Columns
-
•August 23, 2017
First Draft Heading to Camp Dix
As the summer of 1917 was beginning to wind down, American preparations for war were gearing up. Camp Dix in Wrightstown, N.J., was preparing to accept and train a large part of the million-man army…
-
•August 16, 2017
Camp Dix Rises in Wrightstown
In August 1917, like a giant bear awakening from hibernation, the United States began its transformation from the freedom of peace to the regimentation of wartime. When there had been no rush to join…
-
•August 9, 2017
Espionage Act Affects Free Press, Suffragists
The summer of 1917 can be remembered as one of the darkest pages in the history of American civil liberties. It began when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act on June 15, part of which…
-
•August 8, 2017
Bad Duck Days in Stafford Lagoons; The Bay Like Never Before
DEAD DUCKS AND ISLAND ROLLOVER: Geological forces are bad asses. In the whole-ball-of-wax picture, the Third Rock from the Sun is pretty much at the utter mercy of how the world turns, geologically…
-
•August 2, 2017
First Numbers Drawn for Military Draft
The United States had gone to war in April 1917, with patriotic speeches and slogans. Four months later, the reality of war was beginning to sink in. Because few men had rushed to enlist, the nation…
-
•August 1, 2017
Ubering, Sidestepping the Mob; Keep Perspective in Dangerous Night Dip
MY ANNUAL SHUTTLE THANKS: LBI’s free shuttle bus service is the greatest single amenity I’ve ever seen offered on Long Beach Island. OK, so maybe it’s theonly amenity I’ve ever seen offered on the…
-
•July 25, 2017
Man ‘Saves’ Dogfish in Time for ‘Shark Week’; Rain in Buckets Can’t Kill Drought
How about that 30-foot shark that some daring man grabbed – and rescued – in the shallows of Beach Haven?
-
•July 19, 2017
Wilson Falters on Women’s Suffrage
While American troops were being sent to France “to make the world safe for democracy,” closer to home in Washington, D.C., a battle in that crusade was being fought. On Bastille Day 1917, New Jersey…
-
•July 18, 2017
Neck-deep in Eelgrass Mat History; No ‘Mr. Nicestop’ for Tinted-Window Types
Weekend surfcasters met with one of the largest eelgrass washups in manyZostera moons.Zostera is the sci-term used by technical-types when talking eelgrass. Its entire Latinly name is Zostera marina.
-
•July 12, 2017
Wrightstown’s Farmland Transformed for War
In July 1917, the landscape of New Jersey and the nation was undergoing major changes both physically and politically. In order to train the 1 million-man army needed to fight in the trenches of…
-
•July 12, 2017
Going Olfactory-Free to Melt Away Those Beige Fat Cells; Copious Kingfish Could Be Moving in After a Long Absence
I need you to put on your ponder caps, jacking up your sense of ponderment. The term for this heightened sense of pondering is ponderiferous … or at least it is now.
-
•July 5, 2017
The Inglorious Fourth of 1917
The Fourth of July is always celebrated with fireworks, but in 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson decided to crack down on dissent, the fireworks took place in the streets and courtrooms. Moorestown…
-
•July 4, 2017
An All-time Weekend That Was; Little Egg Inlet Still Mired in Muck
NOW YOU KNOW!: When it comes to FAQs, nothing has come my way more than, “Jay, What the hell is the real speed limit on the Causeway?”
-
•June 27, 2017
Women, the Press and U.S. Government
As July 4, 1917 approached, American troops were preparing to take part in the bloody slaughter on the Western Front in Europe, while back home two women were waging their own battles against the…
-
•June 21, 2017
War Abroad, Trouble at Home
In June 1917, the United States was raising, training and equipping an army to go to Europe “to make the world safe for democracy.” At the same time, at home it was facing one of the greatest…
-
•June 12, 2017
Quaker Acres Turned Toward War
In June 1917, the United States had officially been at war for just over two months. President Woodrow Wilson had called for a 1-million-man army, and as men registered for the draft, New Jersey was…
-
•June 7, 2017
Two Women Against the President
Two women, Emma Goldman and Alice Paul, were causing President Woodrow Wilson and the United States government major headaches, and in June 1917 it was decided to silence them. Goldman was a…
-
•June 6, 2017
A Countdown to LBI ‘Localness’; When Hungry Sea Lions Get Grabby
“What does it take to be a local on Long Beach Island?”
-
•May 31, 2017
Response to Dissent Gets Vigorous
When progressive Democratic President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war “to make the world safe for democracy” in April 1917, he set in motion a chain of events that would change…
-
•May 24, 2017
Registration Fighters Go to Jail
For almost a month the U.S. government-run Committee on Public Information had issued dozens of stories preparing American men for the great registration day, June 5, 1917. The idea put forth was…
-
•May 17, 2017
Communing With Sea Creatures, Bad Tattoos, Blue Hues and Great May Waves
In addition to addressing swells, tides, wind and results from the women’s 25- to 45-year old 12-foot elite paddleboard division at the latest race, Liquid Lines is a great place to poke fun at…
-
•May 17, 2017
NJ Fights for Military Training Camp
As May 1917 was coming to an end, the biggest questions raised by the declaration of war on Germany were about to be answered. Would Americans volunteer to be drafted into the Army to fight in the…
-
•May 10, 2017
Draft Day Meets Some Resistance
Mid-May 1917 saw preparations for America’s participation in World War I rapidly progressing. June 5 had been set aside by President Woodrow Wilson for American males to step forward and register to…
-
•May 3, 2017
Making World ‘Safe for Democracy’
Fighting a modern war with the slogan “Make the world safe for democracy” would prove to be a double-edged sword for President Woodrow Wilson and the U. S. government. On April 16, 1917, just 10 days…
-
•April 26, 2017
April 1917: The Nation Prepares for War
Even before the declaration of war on Germany on April 6, 1917, preparations were being made that would affect the lives of most Americans. The first was the formation of a quasi-official band of…
-
•April 19, 2017
The U.S. Declares War on Germany
Even before President Woodrow Wilson went before Congress on April 2, 1917, asking for a declaration of war against Germany, in Ocean County preparations were being made for the upcoming conflict.…
-
•April 12, 2017
World War I Comes to America
It has been said by many that 1917 marked the end of innocence for America and its citizens. The year had begun optimistically; the vast majority of Americans who paid federal income taxes fell into…
-
•April 5, 2017
Ending Mistake of Prohibition
Two of the greatest influences shaping American’s opinion on Prohibition, which took effect in 1920, were economic and moral. Before World War I, most of the federal government’s revenues came from…
-
•April 5, 2017
Duck Puts Cat Lives to Shame; Doing Alligator Meat Taste Test
THE DUCK THAT DIDN’T DUCK … OR DIE: Bear with me as I tell the simple, quasi-sad story of a now-dead but once dead-then-not-dead duck, specifically a female Canada ring-neck duck, which was killed…
-
•March 29, 2017
Secret Hearings Brought to Light
Throughout the summer of 1926, the Coast Guard stations on LBI were the location of a series of secret federal trials. Members of the Coast Guard were accused of taking bribes to allow rum runners to…
