This attractive linen type color post card was published sometime in the early 1940s and is an aerial view of a portion of the Stone Harbor beachfront captured from the town water tower. This image looking east and southward principally embraces the area between 96th to 98th Streets as well as encompasses Second and First Avenues not to mention the beach front. Interestingly, this view shows a little side street running north-south between First and Second Avenues known as Seng Place and named after Stone Harbor’s councilman from 1925 to 1928 and its 5th Mayor Eugene Seng who served the borough from 3/17/29 to 12/31/32.
Notably, and if you look closely, this view features the elevated boardwalk stretching along the beach. Can you see that promenade that I am referring to? Also, there are numerous other features that stand out and should be identified because some of them are still standing while others are long gone.
Looking at the lower right corner near the intersection of 96th Street and Second Avenue is the Stone Harbor Volunteer Fire House. In addition, the expansive area near the upper-left middle portion shows the popular tennis courts depicting many players enjoying the sport on a nice summer day.
In addition, there are 3 rather conspicuous buildings, two of which were actually located on the boardwalk and one slightly set back from the oceanfront. My good friend Graham Hueber who is a long-time Stone Harbor resident and borough afficionado provided the following descriptions of those 3 buildings that are no longer standing. Using this second image which is a cropped portion of the post card shown at the outset and going from left to right, Graham informs us “The left most building was a small store on the boardwalk”. He goes on to state “My Mother referred to it as Munn’s so I guess the owner of it in her early life (the 1930s) was a Mr. Munn”.
Continuing on to the second structure set back just a bit from the beach and not actually attached to or on the boardwalk was called the Bayberry Rooming House/Hotel. Graham further indicated that this particular rooming house was an elusive Stone Harbor building insofar as being pictured or appearing on other post cards. He also remarked that “Despite being a commercial establishment that rented rooms, I’ve never seen a post card that it issued”. Finally Graham went on to state that “I don’t remember it as a child so I’m guessing it was gone by the 1960s.”
The third building, much more well known and attached with an entrance actually on the boardwalk, was commonly known as the Casino and in later years also called the Oceanfront Apartments. This building managed to survive the devastating Great Atlantic Hurricane of September 1944 but would eventually meet its demise when the March 1962 Nor’easter storm descended on South Jersey. As we now know, Stone Harbor has endured several significant storms during its history including more recently the hurricane named Sandy.
This final image illustrates the message/address side of the featured post card. This card is postally used and reveals a JUL 18, 1947 Stone Harbor postmark and a very common 1-cent George Washington postage stamp issued in 1938. Generally few old post cards of yesteryear are found with the message actually inscribed by the use of a typewriter. Typically, most of the time messages appearing on post cards have been hand-written but here is an exception. I show this side of the post card so you may read the message that a W. Hamilton Aulenbach, a Stone Harbor clergyman and church Rector, typed and mailed to a “Mrs. Paul Hesser” whom he greets as “Dear Mother Hesser” living in Philadelphia. In his brief message he indicates that the “arrow” on which he personally marked on the picture side of the post card points to the cottage where the Aulenbach’s were staying during that summer of 1947.
Many vacationers and individuals mailing post post cards have often been known to have added a personal touch by placing such an arrow or even writing the letter “X” at a spot, usually a house, cottage or apartment, thereby indicating to the recipient exactly where they stayed in Stone Harbor. As you can see the Rector has emphatically provided a “ringing endorsement” of Stone Harbor as this is their twelfth summer there and they are enjoying a “grand time”. Hamilton Aulenbach further types that they are staying at one of the “three lovely Cape Cod Cottages” which we can readily see clustered together just across the street from the tennis courts on this lovely post card scene.
In conclusion, think about the times in the past when you too have mailed post cards to friends and family back home. What were some of the examples of inconsequential and trivial chit-chatting remarks you may have customarily made when you wrote such messages? Perhaps, “Wish you were here”, “Thinking of you”, “Having a great time” or “The weather here is great”.