The newspapers at the time did not cover the story, but apparently there was also a school-naming contest at the Atlantic Highlands Elementary School as well.
Author and poet Laury A. Egan remembers it well. She was in the fourth grade at the time, and Tommy Masterson was another student in the elementary school. They both came up with the suggestion of Henry Hudson for a school name and there was a $25 prize for that. As a youngster she remembers, and laughs about it now, but she was hurt because while both she and Tommy had the same idea, he was the only one who got a prize and payment. She recalls Tommy Masterson getting the $25 since, she said she was told at the time, her family was in a “better financial situation” than his, so it would be nice to let him have the prize.
A former book designer, now an award winning writer and living in Highlands, Egan has written several fiction books, include Once, Upon an Island, Wave in D Minor, Doublecrossed, Turnabout, The Swimmer, A Bittersweet Tale, The Ungodly Hour, The Outcast Oracle, Fog and Other Stories and Jenny Kidd. She’s also wrote poetry including Beneath the Lion’s Paw; Snow, Shadows, a Stranger; The Sea & Beyond; and Presence & Absence.
Several of her books are set in the Monmouth County and Bayshore areas; Turnabout focuses on Oceanport, Rumson, and Red Bank, Doublecrossed stretches from Millstone to the Atlantic Ocean off Sandy Hook, and Once, Upon an Island has scenes near the Shrewsbury River but it’s a novel and takes place on St. Croix. There are several local angle stories in Fog and Other Stories with the cover a photo of the old Highlands bridge
Egan has written ten novels a story collection and four volumes of poetry.
Her website is www.lauryaegan.com
