Join the 51st New Jersey Clearwater Festival on Saturday, September 5th, for the free annual late-summer celebration of the environment, with live music, food, a children’s area, and family-friendly fun near the ocean in Sunset Park in Asbury Park. The Festival runs from 11 am until 9 pm. 

Inspired by folksinger/activist Pete Seeger and founded by Bob Killian, the event combines great music and traditional festival fun with information from environmental groups about protecting Mother Earth.

 Presented by New Jersey Friends of Clearwater, the Festival is co-sponsored this year by Clean Ocean Action. Municipal Event Services is also assisting. 

Chrissie Goedkoop, President of NJ Friends of Clearwater, and Cindy Zipf, President of Clean Ocean Action, leaders of two of the earliest non-profit environmental advocacy groups at the Jersey Shore, invite you to join the celebration and bring a chair or blanket. 

“We are thrilled to have Clean Ocean Action as co-sponsor of the Festival,” said Goedkoop. “Both organizations are committed to the continuing need to spread the word about protecting our natural resources .” 

The annual collector’s item Clearwater tee shirt will feature a whale leaping up from the ocean, original artwork by longtime Clearwater member, the late Isis Ra. The Children’s Area this year will feature pony rides. 

Elected Official Speakers: 

Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. of Long Branch will speak, as well as  Asbury Park Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, Councilmember Angela Ahbez-Anderson and Councilmember Eileen Chapman.   

Environmental Leader Speakers:

Ben Dziobek, Executive Director of Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN),  

Cindy Zipf, President of Clean Ocean Action  

Amy Goldsmith, State Director, Clean Water Action 

Jana Manning, Ecological Advocate and a member of the Asbury Park Green Team 

Jeff Tittle, activist and retired Director of the NJ Sierra Club 

Rik Van Hemmen, Navesink Maritime Heritage Association 

 Performers:  

The Matt O’Ree Band will headline a roster of popular performers on stage and the assembled Circle of Song folksingers, led by Ingrid Heldt, will encourage people to join them.

 Other musical performers include:   

The Black Ties 

The Wag 

Poppa John Bug & The Experience 

Spook Handy 

Sharleen Leahey and  Diane Doolittle 

Hunter  and the Cold Heart Club 

For info, go to njclearwater.org                                                    

“Lunch was made an hour ago.  The young mother knew that Fort Hancock, at the tip of Sandy Hook, NJ was a busy place during wartime.  It was also one gigantic playground for her son.  At first, she was angry, but anger faded away to worry. Her son was never late for lunch.  Just then, the kitchen screen door banged shut and her son yelled “Mom! Come look at what I found!”  She entered the kitchen and stifled a scream.  Her son was holding a dirt-covered human skull.”  

This is a popular bit of folklore that was part of Ranger-guided tours at Gateway National Park at Sandy Hook.  It is based on a true story.  There is a long-abandoned baseball field near the lighthouse.  Numerous corpses washed ashore near thereafter a tragic shipwreck in the 1850s.  The bodies, today, lay buried and forgotten in an overgrown field due to the potential presence of unexploded ordinance from the days when Sandy Hook was a proving ground.

Shipwrecked!

It was November 13, 1854, 06:10 Hrs.  The gale-force winds rattled the windows of Deal Beach residents (now Asbury Park, NJ) all night long.   This morning, the incessant, staccato clatter of a ships bell drove the townspeople from their beds to the beach at what would become the foot of 7th Avenue.  Through the fog, they saw her.  500 yards off the beach sat the New Era, a large sailing ship, stuck hard and fast on the outer sand bar with her full sails still set.

As dawn began to break, a series of gigantic waves lifted the ship high off the outer bar, tossing her about 150 yards from the beach.  A shift in wind direction and the coastal current spun her hard around so she sat broadside to the shore, bow facing south and completely vulnerable to the heavy seas.  Waves began crashing over her decks as high as the first yardarm, flooding her quickly.  She sank in less than an hour.  As the fog lifted, onlookers were stunned.  In the New Era’s rigging clung nearly 400 souls, holding on for dear life in the freezing cold, buffeted by wind and water.  

