Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 22

ASBURY PARK SUNDAY PRESS (THE SHORE PRESS), MARCH 20, 1949 22 Ardena Residents -Monmouth in the Making- Winter Storm ofl894Drove Development of Shore as Summer Resort 3 Craft Aground Along Coast I Started at Long Branch 150 Years Ago wave bore him to within 20 feet of one of his would-be rescuers but he was again drawn backward and then, as if struck by a piece of the wreckage, floated away with the current, face downwards. TJRIOR TO THE WRECKING of the Kate Markee, however, men of the Squan Beach station had discovered another vessel aground one-quarter mile northeast of their station. It was the three-masted schooner Albert W. Smith and was seen at 4:15 with her mizzen and mainmast gone and her hull hard aground. The vessel's yawl was found upon the beach and no sign of life was observed on the ship.

An attempt to lay a line over the schooner resulted in failure when the high winds carried the line to leeward. Before a second shot could be made the vessel went to pieces and the fate of her crew, who may have either washed overboard at sea or perished in an attempt to land in their yawl, became unknown. At 9 o'clock on the evening of the 11th, a third schooner, the I Susan II. Ritchie, struck a point one-quarter mile north of the Bay Head station and about 100 feet offshore. She had been anchored to ride out the storm and was drag-King her way southward under the force of the winds at the time she struck.

Several lines had been laid over the vessel but there was no apparent move made by those on board to draw in the hawser for the breeches buoy. This being the case, the men of the Bay Head and Man-' toloking stations stood by until dawn came. In the early morning of April 12, the buoy put in operation, The eight-man crew of the chip then rode the buoy to the beach and were taken to the Bay Head station, where they remained for 28 days. The $13,500 cargo of oak timber was salvaged by the efforts of life-saving crews and the men who had been rescued. the vessel.

In order to set up a breeches buoy, met with failure as the line broke when the gun was fired. The second firing of the gun sent a line whizzing over the ship, lodging it within easy reach of the sailors aboard. OUT THEN the unexplained hap-pened. No one aboard made a move toward the line. The only movement on the boat was made by a man who left his perch in the shrouds of the mizzen mast (the aftermost of the vessel) to gain a better place of security.

Descending to the rail, he was seen to pause awaiting a favorable opportunity, and then run to the forecastle, stepping directly over the line that provided the only pos sible means for him and his com panions to escape. After observing this action, the keeper directed that another shot be fired from the gun. This time the line, according to the report, could not have been placed in a better position without being ac tuaiiy placed into the seamen hands. Again it was shunned and shortly after the masts fell and all but one man, the one who had changed his refuge to the fore castle, went to their deaths. Altho he was swept overboard when the foremast went by-the board, he seemed to be the only one with sufficient strength left to attempt a final struggle for his life.

In a surf filled now with debris, the man began a battle that for a short while raised the hopes of the surfmen, who had waded waistf deep in an attempt to either grasp him or throw him a line. Swimming strongly, the seaman appeared to reacji a point where he could stand neck deep in the water only to be swept off again by the strong current. An incoming edge of the beach for the convenience of bathing." The property was owned in 1806 by Chandler and Brinley, who sold it in that year to Joshua Bennett, who enlarged it sufficiently to accommodate 250 patrons. The property was sold at sheriff's sale in 1815. Three days afterwards it was destroyed by fire.

The land was subsequently covered by the ocean. The first proprietor of the Monmouth house, built in 1848, "was Abner H. Reed. It was afterwards owned by Enoch Hendrickson and still later by Austin James. The Mansion house was built in 1846 by Jacob W.

Morris, who sold to Samuel Laird. Mclntyre and Gow-try later became the owners. It was partly destroyed by fire Dec. 19. 1884.

The Metropolitan hotel, blown down twice before it was completed, was opened for the season of 1854 by Joseph H. Cooper and Michael M. Van Dyke. Afterwards it was sold to Dr. Arthur V.

