Former Atlantic Highlands Councilman and fire volunteer Walter Curry was honored by the fire department, the mayor and council and scores of friends at the fire house in celebration of his 80^th birthday this week.

Happy Birthday

Mayor Loretta Gluckstein also presented the famed local resident with a proclamation  “urging all residents to  praise the extensive efforts of Mr. Curry and wish him a heartfelt happy birthday.”

Volunteerisim

The son of a former mayor and an outstanding leader in his own right for decades, Curry has served on the fire department for 60 years and was its chief in 1981, 1994 and 1995. Her served as an active member of the First Aid Squad for another 57 years and as a special police officer. He was first elected to council in 1975, serving in that capacity for five years, as well as serving as a harbor commissioner from 1987 through 2015.

Named as one of the most Outstanding Young Men of America in 1978, Curry was  a teacher in the Middletown school system  for 57 years and served as the faculty representatives t the NJEA. He has also served as a trustee in his church and is well known as superintendent of Bayview Cemetery where he is a member of the Board of Directors.

Proclamation

The proclamation read at Curry’s birthday celebration noted that few areas of community life have not been touched by Curry’s hands, as friends and family acknowledge with gratitude.

”  His dedication to public service and the warmth with which he exhibits it is an inspiration to all of us.”

The formal ceremonies, however, had to take second place to the stories shared by so many and the praise of those who know Walter in so many different capacities because of his volunteerism.

Stories

Take former Mayor Fred Rast’s own stories, for instance.

Though he served on council after Curry, Rast grew up with the former councilman, their back yards abutting when the Rast family lived on Washington Ave. and the Curry’s on E. Highland. Th two boys were only a few months apart, Curry the older,  and both remember the nights they camped together in the back yard, the family get togethers of both families whose parents taught each of their children the importance of giving back to the community, always pitching in, always doing their share.

The Rast and Curry families, as well as the Sheehans, go back for generations. Everett Curry was Fred Rast’s father’s shop teacher in Atlantic Highlands High school, before Everett went on to teach in the Middletown system. Numerous stories from firemen and municipal leaders and employees who have served for decades with Walter kept everyone laughing and recalling at this week’s happy event.

But Rast’s stories got into greater detail of the fun the boys had in their early teen and growing up years.

The story is familiar to most parents whose sons know where the liquor cabinet is in each of their homes and the thrill of sneaking something past their parents.

A Sip or Two

Rast remembers the nights the boys camped in the back yard, then, under the stars, crept into the Curry home to try a sip or two..or three..from one of the liquor bottles. So as not to be detected, they would replace what they drank with an equal amount of water. Like most boys, they continued growing up and moving on, always keeping in their backs of their minds the fun of sneaking something from their parents.

Curry’s father, Everett, was honored at a dinner in his later years, and the grown men realized their fathers were far smarter than they thought.

The senior Curry pointed out in his address at the event that he always thought that he could drink  more alcohol as he get older….until he realized it wasn’t so, it was simply that his son and Fred had watered down his house supply.

As for all their years of service to the community,  octogenarian Curry said at the event, “it’s how we grew up. It’s what everybody did.”

Walter Curry has done it well.  And continues to do so!

Still Celebrating

They’re still celebrating and they’re still in love but the family got together last month to celebrate the 70^th wedding anniversary of Dick and Pat Stryker, the former Atlantic Highlands Mayor and retired pharmacist and his quiet, soft-spoken wife who hailed from Keansburg and won the heart of the Atlantic Highlands native.

Central Railroad of New Jersey

And for them, the Central Railroad of New Jersey holds some pretty special significance.

That’s how they met. It was on the train commuting to New York  while Dick was heading to St. John’s University School of Pharmacy and Pat was heading to her position as a secretary in a physician’s office in New York. Dick boarded the train in Atlantic Highlands, and Pat minutes later from her hometown of Keansburg.

At first, the couple just smiled at each other; a short time later, it was a smile followed by a couple of hellos. Then it was a formal date or two before it got down to serious courting for a year and a half.

The couple married on Thanksgiving Day, which was Nov. 27 in 1952.

Dick earned his degree, the couple were married at St. Ann’s Church, Pat’s parish in Keansburg, they honeymooned in Washington DC and settled in Atlantic Highlands with Dick working in an East Keansburg pharmacy.

By September 1953, with the United States involved in Korea, Dick enlisted in the Army and was in training in Virginia which he where he was stationed when their first daughter was born. The family moved to St. Louis to be close to Dick during his tour there and that’s where their first son was born.

A second daughter was born in 1956 and their youngest son, Richard, was born in 1965.

Bayshore Pharmacy

The young father purchased the Modern Pharmacy in Keansburg in 1957 and three years later, another pharmacy in Sea Bright.  It was in 1964 when Dick and his brother-in-law Joe McDonald opened Bayshore Pharmacy when the new Foodtown Shopping Mall was built and opened on Route 36 at First Avenue.

Throughout the decades, the couple participated in numerous activities and organizations within the borough, Dick becoming involved in politics and serving on numerous committees and commissions before being elected Mayor a position he held for seven years.

After retirement, the Stryker’s began retirement in Ocean Pines, Maryland, where she stayed several years, , enjoying the ocean, boating and travel as well as golf and  other activities.

But the call to home was too strong and the Stryker’s moved back here 12 years ago.

Anniversary

Both now 91 years old now, the Strikers celebrated the anniversary with daughters Kathy and her husband Mark, Sue and Terry, and sons and their spouses Jim and MaryAnn and Rich and Jill, together with grandchildren Mellissa and Eric, Jesse, Ryan and Lauren, Nick and Jessica, Gerald, Elizabeth, Christopher, BillyJoe and Jordan, Jack, Ethan, Grace, Ryley, Teague, Kolby, Gracie Kate, Mac, Adley and Baby Fletcher.   The celebration and visitation lasted for days.

