Ocean'ili~ritage 703 Deal Road. Ocean, NJ ~1~f! Wit; @2"~,... ~ Vol. 27 • No 2 • May, 2011

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The Township of Ocean Historical Museum

TAKANASSEE EXHIBIT OPENS Those who come to rekindle fond memories Life-Saving Service. Its first station was of the Takanassee Beacb Club will not be uilt at andy Hook. at long after, another disappointed in the new exhibit opening in as set up at Takanassee beach. the West Gallery June 4 & 5. They will is lirst Takanassee station was a simple lind beach club photos and artifacts galore. shed, equipped with apparatus provided by But they will discover as well another life a the U.S. government. For decades, it-and this small strip of Long Branch oceanfront. all stations in tbe Service--were manned by Shipwrecks, Life-Saving, and the Story a volunteers. much like today's lire compa-Takanassee features beach club memorabil­ nies. By the 1870s. pressure mounted for a ia. But it also tells a fascinating tale of the professional Life-Saving Service-wltb treacherous nature of early sea travel, J' s versight, paId and trained crews, and well role 10 the country's response, and the hero­ maintamed equipment. As pan of this over-ism of Life Saving Station #5. Boat House Sketch haul, a new station was built at Takanassee in 1879­The three distinctive buildings that still stand at Takanassee and later two other structures, circa 1903. In 1915, the Life-beach were part of the U.. Life-S"ing ervice, created in Saving Service merged with the Revenue Marine Bureau to 1848 10 response to the alarm109 10 e of life and properly from fonn the U.S. Coast Guard, and Guardsmen continued for slup wrecked offour nation's shores-most notably along ew decades to operate out of Takanassee. Jersey's coast. Visitors to the exhibit will learn of the heroic deed of these NJ was the manner's nightmare-arguably the deadliest coast early life-savers. Take the tale of Annie and Charles Green, for in the world. It is said that if all the hIps wrecked along ilS instance. Charles, whose family had owned Takanassee beach expanse were laid end to end, the string of sunken hulls would and surrounds going back centuries, was one of the lirst of the stretch from Sandy Hook to Cape May. A deadly combination Takanassee "keepers." The bravery of his crew-and his of shallow and shifting shoals, trong m-shore currents, heavy wife-in rescumg the crew of the Adonis. run aground in a via-hip traffic. 'orth Atlantic storms, and primitive navigational lent stann in 1859, earned the Service's coveted Gold ~edal

and wcather forecasting tools together made the Jersey COasl the (the lirst and last ever gIven to a keeper's wife). "gra\Oyard of the Atlantic." The exhibit tells the story of Takanassee in this broader context.

o surprise, then. that the appeal for help came from a J Con- On di play are relics retrieved from local wrecks, the New Era gressman-William ewell (later governor). At his urging, the (1854), the Adonis (1859), the Rusland (1877). and the Pliny fcderal government appropriated funds to establish the U. . (1882). It is a fascinating legacy. Come see for yourself.

"PROHIBITION ON THE NORTH JERSEY SHORE, GANGSTERS ON VACATION" ______Tuesday, June 14, 7:15 pm at the Old tlOn", corne hear author, Manhew R. Linderoth, discuss the

Oakhurst School, 163 Monmouth Road, orth Jersey Shore's experience dunng th,s tumultuous lime. Oakhurst. Manhew Linderoth is a reSIdent of the orth Jerscy Shore. He Prohibition is perhaps the most unique law studies 2 I-century U. S. social history. He bolds a bachelor's enacted by the Unitcd States. There are few in history from Rutgers University and a master's in U. S. his­times in American history when the nation tory from Monmouth University. has experienced such a dramatic shift in The book will be available for sale at 19.99 each. Open to the character. After 13 years, Prohibition was public free of charge (donations are welcome). Please bnng repealed in 1933. but the nation and the non-perishable food for the MonmouthJOeean County Food Nonh Jersey Shore were no longer the Bank. Refreshments will be served. same. Based on hIS book, "Prohibition on the North Jersey Shore: Gangsters on Vaca­

A Message From The Happy Spring!

