The Atlantic Highlands Historical Society recently added a 19th century sitting chair to its collection of historic items, thanks to the generosity of descendants of a well-known family from the area from the 1800s.
David Springsteen of Ohio and his sister, Suzanne Springsteen of Coatesville, Pa., presented the wooden and woven seated chair to the Society in brief ceremonies Sunday. Accepting the chair for the Society were Joanne Dellosso and Patty McBurnie-Bickauskas
The Springsteen siblings have many family connections in the area, and spent the day visiting and learning more about some of their heritage.
At the Strauss House, they explained that the chair was once in the house at 55 Ave D., currently in use as the Saint Agnes Thrift Shop.
The house was built by Captain James and Emma Leonard, whose daughter Mary, married Jonathan T. Stout, a well-known landscape contractor in Monmouth County, responsible for laying out numerous gardens in the area. They are the grandparents of the present day donors.
In addition to the Ave D. house connection, the Springsteen’s also told society members the story of their mother Suzanne and her sister Bessie, whose father was a wireless operator at the Twin Lights. The girls were twins sisters and there were stories in local newspapers about the twins who lived at the Twin Lights when they lived at the telegraph building on the property.
Another part of the Springsteens lineage gives them several connections in Freehold, where Pvt. James Fallon was a Medal of Honor recipient after the Civil War. In the 21st century, that makes these siblings relatives of Bruce Springsteen as well as Glenn Cashion, a local author and members of the Monmouth County Historical Commission.
While in Atlantic Highlands for the presentation, the Springsteeens also met with the Rev. Jarlath Quinn of Sts. Agnes Church and toured the former family home, now the Thrift Shop, as well as meeting with Nick Wood, the historian at the Twin Lights who shared additional information with them.
It was a great luncheon and an even better afternoon sharing stories with Bill Ptak. Florida resident up in his native Highlands for a few days and catching up with the memories and great people that made growing up in Highlands so much fun in the 1960s and 70s.
Bill is the oldest of the 11 youngsters of Ben and Gerry Ptak, the affable, always smiling, always working, always helping others, couple who raised their kids in the family home at the corner of Valley and Highland avenues.
There was some 20 years or so between Bill, the oldest of the clan, and the youngest, so just about every family knew or went to school with at least one of the Ptaks.
And all were there for the funeral of the family’s second oldest, Tommy, the brave young man who went to Vietnam and did not come back, the only soldier from Highlands who was killed in the Vietnam War.
Bill still remembers that tragic time, and admits he still misses the brother who was only one year younger than he.
It was Bill who captured the hearts of all of Highlands when he climbed up on the roof of the family home after the family was notified of Tommy’s death. It was Bill who spent one day painting the chimney the highest point on the house, with the American flag. Over the years, residents gazed up at the flag, seeing it as a memorial to their native son, and perhaps saying an extra prayer for the family, or chuckling over some joke or fun they shared with Tommy.
Bill remembers painting the flag, but doesn’t recall the exact day. He did it, he said, because it was Vietnam, it was a time for Hippies, and everyone was painting things here, there and everywhere. “Why not be patriotic, why not paint the American flag where it could be seen?” the good looking septuagenarian said this week, in talking about that past.
Bill was also the family member who started the beehives at the Ptak house. He had to select a project for his Boy Scout merit badge, he said, and raising bees seemed like a good idea. He did it, he earned his merit badge, and the hive lasted, later being taken care of by Bill’s father, Ben. Bill also said that even after he moved to Florida he had a couple of hives, but has given that up at least temporarily after a swarm of killer insects invade the territory and forced the bees to move on.
Now in his second career field…Bill worked in physical therapy before his current work which is in manufacturing with a specialty firm in construction, he’s as creative and curious as ever, always willing to try new avenues of adventure. He made the trip from Jacksonville where he lives to New Jersey by Amtrak, and enjoyed the experience enough to think about more travel .
But it’s the memories of those growing up years, those large families along Highland and Valley avenues, and all the kids playing, working, and going to school together that brought the most smiles to the hometown visitor during this visit.
