200 Plus
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•August 9, 2023
‘Shenandoah’ Joins the Navy Fleet
In October 1923, Ocean County was planning for one of the biggest events in its history.
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•August 2, 2023
ZR-1 Goes to Washington
The Tuckerton Beacon ended its coverage of the triumphant flight of the American-built ZR-1 over New York City and Philadelphia on Sept. 11, 1923 with an understated “ZR-1 started for her home…
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•July 26, 2023
Mighty Airship Makes Maiden Voyage
Sept. 11, 1923 was a day of rejoicing and patriotism for those living in New York City and most of the tri-state area. Residents became aware that the 11th would be something special when papers…
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•July 19, 2023
ZR-1 Takes to the Sky At Last
Throughout the summer of 1923, the country watched as the time for the first test flight of the ZR-1 neared.
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•July 12, 2023
The Nation Watches ZR-1’s Progress
July 1923 had seen newspapers across the nation speculate as to when the world’s largest flying machine, the ZR-1, would rise from the sands of the Jersey Pine Barrens at Lakehurst and roar to life.…
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•July 5, 2023
Anticipation Builds for ZR-1 Launch
Those of us who can recall the space race of the 1960s can remember the roller coaster ride of preparing for a launch, then only to have it postponed for a mechanical malfunction or bad weather. The…
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•June 28, 2023
ZR-1 Airship Has Lofty Goals
At a time in our nation’s history when it seems possible the word “United” could be removed from the name of the country, it helps to look back at a time and series of events that did appear to give…
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•June 21, 2023
Klan’s Influence Spreads in Ocean County
During the summer of 1923, Jersey Shore residents watched as the “new KKK” tried to establish its presence locally and flex its muscle. Lakewood, Point Pleasant and Asbury Park all experienced cross…
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•June 14, 2023
Klan Claims to Support Law and Order
The rise of the Ku Klux Klan at the Jersey Shore in 1923 caught many by surprise. Most residents linked the Klan with the racial oppression and atrocities committed in the predominantly…
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•June 7, 2023
The Klan Declares Its Intentions
The rise of the KKK at the Jersey Shore in 1923 seemed to be meteoric. In February newspapers described the Klan’s activities as quiet and inactive, but by May there were reports of cross burnings…
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•May 31, 2023
The Klan Goes Public at the Shore
On Feb. 16, 1923, in response to the rising presence of the KKK nationally, the Asbury Park Press ran an article giving the results of a recent survey.
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•May 24, 2023
Ku Klux Klan Infects the Nation
The year 1923 brought the realization that “yes, it can happen here” to many who had avoided facing a problem that was sweeping the nation. The story really begins eight years earlier.
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•May 17, 2023
Whiskey Evidence Slowly Evaporates
In the age before the internet and widespread conspiracy theories, the 1923 Prohibition raid on Clam Island took enough twists and turns that today would spark thousands of clicks and headlines.
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•May 10, 2023
Where Did the Whiskey Go?
During the winter of 1923, suspicious activities around an island just inside Barnegat Inlet owned by Lakewood millionaire George J. Gould led to one of the largest Prohibition raids in Ocean County…
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•May 3, 2023
Rumrunners Caught Red-Handed
The year 1923 began in Ocean County with a story that a two-masted schooner, Jeanette, had been rammed and sunk off Barnegat Light with a loss of two lives. Rumors spread that the schooner was a rum…
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•April 26, 2023
Rum-Running History of Clam Island
One hundred years ago, Ocean County experienced one of the strangest cases of the Prohibition era, a case still unsolved but open to speculation.
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•April 19, 2023
The Nation Watches Progress in Lakehurst
The early 1920s were a time of pride and optimism in the United States. There was still an afterglow of winning the war “to make the world safe for democracy,” and the dreaded Spanish flu was waning.
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•April 12, 2023
Air Travel’s Future Building in the Pines
1923 will be remembered as a year when the world’s newspapers focused on Ocean County, N.J. – not because of a shipwreck or other tragedy, but as a center for aviation.
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•April 5, 2023
Final Voyage Ends in Beach Haven
When you begin following the history of a sailing ship, you know the story most likely ends one of three ways: sunk, abandoned or sold for scrap. In March 1946, that’s what would have been predicted…
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•March 30, 2023
Lucy Evelyn Heads for Home Port
In May 1946, newspapers across the country carried stories about the three-masted schooner Lucy Evelyn as it set sail from Massachusetts, bound for the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. The…
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•March 22, 2023
Can Nothing Sink the Lucy Evelyn?
On May 9, 1946 the three-masted schooner Lucy Evelyn, destined to become a landmark on Long Beach Island, cast off her tow line off Massachusetts and set a course to the southeast toward the Cape…
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•March 15, 2023
Destination: Cape Verde Islands
In October 1943, the schooner Lucy Evelyn, destined to become Beach Haven’s number one tourist attraction, lay beached and abandoned by its owners, at Vineyard Haven, Mass. In November of that year…
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•March 9, 2023
Lucy Evelyn Just Can’t Win
The story of the Lucy Evelyn before it became Beach Haven’s most famous gift shop has been one of brushes with danger, escaping such disasters as fire on board, sinking in storms, and being reported…
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•March 2, 2023
Lucy Evelyn Faces World War II
Sometimes when you start a series on a topic like the history of Beach Haven’s most famous gift shop, the Lucy Evelyn, the projection is for a couple of weeks. Then there are times as you dig into…
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•February 22, 2023
Taking the Long Way Around
Most LBI old-timers can remember the Lucy Evelyn only as a Beach Haven gift shop, high and dry on land; almost none can remember her afloat. Over the past weeks this column has dealt with its early…
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•February 15, 2023
Lucy Evelyn Hits Rough Seas
Today you can still find quite a few Islanders who remember the Lucy Evelyn as a local gift shop and landmark in Beach Haven, N.J. Fewer can remember it afloat in the Bay during the 1940s, but her…
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•February 8, 2023
Lucy Evelyn Takes to the Sea
Recently I was asked had I ever written anything about the history of the Lucy Evelyn. A quick search of the last 40 years of articles came up with nothing.
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•February 1, 2023
The Estelle Krieger’s Inglorious End
One hundred years ago this month the four-masted schooner Estelle Krieger grounded off Ship Bottom, N.J. Although it is not remembered as one of the most famous Long Beach Island nautical stories…
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•January 26, 2023
How Unlucky Can a Ship Be?
Following up on a 1923 newspaper article about a four-masted schooner, the Estelle Krieger, being stranded off Ship Bottom, a search of the New Jersey Maritime Museum records showed the ship was…
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•January 18, 2023
Early Life of the ‘Estelle Krieger’
With the start of a new year while looking for new topics to write about, I came upon a 100-year-old article dated Feb. 9 reporting that a four-masted schooner, the Estelle Krieger, was in trouble…