With major drugstore chains closing down hundreds of locations, with chain drug stores filing bankruptcy and facing severe financial distress, now is the time more than ever to know more about and appreciate the value of a family-owned hometown pharmacy.

Bayshore Pharmacy in the Foodtown Shopping Mall on Route 36 in Atlantic Highlands is the perfect example.

CVS has announced plans to close 270 stores, on top of those they have already closed.

Walgreens has plans to shut down more than a thousand stores within the next 18 months.

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy and now all of its stores are closed.

So what is it that keeps Bayshore Pharmacy alive and well, and continuing to help all its customers on a daily basis?

It’s simple. The bottom line is

THEY CARE!

It was 61 years ago, more than half a century and then some, that Richard C. Stryker, R.Ph. opened his pharmacy. Of course he chose to open it in Atlantic Highlands, his hometown, the town where the Stryker family laid down deep and firm roots in the 19^th century. For Richard Stryker, it was more than opening a drug store. It was opening a pharmacy in his hometown that would provide for his friends and neighbors.

Stryker built up his business slowly, honestly, and with love and concern for the people he served. He brought up his son, Richard the same way, teaching him the importance of family, friendship, professionalism and always doing the right thing. Assured young Richard held to his same ideals, and those of the senior Stryker’s family members who were in the business with him, he retired, stepping down and handing the reins over to his son to carry on the Stryker tradition.

The second Richard Stryker follows his dad’s directives and guidance well; the pharmacy continues to be the pharmacy that is right there to assist every neighbor, every customer that comes through the door.

However, over the past half decade or so, the pharmacy industry as a whole has faced severe financial distress. The chain stores shut down locations and took major efforts to restructure their businesses. That included reducing labor costs, eliminating leases, shutting down stores that weren’t making enough of a profit, cutting back on services that did not make them any extra funds. In short, the needs of maintaining high profits took precedence over the everyday concerns of the chain store pharmacy patron.

But at Bayshore Pharmacy, the accent was still on customer service, still on maintaining a quaint and friendly business that had grown from being just a drug store to being the major gift shoppe and pharmacy for the area, while still keeping the accent on providing every pharmaceutical need every customer has. Their work and their constant desires to meet the needs of individual customers are highly effective.

Last year, the Bayshore Pharmacy family, for indeed it is a family, celebrated 61 years in business with flourish and fanfare that broke back scores of residents to celebrate and remember. Families who had moved out of state after raising their children here came back to celebrate with newcomers who didn’t know the history but knew they liked everything Bayshore Pharmacy had to offer. People knew Bayshore Pharmacy was more than a drug store, more than a gift shop; it was the home for family care.

Because it is a family-owned business, Bayshore Pharmacy is an independent pharmacy rather than part of a chain. As such the pharmacy focuses on what is needed most: personalized service, community commitment, and specialized programs.

The present Rich Stryker will tell you the key points of this store are the personalized relationship-based care that is offered. At Bayshore, no customer is a number; each is an individual name, a person the pharmacist will say Hi to from his place in the glassed- in work area behind the counter; tor he’ll come down to chat with a customer concerned about a new med, or to answer a customer’s question about his latest prescription, a question he answers in terms the customer can understand. Or any of the staff might just stop to talk for a minute, to assure himself his customer is happy and well taken care of.

As an independent pharmacy, Bayshore does not have any specific quota it feels obligated to fill; the accent is rather on providing specifically what the customer wants or needs.

As an independent pharmacy, Bayshore also offers convenience packaging, called ‘medication synchronization. That means the pharmacist and staff package all medications by date and time, simplifying complex regimens for many customers. It’s a service that’s offered that is particularly appreciated by senior citizens or caregivers, saving time and assuring accuracy in time and amount of every medication.

And while medications that are prescribed for renewal can always be renewed with ease, Bayshore offers reminders and arranges to have meds ready and waiting for the time and day requested by the customer. Or, delivered right to the home, should that be the request.

Bayshore also goes far beyond prescriptions. There are numerous health programs, including a Diabetes Education program, a Wellness Center, and other programs that encourage a customer to focus on being proactive in the areas of personal improved health and preventative care. The Health Center is now a major part of the pharmacy’s offerings, with its health sessions keeping individuals informed on everything from vitamins and supplements to heart health, diabetes and GLP1 support. It has grown in leaps and bounds since first opened less than five months ago as customers realize the benefits education offers in maintaining their own health standards and practices.
When it is a family-owned business in a town where literally everybody knows your name. Bayshore also offers a staff that is as warm and welcoming, as knowledgeable about their own work obligations and duties as the Strykers themselves. Many of the staff have been employed for decades, Store Manager Ellen Duda has been part of the Bayshore family for nearly three decades; others are second-generation employees whose parents also proudly worked at Bayshore Pharmacy. Even the rare new employee quickly learns the names of each customer, knowing each is far more important than simply being a person standing before the counter.

