The Bay Head Beacon

For Bay Head residents, the origin of their town's name seems pretty obvious; the borough sits at the head of the bay. But now, a historian from Monmouth University has discovered evidence that calls this assumption into question. Dr. Phillipa Saddler is an expert in the history of New Jersey and has been doing research into the origin of the names of towns and cities. "One would expect that a name like Bay Head is self-explanatory," said Dr. Saddler. "But as with many things in history, the truth is not always what one would expect." Dr. Saddler says the origin of the name involves an incomplete application by businessmen in a hurry, a clerk who looked at the wrong map, and the resemblance of that map to a horse. The borough of Bay Head has its origins with the Bayhead Land Company which was formed in 1879 with the intention of creating a resort area. One of the company partners was Leavitt Howe. Dr. Saddler has found the original correspondence between Howe an...

Beachgoers are used to seeing dune grass growing on the beaches of Bay Head. These plants not only beautify the landscape, but they also reduce sand erosion. Local resident Kiefer Apfel has always appreciated the plants, but wondered if they could do more. "It's just the way I am," he said. "I'm always looking for ways to multitask." Apfel wanted to find out if there was a plant that could grow on the dunes, provide similar benefits to the sea grass, but also provide additional benefits. He decided to do some research and came across something very interesting.  The Department of Agriculture in Hawaii has developed a plant that can be grown in sandy soil and prevents erosion. It grows quickly and is ornamental, as well. The most unique part of this plant, however, is that it grows edible, mini pineapples! Originally created to allow pineapples to grow in more regions of Hawaii, Apfel realized that the plant could also thrive in Bay Head. The fruit goes by th...

Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement company, has proposed opening a store in Bay Head. Robert DeBilder, assistant to the mayor of Bay Head, recently met with representatives from Home Depot. "We are always looking for ways to bring jobs to Bay Head and increase the tax revenues for our town," said DeBilder. "Home Depot would provide both of those things if they open here."  A spokesperson for Home Depot, Sander Phillips, believes that Bay Head and Home Depot would be a very good fit. "We've looked at a number of locations in this area, and we believe that Bay Head is ideal for us to build a new store. There is a great demand for home improvement products and services in Bay Head and surrounding communities," said Phillips. "Our store will also boost the local economy and provide many jobs for Bay Head residents," he added. Mr. DeBilder said that the biggest challenge was determining where to build the store. "There isn...

When Dr. Sandy Benthic of the Rutgers D epartment of  Marine  and Coastal Sciences saw the specimen she was speechless . "I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life," Dr. Benthic said. Most people may not consider horseshoe crabs beautiful, but Dr. Benthic, who has been studying them for her entire career, believes that beauty is more than shell-deep. "Limulus Polyphemus (the technical name of horseshoe crabs) is a living fossil. They date back about 450 million years. Absolutely  remarkable animals. But what we have here is even more amazing. I never thought I would see such a well preserved  Limulus Polyphemus Gigantus! And it's 47 feet long!" Limulus Polyphemus Gigantus is the Latin term for the Giant Horseshoe Crab. Unlike their near-shore cousins we are used to seeing, Giant Horseshoe Crabs make their home at the bottom of the deep ocean where they burrow into the sand and can grow to be over 50 feet long. Researchers have rarely seen them and very f...

The Flip-Flop Kid On July 29 we reported on a rash of flip-flop thefts on Bay Head and Mantoloking beaches. The joint task force created by the two municipalities had dubbed the suspect the "Flip-Flop Kid." As of this writing, the police have yet to capture the thief, but they do have a new lead. Detective Richard Tracy of the Bay Head Police, who is heading up the task force, reports that they now have a credible lead. "An Italian tourist by the name of Avia Superga, was visiting relatives in Bay Head. As she was leaving the beach last week, she spotted a man taking her sandals. She called out 'Fermati' which means 'stop you' in Italian. The thief started running, but not before Ms. Superga got a good look at him."   There is one other aspect of the witness account that is concerning to Detective Tracy. "Ms. Superga informed us that her stolen sandals were not flip-flops, but wedge slides. This is the first time we are hearing of this type of ...