Of course there were the Ryans on the corner of Highland and Miller, the cousins, the sons of Hubie and Rose, Bill’s aunt and uncle, the Dempseys…and there were several families of them, Earl and Mary and their brood not quite as large as the Ptaks, but close, Roland and Joan Dempsey with their youngsters, the Gills….it’s Bryan and his family Bill is visiting while up here, and of course the Giovencos, the Bordens, later the Dominguez’ and us, the Smiths, to name a few.
Bill shared the good news with me that the Giovenco clans now living in Kentucky are far removed from the devastating floods they are experiencing in the eastern part of the state now, and he’s been in touch with both John and Lynn.
The cycling Highlands tourist has a lot of plans over the next few days, checking out the Twin Lights, accepting the warning he’ll be surprised by where the new Highlands Borough Hall is being built, going over to spend time with one of his brothers now at one of the great B&Bs on Sandy Hook, and simply cycling through town to see the changes. He thinks 1 Willow St. is a great restaurant, not only for the food and service, but the great view as well, both of the Shrewsbury River, the bay and the Coast Guard buildings on Sandy Hook. He likes the look of the new condos on Willow Street and has already noticed the changes in town from his growing up years to the present. Think of it, he mused, after talking about the clam depuration plant, the number of clammers in town, the casual restaurants and the more casual atmosphere and outdoor dining at the town’s oldest restaurant, Bahrs. He laughed and said he knew he was talking to “a young person” when he called for reservations at One Willow and asked for directions, trying to use Conners as a focus point. The young lady didn’t know where he was talking about.
He’s enjoying his stay eager to cram in as much as he can, see as many old friends as he can, and simply recalling the joys and experiences of growing up in Highlands. “Even the names,” he noted, “we’ve come from The Clam Hut to One Willow,” an indication the population as changed as well.
But sadly Bill won’t see that American flag on the roof of the former Ptak home he painted to honor his brother. The chimney…and the red, white and blue, are gone, replaced with more modern equipment.
It will be five years this month since Middletown Police Chief Joseph McCarthy died at the age of 92. An unforgettable figure known to be both controversial and kind, sympathetic and tough, liked and hated, but always recognized and remembered.
This is a story I wrote for the Monmouth Journal the week after he died.
While friends, colleagues and members of the community joined the family in mourning the death of Joseph McCarthy this week, they also reveled in recanting stories of the legendary Chief of the Middletown Police Department — who served in that capacity for 23 years — and who was known as much for being a tough cop as he was for being kind, gentle, generous and always offering a helping hand.
McCarthy died Monday, one month to the day after his 92nd birthday. A Mass of Christian burial was held this morning, at Mary, Mother of God Church in New Monmouth. Burial followed at Fair View Cemetery, Middletown.
In the true generous spirit of McCarthy, the family has asked that any donations in his name be made to the Wounded Warriors Project, 4899 Belford Rd., Suite 300, Jacksonville, Fla. 32256.
“Joe could be summed up in a song,” said former Middletown Police Chief Robert Letts, a close friend of McCarthy for the 33 years he served with him on the department. “‘I did it my way’ explains how Joe ran the department, and his life,” Letts said.
The two veteran officers rose through the ranks together, with Letts also serving as Chief of Detectives before becoming Chief when McCarthy retired in 1990.
“I have so many great memories of him, not only as a police officer, but as a friend,” Letts said. “We traveled together, he and his wife Kate were sponsors for my sons’ sacraments in Church, we were good friends.”
Letts chuckled remembering the ‘other’ McCarthy — the Chief.
“He called staff meetings to hear all the opinions of his senior officers for specific plans or programs,” Letts said. “He heard all the comments, but in the end would say, ‘Nope, we’re doing it this way!’ That was Joe.”
Giving one example of McCarthy’s leading from the front, Letts recalled the 1970s when there were reports Vietnam protesters were tearing down an American flag at the high school.
“We all were recommending we stay low key, keep an eye on the situation, and to be prepared if anything did happen, but not to bring a lot of attention to it,” Letts said. “Not Joe. He said we were to go out in force, standby and be prepared right in front and in the open before anything would happen.”