Conover of Freehold. The hotel was destroyed by fire April 25, 1876 and was soon afterwards rebuilt and named the Hotel Brighton. The residence of Dr. Elisha Parker was, in, 1846, remodeled into a 100-room hotel which was destroyed by fire in 1866. TOHN SLOCUM was one of the earliest landowners in that part of Shrewsbury township now comprising Long Branch.

He was one of the associate patentees and came to Monmouth county along with Joseph and Peter aPrker and Eliakim Wardell. In May, 1668, all four subscribed to the oath of allegiance to the English king, the heading of which was: "The names of the inhabitants of Midleton upon Nauesink that doe subscribe to the oath of Aleagance to the King and Fidelitie to the Lords Proprietors." Years ago it was related by Judge William H. Slocum of Oceanport how, according to tradition, John Slocum, his ancestor, secured the Indian title to his lands. It was arranged with the Indians, so the story goes, that Slocum should engage in a wrestling bout with one of the savages noted for his strength and skill, the stake to be a certain amount of land "north of the main road from Eatontown to the sea." Slocum won and the land thus acquired remained in the Slocum family for a great many years. In 1683 John Slocum was foreman of the county grand Jury, chief ranger of Monmouth and one of the commissioners for laying out roads.

Long Branch as it was in the year 1819 is described in Niles' Register of that year as follows: "The company at this salubrious retreat is represented to be never numerous and respectable this season. The New York Advocate says that there is a kind of military or naval regulation there which strangers often contravene from Spotswood Legion To Elect Officers SPOTSWOOD. Annual election of officers will be held at a meeting of Spotswood Memorial post. Veterans of Foreign Wars, at the Community house tomorrow eight. Nominations were made at a previous meeting and at present there are two candidates for the office of commander, David Feldbaum and George Kohlepp.

There are also two nominees for quartermaster, Harvey Cottrell and Everett Cantora. Other offices are expected to be uncontested. 1 The post will also complete plans for a public card party to be held at the Community house, Friday uighf, March 25. The committee in charge includes Charles Kohlepp, Robert Nash and Vincent Kinlin. A meeting of the recently-reorganized Women's auxiliary of the Spotswood fire department will be held at the firehouse.

Monday at 8 p.m. The president, Mrs. John P. Larkin, will be in charge of the busines session and Mrs. Herbert R.

Denton and Mrs. Francis Galmiche will be hostesses. There will be a meeting of the lions club at the Community house, Monday night. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m. by women of the Reformed church.

A Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal will be held at Immaculate Conception church, Monday at 7:30 p.m. Edward D. Uuderhill, former boro tax collector, and Charles H. DeVoe, boro assessor, celebrated their birthday anniversaries on St. Patrick's day with a party at the former's home on Main street.

VISIT THE NEW Thrifty Food Mart, Inc. Quality Meat Select Groceries Fresh Fruits Vegetables Dairy Foods Thrifty Food Mart, Inc. Ctr. St. and 6th Btlmar IFEJKBIHnC SALES 100 SAFETY RECORD Privata Pilat's Coma Conmarcial Pilat's Caarsa FHjht lastraoter's Caarsa lastriment Ratine CAA Veteran Approved School Asbury Park Airport OAKHURST, N.

J. Phone: Deal 7-1097; A. P. 1-0765W; A. P.

-0894 ASK Your Neighbor About By JACK SUMMERS (Seventh in Series on Early Days of Life-Saving Service Along New Jersey Coast) 1HIE TAIL END of a late winter storm that had left the Boston area covered by heavily-drifted snow and was said to have been the worst to strike the North Atlantic coast in 20 years, with the exception of the March blizzard of '88, blasted the Monmouth shores with near hurricane force on April 11 and 12, 1894. Of the many vessels imperiled by the whistling east and northeast winds, three came ashore during that period in which it raised gen eral havoc thruout the entire in land Shore area. The wreck known to have cost the greatest loss of life was that of the Kate Markee, a schooner loaded with paving stones, which was stranded in the heavy surf Vt miles south of the Spermacettl Cove station and went to pieces with all hands aboard. The fact that the Kate Markee's seven-man crew met death before the eyes of those on shore was not, however, the fault of the U. S.