Bayshore Pharmacy has a long history in Monmouth County as a family-owned business that shows more than efficiency and excellence in the store. It’s also deeply grounded in the community, generous in their offerings of service and education, with the owners also involved in many other ways in the community. The senior Stryker, who still stops in the store long enough each week or so to ensure his son is maintaining his high standards and to revel in the friendship of the customers, was a long time Mayor of the community, the present owner is on the board of directors of the Portland Pointe senior housing community.

There is little doubt chain-owned and operated pharmacies are losing the confidence and trusted business of their customers.

That’s a far cry from what is happening at the family owned and operated, 61 year old Bayshore Pharmacy.

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The Atlantic Highlands Harbor Commission has set October 31 as the date when all requests for a proposed use of the former Shore Casino restaurant and catering facility are to be received for review.

The RFP, which is posted on the borough’s official website ahnj.com under Harbor bids (Direct Link Below), also indicates the bids are to be submitted to the Harbor Commission office at the yacht Harbor by noon on October 31, and will be opened at Borough Hall on First Avenue at 1 p.m.

Bids will then be reviewed during November and decided on December 9 by the lease committee comprised of Harbor Commissioners Michael Curry and James Krauss.

The execution date for the five-year bid lease to begin and the commencement date for beginning operations of catering or events facility are both to be decided once the bid is awarded.

While the bid indicates it is for the 20,500 square-foot premises which have been the Shore Casino for more than half a century, it lists as amenities an AV system, place for storing garbage and parking, though it does not indicate how many parking spaces would be included. A recent temporary lease of parking spaces in the busy harbor enabled the leasee to close off the area near the tennis courts though that is not specifically spelled out in this newest bid.

Although the governing body took no formal action on the disposition of the lease with the Shore Casino, the RFP for the new tenant specifies the Mayor and Council has the right to reject all bids should the top bidder not be accepted.

The proposal is for a five-year term for the leases with the option to renew by mutual consent of the Commission and the lease.

The link for the RFP is  https://ecode360.com/AT0153/document/753189613.pdf

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“Charlie founded Turning Point USA when he was around 18 — it was aimed at empowering students, giving them a platform, a voice. From my view, as a high school student, that part is important. So many of us feel like our opinions don’t matter yet — that we’re still “learning,” still “finding our place.” Charlie tried to challenge that. He turned his early opinions into activism. Whether or not you agreed with everything he said, you couldn’t deny he believed young people mattered. What can we, as high schoolers, take from Charlie’s life?

These were the expressions of a teen-aged student following the gathering of an estimated more than 100 people in Veterans Park in Atlantic Highlands Tuesday night memorializing political activist Charlie Kirk on what would have been his 32^nd birthday. Kirk, the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was murdered last month when shot during a gathering in Orem, Utah, and speaking on mass shootings.

The Atlantic Highlands memorial was organized by former Councilman Brian Boms and included music, prayers, Bible readings, a pledge of allegiance, the National Anthem and one rude and unfortunate interruption of a teenager in the midst of her talk about Kirk and the lessons he taught young people.

Boms opened the gathering by asking all to remember the three pillars Kirk used as the foundation of his encouragement to young people who wished to fulfill their obligation to take part in forming the country they wish to live in: courage, faith as a foundation, and responsibility.

“Charlie didn’t shy away from hard conversations,” Boms said, in speaking of his courage, “He ventured into places where many were silent…. made arguments, challenged norms, questioned assumptions.” He was not always popular, Boms said, “but he was always rooted in what he believed was true.”

Boms noted that those who knew the popular activist spoke of his dedication to his Christian faith and how it shaped his worldview, his compassion and the way he saw others. “He saw beyond politics to what he believed was eternal; beyond division to what could bind people together.”

Kirk believed in young people, Boms continued, “ In students on college campuses, in young leaders who might be unsure, or afraid, or intimidated. He believed they could and should be part of the conversation—and part of the solution. He invested in them.”

Boms who said he had secured a permit for the gathering from the borough office within hours after submitting his request for use of the park for 90 minutes, led the Pledge of Allegiance with Mike Burke singing the National Anthem. Others who participated actively before the crowd include Phil Spatola who read a poem he had written and former Councilman James Murphy who read an e-mail he had received from a resident unable to be there, as well as comments of his own on the importance of Kirk as a public figure.

