Elizabeth Bergus Memorial - Saturday 12/29 2:00-5:00PM

A special event is being planned to honor the memory of Elizabeth Bergus, and the special place that she holds in Strathmere's history and heart.

The Bergus Family invites all of Elizabeth's friends to attend the event and to share their memories of her. It will take place on Saturday December 29th, from 2:00 to 5:00PM, at the Strathmere Fire House.

The Remembrance will start at 2:00 with a parade.
At 3:00 The Bergus Family will speak and then they will invite anyone who would like to share a story about Elizabeth to come forward and speak.

Fingerfood, soft drinks, beer and wine will be available during the event.

Donations can be made in Elizabeth's name to the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Co. -

Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company
Post Office Box 71
Strathmere NJ 08248

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Elizabeth Bergus
BERGUS ELIZABETH (neeRavdin), 80, who gave thirty years of public service as an American diplomat's wife living in Middle East crisis zones, and then held a second, 30-year career in local civic activism, died Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey.
Mrs. Bergus, a resident of Strathmere, New Jersey, was born in 1927 in Philadelphia, the daughter of two physicians, Elizabeth and I.S. Ravdin. She attended Friends Central School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the School of Nursing of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1950, she met and married Donald C. Bergus, a Foreign Service officer and Middle East expert. The couple began their married life in Beirut, Lebanon, eventually serving in Paris, France; Washington, DC; Cairo, Egypt; Ankara, Turkey; and Khartoum, Sudan. Despite the era's limits on a woman's role, particularly in the foreign service for decades, a diplomat's wife was not permitted to hold an outside job Elizabeth Bergus carved out a role as her husband's closest political confidant and a bridge to local civic leaders, especially women's groups. As her husband rose through the ranks to become Charge D'Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission, and then Ambassador, Mrs. Bergus' diplomatic duties increased, organizing and presiding over a yearly schedule of more than 500 official receptions, diplomatic dinners, committee meetings, and more. She was known for her concern for the welfare of Embassy staff, especially the young Marine Security Guards, serving far from home. Her organizational skills carried her family including daughters Elizabeth and Priscilla, and son George through 12 major household relocations.
Upon her husband's retirement in 1980, the couple returned to Mrs. Bergus' summer childhood home in Strathmere, where her father had first purchased their distinctive house in 1915. With her husband's support, Elizabeth Bergus continued her active public service. As President of the Strathmere Improvement Association, she led a vigorous, [three]-year campaign to get state and township authorities to replace the town's bankrupt water company and ensure healthy water for Strathmere's residents. In 1986, she and her husband also played lead roles in replacing Strathmere's old Firehouse with a modernized building that could also serve as a disaster-response shelter and community meeting place.
As a member of the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company, Mrs. Bergus responded to emergency call-outs 24 hours a day, and served as its long-time Secretary, keeping its records, maintaining ties with local and absent homeowners, and filing the constantly required government reports. She was elected a Strathmere Fire District Commissioner and served as Clerk of the Fire Commission. Every July Fourth, she could be found in the Firehouse radio room, serving as the central point for the town's famous all-volunteer, non-commercial parade.
Elizabeth Bergus was also determined to make sure that her small island town had adequate ambulance service to mainland hospitals. In her 60s, she became a certified Emergency Medical Technician, later becoming one of the first EMTs in New Jersey to be qualified to administer cardiac defibrilation. Joining the Volunteer Ambulance Corps in the nearby city of Sea Isle, NJ and later named its President she was among the top responders to emergency calls not only in Strathmere but all across the island.
Mrs. Bergus was also an active citizen advocate, especially for Strathmere, in local township affairs. She was such a regular presence at Upper Township meetings that one week, when she was absent visiting family, the township minutes included the line: "Missed Mrs. Bergus." She was a member of the Zoning Board, and also served as Deputy Emergency Manager for Upper Township with responsibility for Strathmere, monitoring storm and other disaster threats and helping to organize evacuations from this vulnerable coastline area.
Despite her active public service and interests, Mrs. Bergus was, first and foremost, devoted to her family. Her home was a center for her children and grandchildren, and over the years, she opened her heart and doors to nieces and nephews as well. Her husband Donald died in 1998. She is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Grace Bergus of Pitman, New Jersey; son George Ravdin Bergus (Rebecca), of Iowa City, Iowa; daughter Priscilla Bergus Laurence (Andrew) of London, United Kingdom; grandchildren Alexander Bergus Conner; Nicholas (Laura) and Samuel Bergus; and Elizabeth and Katherine Laurence; and great-granddaughter Evelyn Bergus.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her honor may be sent to the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company to be used for medical equipment. An informal remembrance gathering will be held on Saturday, December 29th at the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company in Strathmere, NJ. All are invited from 2-5 to share memories.