Sherry Lees has always been a wine enthusiast. She and her husband, Red Lees, plan all their vacations around vineyards. "We've been to Napa several times, and numerous winemaking cities in France. We even take day trips to some of the better New York wineries," she said. This devotion to fine wine led the Lees to pursue their dream of creating their own vineyard. "When we were in Paris we visited  Le Clos Montmartre, which is this incredibly small vineyard right in Paris," said Lees. "I had never seen such a small vineyard, and it gave me the idea: why couldn't we have a small vineyard, too?" The one problem Lees faced was that she didn't want to move from her beloved Bay Head home. "As much as I wanted to create a home vineyard, I didn't want to leave Bay Head, and it's not like there's a lot of open land in out town." Luckily, fate stepped in. As it happened, the house right next door to Lees' went up for sale. Sher...

Pastor Mario Pikmin of Our Lady of Perpetual Motion Church in Point Pleasant doesn't know much about video games, but he knows that the children in his congregation love them. "Sometimes I see the kids at mass trying to use their ataris or gameboys or whatever, hoping their parents don't notice. I don't really get mad, though. I understand mass can be a little bit boring for a child," Pastor Pikmin says with a laugh. The Pastor realized that maybe through video games he could help the children in his congregation feel more a part of the church. "I've been Pastor here for nearly 50 years, so I know something about kids. Years ago it was baseball cards or comic books that they loved. These days it's all these gizmos. I think if the kids realize I'm hep to their interests, the kids will feel more comfortable in church," Pastor Pikmin said. With this in mind, the Pastor decided to hold a video game tournament. "I asked one of the children wh...

The clean eating trend is becoming more popular all around the country. If you're not familiar with it, clean eating is a diet that excludes processed foods and encourages the eating of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Advocates believe it is a simple and tasty approach to becoming healthier. Olive Bartlett has been a follower of clean eating for many years. She credits the diet with restoring her health and is now anxious to share it with others. She will be opening her new restaurant, "Olive's Ultra-Clean Eating Emporium," on Bridge Avenue in Bay Head. "I used to suffer from so many ailments," said Olive. "I had Pica, Melancholia, Dropsy, Lunbago, and Neuralgia, among others. I tried doctors, but nothing they tried helped. I can't tell you how many prescriptions they gave me! I had given up hope until one day I read about eating clean." Olive said that within a few weeks of changing her diet she was almost completely...

If you happen to be on the beach some morning, watching the surfers ride the waves, you might notice one wearing a bright purple wet suit. She may not be the best surfer out there; she may not be the flashiest; but Marina Waters is probably the most experienced. At the age of 92, Marina Waters has been surfing the Bay Head waves for almost 80 years. "I was 12 when my dad took me surfing the first time," Marina recalls. "He was a really good surfer and I was really scared I would disappoint him." Luckily she took to surfing like a fish to water. "By the end of the first day, I was able to ride a wave all the way in. By the end of the week, my parents couldn't keep me off the waves."  Marina has become something of a local celebrity. Bay Head residents have seen her through the years teaching her children to surf, and later her grandchildren. For most of the those years she has worn her signature purple wetsuit. "I figured it would make it easier fo...

Bay Head was not spared the ravages of Tropical Storm Isaias. Strong winds knocked down trees and power lines in many parts of New Jersey, and Bay Head was one of the towns hit the worst by the storm. "I have never seen anything like this since Sandy," said longtime resident Willow Downs. "Look at all these huge branches everywhere! We were lucky to escape with our lives." Ms. Downs showed me a pile of twigs that the gardener had raked up. She said some the twigs had almost hit her car. "Of course, the worst part was the power outages. We had to run our generator for almost three days. Our gas bill will be almost double this month because the electric company took so long to fix things," Downs said. She and other residents plan to take action against JCPL for their failure to respond to the fiasco more quickly.  Attorney Max Powers, also a Bay Head resident, is putting together a class action lawsuit on behalf of residents who suffered because of JCPL'...