The New Era was a brand-new ship.  This was the second leg of her maiden voyage.  She carried 600 tons of chalk, 20,000 cubic feet of “general merchandise” and 385 German immigrants on their way to Pennsylvania by way of New York City.  The crew consisted of 29 seamen, 12 cooks, a ships doctor and the Captain, Thomas J. Henry.  She was built in Bath, Maine by H&R Hitchcock.  Henry & Rufus Hitchcock, along with Captain Henry, owned the New Era.  In 1854, the cost of building the New Era was about $60.00 per Ton, equating to $79,680.  She was not insured by Lloyds of London, but by 9 small insurance companies, with coverage in different amounts totaling $91,000.00.  The ship seemed plagued with problems.  Just a week out of Bremen, Germany, some 40 passengers died of Cholera and were buried at sea in the middle of the night, so as not to alarm the rest of the passengers.  Additionally, New Era sprung leaks during the stormy crossing. She was flooding so badly that passengers had to work with the crew to keep the manual pumps running 24/7 for 41 days.  This seems an odd occurrence for a new ship. 

By daylight, lifesaving volunteers, John Slocum and Britton White arrived on the scene with a surf boat, lines, and a rescue mortar.  The seas prevented them from launching the boat.  At that point, the wind shifted and swung the spanker boom across the deck, sweeping nearly 100 passengers overboard to drown in the wild seas.  The volunteers fired their mortars again and again, to get a line out to the stricken ship.  Each time, they failed to hit the mark as the wind would send the line careening off course.  As the volunteers worked onshore, a group of sailors lowered a boat from the ship to attempt to tow a line to shore.  The first and second officers and 3 crew members cast off the line and rowed to shore to save themselves.  An additional boat was lowered, but the crew that manned it, again, severed the line and headed to shore.  Next, the longboat was lowered by 6 crew members.  As they bailed the boat to get ready to save as many passengers as they could, the ship’s physician, Dr. Papenhausenn, who had gathered up as much of the passengers coinage and valuables as he could stuff in his clothing, leaped into the longboat.  The weight of his plunder capsized the longboat and he was crushed between the boat and the ship by the wave action. He was never seen again. 

The mortar sounded again, this time the line landed in the rigging and Captain Henry retrieved it and made it fast.  He ordered crew members to bail out the last remaining boat.  When it was free of water, the Captain jumped overboard and was lifted by the crew into the boat.  Passengers then leaped overboard and attempted to get on the boat but were beaten back by Captain and Crew.  All drown but 4 that managed to get into the boat.  The shore party began to haul the boat ashore, but it capsized 3 times.  In the end, only the Captain (an owner of the New Era), 3 crew members and 1 passenger made it to shore alive.

The rescue attempts went on until nightfall.  The gale quieted and all that could be heard was the wailing of those poor souls in the ships rigging crying for help.  The following day, a boat was launched and picked up the 135 remaining survivors.  Some 142 unidentified bodies were buried in potters’ field behind the Old First Union Methodist Church in West Long Branch, NJ.  The rest of the dead disappeared into the sea.  Bodies followed the currents only to be thrown upon the beach at Sandy Hook. 

In 1893, a monument was erected at the foot of 7th Avenue on the boardwalk.  It was adjacent to the wreck site and memorialized the dead.  It also disappeared during a gale. 

Epilogue

The cemetery, where New Eras dead are buried, is massively overgrown and the Monument to the passengers is, like all the other stones, neglected and difficult to find despite its size.  This is where the story of New Era should end, in this long-forgotten graveyard.  But there are too many questions left unanswered about the wrecking of the vessel.

For example: 

The cost of building a ship like the New Era was about $79, 680.00.  Why then, was she insured, across a variety of small companies, for $91,000?  

New Era was supposed to be a new ship (7 months old when she died) on her maiden voyage.  Why, then, did she spring leaks bad enough that the passengers and crew needed to man pumps 24/7, only a week out of Germany?  Was the New Era really a new ship, or was she an older, tired vessel meant to end up on a beach somewhere to pay for H&R Hitchcock’s new 1400-ton ship?  

