Eddy Rosado served with the Marine Corps for four years during the Vietnam war. He was an instructor with the Corps and lives in Philadelphia. He heard about the Fins for Freedom fishing day at an event he attended in Oaks, Pennsylvania, and signed up. Friends
Eddy sat alone at the senior Citizens building in Atlantic Highlands waiting for instructions on which boat he would be going on and enjoying bagels and coffee. Fins for Freedom ws just starting to kick off a day that would make memories. Friends
There were a couple of other men seated at the same table, none of whom knew each other.
But when questioned by a reporter, Eddy said he was getting older, starting a new life, and had been fishing for a long time and loved it. But in starting his new life, he didn’t really have many friends and was kind of on his own, he said. Friends
It took a second for Rich Oshaughnessy, seated across from him at the table to stand up, put out his hand and say heartily, “hey, now you have a friend. I’m Rich.”
Shaughnessy was also signed up for the trip, a 20 year veteran of the Navy retiring as a Chief. He learned about the program from a lady named Dawn, who worked at a Speedway gas station and knew Rich was a veteran. They started talking, he said, adding he was happy to be on this trip, even though he never has a bad day. Friends
When the reporter left, Eddy and Rich were already deep in conversation about their lives in service and their recent activities.
Meeting up with them again at the end of the day, they both had stories to tell of the striped bass they had caught and released, and the other friends they met on their day of fishing.
“That’s what we do this for,” said an emotional Dan Brady, one of the Fins for Freedom officers, “ Fins for Freedom wants to keep these guys together, and as fishermen, we all know the camaraderie that comes about on any fishing trip. These guys deserve all of that and more.”
Rosado was proud to show photos at the end of the day of the two stripers and one blue he and yet another new friend caught. Jorge Quinga came from Jersey City for the trip, he was an army veteran who served with the infantry from 2003 to 2006. He had never been out fishing before. “I loved it,” he laughed, “and I learned a lot. I didn’t even know the language of fishing or being out on a boat.”
When he hooked into a striper, he didn’t even realize it, he said, when another veteran on the boat said “you snagged it.” “I didn’t know what that meant, until I started reeling it in, and wow! …..” then he pulled out the photo of him and his striped bass.
Quinga also caught a bluefish, a fish he could keep and was planning on baking for dinner. The Ecuador born American and Rosado both also said that they were on Boat Ten…That’s Capt. Bill (William DiStaso) and he was great. “
“We must have had the best captain and crew of anybody for the day,” they both agreed.
Other veterans would have differed, putting up their own captains and crew for perfection.
But besides the fish, the captain, and the wonderful day, Rosado was truly happy for something else. “Jorge and I have already exchanged telephone numbers ..we’re going to be getting together soon.”
Whether it’s because the National Park Service never has enough money to spend, or whether it chooses to spend it in the wrong places or for the wrong reasons is something that can be debated forever. John Brown John Brown John Brown John Brown
But at least at the Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park, which covers pretty much all of the town and sites from Jefferson Rock from the 1700s and the national armory in the 1800s, including the pre-Civil War assault on that armory by John Brown to Storer College, a post-civil war school of upper education for all races, but predominantly black, that closed in 1955, to say nothing of a railroad museum and more, there doesn’t appear to be great leadership in promoting the historic sites or having visitors enjoy an educational and memorable experience.
The highlight on much of the literature around town is how parking is at a premium, hard to find, with streets blocked off for residential parking only and a shuttle taking motorists from a Park parking lot by shuttle a relatively short distance to the beginning of the historic area and leaving you on your own to walk the ups and downs of a town built on the sides of a mountain. When a deer apparently went through the window of one of the park’s historic buildings sometime last week, and though the deer itself left a mass of blood on the floor but managed to escape, three days later the building was still not opened, nor any signs posted giving the reason for its closure.
