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Somers Point NJ

I was driving back from AC and I said " I haven't been to Somers Point,NJ in 40 years." We drove through and all the cool places were gone: Tony Mart's [Eddie and the Cruisers movie was filmed there] Bayshores, the Anchorage, and across the way was Dunes till Dawn. All gone. Ocean City was and probably still is a "dry" town. So everyone from OC crossed the bridge into Somers Point and went to these places: meet friends, howl, and dance the night away to some really great cover bands like Mace and the Sky Band. Then at 2am these places closed except the Dunes which opened at 2am till breakfast, we would do the same thing all over again! Sky Band would or could be the house band for both. CC Walker the lead guitarist was such a showman and entertainer. And afterwards, my buddies and I [ minus a few if they were lucky!] then would head over to Point Diner for breakfast. Anyway.....are there any Jerseyites, Philly, NYC people and Delawareans who experienced this unique wonderful time? Apparently, when talking to the locals, the scene died in the late 70s/early 80s. Tony Mart's was torn down and is only memories....but the Point Diner is still there still serving the same food as 40 years ago.
shubertmaniac
8 responses Add your response
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Not my stomping ground, but nicely evocative description.
tom6897's avatar
tom6897
1,484 posts
 
Sounds like a really cool place to have "come of age"!

Lets buy some real estate up there and start are own enclave built around good music, good food, and friendly people. (daydreaming again!)
shubertmaniac OP
350 posts
 
What was interesting were the accents. I mean I came from
Delaware and I thought I had a neutral accent. Well...egads....I would go up to a girl and say " hey want to dance?", and she would start laughing, and she would reply " are from the deep South? I would say, "what? the South...no I am from Delaware." She would reply " what state is that in?" I would say..."that is the State!"Could not undertand anyone who came from south Philly nor north Philly for that matter. In the beginning I was a stranger in a strange land. But eventually I got the hang of it, well sort of.....I am surprised that no one from Philly has chimed in.....or Cherry Hill, NJ.....
alpass
174 posts
 
i grew up in South Philly and spent the summers down Wildwood.worked during the day and hit the clubs at night.those were the days.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Thanks for the memories Shubertmaniac. Yes I remember those days, mostly through the late 60's if not the same places other than the Point Diner. My family spent a week in OC every year when I was a kid. Like Alpass my buddies and I spent time in Wildwood. Anyone remember Zaberer's the Seafood restaurant on RT 322 I believe? Wonder if it's still there. And then there was the Delaware Hotel in OC where a a buddy and myself were partying and subsequently accused by a maintenance guy working at the hotel of throwing two bikes into the swimming pool, we were thrown out against our protests that we weren't the culprits, no matter, I guess we looked close enough.

I've spent the last 40 years living in Florida and I will say this if you live from Baltimore North to Philly, you DO NOT have a neutral accent even though you may not have the South "Fillwee" dead giveaway. I can ALWAYS tell people from that general area and they are always amazed at "how did you know?":) I grew up in Willingboro since you mentioned Cherry Hill.
shubertmaniac OP
350 posts
 
Funny story Tubegroover! ;-)
Was Zeberer's in North Wildwood??? Maybe there were two. Wasn't 322 called the Black Horse Pike....cannot remember that either....I thought it was kind of quiet in North Wildwood, you had to go to Wildwood Crest to find the cheap hotels and the crazies. And remember dumpy Cape May with all the Victorian houses...all spiffed up and selling for millions now...Just found out if you Google Somers Point there is a website dedicated to all the history. And there is a website called RetroJersey where you find all kinds of memorabilia (sp?) and T-shirts about the Jersey Shore. Jersey is probably the only place I know where the Atlantic Ocean is called the 'shore".....;-))And nobody on this site had similar experiences from Maine to Florida from Washington to California, from Texas to the Florida Panhandle....???? Egads......cannot believe the Jersey Shore was THAT unique. Oh yeah...SuperStorm Sandy did a real number on the Jersey coast, particularly north of AC.
goldeneraguy
442 posts
 
Hi Shubertmaniac, Your post brought back very old memories.
My family moved from New York City to Margate NJ in the mid 50's.I was a teenager and was to young to frequent Bayhores and Tony Mart's.
These clubs were legendary in the area.My older brother was a weekend regular and I heard exciting stories of all the girls he would pick up at the clubs.He's gone now and over the years I never asked if these stories were real or just what he had hoped for.
I've been to the Point Diner many times.Back in th 50's and 60's it was one of the very few diners that served decent food and a favorite place to stop for coffee after a date.
Zaber's was on route 322/40 (Black Horse Pike) towards the Atlantic City Race Track.I think they opened another restaurant,possibly the one you mentioned in North Wildwood but they have been long gone.
I lived briefly in your native Delaware about 20 years ago.
The Pikes Creek area
bigkidz
3,381 posts
 
Spent some time at those places myself with a group of friends that I still hang out with. The Anchorage use to serve seven, 7 oz beers for one dollar (Pabst Blue Ribbon never tasted so good!). The Juke box played whole lotta love, and Dion's Run Around Sue all night long. Dunes till dawn, remember that place well also. Lost many a brain cell there as well.

Those were the good old days for sure!
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