View/Sign Memorial Guestbook

Strathmere mourns the loss of Elizabeth Bergus

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From The Press of Atlantic City -

Strathmere 'mayor' dies at 80
Elizabeth Bergus remembered fondly for activism, philanthropy
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, 609-463-6712 (Published: December 21, 2007)

UPPER TOWNSHIP - Elizabeth Bergus was the wife of a diplomat who raised a family in the Middle East and Europe through war, famine and peace.
In retirement - if you could call it that - she settled in Upper Township's barrier island, Strathmere, where she still volunteered with the local fire company and rescue squad.
Bergus died Tuesday. She was 80.
"I hope people in Strathmere understand what they've lost," Deputy Mayor Curtis Corson Jr. said. "She spent her whole life putting other people first."
Bergus grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from nursing school. She and her late husband, Donald, raised three children. As ambassador he served in some of the most dangerous places in the world, including Lebanon and Sudan. Where he went, she and her children followed, even when it took the family into international hot spots, such as Egypt after the Six Day War in 1967.
She and her family spent many years there.
"My father served in Cairo for two stints. Cairo was her love, really, of all the postings she had," her daughter Priscilla said. "She fell in love with the Middle East and the people of the Middle East."
After retirement, the couple moved full time to her father's historic home in Strathmere. They joined the local fire company and rescue squad. Bergus was an active member of both.
Residents who attended Upper Township Committee meetings knew better than to sit in the second pew aisle seat. That spot was reserved for Bergus, near enough to the elected officials so she could pipe up with a quip or a gentle reproach if they omitted something she thought was important.
She warned neighbors about imminent coastal storms and reported any property damage directly to township employees. Bergus was the mayor of this barrier island in everything but title.
"Everyone in this community contributes and wears at least six different hats," Bergus said in a 1996 interview. "Strathmere is a self-help community. The people band together and help each other always."
"She had this front. You thought, 'Boy, she's tough,'" Sea Isle Ambulance Corps Chief Dan Fay recalled. "Over the years she had to be when she was in the Middle East during all those years."
Bergus taught first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to most squad members, Fay said. She never hesitated in an emergency.
"If there was a call to Strathmere, you'd hear, '904 responding.' That was her call number. She would always be there," Fay said.
Bergus was a member this year of the township's Zoning Board. Though she occasionally took township officials to task, none dared patronize her with an insincere platitude.
"She was quick to praise you and quick to tell you when you messed up," Corson said. "You always knew where you stood with her."
The committee passed a resolution celebrating her 80th birthday in April.
"She was probably the most straight-shooting, fair and reasonable person," Mayor Richard Palombo said. "She always did the right thing. That's what I admire most about her."
Township Clerk Wanda Gaglione said Bergus was a generous philanthropist in town, helping local families in need. Some children will have a brighter Christmas next week because of her generosity.
"She kept the pulse," Township Committeewoman Barbara Camp said. "She kept us advised about what the public sentiments were. She was a fine lady. She's going to be missed."
The Township Committee will honor Bergus at its Jan. 4 meeting, Palombo said. Godfrey Funeral Home is handling memorial services, which have not yet been scheduled.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:
MMiller@pressofac.com


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Oh, that's where Strathmere is!

Strathmere Documentary DVD Now Available for Purchase!

'STRATHMERE sound & light' a special film presentation for the people of Strathmere

This 26 minute DVD of Strathmere is now available to all for purchase.

Thanks to producers/directors Fran McElroy and Ann Tegnell for creating such a wonderful and accurate portrait of life in our little town. They donated the rights to sell a limited edition of this film specifically as a fundraiser for the Strathmere Fire Company.
They have also been working on a different version of a Strathmere documentary for broadcast television, and would welcome additional input and support from our community for this ongoing project. In particular, they are still looking for home movies that show Strathmere life from times past.