On the good side, the Harpers Ferry Park Association, a non-profit partner of the national park, seems to offer a lot more help and friendliness for visitors and great support for preservation, hiking trails, group workshops, and historic demonstrations. The Association has one of the best shops in the entire town, loaded with books, photos, souvenirs of all kinds, and much more you can see on their website www.harpersferryhistory.org.
Still, the National Park Service in this particular park does not offer much for the couple or individual visitor on foot and not part of a crowd.
But the history is incredible and part of America. The city was once part of Virginia, and during the Civil War changed hands no fewer than eight times between North and Southern forces. John Brown John Brown
The emphasis in the town is on John Brown, the white evangelical Christian raised Puritan in his native Connecticut. His faith convinced him he was born to be an instrument of God and it was up to him to use violence to rid the South of slavery.
Raised as one of six children, he went on later in his life to marry three times and sire a total of 20 children. Because of his father’s work, Brown also lived in Ohio, ran a safe house for fugitives along the Underground Railroad and, along with one brother, was a forceful opponent of any slavery.
At one time he was a minister but was better known as a tanner and at one point was even a postmaster named by John Quincy Adams. He was also a banker, at another time was very wealthy, later illegally tried to hold onto property belonging to another, and bred horses and ran a farm.
It was the Bleeding Kansas years, when the country was divided on entering free and slave states to the Union, that Brown led a radical group of pacifists and killed five supporters of slavery and commandeered more forces in other battles before Harpers Ferry.
But it was at Harper’s Ferry that Brown felt he could liberate all the slaves in what was then Virginia simply by taking the federal armory under his control and inciting local slaves to join his mission.
That idea didn’t work both because of the federal forces that came in to preserve it was well trained and the sparse few local slaves who thought it was an idea worth joining. His plans included not only the federal armory but also the federal rifle factory and ultimately the town.
The federal forces that won that battle and preserved the federal property that led to Brown’s trial and conviction were led by then Lt. Colonel Robert E. Lee, the West Point graduate who two years later had to leave the United States to fight for his beloved South in the Civil War that was precipitated in large part by John Brown’s Raid and insurrection.
Seven people were killed in Brown’s raid, another ten or so injured and many others arrested by the Marines . Brown was tried in court for his treason and became the first American ever executed for treason against a state.
News of his assault on Virginia gained national news and escalated what ultimately became the South’s secession from the Union and the start of the Civil War.
The John Brown museum in the Park complex tells the story along with outstanding videos, many artifacts and memorabilia inside three rooms of displays and audio, another part of the Park’s several buildings including the firehouse the Marines had to batter down the doors to quell the raid. Not only did few local slaves join Brown in his insurrection, but some were taken hostage by him and died in the raid. History depicts Brown both as a heroic martyr as well as a madman and terrorist. But it is American history.
You Have a RIGHT to Know … But They Don’t Want You To
The OPRA-killing bills just passed by legislators from both parties in both the Senate and Assembly which will most likely be signed into law by Governor Murphy is one more example of how those elected to government office really don’t want the public to know everything that’s going on. RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT
Locally, if passed, it means all requests have to be made on a specific document, the excuse being that making the OPRA regulations more stringent will save time for busy county, borough and township employees.
There’s a lot more to that law as well , but adding it to the lack of transparency residents have to face now makes it an issue that every local citizen should be aware of and pay attention to.
Rights are being taken away slowly, so they are not being noticed until it’s too late. It’s time for residents, taxpayers, the elderly, and very citizen to start paying attention, asking questions, and advocating for change.
Look at transparency at school board meetings and municipal meetings. Highlands borough, in spite of its upwards of 12 million dollar building and wonderful facilities, does not offer their meetings virtually, meaning everyone interested in being heard at a meeting either has to come down from further up the hill or come up the hill and cross the highway to attend a meeting.
Few do right now. Is it because they are not interested, think council is doing a terrific job, or simply don’t know or care what’s going on? Nor are the meetings recorded, though they are on some other site.
