Besides being a great member of the board of the Twin Lights Historical Society Susan Sandlass Gardiner is a great author, a resourceful historian particularly when it comes to local history, and a lady who is very proud, and proudly so, of her family and the role it has played in the development of the north shore of the Atlantic Ocean as it passes next to New Jersey.
And families who lived in Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, Sea Bright and the surrounding towns during the earlier part of the 20th century know her family name well, and know how it provided joy, relaxation, happiness, camaraderie and new friendships for literally thousands of families for more than a few generations.
Sandlass.
Sandlass as in the Sandlass Beach Club. Sandlass as in the Bungalow Colony. Sandlass as in Highlands Beach Resort.
Susan has done considerable research and written about only one small part of it. Now she’s talking to generations of family members who spent time at the beach resort that touched the military base before there was ever a Sandy Hook State Park or Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook.
The Highlands Beach Resort was located just across the bridge from Highlands, in the area where the former Sandlass home now, like so many other buildings on Sandy Hook, is dying a slow, painful, sad death from lack of attention, upkeep, maintenance or anything else.
But the stories it holds are alive, well, exciting, and should be retold time and time again, if only to keep people in a great mood.
Susan Sandlass Gardiner is always happy to talk about her parents and grandparents’ beloved Highland Beach, and she’s eager to listen to anyone who has special memories and wants to chat about them. She has already talked to family members like the Rossbachs, the Robinsons and Lussons, the Buttons, the Christys and treasures each story and photo she has received. Now she has an almost complete list of the families who stayed at the resort for generations, grandparents opening their doors for the younger set, who then kept up the tradition with their own children and grandchildren until the colony ended.
She’s got a great story about Dock St and how it got named, along with stories about the amusement park the family had there, the Bamboo Room which was such a gathering spot not only for bungalow residents but locals as well, and so much more.
The resort was built by Susan’s grandfather, William, during what she terms the Golden Age of the Jersey Shore. For more than 70 years, the resort was THE summer place for families from the northern part of the state, New York and beyond. The crowds wanting to be here certainly helped the ferry systems, the trains, and new road construction as hordes of visitors flocked to this easy to get to part of the beach and oceanfront, with a gorgeous Shrewsbury River beach and calm waters a bonus.
It was elegant to dine at the Surf House and visit the Basket Pavilion in the 19th century, it was sheer fun to dance the night away at the Bamboo Room in the mid-20th century. It seems that the Sandlass connection offered something for everyone who needed to relax and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer.
Sandy Hook’s Lost Highland Beach,
Susan is a co-founder of the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum which was established in 2016, Susan’s goal for the non-profit organization is to create awareness of the history of Highland Beach excursion resort as a vital legacy of the Jersey Shore.
Besides being active with the Twin Lights Society, where their museum displays some of the Sandlass story and artifacts, Susan grew up in Sea Bright, moved to Washington, D.C., in 1965 and for more than 25 years, was active in bilingual community and media relations in the Montgomery County Public School System.
Knowing Susan and knowing the community activist she is, it’s no surprise she gained the Distinguished Service to Public Education award by the Board of Education, for her recognition and skills in providing community outreach to under-served families. The mother of five, grandmom of ten, Susan and her husband Gary live in Montgomery Village Maryland but she’s frequently seen back here in her own haunting grounds her heart has never left.
Have a Sandlass story you want to share? Write Susan at susangardiner813@me.com.
