of Frank O. Price, chairman; George F. Middleton and Mrs. George D. Siffert, to meet with the board of trustees and decide upon plans for the building.”

By the time the borough property owners’ held their annual dinner and dance near their homes at the Hotel Astor in New York City, on February 24th, 1923, Mr. Rost “described the plans that were being formulated for the erection of a community chapel, undenominational in character, which would be ready for use by July.”

Within the late spring 1923 edition of the borough property owners’ association newsletter, the Beachwood Echo, appeared a detailed description of the chapel to be built, which would be “35 feet by 80 feet, and the main auditorium, 35 feet by 60 feet, providing seats for 250 persons. At the south end of the main auditorium was placed the library and reading room, which has a floor level of 2 feet above that of the auditorium.”

And thus was born the Beachwood Library, housed for a number of years as part of the chapel, before a bungalow on Beachwood Boulevard was donated by borough resident Nathan T. Pulsifer, in memory of his late wife.

Still in question, however, was where the chapel would be built. That was solved quickly with the intervention by a member of Beachwood’s founding family.

From Mr. Butler:

“Mr. and Mrs. John W. Baker, of Maplewood, N.J., who own considerable property in Beachwood, donated to the Beachwood Religious Association the triangle bounded by Spring and Compass streets and Club House road, in front of the chapel. Mrs. Baker is the sister of the late B. C. Mayo, founder of Beachwood.”

John J. Nolze, a founding member of the borough fire company and a local builder, won the contract for construction, which began immediately.

By August, it was built.

The first service in the new chapel, held on August 19th, prior to its dedication, saw its services accompanied by a severe lighting storm. Five days later, a “book day” was held by the borough Woman’s Club to furnish the library with books, with over 75 in attendance and a final daily tally of above 350 books collected. Barnegat Boulevard resident Mabel Staton was appointed librarian.

With its official dedication on September 2nd, 1923, the chapel was formally recognized as an operating borough facility and over the following near-century saw numerous religious organizations take it over for services, club meetings and concerts, leading up to Shore Vineyard Church today.

Snapshot of the Past: Beachwood Beach, Circa 1916-1930

Today we have two views of Beachwood Beach from the old yacht clubhouse pier (also used by the Beachwood Women’s Club for their functions and, later, the beach concession stand before burning down in the 1960s).

Though these postcards are unused and otherwise undated, we can place the first to be from about 1916 (as it correlates with a series of other postcards by the same company, the Hayrose Co.) and second about the early 1920s.

Circa 1916. Originally from Geoff Brown's collection.

Also of interest is how changed our beach is today. Once a wide stretch pointing out into Windy Cove (the point known as Spiles Point, where ships bound for New York once had charcoal loaded onto them from an early rail system out of the pine barrens), the current has blunted its eastern arm and pushed most of the sand west beneath the dock (once known as the diving dock, doing so today would result in nothing short of paralysis) and in front of the main section between the dock and where the rebuilt boardwalk to the boat docks and community center now stand.

According to former borough police chief Jack Moody, the borough for years would remove the extra frontal sand from beneath the dock and the middle of the beach and use it to replenish the eastern arm. At some point in the past twenty years this practice was discontinued and now appears disallowed under current environmental laws. The borough has since built bulkheading along the eastern edge of the beach and continues to fight the current from sweeping even more away with each successive storm.

Circa 1916. Originally from Geoff Brown's collection. Today the sailboat in the background would be run aground due to shifting sand over the years.

Check back over the next week for a series of photos from 2009 on how our waterfront has been flooded and battered by recent storms, including the one just this past week that submerged much of the beach and gave it an appearance of its earlier days.

Linked History: Toms River Community Theatre Built by Beachwood Man

Today we spotlight the work of Beachwood man Joseph Jerue, who was a builder, World War II veteran (along with both of his sons – one of whom, John, was lost during battle) and mayor of the borough.

Joseph Jerue in his official World War II service photo. This photo originally hung along those of other Beachwood servicemen in the Beachwood Circle Shop during the war.

In 1937, Mayor Jerue, then 41 years old, was named the builder of a prominent cultural site on Washington Street in downtown Toms River, the Community Theatre. To our benefit, its construction and featured amenities were detailed in an issue of Box Office Magazine in August of that year. Below you’ll find that article in full. We hope you enjoy this look back to an era and its architecture that one particularly prolific Beachwood resident helped make possible.