Spring is a time for change and here at the Township of Ocean HistoricolMuseum we have had a change that I would like to share with you. Our long standing President, Virginia Richmond, who has guided us and led us over the past ten years, has retired from her position. We are happy to report, that Virginia will stay on the Board as Corresponding Secretary. As the newly elected President of the museum, I would like to personally thank Virginia for her dedication and vision that transformed the museum to a place that the community con be proud to call their own. As I take on this opportunity, I would like to share with you the steps that led me here. I walked into the museum, when it was located on Monmouth Road in the Administration Building, looking to volunteer one day a month and what I found was a second home. The possionJrom the Founders and volun­teers soon found their way into my heart, and I was hooked. It was a small two room museum that worked like a well oiled machine. Schedules hung on the wall, quilters worked diligently on the quilt that would become our fillldraiser. Administration staff was fold­ing membership letters to be deliL'ered to the post office, event planning was taking place, and it was very excit­ing. Virginia was at the core of it all, always with a smile. My job was a docent, teaching our popular

lUKE BONENFANT, 1ST GRADE, WITH HIS STORY

Luke Bonenfant is a ftrst grade student from Mrs. Vetrano's class in Wayside Elementary School. He and his Mom have been frequent visitors to our Muse­um. Luke is a friendly, outgomg young boy \\ ho enjoy school and especially likes talking to hIs teacher. During one of his visits to the Museum. our De\\

Presidenl, Brenda Wityk suggested to Luke that he write a story ahout what it's like to be in ftrst grade. The photo

above shows Luke at the Museum. He is holding the story he wrole entitled, "What It's Like to Be in First Grade." He brought hIs story to the Museum and read it to the volunteers who were presenl that day. Luke's project was very well done and his reading skill quile supenor for his grade level. It was a unique and delightful experience for Luke and for his most interested audience.

"Third Grade Program" to elementary students in Ocean Township at the museum. The students were very excitedfor a field trip to the museum and asked a lot ofquestions, and I was happy to answer them. As a port ofthis well oiled machine, the Eden Woolley House was preparing to become our township museum. All hands on deck!! Did I mention that we are an all volun­teer organization? For the post four years, I have been the Museum Director at the Eden Woolley House, working closely with volunteers, running The Third Grade Program and helping with our wonderful events. This year to my surprise, I was asked and honored to be President of this wonderful institution. With the talented and committed Founders and volun­teers, some of the best examples that we could find that represent our township's past, along side ofme, I know we will go on to do great things. I am excited to be a port of the vision that will lead our museum in the next cycle ofgrowth.

If you find time in your schedule to stop by to see our exhibits, collections and research library, you will not be disappointed. Al o. keep your eye on our events cal­endar it is packed u'ith fun things to do and see, I hope to see you there!

Brenda Wityk, President

lIeather MacDonald, in period costume, demonstrates the eli· queue of the ran \\ith sfHral "olunteers who ""ere attending

the Museum Tea.

IN MEMORIAM

Anna Elizabeth Farry, age 103

by Marjorie Edelson

In a time when we can communicate instantly by cell phone or text messaging. when electricity and tech­nology make our work easier and put entertainment at our fingertips. when travel is easily accomplished w,th personal vehicles and public transponation. and when we can enjoy the advantage of indoor plumbmg and central healing, we forget how our ancestors Ii'ed in the centuries before u. But the Woolley House is an excellent teaching tool to make that hi tory come alive. When we cooduct tours of the Eden Woolley House we remind our visitors that the earliest part of the house dates back to the 1750·s. It was built by Thomas Woolley when this was still a British Colony. Thomas had 3 wives and II children who lived in the house. In 1830, Eden Woolley. a cousm. purchased the farm and added the larger secllon of the house. Eden's family owned the house untilu was sold 10

1926. Last July at the American Doll Tea at the \iuseum. we mtroduced the Woolley Sisters to our audience of children and their parents as a way of illustrating what life was like 10 the 1800s. We used a pall of 18 inch dolls in period dress to ponray the two daughters of Eden and Elizabeth Woolley who were born and grew up on the farm 10 the house that IS now our Museum. Mary Elizabeth was born 10 1836 and Sarah Louvenia in I 41. At the lime ofthell binh, the Woolley land was still Shrewsbury TownshIp. It was in 1849 that Shrews­

)10') Ind Sirah Woolie) doll .. . .'11 k h bury townshIp was dIVided and the eastern ponlOn became the TownshIp of Ocean. At that ttme the

"'. rna °e Boot er appearance. . . , . at the American Doll Tea in TownshIp extended from Sea Bnght south to Shark RIVer and west to mclude what IS now eptune.