The captain’s testimony differed greatly from that of the passengers and interviewed crew members.  

Then there is the cardinal sin when sailing in bad weather:  The New Era was under full sail in a gale when she grounded. 

Further, a crew member testified that Captain Henry ran New Era reefed until shortly before she came ashore.  What was the reason for this?

It will take a great deal of research to answer these and other nagging questions about the death of the New Era and her passengers.

(Note from Jack Grodeska:  After seeing the mass grave and its disgraceful state, I could not leave it like that.  I have reached out to several German ethnic organizations to find someone to maintain the grave.  This is, as yet, unresolved.  Sometimes when you write a story, you become entwined within the story. Such is my relationship with the wreck of the New Era.  My investigation will continue.  I have submitted a FOIA request for the financial records of H&R Hitchcock, as well as the name and information on the second ship built in 1854.)  

Iron Whale– 1200 Ocean Ave Unit 504, Asbury Park.  Great boardwalk location with impressive menu items and an amazing brunch selection!

Rooney’s Oceanfront Restaurant – 100 Ocean Ave N, Long Branch. Picturesque location with excellent food. Outdoor dining too!

Four Winds Restaurant – 1316 Jefferson Ave, Manasquan. A Jersey Shore staple for over 50 years, serving exceptional food!

The Grand Tavern – 1105 6th Ave, Neptune City. A total gem with perfectly presented delicious food!

The Wharfside Seafood & Patio Bar – 101 Channel Dr, Point Pleasant Beach. Jersey Shore waterfront icon since 1963 serving locally sourced seafood. Outdoor dining too!

Editor’s note: “This is by far a very small piece of the grand smorgasbord of food options we have to enjoy here at The Jersey Shore!”

In four days, attendees can experience 205 films and film-centered events from filmmakers
worldwide, along with parties, professional panels, celebrity appearances, networking opportunities, special honors, and more, says Lauren Concar Sheehy, the festival’s Executive Director.

Festivalgoers can explore feature and short-length films, documentaries, comedies,
children’s films, thrillers, pilots, student films, and “Home-Grown” productions shot in New
Jersey.

Spotlight on Local Talent
This year’s program proudly includes Buddha Bottle from filmmaker Steve Peckman, a resident of Manasquan. Their film, Buddha Bottle, tells the story of Buddha Bottle, which makes a solitary trip to the beach in Asbury Park. After getting hopelessly lost, it is then rescued by a local musician. Only to become a local legend in Asbury Park’s vibrant music scene.

Screening Details:

Buddha Bottle
3/29/26 | 3:00 pm-4:45 pm
Asbury Hotel, Asbury Hall | Asbury Park
“Steve Peckman and Peter Harris represent exactly what GSFF was built to champion—bold,
original storytelling from accomplished New Jersey filmmakers,” says Concar Sheehy. “We’re extremely proud to present this work and hope audiences will come out to celebrate the talent and dedication behind these productions.”

Economic and Cultural Impact

“Asbury Park’s seaside charm and Cranford’s bustling downtown create the perfect
backdrop—and our local hotels, restaurants, and small businesses definitely feel the love,” said Concar Sheehy. “We’re proud to uplift arts education and fuel meaningful growth in the communities we serve.”
The festival’s success reflects New Jersey’s thriving film industry. “New Jersey’s film-friendly environment is resulting in record numbers of productions, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the NJ Motion Picture & Television Commission and Governor Murphy’s competitive financial incentives,” explains Concar Sheehy.

Festival Highlights

The four-day event runs primarily in Asbury Park and includes a full day of screenings on
Saturday, March 29, at The Cranford Theater. The festival offers accessibility features, including subtitled films and the returning “Cinema for the Ears” series for attendees with no or low vision.