Reprinted material courtesy Ken Bacon and Box Office Magazine.

A MODERN THEATRE IN THE COLONIAL MANNER

Toms River Community Theatre as it appeared after its construction, in 1937. Today it has been renovated into shops and eateries.

A new modern theatre with a seating capacity of 1,000 persons was recently erected on Washington Street in Toms River, New Jersey. Definitely out of the ordinary in design and decor, the new edifice reflects the most contemporary expressions of architectural composition.

It is operated by the American Community Theatres, Inc.

Unlike most modern theatres, with their brilliantly lighted marquees and  electric signs over the entrance, this theatre with its simple Colonial front presents a decidedly novel appearance. Its architectural simplicity is pronounced.

The theatre is set back 30 feet from the sidewalk and the intervening portion of the property in front of the theatre is beautifully landscaped and circumvented by a flagged walk of unique design which serves as a delightful approach to and departure from the theatre.

The Washington Street facade is of red facebrick with white joints, in front of which is a beautifully designed Colonial portico done in wood and painted white.

The ticket booth is situated in the center of the entrance screen of doors. Lattice work above the entrance doors and the circular windows above the lattice work are constructed of wood and glass. All portico in wood and painted white, against the masterly executed red and white masonry background presents a simple but beautiful facade.

In the evening this facade is illuminated by flood lights which increase the beauty and interest of the architectural simplicity to a spectacular degree. The same simplicity of design is followed throughout the interior of the auditorium.

The sidewalls are of acoustical plaster integrally colored to a neutral shade. Subtly concealed vertical lighting troughs along the sidewalks are provided with varied colored lamps, lending a beautiful and variable color scheme to the interior.

The foyer, promenade, ladies’ cosmetic room and the men’s room are also of simple modern design, the beauty of which is greatly enhanced by exquisite lighting fixtures, carpets and furnishings.

The auditorium is provided with exceptionally wide chairs spaced to provide the maximum comfort for the patrons. The floors are carpeted with rich, heavy, exquisite carpet which helps to promote finer acoustical treatment for sound reception.

Particular attention was given to the gradient of the auditorium floor to insure every patron a perfect view of the screen, no matter where he is seated.

A new modern ventilating system was installed to assure the occupants of a healthful and comfortable atmosphere while they are being entertained. The projection room and sound equipment in this theatre are of the finest known to modern science.

The Toms River Community Theatre is a delightful example of the modern functionally furnished theatre. It was designed and erected under the supervision of Thomas W. Lamb, Inc., architects. The builder was Joseph E. Jerue, of Beachwood, N. J.

The Community Theatre's billing was found in this photograph taken in Disbrow's Market, on Beachwood Boulevard, one year after the above article was written - August 1938.

Snapshot of the Past: Nighttime Along the Shore, 1952

Today we have for you a painted nighttime shot of our waterfront, circa the 1940s/early 1950s. It was printed on a linen postcard (hence the natural raised horizontal lines) which was created by first photographing the site and later painting the black and white image for printing.

Here you can see depicted the original yacht clubhouse, built as one of the original New York Tribune sites for the enjoyment of early residents as part of an informal property owners’ Beachwood Yacht Club. A more official incarnation, named the Polyhue Yacht Club, was created and later incorporated by consensus of interested residents in 1920, who then formally took over operation of the Tribune clubhouse (by permission of the borough commissioners). During its early lifetime, many dances, card parties, shows and meetings were held for members of the yacht and borough women’s club. Polyhue Yacht Club meeting minutes state that the original building was extended farther out over the water with the addition of the back porch-like extension and dock in 1922.

Following the construction of the larger yacht clubhouse farther west along the shore in 1926 (today the site of the Beachwood Community Center, constructed on the grounds of this second clubhouse after it burned in December 1978) it was taken over by the borough and used as the concession stand for the beach. The Polyhue Yacht Club disbanded for much of the 1930s, likely due to lack of funding as a result of the Great Depression, and was later reincorporated as the Beachwood Yacht Club in 1939. Fire destroyed the original Tribune clubhouse in 1958. Its location today is roughly marked by the entrance of the boardwalk from the beach.

