Columns
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•November 27, 2019
A Motorized Fin Could Make Surf Paddling Easier, But What’s the Point?
Earlier this month I got a promotional email from a fledgling company called Boost Surfing. Now to be honest, my first thought was a strange connection to Boost!, the super-sweet soft drink that came…
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•November 27, 2019
Huge Plans for Lakehurst Site
For most of World War I, the military operations at Camp Kendrick, in Lakehurst, had been kept secret because they dealt with the testing of chemical weapons. With the coming of peace, the operations…
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•November 27, 2019
Bring on Thanksgiving Striper, Pilgrim; Wildlife-Killing Ribbons Raining Down
I continue to stump for stripers as holiday fare, speaking of just-keeper bass in the 28- to 32-inch range. That is far(e) and away the best size to thoroughly savor. Anything larger and a slew of…
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•November 20, 2019
Four Mile Colony Starts in Pine Barrens
After years of being attacked by supporters of the science of eugenics, progressive politicians and a muckraking press describing the Jersey Pine Barrens as being an area filled with deviants…
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•November 20, 2019
Intracoastal Waterway Finally Getting Its Due Dredging; Completed Causeway Looking Good for All User Groups
We went from “Cold enough for ya?” to “Windy enough for ya?” Perish the thought of adding “Snowy enough for you yet?” How about “Is this warm weather weird enough for ya?” I’m still banking on some…
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•November 13, 2019
How Many Pairs of Boots Do You Need to Live in the LBI Region?
Being this is November and you’re reading a surf column, common sense would suggest we’re talking about wetsuit boots. And yes, it is time for those. It might be time for gloves, too, the way fall…
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•November 13, 2019
Colonies for ‘Defectives’ Proposed
As 1913 came to an end, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the law that empowered the state to sterilize criminals and those the government deemed defective. This law had been aimed…
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•November 12, 2019
When Wild Turkeys Attack; Presenting Perfect Holiday Bass
Up in the Berkeley section of Ocean County, Yankees then Mets ballplayer Todd Frazier is being attacked by wild turkeys. All right, maybe he isn’t being attacked as much as unholily harassed, but…
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•November 6, 2019
Is Forced Sterilization Constitutional?
In the early 1900s, the people of the New Jersey Pine Barrens were labeled as outcast deviants and criminals. As such they came under attack from the science of eugenics and its supporters in the…
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•November 6, 2019
Mighty Nate Hasn’t Struck Out at Tee-Ball; Stripers Showing No Love Toward Surfcasters
I’ve been forcing a bit of surfcasting optimism out of myself by going around humming the surfcasting LBI ditty “The Stripers Will Come Out Tomorrow,” sung in the fashion of that little girl who…
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•October 30, 2019
Miss Kite’s Influence Widespread
The people living in the New Jersey Pine Barrens were under attack from the science of eugenics and the Progressive politicians of the day. In June 1913, the Trenton Times reported from a Michigan…
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•October 30, 2019
A Guide to How ‘Not’ to Start Your Winter in the LBI Region
We do a lot of comparing of winter to summer around here. It seems local conversations always come back to the extremes of these two seasons- the desolation of winter vs. the madhouse of summer.
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•October 29, 2019
Poacher Gets Fried in Court; Balloon Wash-ups Hit Milestone
NOW, THAT’S A FINE!: A recent SandPaper story told of some poached diamondback terrapins. No, notpoached as in slowly cooked. These were terrapins involved in what was likely the largest bust of its…
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•October 23, 2019
Mutated Mosquitoes on the Horizon and Breaking Down Skunk Swells
Not sure if you caught the news this week, but National Public Radio did a really interesting piece on a controversial project of mutating mosquitoes.
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•October 23, 2019
New Governor Addresses Piney Situation
Beginning in 1912, the people of the New Jersey Pine Barrens were under attack and faced extermination. It didn’t come from an enemy army or disease, but from the modern science of eugenics and the…
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•October 22, 2019
When Cussin’ Becomes Too Damn Much; Sorting Out What Makes Atmosphere Go Gonzo
MANN OVERBOARD: Do you curse your ass off? I’m talking about loosing a ton of crude cusses, per day; countless per annum. Is your language inevitably saturated with enough verbal vulgarity to incur…
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•October 16, 2019
Selling Babies, Trading Wives
Until November 1912, 48-year-old Elizabeth Kite was a little-known, European-educated social worker from Philadelphia who was working for the state of New Jersey. On the 25th, the Los Angeles Times…
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•October 16, 2019
Our New Unofficial Slogan, ‘Never a Dull Moment,’ as Week Presents Highs and Lows
There are several slogans that LBI has used over the years.
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•October 15, 2019
A Storm By Any Other Name; Timing Your Exit From LBI
Well, are we done yet? I’m speaking of post-season events on LBI, even rained-out ones.
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•October 9, 2019
Eugenics Sterilization Becomes NJ Law
In the spring of 1911, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill that was signed into law by Gov. Woodrow Wilson saying, “WHEREAS, Heredity plays a most important part in the transmission of…
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•October 9, 2019
Halloween Hassles and a Spooky Nor’easter For LBI
So is Chowderfest the new Labor Day or what? Seems like we had an extra month of summer and now things are finally slowing down. Who’s hosting the blinking lights party? I don’t expect to see my…
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•October 9, 2019
Being a Nuisance Is Part of Nature; Awaiting Another Week of Windage
One of my favorite reads is the monthly report of wildlife-related nuisance calls to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. The list is the enumerating, by species, of complaints born of wildlife and…
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•October 2, 2019
Law Targets ‘Feeble-Minded, Rapists’ and More
With the coming of the 20th century a new progressive scientific theory called eugenics was sweeping the country and attaining almost cult-like status. Coupled with a political movement of the day…
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•October 2, 2019
The ‘Serf’ Column: LBI’s Move to Medieval Feudalism; Plus Good Swell, Bad Winds
Don’t you wish there was just a giant pause button you could put on the seasons? As some of the leaves are just starting to lose their pigment, we’re still enjoying an almost second summer as we…
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•October 2, 2019
Trouble in Holgate High Grasses; Bluefish Should Get Angler Love
DE-FOXING TO SAVE PLOVERS: I got a scathing phone call from a gal fully infuriated after getting word that lethal means are being used to eliminate foxes from the Holgate Wilderness Area, part of the…
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•September 25, 2019
Perils of Science in the Pines
Today we’re told to have faith in science, that it deals with facts and that citizens and governments should base their decisions on what scientists have said. There was a time when science turned…
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•September 25, 2019
A Tale of Two Swells and Skate Park Talk (Again)
Every few years we have this talk and frankly I can’t believe we’re still having it. It seems a new generation of kids has become the latest to take up the fight for a local skatepark.
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•September 25, 2019
A New Taste Treat Comes Off Everyday Fish; Laternflies Will Be Sneaking Into the County
Having spent many a decade behind the spatula, I like to think of myself as more than your flash in the pan seafood cook. I also pride myself on culinary experimentation. That said, this fall I might…
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•September 18, 2019
Why the Sharpie Was So Silly and Could Have Been Serious
There was a time that things like hurricanes didn’t split up the American people. If you recall, we all get along pretty well after storms wallop us. But that’s not the case these days.
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•September 18, 2019
Poisonous Secrets in the Pines
World War I ended in 1918. Most Americans wanted to move on and forget rationing, the draft, chemical weapons and international affairs. The Lakehurst Chemical proving grounds were sold to the Navy…