Atlantic Highlands does offer some municipal meetings virtually, though their microphone system is set up so there is sometimes so much background noise it’s difficult to catch every word; the mics aren’t even close enough to capture the words of residents who speak during the meetings. The Planning Board has testimony presented at its meetings, often difficult to hear or understand completely, either in person or virtually.
School boards are the biggest offenders in the Bayshore and worse, they don’t even seem to care about it. None of their meetings, be it elementary, high school, or the new transitional board are offered virtually. Not many people are able to walk all the way up to Henry Hudson particularly on a dark rainy night. But that’s the only way to hear most of their meetings.
Even present at a meeting at Hudson is a challenge; the room, so often complained about, is so large, the mics so few, and the distance between the board set-up and the audience is widespread, so hearing everything is difficult even for those not hearing impaired. The board never seems to care, in spite of numerous complaints at every meeting.
Highlands held an important meeting of a proposed flood plan for the entire borough at Henry Hudson to ensure everyone who wanted to hear could be present. The fact is, it would have been easy and so much more accommodating if they offered it virtually. But even the Army Corps of Engineers present at the meeting had to fiddle around a while to get the mics in a position to be heard, at least part of the time.
It certainly appeared that the borough clerk, as efficient and capable as she is, was struggling to hear the names of residents speaking, let alone hear everything they said. Yet minutes would be taken of that meeting since it was an official meeting of the council.
Henry Hudson prides itself, as well it should, on the excellence of their play presentations. One wonders how acoustics can be just fine for that but not for a meeting when the board is voting to approve tens of thousands of dollars. The superintendent has said at a public meeting their emphasis is on education, which is correct. But a few tax dollars could be spent so the taxpayers can hear what kind of education their kids are getting.
Hearing, attending, speaking, and being kept informed of both municipal and school business is difficult even for those with perfect hearing and vision. Aside from that, how public entities get away with not accommodating the disabled is still a mystery.
Even with complaints filed, the state offices designed to protect the disabled, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, don’t give much of a darn either; cases languish between state offices for years before IF they are actually ever resolved. But that is after the issues at hand that are so important to be heard are long since decided with the disabled never having an opportunity to have their voice or opinion heard.
The people do have the right to know. And it’s up to the people to make their voice heard when they are being shut down or kept out.
State legislators in both the NJ Assembly and Senate from both parties make it official they prefer secrecy and withholding public information from the public, encouraging lack of accountability from government at all levels when they when they approved Bills which makes it more difficult to get public information, in spite of the Open Public Records Act ( OPRA )
Assembly Woman Vicky Flynn was the primary sponsor of the Assembly bill that shuts down accessibility to public records, and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger and Flynn both voted in favor of it. Senator Declan O‘Scanlon voted against the bill in the Senate, but there were not enough negative votes to retain the current OPRA regulations.
The Senate voted 21 -10 in favor of the bill, with nine Senators choosing not to vote at all; the Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 42 -27 with one abstention and ten members not voting
The bi-partisan bills will become law if signed by Governor Murphy; however, a spokesperson for the Governor declined to comment on the Governor’s position or whether he will sign the bills.
Legislators indicated they approved the bill in order to cut down on time paid employees at every level of government having to spend in providing information to the public. The bill also allows municipalities to sue OPRA requestors as retaliation against those seeking the same information that is available under the current law.
The League of Municipalities, which includes memberships from most of the boroughs and cities in Monmouth County, and the New Jersey Association of Counties, of which Monmouth is a member, declined to discuss provisions of the bill at the hearing.
Assemblyman Brian Berger of Morris County described the bill as “malicious and intentional” in casting his vote opposing it. The Senate vote was not live-streamed and came without any debate. At least one legislator declined to respond to any questions during a debate on the Assembly floor. Berger added that “It’s this type of bill that really erodes the public’s trust.”
One provision of the bill ends the mandate that governments that lose records disputes in court pay the legal fees of the requestors. Another portion would allow towns to sue requestors they believe are using records requests to interrupt government functions. If it becomes law, every municipality would be required to adopt a uniform records request form which would allow custodians to deny outright requests that do not include a requestor’s name, address, email, and phone number.
