For My Readers …

MB Life Photo Collection

As I continue to develop my website — mainly though posting historic local photos backed with facts — I’ve reached beyond Monmouth Beach. Not too far though.

To close neighbors — Sea Bright to the north and Long Branch to the south. Three historic beach towns bound together. We’re border buddies, shore siblings, and contiguous cousins. Now and forever. The history of this fine strip of beachfront we call home is a treasure to be found. Moreover, I see three awesome communities that can and should be more untied and better connected.

Seeing an interesting old local photograph/image is one thing — knowing its accurate details is quite another. During my deep dives for more recorded historic facts (names, dates and places) I continue to use Newspapers.com — a terrific online resource. Amidst the digital archived pages of the Long Branch Daily Record, Red Bank Daily Register and Asbury Park Press, I’ve found decades of credible local news and information.

“To understand today, you must search yesterday.”
—Pearl Buck

All mostly well preserved in electronic form (old news print photos can be tricky though). This includes professional newspaper coverage on local events and people going back some 350 years in combined total. The Press, started in 1879, continues to publish daily. The Record circulated from 1883 to 1975. The Register printed from 1878 to 1991.

As a seasoned journalist I realize that newspapers are imperfect. At their best, they provide a “first rough draft of history.” Still, sometimes when I find a fact after much digging and it all follows and fits to a story, I’m in awe of the reach of journalism.

In my own fact gathering, however, I sometimes find conflicting information in all the local publications back then. In the typical news biz pitfall, the misspelled name, of course. But also, plenty of differing reports and with numbers generally. So, to offer a more complete description of the pictures found and posted, I’ve done some supposing of my own. Even as I keep digging for more facts.

In closing, I ask visitors to help me keep things honest. If you see something you know to be untrue or inaccurate, please, reach out. I’m never above making a change when presented with the better facts. Indeed, I welcome the interaction. Thanks for visiting.

Greg Kelly, Publisher
MonmouthBeachLife.com
E-mail

Monmouth Beach Life Photo Collection — HERE

About the Photos:

The journalist’s creed is to answer: Who? What? Where? When? and Why? Connecting photo-and-fact helps answer many of those questions. The research is mine — for certain. Regarding the photos, in a constantly evolving digital commutations world with few rules and even fewer principles, I have adopted some personal standards and polices as it pertains to their “Fair Use.”

• My website is purely educational and non-profit. Access to all content is Free and I’ve profited nothing from all the work. Believe me.

• My website is “transformative” — a completely new and unique presentation of content and images. No one is doing what I am. The depth and breadth of my research overwhelms any image or few images.

• I merely tracked down and posted all these digital images; I claim no ownership of any.

• Every published photo in the USA before 1978 is public domain.

• About 99% of images come from social media platform posts — it’s today’s “public square” with no expectation of privacy. When I find a compelling Internet image, I’ll re-post it.

• There’s no value loss; original image is undamaged and still marketable.

• Most all digital images are copies, of copies, of copies, of copies … almost nothing is original.

• All that said, upon reasonable request I will remove or credit a photo. Contact HERE.