Beachwood, N.J. Nov. 25 – 52

Dear Mrs. Horne,

Sorry we could not stop on our way back, we stayed shopping in Chester too long and had to get out of Philly before dark and the rush hours,

Yours truly,
Gertrude (sp?) Johnson

(will see you some other time)

Addressed to:

Mrs. Charles Horne
7 Center Ave.,
Essington, Penn.

Beachwood, November 25th, 1952.

M. Eileen Heeley, Beachwood Citizen of the Year 1989

The next in our series of borough fire department related coverage for appreciation of their service (and of October being Fire Prevention Month), we present to you an article printed August 2, 1989 in the Asbury Park Press detailing the recognition of one borough resident’s quarter century of service to both the fire department and first aid squad.

Beachwood Woman Cited for Service Beyond the Call

by Kathie Reed
Press Staff Writer
Asbury Park Press
Wednesday, August 2, 1989

When M. Eileen Heeley moved to Beachwood with her family, she didn’t know many people.

So she joined the borough First Aid Squad and became involved with the Beachwood Fire Co. auxiliary.

Because of her more than two decades of service to both groups, Mrs. Heeley recently was named Beachwood’s Citizen of the Year.

“I still go to the building and help out, but I don’t run anymore with the ambulance,” said Mrs. Heeley, who became a member of the First Aid Squad in 1964. “I did run with the ambulance for about 24 years.”

The Heeleys moved to Beachwood from Emerson in 1962, and Mrs. Heeley, who had four school-age children at the time, took first aid courses with another woman in town.

After passing the course, she joined the squad.

“I was one of the main day people,” she said. “We had more calls than the night people because there was more going on” during the day.

She never tired of the work, and every day was different, she said.

“During the day, you could run from 10 to 15 (calls) or maybe just one,” she said.

“I remember one February, we had a storm, and I think every person in town slipped out their front door (and fell). I don’t think I got home that day at all.”

Summer was always the busiest season, however, with the influx of people and swimming and motor vehicle accidents, she said.

“When we started, we worked by telephone. They didn’t have pagers like they do today.”

“The sheriff would call one person and that person would call two more and you would go.”

Mrs. Heeley also was commended by Beachwood Police Chief John Moody a number of years ago for reviving a man using cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Although the man was initially saved, he died a few days later, she said.

Some other residents, including Genevieve Romer and Joseph Victoria, also have been members of the First Aid Squad about as long as she has, she said.

“I could never have done it without my children and my family helping me,” she said. “You have to have your family behind you.”

Her husband, Paul F., also was named Beachwood’s Man of the Year in 1980 and 1981. The title used to be Man of the Year or Woman of the Year before it was changed to Citizen of the Year.

He was honored for his service as an ambulance driver with the First Aid Squad, volunteer fireman, special policeman and civil defense volunteer. Today, he is an exempt fireman with the Beachwood Fire Co.

One of the Heeleys’ four children, Mark, also a Beachwood resident, is following in his parents’ footsteps as a volunteer with the Beachwood Fire Co.

Their other children are Paul H., Tuckerton; Martha R., Bloomfield; and Susan Kuriger, Mystic Islands.

Mrs. Heeley joined the Beachwood Fire Co. auxiliary about the same time she joined the First Aid Squad.

The auxiliary conducts fund-raisers for the fire company and helps out in other ways, such as providing coffee and food for firefighters at a fire if necessary.

“Years ago, they had a lot of big forest fires, and they would be out for hours and hours,” she said.

“When we came down here, Beachwood only went back about seven blocks. Now, there are about 15 or 16 blocks. It used to be like a forest back there.”

For the past 10 years, she also has been on the Local Assistance Board, which meets four or five times a year. She currently chairs the board.

Being named Citizen of the year is not the first honor Mrs. Heeley has received this year for her volunteer work.

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, she also was one of more than 30 women in the county to be named Hidden Heroines in recognition of their community involvement.

A month later, “Mrs. Heeley Day” was celebrated at Pine Beach School and one of the trees the students planted on Arbor Day was in her honor.

Mayor William T. Hornidge praised Mrs. Heeley’s dedication to others and the town, adding at least once a year she visits him and tells him about problems in the town.

“We’ll discuss things that she has seen or become aware of that could be a problem and almost always will have a recommendation for a cure,” he said.

One year, she brought to his attention that several streets in the borough were becoming unsafe.