The legislation would also create new exemptions barring the release of information on a broader range of electronic devices, public security systems, and metadata, would require redaction of personal information — including names, addresses, telephone numbers, personal emails, and bank and credit card information, from documents ranging from pet permits to Motor Vehicle Commission records, safety emergency response plans and government notification systems.
Interested persons are invited to join the conversation at EMACC’s Women Business Leaders Forum: Leading Ladies – Leadership in the Professional Sector.
During this moderated discussion, panelists will showcase their unique talent, approach to opportunities, and inherent strength that women bring to the world of business.
Siekerka is President and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and leads the nation’s largest, most influential employer’s organization advocating on behalf of New Jersey’s large and small businesses for policies geared to making New Jersey more affordable and regionally competitive. Women in Business
Graham, is the visionary force behind Graham Behavior Services serving as its Executive Director and founder. With a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from Kean University, Graham pursued her passion by completing her Applied Behavior Analysis coursework at Caldwell University, earning her certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Women in Business
She is dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities delivering personalized, home and community-based services.
Gaynor is president of the Junior League of Monmouth County and a seasoned marketing professional with a deep commitment to community health and women’s empowerment.
She has spearheaded impactful initiatives including Period Project, launched during the Covid-19 pandemic to distribute over 100,000 period products to under served populations.
Gaynor a board member and Secretary of the STAAR Ovarian Cancer Foundation, the only U.S. charity dedicated to fundraising for ovarian cancer for life saving research.
Event moderator Kelly Power is the Operations Manager for Absolute Home Mortgage – Team Cook, facilitating all aspects of the mortgage process. An accomplished professional in the mortgage industry, specializing in branch operations, Power is known for her exceptional communication skills and ability to build strong relationships, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable mortgage experience. Women in Business
The moderagtor is proud to serve on the EMACC Board of Directors and co-chair of EMACC’s Women in Business committee; she is also a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of NJ Women’s Committee. Women in Business
Premiere Sponsors for the event are the Alternative Board Jersey Shore North, Annie-Mac and Nest Seekers International with May & June All Events Sponsor Rope Drop Travel and Executive Sponsors Nissan City Red Bank, Packaging & Distribution Resources and Townsquare Ignite.
For event registration and information, visit www.EMACC.org or call 732-741-0055.
The Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1928 has supported our business and community for almost 100 years. EMACC plays an essential role in the health of the business community regionally and statewide. Proudly serving Eatontown, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright, Shrewsbury and Tinton Falls. All are welcome!
Bayshore Pharmacy was honored as the Business of the Month at the last meeting of the Mayor and Council, with Mayor Lori Hohenleitner presenting the certificate to Richard and Jill Stryker, second generation family owners of the popular pharmacy.
The pharmacy is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and Hohenleitner congratulated the owners for excellence, community involvement and the role they play in the community and for its residents. Bayshore Pharmacy
The Pharmacy was opened in 1964 at the Bayshore Shopping Center where it continues to be a successful and needed business. However, its original location was at the other side of Food Town supermarket, where Salt Water Liquors is now located. Bayshore Pharmacy
It moved again to the end of Foodtown and then once again in 1997 to its present location further down the northern end of the plaza. Bayshore Pharmacy
The firm was started in June 1964 by Rich Stryker and Joseph McDonald. Stryker purchased it 1997 when McDonald retired; he became partners with Scott Eagelton who purchased his partnership from Stryker’s father, former Mayor Richard C. Stryker in 1992.
Currently the pharmacy employees 18 local residents, along with the second generation Stryker and two other pharmacists. It is best known for offering point of care testing to include strep throat, flu and covid testing, vaccination appointments which are open daily for Pneumonia (Prevnar 20), Shingles, Meningitis and TDAP (Whooping Cough, Tetanus & Diphtheria), home delivery, excellent service and a gift shop regarded as one of the finest in Monmouth County.
