The Highlands Business Partnership has issued a more than 30 page booklet highlighting all the wonders of Highlands, with the slogan “Where the Jersey Shore Begins.” The book is a bonus for all the businesses in the borough as they’re all named, with phone numbers, e-mails, and addresses, there’s a great message from the Mayor on the opening page, reassuring the readers that she and her administration “are committed to serve you as the highest level possible,” and explaining that Highlands offers a walkable/bikeable community with many choices of paths… She also highlights some of the administration’s accomplishments, which are considerable, and it’s amazing to see the borough had received more than $2.6 million in grants this year…and the year hasn’t ended yet. And she promises the opening of the Borough’s first new park in half a century, the Overlook on Navesink Ave. The booklet highlights all the great restaurants and eateries in town, the Farmacie and Café La De Da, two pretty unusual places, and even includes the Waterwitch, that new gourmet grocery food store that is opening soon on Waterwitch Ave. Interesting to see how many overnight accommodations they are in Highlands, from seaside vacation cottages and a private waterfront retreat to the historic B&B near Henry Hudson.
But there’s only one page, and no photo, of the national historic landmark that is the primary drawing card for visitors to the borough, the Twin Lights. As light houses go, it’s far and away the most unusual, as a site where history has been made. It has been present for multiple reasons, and as a draw and is popular year round and offers spectacular views, it’s unequaled. Great to see the Christmas tree in the South Tower lit for the holiday season, too!
If the Sandy Hook Foundation is one of the great organizations you want to include in your gift giving contributions for the holiday Season, take advantage of their innovative program that gives you the chance to have a porch rocking chair dedicated and named in your honor.
#Giving Tuesday is their support address until December 5. By making a donation to the Foundation’s annual appeal, they in turn will put your name in a contest. Every donation during this annual appeal, made between now and 9 a.m. December 5, will be put in a drawing.
The winner will have the next rocking chair on Sandy Hook donated in their name. You get to decide how you would like your name imprinted on their bronze plaque. The plaque is then affixed to the chair.
Once it’s ready, your rocking chair will be placed on a porch inside Gateway National Recreation Area’s Sandy Hook. So all visitors can enjoy your rocking chair for years to come.
The Foundation will announce the winner the afternoon of December 1 and the rocking chair, with your approval, will be ready for comfort the beginning of the Spring season.
This Friday, Dec. 1, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Sandy Hook Foundation staff will be at the “Photographer’s Request event at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Or check out SH merch for great gifts, ask about plans for 2024, and show the Foundation your best shots of the lighthouse.
Sandy Hook is a lot more than just summertime on the beach. Contributions enable the park to provide lots of great programs, as well as tackle challenges and design innovative solutions. Think of all the folks who will get a new look on life sitting in your rocking chair at Spermaceti Life Staving Station or History House
Read some more stories HERE on the Natural Wonder right in our back yard … Sandy Hook
The Christmas Giving Tree at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church is ready for donations of credit cards to help local families or senior citizens enjoy Christmas. But the Giving Tree, unadorned and near the side altar within the sanctuary of the Church, has its owns story to tell.
Rather than wrapped toys or gifts, the volunteers in the St. Vincent de Paul Society are requesting credit cards be placed in the container near the undecorated Giving Tree between today and Dec. 17 after the 9:30 Mass. The Society is asking for store gift cards in the amounts of $10, $25 or $50, or any combination of those amounts good at Kohls, Targets, Old Navy, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar or any other local store which is convenient to both the donor and recipient.
Cards can be left in the decorated boxes by the tree on the altar rail by December 17. Last-minute donations can also be brought to the Food Pantry on Monday, December 18 between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Why an undecorated tree and why gift cards rather than wrapped gifts which has been traditional at the Route 36 Catholic Church? And why a tree in the first place?
In the past, a festively decorated tree was placed in the front entry foyer to the church. However, a St. Vincent de Paul Society member happened to spot a woman taking some of the gifts. When the volunteer approached her and asked why she was taking gifts, the woman explained she belonged to another group that was also collecting gifts and she had nothing to give them. The woman felt it would not be harmful to take gifts from the charity exhibited at OLPH to give to her other charity.
