Press of Atlantic City from Atlantic City, New Jersey • 16

1 ATLANTIC CITY PRESS 1 SUNDAY JULY 30 1961 ATLANTIC CITY OC Copes Problem Set Roils kids have some 400 could gross about work Stretch city the the police late night meeting spot at late DATE A popular live re It the WWW it the knew make the ADULT DANCE Every riday evening at the realized from paid into the she the official re commission college age patrol contact loca heart who show from starting know take had dived with the persons rooming and half new opinion take a kill it loss of sight did Georgia born So this ex rec pro po as dis the rate for youths that take advantage of it is played at the two every night Softball is with um pur they ma they pur years she rode off the chute into long and 20 foot in all corners of I'M another successful despite several attempts came I Section Three of the ordinance reads: mayor of the city is hereby empowered and di rected to enforce the provisions of this ordinance If however the mayor of the city shall fail to enforce this ordinance as herein provided he shall be com pelled to do so upon the pre sentation to him in writing of evidence of the violation of this ordinance signed by five free holders of the In the winter of 1959 60 Stretch spoke to four or five church groups asking their help and support in developing a program for the college age group to this time there has not been presented to or anyone any program for this age the commissioner com mented still interested in such assistance from the church groups service clubs and from any other organizations here who have a vital interest in youth Stretch plained During last summer the noise ordinance was revised An act or actions of performing noise loitering assembling or crowding together to act in a loud manner was now pro hibited on city streets here for the first time Previously this law was i i affect only on boardwalk and beach put some teeth into lice Stretch serted Prior to this a orderly persons charge was only law allowing local author ities to take action Stretch feels that the major ity of young persons have rea lized the problem and are trying to cooperate LENIENCY RULE He has instructed his force that they must warn any one that is to be arrested for a noise violation at least once before a summons can be is sued A great many times the youths are warned several times before charges are placed against them trouble doesn't usually start until the com missioner observed though the waitresses working here usually get off duty around 10 the crowds are here and everyone wants to stay up all night" As to reports that phony iden tification cards are printed here Stretch said that rumors say they are made at the colleges i and universities and brought here during the summer service clubs were a possibility and pointed to a poster adver tising an event of this type here August 7 in the Convention Hall sponsored by the Lions Scholarship und One 21 year old Blackwood youth charged that this city is carrying its city laws too far He claimed that a friend of his was walking down the steps at 3 am whistling not loudly when he was arrested without warning and fined $25 for dis turbing the peace An 18 year old East Cam den boy explained the restless hours this way: Between 12 and 6 am the leave the city and the regulars remain During this hour the girls are easier to talk to the kids are coming back from the Point and if you meet someone at that hour it's easier to make a date with a girl for the next night or do something like have a party or go swimming One 22 year old East Camden youth put the problem this way: You have to make your own activity here or persons under 21 there are not as many things to do This younger group is always seeking something to oc cupy their time with that is why they get arrested sent to jail and fined Thus far this season 30 cases of juvenile delinquency have just couldn't sleep This per sisted even' though Stretch had a patrolman stationed at the Ninth and Central Ave corner This did not stop the prob lem In May of last year Stretch called a meeting in the City Commission chambers with the property owners in the con gested areas He requested help from the owners in the signing of noise complaints against per sons on or in front of their properties Two extra patrolmen were assigned to work the troubled area last summer COLLEGE DANCES During that 1960 season in August the city commission sponsored a free dance on the Music Pier for the The dance itself was a success but this didn elim inate the problem from am or even abate it Ellis Voss wrote in a Uni versity of Pennsylvania publica tion City: An Ecological' Analysis of a Satellite Commun 1941: 1879 Rev William Bruell of Philadelphia and Rev Wesley Lake met at Island Heights and since they were both interested in establishing a Summer Methodist Camp Meeting along the coast they determined to unite their efforts in founding a resort considering several lo cations Beach was visit ed and agreed upon as a sat isfactory stie Since their finan cial means limited a com pany known as the Ocean City Assn was formed and incor porated October 20 1879 interest of the founders seem to have been greatly moti vated by a religious zeal to pro vide a summer resort where cer tain restrictions in conformity with the doctrines of Methodism could be imposed upon the be havior of the inhabitants and still