Times Talk
Participants from Basketball with Cops
BASKETBALL WITH COPS A SLAM DUNK
The Sea Isle Police Department hosted a Basketball with Cops event, the second of its kind, on July 29. The event invited Sea Isle locals and visitors to join the department for a day of pickup basketball.
“Basketball with Cops has been an amazing success, allowing our officers to spend time with the younger members of our community,” said Police Capt. Steven Conte. “Sea Isle City has always been, and will always be, a family town, and events like this show that our PD is part of that family.”
Conte went on to note, “It allows our officers and members of our community to meet face-to-face and get to know each other in a fun and relaxed environment. It’s a great way for our officers to get to know the people they serve, and it allows our residents to become more familiar with officers that they may not know.”
The Sea Isle City Police Department is planning to host several more community events. More information can be found on the department's social media accounts.
Detective Sgt. Nicholas Giordano holding the new drone.
SICPD ADDS AN EYE IN THE SKY
The Sea Isle City Police Department is excited to announce the purchase of a drone that will enhance the department’s ability to effectively and efficiently handle calls.
Detective Sgt. Nicholas Giordano is looking forward to using the new equipment in a number of situations.
“First and foremost, we will be utilizing this new tool in instances of missing persons,” he said. “The one call type that I can tell you that really was the driving factor was missing children on the beach. Our department handles dozens of these calls every season, so to have a tool that allows us to cover miles of distance and have 360-degree sight lines is incredibly useful.”
Giordano noted that the drone will help improve the overall public safety of Sea Isle City.
“Also, our drone is equipped with thermal imaging, which will allow us to conduct searches at night as well,” he said. “A good example would be if we have a stranded boater offshore or in our inlets, our drone will be used to assist us in locating them and give us the exact coordinates of their location.”
He added: “Our officers had to go through months of training to acquire the knowledge and certifications to properly operate our drone. They are extremely excited to put it to good use in keeping our town safe.”
Edmond Cubbage with a copy of "Just a Kid from Swampoodle to Vietnam."
LOCAL VIETNAM VET FEATURED IN ‘THE LADS OF SWAMPOODLE’
Edmond Cubbage, a Cape May County resident, grew up in Philadelphia’s Swampoodle neighborhood and went on to serve in the Vietnam War. He wrote a book about his experiences and was featured along with several other Swampoodle veterans in a documentary that premiered in April, “The Lads of Swampoodle.” Cubbage said that “the lads” still get together regularly, meeting about once a month.
The documentary comes four years after Edmond published the book detailing his experiences, from his early years in North Philadelphia to his time overseas. The book, “Just a Kid from Swampoodle to Vietnam,” begins with Cubbage’s childhood in Swampoodle, his old neighborhood near 21st and Lehigh Avenue. It also tells of Edmond’s years in the service, 1965-67.
Cubbage’s wife, Elaine, inspired him to write the book. Over a three-month period, he told his stories aloud while his wife transcribed them.
“COVID came, and we weren’t allowed outside,” he recalls of the book’s genesis. “My wife said that I always told good stories about my childhood and Vietnam, so she got me a tape recorder and had me sit down every day for an hour and talk. Each day, I would think of more stories about my time in Vietnam, good and bad stories.”
He added that his time overseas helped shape him into the person he is today.
“My parents were very proud when I was drafted,” he said. “I ran into people from all over the country. I met people from South Carolina, Florida, and Minnesota. All people that I never would have met, and I learned a lot. After, I realized that I wanted to do something and make something of myself.”
To learn more about Cubbage’s experiences, check out his book. “Just a Kid from Swampoodle to Vietnam” is available for purchase on Amazon.
Deacon Joseph Murphy tossed the traditional wreath into the ocean.
ST. JOSEPH’S RENEWS WEDDING OF THE SEA TRADITION
St. Joseph Church hosted the 4th annual Wedding of the Sea Festival on Aug. 15. The well-attended festival was an all-around success.
The Wedding of the Sea is a celebration held in connection with the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day each year, parishioners are encouraged to attend Mass and join the procession to the beach. This year, St. Joseph’s Deacon Joseph Murphy, accompanied by several Sea Isle Beach Patrol members, threw the traditional wreath into the ocean and blessed the water.
The festival has a rich history.