The volunteer, touched by the embarrassed and sorrowful woman, explained the better idea would be to contact the St. Vincent de Paul Society who would certainly help her out. Penitent but happy for the response of the Society’s volunteer, she thanked her, returned the gifts and made her own requests for assistance to the volunteer. The Society members then felt that rather than offer temptation to someone in need, they would keep the tree within the church. And what place than in the sanctuary.
However, since the tree is within the sanctuary of the church, and the church views Advent as a time of preparation rather than an accent on decorative festivity, glitter and color before Christmas, the tree remains undecorated.
Still the tree itself has special meaning, the Rev. Jarlath Quinn, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help-St. Agnes Parish explained. Look at the history of why a tree is symbolic of Christmas in the first place, he suggested.
Tradition dictates it originated in Germany some 1500 years ago when St. Boniface, a missionary, encountered pagans preparing to sacrifice an oak tree to a false god. But when they took an ax to the tree and it did not fall down to honor the false god, St. Boniface pointed out that a nearby evergreen should be considered a “holy tree.”’
Fr. Quin pointed out that the evergreen, unlike the oak, could be considered the “holy tree” because it remains green, healthy, thriving and beautiful in all seasons regardless of harsh weather or torrid sun. That is the reminder of God’s blessings are always with those who seek the true God, have faith, and know that God will protect them forever. God sending His Son to be born of Mary as the Savior of the world is the true meaning of Christmas.
Whether it is tradition, a desire not to offer temptation, or the fact evergreens never lose their beauty, the Giving Tree at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church welcomes gift cards so the St. Vincent de Paul Society can continue its efforts to help all in need.
Adults of families registered with the Society will be contacted as to when they can pick up their family’s gift cards. For those in the Highlands or Sea Bright area who also in need, but not registered, they can contact the St. Vincent dePaul Society at 732-291-0272, ext. 120.
The Monmouth County Commissioner traditional reading of Clement Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas .” holiday music, unique and tasty gourmet Christmas refreshments and the transformation of the Montrose one room Schoolhouse into a Christmas Wonderland will all take place Sunday, December 3, from 1 to 4 p.m.
This year at the same time, the Colts Neck Historical Preservation Committee, who annually sponsor the Country Christmas at the Montrose School, will also honor the storyteller, Commissioner Lillian Burry for her many decades of service to Colts Neck, Monmouth County and the Historical Preservation Committee.
Commissioner Burry did not seek election to the County Board of Commissioners this year and will step down when her term ends on January 1, 2024. Commissioner Burry is also a founder and current chair of the Historic Preservation Committee.
The Mike Wells Trio, a popular and sought after trio, will once again be on stage with a variety of country Christmas music and Santa Claus will take time out from his busy schedule to pose for free photos.
The Christmas tree inside the school will be festooned with decorations appropriate to the late 19th and early 20th century period.
CNHPC is selling its popular map depicting Colts Neck historic sites, which is suitable for framing and costs $10. each, and the “A Tour of Historic Colts Neck” booklet written by Mrs. Burry for $5 each. Both are unusual Christmas gift ideas both for new residents of the area and historians interested in Monmouth County’s unique and varied history.
“With each passing year, we continue to have a strong turnout and receive great praise for this wonderful town tradition, and we hope to continue this tradition for years to come,” said Chairperson Burry, who is also former Colts Neck Mayor. “Everyone on the CNHPC enjoys preparing and opening the Montrose Schoolhouse for special events that highlight our township’s unique role in 19th Century America. We invite everyone to share in the warmth and historic significance of the Montrose Schoolhouse during this community celebration.”
The Montrose School is located at the corner of Montrose Road and Cedar Drive.
The borough of Atlantic Highlands not only retained certification but received it at a higher level and topped it off with also receiving the Small Town Champion Award from Sustainable Jersey, a major accomplishment that seems to have gotten little recognition and certainly no fanfare.