enable them to enjoy the pleasures of a seaside vaca tion 1881 the president of the association said in the first an nual report: us not falter A perfect Sabbath must be se cured Order and decorum must be maintained The plumage of the white winged angel of tem perance must not be tarnished here! secure lasting prosper ity and pre eminent success this place must be run in the in terests of Holy LIQUOR BAN October 11 1909 an ordinance was passed the manufacture buying or selling or keeping for sale as a bev erage of any spiritous malt in toxicating or vinous liquors or any preparations or substances in the nature thereof and pro viding penalties for the viola tion A fine not exceed ing $200 or 30 days in the County Jail was the penalty for its vio lation Money these fines was city treasury duct of their offspring? Kids seem to be searching for a pose of life If they feel are just a cog in a huge can act the way without meaning or pose This is not good They must have a guide to George Gardiner city reation director outlined the gram here: through riday about 10 basketball teams made up of college players play on the courts at 34th St and the Sixth St Recreation Center Tennis is available in the afternoon at a reduced want to Baseball locations played every night pires and equipment supplied by the city have as much for col lege kids to do as we do for Gardiner declared He observed that kids are at an active stage where they want the participation sports He noted that these activities are slanted primarily for boys but are open to girls if enough of them show an interest the normal resort recreation facilities of the beach ocean and bay the girls there are facilities for re tired persons 90 per cent of them play shuffleboard attend social dances and card parties riday nights they have their own dances at the Recreation Center the teenager there is the free nightly dances at the Sixth St Conven tion Hall This dance usually attracts an older group from 10:15 to 11:45 pm when it closes The average teenager then has a chance to have some thing to eat and get to bed early By 11:45 pm the board vannah Ga newspaper in 1923 an ad that read simply: Attractive young woman who can swim and dive Likes horses desires to The ad placed by Dr Carver Impresario a la Buffalo Bill Cody and ul timately to become Sonora's father in law nothing about the horses and the diving going Mrs Carver recalled Until 1942 she toured North America with the act as the girl on the 'diving horses or 11 the horses the 46 foot wide tank the continent How did it feel to stand at the tower's top the roar of the crowd swelling in her ears and see nothing? your're she corrected the Southern drawl still strong in her firm voice never looked down without seeing the tank after I lost my eye sight I could see its every detail in my mind Yes it was there allright I think I could even see the crowds all necks craned waiting for the horse to dive But you see I for eight years horses and maybe all my By ED UNSTALL NEW ORLEANS UP) was warm and bright that July day 30 years ago when pretty Sonora Carver plunged 45 feet on the back of a horse into a waiting and darkness for the rest of her lite 1 a haired blue eyed Sonora who was then 27 drew top billing at the Atlan tic City Steel Pier as queen of the midway and per former of one of the out door entertainment world's greatest acts She lost her sight that day when her favorite horse called him the water at a severely straight angle True she could see for a few days after the accident but total blindness surgical quickly But the not senci nora to the sidelines merely to join in the cheers of crowd ror 11 years after went blind she rode horses down the 45 feet of nothingness into the 10 feet of water below And before thousands who never she couldn't see This was the girl started on the road to business stardom by answering an ad in a Sa season the owner more than $1300 VIEW How do the youths feel the situation here? A 19 year old local girl ing as a waitress said parents should only know the way the fellows and girls act She described a typical ri day night: The fellows go over to the Point pick up girls and sometimes spend the entire night with them These are the so named be cause they just come here for the weekends Next day the fellows sometimes won't even talk to the girls never want to see them again and never thought much of them in the first place! This college girl never goes to the Point bars and thinks that some of the ways the kids do the Twist are disgraceful She thinks youths are under impression that sophistication comes with drinking But kids wouldn't carry on the way they do if they knew' how to drink I think it's the minority that carries on this she said the main problem is on the A possible solution she sug gested would bring rock 'n roll groups into town to perform nightly from 9 pm 2 am This might help Asked who would pay for this she said motions were instinctive Perhaps you learn to com pensate when you have been deprived of one of the senses think I always knew when we were about to hit the water I could always feel the muscles in horse's neck QUIT IN '42 Mrs Carver called quits in 1942 not because of her blindness but be cause of the war She and her husband who died last year then operated a tourist court in suburban New Orleans But she wearied of doing nothing and went to the Lighthouse for the Blind