“The Wedding of the Sea tradition began in Venice around the year 1000 AD,” according to Pastoral Associate Kathy Walters. “The civil and religious leaders of Venice performed an annual ‘wedding’ between the city and the Mediterranean Sea, which symbolized the maritime power’s vital relationship to the sea.”
Immediately following the service, St. Joseph’s offered a buffet-style, BBQ meal of hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, and homemade desserts. The event also featured fun games, a photo booth, a silent auction, a 50/50 raffle, and a gift basket auction.
Photos top to bottom: The blaze at its height from Mike’s Seafood. The building just about 12 hours after the fire broke out. Bob Kelly broadcasting live from the municipal parking lot after being evacuated from his Oar House Happy Hour.
FISH ALLEY BLAZE HITS EATERIES
“Scary” appears to be the word of the day for Aug. 14, when flames wreaked havoc on the 4200 block of Park Road in Fish Alley of Sea Isle City. It’s the word that was the immediate response shared by Mike Monichetti and Bob Kelly.
Both men were witnesses to the speed of the flames. “Damn scary!” Monichetti, the owner of Mike’s Seafood, said several hours after the fire was extinguished. “Had the wind changed, it could have easily caused even more damage.”
Kelly, who hosts happy hour every Wednesday at The Oar House, was among the neighbors evacuated as a precaution. “It was very scary, but thankfully, everyone was safe,” he said during a break from his Fox29 broadcast the next morning. “It was difficult. We were evacuated into the parking lot, but the smoke was so thick, it was difficult for everyone.”
Kelly pitched in to distract the displaced patrons by continuing to play music in the municipal parking lot. “We cranked up the hi-fi on my truck and people were dancing in the parking lot,” he said. “Eventually, we were permitted back inside.”
The first alarm was sounded just after 5pm in a building that many oldtimers might remember housing Buffalo’s Fish Market back in the 1970s but now Is home to Casa Taco and Casino Pizza. In addition to the Sea Isle City Fire Department, aid was provided by Avalon, Ocean View, Ocean City, Marmora, and Strathmere fire departments.
The fire was declared under control about an hour later and according to city spokesperson Katherine Custer, thankfully there were no injuries reported. At the time of publication, the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
The following message was issued by Victor Loaeza, owner of Casa Taco:
To Our Casa Taco Community:
We’re heartbroken to share that Casa Taco was engulfed in flames, and the roof collapsed in. Sometimes, life takes an unexpected turn, and this time it’s ours to face.
The most important thing is that everyone is safe. We can’t thank our fire departments and emergency personnel enough for their quick response and bravery. Your support means more to us than we can express.
We’ll keep you updated as we move forward. Thank you for standing by us during this difficult time.
The Casa Taco Team
Victor and Maria
Jay Gillian poses in front of the Giant Wheel on Wonderland Pier in May 2009 just prior to the opening of the Sea Isle City facility. The Ferris wheel, initially opened in 1989, is 144 feet high and among the largest of its kind on the East Coast. The current wheel replaced a slightly smaller version in 2001.
WONDERLAND PIER’S 94-YEAR RIDE ENDING
Aug. 9 was a sad day for children of all ages in Sea Isle City. That’s the day that Jay Gillian, the owner of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier on the Ocean City boardwalk, announced that the amusement park would be shutting its doors permanently, after 94 years.
“I tried to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible – through increasingly difficult challenges each year,” he said in a statement. “But it’s no longer a viable business.”
He concluded by explaining that both the Wonderland Pier and 6th Street Pizza and Grille would remain open through Indian Summer Weekend (Oct. 12-13) in order to give everyone ample opportunity to use any remaining tickets.
In addition to our own Fun City, which closed decades ago, Sea Isle City also was home to Gillian’s Funland, which opened in 2009 but closed in 2014 following extensive damage from Superstorm Sandy.
In Gillian’s statement, he noted that he no longer owned the land where Gillian’s Wonderland Pier stood, so he couldn’t speak to the future of the property. We’ve all grown accustomed to businesses evolving, changing, and even closing. But the abrupt closing of an iconic landmark that touched so many generations in Cape May County for nearly 100 years, has caught many people off guard.
Gillian’s closing leaves Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City and Morey’s Piers in Wildwood as the county’s last remaining amusement centers.