Highlands has its Sea Bright Bridge that every kid had to drop from into the swift moving Shrewsbury River as a rite of passage. That was before the Captain Azzolina was built with its high rails that prevents today’s youngsters from the thrill of the older days.
But Atlantic Highlands had its Oonuehkoi Bridge that is the delight in the memories of kids from the 19th century on.
Dick Stryker tells it best. The former mayor, the son, grandson and great grandson too far back to count, of natives of the borough, even before it was the borough, is a nonagenarian who fondly remembers all the fun, especially in winter, of the Stone Bridge on Grand Avenue.
It officially opened on Saturday afternoon in August of 1896 with great fanfare and lots of speeches. Named to honor an Indian tribe that once lived here, the new stone bridge was described as “a gem which will adorn Atlantic Highlands forever,” “a means of unity and neighborliness,” “a work of engineering,” and “a landmark of progress.” Speakers also said the road, in the past the scene of many an accident because of the sharp turn, would nevermore be known as “Breakneck Bridge.”
That’s what Thomas Leonard recalls in his famed “From Indian Trail to Electric Rail”
Dick Stryker’s memories are a lot more fun and a sign of just how much local kids loved that Stone Bridge.
Dick’s earliest memories are of his dad tell him about the horse drawn wagons that were damaged going over the bridge, to say nothing of all the bicycle accidents by cyclists tearing down the hill to town. But those warnings certainly did not deter Dick nor any of his friends from enjoying the bridge in their own way. Especially in winter.
“A perfect snowfall and a sheet of ice were perfect to start our ride from the top,” the former mayor recalls with a chuckle, “We could start our ride above the bridge and go without a stop on to Highland Avenue, then around 8th avenue, then left on Mount! All the way down!. “The streets were all ideal,” he continued, “ because snowplows of those days did not salt or put any chemicals down. They simply packed down all the snow and ice to make a really great sledding system.” A good coating of packed down snow on all the streets was all we needed to make great sledding on East Mount, Grand Avenue, and Hudson Avenue, especially. “
Cars did not present any problems either, he recalls, not only because where were fewer around when he was growing up, but also “the town blocked off the side streets on Mount so it was a safe ride down the hill.” A smile, a sigh, and then Dick added, quietly, “These were great times to be a youth in Atlantic Highlands.”