“Upon inspection, in 99 cases out of 100, she was right,” he said, and the problems were corrected.

“You get a lot of people who complain about something,” he said. “She’s offering to help resolved potential problems, and that’s unique.”

“She’s that type of person. She cares.”

Mrs. Heeley passed away on August 11th, 2007, at the age of 83, after having retired to Whiting in 1993.

The above entry was compiled from items donated by the McCormick family.

Creation of the Beachwood Volunteer Fire Company

An early 1920s roster photo of the Beachwood Volunteer Fire Company, No. 1.

Today being the first day of October with its designation as ‘Fire Prevention Month’, we present the steps leading up to and conditions surrounding the creation of our borough volunteer fire company, as recorded by William Mill Butler in his 1924 publication, ‘Beachwood Who’s Who and Directory’ (which can currently be purchased in reprint at the Ocean County Historical Society, Toms River).

Check back throughout the month as we have scheduled a full slate of fire company related articles in recognition for their service as part of fire prevention month.

Nov. 1914 – New York Tribune ‘Beachwood’ land promotion advertised
May 1915 – Beachwood officially opens on Decoration (Memorial) Day weekend
July 20th 1916 – B.C. Mayo writes letter on behalf of himself and Tribune to residents suggesting they meet and “appoint committees to handle the following matters” including fire protection
July 29th 1916 – Residents organized the Beachwood Property Owners’ Association for the purposes outlined by Mayo
1917 (unspecified date) – “Frank J. Turner and M.R. DeMiege were re-appointed fire wardens for the year.” Butler did not mention their original appointment the previous year, but it can be safely understood that these men were the borough’s first fire wardens following the organization of the Property Owner’s Association the previous summer.
January 1917 – “The picturesque Japanese pagoda house erected on Capstan Avenue by Mrs. Wanda E. Lohr was completed.” [Mrs. Lohr would later factor in as a main fundraising organizer for the borough's first fire apparatus]

Wanda E. Lohr's Japanese Pagoda house, seen here in January 2009.

1917 (unspecified date) – “It was reported that M. Maximillian R. DeMiege, who spent the summer in Beachwood, was an agent of the French Government and had signed a $35,000,000 contract for munitions and supplies.” [Clearly related to World War I, which had been fought until this period among mostly European nations since late 1914, but to date no further information has been found regarding this odd report on one of our two first fire wardens]
1917 (unspecified date) – [Writing about popular ice skating on Windy Cove]: “During the evenings bonfires supplied light and heat and were also utilized by the skaters to roast marshmallows.”
March 5th 1917 – Beachwood Borough bill is introduced and passed by New Jersey state senate without a dissenting vote; is later passed by the House and signed by the governor.

Windy Cove, seen here frozen in Winter 2009.

April 6th 1917 – America enters the Great War, later to be known as World War I.
May 11th 1917 – A special election is held for the first borough officials; George D. Suydam is elected as a councilman for a two-year term.
May 14th 1917 – First borough council is organized; Mayor Joseph H. Senior appoints George D. Suydam chairman of the police and fire committee.
September 25th 1917 – Primaries for the fall election held and passed with no changes from May special election.
November 6th 1917 – All nominees appointed at the May special election and subsequently chosen in September primaries were elected with no changes.

Circa 1918.

January 4th 1918 – Mayor and council met for reorganization meeting; George D. Suydam elected council president.
March 1918 – “A forest fire during the first week in March touched the southwest end of Beachwood, and had the wind been favorable, it might have been serious. The lot-owners were urged to comply with the ordinance to clean up the underbrush.”
September 1918 – Borough switches to commission form of government due in part to “the difficulty in obtaining an adequate attendance of members of the borough council” as many held year-round homes and jobs in New York City.
Fall 1918 – “The work of cleaning out the underbrush in the lots of the built-up section of Beachwood progressed considerably.”
Fall 1918 – “Mrs. Wanda E. Lohr and A.D. Nickerson, of Beachwood, were among the judges of the Toms River mardi-gras for the benefit of its fire department.”
November 11th 1918 – World War I ends with the signing of the Armistice Treaty on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
1919 (unspecified date) – “A brush fire in the woods on the southeast part of the borough was put out by Mrs. F.W. Goodrich and two small boys.”
August 9th 1919 – “At the annual meeting of the Beachwood Property Owners’ Association… the movement for the purchase of a chemical fire engine, started by Mrs. Wanda E. Lohr, was warmly endorsed.”

