Fall Speaker Event - Train Travel and the Transformation of the Jersey Shore

Some inventions make small differences. Others change everything. At 7:15
on Tuesday, November 12, at Board of Education offices at 163 Monmouth Road,
Oakhurst, local author and historian Gary Crawford makes the case that the steam
locomotive was one such history-changing innovation.

In his talk, “Train
Travel and the Transformation of the Jersey Shore,” Gary lays out the role that
railroads played in the development of Monmouth County and the Jersey shore.
Successful lines, and some not so successful, created a
transportation system that linked large population centers with remote seashore
communities--destinations that, no matter how inviting, had for generations
remained practically inaccessible to the large populations in New York, Newark,
and Philadelphia.

Trains changed all that. They gave families a way to
escape the oppressive, pre-air-conditioning city heat for the cool Altantic
breezes. Travelers packed their trunks and headed to the shore--often for the
season. (Wage-earners commuted by Shore train from their vacation homes or
hotels into the city.) Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, and Deal were among the coastal
communities planned and developed in response to the opportunities made possible
by train travel.

Join us 7:15, Tuesday, November 12 at the Board of
Education Offices, 163 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst. The presentation is open to the
public, free of charge. Donations are appreciated. Refreshments are served. (We
collect and will deliver non-perishable items for the FoodBank of Monmouth and
Ocean Counties.)