Fortunately, he added, nothing happened, but Chief McCarthy always had his department prepared for any incident, before it happened.
Not only was he a great leader, but he was also the most progressive chief in the state, Letts said.
“We were among the first to have blue lights on patrol cars when that change came in, and we were among the first to have computers in our police vehicles,” he said.
Former Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches, who worked with both Letts and McCarthy, remains appreciative that McCarthy hired him in 1974. Now retired after 40 years on the department, Oches, who served three years as chief and still lives in Middletown, said, “He was always tough, but he was always good.”
He laughed when he thought about how McCarthy would react to all the hubbub surrounding his funeral — most likely yelling at everybody throughout because, “he never wanted any hoopla, or any attention, he’d be yelling if he saw how many people were out there to honor him.”
Oches said McCarthy mentored him throughout his career, even after he was retired.
“I always looked up to him, I tried my best to live up to his expectations,” Oches said. “He taught us that being a police officer was more than fighting crime and keeping neighborhoods safe. It was also about giving service to the people. He’d have us driving senior citizens to doctor’s appointments, helping a kid in need — he taught us the importance of community service before it even had a name.”
There was one time, Oches recalled, in the 1970s when he was a rookie officer and McCarthy was vacationing in Florida. He said he received a call from the chief, telling him he had just received a call in Florida from a neighbor in Port Monmouth. A woman in the neighborhood hadn’t been seen in a few days, the chief said, and directed Oches to go to the house to check on her. When Oches got no answer and all the doors and windows were locked, he called the Chief back in Florida to report he couldn’t get in to check.
“The Chief told me not to worry, we’d pay for it, but that I should break a window, get inside and make sure the woman was okay,” Oches recalled.
The patrolman did as he was told, and found the neighbor on the floor, severely dehydrated and unable to call for help. Oches called the first aid squad and accompanied her to the hospital, with the woman holding his hand in the ambulance the entire trip. He said she kept telling him to be sure to thank Chief McCarthy.
And Oches also made sure the window was repaired.
Oches also pointed out that while McCarthy was a prominent leader in Middletown and the county, he never let his power go to his head. Oches recalled Chief McCarthy had a sign behind his desk that read, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”
Former Police Chief John Pollinger wrote many of his own sentiments about the former chief on his Facebook page, also displaying photos through the years.
“It really is tough,” Pollinger said. “I first met Chief McCarthy at a banquet for the local first aid squad I belonged to at the age of 17. I mentioned I was a cadet and asked him if he had any plans in the future for a police cadet program. He invited me to his office the very next day. After a brief interview, he told me he wanted to start one and told me to go out and get khakis and black shoes. He had me come in, work records and allowed me to ride with the regular officers. No badge, no patch, no official role. The program never got off the ground but that never stopped him or me. A year later, Law Enforcement Exploring was just getting off the ground and off I went on my journey and career. I owe it all to him.”
Current Chief Craig Weber said, “Chief McCarthy was a remarkable person who touched so many lives and did so much good for the community. He devoted his life to public service and worked tirelessly to help maintain a wonderful quality of life and make Middletown one of the safest towns in the United States. As a law enforcement leader he was a pioneer who was truly ahead of his time.”
Police officers who served under McCarthy also have fond and lasting memories of the Chief who will forever be a role model in the township. Irv Beaver, who retired in 1989 after 25 years on the police department, conceded that he and McCarthy did not always agree, but, he said, their disagreements were always because of his position as the state delegate to the PBA, a position Beaver held for 12 years.
“Chief McCarthy was a very tough chief and he made Middletown the safest community in the state of New Jersey,” Beaver said.
McCarthy served on the Middletown Police Department under 17 different mayors, beginning with Mayor Frank Blaisdell in 1954, through Mayor Patrick Parkinson in 1990.
Residents throughout Monmouth County, but especially in the Bayshore, always saw McCarthy as the man who would take on any challenge, respond to any need or contribute to any worthy cause.
