My grandmother came to Long Beach Island in the 1940s. Her sister, my great-aunt Bea, had weak lungs. Doctors thought the sea air – and an environment with less trees, pollen and grass – would be good for her. So Aunt Bea came to the beach and brought her husband and three sons. She was very close with her sister, so Grandmom Mary soon followed with her husband and three daughters.

Our family has always turned right off the Causeway, toward the mini golf, boat rentals, ice cream and, as my mom would…