Key Events:
 Statewide Field Trip: Exploring Cinema Careers
Special Effects Makeup workshop with award-winning artist Joe Cola at Brookdale
Community College
 Thursday, March 26 | 1:30 PM – 3:15 PM
NEW THIS YEAR: Matinee of delightful films at Asbury Lanes
 Meet the Filmmaker | Festival Preview Event
Connect with filmmakers before the festival begins
 Friday, March 27 | Gala Reception: Red carpet, light fare, industry professionals, photos
and screening of the feature drama The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo
 Saturday, March 28 | Breakfast & Panel discussion with industry leaders
 Sunday, March 29 | Table Reading: Live reading of winning Feature Length Screenplay
“BEDBUGGERS” by New Jersey native Tom Cavanaugh
 Sunday, March 29 | Awards Dinner
Evening celebration at Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch, honoring the Honorary Chair
Jason Fisher, Educator of the Year, Tim Byrne, Legends Beyond the Lens Award
recipients, and other distinguished honorees

Why Attend?

Whether you’re an emerging filmmaker, established industry professional, or passionate film lover, GSFF offers an unparalleled opportunity to:
 Connect with fellow filmmakers and industry professionals
 Gain valuable insights into the film industry
 Network in an intimate, collaborative setting
 Fuel your creativity with compelling content and meaningful conversations
 Engage with the stories and people shaping the future of independent cinema
“The action-packed GSFF has something for everyone,” adds festival founder Diane Raver.
“Come one, come all—it only happens once a year and we don’t want you to miss it.”

Tickets and Information

GSFF offers a variety of ticket packages to fit every schedule and budget:
 Single Screening Block: Starting at $21.98
 Parkway Pass: $109.96 (inclusive of fees) – includes Meet the Filmmakers event, Gala
Reception and unlimited screenings of all films
 Sunday Awards Dinner: Separately ticketed event
For complete ticket details and pricing, visit gsff.org.

About the Garden State Film Festival:

The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is New Jersey’s
premier independent film festival and a globally recognized celebration of cinematic excellence.
Now in its 24th year, GSFF honors New Jersey's rich legacy as the birthplace of film while serving as a vital platform for filmmakers, industry professionals, and cinephiles worldwide. The four-day festival offers an unparalleled cinematic experience filled with screenings, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and exclusive events.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: @GardenStateFilmFestival, Facebook: @GardenStateFilmFestival X: @GardenStateFilm, YouTube: GardenStateFilmFestival

MEET ME AT THE CAROUSEL! Asbury Park, November 2nd, 2025

“A Walk In Their Shoes”

5th Annual walk to support The SHORE House, serving homeless teens & young adults in Ocean & Monmouth Counties

People get ready for the walk of a lifetime – we are being led down the Asbury Park Boardwalk by the one and only Ocean Avenue Stompers!!

Hit the link and get ready for an experience!

https://secure.qgiv.com/…/awalkintheirshoesasburypark2025/

November is YOUTH HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS MONTH

Join us with The Ocean Avenue Stompers Brass, The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department and Honor Guard, and more!

The End

It was the spring of 1942. Korvettenkapitän Reinhard Hardegen walked into the “Casino” of Hitler’s Wolfsschanze — the Wolf’s Lair — already wishing the night would end. Though technically the guest of honor at the Führer’s dinner table, he had no interest in ceremony. That morning, he had been awarded Oak Leaves to add to his Knight’s Cross. That evening, he just wanted to be gone.

Decades later, Hardegen would reflect:

“I was not a Nazi… I did my duty for my country, not for Hitler.”
“Hitler was a madman who was wreaking havoc and driving Germany toward catastrophe.”

Dinner was sparse, tailored to Hitler’s strict vegetarian palate. While the generals were served liver sausage and sauerkraut, Hitler ate boiled potatoes with peas. His secretary, Traudl Junge, later remarked,

“The generals and guests often had beer or schnapps. Hitler, though, never touched a drop.”

Midway through the meal, conversation turned to the war in the East — the grand push toward Moscow. Frustrated by the disregard for the navy’s role in the war, Hardegen interrupted.

“You’re standing with your back to the sea… this war is a sea war.”

Hitler turned red with anger but composed himself. After the meal, Colonel General Alfred Jodl quietly pulled Hardegen aside to reprimand him for his impertinence.