Life- Saving service crews, but rather an unexplained circumstance, the reason for which was never found. Seen by Surf man Bound from Fall River, to Philadelphia, the three masted schooner was first sighted at 7:45 a.m. on April 11 by a surf man on patrol, who notified the station keeper. Observing the course of the vessel and thereby anticipat ing her grounding, the station crew hitched up its aparatus cart and was on its way to the scene before the actual wreck occurred. With the wind at their backs.

the crew had covered about three-fourths of a mile when the schooner struck near what was then known as 'The Wash," a low spot where ocean waters some times crossed the beach to the! Shrewsbury river. When the life-savers arrived a few minutes later, she lay about 150 yards from shore with the top of her cabin torn off and furniture and- fittings washing about in the surf. The ship's crew was distributed about in the rigging holding fast as the waves broke over the vessel. Quickly setting up their Lyle gun, the crew began rescue efforts. The first attempt to lay a line over Standard Gauge Reg.

$2.50 Sq. Yd. INSTALLATION EXTRA iMMIUW INLAID LINOLEUM o3 "Serving ICE FUEL L. B. 6-5151 A.

P. PUCDAL: Mark Anniversary (Special to the Sunday Prets) ARDENA. Mr. and Mrs. John B.

Donahay were honored at a surprise party in honor of their wedding anniversary. Guests included Mr. and Mrs. Charles Heynlger of Spring Lake, Mr. and Mrs.

Arthur Halpin, Mr. and Mrs. J. Stanley Huff, the Misses Betty Ann, Patricia Jane and Marilyn Huff, Mr. and Mrs.

Jesse C. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Richards, Clifford Ray Richards, Mr. and Mrs.

J. Wilbur Huff, Miss Phyllis Ann Huff, Miss Ida Huff, Mrs. Althea Donahay, Mrs. R. G.

Richards, Mr. and Mrs. Niblett. Borden Donahay. Ida Donahay and Miss Edna Huff.

Mrs. Charles W. Patterson entertained members of the Helping Hand society at her home Wednesday night. Those present were Mrs. John B.

Donahay, Mrs. Walter Merrick. Miss Ida llufT, Mrs. Jcsao C. Smith, Miss Edna Huff, Mrs.

J. Adam Dornbeacher, Mrs. William C. Patterson, Mrs. Bernard Shrubb, Mrs.

R. G. Richards, Mrs. Charles W. Patterson, Mrs.

Alfin Gustav-sen, Mrs. George C. Decker, Mrs. Barbara Patterson. Mrs.

George L. Wait and Mrs. Albert Bollmeyer. Mr. and Mrs.

Walter S. Van Hise have returned home after spending the past five weeks in Florida. William S. Bennett and daughter, Annette, of East Paterson, were recent guests of Mr. and Mrs.

Samuel S. Bennett. Abram Mogin is erecting a large poultry house on his farm at Fairfield Station. Mrs. Melvin Huff is ill at her home.

Mrs. Bernard Shrubb visited Mr. and Mrs. Richmond Garrett in Washington recently. Her grandson, Richard Gordon Shrubb, returned here with her and will spend several months with his grandparents.

Miss Velma Bennett spent last weekend with her brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. John Bennett, Bound Brook. Electric Eel Finds Way Thru 'Radar9 NEW YORK. (iP) Electric eels seem to have some strange electrical "radar" to find their way despite poor eyesight.

C. W. Coates, curator and aquar-ist of the New York Aquarium, told about it in displaying some electric eels to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. The electric eels come from tropical "South America. They grow four to seven feet long, and can develop a wallop of 600 volts.

Sometimes they kill horses or cattle. But they all have poor eyesight. It may be due to damage from its own shocks, or those of its fellows, Coates said. The eel lives in murky swamp water, but can find living things quickly and easily. It can locate a wall placed in the water, or an electrical discharge.