All proceeds of 'STRATHMERE sound & light' will benefit the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company.
DVD copies of the film will be priced at $20.00 each.
All mailing will be a flat $5.00 shipping fee - no matter how many DVDs you buy.

Please let others know about the opportunity to purchase one or, better yet six copies of this little gem.

Please make payment payable to the 'Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company' and mail to:
Ella Diamond
P.O.B. # 66
Strathmere, NJ 08248

For more info contact Ella at: diamondntq@comcast.net or at 215.715.7702

You will also be able to buy copies of the DVD at Riordan Realty and at the Strathmere Post Office after 12/17

Below is a short clip from Strathmere sound & light -

Work continues on the water tower and help is on the way for the beach

It took 4 weeks to put up the scaffolding and then cover the water tower in tarps. Now the guys are hard at work doing something in there! It sounds like they are removing the old paint. They've had to stop several times to go tie down the tarps when they come loose - the wind is pretty strong up there sometimes. After the painting is done, they have to dismantle all that scaffolding again! It's really been very interesting and amazing to watch.

This week they started trucking in the sand that we are getting to rebuild the beach out on the Seaview area of the beach. We're supposed to get 550 trucks loads and there has been a steady trail of trucks coming through town.

Here are a few more beach photos from after the stormy winds of Noel last month. First is a photo sent in by Ozzie of the beach on Vincent, looking North.



Next are two photos from Tom Rodgers, of the erosion on the beach at Seaview

Strathmere in the news

First, two stories from the November 15th issue of the Upper Township Gazette - one story is about beach replenishment and another is about refiling the petition for de-annexation (click images for larger view of stories or check out the Gazette's website)











Then, a story from the 11/15/07 Press of Atlantic City - Erosion prompts emergency action

Beach Photos - Seaview & The Point

I took the first 3 photos below around the end of August 2007, out on the beach at Seaview looking north, and then looking back towards Strathmere from the point. Those cliffs are about 10 feet tall and that used to be all beach and dunes. When high tide comes in, the waves come right up to the grass and bushes on the ocean side of the point. The exposed pilings are about 3ft tall.




The next 3 photos were sent to us by a longtime Strathmere resident, after the waves and wind that came from Hurricane Noel gave the beach even more of a beating. This is also at the end of Seaview, and the dunes have been washed-out right up to the retaining wall that was put in when the new house was built there.







This story ran in The Press of Atlantic City on 11/9/07 - Strathmere coastline pounded by Noel; Upper looks for ways to counter erosion

Strathmere photos from Ozzie

Here are some photos sent to us by Ozzie.

Recent stormy weather

And more views of the water tower painting-preparations

Painting the Water Tower

Summer is over and the most exciting thing going on in Strathmere right now is the preparations for painting the water tower. A crew has been assembling the scaffolding for the past 3-4 weeks and now they are starting to do work on the inside of the tower. It's been amazing watching the crew put that scaffolding together, that's some big job! They are able to climb up a ladder that is inside the stem of the tower, and there is a hatch on the top that they come out of sometimes.

How would you like this guy's job?

Strathmere prefers to stay anonymous
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, 609-463-6712
Published: Sunday, October 28, 2007 - Press of Atlantic City
UPPER TOWNSHIP - Meet Strathmere, the anti-Ocean City. This is a town so reclusive and introverted that it is lobbying to keep its name off its own water tower. This coastal hamlet in Upper Township is perhaps the least-publicized resort on the New Jersey coastline. And residents here want to keep it that way.
"It's the schtick that we've been anonymous all these years and we like it that way," resident Ken Weaver said. Weaver came up with the idea for the locally popular oval car magnet for Strathmere that reads: "Shhh." He approached the Township Committee on the mainland this month with an odd request: keep the baby-blue water tower unlettered when it is repainted this fall.
Unlike Ocean City to the north or Sea Isle City to the south, Strathmere has little to offer tourists except for ample sun and sand. There is no Boardwalk, promenade or amusement park. There are precious few public bathrooms. The few businesses here play on Strathmere's perceived invisibility. "Find us if you can!" proclaims the Web site for Twisties Tavern on the Bay, a seasonal business now closed.
But not everyone is ready to sign Strathmere up for the FBI's witness-protection program. "Everyone knows where Strathmere is," resident Terry Henes said. "Especially now." Henes was referring to Strathmere's much-ballyhooed effort to secede from the mainland and join Sea Isle City, with which it shares a barrier island. The secession petition and the resulting lawsuit no doubt raised this town's public profile. Stories about the split were published in the state's largest newspaper.
"I know what it should say," resident Mike Mazzeo said of the island's water tower. "Strathmere, Upper Township's cash cow." The island represents nearly 18 percent of the mainland township's tax base but fewer than 300 of its 11,363 residents.
Weaver said he has mixed feelings about the secession - for particularly Strathmere reasons.
"I worry about becoming part of Sea Isle City and having rules," he said, referring to the penchant by barrier islands to discourage everything from dog walking on the beach to midnight strolls in the surf. The people who live on this narrow spit of sand and million-dollar beachfront homes are jealously protective of their idyll. But judging from the thousands of people who flock to its beaches every summer to soak in the island's natural beauty, the secret is probably out.
"There's nothing hard about living in Strathmere," Henes said. "It's easy. It's Mayberry by the beach."