“The Führer needs to know the truth,” Hardegen replied. “I have to say what I think.”

Hardegen never joined the Nazi Party — a dangerous distinction in those days. He would soon be relieved of battle command and reassigned to training duties.
But not before he had made history — and brought war to the shores of America..

The Beginning

January 14, 1942. The British-flagged tanker SS Coimbra departed Bayonne, New Jersey, carrying over 2.7 million gallons of lubricating oil bound for Halifax. She traveled alone at ten knots, unescorted — a perfect target in a darkening sea.

That night, the Atlantic lay strangely still. A waning crescent moon cast a pewter sheen over the black water. Just beneath the surface, U-123 silently approached. She was a predator — a German Type IXB submarine commanded by Reinhard Hardegen, on the first major strike of Operation Paukenschlag, or Drumbeat: Germany’s surprise U-boat assault on America’s East Coast.

Hardegen surfaced just off New York Harbor.

“It was like peacetime. The city was fully lit. The Statue of Liberty was clearly visible. We could hardly believe our eyes.” He brought the boat closer. Shoreline roads twinkled. Coney Island’s lights glowed. There were no blackouts. No destroyers. No patrols. The men aboard U-123 climbed to the conning tower to stare.

“My men stood and stared at the lights. I allowed it. It was something none of us thought we’d ever see.”

But awe turned to risk. Mistaking the lights of Coney Island for the Ambrose lightship, Hardegen nearly grounded the boat.

“We nearly went up on the beach,” he said in a postwar interview.

Hardegen turned south, hugging the Jersey coast. He would not strike New York Harbor — the risk to civilians and mines was too high. He would target the tankers that moved between the refineries of Bayonne and the convoys of Halifax.

January 15, 1942 (~8:30 AM) — 27 Miles Off Sandy Hook

At first light, U-123’s lookouts spotted a shadow moving east. It was the Coimbra, a 6,768-ton British steam tanker operated by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company. She was unescorted. Her hull was fully visible. Her decks were lightly manned. U-123 was armed with six torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes, mines, and she had a crush depth of 656 feet. She had stalked the Coimbra for nearly an hour.

Hardegen watched Coimbra as she sailed along at ten knots. He took a deep breath and sighed. Then came his order.

“Feuer eins!”

January 15, 1942 (9:41 AM)

The first torpedo struck just aft of the superstructure. Oil ignited. A fireball soared hundreds of feet into the night sky. Residents as far away as Long Branch and Asbury Park saw the fireball and the black column of smoke from shore.

“The fire was enormous. We could feel the heat even from a safe distance.” — Hardegen

Eighteen minutes later, a second torpedo struck the aft tanks. The Coimbra broke by the stern and slipped beneath the waves.

Of the 46 men aboard, 36 were lost. Only ten survived.

Among the dead was Chief Officer W.L. Pinder (32 years old), who had rushed forward after the first torpedo to assess damage. Trapped between two walls of fire after the second blast, he jumped into the freezing sea.

At that exact moment, U-123’s crew turned on a searchlight to inspect the burning tanker. That light — meant for grim confirmation — saved Pinder’s life. It illuminated a capsized lifeboat nearby, where 11 others clung to the hull. Pinder reached it, helped right it, and climbed aboard.

The swells were relentless. The boat flooded. But inside, soaked and freezing, the 12 survivors found some warmth from the water — which, at that moment, was less deadly than the air above it.

Pinder later died of hypothermia.

Hardegen surfaced U-123. He approached the lifeboat, reportedly questioned the men, offered supplies and a heading, and submerged once more. They had spent too much time on the surface.

“I took no joy in the Coimbra. She was a sitting duck.” -Hardegen

Aftermath

During Operation Drumbeat, U-123 sank nine merchant ships, from Massachusetts to Florida, totaling over 53,000 gross tons — more than any other U-boat in the first wave.
Hardegen was praised in Germany, summoned by Hitler, and reassigned to a training post.

But his legacy remains complicated.

