A letter about Strathmere memories.

I received this great letter recently from a longtime and now long distant resident of Strathmere. I love letters like this, people sharing their love for our great little town and hearing about how the website brings back fond memories of Summers in Strathmere. I hope you'll enjoy this letter as much as I did -


My family history.
My mother's family vacationed in Townsend's inlet in the 1930's (during the depression of all things) when she was a child. She watched them build the Townsend's Inlet Bridge. After marrying in 1950, my parents bought a trailer and spent summers throughout the 1950's in Max Schroder's trailer park. While I grew up in Upper Darby, my mother was a school teacher and we spent every summer of my childhood in Strathmere. In 1962 my father bought our property in Strathmere. The land was cleared and construction about to begin on his new home when the Storm came through. It delayed contruction a few months, but how lucky can you get?

As a young teamager I helped Herb and Rich Hollinger run Larry's Dock (later to be known as Corson's Inlet Marina). On several occasions I had the good fortune to sit in Ernies (formerly known as Harcers (sp??) and listen to Harlan Wittcamp tell stories of his childhood in Strathmere. He told of riding the train to school in Sea Isle. It came very early ~ 7 am and school didn't start until nearly 9 am. He said if weather permitted, he'd always walk home on the beach because the train didn't return until after 5 pm and school was finished by 3 pm. These memories came back to me while reading through the "West Jersey Cottage" section of your website. Looking at your pictures, I know have a clear visual as to how Strathmere looked in Mr. Wittcamp's childhood. All of this is happening 35 years after listening to his stories!

Many other childhood memories have sprung to life. I remember the homes destroyed in '62 - either sitting on the beach, or in Whale Beach's case - out in the marsh. Some were there for a couple years. I climbed on the Coast Guard Tower after they cut it down, played on the Indian Rocks ruins, and watched them build the beach front jetties starting at the point and running down the length of the town. Dump trucks came through town endlessly with huge rocks that are now buried beneath the sand.

I still own our family property in Strathmere. While I moved to Houston in 2000, my wife and children spend the summer in Strathmere and I commute. It makes life in Houston bearable.
Lastly, I love the Webcam. It's located about a block or two north of Prescott Rd and my kids cannot wait for next summer to call me on the phone and say, "Dad, can you see me now?!" It's great to pull up the Webcam and go for a mental stroll on the beach now and then. Please keep it active!

Again, many thanks for your efforts.
Corry Lang

Update from the mayer's office on our bridge

Regarding the progress on the Ocean Drive Bridge Repairs.
Wanda Gaglione, Municipal Clerk
Upper Township
609-628-2011 Ext. 200

Dear Strathmere Residents:

I.E.W. Construction Co., Inc., (from Trenton), has been working on this $1.2
million contract since August and finally last Thursday, September 28th, the
weight limit on the bridge was increased to 7 tons.

The work on Phase I, (to bring the bridge weight limit to 10 tons),
primarily involves the underside of the bridge with bridge traffic being
stopped intermittently to allow workers to tighten bolts.

Up to this point in time, work on the Phase 1 of the project has been
progressing on schedule. However, this past week it was necessary for the
contractor to request a time extension and the CMC Bridge Commission granted
it. The 3-week extension was needed because of design modifications and
extra time needed for the manufacture of the materials to be used.

The entire project is still scheduled for completion by the end of the year.
We are told the 3-week extension should not affect that completion date.

I continue to work closely with the Fire Company and Emergency Management to
insure the safety of the residents of Strathmere. I can assure you that
until the bridge is back to full capacity your safety is of the utmost
importance to both the Township Committee and myself. Please contact me
through the Clerk's Office if you should have any questions.

Sincerely,
Rich

A few more photos from the Strait family's vacation this Summer in Strathmere

A view from the point

A view looking up Tecumseh towards the beach.

Looking north up Commonwealth

Seaview Construction update

First, the big house that is going up where both the Spanish style house and the raised beachfront cottage use to stand. The cottage was set on the front end (right side) of the building and stripped and rebuilt into the new layout. It's a big place.

Across the street where the turquoise house use to stand, the new house is also going up very quickly.

Some beach photos taken at the end of Seaview on 9/3, the day after the windy storm. The storm left several houses (including our cottage) with downed wires and no electricity for several days.

More photos from Brig Seaver

Brig Seaver from the UT Beach Patrol sent us some more great images from out on the bay. Please click on images for larger views.

Vacation Photos from the Strait Family

Nancy Strait and her family came all the way from Iowa to visit Strathmere this July. It was their first time to Strathmere, and they sent us some great photos to include here, click images for larger views -
A view from a balcony on Tecumseh

Great view of the coastline from the sandbar