Monmouth Beach Gallery …
Presented here are distinctive Monmouth Beach images from various times, places and sources. I claim no ownership of these photos — I just track them down and post them. Sources provided will be credited (and please check back for regular updates):

Numbers Guy — Borough Clerk Clarence B. Cook (r) and Roy Olsen, tax assessor (l), November 1964. A varsity wrestler at Rider College, Cook would develop an aptitude for numbers. “No one knew the Monmouth Beach books better,” said Mayor Sidney Johnson. Elected a borough commissioner in May 1949, Cook won four terms directing the borough’s finances until he was appointed Borough Tax Assessor in 1962 and Borough Clerk in 1964 and held that post until 1968. A LBHS graduate and WW II veteran, Cook died in February 1979. For 2023, the Monmouth Beach municipal budget is in the works. Over the years’ annual borough expenditures have been: $11,100 in 1906 • $9,900 in 1909 • $21,200 in 1919 • $44,500 in 1922 • $59,600 in 1927 • $70,500 in 1934 • $151,800 in 1939 • $110,100 in 1947 • $157,700 in 1958 • $222,300 in 1962 • $366,000 in 1969 • $764,500 in 1974 • $1 million in 1977 • $1.5 million in 1983 • $2.4 million in 1989 • $3.8 million in 1996 • $4.7 million in 2002 • $6.1 million in 2007 • $6.9 million in 2012 • $7.4 million in 2017 • .$9.7 million in 2022.

Death Debate — Alfred J. Talley was a longtime borough resident on Ocean Avenue (acquiring the Walter Spalding estate in 1933) and also president of the snobbish Monmouth Beach Association in the 1930 and 1940s. The capital punishment debate between he and the famed Chicago defense attorney Clarence Darrow took place in the Manhattan Opera House in October 1924. Talley was a New York judge and lawyer “of great ability.” MORE INFO.

Monmouth Beach is visible in this Monmouth Park postcard, 1962. The Oceanport racetrack opened in June 1946 and still operates — MORE INFO.

Wells Fargo Bank at Beach Road and Borden Street, 2020. As of November 2022, the bank permanently closed its drive-thru service after 54 years. The ATM continues to operate.

Looking west from the MB Clubhouse Hotel roof, 1910s. The school and church are visible in the background.

Louis Ferrugiaro is honored in Monmouth Beach for his military service during the Vietnam War, July 1971. A US Army private, Lou was badly injured but would return home to a hero’s welcome — honored with a large parade and celebration. The borough native went on to serve 25 years as the borough’s public works superintendent before retiring in 2004. Lou was also did public service as a borough policeman, fireman and first aid member.

Supreme Surf — along the Monmouth Beach coast, Fall 2022 (Jack Flaherty Photo).

Brian Boru O’Brien — a Monmouth Beach native and accomplished Broadway stage performer — seen with fellow cast members of the Broadway hit, “Chicago the Musical,” 2021. Brian made his theatrical debut in “Steel Pier” in 1997 and followed with work in: “Spamlalot,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “Promises, Promises.” A talented dancer-singer, Brian has acted in the Tony-winning Chicago for 9 years. It has all been a “dream come true” for the Seton Hall University graduate who never took a dance class. MORE INFO.

Channel Club marina, 2022. Suntex Marina Investors, a Dallas TX-based owner/operator of high-end marinas in 14 states, recently purchased the businesses set on 4 acres along the Shrewsbury River. Estimated price tag: about $25 million. MORE INFO. Marine activity in the area dates to the mid-1940s when started by the Mihm family. The Chrysanthopoulos brothers had owned the marina since 2001.

Starting Out — Henry Mihm’s boatyard at the foot of West Street, late 1940s. Henry died in 1979 and his son Walter would take the business to great new heights.

James Caverly owner of Booskerdoo Coffee Roastery & Bakery at his Monmouth Beach store, 2017. The popular spot opened in the town mini-mall in 2011 offering “really really delicious things from really really nice people.” Growing in popularity and prestige, Booskerdoo now has six locations. MORE INFO.