where she took courses in sewing and typing Today she is a dictaphone typist for the Lighthouse helped in raising a million dollars for a building The woman who once amazed the world with her rides on her beloved horses returned to a New Orleans amusement park recently where another pretty girl dives horses from the high tower into a tank knew just how the girl felt up on the Mrs Carver said could al most feel and wished that I was up there with TRYING TO Commis sioner Allen Stretch Jr feels very sympathetic toward the problems of the But asks city provides entertainment for youths between midnight and five in the (Press Photo) PLAY More than shown in photo above at Ninth St and Central Ave is The Chatterbox Restaurant Here the rock 'n roll music popular at the Point Is in a subdued on a juke box while the kids enjoy a snack Some times a crowd loitering on this corner creates a noise problem (Press Photo) of Commissioner Stretch's trouble area and where Mrs Jacobs says nothing but She sometimes wonders why these children must run streets at night "Don't they have any she asked Her waitresses live in the hotel where they are under a 12 midnight curfew Sometimes the likable Elida hostess openly wonders why all night restaur ants are allowed in a city with so many other restrictions situation is a deterior ating one for our children to endure Girls and boys come here from nice families that say girls act that Mrs Jacobs is amazed at the lack of courtesy displayed by the college crowd here In Europe she said during her recent visit she noticed that the youths are more serious minded in every way and are still mannerly in school and at work are no barefoot kids in shirt tails over she recalled What Mrs Jacobs wants to know is how this town expects to attract a nice adult if persons living in this area cannot get a good sleep? LIE She claimed that the youths coming here have it too easy from a luxury standpoint some times at the expense of paren tal sacrifices In Europe people drink so cially They go to a cafe have a drink or two and are left alone No one pushes drinks over there In Mrs Jacob youngsters here must bottle to their room and wait for the effect Mrs Jean Campbell for 24 years operator of The Chatter box Restaurant remarked that the kids never caused her any trouble inside a matter of fact they come in here to stay out of she said Another rooming house opera tor observed that is sup posed to be a good town morally She went on to say that a successful house cannot be run here be cause of the constant noise "All you can run here success fully is a flop Rooming houses as a business iii are raking in the money from youths visiting here Yet these are the persons the complaints come from The college kids are charged $150 per night for a bed They live in an area from Third St to 14th St If a five room house was taken for example for a time but now thev're lettina the "good clean fun" Blanket tossing (photo at right) has become a popular beach activity for Ocean City's young at heart and lithe in body A group of 1 1 youths is shown giving a college girl a bouncing she will long remember (Photos by Senior Studios) come before Judge ranklin A King in Municipal Court here Explaining activities on the beach one youth pointed out: There have been daily jam sessions on the 14th St and no one seems to mind Es tablishments in that area he remarked enjoy having the kids provide entertainment on the beach there Limbo contests im itation of popular groups and singing sessions have gone over with the older set that gath er to watch the college crowd at play He concluded by saying need alcohol tp have a good In its first annual report the Ocean City Assn had these re marks circa 1881: is running riot throughout the land Brewers vendors and guzzlers claim their liberty to drink and make drunk How is this work of death to be arrested? Not by cowardly si lence or conservatism or do nothingism Agitation every where persistant agitation until the enormity of this evil seizes upon the great heart of the Christian Church and millions of stalwart hands are ready to pull down the citadel of King Alcohol then Ocean City will throw wide its avenues and beautiful groves to the tramping feet of temperence le Ocean City is still wrestling with this problem City Quiet By GARY SHENELD Press Staff Writer I (Second of 2 Part Series) I Just across the bay from At lantic City a few short miles I drive over the Ocean City Som I ers' Point Blvd is Ocean City which takes pride in publicizing itself as Greatest amily More than 10000 college stu dents make this their summer home About 3500 of them work at summer the others are just vacationing They are large ly a restless and thirsty group and give city officials something to think about This thirsty crowd invades Somers Point just across the bay every night after 10 pm with a stay up all attitude They can't drink alco holic beverages in Ocean City which is dry and there is vir tually nothing for them to do between the hours of midnight and 5 am they claim A 1938 publicity circular states: City justly famed as America's Greatest amily Re sort extends a particular wel come to the Great Ameri can amily Here you will find a clear and wholesome atmos phere with nothing for anyone to resent and where your chil dren are safe among particular cultivated worthwhile Today some 23 years later to an extent this description