It apparently does it by an apparatus that works on the principle of radar, Dr. Coates said. Radar sends out high-frequency radio pulses, and records the echoes bouncing back from a target. When the electric eel tries to locate something, one -of its three "batteries" or electrical organs starts discharging, sending out electrical pulses. The rate increases as it gets more excited.

And the fish seems to have some kind of receptor organs, other than its eyes or ears or nose, to find its "target," Dr. Coates added. These seem to be located in enlarged pores around the eel's head. "We have been unable to find anything of particular interest beneath these pores, so far. But if they are removed or insulated, the fish does not seem able to find its way about.

It would almost seem as if these are the receiving end of an electric finding apparatus." The electric eel is not an eel at all, but is shaped like one, and hence its name. Its electricity is chemically produced. It is one of half a dozen kinds of electrical fish now living. Nineteen hundred years ago, one physician made patients with gout stand on an electric fish "until the foot and leg up to the knee had become numb." Today, study of how the eel creates and transmits electricity promises to help in understanding "the chemical-electric action of r.erve impulses in humans. 1949-JOE MASICK 1broad Street wds oa or I rur (Twenty-Fifth of a Series) By ALVIN B.

CLIVER DEVELOPMENT of the Monmouth county seacoast as a place for tourists and other summer residents had its inception at Long Branch more than 150 years ago. Long Branch, or "The Branch" as it was known in the early days, was for many years the most popular watering place in America, rivaling the charms of Newport and the luxurious attrac tiveness of Saratoga Springs. Its fame and glory faded with the closing of the Monmouth Park race track back in the 90 following passage by the legislature of an act that abolished horse racing in the state. Incidentally, it was the vote of James A. Bradley, founder of Anbury Park and a Republican state senator, tht carried the measure.

Proprietorship of the land now comprising the coast area at Long Branch is credited to Ebenezer Wardell, a descendant of Eliakim Wardell, one of the earliest Monmouth settlers and one of its associate patentees, who sympathized with the British and had his land confiscated. It was the residence of Ebenezer Wardell that was first used as a boarding place at Long Branch. This was in the summer of 1788, soon after the close of the Revolutionary war. Many years passed before Long Branch attained appreciable standing as a summer resort. In the be ginning it was mostly Philadelphia folks who were attracted by its gently shelving bathing beach which stretched hundreds of feet eastward from the 20-foot high shore bluffs.

Soon the strand at Long Branch began to be regarded as the safest bathing place along the Jersey coast and its fame as a watering place began to spread. By the turn of the century several houses had been erected along the bluffs. In March, 1828, a company was formed for the purpose of establishing a steamboat line from Long Branch to New York city, but it was years afterwards before this was actually accomplished. 'Lands End' (Tradition has it that the first name given by white men to this locality was "Land's End," but, according to Ellis in his history of the county, this is of doubtful authenticity. It was said to be far more likely that the designation, if applied at all to this region, was given to Sandy Hook.

The name Long Branch was derived from the "long branch" of the Shrewsbury river.) Long Branch was described in Gazetteer" in 1834 as a village of 12 or 15 houses, one tavern and two stores, which may have had reference to the first village of Long Branch, a mile westward from the ocean which was established long before the Revolution and which even today is known as the "Upper Village." However, reference was made to several boarding houses. "Wardell's, Ren-shaw's and being the most frequented, while the surrounding farmers also "received boarders." Another description of Long Branch, in 1840, states that "but one little steamer made the trip from New York, rounding the Hook and making her way up the Shrewsbury river thru an inlet at Sea Bright." The article continued: "From the dock at this point passengers took stages with tires of their wheels eight Inches broad, and toiled slowly along the sands to the upper end of Long Branch. There they reached a tavern known as the Fish house, which 410 MAIN STREET ASBURY PARK Open Wed. and Sat Eves. was then several hundred yards from the beach.