A car flipped its lid in front of the MB Cultural Center on Ocean Avenue, June 2022. There were no injuries.

Sunsets don’t get better than in Monmouth Beach (O’Brien Realty Photo), June 2022.

Mayor Sidney Johnson (c) opens the new Hickey Real Estate Agency building at 37 Beach Road, December 1976. At right are owners Frank and Helen Hickey, left is Charles Beusing, borough planning board chairman. The Hickeys operated their realty firm from 1970 to 1988. Helen was the first women president of the Monmouth County Board of Realtors in 1985. She died in July 1992 and Frank passed away in August 1993; they raised six children in town. The couple’s view of the real estate trade: “It’s not a business of days and weeks, but of years.”

Joan Parent, Realtors ad, Asbury Park Press, 1984. The firm’s snappy slogan — “We cover the waterfront” — proved most effective during a town real estate sales boom through the 1990s.

The new Joan Parent building on Beach Road on it Grand Opening, September 1981. Anthony Covias designed the building. Beginning with just herself and a part-time secretary, the Parent real estate firm grew to 35 employees. The business merged with VRI Realtors in 2000.

Siblings from the Farrell family of Monmouth Beach at Fenway Park in Boston, 2010s. Their brother John Farrell managed the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2013.

Monmouth Beach emergency siren located behind borough hall — loud but effective 2021. In November 1936, the fire company and board of education first reached an agreement to blow the fire whistle twice on inclement mornings as notification of school closure that day.

Image from Long Branch Daily Record, May 1965. Hennessey was from Monmouth Beach and Hayden was from Elberon.

Karyn Jarmer, the Executive Chef/Owner of My Kitchen Witch Cafe on Beach Road, 2021. Serving “home-cooked, healthy comfort food” since 2005. MORE INFO.

Wharfside Manor Condominiums set on the Shrewsbury River, June 2020. Shorelands point is in the background.

A lone palm atop the Ocean Avenue seawall in MB, June 2021. The first MB-SB seawall was built in 1931 and parking was banned in 1954.

Judge Patrick J. McGann, Jr. and his wife Bernadette after being sworn in as a judge of the Monmouth County Court. Long Branch Daily Record, January 1968. The couple raised their six children in Monmouth Beach. A Fordham Law School grad and NJ State Assemblyman, Judge McGann died in April 2012.

“Steamboat: Sea Bird” by Gail Gannon. Steamboat travel in and around the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers dates to 1825. By its end in 1930, 64 different steamers had worked the two rivers.

“Sea Bird” steamer in live action, 1887. Built in 1866 at Hunter’s Point NY, she was part of the Merchants Steamboat Company line operating until 1926. The wooden, side-wheeler was 187 feet long. The boat business was run by the Throckmorton family of Red Bank. The Sea Bird was docked off Wharf Avenue.

The 2013 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox team at the White House with President Barack Obama. (Borough native and Manager John Farrell is in front, second from right). Boston was 97–65 that season and beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 games in the Fall Classic. And John was the Boston pitching coach when they won the title in 2007.

Sunset along the waters in MB, 2020 (Jack Flaherty Photo)

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt with Major General George Van Deusen (r) at Fort Monmouth, 1943. The US Army general was the fort’s commanding officer (from 1942-1945) and later a MB resident.

Eddie Lecarreaux of the US Army Corps of Engineers Marine Division inspects a seawall pipe for the first-ever sand replenishment project in MB, November 1962.

Dr. Patti Barham Campbell, 1990. A borough native, Patty is a devoted artist — both practitioner and teacher.

Borough native Walter “Buddy” Burns (r) with President George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, 1992. “Buddy” was a Special Agent for the US Secret Service for over 20 years.

Superintendent of Streets Walter Roe (l) and Police Chief Charles Hornbostel (r) observe street paint work, 1970s.