First there are those who know about the Casino in the Park in Jersey City. That’s the multi floor restaurant catering hall, plush location in Hudson County where every politician wanted to be seen and was seen, along with other famous names including boxers, movie stars, football players, bishops. You name it, they were there and happy to be there.
Then there was the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands opened more than 50 years by Bernie and Kathleen Strebb Sweeny, a shore version of the Jersey City venue which the couple ran simultaneously.
Shore Casino
Bernie built the Atlantic Highlands building which the Harbor Commission of the borough owns and agreed to the Yacht Club having their premises upstairs. Over the years, that too was the place everyone wanted to be, and kids that were there for their proms half a century ago kept coming back, for their engagement parties, their showers, weddings, new babies christenings and so much more. Hard to find a family in the Bayshore who did not have some connection to the Shore Casino.
Bernie was in charge of that facility, while Kathleen traveled back and forth nightly to ensure everything was fine at the Casino in the Park. When the couple left the Hudson County Casino to concentrate completely on the Atlantic Highlands site, Kathleen was right there, telling the staff how things were done in the larger facility, complimenting them on their expertise and reminding them she had been in the business herself since she first waitressed in her native Ireland at age 12.
When Bernie died a couple of years ago, there was Kathleen’s son Jay, ready, eager, and fully capable of taking up the lead, letting his mom relax a bit while he took over arranging all the events and celebrations for which the Casino was famous. Jay had all the charm and friendliness of Bernie, a few quirks of his own that endeared him to the ever-growing crowd, and innovative ideas that were requested by newcomers and enjoyed by all.
But Jay died last year, a year after Bernie, and everything fell on Kathleen to handle on her own. There were those who said she couldn’t do it, those who said without Jay or Bernie, the good times of the past would just be memories.
These were the folks who don’t know Kathleen Strebb Sweeney. There were the folks who didn’t know, or forgot, she came from tough Irish stock, stock that practiced and preached” if there’s a job to be done and it’s worth doing, or makes life better for someone else, then we can…and will…do it.”
These are the reasons why the Shore Casino is now the setting of so many and such varied events! This is the catering hall that can whip up a fancy meal on two days’ notice, can accommodate crowds of small intimate gatherings or huge events like the popular PBA ball, a staple at the Casino or high school proms. Kathleen’s Casino is the site of baptisms and funereal repasts and everything in between.
Take last weekend for instance. It was Mike Schoeller’s 50 birthday and wife Ann wanted to have a few dozen close friends surprise him with a night at the Casino.
Everyone who knows Ann, that wizard and ultra-generous volunteer on the Atlantic Highlands First Aid Squad, knows perfection is her middle name, making others happy and healthy is part of her way of living. Couple her ingenuity and desire to make the best party ever for her husband’s birthday with Kathleen’s affable, generous, and agreeable way of making arrangements, and it’s a winner all around.
Ann invited her guests to wear wigs, perhaps part of the surprise for Mike when he came in after the crowd arrived. Even the wigs were great and varied, ranging from multi-colored possibly left over from Halloween to real hair to Ben Franklin styles, to brunette so real on blonds it was hard to identify the real person! Whatever the reason, whatever the style, it almost seemed like the fun, laughter and relaxation of the wigs certainly set the mood for the evening.
Until Johnny Kumfert and his music took over. This seven-piece musical wonder kept the crowd on its feet the entire night, kept everyone laughing and happy, brought the roof down with the spectacular fiddlers playing a duet, and had even Kathleen on the move and part of a happy crowd all night.
Waiters and waitresses kept appetites alive with the spectacular hors d’oeuvres they brought out from Ozzie’s kitchen, and no one who’s ever been to the Casino was surprised at the length, breadth and depth of the buffet that followed. Kathleen may have planned and decided on the menu with Ann when she planned Mike’s event, but Ozzi’s expertise in the kitchen adds an extra level of wonder.
All of which is to say nothing about the bar and Kathleen’s two best bartender patty and Bob, who were as swift and efficient as this happy crowd wanted them to be. In their spare minute or two she wasn’t serving, it was fun to see Patty dancing and taking photos behind the bar, with Bob keeping pace.
The next day there was yet another party at the Casino, this one for youngsters seeing Santa Claus, much more subdued, but nonetheless enjoyed by the crowd in attendance for their midday party.
So after all these years, after losing her husband and son, does Kathleen really still want to stay up late nights, arrange large parties and keep a close watch on everything?
“It’s my life, it’s all I know,” she says, forgetting her years as a professional model. But she adds, “Do I get tired sometime? Sure. “And pressed, she’ll finally admit, “Maybe it’s the right thing to do. So if the right buyer with the right price comes along, now that I have the Casino up and running and booked for parties, now that I’ve proven I can do it and I love what I do, sure, I would think about it if there’s someone who could keep it up to the standards our more than half century have set.”