There were but two other hotels, the Bath hotel and the Conover house. Guests mainly came by their own carriages from Philadelphia, Trenton, Princeton and a few from New York. The table was of simple character, with great dishes of boiled hard shell crabs and lobsters on every table." (Encroachment of the sea over the years has caused the shore line and bluffs at Long Branch to recede nearly a quarter of a mile. Ocean waters now wash over the sites of a number of the earlier hotels. The late Freeholder John A.

Eaton of Elberon once told this writer that he remembered planting corn and potatoes on his father's farm "some 300 yards east of the present shore A BOUT the year 1850 the wealthy class of New York city began paying greater attention to 'Long Branch as a place of summer residence and recreation. Large hotels were erected on Ocean avenue and cottages sprang up on every side. But it was not until after the Civil war that the place began to take on the grandeur for which it was afterwards noted. Money at the time was seemingly inexhaustible; all classes were lavish with their expenditures. In its halcyon days Long Branch, with its gambling palaces PhilDaly's, the Pennsylvania club and others easily rivaled Monte Carlo and Monmouth Park was preeminent in its field as a rendezvous for devotees of the races.

Palatial homes in the Long Branch area at the height of the resort's popularity entertained almost constantly brilliant companies of the most noted men of the day of all nations. Col. James Fisk was a frequent visitor. He was then at the height of his power, with money galore, lavisly spent by him and his host of spendthrift associates and dependants. Stars of the theater world who summered at Long Branch included Edwin Booth, Lester Wal-lack, Oliver Dowd Byron, Maggie Mitchell and others.

The then queen of the stage, Mary Anderson, resided there and Lily Lang-try occupied a residence and made an attractive figure on the thronged boulevards with her splendid equipages and magnificent costumes. Nellie Grant, daughter of President Ulysses S. Grant, who had a summer home on the beachfront, drove her ponies to her phaeton along the oceanside with the deft skill of a real horsewoman. Track in Trouble August Belmont, David D. Withers and Pierre Lorillard of New York, George Peabody Wetmore of Newport and George Lorillard of Islip, N.

all of whom were interested in the American turf and owners of stables of running were the owners of the horses. $60,000 capital stock of the Monmouth Park association, organized after the original company, which had purchased the 128-acre site near Eatontown from J. McB. Davison and J. F.

Chamberlain for in 1870 had become financially embarrassed. Prior to the formation of the Monmouth Park association the property had been purchased at a foreclosure sale by Mr. Withers for $57,146. A number of successful meetings were held at Monmouth Park, but the anti-gambling laws passed by the legislature in 1894 brought the activities of the association to an end. Likewise, it marked the beginning of the decline of Long Branch as the nation's most popu lar seaside resort.

Since then practically all of its once imposing array of fashionable hotels have van ished, either due to fires or de terioration. The Monmouth County Horse Show association was organized in 1893 and meetings were held for a number of years at Holly-iwood (West End). It was the greatest open-air show in America, its entries numbering as high as 700, divided into 60 classes, with trophies costing $8,000. During the show weeks garden fetes, balls, receptions and teas were among the social functions. "C'LLISTON PEROT of Philadel- phia had the distinction of being Long Branch's first "summer guest" With his family he occu pied tne Ebenezer wardell resi dence for several summers, begin ning in 1788.

The Wardell property, consisting of 100 acres, was purchased in the winter of 1790 by Lewis McKnight for 700 pounds. iln 1820 the property was sold for I $13,000 to William Renshaw. He died before 1832, his widow carry- i ing on the boarding-house business until 1837, when the property passed to James Green who opened the Bath hotel, a much enlarged hostelry which was destroyed by fire in 1867, with a loss of $100,000. The site was afterwards occupied by cottages, and where the stables were located the Hotel Scarborough was built. I Obadiah Sears was another of the early keepers of an open house of entertainment for travelers.