Original Beachwood Borough Hall, located approximately where the Mayo Park Playground stands today.

August 15th 1919 – “The Beachwood “races,” a novel and amusing entertainment, in aid of the purchase of a chemical fire engine, drew a large attendance at Borough Hall. The idea was to cut long narrow pieces of tape into two strips and those that finished first in the various “heats” were the winners and ran again in the finals. Mrs. Wanda E. Lohr, chairman of the committee on fire protection, was the moving spirit, assisted by Mrs. A. Keller and Dr. J.H. Richards. Many beautiful prizes were secured by them in Toms River, among them being a gold watch donated by W.L. DeGraw. Cash donations were also received and the event proved a great success, between $300 and $400 being realized for the engine.”
1920 (unspecified date) – “Joseph A. Spears, having started to burn rubbish and accidentally set the brush afire, was fines $25.00 for failing to obtain a permit.”

Edwin D. Collins, circa 1924.

July 10th 1920 – “At the meeting of the Beachwood Property Owners’ Association, E.D. Collins, treasurer [later elected mayor], reported on hand: Fund for fire protection, $331.78.”
July 12th 1920 – B.C. Mayo dies in Asheville, North Carolina, of pulmonary tuberculosis
1920 (unspecified date) – The Beachwood Property Owners’ Association adopts a resolution “that the association should conduct a carnival and fair during 1921, for the purpose of raising the additional money necessary for the purchase of fire apparatus.”
June 20th 1920 – “A forest fire which threatened Beachwood [this] afternoon was said to have been set at Pinewald by a Jersey Central train. The fire in Beachwood burned around several houses on Beachwood Heights [their name for the area of town south of the railroad tracks, today existing as south of Route 9 from the Garden State Parkway to where it meets Atlantic City Boulevard in front of St. Paul's Lutheran Church] but thanks to a small army of fire-fighters, under the direction of Fire Warden Joseph E. Abbott, and the Toms River fire company, the conflagration was extinguished without loss of life or property.” [this may be the very first fire call answered by residents of Beachwood not yet organized as a borough fire company]
August 11th 1921 – “The leading event of the 1921 season was the Beachwood fair in aid of the fire apparatus fund. Borough hall [the original borough hall operated within an original building erected by the New York Tribune as 'The Auditorium', located approximately where the Mayo Park Playground stands today] was beautifully decorated with pine and oak and red, white and blue bunting and flags. Fifteen booths were arranged around the sides of the hall, with a five-foot aisle between the booths and the partition separating the main room from the veranda. The chairmen in charge of the booths were [extensive list of residents and their duties has been removed for space].

Circa 1924.

The fair was opened promptly at 4pm on Thursday, August 11th, by O. Frederic Rost, president of the Property Owners’ Association. Max DeRochemont was general chairman of the fair committee and Mrs. George D. Siffert [nee Thomas, she was the daughter Samuel Bath Thomas, founder of Thomas English Muffins] chairman of the booths in charge of the Woman’s Club.
The receipts from sales were $2,170.17; cash donations, $137; total, $2,307,17; expenses, $331.30, leaving a net result of $1,975.87.
Of this, the sum of $1,645.99 was paid for the handsome four-wheel chemical fire engine, which was on exhibition during the fair, and which had been previously ordered by vote of the board of trustees of the Property Owners’ Association and actually purchased by President Rost on his personal responsibility. After paying for the apparatus, there remained a cash balance of $329.88, according to a report made to the association on August 27th.

Labor Day 1921 – “One of the striking incidents of [this day] was the formal presentation of the fire ring system and the fire apparatus to the borough by the Property Owners’ Association. O. Frederick Rost, president of the latter, made the presentation speech, in front of the club house, and Mayor J.H. Senior responded for the borough. The suggestion for a volunteer fire department was made about this time.”

Original hand-pulled fire apparatus, 1921.

Beachwood Fire Apparatus at presentation, 1921. William Mill Butler can be seen standing at foreground-left, identifiable by white hair, glasses, crossed arms and speckled bowtie.