He claimed adherence to the Geneva Conventions. He surfaced after the attacks. He aided survivors. He refused Nazi Party membership and challenged Hitler openly. Captured by British forces, he was held as a POW until 1946 and released — in part due to testimonials from Allied survivors.

After the war, he founded an oil import company in Bremen — selling the very products he once tried to keep out of Allied hands. He served 32 years in the Bremen parliament.

Reinhard Hardegen died in 2018 at the age of 105.

History remembers him not as a hero, but as a contradiction — a man who waged war and yet tried, in his own way, not to betray his conscience.

He died in Bremen — but the war followed him, always. In the North Atlantic. On the tide. In the memory of those who still recall the day the sea caught fire.

“I tried to avoid needless killing,” he once said. “But I was a naval officer. And this was war.”

Epilogue: Coimbra

For three decades, the Coimbra lay forgotten 165 feet below the surface lying on the seafloor — a steel tomb. In 1975, fishermen reported seeing a sheen on the water. NOAA confirmed it.

She had begun to bleed again.

In 2015, satellite data showed worsening oil slicks. By 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard, Resolve Marine Group, and state partners launched a full-scale environmental recovery operation.
They removed over 450,000 gallons of oil — nearly all that remained. It was one of the most ambitious salvage efforts ever undertaken on a WWII wreck and prevented what could have been an epic environmental disaster.

Today, at least four shipwrecks off the Mid-Atlantic Coast are environmental time bombs: the Coimbra, W.L. Steed, which is leaking pollutants like heavy metals (nickel, copper), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), arsenic, and explosive compounds into the surrounding sediment.

Francis E. Powell, with 93,000 barrels of fuel oil that have begun to seep to the surface.
Northern Pacific an oil-fired steam turbine liner, sunk after a fire in 1922, 30 miles south of Cape May.
While the immediate cause was fire, the wreck could potentially leak residual fuel oil over time. These wrecks remain under environmental surveillance. Only the Coimbra has been cleared.

(Read more at Coastal Review, coastalreview.org.)

The Winter of the Steel Shark was remembered not for strategy, or honor, or torpedo trajectories. It was remembered in the homes where families waited for men who never came home from the sea.

Remembered in the silence of shipping offices. It is remembered in the smoke above the horizon and the smell of oil in the wind.

In New Jersey, war arrived not with the sound of marching boots — but with fire and death.

We were excited to return this summer for our grand 50th Festival, featuring a special appearance by our founder, folksinger Bob Killian. In the early 1970’s, Bob spent several years with Pete Seeger, appearing on many albums as a Sloop Singer, and helping to stage events that brought attention to the environment and the severe pollution of the Hudson River.

We are planning and fundraising for the Festival, so look for more info here. And please write to us about your own experiences attending the Festival, or your suggestions at [email protected].

When: Saturday, August 30

Where: Sunset Park, 1305 Main Street, Asbury Park, 07712 (between Sunset & Fifth Avenues)

Our annual open-air music festival celebrates the spirit of people working and singing together to protect our environment. It is also the networking hub in New Jersey for sharing ideas on environmental protection. 

Two music stages with the finest in folk and rock music, crafts and green vendors, enviro-activists, food trucks, special activities for children, and discussion round-tables, combine to continue our tradition of fun, inspiration, and education. It also honors the fellowship of song, started by our spiritual founder, Pete Seeger, more than 50 years ago.

Volunteers are needed

Electric Scooter Sharing

Further info: [email protected].

Based on the hit 1994 Disney movie and Broadway musical, Disney’s The Lion King, JR. is the timeless tale of Simba, a young lion born to be king, who is forced to flee after the death of his father, Mufasa. On the outskirts of the kingdom, Simba learns about identity, family, responsibility, and what he has to do in order to make things right for the Pride Lands.

Featuring classic songs like “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata,” the entire family will enjoy the perfect theatrical spectacle that is The Lion King, JR. Performed by students from Asbury Park Theater Company’s musical theater camp.

Running time is 75 minutes

Support our KIDS production of Disney’s The Lion King, Jr! JULY 18, 19, 20!

Click Here! ALL SEATS $15!