In 1909, the Stone Harbor Yacht Club was organized and formally incorporated to begin what would be considered a long and exciting history of promoting sail boating and motor boating in the new seashore resort called Stone Harbor, New Jersey. We start this brief account with the 1909 photo shown above depicting the Stone Harbor Yacht Club in a very early stage of construction. As you can readily see, there were many people who posed for this photograph and who backed this particular venture. Certainly it is not surprising that this rather auspicious group of people seemed to signify the promise of success with their combined support and commitment.
This next image is a copy of a vintage post card that both captured and commemorated an important moment in time when the Yacht Club on this special occasion celebrated its first anniversary with a special flag raising ceremony on Memorial Day, 1910. The newly built clubhouse, while not visible in this particular view, was located at 89th Street and Sunset Drive. Atop this towering and imposing flag pole, in front of the clubhouse situated on the Great Channel side, we can see both the 46-star American Flag (New Mexico and Arizona would not be granted statehood until January and February of 1912) and the distinctive flag representing the Stone Harbor Yacht Club. For informational purposes, it should be noted that all yacht and sailing clubs each have special flags to identify or distinguish themselves and such flags are called a burgee. Most yacht club burgees are pennant (three sided) shaped. In addition, the tall upright dark object in the near distant background in the lower left corner of this post card has to be the town water tower on 96th Street and Second Avenue.
Presented next is another related old post card picturing an assemblage of many people at Stone Harbor, N. J. According to the caption on this card portraying the Yacht Club clubhouse, it reads: “Second annual rally of members and friends of the Stone Harbor Yacht Club at Stone Harbor, Memorial Day, 1911. Officers are grouped on the left”.
Zoom in to take in the scene more closely.
The final selection of images (see below) are derived from 3 classic Stone Harbor post cards from the years 1910-1911. These images foretell and hold the promise of Stone Harbor at the beginning stage of its development. All 3 post cards (1) portray artists’ renderings of the new Stone Harbor Yacht Club and (2) served as messengers or mailable advertisements for an organization that would go on to have a instrumental impact on helping contribute to the success of the new resort community called Stone Harbor. Feast your eyes on these wonderful couriers.
In conclusion, and as you must know by now, over the past 2 years I have been trying to take you, my readers and viewers, on a journey in time. Simply put, my aim has been to present the charm of Stone Harbor as it once was, in all its glory. Picture post cards and photographic images have served as the primary basis along with narratives and background information for this important ongoing historical initiative. Included in the scope of my more than 200 articles that I have presented in that time, here are some of the general topics that I have featured: origins of Stone Harbor and the early history including the Gala Week Festivities of July 1911, the role of the Risley brothers, government, safety on the beach and the beach patrol, churches, boardwalk, the bungalow colony, education and schools, many early houses and buildings, the yacht club and the country club, the town water works and towers, notable hotels, public safety including police and fire departments, post offices, commercial development and business establishments, transportation, civic organizations, major storms, important persons in the town’s history, the economic depression of the 1930s, interesting pastimes like races of all sorts, regattas and baby parades, etc., eyewitness accounts, and much more.