July Eatontown, West Long Branch and Oceanpon. The Woolley sisters were there for the founding nf our Township and saw their father Eden Woolley

become one of the first elected comrnineemen to lead the new community. Lacking a municipal building or town hall the elected offi­cials held their public meetmgs in local tavern and inns. One of those buildings is still located on 10nmouth Road In Oakhurst at the foot of West Park Ave. The building before 1849 was known as the J.R. Conk Hotel and then became the OceanVIlle Inn 10 recogmllon of the new Township. Today that building houses a psychic and a locksmith shop. Mary and Sarah were both married by the age of 20. Mary married James Lippincott and had 4 children: Elisha Eden. Anna. George and Charles. Sarah married Benjamm Borden Hance and had four children: Asher. Elizabeth Ann. Susan Borden and Howard Irving. Sarah died at the age of 50 and Mary Ii,ed to be 77. Theil lives spanned 21 U.S. PreSIdents from Andrew Jackson to Woodrow Wilson and a nation that grew from 25 to 4 tates. The Woolley family and the house they built have been witnesses to the hIstory of this country. If only the walls could peak.

Flower ower useum recently held a mall fundraiser, selhng flowers for pring plantmg, Many thanks to all those wh

Icipated tn the plant sale. pecial thanks to one of our volunteers, bbey WIlson. a High chool freshm ho IS a tour guide on the second Sunday of each month. Abbey was the top volunteer sales person. Congrat lations Abbey and thank to all. The eight individuals who were able to sell flowers sold a total of 815.

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MUSEUM GETS COUNTY GRANT

The Township of Ocean Historical Museum was award­ed a preservation grant of $4.750 from the Monmouth County Historical Commission to be used towards restoration of the historic water tower. The water lower, located behind the Woolley Hou e and library. is being restored by an interested group of contractors, volun­teering their time and expertise. This grant along with a previous $1.000 donatinn from Ira Haupt II. will provide much needed funds to uppon this project. Our sincere thanks goes to the Monmouth County Historical Com­mISSIOn, the Monmouth County Freeholders and 10 Mr. Haupt. Another small part of Ocean Township's history is being saved.

Hat Cont~st \\inner!: L-R Dorh; Carroll, mosl original; "alerie lIlrii 50 prettiesl; Pal \\eber, most colorful; Mary Jane Suda. most

slylish; K~II) Po\\ers. 'Intag~ a\\ard.

Third American Doll and Teddy Bear Tea Party

Catherine Durocher and her fa"orite doll dressed as an Ocean cheer leader.

On Sunday, July 24th from I :00 to 3:30, children, dolls and teddy bears will take over the grounds of the Eden Woolley House for the third annual sum­mer afternoon tea party. This sellout event cele­brates the relationship of a child and their favorite doll or teddy bear. The children will make a craft for themselves and their doll or bear, show off their doll's or bear's outfit in a fashion show, listen to a story, and enjoy a tasty tea party. There will be doll and teddy bear collections to see, and a Doll Shop that will feature hand made clothes and accessories for dolls The rain date for the Tea Party is Sun., July 31 st. Children 5 years and older must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets are $25 for a parent and child, an additional child is $10. There is limited seating. Reservations are a must. Tickets will go on sale after June 1st. Call 732- 531-6040 or the Museum at 732­531-2136.

Longwood Gardens Christmas Display

A bus trip to see the holiday display at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA is planned for Wed., Dec. 7th. Trees hung with millions of brillant lights, dancing fountains, thousands of flowering plants, and special musical performances will put you in a holiday mood. Tickets are $65 and will include the bus, admission, and dinner. The bus will be depart­ing mid afternoon and returning late evening. There is limited seating so call the Museum to make a reservation at 732-531-2136.

September McCarthy and Nick Marchetti, talented vocalists at the Tea

reprinted from History MagaZine April/May 2002

Thimbles were probably developed 5,000 years ago. Thimbles dating from ancient Egypt have been found and a bronze thim­ble was excavated from Pompcii. The word thimble itself is derived from the Old English word thymel for thumb. Usually shaped like a bell and worn over one of the fingers, with pound marks so that the needle does not slip, thimbles have also been shaped as rings, exposing the fingertip for picking up thread, material or needles. Thimbles were made of leather, bone, wood, stone, ivory and various metals. Needles occasionally penetrated worn thimbles, so capped thimbles were created with stones such as amethyst. In the 1880s, Charles Homer patented a thimble that had a strong steel shell encased in silver, these thimbles are known as Dorcas thimbles and were very popular. In an inventory of Queen Elizabeth I's possessions, "a nedell case of cristall gamysshed with silver gilt, with twoo thimbles in it't is mentioned. Queen Elizabeth I gave her ladies- in-wait­ing a thimble. In the Victorian era, thimbles were given to women by men as engagement gifts because of the thimble's association with domestic duties. Social staoding was often shown by the quali­ty of the woman's thimble, china thimbles were beSI for work­ing with silk, brass ones were cheap and therefore plentiful. Some thimbles were made from gold or sliver and adorned with precious stones. Older thimbles are rare as they wear out, and as they were made of metal, they were often melted down for other uses. In Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 3 April 1663, he mentions Hugh Peler, minister and anny preacher during the English Civil War, stir­ring up the women of London during the Civil War to bring in their thimbles for the Parliamentary forces. In the mid-20th cen­tury, tens of thousands of thimbles were donated to the Silver

