Category: History

Belle of the Ball

The notion of southern hospitality has long held a special place in the American psyche. So it should surprise no one (okay, maybe a few of you) that one of Cape May’s most notable landmarks is the Southern Mansion, a structure that, like Cape May, the South, and even America itself, has survived tough times only to come back stronger than ever.

Working at the Top: Cape May’s Lighthouse Keepers

The post of lighthouse keeper entailed a unique lifestyle for the keeper and his family. The duties were often lonely and tedious and could be downright dangerous when storms buffeted the lantern. It was especially perilous if weather forced the keeper to climb from the watch room to the lantern landing and remove snow and ice from the 16 windows 12 stories up.

Cape May’s Grande Dame: The Chalfonte Hotel

Cape May’s 132-year-old Grande Dame has been sold. The venerable Chalfonte Hotel on Howard Street, known for its wrap-around porches and Southern comfort, has changed hands, but fear not, it has not gone into the hands of strangers. Bob Mullock, longtime Cape May resident and owner of Cape May National Golf Club, became the hotel’s… Read more »

Storm of the Century

By all accounts, Monday, March 5, 1962 looked like nothing unusual would occur in Cape May. The forecast called for cloudy skies and a chance of rain. But two storms, a new moon, and a spring equinox formed to create a colossal three day assault of winds averaging 55 knots, and 25 to 35 foot… Read more »

Collecting Cape May Beach Tags

Oh, those pesky Cape May beach tags! Everyone complains about them. Some try to wrangle their way out of buying them. Still others go out of their way to buy them early. And then there are those who collect them. Beach tagcollectors can be easily spotted. Some, like octogenarian Karl Suelke, wear their collections. These are… Read more »

African American Heritage

Here’s my question, if a segment of a community’s history is demolished because of a well-intentioned government program called, ironically enough, Urban Renewal – does said history still exist? Cape May’s Afro-American history nearly faded into the haze of demolition dust, but when a group of mostly white local artists got together in 1994 and… Read more »

Nature meets nurture at St. Mary-by-the-Sea

Nuns believe in miracles. And they’ll tell you it’s miraculous that their 116 year old St. Mary-by-the-Sea retreat still survives the wrath of the aggressive Atlantic Ocean. The storm-tossed high dunes are at their back door, at the very tip of New Jersey. The U-shaped white Victorian building, with its aprons of open porches has… Read more »