Unrest at 50

The book raised money for the Fire Company.

Sea Girt celebrated 50 years as a municipality. Borough Historian Richard O. Venino wrote the first history of Sea Girt for the celebration, with proceeds to the Fire Company, which was also 50 years old.

Former mayor and State Senator Frank Durand Jr. was the Master of Ceremonies. There was a parade with vintage vehicles and decorated bikes and a party at the guard camp with hot dogs, soda, and ice cream. Ted Rastall, Fire Chief and Council member, organized the day. At the Guard camp, Mayor Rogers and Clarence Cornielus, Fire Company President and Superintendant of the town, made speeches before the army band played and the fireworks were lit. The borough and the Fire Company were also celebrated at church services the following day.

Charter Fire Company members were guests of honor in the parade. (Sea Girt Fire Comapny)

The outside world was restless. Vietnam was troubling. Joseph Kearns Jr. of 311 Boston was an Air Force Captain and a navigator on a B57 bomber, attacking Viet-cong troops in the jungles. Sentiment had grown negative against the expanded action and the expanded draft for men aged 18-55.

Black Liberation was another theme of the summer. Stolkey Carmichael urged impatience and action. The Black Panthers organized and took on his Black Power message.. LSD and other psychedelic drugs became popular, and their advocate, Timothy Leary, urged a generation to "Turn on, tune in, drop out." In San Francisco, young activists declared the “Summer of Love”, and all restrictions on past protocol were “out”. The counter-culture was “in” and celebrated

In Spring Lake, several monokinis were sold. These were women’s topless bathing suits, and one Point Pleasant Woman was ticketed while wearing one. Young people complained that older people did not understand “My Generation”. The Who was part of the British Invasion, and their song discussed the gulf between generations.

People try to put us d-down (talkin' 'bout my generation)

Just because we get around (talkin' 'bout my generation)

Things they do look awful c-cold (talkin' 'bout my generation)

I hope I die before I get old (talkin' 'bout my generation)

This is my generation

This is my generation, baby

Why don't you all f-fade away? (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

And don't try dig what we all s-s-say (talkin' 'bout my generation)

I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (talkin' 'bout my generation)

I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation (talkin' 'bout my generation)

In Sea Girt, the reaction was tighter control on the little community to preserve the safety of its children. Parents pushed harder for a new school in town to keep kids off of the bus. Time was running out on the sharing agreements with Manasquan and Spring Lake.

Bicycle safety was considered an important issue. Council President Thomas Black III and Chief Millington advocated for a licensing system for bicycles. “Dangerous modifications” were being made to bikes as the old-fashioned safety bike gave way to the Sting Ray and wheelie bikes, and English Racers.

Everyone wanted a new Schwinn, and for boys, Sting Rays were hot.

Bikes needed inspection, and young riders had to pass a safety test. at a cost of $0.25 per bike. The Coast Star featured a picture of Millington and Black’s young sons getting the first licenses issued in Sea Girt.

A more aggressive rule in Manasquan required surfers to wear helmets in the water. This was a direct result of squeezing the surfers up against the jetty with not enough beach frontage to accommodate all the surfers safely. Deal tried to chase surfers with their own helmet rule. Sea Bright looked for a legal way to ban the sport.

Fishermen at Squan claimed that surfers frightened fish. The regulations chased surfers rather than selling helmets, and the rule never gained traction. Surfers along the coast used the early morning hours to avoid the hassle, although some towns considered surfing off hours trespassing.

But Bruce Brown’s Endless Summer movie of him and his buddies traveling the world showed the sport was too popular to ban outright.

Bikes are still the preferred summer transportation around here

Oakley redesigned the surf helmet in the 2020s, reducing drag in the air and the water, and the device has caught on, particularly in rough surf.