March 9th 1922 – “At the meeting of the trustees of the Property Owners’ Association, in New York, the treasurer reported funds on hand as follows” including $686.56 for the fire protection fund.
1922 (unspecified date) – “Subscriptions toward the engine fund of Toms River Fire Company, No. 2, were received from a number of Beachwood residents as the company aimed to protect property in the outlying districts, including Beachwood.”
May 9th 1922 – “At the first meeting of the season of the Property Owners’ Association, a communication was received from the new board of commissioners who were elected May 9th, suggesting that, instead of purchasing a separate hand-drawn fire apparatus for use in Beachwood Heights, a Ford truck chassis be placed at their disposal, and then the fire apparatus previously presented to the borough would be mounted upon the chassis at borough expense and made available for use in all parts of the borough.
It was also promised that a volunteer fire department with fifty or more members would at all times be ready to respond to fire alarms. The trustees of the Property Owners’ Association thereupon voted to purchase the chassis without delay and present it to the borough.

John J. Nolze, circa 1924.

June 23rd 1922 – “The Beachwood Volunteer Fire Company was organized [on this date], with the following officers: Chief, Mayor E.D. Collins; deputy chief, Capt. E.F. Parker; captain, Jacob J. Hoffman; foreman, John J. Nolze; secretary and treasurer, William B. Brown.”
July 7th, 1922 – “At a meeting of the fire company, Jacob J. Hoffman, John J. Nolze, and Chief of Police James McDonald, were appointed a committee to secure a Ford chassis upon which to mount the fire apparatus. Also to look for a site for a fire house. The chassis was soon promised by the Property Owners’ Association which originally donated the apparatus, which was hand drawn.”
July 14th 1922 – “At a meeting of Beachwood Volunteer Fire Company, No. 1, a total membership of 24 was reported. Also, $80 subscribed toward the company’s equipment.”
August 1st 1922 – “The subscriptions to the equipment fund of Volunteer Fire Company, No. 1, had reached $161 by [this date]. The amount required was $250.”
August 5th 1922 – “Despite threatening weather, Volunteer Fire Company, No. 1, had a fine dance at Borough Hall [this] Saturday evening. Property owners all agreed that fire protection was necessary and declared that those willing to give their time to fight fire should be commended and encouraged.”
September 2nd 1922 – Curiosity and amusement were had by attendees of the annual masquerade when a number of borough women arrived masked and dressed in homemade costumes as firemen, proclaiming to be “Volunteer Fire Department, No. 2″
Labor Day 1922 – “Beachwood Volunteer Fire Department, No. 1, held a parade at 2 o’clock on [this date], headed by Mayor Collins and Captain James McDonald and a number of police reserves. The firemen were dressed in their new uniforms of dark blue trousers, shirts and caps, with badges on the front of the latter. Then came the newly-equipped automobile fire truck, manned by volunteers, and followed by an automobile driven by Mrs. B.A. Levett, in which rode Mrs. Wanda E. Lohr, the original agitator for fire protection, and Mrs. Albertine Keller and Dr. and Mrs. J.H. Richards, who had all assisted in getting up the first entertainment for the benefit of the fire protection fund, out of which grew the fair and final presentation to the Borough of the fire fighters’ apparatus. Then, in the parade, came the wives of the firemen, dressed in white and wearing white cockade hats. The parade came around the plaza to the club house where President Rost, on behalf of the Property Owners’ Association, formally presented the Ford chassis, upon which the chemical engine was mounted, to the Borough, the engine, hand-drawn, having been presented the previous summer. Mayor Collins accepted the gift with appropriate remarks. In behalf of the committee on Labor Day games and sports, Mr. Rost also presented a siren to the fire company for the purpose of sounding alarms.”

Beachwood Fire Apparatus, remounted on Ford chassis, circa 1923.

Fall 1922 – “In order to purchase a site and erect a borough hall and fire house on Atlantic City Boulevard, near Beachwood Boulevard, the commissioners decided to issue temporary improvement bonds, to the amount of $6,500. Notice to bidders were issued November 29th.”
January 27th 1923 – “Bids for the new fire house and borough hall were invited on [this date].”
February 24th 1923 – “Residents of Beachwood, to the number of nearly 200, gathered in the Rose Room in the Hotel Astor of New York City, Saturday evening [on this date], to attend the annual dinner and dance of the Beachwood Property Owners’ Association.
Mayor E.D. Collins… delivered a brief but interesting annual message concerning the affairs of the borough. He mentioned the new Borough Hall which was in process of erection and which also contained ample quarters for the volunteer fire department.”