Local resident Morgan Spicer also spoke, her accent on peace, unity and the need to put an end to political violence across the nation. Resident Paul Barbado also read a poem on the importance of hugs He urged those in attendance to turn to the person next to them and exchange hugs or some sign of friendship and camaraderie, a suggestion that was well received and activated.

Former Mayor Loretta Gluckstein  also participated in the program, quoting a series of passages from the Bible referring to peace and unity before leading the group in a prayer. Sherri Piazza and Burke led the group in singing “Let there be peace on earth” as a closing of the hour-long program before the gathering departed the park.

The only discordant incident during the evening of prayer and song was while the teenager was speaking and local resident Cameron Fish exited a nearby bar, wandered down to the gathering in the park screaming Kirk was a loser, a racist and other remarks. Although momentarily shaken, the teen continued her speech, and police convinced Fish to be silent and leave the area.

“ I get it that people may oppose his beliefs, perhaps because many have never listened to more than a snippet of his talks and never heard his full message,” Boms said, “ but to act in that manner while a student is trying to find her own voice and the courage to express herself at a memorial service which clearly was  emphasizing unity was totally classless.”

Ironically, Boms noted, Fish’s rude interruption of a young person’s message in expressing herself was just what Kirk’s messages were all about. “If you believe something — in fairness, in justice, in what matters — find your voice. Debate, listen, learn. Don’t shrink from disagreement, but don’t let fear silence you either. There’s a time, place and more courteous manner in which this individual could have shown his distaste for what was going on in a public park,” the former councilman said.

As one speaker said at the gathering, “ In a world that often seems divided, Charlie taught us that our differences are not barriers, but gateways to deeper understanding. He showed us that it’s not only okay to discuss our varying perspectives, but that it’s essential. Through his advocacy, he has demonstrated that engaging in dialogue about our differences can lead to growth, empathy, and, ultimately, unity. “

Although none of the present Council were present at the gathering, all of whom had been invited to attend and participate, Boms confirmed that Mayor Lori Hohenleitner and several of the council members had sent responses, noting they had previous plans and would not be able to attend.

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Approximately 100 veterans of several wars and all branches of service were honored at the Fourth Annual Veteran Appreciation Lunch hosted by the Middletown Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution last week in Holmdel.

DAR Middletown Chapter Regent Michele Donnelly welcomed the group and their families to an event filled with appreciation, pomp, circumstance, and an honor guard provided by MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at Fort Hancock.

Donnelly introduced several officials present at the lunch to honor the veterans, including Holmdel Mayor Brian Foster, and Assembly members Gerry Sharfenberger and Vicky Flynn, both of whom attend numerous DAR functions honoring both living veterans and at gravesides maintained by the DAR.

Julia McAulay of Holmdel High School sang the National Anthem as the MAST Honor Guard presented the American flag.

Vincent Solomen, the NJ Deputy Commissioner of Veterans Affairs also spoke, showing his appreciation to veterans and the numerous ways each of the services serves the country in both war and peacetime.

Regent Donnelly, in welcoming everyone to the event, traced the DAR history back to its founding in 1890, a non-political women’s service organization whose mission includes both education for veterans and patriotism, She also invited any women who could prove direct lineal descendant from a Revolutionary War patriot to join the DAR.

Noting next year’s 250^th anniversary, Donnelly told the guests of honor “Our ancestors were the very first veterans of this country and so you all have a special place in our hearts as today’s veterans who have carried that legacy of democracy and freedom forward.”

“Our chapter is relatively young,” the regent said, “but it was founded on a desire to serve our community, especially our local veterans.” The annual luncheon is just one way members should their appreciation and thanks, she said.

Donnelly also thanked all the sponsors that worked with the DAR to make the catered buffet lunch and afternoon activities possible, including the Blue Claws Charities, Circle Hyundai, Drs. Joseph Cauda and James Brock, Roar Properties and Buhler Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. She also thanked Girl Scout Troop 96330 the Holmdem Dance Team,and the many who have send cards and appreciation for the veterans.

Colonel Pablo Torres, the commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 49 at Fort Dix, was guest speaker for the program.

Colonel Torres, a highly decorated Marine and a graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, was designated a naval aviator in 2003 and reported to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Training Squadron 303 for initial training in the AH-1W before being assigned with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 367. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from August 2004 to April 2005, August 2006 to February 2007, and April 2008 to November 2008 before taking the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course in 2007.