Thimble Fund, which funded various hospital projects. Today most thimbles are made of metal and plastic, while dec­orative thimbles, often made of porcelain, are collected by dig­itabulists. -VICTORIA KING

fAkr'II!f'lIl1ia! arlit dt5ymr-J Vir! By Marjorie Edelson

Icen ennla UI ID .. u.seum o.e<~,o'n •••­The year was 1976 and "Bicentennial Fever" was spreading across the country. The ladies of the Oakhurst PTA under the leadership of Terry Patterson planned a handmade Bicenteenial Quilt that would illustrate the history, the land marks and the natural areas of the Town­ship. Twenty one women stepped forward to design and stitch a picturesque block on her assigned topic. Other women quilted the red blocks with an oak leaf, an Indian head and a horse, to depict the three ections of town. Another team of sewers put the blocks together to complete the Ocean Township Bicentennial Quilt. The beautiful quilt was displayed around town and even­tually became the centerpiece of the newly formed Museum at the Oakhurst School in 1983. Sincc that time it was used in the Museum to teach the visiting third grade clas es the history of Ocean Township. Approxi­mately 7000 children learned about their town from the Bicentennial Quilt. Recently the quilt has been showing signs of age and wear and has been reserved for special occasions. How­ever, in celebration of its 35th birthday, the Bicentennial Quilt will hang in the "Our Town Gallery" in the Muse­um from September until after the holidays. A reunion celebration will be held on Sunday, Oct 2nd for the quil­ters who worked on this project and will be open to the public. The Bicentennial block quilters we have located are: Peggy Dellinger, Marjorie Edelson, Pat Grasso, Ro e­mary Gregory, Judy Hansen, Janice Hiers, Barbara Hop­pin, Lois Landis, Angie Mazza, Ginny Montedoro, Mary Anne Olson, Terry Patterson Freeman, ancy Sproat, Judy Smith, Anne Stiles, and Betty Willms. We have not located: Karen Dehaenen, Barbara Gilham, Joan McGrath, Lila Prezler, and Carolyn Tertzagian. Anyone with information about these quilter can call the Muse­um at 732-531-2136

C(f"{''IItJ7a!n,r!ar Looking Ahead, , ,

aturda~ and unda), June 4 and 5.1-4 pm, e" exhibit, Ship" reeks, Lifesaving, and

the StOI") ofTakan., sec" opens at the Eden "'oolley House.

Tuesda), June 13, ':15 p.m. Oakhurst School uditorium. Author, Matthew Linderoth,

\\ill present "Prohibition on the North Jerse) Shore, Gangsters on 'a....dtion." His book on this subject "ill be available for sale.

Sunday, July 24, 1- 3:30 pm. Third annual American 0011 and Teddy Bear Tea at the Eden Woolley House grounds "ith special e-"hibits inside. Rain date-July 31.

Tuesday, September 13, ':15 p.m. Oakhurst School auditorium. "'Vomen F1)ing into Histol") the 'omen 'r fore enice PHo s" (\\.A.S.P.) Former \ ..P., Bea Falk Ha~du "ith her first hand tories from the \\ \'11 era. Copies of her book, "Letters Home-\\omen Air force Senice Pilots" \\ill be available for ale.

Sunday, October 23. Third annual Ghost "alk at the Eden Woolley House. Rain date October 31.

Tuesday,. 'ovember I, :15 p.m. Oakhurst School auditorium." ew Jersey Civil War Odyssey" by Tom Burke.

Saturday and Sunda). Dec 3 & 4. Holiday E:"hibit Weekend at the Eden WooUey House.

Wednesday, Dec 7. Longwood Gardens Bus Trip. Holida) flower & light show, dinner, guided tour. Tickets $65.00. Call the museum for reserva­tions 732-531-2136.

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The Township of Ocean Historical Museum 2011 Member Application

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Please check the type of membership you prefer.

o Friends of the Museum $5000 0 Platinum Member $1000 +0 Gold Member $500 + o Silver Member $250 + 0 Benefactor $100 + 0 Patron $50 + o Supporter $25 + 0 Basic $15

Please check the Volunteer Activities that interest you.

o Historical Research o Public Relations o Group Tour Guide o Gardening o Collections & Acquisition o Quilting Group o Oral History o Restoration o 3rd Grade Ed. Program o Exhibit Preparation o Membership o Display o Grant preparation o Fund Raising o Office Work o Other

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