His widow continued to operate the property until the spring of 1843 iwhen it was sold, Howland's hotel later being erected on the site. The property known as the Dr. Elisha Parker farm was acquired by several parties in 1831 and Samuel Cooper, orie of those in the division of the property, erected i a house having accommodations for 1 70 boarders. In 1844 he informed the public that he "had built two bathing houses for the accommodation of the country people who I wished to bathe during the hot weather, the price, in advance, being 50 cents." The site of this house was afterwards occupied by Leland's Ocean hotel, in front of which, in 1879, an iron pier extending 600 feet sea- jward, was built. The large pa vilions contained promenades, restaurants and balconies, while below there were over 600 bathing rooms.

Regular trips were made by the steamer "Magenta" from the pier to New York. "Dunlap's American Advertiser," published in Philadelphia, con tained an advertisement in May, 1793, stating that Herbert and Chandler "would occupy the same house at the seashore, at Shrewsbury (Long Branch) they did the preceding year." It was stated that "large and commodious stables, also houses, had been erected on the the Shore" Qf OIL COAL 2-2620 R. B. 6-0248 5 tf IT HASNTTH2 COLD SEAL IT ISNT CONGOLEUW RUGS AND BY-TH2-YARD 9 12 Size Regular 1S.0S Yard Goods, 69c Yd. Regular 89c VaJne ALL SIZE RUGS IN STOCK TILES Each 25c IX? 14c Each U(s uUliUUlALL (J riEU, ADUflUCED DESIGN 1949 that lhe uiaiea ume lor lauies oaining arrives, a white flag is hoisted on the bank, when it is high treason for a gentleman to be seen there; and when the established time for gentlemen arrives, the red flag is run up, which is sometimes done by mistake and produces rather ludicrous misunderstandings.

A wag lately hoisted both flags to gether, which created some awful squinting and no little confusion." It was said that there was no pretence of bathing suits when the gentlemen did their surf bathing. The presence of General Grant, then president of the United States, contributed largely to make Long Branch the home of a great colony of wealth and fashion. In the immediate neighborhood of his cottage and the Francklyn cottage, where the mortally-wounded President James A. Garfield died, in 1881, George W. Childs and William E.

Drexel erected palatial residences, and John Hoey built on Cedar avenue a mansion with large grounds and capacious conservatories and greenhouses. Years later President Woodrow Wilson was to make his summer home at "Shadow Lawn," West Long Branch. HARVEST MORE OATS FREEHOLD. Putting off planting oats can cut down the yield 20 to 25 percent. In Monmouth county oats should be planted before April 1, if possible, says county agent M.

A. Clark. A three-year test at the agricultural experiment station, Rutgers university, showed that oats planted April 1 yielded 42 bushels to the acre, while those planted on April 20 yielded only 32 bushels. Straw yield was less, and so was the weight of each bushel from later plantings. nram 18-in.

RUBBER TILE INLAID LINOLEUM TILE 18-in. ASPHALT TILE TILE BOARD All Colors SoV iS Beauty Begins Where the Light Comes In BUY NOW AND SAVE New Jersey Scrapbook By Joe Masick- A OUAT NtW LOW COST WALL COVBUNO All Colors-54" Wide Reg. 59c Per Foot NOW Per Foot 49c 4 INSTALLATION EXTRA INSTALLATION EXTRA INSTALLATION EXTRA Flexalum Venetian Blind' 23 26 Venetian Complete Blinds AWNINGS SALEM Stock All Styles Whire-Off White Irory SPECIAL LOW PRICES NOW FOR SPRING DELIVERY FULL LINE OF JOHN BOYLE PAINTED AND WOVEN FABRICS Amazingly Low-Priced at $229.50 Sensational Refrigerator Ualue Model 793 7.2 cubic ft. capacity. Large cold storage tray, deep glass-covered crisper drawer, complete shelf adjustability and many other features.

Easy terms. fp.M $495 ALL FIRST QUALITY MERCHANDISE 0,000,000 OL AfOtt COPR. BRINLEY tr R. R. AVES.

(A. P. 2-8153) BRADLEY BEACH.