Local entrepreneur Jack Westlake, who now lives in Red Bank, recalls he and Joe first became friends 47 years ago when each learned they were both born in Jersey City. McCarthy came to Monmouth County in his youth, attending Middletown High School before joining the Army, and Westlake came in the 1970s.
“He was the best,” Westlake said. “They don’t make them like that anymore. He didn’t ever just say hello. He said what can I do for you?”
When the pair were talking at a funeral in Jersey City one day, they learned they had lived only blocks apart from each other growing up.
McCarthy remembered that Westlake’s grandmother had planted a bush in the front yard of the Westlake home some 70 years before, and he wanted to get a photo of Westlake in front of the still standing but now decades old plant. So after the funeral, McCarthy asked him to stop at a store so he could buy a camera and on to the house they went to get the picture.
“Then after he took that picture, we drove to his former house, where he got out, stood on the lawn and told me to take a photo of him, and to be sure I got the house number in the picture,” Westlake recalled.
When Westlake was beginning the new ferry service out of the Bayshore, he said McCarthy was going to every freeholder meeting, “to be sure they gave me all the permits and everything necessary to get it underway.”
Westlake added, “He went to so many meetings they asked me if I had him on the payroll.”
He did not, and it was simply that McCarthy thought water-borne service would be a boon to the Bayshore and an improvement for Monmouth County.
Former Atlantic Highlands Mayor Dick Stryker also had humorous and warm memories of Chief McCarthy, especially how he “mobilized the entire Bayshore during some very difficult times,” especially the riots in Asbury Park.
“He brought people together and always defended the rights of the people,” Stryker said. “The Chief is a part of history, not only of Middletown but of the entire Bayshore.”
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The annual Mark Spatola Memorial Blood Drive will be held Tuesday Aug 9 from 2 p.m. to 8 .m..
The drive will be held at the St. Agnes Parish Center on South Avenue and is chaired by Kim Spatola and Mayor Loretta Gluckstein.
Mayor Gluckstein urged participation in the annual event during Thursday’s meeting of the Mayor and Council, and invited all interested persons to call her for further information. The mayor can be reached at 732-872-9305
Interested persons can also call Ms. Spatola at 732-861-8374.
The invitation is also offered to anyone who would like to volunteer to assist during the event.
Tickets are available now for the Aug. 14 cruise aboard the Navesink Queen sponsored by the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society.
Nicholas Wood, noted historian and park ranger at the Twin Lights, will be the guest speaker on the noon time cruise. Wood will not only make his presentations from the wheelhouse of the Navesink Queen, but will also mingle with cruise goers taking questions and responding with a wealth of knowledge about the area, the history of the Twin Lights, and Monmouth County in general. Wood will highlight the importance of some of the sites the paddle-wheeler passes on the cruise, and relate why they have all played a role in creating the Monmouth County of today.
Wood will also tell stories of some of the shipwrecks off the Jersey coast, and other tales about the sea.
The $60 ticket price includes lunch and snacks. No outside food or beverages are permitted about the craft, and there is a bar available for drink purchases.
Boarding begins at 11:30am on Aug. 14 at the Atlantic Highlands Marina, Franks’ Pier, slip 65, and the Navesink Queen leaves promptly at 12:00pm.
The Matawan Historical Society is looking for a few ghosts.
The Society wants to make even more popular its Haunted History Walking Tour. Considering there are more than 300 homes in the borough that are more than a century old, chances are there are a few spirits form earlier decades still residing within their walls.
The Historical Society is asking current and former Matawan residents to help in the search.
Persons who have experienced anything paranormal in their home such as unexplained shadows, orbs or bumps in the night or other unexplained sights, noises, movements or smells, are invited to tell their stories and share experiences with the Society.
More information on the event will be released in the coming weeks, and the Society urges residents to follow its Facebook page for the latest updates.
To learn more about this and 300+ years of Matawan’s unique history, join the Matawan Historical Society by visiting .
Even if the regionalization of a K-12 district for Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright gets on the ballot in November and is approved, it would not go into effect until 2023.
