In August 1947, fire destroyed one wing of Beach Haven’s Baldwin Hotel, facing the ocean between Pearl and Marine streets since 1883. Beryl Yocum kept a diary during the years she and her husband, Charlie, owned the old structure. By chance, she was visiting Beach Haven in the fall of 1960, seven years after they sold it. The Baldwin was a tinderbox, and fear of fire had always been a constant. Charlie had posted this smoking warning in his guest bulletins every season:

Cigarettes, Cigars, Smoking in General – Please be careful and that’s putting it mildly.