of Ocean City still holds A year round population of 8300 swells to more than 100000 in the sum mer months Many of these per sons are from to Penn sylvania New Jersey and New York families who have sum mer cottages and homes in the resort A 58 man police force is maintained during the peak sum mer months in an effort to keep Ocean Citv quiet and tranquil NOISE PROBLEM Noise is the big problem here The kids that return from drink ing bouts at the Point are not a quiet group They love to play and games with always on the brink of being arrested A two block area from Eighth to Tenth Sts even though well patroled by police in some opinion not be patroled well Comparisons can be made be tween Somers two block trouble area and a similar two block area in Ocean but there are noentertainers in the latter no huge bars with flash ing just a restless group of youths that walk the streets all night after the Point bars close The situation in Ocean City today was explained by Com missioner Allen Stretch Jr the man responsible for the public safety Stretch entered public service with Mayor Nathaniel Smith and Commissioner Thomas Wald man two years ago last May At that time he was appointed director of public safety and public affairs He says that during his first year in office he merely ob served He checked the sum mer noise problem and its causes He noted that the area on Ninth St from Asbury to Wesley Aves and on Central Ave from Eighth to Tenth Sts had an extremely high concen tration of young persons from midnight to 5 am These exub erant youths were causing a great deal of aggravation for property owners and staying in hotels and houses in the area Disturbances caused slamming of car doors and stopping of cars loading and unloading congregating in groups and laughing and talk ing were reported frequently from persons in the area who THE COLLEGE CROWD AT "over 18ers" (some of whom are left) turned out Wednesday night in support of a City of Ocean City plan to hold college dances in the Convention Hall Commissioner Allen Stretch Jr called the dance suits More than 500 well dressed youths attended NEW STEP Another step taken this sum mer was the installation of a po lice call box at 10th and Cen tral Ave allowing foot men to be in constant with City Hall And a few weeks ago allowed a group made up of employes and friends of Wat son's Restaurant to hold a beach party on a private island near the city airport When asked if this city would ever go and allow bars and liquor to be sold Stretch replied since its exist ence and from to 'ex Ocean City will remain a dry Commssioner Stretch doesn't think there is a juvenile or minors problem here: just a seek ing freedom they enjoy at home They are released from control sometimes for the first time and they are on their own don't know what to city in the world pro vides free entertainment for youths from midnight to five in the he asked The Rev William Radvliffe Allen pastor of the irst Pres byterian Church here and pres ident of the Ministerium told this reporter Thursday that the Ocean City Ministerial Assn has not received any quest from the city with regard to the group problem such a request was the Rev Mr Allen said would take it to our He went on to explain that the dryness or the wetness of this town is not a religious prob it is a political problem the town meeting as a church that passed this ordin but it was a political he asserted Speaking for himself and not for the ministerial group the Rev Mr Allen felt the group would act on any request from Commissioner Analyzing the problem he rea soned that it might be beyond the power of the church QUESTIONS NEED is it necessary when you think of the many activities related to a seashore he asked ceaseless ac tivity keep youths from doing The pastor added that the difference between right and wrong is an action of the heart of activity all goes back to the home are on the watch constantly for parents care about the con these phony cards he said the identifications on the kids we pick up here are gen uine true that we don't search their and that false cards are not our primary con This past Wednesday the com missioners held dance with Girl In Diving Horse Act Rode 11 Years While Blind Ocean City Recreation Center the older group has a dance of its own Even for the adults the dress is not formal although sport shirts and slacks are required for the men and dresses for the women (Photo by Senior Studios) a "complete success" and is working on a plan to make it a weekly event Meanwhile at 1 4th Street beach each andevery day the "college crowd" has been creating its own entertainment (center photo) Limbo contests songfests and amateur performers gather here to entertain youths and adults alike Police requlation in this area was strict walk itself is TO 85 Gardiner explained that his overall program takes care of the age groups from five to 85 and that his experience with the college boys finds them per fectly satisfied playing ball Mrs Elizabeth Jacobs who with her husband is owner and operator of the Elida Hotel and Restaurant had several com ments to make about the behav ior of youths here as com pared to her native Germany: take kids Mrs Jacobs explained if they are chaperoned or if I them personally will I Their 841 Central Ave tion puts The Elida in the aXszzw av az 'a' 7 IL ga? 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