Despite the fact the boards of educations of the three schools in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands have to continue running the schools as three boards of education during that time, no one from Atlantic Highlands filed for the one seat up for election this year on the regional school board and only four persons filed for the four seats on the Atlantic Highlands school board.
In Highlands, two people filed for the two seats to be decided at Henry Hudson, and no one filed for the one seat on the Highlands board to be decided in November.
That leaves the score, between the two boroughs, that both communities left vacancies on board of Education. Atlantic Highlands has candidates to fill the local board but not Henry Hudson, and Highlands candidates are for the Henry Hudson board but not the local board.
At Henry Hudson, where two seats from Atlantic Highlands and one from Highlands are up for election no one filed from Atlantic Highlands, and Diane Knox and Melissa Zachok-Fiekko, both new to the board, filed for election for the Highlands seats. None of the incumbents, Jill Karshmer, Mark Heter and Ezra Ardolino is seeking another term.
In Atlantic Highlands, where three three year terms and one one year term are on the ballot for the local board, Elizabeth Eittreim was the only member who did not file for re-election. Filing for another full term are Ryan Palamara and Deborah Appello, with newcomer Cory Wingerter seeking the seat currently held by Eittreim. Daniel Sutton is unopposed in filing for the one year unexpired term he was first appointed to when Erin Dougherty left the board due to a possible conflict. Dougherty’s husband is on the Borough Council and both the governing bodies and school boards are involved in discussions about K—12 regionalization.
With only four candidates filing for four seats on the local board, and no one filing for the Henry Hudson seat, there will be no battles at balloting unless there are write-in candidates.
In Highlands, where there are two seats up for the regional school board, and two candidates, Knox and Zachok-Fierro, and no one filing for the local board, there will be no contests in that borough either absent write-in candidates for either board.
Neither Highlands board members Nancy Messina nor Serena Jerinsky, whose term would be for one year, are seeking reelection.
That means in Highlands there will also be no competition for any of the board seats without write-in candidates expressing interest prior to the November election.
The Shore Casino now offers special appetizers and an opportunity to relax and enjoy afternoon and early evening outings with friends every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Shore Casino owner Kathleen Sweeny announced this week.
“So many people have asked us to open for a place to socialize and enjoy some good food a few days a week, and so we started this new program, “ said Jay Strebb Casino manager. “And already, we have learned our guests really like the opportunity drop in casually, have a drink and some appetizers, then either go out for dinner or go home to spend the rest of the evening at home,” Strebb said.
The Shore Casino is now open Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is offering an appetizer menu that some say doubles as dinner, customers have indicated.
The Weekend menu includes appetizers, entrees and desserts, ranging in price from $6 to $21.
The Appetizers menu includes specialty menu items included Shrimp balls with garlic, with wine, and cheese served with a tomato sauce, and Shishito chili peppers with guacamole aioli
Entrees, which range in price from $10 to $21, include shrimp Po Boy with remoulade sauce, open faced beef sandwiches with sides, and the most popular item offered in a variety of ways, Stuffed Bake Potato.
“That’s been very popular,” Strebb agreed, “these are large baked potatoes and they’re stuffed with broccoli, cheese, bacon, butter and yes, sour cream as well. If that isn’t enough, or if our guests want something extra special, the chef can also stuff them with either chicken fingers, shrimp or steak. We’ve found our guests like these every way they’re offered.”
The Bananas Foster is probably the most popular of the desserts, the manager continued, though the Casino’s famed rice pudding runs a close second. “I have to admit,” Strebb laughed, “it is a tie between the Bananas Foster with the caramel sauce on its own, or Bananas Foster with peanut butter.”
No reservations are necessary for the weekend events, and small groups can be accommodated.
I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a feminist. But I am a woman and I work with an awful lot of lawyers in one of my volunteer positions that I participate in several days a week.
Yet I have never been so dismayed, so surprised, and so disappointed when I learned what the Machado Law Group appears to have done.
I have never heard or seen a lawyer who did not identify himself when talking about a case in which their firm is directly involved. I have never seen or heard of a lawyer directly involved in a case who would seek to get answers about things the opposing side is doing, thinking, saying or planning without identifying himself as a lawyer from the firm representing the ‘opposition.”