Still great weather in Strathmere

The weather has been beautiful in Strathmere. 80-some degrees and the water is still nice. There were quite a few people out on the beach enjoying the great weather.

The Pets of Strathmere -
Boris is a nearly 7 year old English Bulldog who has been enjoying Strathmere his whole life. He likes walking around town, sniffing trees and bushes, marking territory, going for walks on the beach and taking quick little swims while biting the little waves. Boris went for a quick swim this morning in the water between the beach and the sand bar during low tide, at Winthrop. Please enjoy this super-short video of his swim -




And here are a few still photos - slurping, testing the air with his tongue (look at that beautiful sky in the background) a view of his stern with his tail out of water, and paddling with eyes opened and with eyes squinted shut.





The Pets of Strathmere -
Do you have a pet that loves Strathmere? Send in photos of your dog or cat (or rabbit or bird, reptile etc.) enjoying Strathmere to strathmere@comcast.net along with a short bio including what they enjoy most about Strathmere, and we'll post it here.

Strathmere Democrat enters race for seat on Upper Twp. Committee

Strathmere Democrat enters race for seat on Upper Twp. Committee

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
(Published: July 17, 2007 in The Press of Atlantic City)
UPPER TOWNSHIP — An optician and Democrat from Strathmere is running for Township Committee this year.

Steve Nickelsberg said he grew fed up with government bureaucracy this year when the state Department of Environmental Protection would not let him build a wind turbine in his backyard without expensive coastal permits.
Now he wants to improve things from the inside. He will join Democrat Robert Vicario in challenging Republican incumbents Curtis Corson Jr. and Jay Newman for two seats.
Nickelsberg echoed the complaints of many of his neighbors who want to break away from Upper Township to join Sea Isle City.

“Our taxes are getting completely out of hand,” he said. “I refuse to be a politician who says I’ll never raise taxes and then realize I can’t keep that promise. But before I said OK to a tax, I’d make sure there were no other alternatives, all the fat is gone, there is nothing left to pull from anywhere.”

Nickelsberg owns the Ocean City Vision Center on Asbury Avenue. He serves on the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company and has lived in Upper Township for about 20 years. Before he moved to Strathmere, he lived in Petersburg.
In Corson, Nickelsberg challenges an opponent with the longest tenure on the Township Committee. Corson also helps prepare the township budget.
“Competition is good. It makes everyone work a little harder,” Corson said.

But Corson dismissed Nickelsberg’s anti-taxation platform. Township residents pay no local-purpose tax.
“There are no tax issues in Upper Township,” Corson said. “You can’t improve on zero.”

Nickelsberg said as a committeeman, he would lobby for administrative consolidation among Cape May County’s school districts to cut school taxes, which account for the majority of the tax bill in Upper Township.
He describes himself as independent and admits he has no political experience.
“I’m as green as green can get,” he said.
Last year he made news for a dispute with the DEP over a 40-foot windmill he wanted to build outside his home. He wanted to power his home with wind instead of coal used by the township’s B.L. England power plant.
But the DEP said he needed a coastal permit, which made the project exorbitantly expensive. The state also offers grants and loans for green-energy projects such as solar or wind.
“Only in New Jersey would you find the state funding and fighting the same project. That’s part of the thing I’d like to see disappear,” he said.