The borough doesn’t know yet whether Councilman James Murphy or Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner will be the next Mayor. Nor does it know whether Ellen O’Dwyer and Coach Whitehead or Allison Forbes and Jon Crowley will be the council members for the next three years, though Councilman Crowley seems almost certain to be selected for another term. Hopefully by sometime next week, the results will be finalized and announced.
But aside from the politics of the situation, let’s take a look at Ellen O’Dwyer and what her quiet, unannounced, little-talked-about efforts have done for the borough’s image.
Literally.
Sustainable Jersey is a state-wide organization that certifies municipalities who are the nation’s leaders in implementing solutions for challenges to reduce waste and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Municipalities also must certify they have taken measures to improve public health among other things, which also stimulates the local economy and offers grants to accomplish even more for a borough. Just about every municipality in New Jersey is registered with Sustainable Jersey, but not many have achieved the successes that Atlantic Highlands has.
Awards this year were presented by Christine Guhl-Sadovy, President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Enter Ellen O’Dwyer, one of the candidates waiting to see if she has been elected to council. Currently, Ellen chairs the borough’s GREEN TEAM, a quiet but hardworking group of dedicated residents following Ellen’s penchant for getting things done. That’s why the borough has been certified for several cycles and last year got the Bronze award, no small accomplishment. She is also a former Environmental Commissioner and former Shade Tree Commissioner, both of which she feels were important experiences in order to have achieved what she did with the Green Team.
This year this ambitious group aimed for the silver award it received, an award that mandated achieving more than twice as many points as the Bronze award. But they also were awarded the champion Award for being the very best Small town; a community under 5,000 residents in New Jersey …. for sustainability.
Sustainable Jersey, under the Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey, doesn’t make it easy to achieve their awards. They set a high bar and have an entire team of professionals who verify what each town says it has done.
Ellen and her team could have simply settled for their bronze award. Each award is good for three years, so maintaining bronze is in itself an accomplishment. But she’s a driver and passionate about the environment. She served for a year on the Beautification Committee and Environmental commission before Mayor Loretta Gluckstein had faith in her enthusiasm and named her to the Shade Tree as well as the Green Team Committee, an advisory group to the governing body.
In the past, the borough was interested in maintaining its certification as a member of Sustainable Jersey, but Ellen strove to go higher. She did a lot of research and found that as far as recycling and reusing goes, the borough has done an awful lot over the years, thanks to a great Public Works Department and residents who take pride in their neighborhood. But moving higher and better seemed like a better idea, so Ellen did more research and documented all the accomplishments and memorialized them into programs. That is what earned the Bronze medal last year.
This year, rather than simply being recognized for maintaining the bronze status, taking the silver award also enabled the borough to receive the Small Town Champion award.
“We could have rested on our laurels for three years, but we didn’t.,” the chairman said. “Atlantic Highlands deserves the credit for all the work that it is already doing, and with a community whose heart is in it. We went for Silver and achieved it in one year by completing some innovative projects, like being the first community to adopt a ban on plastic straws and bags and partnering with a local company on biodegradable packaging solutions. We applied for and received two grants, educated on native species, shared wildflowers and milkweed, and encouraged green solutions to anything and everything,” The Captain of the Green Team explained.
At the League of Municipalities annual event in Atlantic City, Sustainable Jersey had a luncheon to honor all the municipalities who received honors. In her acceptance talk, in which she praised both Sustainable Jersey’s efforts and her own team and borough residents Ellen said “We’ve got a real “walking” town where the sidewalk outside your door can lead you to anywhere you would want to go in the borough, and our tree-lined streets are the result of our Tree City USA commitment of 42 years. We also established new and innovative ways to reach and educate the public, having a column in the local Atlantic Highlands Living magazine, hosting our first “Envirossance Faire” and an “Earth Day Walkabout” where visitors walked to various “Green Stops” throughout town.
She explained that with limited resources, “we networked beyond the borough teams and commissions to collaborate with the local arts council, the library, the schools, scouts, Chamber of Commerce, Garden Club, and even the Historical Society. With a new organization called “Wild About Atlantic Highlands”, the entire town is a Certified Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation. This involved 100 residential and business gardens. “
Ellen added, that “with other programs like “No Mow May”, “Grass – Cut it and Leave It”, “Don’t Spray,” and Leave the Leaves”, we’ve got the public to learn, engage, and commit to being stewards of our beautiful town.”
