Re-creation of the First Hollow-Chambered Surfboard Now at Seaport

The Beachcomber
Greg Melega's Replica of LBI Legend's 1937 Board

So much of surfing goes back to a Californian named Tom Blake. Born in 1902 and striking out to California alone as a youth, he was a distance swimmer, author, film stuntman and photographer. He also became friends with legendary Hawaiian Duke Kuhanomoku. Blake is credited for developing the surf fin and also the hollow chambered surfboard. It was an […]

Kohr Soft Ice Cream Celebrates 100 Years

The Beachcomber

Frozen custard -two words that bring back memories of sandy feet, sunburned backs and dripping ice cream down the front seat of your dad’s car. Paul Kohr is one of theheads of theice cream family that invented frozen custard. His family stretches back to before the Revolutionary War, andits ice cream legacygoes back100 years. He and his wife, Eva, currently […]

For Hippie at Heart, Woodstock ‘Like a Tape That Plays in My Mind’ Even 50 Years Later

The Beachcomber

The Woodstock Aquarian Music and Art Fair was three days of music, joy, peace, love, dancing, counterculture, progress, nudity, camping, innocence, mind-alteration and free expression that left its mark on a generation and, in turn, the world. Woodstock was not only a pivotal point in the nation’s history, but also a defining moment in the lives of the half million […]

Storied Island Writer Spans the Centuries

The Beachcomber
Author Margaret Thomas Buchholz: Passionate Historian

On a spring day, the fog hung heavy over the beach in Harvey Cedars. The wind, although howling, couldn’t clear the beach of the mist. The wind, the wind, the never-ceasing wind. A solitary figure walked the strand, hunched over against the wind, scanning the sand for remnants, memories of what had once been but had been scoured by waves […]

Six Miles at Sea LBI History Back in Print

The Beachcomber
First of John Bailey Lloyd LBI Trilogy

Six Miles at Sea: A Pictorial History of Long Beach Island, John Bailey Lloyd’s seminal work, is being re-released in an expanded, 30th anniversary edition, with 16 additional pages of historic photographs and material. The book was written in 1989 and has been out of print for about two years, so the time was right for a new edition, said […]

Long Beach Island Wasn’t in Tune With Woodstock in 1969

The Beachcomber

Bethel, N.Y., and Long Beach Island are about 200 miles distant from each other. But on Aug. 15-18, 1969, Bethel and LBI were light years apart. In Bethel, hundreds of thousands of people were sloshing around in the mud and breathing pot-infused air on Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm, listening to a veritable Who’s Who of rock artists including Janis […]

Rich With Historical Significance, Barnegat Lighthouse Still a Big Deal 160 Years Later

The Beachcomber

Throughout its history, Barnegat Lighthouse definitely has had some big moments. Many of them are highlighted inside the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park visitor center, amid the grounds surrounding the lighthouse and, of course, inside the red-and-white conical tower itself. Even more historical facts and figures can be found at the Barnegat Light Museum, operated by the Barnegat Light Historical Society. […]

Barnegat Lighthouse Keepers, 1835-1940

The Beachcomber

In the days when lighthouses required keepers – before electronic automation took over during the 1900s – it was necessary that each keeper climb to the lantern room each day to clean and maintain the lanterns and reflectors, as well as each night to light the lamp, trim the wicks every four hours, replenish the oil, wind clockworks that turned […]

Summer of ’69

The Beachcomber

Oh, when I look back now That summer seemed to last forever And if I had the choice Yeah, I’d always wanna be there Those were the best days of my life Oh, yeah Back in the summer of sixty-nine, oh When I first heard Bryan Adams sing those lyrics in 1985, my thoughts immediately turned to Long Beach Island. […]

Manpower, and Fighting Fire With Grit

The Beachcomber
Memories of Battling Baldwin Blaze, Losing the Lucy Evelyn

Some of the most dramatic fires on Long Beach Island of the past 60 years are real memories to two Barnegat Light Volunteer Fire Company members recently honored for their longevity of service. Frank Mikuletzky, 78, was 17 when he joined the fire company. By the time he was in his 20s, he was chief. On the 1960 autumn night […]