Beachwood Borough Hall/Firehouse, erected 1923.

March 18th 1923 – “The cornerstone of the new Borough Hall and Fire House was laid on Sunday afternoon [on this date], in the presence of over 100 people from Beachwood and Toms River. The Star Spangled Banner was played by the American Legion Orchestra of Toms River during the raising of the flag and Rev. R.S. Nichols of the same village offered prayer and delivered an address before the cornerstone was put in place. The stone bore the inscription, Borough Hall and Fire House. A copper box, donated by Frank Goodrich, was placed inside and contained a brief story of the Borough Government written by William Howard Jeffrey, the Borough Counsel, besides papers of various civic and social organizations which were read by Commissioner John J. Nolze, director of public property, before being sealed up.
Mayor [Edwin] D. Collins made an address in which he treated upon the high hopes and ambition of the present Borough Government for a greater Beachwood. Mrs. Wanda E. Lohr, as the original advocate of fire protection, was also called upon for a brief address. The new building is of concrete block with asbestos shingle roofing. It is 25 feet by 40 feet and two stories high. The ground floor is for fire house purposes and the upper floor for the Borough Hall and accommodation of the Borough officials.”

Disbrow’s Market, 1938 – Enhanced View

Due to a high number of inquiries and requests, we’ve taken the previously posted image of Disbrow’s Market interior from 1938, enhanced its visual quality and blown up details of it for better view.

In addition, you’ll find a story on the market as told by longtime resident Geoff Brown.

Disbrow's Market, 1938. George Disbrow (l) and Fred Combi.

George Disbrow (l) and Fred Combi stand behind the counter at Disbrow's Market, sometime after 1:30pm in August 1938.

The market scale sits behind loaves of white and rye bread while packs of Disbrow's labeled coffee sit on the meat counter nearby.

The deli case contains your everyday deli meats and cheeses, along with prepared orders as lamb stew.

A Heinz display offers products "For the Majesty - Your Baby".

An ad for Miracle Whip leans against the wall above the store.

An assortment of canned goods sits on the deli counter beneath the wall clock.

The billing at the Toms River Community Theatre includes "Professor Beware", "Sky Giant" and "Gangs of New York", all released in the late spring and summer of 1938. The Community Theater building can be found across Toms River Town Hall on Washington Street; today it houses an assortment of businesses. (Special thanks to Ocean County Library's Elizabeth Cronin for pointing out the month - August - in tiny detail on this billing)

Disbrow's Market, as seen nine years later in February 1947. Today it sits vacant waiting for a new life.

From Geoff Brown:

“I was born in 1944, so it was well before my time. However, I do remember the meat case at the back of the store and the other walls with shelves almost to the high ceiling. It was a marvel to see the Gibsons pluck cans and boxes with a long pole “grabber” and catch whatever it was as they filled customer’s orders. My mother wrote out her “weekly order” for me to bring up to Disbrow’s every Thursday. The youngest Gibson brother would deliver it some time before noon in a black Chevy panel sedan (station wagon without side rear windows). “Disbrow’s Market Beachwood N.J.” was painted on each side. It was before noon because they knew we went to the beach every day at 1 o’clock.

“I was also sent to Disbrow’s for items such as bread between orders. Milk, eggs, juice, etc. was delivered by Bert Davis from Home Town Dairy. We didn’t have a washing maching at the Beachwood house, so once a week the laundry was picked up by Beachwood Laundry & Cleaners (corner Brigantine & Atlantic City Blvd.) and brought back clean and folded. They left it on the back porch with the bill.

“One more thing. Before there was mail delivery, we’d wait for the train whistle in the morning (time ?) and know it was time to walk to the Post Office / Train Depot to pick up our mail.”

New York Tribune – Original Subscription/Lot Promotion Booklet – Part Three of Three

A bit delayed, but no worse for the wear, here’s the final section of the original New York Tribune Subscription Lot Promotion booklet that started it all.

New York Tribune – Original Subscription/Lot Promotion Booklet – Part One of Three

As promised, here’s the first section of the original New York Tribune Subscription/Lot Promotion booklet that built our borough. The second part will be published this Sunday.