The Stryker family is planning a 60th anniversary celebration at the Pharmacy on Saturday, June 8 with Mayor Hohenleitner heading a ribbon cutting ceremony at noon. Giveaways and store specials will be offered. The Atlantic Highlands 6th Grade Parents will also be selling hot dogs and water to raise funds for the 6th grade trip. Bayshore Pharmacy
“Sixty years in business is quite an accomplishment and we thank our community for their continued support over six decades,” said Styker, son of the founder. “ We know you have a choice for your healthcare and we are grateful to be a part of your wellness.”
When 22-year-old Jack McDonough came from his home in Glen Beigh County Kerry to New York it was primarily to study computer science here for a semester before returning in August for continuing on to his degree at Cork University. Irish Poet
But few knew until he arrived that he brought with him a huge supply of Irish humor, unlimited friendliness, certainly the gift of gab, and the ability to easily make friends and influence people. Irish Poet
Jack spent several days in Atlantic Highlands and the Bayshore visiting with his great aunt, his grandfather’s sister, Kathleen Sweeney. He was here to share prayers and sympathy with her as both virtually attended the funeral mass for Kathleen’s sister and Jack’s great aunt, Rita Burke. Rita died in Ireland after an extended illness, and Jack did not want her sister here in America to be attending the funeral alone.
The happy-go-lucky yet serious and brilliant Irishman, in the few days since he arrived from Ireland, had already met with his cousins, Kathleen’s grandson and daughter, at the hospitals where one is a doctor the other a nurse; he had already engaged himself in a sandlot baseball game when he saw a group of men playing and asked if he could join. They welcomed him, gave him the bat, and he showed his dexterity in that sport as well.
This is his first visit to the United States, but already Jack knows he loves the people. “Everyone’s so friendly,” he enthused, ignoring the fact it’s his own friendship that brings out the best in others.
His biggest surprise, he said, is “how everything is so large!”, meaning the cars, the roads, the ferry, the meals, and just about everything else he’s encountered so far.
But always, he smiles broadly, it’s the friendship that stands out.
Living in Brooklyn for the few months he is here, Jack already knows his way around, hops on the subway or train with no fears, and knows the best, easiest and nicest way to get from Manhattan to Atlantic Highlands is via Sea Streak. “It’s so easy,” he said, “and then just a short subway ride from the ferry in New York to my apartment.”
Ask him about politics, and the diplomatic Irishman declines…politely, of course….to discuss any United States politics. “This is your country, “he says with a wag of his finger, “I’m not about to get into any discussions about any of your politics here.”
But ask him about his own, and he’ll tell you the life history of his nation’s newest Taoiseach, or prime minister, Simon Harris and all the reasons why he will be the best thing that’s happened to Ireland and a true leader who will keep the country moving forward.
Harris was recently elected to the post by a vote of parliament and at 37 years of age is the youngest leader the nation has ever had. Without any coaching or coaxing, Jack can tell you about Ireland’s three-party coalition government, the surprise resignation of Leo Varadkar last month, opening the way for Harris, a member of the Fine Gael party like his predecessor, to be to be named, and how devoted Harris is to promoting education at all levels for everybody in Ireland.
Jack can tell you how Harris loves talking to the people via social media and how he is facing the serious and soaring housing costs and influx of Ukraine citizens escaping the war in their own homeland.
But garrulous as he is, Jack declines to opinionate on American politics.
Nor does he talk about the drone he designed, part of a class assignment. Jack loves Irish history as well as its unique nature, and laments the loss of tree species, the Irish oak, that are thousands of years old and rapidly diminishing with the major construction projects that are gobbling up open space. So he chose to design a drone that can film the rare tree forests from above and enable environmentalists to pinpoint their existence in specific areas and work towards their preservation.
It’s a passion for environmental sciences that is now having Jack ponder specifically in what specialty he wants to use his computer science skills.
