🌴 This Wildwood sign guy can fix a neon palm tree | Down the Shore

I stopped at A.B.S. Sign Shop this week and met Randy Hentges, Wildwood’s longest-running neon repair guy. He’s one of only two left to do neon signs and repairs around town (over at Ultra Neon, Fred Musso is also keeping the gases flowing).

Hentges has been busy this summer, especially at the start, when seasonal businesses flip the neon switch and see what’s broken. At this point, though, the guy at the Isle of Palms, whose broken palm trees Hentges has been refashioning of late, has said it’s already too late to put the new palm trees and pink border back up atop the seven-story motel. It’ll only mean trouble over the winter.

In a process that is an amalgamation of science experiment and pop art, Hentges is bending glass tubing to match the palm tree pattern, then matching colors with the right blend of gases — neon glows red, argon with a dash of mercury glows light blue, and other colors emerge when the tube is coated with various phosphor pigment powder.

LED technology, the conversion of many Wildwood motels into condos that don’t want neon signs, and the fading appeal of Doo Wop nostalgia have left Hentges in a bittersweet spot: still in demand, but acutely aware that his second-generation passion is a dying art.

Click here for my story and photos by Monica Herndon of Hentges at work. The backyard of his workshop on Pacific Boulevard is littered with old neon signs, but he’s still carrying the (neon and argon gas) torch for the nostalgic and intricate creations that once defined Wildwood.

📮 The summer’s almost over! What was the best and worst thing that happened to you down the Shore? Let me know by replying to this email and I’ll include your most interesting responses.

Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here.

👁️ All eyes on Erin.

— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Instagram at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)

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🍕 Pizza stickergate: Franconi’s in Wildwood has been under the Reddit spotlight of late after someone spotted what looked like Nazi-affiliated stickers on the restaurant’s fridge (others insisted they were heavy metal stickers). The stickers were removed, but calls for a boycott continued. Last Friday, there was a bomb threat in the same block. Was it related?

⚖️ Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., facing trial on child abuse charges, said he would “absolutely not” accept a plea deal that required him to forfeit his office.

✈️ Allegiant Air will be flying out of Atlantic City Airport to four Florida destinations. Meanwhile, longtime local favorite Spirit Airlines announced it was struggling.

🏫 The vacant 100-year-old New Jersey Avenue school in Atlantic City erupted in flames on Friday, sending up plumes of black smoke that could be seen for miles. It was already slated for demolition.

🏖️ Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R., N.J.), is getting some heat for the loss of federal beach replenishment funding.

☮️ Also, the Washington Post reports Van Drew wants to end a 44-year peace vigil outside the White House.

🐬 This couple bought a North Wildwood condo at what used to be the Moore’s Inlet bar.

🐘 Not Lucy: Go see the sand sculpture of Joyce the Elephant by the fishing pier in Ventnor, a call to action by the World Animal Protection organization, which wants the real Joyce freed from the Six Flags Safari to a wildlife sanctuary.

💃🏽 Go one last night to Borgata’s Premier Nightclub, which is closing Aug. 31.

🔥 Fire pit Friday at Cape May’s Willow Creek Winery.

🏨 A new boutique hotel and restaurant has opened on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

🚳 New signs about bicycle hours on the Atlantic City Boardwalk seem to be incorrect.

🪣 Get in line for a bucket of iced coffee in Manasquan.

Your thoughts on: Atlantic City

Last week, we asked: Is Atlantic City ready for its moment as other beach towns get bought up and prices skyrocket?

People had thoughts! Here’s a sampling.

Reid Benditt, of Anchor Rock Club: In my humble, biased opinion, A.C. beaches are just as good as any other beaches, plus they’re free.

Anne Pushkal: Is Atlantic City ready for development? I don’t know. Is its historic Black community ready for another displacement? There’s zero attention paid to why so much land is “undeveloped” and how so much of it came to be vacant in the areas developers are gushing over now.

Steve Zollo: So I went to a concert on Friday at Hard Rock and it was packed. People were still coming in when we left at 1 a.m. The problem is there is so much blight on Pacific and Atlantic Avenues, that it detracts from any positives. That being said, hopefully some developers will come in, knock down these dilapidated stores and homes, and continue the renovation.

Martini & Meatballs! Of course, that was the answer to the old Angeloni II’s signature deal. Kudos to Tony Hughes, who was first with the answer.

This week: The legendary Stan Bergman, who also coached rowing at Penn, retired this year after 67 years as head of which Jersey Shore beach patrol?

A. Ventnor

B. Avalon

C. Margate

D. Atlantic City

If you think you know the answer, or have any chief Bergman stories to share, email us!

First one gets a shout-out.

A reader known as “Store noisy” writes:

I went to Wildwood with friends every year in the early 70s. The fun started with our ride on the Chester ferry before the Commodore Barry Bridge was built. Before we started making megabucks at our summer jobs, we would drink all night at Dunes Til Dawn, then sleep on the beach in the morning. Then we would visit a bar across from the park near Rio Grande where beers were 7 for a dollar! I bought bootleg albums, Dylan and Led Zeppelin, on the boardwalk instead of the juvenile and rude T-shirts that they sell today. We went down after high school graduation in 1972, and we spent a lot of time in our room because of Hurricane Agnes which was devastating back home, but just rain in Wildwood.

📬 Send us your Shore memories in 200 words and we will publish them in this space. Email us at downtheshore@inquirer.com.

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