The election is Nov. 6.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:

MMiller@pressofac.com

WANTED!!! Old Home Movies of Strathmere

ATTENTION

We’re looking for old home movies of Strathmere or family vacations in the town for a public television documentary we’re producing about Strathmere. If you will share your movies with us, we will give you a “Thank You” on the program credits and a free copy of the finished documentary.

All formats acceptable: 8mm, 16mm, super 8, VHS, miniDV

Contact:
Shirley Road Productions
108 Shirley Road
Narberth, PA 19072
info@shirleyroadproductions.org
610-667-9348

THANK YOU!

Fran McElroy & Ann Tegnell
co-directors / co-producers

Citizens For Strathmere/Whale Beach 8/18 - Press release

This is a copy of the Press Release from The Citizens of Strathmere & Whale Beach meeting, which took place on 8/18/07
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Strathmere’s Wake-up Call
August 18, 2007
Strathmere, New Jersey

Earlier this year, in our storied firehouse, the people of Strathmere gave our board, by unanimous vote, a historic mandate to seek de-annexation from Upper Township.
A quick recap is required.
The State of New Jersey maintains a misguided formula for funding its multitudes of public school systems. The formula of basing the taxation required to fund our schools on local property values has the unintended consequence of under funding school districts in disadvantaged communities while destroying the foundation of thriving communities such as ours. And by “ours,” we don’t mean Strathmere’s, exclusively, but Upper Township’s collectively. For it is the formula of the state which set in motion the process that required the Township of Upper to hire an incompetent vendor to reassess our properties and turn our quiet community into an angry and determined and rebellious force with which to be reckoned.
This re-evaluation, and the catastrophic tax hikes that ensued, was a wake-up call for the residents and property owners of Strathmere. It should and still can be a wake-up call for the collective Township of Upper. The destructive change in taxation made many of us realize that this is a symptom of a more insidious disease.
Sadly, our elected officials are not yet so enlightened. Instead of seeking solutions for the greater good, our arrogant political leaders have shrugged off our problems with patronizing commentary. “If you can’t afford it, sell it,” they sneer.
Not long ago, again in the firehouse, our state representatives told us there was nothing they could do. “We tried,” they insisted. And they tell us it’s our fault – the people’s fault - that the system can’t change. Because special interests that represent local school employees shouted them down at public meeting. This is not leadership for the greater good; it’s cowardly self-preservation for political gain.
And instead of recognizing the problems of Strathmere as common problems afflicting Upper Township itself, our local officials have dismissed their township neighbors as “greedy” and “insatiable.”
“It seems the more we do for them, the more they want,” is the way our Mayor describes us.
As the Ecuadorian essayist Juan Montalvo said, “There is nothing harder than the softness of indifference.” This indifference has been Strathmere’s wake-up call.
We’ve woken up to the fact that the folks who control the real quality of life of our beach community seem to care little about the quality of community. We’ve woken up to the fact that along the bay and along the beach, our homes border what is ostensibly the largest public park in Upper Township. But our park has virtually no police protection, virtually no maintenance of infrastructure, and virtually any public facilities for sanitation or recreation.
How long would the Upper Township Committee tolerate a mainland park that was the site of nightly illegal fireworks displays that endanger those who set them off as well as the tinderbox homes around them; excessive underage drinking; and serial vandalism?
This indifference is our wake-up call.
If mainland, park side homeowners were assured meaningful discounts on their insurance if only the public parks were maintained to certain standards, would there be a question about such park management on the mainland? The lack of beach management – no, the lack of understanding that proper beach management is a township issue and not a Strathmere issue – is a clarion wake-up call.
If a public works official planted a stop sign in a deep lake, dangerously past the end of the main road of a mainland park, how long would it remain there? (Have you been to Strathmere’s Upper Township-maintained public boat launch lately to see this exact scenario? It’s a wake-up call.)
Our barrier-island town floods a lot. Duh. But the drainage and infrastructure solutions that would help alleviate the dangers to property owners are too often left to the property owners themselves to implement. That’s a wake-up call.
When the State of New Jersey began to pocket a portion of Upper Township’s tax revenue generated by B. L. England’s Beesley Point power plant, Upper Township sat by and let it happen. Even after the Supreme Court said it was an illegal act. While other townships up and down the state fought Trenton to get back what was rightfully theirs, Upper Township made plans to make up the shortfall by taxing it’s residents. Wake up call.
And one day a week this summer, we are protected by just a few hours of patrol by a single off-duty policeman. He is paid by our own contributions to the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company. We get a few hours of a policeman’s time by paying out of our own pockets! That’s gotta be a wake-up call.
There are many such wake-up calls sounding across town as friends and neighbors sit over a beer and vent volcanic frustrations that have been stoked by the madness of our tax hikes.

