200 Plus
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•June 18, 2025
British Army Confounded by Colonists
A series of events took place in June 1775 that changed the course of American history.
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•June 11, 2025
Tale of the Illegitimate Governor
Today there are calls for an investigation into the legality of documents signed by an autopen controlled by an unelected aide to an allegedly impaired president. A look at the New Jersey election of…
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•June 4, 2025
Ocean County Celebrates 175 Years
As I was working on the articles to commemorate Ship Bottom’s centennial, it was pointed out there was another local milestone that should be remembered: Ocean County is celebrating its 175th…
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•May 28, 2025
Coast Guardsmen Go to Prison
Throughout the summer of 1926, the Coast Guard stations on Long Beach Island were the location of a series of secret federal trials. Members of the Coast Guard were accused of taking bribes to allow…
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•May 21, 2025
Coast Guard Scandal Blows Up
As you celebrate a centennial, sometimes you overlook the bad. The LBI Coast Guard scandal of 1926 was quickly becoming a symbol of the failure of Prohibition and the Volstead Act that enforced it.
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•May 14, 2025
Coast Guardsmen Caught Red-Handed
By the time Ship Bottom became a town in 1925, the U.S. Life-saving Service had become part of the U.S. Coast Guard. As the town celebrates its centennial we should remember the bad with the good.
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•May 7, 2025
Life-Savers Mount Heroic Rescue
It was two wrecks in January 1903 that linked together in the press and public mind the name Ship Bottom with the midpoint of Long Beach Island.
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•April 30, 2025
Life-Saving Crew Called to Action Again
This is another installment in a look back at Ship Bottom as it celebrates its centennial.
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•April 23, 2025
The Sad Fate of the ‘Remedios Pascual’
To mark the centennial of Ship Bottom’s becoming an independent municipality, I am looking back at the stories that helped create the town’s identity.
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•April 16, 2025
Ship Bottom’s Storied Rescue Dog
As Ship Bottom celebrates its centennial, I thought a look back at some of the town’s history might be of interest.
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•April 10, 2025
Wishing Ship Bottom a Happy Birthday
When the town you grew up in celebrates its centennial, it’s always fun to look back on its founding.
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•April 2, 2025
Fort Falls Without a Shot Fired
The events that took place during the spring of 1775 helped shape the future of America. This question arises: Were they the result of the action of the famous icons of history or forgotten common…
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•March 26, 2025
New Jersey Takes Up Arms
If you’re a reader of this column, you probably are a student of history. You know the 250th anniversary of American independence is approaching. If asked to name five people associated with the…
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•March 19, 2025
Redcoats Tell a Different Story
This is the last in a series of articles attempting to present what happened at Lexington and Concord in April 1775 in the order that the public was informed. The Colonial version was disseminated in…
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•March 12, 2025
British Report on Skirmish Differs
Over the past several weeks I have presented the Colonial perspective on the events 250 years ago at Lexington and Concord. The reason for the one-sided version is that in 1775, that is the way the…
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•March 5, 2025
Eyewitnesses Report on British Attack
There are times when getting a story first outweighs the getting of it correct. In April 1775, this rang true as the Colonial version of the events at Lexington and Concord were distributed widely…
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•February 26, 2025
Who Fired the First Shot?
The events of April 19, 1775 are remembered by history as the day “the shot heard ’round the world” was fired. How one version of the events is remembered while another forgotten can cause you to ask…
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•February 19, 2025
Spreading the News From Lexington
Today we live in a world of instant communication and social media; 250 years ago some things were different, others the same.
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•February 13, 2025
Lighting the Flame of Rebellion
This is the first in a series to mark the 250 years of American independence.
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•February 5, 2025
‘Los Angeles’ Wins Battle With Winds
In the spring of 1925, a shortage of helium kept the U.S. built USS Shenandoah in her Lakehurst, N.J. hangar. The valuable gas had been given to the newer, German-built USS Los Angeles.
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•January 29, 2025
‘USS Los Angeles’ Takes to the Sky
As January 1925 ended, the giant hangar at Lakehurst, N.J. housed two of the world’s most modern dirigibles. Each was over two football fields long.
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•January 22, 2025
Taking Steps Toward Rebellion
In the fall of 1774, 12 British colonies (Georgia did not attend) sent representatives to the first Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, to respond to Parliament passing the Intolerable Acts…
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•January 15, 2025
The Saga of the Lighthouse Continues
January is a time for resolutions and looking forward the year’s topics to write about. In the plan for 2025 there are several: the drift from rebellion to revolution 250 years ago, the summer of…
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•January 8, 2025
Welcome Back! Did You Pass?
It’s finally 2025 and the talk about who is running for president has stopped – at least until Groundhog Day in February. That also means it’s the first column of the year as The SandPaper comes back…
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•December 18, 2024
How Good a Student Are You?
2024 is finally coming to an end. Judging from the polls, over half of you are smiling, but a large number have tears in your eyes.
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•December 11, 2024
… and a Merry Christmas to All!
The story of how modern Christmas in America emerged is the result of many factors, but the influence of one New Jersey man must be conceded. Lorraine Boissoneault gave some background in a 2018…
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•December 4, 2024
Christmas in Colonial Times
What was Christmas like in colonial America? In Colonial Williamsburg, Va., historians have worked to re-create life as it was during that time. Ivor Noel Hume, who was director of the archaeological…
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•November 27, 2024
Are Tea-Burners Brought to Justice?
Almost 250 years after the independence of the United States was declared, it’s easy to remember the events in simple terms: The good guys were the colonists, the bad, the British oppressors. But a…
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•November 20, 2024
Jersey Has Its Own Tea Party
As 1774 was drawing to a close, the future course of relations between Great Britain and her American colonies was reaching a breaking point.
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•November 13, 2024
Meet Unsung Heroes of the Revolution
As we near the 250th anniversary of American independence, I have decided to concentrate on the little-known heroes and events.
