Roadtrip, Day 11... Calling Germany

Day 11

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

     The weather report was right, I woke up to a light, but steady rain.  With no hope for sunrise, or a long walk on the boardwalk. I just went back to sleep.

     Two days down the shore is never enough.  So, I packed up the room and headed up the coast to Ocean Grove, my next stop on the tour.

     But first, a few stops along the way.

       The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse was open for tours today, just not for another two hours.

     As usual, I took the longer, coastal route north.  Loads of bridges, plenty of tolls. 

     Gotta stop in Margate and visit Lucy....

     Which brings me to the small shore community of Tuckerton.  Ebenezer Tucker fought in the Revolutionary War under General Washington.  After the war, President Washington made him the Collector of Revenue for the Seaport here.  

     But, that's not why I came to Tuckerton.  I was looking for this...

     Yes, it's a large block of concrete.  But, it's got some history.  

     In 1912 a German businessman had an idea. With radio still being referred to as wireless, he wanted to build the first wireless network.

     His vision had large, very powerful radio transmitters scattered around the globe, instantly sharing information.

     The first tower went up in Germany.  The second was here in Tuckerton, with the base on this block.  At the time, it was the second highest man made structure on Earth, behind The Eiffel Tower.

     Three of the support blocks still remain.

     As does the building that once housed the generator.

     The first message sent was a greeting to President Woodrow Wilson. Two weeks later, Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, sparking WWI.

      There were rumors the antenna was being used to contact the German military and share intelligence.  Once America formerly entered the war, President Wilson warned them to knock it off.  The reply, make us.  So Wilson did and the government took over the transmitter.  

     Eventually. I did make it to Ocean Grove and the Ocean View Inn.  I'd never been here before and took a short walk when the rain let up.

    

     My first stop was this shelter by the beach.  I just wasn't expecting it to be a chapel, with rows of pews facing forward.

       I'm used to seeing upcoming concert listing.  Here, it's a weekly minister list.

         In 1869, a group of Methodist ministers bought the land that would become Ocean Grove.  Their vision was to build permanent Christian community.  To oversee it all, they created the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.  The group still runs the place.

     Reverend Stokes was the one who made it all happen.  He oversaw the layout of the tow and started building.  The Great Auditorium was rebuild and expanded numerous times.  It currently can hold ten thousand people and contains one of the largest pipe organs in the country. The acoustics are supposed to be amazing.   You can see a video shot inside the auditorium here:

     That pavilion on the right once held a scale model of Jerusalem.

     Visiting Methodists have stayed in tents since the very beginning.  There are still 114 of them.  They're mostly tent in the front, cabin in the back.  You can get an idea what they look like here:

      Walking around, there was just something about the place.  Parking for the inn is on the street out front.  I got the feeling I could have left my car unlocked and it would have been fine.  I would definitely stay in Ocean Grove again.