Dick Henkels

SOMERS POINT AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

By Dick Henkels

During the Roaring Twenties Somers Point prospered. The Gateway Casino offered top entertainment. Schick’s Hotel and Saloon, Roberts Hotel, Maenners, Longos, The Anchorage, Latz Knife and Fork Restaurant added to the prosperity of the town. Prohibition, the law of the land, did not deter these places from serving alcoholic beverages. Smugglers brought liquor through the Egg Harbor Inlet and past Somers Point for distribution along the South Jersey coast and towns inland. These enterprises provided employment for anyone who wanted work. Watermen caught, trapped and dug good livings from the bay.

Suddenly it ended.

In October 1929, the silent thunder of The Great Depression roared through Somers Point with disastrous consequences. Businesses closed. Unemployment soared. Its victims used ingenious methods, legal and illegal, to keep their families fed, clothed and sheltered. Unrecognized acts of generosity, sometimes being matters of life and death, helped the residents of Somers Point survive.

Vagrants, tramps and gypsies came to the town looking for work. Residents did not want to share their few assets with outsiders. A crime wave started. Houses of vacationers were victimized by young men who, under normal circumstances, would never think of performing an illegal act.

Holiday celebrations were shadows of those of previous years. The town celebrated Memorial Day and the Fourth of July as a duty. A few boys lit fireworks bought from money they earned and hid from their parents. Wilbur Pharazyn’s news agency was a popular place to obtain a variety of noisemakers. It was said if fire started in his store the entire block would explode.

Despite the hardships of the times City Beach at New Jersey Avenue and the bay remained a popular place for children and the few who could afford the luxury of a vacation. City Pier and City Beach became social centers. Many romances started here resulted in marriage.

The theater, "The Seaside," also known as "The Seasick," provided entertainment Tuesday through Sunday evenings. Children paid ten cents for admission. They redeemed bottles they found on the beach and in the trash. Two bottles paid their admission. Adults paid twenty-five cents. Several children who did not have ten cents for admission to the theater gave their pennies to a friend for admission. When the show started their friend opened the door on Bay Avenue. All his friends ran inside and hid.

Mrs. Dix, who owned the only clothing store in town, changed her line of merchandise from new clothes to needles, pins, patterns, thread and other items the women of the town bought to mend worn clothes. No one could afford new clothes. Wearing a patch or two was considered a badge of honor among children. Parents placed cardboard and many layers of paper in shoes when soles developed holes from continuous wear. Mrs. Dix also sold replacements that were glued to shoes when the original soles wore through.

The owner of the Chevrolet agency on Shore Road could not sell a car. One day he committed suicide in his showroom with a shotgun..

The Great Depression increased the magnitude of local feuds and disagreements. One feud involved Jake Schick’s wife and Bert Stretch, who owned the fish market on George Street. The feud ended when Jake’s wife, obese and obscene, fell in their cesspool when the ground collapsed under her weight as she tried to stop her husband from talking to her worst enemy over their back fence.

The local Game Warden and police chief understood and ignored out-of-season hunting. Hunters traded their surplus meat for vegetables, medicine and other necessities.

The state issued scrip, a money to fill the void when the Federal government stopped issuing new money. Residents hated it because merchants refused to accept it. Many jokes were told about scrip, all uncomplimentary.

Farm workers farms were paid in produce. This was better than money. Men and boys who worked on fishing boats gladly accepted part of the catch for their pay.

One day a rumrunner’s boat capsized off George Street. Every man who could find a boat salvaged cases of liquor from the wreck. Smugglers paid five dollars for each case. A few men buried their salvage at High Banks. A few nights later men disguised as Federal agents forced these men to dig up their find. After taking their salvage the false Treasury men shot the salvagers. A running gunfight started in the town. When the battle ended a few dead bodies were found along the waterfront.

A gold coin found on an island between Ocean City and Longport started a massive treasure hunt. The treasure was not found but a few enterprising men used it to make a few dollars.

A boy not known for his intelligence found a summer job caring for a cruiser that belonged to a retired naval officer. He tried to impress his friends with his job. One day he moored the boat to Louie Diether’s pier at the end of George Street. He jumped off the boat and tied the rope to the pier but forgot to tie the rope to the boat.

The few years before the beginning of World War II started the recovery of Somers Point. Summer rentals were in demand. The waterfront boomed. Restaurants were crowded. Workers were needed. Crowds overcame the beach. Houses were sold. New cars replaced those worn from lack of repair. A boom time greater than before the pre-Depression days kept everyone busy and happy, knowing they could live through the winters in reasonable comfort.

After the tragedy of World War II Somers Point thrived. No longer do residents depend on their summer income to live during the winter. The arrival of gambling and support industries in Atlantic City, the establishment of many small businesses and shops has made Somers Point a year-round home for over 12,000 people. A big difference from the 2,050 who lived here during the 1930's.