After the three combat tours with HMLA-367, Colonel Torres was assigned to 1^st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) and served as the Air Officer for Supporting Arms Liaison Team (SALT) Alpha where he was designated the subject matter expert for all aviation fires.  He also deployed again in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, screened with Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG) and volunteered to deploy with a Naval Special Warfare unit in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

After graduating from the Command and Staff College in Quantico, VA where he earned a Master of Military Studies, Colonel Torres reported to Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 29 and was later assigned to HMLA-167. While there, he served as the Assistant Operations Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer. In 2015, Colonel Torres deployed to Okinawa, Japan in support of Unit Deployment Program (UDP) 16.1.

After serving at Headquarters Marine Corps he then reported to MAG-29 and worked in the Department of Safety and Standardization. 

In June 2018, Colonel Torres was assigned command of HMLA-167. He led the squadron during multiple exercises and the in-stride conversion of the AH-1Z. The squadron supported every assigned frag during his command and maintained a mishap-free record.

His personal ward include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one gold star, Air Medal-Individual Action, Air Medal-Strike Flight Numeral 10, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two gold stars, and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with combat distinguishing device.

During the luncheon, Ernest Diorio, David Drummond and Rich Gough were presented with Distinguished Citizen Awards for their accomplishments and dedication. A Leatherneck Pipes and Drums provided further entertainment and honor for the veterans during the ceremony.

Tuesday, October 14 marks what would have been the 32nd birthday of the late Charlie Kirk.

There will be a memorial ceremony held in Veteran’s Park, across the street from the Atlantic Highlands Borough Hall, on Tuesday evening beginning at 6:30.

All are welcome to attend.

The Memorial Service is one of many being planned across the United States after both the US Senate and House last month approved resolutions to honor Kirk on his birthday.

In the Senate, Florida Senator Rick Scott introduced a resolution to make October 14, 2025, a National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk. The resolution cited the activist as a “good man, devout husband, father and friend.” Scott said Kirk’s life was shaped by his faith and the idea that in America, debate and discussion are crucial to the betterment of our country. “ He believed in God, the American dream, the value of family, and the principles of our great nation,” the Senator said.

The resolution received unanimous consent and did not require a full vote in the Senate.

In the House, several lawmakers introduced resolutions to honor Kirk and condemn political violence. Earlier, House Speaker  Mike Johnson confirmed a resolution to honor “the life and legacy of our friend Charlie Kirk”  had also passed in the House

While neither Resolution established October 14 as a national holiday, both encouraged educational institutions, civic organizations and citizens across the country to hold appropriate programs, activities, prayer and ceremonies to promote civic engagement and the principles of faith, liberty, and democracy similar to what Kirk advocated.

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Atlantic Highlands Council candidate Justin Thomas is clear and outspoken on his primary goals for the borough once he is elected in November to fill one of the two council seats up for election.

Thomas, who currently is serving on the Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education, would step down from that board if elected. He is running as a republican with Laura Hesse, a native of the borough whose business is also located here.

The two hope to take the places of current Democrat council members Vito Colasurdo and Eileen Cusick, neither of whom is running for a other term. If elected they would change the governing body from all Democrat to a Democrat mayor and four Democrat council members and two Republican. Cusick is stepping back from political life at least for awhile and Colasurdo is seeking office as a Monmouth County commissioner.

But Thomas has set specific goals he would work toward, in addition to many other areas they feel needs improvement or updating.

“My primary goals for the town are to assist with ways to help generate revenue and drive down costs where applicable, especially if it meets the strategic direction that our community wants to move in,” the candidate said.

Towards these goals, Thomas wants to align “with residents and taxpayers on ‘Strategic Development’ In his opinion, he feels new businesses and homes can bring in income for the town; but he continues to note, “there is less and less land for new development in town. There are always new and fresh ideas of what can be added, but what truly meets the identity of our town and what can be constructed in different zones is a key focus for me,” he said.

Thomas also conceded that there are “a lot of areas and different policies that I would like to better understand in their entirety. I think there is a lot of opportunity for innovative ideas for town events, collaboration with our businesses, Green Economy/Eco Friendly Initiatives, and more.”

A pragmatist, Thomas also points out “The only thing constant in life is change.” As proof, he continues “ As Atlantic Highlands becomes more and more appealing to people from all over it can be challenging to preserve some of the small-town characteristics and quintessential things that make Atlantic Highlands such a special place.”

It is because of that, he said, that “being part of the strategic direction of the town is one of the most important things for me. Understanding what our residents and community wants is critical, but there are usually alternative, efficient, and equitable ways to implement most things depending on the subject. As innovative ideas and opportunities increase I don’t think we as residents should lose sight of why people moved here in the first place. I am definitely looking forward to meeting, connecting, and serving our community!”

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