So this is our response:
Thanks to the marching orders of our membership, we have collected signatures of locally registered voters on a petition that asks Upper Township to allow us to de-annex and seek partnership and solutions from a beach community that will offer the health and safety benefits that comes with more complete cultural compatibility. We’re happy to report that a whopping majority of registered voters – far greater than the required 60% - have put pen to paper and signed their own names to the cause. That’s a profound and courageous response to our wake-up calls.
We have invested the dues and contributions our members have generously offered in the hiring of expert and feisty legal counsel who will help us clarify and justify our request for de-annexation to Upper Township.
Now we seek our members’ personal involvement. Our next step will be to present Upper Township with our petition. At that time our local leaders will have 45 days to schedule a hearing before the Upper Township Planning Board. It will be up to us to showcase our differences, bring to life our grievances and prove our case.
We have faith in our counsel to guide us through this hearing, but we need the property owners themselves to help us highlight the issues that affect the quality of daily life here in Strathmere.
The proof of our case will come from categories that include, but are not limited to, beach management (or lack thereof); the maintenance of infrastructure (or lack thereof); sanitation concerns; public safety issues, the concerns of senior citizens and Strathmere’s dramatic cultural incompatibility with the Township of Upper.
The hearing may well take many hours, over a few days, perhaps across a couple months. We may be inconvenienced for a fair period of time, so we will keep our eyes on the prize, and gear up for a great ride.
What’s important to understand is that we are due a fair hearing by our Planning Board. It is the responsibility and legal duty of our Township Committee to come to that hearing with an open mind and welcome the fair and honest assessment of our township planning board. However, when you listen to our own representatives, and read their quotes in the newspapers, it’s easy to believe that an open mind is the last thing they’ll bring to the hearing.
Our own government has decided to spend the people’s money to engage counsel to defend the state’s broken system against their own people. We wish our representatives would invest the people’s money instead on helping to turn the state’s flawed system around for the greater good, but our government has chosen to defend a destructive formula, foisted upon all us by cynics in Trenton.
The Upper Township Committee has made the wrong choice and we hope they might still reconsider.
The prudent and moral high road for Upper Township to take is to allow Strathmere to seek self-determination elsewhere and concentrate on making things right for the greater good. We implore Upper Township to build for the future rather than continue this destructive course of action.
The prejudicial decision that our government has come to, long before our hearing, is unfair and cynical at best and perhaps unconstitutional and illegal at worst.
But no matter the choice of our officials in Upper Township, our beef is with the system that leaves little choice beyond pitting neighbor against neighbor. Our complaints are not personal. The folks who will fight to keep us land-locked are not bad people; they are as much victims of New Jersey’s greater failure as we are. We will not make this a clash of neighbors, and we will not tolerate inappropriate personal volleys across Ludham Bay.
We wear the commitment this community has made as a badge of honor, and ask others to join us in our mandated march for freedom and self-determination. It will not be easy; some say it’s not even probable. But truth, crushed to earth, will always rise again, so to the pessimists we say, au contraire. We’ve done harder things in our lives to get this far. And we know there is nothing harder than the softness of indifference.

Together, we take heart from the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, who reminds us that, “The moral arc of the universe may be long, but it bends toward justice.”

- Citizens For Strathmere and Whale Beach

Courier Post Online - Strathmere story 8/26/07

Here's a story from the Sunday edition of the Courier Post
- Strathmere says it gets bum deal
Be sure to check out all 17 photos in their gallery

Strathmere Star Party - September 8th

Be sure to check out the Fall Star Party on the beach at Randolph on September 8th, 8:45PM. Click image for larger view and details -

For more info, send an email to Ed at ed@tettemer.net

Dr. Rita C. Schiavo Memorial Library in Strathmere

Strathmere Property Owners

RE: Public Hearing before the Upper Township Planning Board

Dear Neighbors:
An application for final approval of the Rita C. Schiavo Memorial Library, 801 Commonwealth Avenue, Strathmere NJ, is being held on Thursday August 30th at 7:30PM in Township Hall, 2100 Tuckahoe Road, Petersburg NJ.