Lest anyone think she is content with simply garnering the Best Small Town and silver swards, Ellen put the League on notice that “We are now aiming for “Gold Star”, which will set a new precedent for small, historic communities with classic infrastructure. I will leverage this status and other tactics to elevate Atlantic Highlands as a unique entity to preserve this unique ecosystem of mountains to bayside beaches to forested lands in the face of potential overdevelopment.”
Looking towards the future, another of Ellen’s aims is to save and protect the water utility through grants and other support. Municipalities can play a significant role in creating a comprehensive approach to the management of water, she believes. Each municipality in the state has its own water profile, shaped by its geography, infrastructure and local concerns. The gold star in water identifies specific actions and level of performance for municipalities to achieve improvements in water quality, quantity and use.
There are only four municipalities in the state with a gold star: Maplewood Twp, Princeton, Readington Twp, and Woodbridge Twp, which has two Gold Stars.
The Sustainability Champions this year, in addition to Atlantic Highlands, are Madison for populations from 5,000 to 40,000 and Woodbridge for municipalities with more than 40,000 population.
Members of the borough’s Green Team with O’Dwyer are Ashely Cruz, Blake Deakin, Morgan Spicer, Ellen Bollinger, Jim Krauss and Sara Colasurdo, with Councilwoman Hohenleitner the council representative.
Knowing Ellen O’Dwyer, knowing how hard she works once she sets her mind on a goal, and knowing the Green Team’s efforts, it’s a prediction that next year, Atlantic Highlands will be honored with the gold award.
Judging from her energy level and the hard-working GREEN TEAM, together with residents proud of their community, it will not come as any surprise when Atlantic Highlands reaches the gold next year.
Highlands is preparing to welcome family, friends and; newcomers to its series of free events this holiday season, an opportunity to gather and experience annual holiday traditions with local organizations.
The Christmas holiday season begins with the 26th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting on Friday, December 1, with a rain date of December 2, in Huddy Park at Bay and Waterwitch Avenues.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be riding their sleigh around town beginning at 5PM, arriving at Huddy Park at 5:45PM. Mayor Carolyn Broullon and council members will light the tree promptly at 6PM. The Highlands Recreation Department will provide hot chocolate and cookies.
The Henry Hudson Regional School Choir will perform under the direction of Band Director and Music Teacher, Nicholas McGill. Dancers from the Carol Elaine Dance Studio will perform and there will be caroling by local Girl Scout Troops, 223 and 273. There will be free horse and carriage rides courtesy of Valley Bank, Highlands. Holiday music will be provided by sponsor, WRAT 95.9. All are welcome to attend.
The Highlands Business Partnership also announces that, In the Garden, located at 69 Waterwitch Avenue, is a sponsor of the annual events and offers fresh trees, wreaths, roping, flowers, gifts and so much more for home décor.
The Highlands Business Partnership’s 11th Annual Holiday Lights Contest is a perfect way to show off Community pride and light up the Holiday season. The contest is open to every home within Highlands Borough limits. Interested participants can enter online at www.highlandsnj.com; submissions must be received by December 14 by 5:00PM.
Judging will take place Friday, December 15 and prizes will be awarded.
If you would like to participate in judging the Holiday Lights contest, please contact the Partnership at hbpadmin@highlandsnj.com.
The Baymen’s Protective Association, Knights of Columbus Rev. Joseph J. Donnelly Council and the Highlands Fire Department will host their Annual Free Pancake Breakfast with Santa on Sunday, December 10 between 9AM and noon, at our Lady of Perpetual Help Church Hall on Highland Avenue and Miller St. The event is free and open to the public. Please bring a donation of canned or non-perishable food items.
