Everybody’s gone Surfin’

Robert Casperson took over as fire chief from Mayor John Rogers. In his first report to the Council in May 1965 he noted that he would be conducting a drill at the Stockton Hotel with seven or eight other fire companies. “The biggest fear of a new fire chief in Sea Girt is the possibility of a fire at the Stockton”.

The new administration and about 40 homeowners challenged the variances granted under the outgoing Doyle Administration in 1963, and the State Supreme Court ruled 7-0 to permit Frank Palmieri to finally raze the Stockton and put up a new modern hotel. Mayor Doyle felt vindicated, and the current administration seemed resigned to the new hotel coming online. Those with nostalgia visited the property for the last time in the summer of 65.

The summer was noted for an increase in surfing. The Beach Boys had a hit in 1963, “Surfing USA”.

Beach communities had a difficult problem with the growing popularity of the sport. Loose boards in swimming areas had injured people. A woman sued Deal Township in 1959 for injuries she sustained at their beach from a loose board and she was awarded $15,000. Surfers were banned or crowded into small stretches of beach and some fights broke out. As boards got lighter and towns better understood their liability and insurance needs, the dialogue improved.

The East Coast’s surfing boom was on the cover of Sprots Illustrated

The number of surfboards sold on the East Coast soared to between 10,000-15,000 in 1965. Clubs sprang up. Long Branch opened and immediately closed membership at 200. The Jersey Surfing Association doubled membership. They took members from Belmar to Sea Girt, and membership climbed to 150 surfers. The barrier islands to the south included clubs at Lavallette and Long Beach Island, where Ron Jon had the largest selection of boards at over 1,000 and Dan Heritage had the Surf City Surf Shop.

Ron Jon’s yard in LBI (Ronjonsurfshop.com/the-ron-jon-surf-shop-history)

The surfing association leaders lobbied the towns to provide cooperation and access to the water. Most were clean-cut adults with jobs, and they wanted to protect the image of their membership. Surfing on the West Coast had gotten a mixed reputation, and the leaders wanted members who would set up rules with towns.

Charles Keller, a lifeguard captain and Point Pleasant Borough HS math teacher, made trips to LA and Hawaii to observe and discuss safety procedures. He spoke to town leaders about the best ways to regulate surfing. When municipal leaders understood beach patrol leaders, there was cooperation.

Charles “C” Lear Jr. President of the Belmar, Spring Lake and Sea-Girt Association, and Al Newberry convinced Belmar to set aside a beach for surfing and provide a concession to rent boards. They convinced Sea Girt and Spring Lake to propose guidelines. Good cooperation with beach patrols made the process smooth in southern Monmouth County. Sea Girt had a lifeguard on Boro Council, Thomas Black III.

Over 1,000 showed up to Point Pleasant to watch a spring tournament in the wind and cheer on surfers in 30-degree water. The event was sponsored by the Jaycees and helped to legitimize the sport in the minds of local officials.

Long Beach Island had seven beaches set aside for surfing, and the surfers helped supplement the lifeguards there. But Bradley Beach, Asbury Park, and the entire Sandy Hook area were off limits to surfers.

The Jersey Shore Surfing Association printed "Surfing Safety and Rules of the Road”, which all members had to read and sign.

It included a section on courtesy, covering both beach conduct and water conduct; a section on preparedness, covering physical conditioning and surfing skills; and a summation that points out:

"Surfing is an art, a science, and with some, a religion. It is gentile and, in the same motion, breathtaking. It is a test of individual skill and dexterity, competitive in spirit, and dramatic in experience.

The surfer who heeds what we have said will go quietly about his business of establishing a lifetime recreation unsurpassed. Unfortunately, the others may not ever fully understand its pleasures, which are timeless.".

Even Snoopy was on TV surfing in ‘65 (Charles Schultz, CBS)

In mid-September, there was a sale of all of the furniture and fixtures at the Stockton Hotel.

A few days later, the nearly empty building caught fire. 43 fire trucks and pumpers from fire companies from Point Pleasant to Ocean Grove protected the wind-whipped flames from spreading to nearby homes. It was the largest fire ever fought by the Sea Girt Fire Company. The structure, a remodeled version of the 1876 wood framed building, burned fast and hot. Chief Robert Casperson proved to be prophetic. It took 400 firemen to put the fire out.

Frank Palmieri had discontinued fire insurance on the building, but he saved money on the demolition. The option of keeping the old hotel was clearly gone. He hoped this would clear the way to start construction on his new hotel.