is a small seashore resort located on Five Mile Island off the coast of Southern New Jersey. This barrier island of sandy white beaches is separated from the mainland by grassy marshes and and saltwater channels that we refer to as the "the bay." Before the mid 1800’s Five Mile Island was uninhabited. Lenape Indians from the mainland frequented the island to fish and search for shells. The local tribes valued the quahog clam for the purple growth rings of the inner shell. (Our beaches are full of these shells.) They used the shell to make beads called wampum. Strings of wampum were considered quite valuable and were sometimes used as currency by early European settlers.

Five Mile Island was once described by an early visitor as “the chosen spot of nature.” Fields of wildflowers and patches of thick forest grew on the high spots along the narrow island. The holly bushes in the middle of the island were so beautiful that the early settlers named it Holly Beach. The neighboring beachfront community was called Wildwood after the numerous misshapen trees, twisted by the ocean winds, that cross the island.

More to come...

...my wife was teaching 5th grade and decided that she wanted to build a web site for her class. Together we designed a fun web site where the kids could learn and show off projects of their own. One interesting game I created was called “Geography Quest.” I added a guestbook to the site and then advertised the game on several web communities, including AS, for help with the project. We asked people to sign the guestbook and without giving personal information to tell us where they were from. We also asked that they include little information about their home country, province or state. In turn the kids would have to find these places on a map and mark them with stickpins. They also kept a journal of the information they learned from their guests. The kids looked forward to finding new guests and information and the project was a great success.

I truly enjoyed that project. It was fun to read the tidbits of information about different cities and countries from the residents themselves. I decided to start this journal to post information about my own home for those who are interested. It will include history, geography and some funny stories. Hopefully you will enjoy!