It was the spring of 1960, and many Americans lived in fear of nuclear war. A young senator from Massachusetts had coined the term “missile gap” and was using the fear of Soviet military superiority to win the Democratic nomination for president. Fear of a surprise attack had led to spy flights over Russia and the disaster of a U-2 being shot down in May.

In Ocean County, most people were looking forward to summer; there was a new bridge to LBI, and business was looking up.