But I saw this with the Machado Law Group of Springfield. I saw it in the person of Christine McGee. Indeed, that is who this person who reached out to me is. There is a Christine McGee listed with the firm. That I saw on their website. But no where did I see, from posted minutes of Oceanport board meetings to websites from either the board or the law group, that this is the firm representing Oceanport.
How perfectly shameful. How devastatingly unethical. How cheap, low, and so beneath a professional.
And for feminists who have fought so hard, continue to fight so hard, and have made great achievements, what a tragic setback to their cause and goals to show how brilliant, capable, upright, educated and ready women are in the 21st century.
Christine McGee as a member of the Machado Law Group of Springfield, has done her profession, her sex, the Oceanport Board of Education, all of Sea Bright, Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, a terrible injustice.
I’ve seen released prisoners with higher standards of morals and integrity.
With fewer than two dozen people both on ZOOM and in person at the meeting, the planning board reviewed a number of recommendations they will have to the Mayor and Council before the public hearing and possible adoption next Thursday of an ordinance which would enable both retail and manufacturing cannabis operations in specific sections of the community.
The recommendations from the planners do not have to be adopted by the governing body; they are simply areas where the planning board members feel the governing body could incorporate specific items in the ordinance. The board had already determined cannabis businesses are in conformance with the borough’s Master Plan.
Council can react in several different ways at Thursday’s meeting, expecting to draw large crowds from residents on both sides of the issue. They can decide to withhold any further action on the ordinance until they looked more carefully into the planning board recommendations, they could decide they did not want to accept any of the recommendations and hold the public hearing and final vote at their meeting, they could hold the public hearing and delay their vote on the final approval of the proposed ordinance for another meeting, or they can decide they want one or more of the planning board recommendations included.
Should the Mayor and Council opt for that last possibility, or make any changes in the proposed code, the code would be ended right then, and a new process started. That process would once again include an introduction, referral to the planning board, public hearing and adoption, which would mean final action on a new code could be delayed until October or possibly November.
With a sparse crowd at the planning board meeting and no one wanting to be heard either in person or on ZOOM concerning the recommendations, Dr. Merissa Zuzulock and other members of the subcommittee which has reviewed the proposed code cited about ten suggestions they would make. These included consideration of limiting foot traffic, spelling out buffer zones, eliminating black shades be required on retail cannabis businesses, limiting the size of the businesses, including height restrictions for manufacturing, and granting conditional use for specific times to see how the new business fares. Members talked about the buffer distance in relation to the elementary school, and the impact on parking and additional law enforcement but made no specific recommendations any of those areas.
Planning board member John McGoldrick chaired the meeting in the absence of Chairman Douglas Pepe. The board unanimously agreed to have attorney Michael Steib write a letter by Monday listing the recommendations, with the plan to have that information to the Mayor and Council in time for the governing body to review it before Thursday’s public hearing and possible adoption.
That there will be a crowed at the meeting is anticipated in light of a recent gathering at the Senior Center in the Yacht Harbor called by a grass roots of residents opposed to any cannabis businesses in town. Councilmen James Murphy, Brian Boms and Steve Boracchia were all present at the meeting, with Murphy highly vocal in his opposition to any of the businesses permitted anyplace in Atlantic Highlands. The group has received donations from local residents, has had signs printed and displayed on residents lawns throughout the borough and has circulated petitions all in opposition to cannabis businesses in the borough.
Likewise, dozens of people in favor of cannabis have been at council meetings showing their support for some type of business, arguing a larger percentage of the local population voted in favor at the state election which made cannabis legal for sale, manufacture, distribution and use in the Garden State.
In other business at the meeting the planning board gave unanimous approval of a variance for the Paskewich property at 104 Asbury Avenue, and after presentations and hearings, also approved a minor site plan and use change for True North Management LLC at 68 First Avenue to permit another medical business within the complex of businesses already active in the building. Planners also approved a variance the Kelley property at 35 E. Garfield ave. enabling the Kelley’s to make renovations to a century old garage for personal use and storage.