Rita Schiavo was a lifelong Summer resident of Strathmere and she bequeathed her Strathmere property to the building of a library in her name.

If you could support her wishes by attending this Planning Board Metteing, it would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you, Bruce Riordan

Is de-annexation the solution for Strathmere?

Story from the Upper Township Gazette - click images for larger views

Strathmere Ocean Kayak Festival 8/11

Upper Township Beach Patrol
Upper Township, New Jersey

August 7, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Strathmere Ocean Kayak Festival

The Upper Township Beach Patrol is holding their Strathmere Ocean Kayak Festival on the beach in Strathmere, NJ on Saturday, August 11 beginning at 10:30 AM. The Festival is a kayak-learning experience for the entire family, from the complete novice to competitor, through supplied instruction, demonstration and staged ocean kayak races.

Kayaking is soaring in popularity as an affective cardiovascular and upper body strength-training workout that leaves the arms and chest in chiseled form. The open ocean sprint races off the beach and through the surf are exceptionally exciting to watch with distances for the beginner and pro. Wave skiing competition will also be included.

Spectators, beginners and competitors are invited to spend a day on the beach to learn more about the sport and compete. Race entry fee with t-shirt is $20. Event admission is FREE, and all equipment will be supplied FREE for both the instruction sessions and races. The event will take place at Vincent Street and the beach in Strathmere. Award ceremony and post-race party will immediately follow at Beach Patrol Headquarters.
For more information or photos, contact the Upper Township Beach Patrol, 609-263-1151, or Jack O’Hara at 215-698-7662.

The Second 80s Kids Reunion - August 25th

Please mark your calendars, dust off your Police and Bruce albums!
EVERYBODY WELCOMED to come and join the fun!
Please email Pammy at pmoyer65@verizon.net with your plans!

What: The Second time Ever Strathmere 80’s Kids Reunion
When: Nightmare in Strathmere August 25th, 2007 6:00pm till ?
Where: Deauville
And we would love to see:
Christine “Miss Pitman” and Mike Cogan , Sue Adams ,Timmy, Bucky, Wendy, Chrisy Buckland, Jacque Clements ,Tim Copper , Karen, Jeff, Phillip Eggleston - Debbie Holland and Keven Holland. (Eggleston Cousins) Brian Ford , Michael Green , Beth Heidre and Sue Heidre, Anne, Stephen, Olaf, Sue, and Sandy Omrod , Pam, Lori, Kenny and Jimmy , Patrick and Julie O’brien, Geoff, Jon and and Andy O’brian , Trish Leach (Eggleston’s next door neighbor) Susie, Mik, Linda, and Andrew Ojamaa , Lisa Moock and Sisters and Brother, Beth Roland and Sister and Friends , Jill and Joy Steeland , David & Eric Scott , Colleen Ford and the gang from the other reunion, Everyone who hung out with Sandy and Suzy Omrod, Dave Shivers , Billy McCutcheon

The Second 80 Kid’s Reunion will be held the August 25th – Nightmare in Strathmere
We hope to see you there!
Thanks,
Anne, Karen, and Pam

A gorgeous, coffee-table photo book of Strathmere shacks, cottages and beach landmarks (including a nice beefcake shot of lifeguards!) is available as a benefit offering from the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company. Each book contains 36 photographs on 27 pages. The photos were taken and generously donated by Fire Company members Greg Bennett, Ella Diamond, Ed Tettemer and Dave Townsend.
"Strathmere, Volume One," is available in hard cover at $45 and the soft cover is sold out. Books are available through Fire Company members and at Chief Bruce Riordan's office.
Call and reserve yours today: 609.263.3235.

Or send your check made out to the Fire Company and put it in the mail to:
SVFC
Post Office Box Holder
Strathmere NJ 08248

Include a $5 per book for postage costs, please, unless you can pick it up. This is a limited edition and they're going fast. Volume Two will be available next summer.