The Highlands Fire Department will host its annual Visit with Santa – Toys for Tots program on Sunday, December 17 at 1PM at the Highlands Fire House located at 171 Shore Drive. The event is free and open to the public. Please bring an ornament for Daniel Barden’s Christmas Tree (no glass please). After the children place the ornaments on the tree, the Highlands Fire Department will bring the tree to the Daniel Barden Where Angels Play Playground in Veterans Park, in memory of Daniel.
The Recreation Department will host a Holiday Gift Wrapping event at the Robert G. Wilson Memorial Community Center, 22 Snug Harbor Ave. Gift wrapping is available December 11h through the 21st. The department will provide wrapping paper, or you can bring your own. For information on times, please call 732-872-1224 ext. 232.
Bayshore Pharmacy Card and Gift Shop will host a Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 2 from noon to 2pm with a guest appearance from Santa! It’s the perfect time to grab your holiday list, visit Santa for holiday cheer and shop local this season for toys, gifts and clothing for the family all with complimentary gift wrapping.
Meet local author Lori Herschkowitz-Skala for a book signing of her new book The Road to Rosie from Ruff to Rescue! Lori is a cancer survivor and donates proceeds of her book to cancer research and animal rescue.
Visit the Sister Squad Crafts table for handmade holiday ornaments for the whole family and have your gift personalized in time for the holidays!
Bayshore Pharmacy Cards and Gifts, located in the Foodtown Plaza in Atlantic Highlands, is a locally owned, full-service pharmacy, specializing in compounded prescriptions, immunizations, and insurance billing. Serving the area for 60 years and two generations, Bayshore Pharmacy also provides the area’s largest card and gift shop, offering plenty of parking and delivery service 7 days a week.
With Advent starting on Sunday, marking the four weeks before Christmas, I was once again reminded of the year I vowed to say 4,000 Aves between that Sunday and Christmas Eve.
Growing up, we always had at least one dog, always a large one, either an Irish Setter, German Shepherd or a mixed breed of similar size.
But my father died when I was nine, nine days before Christmas, and when our last dog also died, my mother said no more. It was enough raising four youngsters, maintaining a house and starting out a new life as a widowed mother, though she never once complained.
Undeterred, I remembered a story in my reader at St. Michael’s School in Union about a youngster who wanted something for Christmas and was told if he said four thousand Aves, or Hail Mary’s, during Advent, his wish would be granted.
If it worked for him in fiction, it could work for me in real life, I explained to my mother, making the grand announcement I would be saying 4,000 Hail Mary’s and we would have a dog.
My mother smiled, praised me for my promise to pray so much, but gently told me we would not be getting a dog.
For the next four weeks, I diligently kept at my prayers. I figured it out mathematically if I said 15 decades of the Rosary every day for 26 days, plus a few extra Hail Mary’s every couple of days, I’d make it.
In the beginning, my enthusiasm and determination made it easy. However, as the weeks went on, schoolwork, playtime, and getting ready for Christmas made it difficult. Some days I missed my mark. I’d make it up the next day, I told myself. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t.
By Christmas Eve afternoon, I was still short of a few hundred Hail Mary’s. I began saying them quicker, with less of a prayerful countenance, and simply zipping through the words. My mother reminded me if I weren’t prayerful, the prayers wouldn’t count. Besides, she reminded me, she had told me in the beginning there would be no dog.
We finished setting up the huge stable in the late afternoon, a stable with huge figures that had been in the family since my parents married and were part of our Christmas tradition for as long as I could remember. My sister and brothers went out for last minute visits or gift wrapping with friends and I was alone with my mother. She noticed the stable was missing straw for the mange where we would put the Christ Child, so she told me to set the table for dinner and she would be right back.
Our house was in Union a few blocks from where Kean College is now. In the 1940s, that ground was actually a farm where we often went to pet the horses, see the cows or purchase eggs. My mother wanted to stop in there to get the straw for our manger scene and said she would be back in 15 minutes.
I set the table, all the while saying my Hail Mary’s and wondering how good God was in counting or if He would cut a break for a ten-year-old kid who really wanted a dog.
When my mother came home with the straw, she also had a little bundle of black and white in her arms. It whimpered, it yipped, and it struggled to get down on the floor. It was a beautiful little black and white puppy!