As Christmas approaches, Pat is continuing to progress wonderfully from a fracture that was the result of a fall outside the couple’s apartment at 10 Ocean, and Dick can still be heard at Council meetings questioning activities and giving guidance on how things were done in an earlier era on the borough council.

With the holiday season and a variety of parties on tap, Shore Casino General Manager Jay Strebbs is coming up with new and unique ideas for the famed restaurant and facility at the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Harbor. Latest taste sensation is Jay’s Candy Lane Candy Cane Christmas Cocktail!!

A holiday spirited and festive looking drink!

Other stories about the Casino

St. Patrick’s

Casino

Easter

No Empathy

With the Atlantic Highlands Harbor Commission apparently continuing to NOT care whether visually handicapped people can participate in their meetings like everyone else, and with the Mayor and Council continuing to decline to direct the Commission that even disabled persons have the right to know what’s going on at meetings and have a say in them, it is necessary for me to resort to recordings in order to learn what is happening, though I still cannot exercise my right to speak and participate like everyone else.

Because of the poor recording equipment and the rude interruption of persons from the public by members of the Commission, it isn’t even always possible to hear what’s going on.

Given these caveats, writing about what happens at a meeting I cannot attend but should be able to hear leaves the possibility there may be some mistakes in my writing. Any mistakes would not be a case of mea culpa, rather, they would be a case of the Harbor Commission not caring about the public’s right to participate. But here is what I culled from the other night’s harbor commission meeting, the last under this administration.

Amazing what they accomplish in a meeting less than 13 minutes long.

Lori Hohenleitner

While Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner congratulated staff not once but twice, she did it for good reason. She praised whoever on the staff is responsible for collecting all the fees the commission is owed, and then how terrific the commission is faring now, and in good shape to make its annual ‘donation’ to the borough to offset taxes.

That’s great, and I agree with the councilwoman.

Bills

But within that same 13 minutes, the five members of the Commission who attended the meeting, without a single question, approved the payment of bills for two months. Those bills totaled more than a quarter of a million dollars…$392,015.68 to be exact.

WOW.

Attorney’s Report

But the attorney’s report was brief and didn’t say much. Michael Dupont did not say what is happening, what’s been discussed, or heck, whether he has even told to the lessee what is going on concerning that $1.5 million building. That is the one built by Kappa Construction, approved and leased while not in conformance with the building code or certificate of occupancy regulations. The same building that lease Capt. Harold Smith has been complaining about for 2 years. Dupont’s report said simply  “it’s proceeding.”

End of report.

Mark Fisher

Resident Mark Fisher had asked that the administrator’s report be made available at meetings to all interested residents, but that did not happen. Chairman Thomas Wall noted this is the last meeting under this administration, he thought there would be no problem with that happening next year, but suggested to  Fisher that if he still doesn’t have it in two months or so, let them know.

WOW.

Captain Smith

Capt. Smith, who has been patient and calm for most meetings, sounds like he is losing his patience with the lack of information, lack of work, and “decisions made in the back room.”  He pointed out, as did Fisher,  that at the last meeting, the Commission set Dec. 10 for the deadline for completing all the work necessary on the building. When Wall said it was completed, Smith countered not at all. Not only was he told by the harbormaster that a plumber was hired to do the job, came and ‘repaired’ it, until it rained and leaked again, but he or no one else ever saw any approvals that the firm was even hired.   That defines a lack of transparency, Smith said.

Nor were all Improvements made as reported, he continued. Wall, ever the peacemaker at his last meeting as chairman, countered that “we’re moving forward” and that  should be worth something.  He reminded Smith that the commission had gotten ‘screwed’ by the contractor, to which Smith responded, It  was because the work was not supervised.

WOW

Camaraderie

Moving  to in the hopes of ending the meeting with some camaraderie, Wall congratulated Commission employee Jessica McLane for being named by the Mayor and Council as the Employee of the Month.

He also congratulated the harbor commissioners for their volunteerism and interest in the harbor, as well as the residents who attend meetings because they are interested in knowing and promoting is good for the town. Wall said the input of residents is appreciated He also expressed the hope that in 2023 the commission can continue to more forward in a more positive manner.

Matty Giuliano’s second book, Stubby’s Story, is a far cry from his first, My Name is Musky and geared to a larger audience including older children and adults.

The in depth short story that highlights the need to change regulations on using animals for scientific research is, like My Name is Musky, illustrated by the talented Morgan Spicer,  who showed a broad talent in bringing Giuliano’s message of euthanasia and animal illnesses to an audience who will remain captivated by her versatility and use of color and facial expressions, on both animals and people.

The story focuses on Stubby, a ferret rescued by Giuliano’s daughter after he escaped from a research and development lab because of his fear of  what would be happening to him.   Spicer’s dark pages and illustrations with tears and sadness bring out the message of desperation Giuliano wants to depict, and brightens considerably towards the end when  Barbara at the SPCA and Victoria meet up at the SPCA with Musky, the first rescued ferret, and the rest all blends into a charming happy ending.

While the story is a quick read, charming, and fun to see all the illustrations, the final page after the story’s conclusion, cites animal testing stats that show animal testing of drugs is only 5 percent effective when it comes to the human trials that follow. Giuliano also includes ways to put an end to animal testing, including writing to Congressmen calling for funds to be used to develop alternatives to animal testing that would be more effective for humans and less harmful to animals. Giuliano also suggests checking out cosmetics, household cleaners and personal care products and only purchases those that are certified “cruelty free.”

The book is available from either Guiliano or Spicer, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.