Columns
-
•March 10, 2022
An Extra Hour of Daylight, Extreme Temperature Gradient and South Swell on the Horizon
Has anyone else Googled Archduke Franz Ferdinand this past week?
-
•March 8, 2022
Temperature Swings Like Never Before; When Grocery Cashiers Silently Attack
For global warming devotees, this winter has shown all the symptoms of climate change. That isn’t hard since virtually anything the weather does – good, bad or utterly in-between – falls perfectly…
-
•February 25, 2022
Studies Prove Plants Are Screaming to Be Heard; State Bag Ban Could Have a Doggy Downside
I HEAR YA, HOLLY: Imagine, if you will, standing alone on the 50-yard line of a totally jam-packed stadium, something like the recent Super Bowl scenario. Don’t get nervous, this is profoundly…
-
•February 24, 2022
Bridgeton Mourns Its Losses
On July 30, 1896, Atlantic City suffered one of the worst railroad disasters in the city’s history.
-
•February 23, 2022
When Every Day Is Windsday: Outlook on Windy Swell and Weeks
There is nothing so soothing as a gentle breeze by the seashore … or so we are told.
-
•February 20, 2022
Ticks Are Bloodsuckers for All Seasons; Wildlife Smugglers Come in Large and Small
One warm day and the ticks do play, as evidenced by crawlers on my pant legs during last week’s 60-degree weather. Per those who study such things, anything over 35 degrees spurs those eight-legged…
-
•February 17, 2022
Red Men Trip Ends in Disaster
The Atlantic City of the 19th century owed its existence to the railroads. As the century ended, tens of thousands of riders made the journey” by rail each weekend to what was known as the “world’s…
-
•February 15, 2022
Coyote Comings and Goings Increase; Gulf Stream Isn’t Quite Itself
How can I not write about Island coyotes this week, after receiving a veritable pack of reports regarding sightings, both tracks and visuals, from north, south and decidedly in-between? A surge in…
-
•February 10, 2022
Late Look at a Postcard Winter Storm; Current No. 1 Surfer Is 50 Years Old
The January Blizzard of ’22, Winter Storm Kenan, the Rogan Nor’easter – whatever you want to call it – we haven’t had a storm like that in some time. And yes, I know it’s now well in the rearview. In…
-
•February 10, 2022
Race to the Shore
In the 1850s, modern-day Atlantic City was born. First came the railroad, then the hotels and finally the tourists.
-
•February 3, 2022
Islanders Must Be Rough and Really Ready; Melting Butter for Lobsters a la Scaffolding
That blizzard blew – which is a good thing. Like the previous storm, it never caught up to the hype. The snow totals, reaching Island high points of 15-plus inches, mainly in and around my house and…
-
•February 2, 2022
Lives Lost, Changed Forever in Wreckage
At 6 p.m. on Aug. 11, 1880, over 1,000 daytrippers left Atlantic City on two trains after a pleasant excursion to the shore, bound for the return trip to Camden.
-
•January 27, 2022
Light in the Darkness; Assessing All Seriousness of Winter Surfing in New Jersey
The other day, a dead rhododendron flower blew east down the street. When the wind switched the next day, it blew west. The dried-up flower of summer (clipped after the season for best results in the…
-
•January 26, 2022
Even Skinny Islands Have Their Leeward Side; How Soused Feasters Named Tuckerton
LIKING LEEWARDS: Taking islands as a worldly whole, most sport a windward and leeward side. The lee side is frequently where the fun is, so to speak. Cities take shape thereabouts due to, well, their…
-
•January 26, 2022
Beach Day Ends in Tragedy
On July 4, 1854, the Camden and Atlantic Railroad ran its first train to Absecon Island, where local promoters were planning a resort city and constructing a hotel. One month later, on Aug. 7, the…
-
•January 20, 2022
No Fear of Blood Freezes for Winter Flounder; Island Foxes Take Part in Revolutionary War
That was a pretty good gale we just had, though it was more forecasting fury than actual sky fury.
-
•January 19, 2022
New Railroad Leads to the Shore
There is a famous movie line that goes “Build it and they will come.” This quote could have been made years before when writing about the rise of the Jersey Shore and, more specifically, Atlantic…
-
•January 17, 2022
2022 Could Be the 2021 We Always Wanted … Probably … Maybe?
I can never be sure who reads Liquid Lines, especially in January, and the first column of the year. But I have a feeling this will reach a good number of eyeballs since half of Ocean County is…
-
•January 15, 2022
A Little Coyote Chatter Never Gets Old; The Eagles Have Landed Again and Again
I was actually talking to myself, though I’ll also aim an equally sincere “Welcome back” toward all y’all – and anyone else who stumbles in here for 2022.
-
•January 12, 2022
How Good a Historian Are You?
The SandPaper vacation is over. It’s time to get back to work, which means you get a chance to grade your 200 Plus end-of-year exam. Give yourself four points for each correct answer plus another…
-
•December 27, 2021
When Road-to-Nowhere Almost Led Somewhere; Taking a Year to Stump for Striped Bass
I’m heading into my semi-vacation mode, as The SandPaper semi-shuts down until early January. For me, the break means time well split between beaches and the outback – camera and metal detector in…
-
•December 23, 2021
Were You Paying Attention?
As The Sandpaper prepares to take its annual winter’s hiatus, those who regularly read the 200 Plus history column know it’s time to ante up. For over 30 years, a year-end test has attempted to bring…
-
•December 22, 2021
Planning Your Holiday Surf Session and a ’21 Rewind
Well, five pop-up holiday marts, one sunny parade, 3 pounds of peppermint bark, six trips to the surf shop, a few conversations about Danner, Dasher and Omicron visiting and we’re already at the…
-
•December 20, 2021
Picking Perfect High-Flying Gift for Anglers; When Striper Decline Is What Nature Wants
Many Christmas columns back, I wrote about a lady who called me, desperately seeking my input about a gift she wanted to get for her hubby. I first figured she was another struggling shopper…
-
•December 15, 2021
Placing the Blame for Crash
The Camden & Amboy Railroad was the most powerful corporation in the state of New Jersey. In return for a 5-cent per passenger tax going to the state treasury, a monopoly had been granted on rail…
-
•December 9, 2021
Time, Tide Wait for No Man (Neither Does Santa)
’Twas the night after Thanksgiving when all through the little boroughs of Long Beach Island, we were bundling up in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there, arriving by a 20-foot center console.
-
•December 8, 2021
Horror on the Tracks
In the early 1800s, the New Jersey Legislature had granted a monopoly to the Camden & Amboy Railroad to link New York and Philadelphia in return for a tax to be collected on each rider. As a…
-
•December 8, 2021
About That Smile on Snowy Owl’s Face; Anglers Tend to Churn Things Up Year to Year
It’s hard to believe it has been an entire year since a year ago … as in right about now. If that makes thorough sense to you, you’re likely a regular to this column.
-
•December 7, 2021
Those Bites Aren’t What You Think; Scallops Surge Out of Budgetary Sight
SPIDER SCAPEGOAT: Let’s have some fun and talk about winter bites, itches and rashes. I’ll begin by relating the worst midwinter skin outbreak I have ever seen. It came about when a highly…
-
•December 1, 2021
Railroad Disasters Continue
The Camden & Amboy Railroad had been granted a monopoly by the New Jersey Legislature to link New York and Philadelphia across the state. Donald Sinclair explained in an article that appeared in a…