The hardcover version -

The softcover - (sold out)

Strathmere stories in the Press of Atlantic City

Here's a nice story about Strathmere's Ocean Beach Trailer park - Trailers on oceanfront are rare, until you get to Strathmere

And a story about the 4th of July Parade - Strathmere group holds July Fourth tax protest

Here's a video of Strathmere's 1995 4th of July Parade. I think the lady in red and blue satin is Under Dog Woman, and I'm not sure how she ended up in Strathmere! the video is courtesy of Ed Tettemer.





And from News 40 WMGM is the following story - TRULY INDEPENDENCE DAY FOR STRATHMERE RESIDENTS

Strathmere Sandcastle

This fantastic and huge sandcastle was built on the beach at Winthrop - click images for larger views

O Liberty Row Party - from Strathmere to the Statue of Liberty

Captain Bill Handley, leader of the Strathmere lifeguards, is rowing the boat that Ed & Lyn Tettemer donated to the Strathmere Beach Patrol in honor of Adam Foote, a 17-year old firecracker of a kid who loved Strathmere more than most. He lost his life in a car wreck and, as an organ donor, helped give new life to eight different people on various organ waiting lists. Adam was a lifesaver, and the boat that carries his name here in Strathmere is an appropriate memorial.
So it's fitting that Captain Bill is rowing the Adam Foote from Strathmere all the way to the Statue of Liberty to raise awareness for the power of Organ Donation, as well as to raise funds to help beat Ovarian Cancer, as well as to raise awareness and money for The Ocean Foundation. Hence the theme of his great journey, "Row for the O."
Please see below for an invitation to a party to kick off this seafaring adventure. We hope to see you there.
- et (letter from Ed Tettemer)


SET THE DATE!

Bill Handley and Rod Tice are rowing 150 miles from Strathmere to the Statue of Liberty for The Ocean Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness. We are putting all of our physical and mental efforts in order to accomplish this goal and to help these causes. We would love to celebrate our endeavor with you, and provide you with a fun way to contribute to our efforts. Please mark a spot in your calender to attend the O Liberty Row Party on August 4. We plan on having the party catered, with live music, games for adults and kids, and plenty of beverages. The Adam Meils Foote, the boat that will be rowed by Bill and Rod, will be there for photo opportunities. More details will be coming soon, but here are the specifics we know now:

Date: Saturday, August 4
Location: Handley Home located in Tuckahoe of Upper Township on the Tuckahoe River
Time: 5pm-11pm
Donation: $30 to $40 per adult and $10 per child over twelve
Games: 50/50 Horsehoe Tournament & 50/50 closest to the pin contest, we will also organize children activities

We have Brian Conover, of Hawkins Road, lined up to play live music. We are working on other musicians who will donate sets of music to make this a fabulous evening alongside the Tuckahoe River. We are seeking restaraunts and caterers in the region to donate items for our menu which we can send out later.
Please RSVP to Bill Handley educapt@comcast.net or you can RSVP to any O Liberty Row Team Member with direct contact with Bill. We will need a count by July 21st.
Please forward this invitation to friends, family, and supporters of the O Liberty Row. Also check out our website at http://www.olibertyrow.org/

Thanks,
Bill and Rod

Strathmere's 2007 4th of July Parade!

Strathmere's Independence Day Parade

Wednesday July 4th 2007
Registration - 9:30 AM - at the foot of the bridge


Step Off - 10:30 AM
Presentation & Awards at the Deauville Inn

Categories -
Antique cars, Adult Walkers, Mixed Walkers, Coaches & Strollers,
Bikes, Trikes & Scooters, Hand Pulled Floats & Wagons, Motorized Floats

Parade sponsored by: Strathmere Improvement Association & the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Department

For more information contact Gwen Riordan 263-3235

Greg Bennett Art Exhibit August 4th

Greg Bennett - 2007 Exhibit
Opening reception Saturday, August 4, 2007
From 7:00-10:00 PM
Exhibition continues through August 31, 2007

Location:
Peter McPhee Fine Arts
9416 Second Avenue, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247
609-368-8288, http://www.petermcpheefinearts.com/

Strathmere is the inspiration for many of Greg's beautiful paintings.

Pretty Little Gardens and more construction

More new houses going up in Strathmere. The first two above are on East Willard, and the third is on East Whittier.


Below are images snapped during Memorial Day Weekend of some of the Strathmere mobile homes with their pretty little mobile gardens and landscaping. (click on images for larger views)