Columns
-
•February 6, 2019
Just Call Me ‘J,’ Grandmother; A Very Confused Polar Vortex
JUST KIDDING, TOM: I’m proud to have been raised on the beach, where, as a small child, the local Native American tribe would see me joyously frolicking in the foam with the sandcrabs, burying myself…
-
•January 30, 2019
Grenade Catch Makes Magnet Angler Hungry; Taste of Fame for Man’s Kelp Broth
FIRE IN THE HOLE!: This is one of those only-in-America tales, weirdness-wise. I can do the story no better immediate justice than the opening sentence from an Orlando Sentinel article. “A fisherman…
-
•January 30, 2019
Coming Down to the Wire
When the founders drafted the Constitution, they made it possible to amend it but ensured it wouldn’t be an easy process. Two thirds of both Houses of Congress are needed just to propose an amendment…
-
•January 23, 2019
Baiting Up for Fungusfish Fingers; When Selfies Take on an Ugly Face
FUNGUSFISH FINGERS … TO GO: Ya ever hear of fungusfish? Mark my words, you haven’t! Still, it’s becoming one of the most popular non-species fish in Europe, where it’s destined to be a surprise hit…
-
•January 23, 2019
A Ridiculous Look at All the Local Development Lately
At the end of every year, my colleague here at The SandPaper, Rick Mellerup does an exhaustive round-up of the biggest stories of the last12 months. The topics dominating the news were what you’d…
-
•January 23, 2019
Watchfires Burn in Washington
As the cold temperatures of January 1919 settled in, an epic showdown between two New Jersey icons was taking place. The state’s former governor, now U.S. president Woodrow Wilson was in France…
-
•January 16, 2019
Fight for Women’s Suffrage Continues
From the day former New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson was sworn in as president of the United States, he had engaged in a battle of wills with another New Jersey powerhouse, Alice Paul. The issue…
-
•January 16, 2019
Lunar Eclipse Worth Not Seeing; Great Groin of Holgate to Soon Rise
The weekend saw the Island tally almost 4 inches of white stuff, at least in my nape of the spit. That’s plenty enough snow for the entire winter. Admittedly, I’ve grown as bah and humbugged as it…
-
•January 9, 2019
May Peace Prevail When Beach Smoke Clears; Pipeline Tunneling Begins Beneath Barnegat Bay
SNUFF IT: As of here and now, the state of New Jerseyprohibits smoking of any ilk on all beaches and within state parks. Even smoking on the walkways to/from beaches is verboten.
-
•January 9, 2019
Crime Drops With the Temp and a Wonderful Winter Thus Far
Happy New Year. Boy, was Monday morning cold!
-
•January 9, 2019
Did You Pass or Fail?
Welcome back to the pages of The SandPaper. After two long, wet weeks, it looks like this might be the year without a winter. Before we begin the New Year, which will focus on attempts 100 years ago…
-
•December 19, 2018
Black Soldier Flies Could Make Us Insectivores; The Time Everyday ‘Fish’ Sold for $1,020,000
DON’T BUG ME: I’m a proud pescatarian, going on 50 years now. That technically means I rely on fish as my prime protein. By proper and permissible extension, I can also savor seafood of many a sort…
-
•December 19, 2018
The Test: Were You Paying Attention?
It’s hard to believe it’s been 12 months since The SandPaper took its annual two-week vacation, but it has. This means, of course, the time is here for the annual “200 Plus” year-end test. There will…
-
•December 12, 2018
Whacked-Out Snowy Owl Fallout; Tracking a Possible Bobcat Presence
SNOWY OWL SCAT: It’s hard to think of royal snowy owls as whack-o magnets, but they have become that for me. Without fail, so much as mentioning them in here looses some bird brains. My daring…
-
•December 12, 2018
Ships Bottom Station’s Unusual Recruit
In the early 20th century, what is today Ship Bottom was part of an unnamed, deserted stretch of the New Jersey barrier island known as Long Beach. During January 1903, the U.S. Life-Saving Service…
-
•December 12, 2018
If the Holidays Have Become a Competition, It’s Already Been Won
I’ll just come out and say it: “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is an annoying song. If that chick was from LBI, she would have a fleece-lined flannel, a good Patagonia jacket and some solid boots. When she…
-
•December 5, 2018
Heroes of Life Saving Station 20
During a gale on the night of Jan. 20, 1903, the barkentine Abiel Abbott grounded on the bar off what is today Ship Bottom. Within hours, keeper Isaac Truex and his crew from lifesaving station…
-
•December 5, 2018
Snowy Owls Act as Gateway Wildlife; Mind-Boggling Nights Beneath Sputnik 1
Last week, I got some fine ganders at much-beloved snowy owls, arriving here on wintery winds. I saw two of them down Holgate way, both females, which have more flecks of black on their snowy…
-
•November 28, 2018
Welcoming Back the Original NJ Fishermen; CHANJ Seeks to Get Nature Together Again
WELCOME, LENAPE: Just a quick and highly-belated welcome officially home to the state’s 3,000-member Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation. The Lenape were the first of NJ’s “local” fishermen, dating…
-
•November 28, 2018
Lifesavers Tackle Impossible Task
In early January 1903, newspapers across the nation published stories about the heroic lifesavers from U.S. Lifesaving Service station number 20 at Ship Bottom, and their daring rescue of the crew of…
-
•November 28, 2018
Three Great Swells In a Row Make It Worth All the Struggle of Being a New Jersey Surfer
Welcome back. Hope everyone had a good holiday and didn’t have to notch any new holes in their belts.
-
•November 21, 2018
‘Ships Bottom’ Shipwreck Confusion
In January 1903, several events took place on Long Beach Island that helped to inspire a series of stories and a book that would create much of what is known as “the lure of Long Beach.” Winter on…
-
•November 21, 2018
Oh, So Close Is a Good Thing; Bad Bassing Leads to Poachers
The clock is ticking down, signaling the need to rush out and nab a Thanksgiving striped bass.
-
•November 14, 2018
Peace Finally Declared in Europe
During the early days of November 1918, as word from the Western front was encouraging, Americans began to think of victory and, more importantly, peace and the end of the carnage. Still, the war…
-
•November 14, 2018
Lady Liberty Could Be Repurposed Down Arizona Way; A Day of Serious Surf Stripering Gets Classic Hopping
MANN OVERBOARD: I’m really not into all this illegal immigrant controversy, though I probably should be. My mailed-in spit indicates I have Native American blood coursing through my otherwise mongrel…
-
•November 14, 2018
Man, Did It Feel Good to Surf In Cedars Again
Surfing has always been something of an adhesive culture.
-
•November 7, 2018
Last Big Push ‘Over There’
In November 1918, the eyes of the nation were fixed on a section of France called the Meuse-Argonne, and here American Doughboys were taking part in the final drive to end World War I. For thousands…
-
•November 7, 2018
Here’s Hoping We Can Help the Limulus; LBI’s Surf Bassing Has Hit the Crapper
Imagine enduring on Earth for some hundreds of millions of years only to suddenly be catastrophically put upon by a beast more dangerous than any of the planetary extinction events you’ve survived.…
-
•October 31, 2018
High-Energy Debate Over Electrical Fishing Methods; Good Thing That Storm Was a One-Day Fast’easter
This is a mildly but effectively shocking story regarding a commercial fishing method that’s all the buzz in Europe. As we ponder humanely buzzing lobsters with cannabis before boiling, folks abroad…
-
•October 31, 2018
War’s End Draws Near
The 78th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army was nicknamed “The Lightning Division,” but some people called it “Jersey’s Own.” It was made up of men mainly from New Jersey and New York and had been…
