Being from “here” is a tricky designation at the Shore. After decades of living here, I know I’m still not a true local. But also, I don’t experience the Shore the way dedicated summer people do. (We once called you/them Shoobies.) And what about my kids, who went through Shore public schools, broke curfews, and spent summers as beach badge checkers? Do you have to trace a lineage?
The topic burst into view over a dreary Memorial Day weekend, along with famous TikTokers on the O.C. boardwalk, heavy police presence in Wildwood, Kylie Kelce’s trainer Pop Star Katie, and 3AM Tokyo, the band that played a Shore bar trifecta: North Wildwood, Sea Isle, and Avalon. (Keep scrolling ⬇️ for my interview with 3AM’s Picasso Brown, and for our debate over people playing music on the beach 📻.)
Bayly Winder, 34, a fourth-generation New Jerseyan, has faced the “from here” question as he traversed Shore towns in pursuit of the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, the Democrat-turned-Republican Trump loyalist in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes all of the Southern Jersey shore: Cape May and Atlantic Counties, plus Ocean County’s Long Beach Island.
Tuesday is Primary Day (no, those with only second homes here cannot vote), when Winder faces Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock, civil rights attorney and third-time candidate Tim Alexander, and activist Terri Reese.
With Winder moving to Mays Landing a year ago, some questioned whether that gave him enough “from here” cred. Now, this weekend, Facebook was filled with cute pictures of Winder in grade school in England, where it turns out he was born. Winder eventually copped to going to grade school across the pond. It’s all documented here by my colleague Aliya Schneider.
Winder, a former USAID staffer, has said he’s from Princeton (the New Jersey town, not the bar in Avalon) and “a product of New Jersey public schools” but until now skirted questions about which schools, and why so many of his donations came from Wyoming (his parents live near Jackson Hole, reports Aliya). He got tagged with being an outsider.
Some local politicos, stung from three losses to Van Drew, urged Dems to consider whether running another local candidate against Van Drew is necessarily a winning strategy. Van Drew, a four-term incumbent from Dennis Township, Cape May County, has his very loyal, very local following, and in the last month or two has targeted some of the Shore’s sweet spots: money for both beach replenishment and A.C.’s airport, where he says he’s working on replacing Spirit Airlines. Mullock, the Cape May mayor, argues that his equally deep Cape May roots are what’s needed. Alexander and Reese have also stressed their local ties.
📮 Should it matter that Winder is not “from here?” Can only a local understand what people in this sprawling district need or want? What does it take to be a local? Do you all feel like locals? Let me know what you think and I’ll include your most interesting responses by replying to this email.
Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here.
⛅ Sunny skies should be back, naturally.
— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me at @amysrosenberg, or on instagram @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)
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Shore talk
👨🦰 The TikTok-famous young man called Big Red (Alex Dougherty of the Dougherty Dozen), did his e85 dance on the Ocean City boardwalk and drew crowds.
🏖️ Tina Fey and Colman Domingo shot two episodes of the new season of The Four Seasons down the Shore.
🍕 Tony’s Baltimore Grill says it filled a preshow order of 40-plus pizzas for Journey band members.
🍌 Here’s Maggie Prosser’s seriously riveting play-by-play of Wildwood’s banana-eating world championship.
🚖 Watch the Tram SUV? Frank Kummer explains why Wildwood has turned to electric Volvos to pull its famous tram cars.
🐟 Ship Bottom is embroiled in controversy over a plan to turn Hochstrasser’s Marina into an entertainment complex known as the Salt Shack.
☔ The soggy weekend was a wet blanket for some but not all businesses.
🚨 A mother was questioning how her son was treated by Wildwood police on the boardwalk.
🤍 A boat crash on Barnegat Bay killed one and injured five.
What to eat/What to do
🪂 The next-gen Atlantic City Soar and Shore Airshow will be over three days, no practice days.
🎧 Take Wildwood’s new virtual music history self-guided tour.
👀 Gully’s in Avalon opened in the old Black Cactus, promising “old school shore done right.” I’m looking at those mezcal mussels.
🍽️ The acclaimed Iron Room makes its return.
🤫 The clam-filled Manhattan red chowder from Gateway’s at the base of the causeway in Ship Bottom is just one amazing find in Craig LaBan’s Shore seafood roundup story.
Shore snapshot
🧠 Trivia time
This Revolutionary War battle was fought in Cape May County, in what’s now Wildwood Crest.
Was the battle:
A. The Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet
B. The Battle of Corson’s Inlet
C. The Battle of Sunset Lake
D. The Battle of the Wildwoods
If you think you know the answer, email us here.
Ask Down the Shore: On the beach, turn the volume … down?
As people in our new text group chat, The Shore Line, know (join us here), we’re talking music on the beach.
A reader wrote: "Please do not play loud music on the beach!!!! The beach is my happy place, and I find my complete peace there. Part of that is the best music in the world — the sound of the ocean."
The response was immediate:
“It’s a public beach so people should be able to listen to their music. However, they also should be mindful that many don’t appreciate their musical taste or any noise at all. Volume should be set to go no further than 5 ft outside the sitting circle.”
“I hate when people play music on the beach! I’d much rather hear the ocean, seagulls and read a book.”
“If it’s a packed beach, as long as it’s not blasting, I’m ok.”
As for me? It’s a beach, a mix of you and everyone else. Everyone’s already staring at their phones, no need to involve headphones. Don’t like the music you hear from your neighbor? Move, or play your own. Sometimes, the ambient tunes fit your vibe. Other times, eh. Better than cigar smoke.
Have an etiquette question for us to settle? Let us know.
📖 Shore slam book: Picasso Brown
The band 3AM Tokyo seemed to be everywhere over Memorial Day weekend, playing its mix of covers and originals at the Inlet in North Wildwood, the Princeton in Avalon, and Kix in Sea Isle.
N.Y.-based bandleader Picasso Brown, a a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and producer, told us the crowds in Sea Isle and Avalon are very different: It’s people 30 and younger in Avalon, and a mix of ages in Sea Isle, where people apparently never age themselves out of partying.
What’s the overall music vibe at the Jersey Shore?
The thing about the Jersey Shore, they love live music.
Favorite beach: I would say Miami or Fort Lauderdale.
Favorite summer breakfast? Take me to Denny’s and get me a Moons over My Hammy.
Perfect beach day: I’m not really a beach person. For me the perfect beach day would really be renting a boat or Jet Skis.
Perfect night: A good show would definitely be a perfect night.
Favorite Shore meal/restaurant: I’m two hours away from any gig and go back and forth. I’ll go to Wawa or something, that’s even if I’m hungry.
When summer approaches, I feel: Excited.
Surfing or fishing? Deep sea fishing.
Shore pet peeve: Parking. I think that’s probably everybody’s problem.
The Shore music scene could be improved if: I honestly think it’s our responsibility, the bands and the DJ’s, to give people new music instead of giving the audience the same stuff that everyone plays. I’m very big on that.
Your Shore memory
My colleague Charmaine Runes interviewed people working on the Wildwood boardwalk for an interactive game you can check out here. She asked one game operator, Antonio, about his funniest memories.
There are more fights than there should be. I mean, they happen right in front of the game sometimes. Not because of the game. Because of the people. And seeing people go by — their conversations are crazy. A man could be walking with a neighbor’s wife, and they know that, and they’ll be open about that here.
Send us your Shore memory! Tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you and we will publish them in this space.
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