“I didn’t mean to get it,” my mother explained. “But Mr. Hughes, the farmer, asked if I could take it home.” The puppy was the last in a litter of ten, the others were all sold or given away, and the puppy’s mother was abandoning the runt. He wouldn’t have time to take care of it, he said, and pressed my mother into taking it home at least over the holiday. “She’s not staying,” she said sternly, “we’ll find a home for her after Christmas.”
I never finished my Aves. Nor did my mother ever try to give the puppy away. She was cute, cuddly, loved everyone in the family, but was difficult to train. Because of that, my mother gave her the name Floppy because “she just flopped all over the house.”
Floppy over the next years had two litters of puppies of her own, about ten in each litter. All found happy homes. So did Floppy. She was definitely a part of our family for more than ten years until she in her sleep and went on to Dog Heaven.
As each of the four of us finished school and left home to start lives and families of our own, Floppy and my mother became inseparable…so much so that when my own children were born, Grandma wasn’t just Grandma….she was Grandma Floppy.
And I finished my Four Thousand Aves in thanks.
Although this is a true story, Christmas Legends of the Bayshore by Muriel J Smith is available for sale at venividiscripto.com, a book of legends in Monmouth County. Read about Jimmy’s Friend at the Waterwitch Beach, the Legend of the Bridge, a Prayer for the Second Osprey, and 20 other stories about the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club, squirrels, cardinals, pine cones starfish and Christmas trees and more. The book was written for a Grandma to read to her Grandchildren on Christmas Eve or anytime a youngster needs cuddling and love.
Clean Ocean Action is looking for volunteers for the Rally for the Two Rivers project they do in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The purpose of the Rally is to help address and improve water quality within the watershed of the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers so close to so many homes in the Bayshore and beyond.
Volunteers will be trained to become community scientists by collecting water samples. Samples are collected weekly on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the Navesink watershed and biweekly in the Shrewsbury watershed on Tuesdays during those same hours.
Clean Ocean Action volunteers will train in how to collect the samples, safety in the process as well as providing a lot of background information and resources so volunteers feel a huge part of this community project.
The goal of the program is to find a fix to pollution problems by encouraging all the municipalities to work together and address these issues. The community scientists…all those volunteers taking samples…must be at least 18 years old to participate and attend the training session to be sure they all know all the benefits of their volunteer work.
Clean Ocean Action offers a special program for professionals who teach in the 5th through 8th grades. They have the opportunity to take their students on a free and educational field trip to the beach during their Sprin Student Summit program at Gateway National Recreation Area on Sandy Hook. The program is May 15 or 16 and the kids get some spectacular hands-on environmental sessions. Applications have to be filled out by April 15, but don’t wait that long to put this in your plana for offering the best possible education for your students. Check out Education@cleanoceanaction.org and email Kristen Grazioso, the volunteer coordinator for more info.
Thanksgiving is a joyful and happy day for everyone but Nov. 27 is an even more special day for Pat and Dick Stryker. The former Atlantic Highlands Mayor and his wife Pat are celebrating their 71st wedding anniversary this year and still delight in telling the story of how they met.
Congratulations to one terrific couple who raised a great family, established a most popular and well-run store in their Bayshore Pharmacy in the Foodtown Mall on Route 36 at First Avenue, and contributed so much to the Bayshore they both love.
Speaking of Bayshore Pharmacy, congratulations also to Ellen who does all the planning and ordering for the fantastic gift section of the shop that is as busy as the Pharmacy section. Love the way she has arranged the hundreds … or is it thousands…of items they have for all their unusual gifts. It’s probably the largest collection of Irish-themed ideas outside of Dublin, and the collection of fun and educational toys for kids is unique. Of course they also feature lots of books by local authors, and plenty of things for the newly married couple, the sports fan and so much more. Rather than battling crowds and parking cars far from the entrance to a huge store, Bayshore Pharmacy offers close parking and when you’re in there with a crowd, they are your neighbors, the friendly people you like to meet and greet.
