Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[NightskyeB4Dawn]

On the Boardwalk

On June 26, 1870, the first section of the Atlantic City Boardwalk opened along the New Jersey beach. Dr. Jonathan Pitney and civil engineer Richard Osborne began developing the area on Absecon Island in the early 1850s. Long before this time, members of the Lenni-Lenape tribe were the first seasonal visitors to enjoy the summer splendor of the island.

Beautiful beaches, fresh sea air, luxurious hotels, fine restaurants, alluring shops, and a connecting railroad line from Camden, New Jersey, drew visitors from all over the world. Atlantic City soon became a popular summer resort and winter health spa.

Alexander Boardman, a railroad conductor, and Jacob Keim, a hotelier, conceived of the idea of constructing a boardwalk as a means of keeping sand out of the railroad cars and hotels. The city used its tax revenues to build an eight-foot-wide temporary wooden walkway from the beach into town that could be dismantled during the winter.



The rolling chair, introduced in 1884, was the only vehicle allowed on the boardwalk. The boardwalk was soon extended by an enormous amusement pier, Young’s Pier, visible in the background of the photograph above.

Any consideration of the boardwalk demands at least a nod to salt water taffy, a favorite beachside treat. Taffy, a candy made of corn syrup and white sugar is boiled; the confection is pulled and folded, then rolled into a long strip from which shorter (about two-inch-long) strips are cut, wrapped in stick resistant paper, and sold. Along the Atlantic City Boardwalk folks have purchased the product since at least the early 1880s. In 1925, the Supreme Court ruled that the term “salt water taffy” could not be trademarked, a decision which saved candy manufacturers from paying millions of dollars to John R. Edmiston of Wildwood, New Jersey, who claimed to be the originator of the candy and had applied for registration of the term with the U.S. Patent Office.



Early bathers wore bathing dresses of wool flannel with stockings, canvas shoes, and large straw hats. The more daring bloomer suits and stockings worn by these bathing beauties did not catch on until 1907. Censors roamed the beaches monitoring bathers’ self-exposure and looking for offenders who showed more flesh than the local code allowed.

Originally titled “Atlantic City’s Inter-City Beauty Contest,” and traditionally held in Atlantic City since 1921, the Miss America pageant moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2006. The above photograph captures the 1926 contestants vying for the Golden Mermaid trophy.

Atlantic City’s Inter-City Beauty Contest super-size view if you download the TIF image. Tall, short, average height, short & long hair, many look like teens. Out of 63 girls, this cutie on the right I've chosen as the spicy sassafras high society butterfly type...




1946 Charioteers - On The Boardwalk (In Atlantic City)




June 26, 1942: the Grumman F6F Hellcat flew for the first time. The F6F would become the most successful Navy fighter of WWII, with Hellcat pilots claiming 5,163 victories and a 19:1 kill-to-loss ratio. The "Timex" idea of fighter design; built to "take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’" not the most maneuverable or the fastest, but could absorb the most damage without going down. The ability to absorb that first shot and allow your wingman to take out your adversary proved invaluable. Not done purposefully, but statistically seemed to work out that way.




June 26, 1944: USS Mercury was attacked by a Japanese torpedo bomber that clipped the ship's cargo boom and cartwheeled into the sea. It was the first and only "Boom" in the Navy to be credited with downing an enemy plane. A victory mark was painted on it by the ship's winchmen.
Boom, splash one! USS Mercury (AK-42) newspaper article:




June 26, 1948: cover of The New Yorker.

Inside: Shirley Jackson's dystopian short story "The Lottery"



Too bad we can't make this an annual tradition for politicians.


June 26, 1963: President, John F. Kennedy, gave his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in Berlin. He meant "I am a citizen of Berlin" not as is often wrongly claimed: "I am a doughnut". The speech aimed to show solidarity to the people of West Berlin in the divided city. Speech card for JFK, with phonetic spelling of "Ich bin ein Berliner."


"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."

Remarks of President John F. Kennedy at the Rudolph Wilde Platz, Berlin, June 26, 1963
One Day in Berlin, 26 June 1963 - JFK video


LOL, Berlin...


The Capital's Economic Power


June 26, 1987: Stanley Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET was released. The film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel THE SHORT-TIMERS by Gustav Hasford. Hasford served in Vietnam as a combat correspondent with the 1st Marine Division during the Tet Offensive.


And filmed entirely in the UK.


RIP to actor Spencer Milligan. He's best known as dad Rick Marshall on the first 2 seasons of the iconic 70's Saturday morning show, "Land of the Lost".  For the past 20 years, he taught acting in Sturgeon Bay, WI. He died April 18, 2024, age 86 in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Interesting. I just watched a few episodes of Land of the Lost, just yesterday at my brother's.