But there is a quieter, softer, more thoughtful part of Jack McDonough that makes the casual visitor with him remember that it must be true, the Irish, be they serious or political, dramatic or comedic, quiet or verbose, all have the gift of expression in poetry and song.
Jack is also a poet.
A lover of nature, he was moved by the grace and beauty of the animal while watching a group of penguins cavort. Knowing they are birds, and wondering why they don’t fly, it struck him while watching them. Indeed, Jack decided, penguins do fly….they simply do it in the water! And so he wrote
Penguin Tale
By: Jack McDonogh
I see you fly,
But not in the sky,
Outside the box,
Like a cunning fox.
Your wings beat water,
Through shoals of fish,
Natures torpedo,
A bliss display.
You fly in packs,
Through a world of blue,
Through tumultuous water,
You thrive.
Then again, overwhelmed and appreciative of nature in all its forms, he lay back and enjoyed the sunshine of a quiet day, then wrote:
Country Field
By: Jack McDonogh
In a country field I lay,
During the kindness of a spring day,
Lambs playing and feeling free,
Birds chirping as they should be.
I climb a hill to investigate,
The burrow of a badger or fox,
Atop of which I gaze amongst shadows,
Like sparks from a smith,
Sparks of sparrows flying in unison,
A great show.
I then look afar to a land,
A land of smoke and grime,
What could this be,
Surly not a place of our time.
Humans dominate this land,
Scarred of tar and smoke alike,
Big machines operating,
Speeding through the city lights.
Like the sparrows I know,
These humans too move in unison,
People marching amongst the buildings,
Migrating along lines of traffic,
Cluttered and chaotic.
Shocked by what I see,
I again look back,
To a land of green and great beauty,
As I watch the lambs play,
I think to myself,
Oh what magnificence it is,
To live in such a time and place,
As home.
His love for his native land, its nature, its history, its religion and the blend of all that and more is best exemplified in Inisfallen
Innisfallen
By: Jack McDonogh
I set forth on a journey,
To a land of proper and lore,
I set aboard a boat,
To the land of Saints and Scholars.
Into the morning fog,
To a mystery I set forth,
Aboard a boat we traveled an ancient path,
Along the gables of cliffs,
Along the story of earth.
Where great elk once trod,
Great deer do roam,
A seal in the lake,
Plenty of trout to chase.
A sanctuary of time,
Once the pride of Killarney,
Now a museum,
In which the heart of Ireland is kept.
After mass in the monastery I look to a mighty oak,
As I touch its bark I live,
I live a time in which still exists today,
A time of saints and scholars,
A majestic time of joy.
In his poetry, Jack also can express his sensitivities and the pain he feels for those who fall, fail, or simply choose the wrong path in life. He does not criticize, merely, lament, grieve, and offer consolation.
It’s the Irish way and Jack McDonogh brought it with him to America.;
Lost souls Irish Poet
By: Jack McDonogh
To see your presence, Irish Poet Irish Poet Irish Poet Irish Poet Irish Poet
Makes me sad,
A lie being lived,
Of only the bad.
An overused body,
Abused by mental stimulation,
Your mind corrupted by the freedom of indulgence,
A freedom trapping pit of despair.
You are greater than this confliction,
An addiction to viewing lowly forms of life,
A form of life which revolves around ignorance,
A form of life which creates nothing but shame and sadness.
Democrats will see a new kind of ballot in the primary June 4, and should be aware of the change before either filling out their absentee ballot or voting at the polls.
Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon advised Democratic voters that the ballot will appear in a new format as a result of a federal court order indicating the new Democratic ballots are now in “block” ballot design.
In this new design, candidates for each individual office are listed in random order in separate ballot boxes as opposed to being “bracketed”, where candidates for different offices were grouped together in a column and appear as a “ticket.”
This change does not apply to the Republican Primary Election, as it was not affected by the court order, the county clerk said..
“It is always recommended for all voters to review their sample ballot prior to voting to become familiar with the ballot as well as the names of the candidates,” Hanlon said. “ This allows for a smoother process at the polls.”
Sample ballots for all 53 Monmouth County municipalities will be sent to voters according to New Jersey law and will also be available online at MonmouthCountyVotes.com and on the County Clerk’s free Monmouth County Votes mobile app.
For questions about the Primary Election, contact the County Clerk’s Elections Office at 732-431-7790.
The Office of the Monmouth County Clerk is comprised of five divisions handling property recordings, elections, archives, passports and records management. The County Clerk’s Office also provides resident, veteran and Gold Star Family identification cards to county residents, administers oaths to notaries and public officials and performs wedding ceremonies.
The Monmouth County Clerk is a constitutional and administrative officer elected to a five-year term by the voters of Monmouth County. Christine Giordano Hanlon, Esq. was elected Monmouth County Clerk in November 2015 and was re-elected to a second term in November 2020.
Classic Boat Rides, the locally owned fleet of watercraft, will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony and Open House aboard the Mariner docked at the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Harbor on Sunday, May 26, between noon and 3 p.m. The public is invited to attend and no reservations are necessary. Light refreshments will be served.
Mayor Lori Hohenleitner will be part of the ceremony cutting the ribbon for the Mariner, the second of the Classic Boat Rides fleet docked at the Harbor, at noon. Following the ceremony, the public is invited to board the craft, the addition to the fleet of Capt. Dan and Vicky Schade’s fleet, to tour the boat, enjoy refreshments and see the offerings for reservations or arrangements for private parties for groups up to 50 persons.
The Mariner, the mid-size vessel in the Classic Boat Rides fleet, has been docked at “Headboat Row,” adjacent to Sissy’s Restaurant, and the fleet of fishing charter boats, since the beginning of the year. The boat is available for rental for private parties for weddings, parties, anniversaries, rehearsals, office outings and other private activities as well as Burial at Sea services for families seeking that solace following the death of a loved one.
The boat was built in 1991 in Florida and is formerly the Eco lab for the University of Connecticut. In reconditioning the former classrooms for a pleasure craft, the Schades preserved the blackboards that were on the boat as well as the stories of the importance of the craft as a research vessel.
The New Mariner is equipped with a full-service bar for adult beverages and soft drinks, as well as an open air second deck. The boat offers a soft and stable ride and a comfortable cruising platform for private events or celebrations. It has a clean restroom and a generator for shore power underway, along with a booming stereo with IPOD capability.
Capt. Dan’s other craft at the Harbor, the Navesink Queen, offers an open-air top deck with a full canopy roof and heated cabin main deck. With both decks open, she can carry 150 persons.
Navesink Queen
For further information on Classic Boat Rides, visit classicboatrides.com or call 732-337-9292.
The program, which is offered at no cost either in person or online,will be presented by Dr. Richard Veit, Interim Provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs for Monmouth University as well as the university’s Professor of Anthropology.
Richard Veit, Ph.D.
Students from Monmouth University spent several months last year exploring the history of the twin Lights with a focus on the original lighthouse built in the 1820s. Excavations during the annual archaeological filed school revealed the remains of one of the original lighthouses and provided new evidence about the structural problems that led to its demise. Archeology
Dr. Veit was the director of the excavation and will speak on the work and the findings at the site. The professor is also the author of several books and numerous articles in various publications on New Jersey history and archaeology. Archeology
No registration is necessary to attend the program at the library on Tindall rd., Middletown. To register for the ZOOM presentation, visit MiddletownNJhistory.org
Interested persons can also join the Society online and be part of the Society’s initiatives, which include the monthly series of well-known speakers on a variety of subjects about Middletown and New Jersey history. Persons can also volunteer for the Society, working in social media content creation, fundraising, grant writing, and coordinating with the county and states’ 250th birthday initiative as well as researching and writing applications for historic registers. Archeology
The Historical Society also has an exhibit at the new Town Hall on the first floor, which includes numerous photos and a painting of Kings Highway which depicts landmarks and events from earlier eras. Archeology
