“Half running, with my thumb out, I eventually got to the bridge crossing the Raritan River. Starting across it, I saw a stake-sided farm truck pulling over, and then stop ahead of me. “Where you go’n, sailor?” the driver asked. When I told him “Toms River,” he said that he was going right through there. The truck driver had a rough look about him, but he seemed friendly enough when he asked if I was in the Coast Guard, knowing that USCG sailors travel this way to their Boot Camp in Cape May. “No Sir,” I answered and explained that I was late getting back to Admiral Farragut Academy. “No problem,” he answered. “I’ll get you there!” It wasn’t the nicest truck, or the fastest, but it was a ride. We rumbled through Toms River and Beachwood and then on to Pine Beach, with only minutes to spare. Thanking him, I jumped out of the truck and ran towards Dupont Hall to check in. “Who was that?” one of the cadets asked, as I opened the door. “Oh… Just an Uncle who came to see me,” was the answer I gave as casually as I could….” Captain Hank BrackerSea StoriesNew Jersey HistoryAdmiral Farragut AcademyT 500 Author:Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"
“There were very few things to do in Toms River, New Jersey, however it was the closest thing resembling civilization near the school. When I wasn’t being restricted to the campus, for one infraction or another, that’s where I would go. Toms River was two and a half miles west of the school. Making the round trip was a five-mile walk, but it was worth it, just to get away. To get there I walked down Prospect Avenue, and then cut corners to Bayside Avenue. In the winter, the frozen snow and ice made the walk cold and miserable. There was always a wind blowing off the river, but I would trudge on relentlessly. The wet slush soaked through my shoes, ruining a shine I had worked on for hours. My feet became wet and frozen, but I pressed on regardless. Eventually I would reach Route 166, which was narrow and only had two lanes; still it was the only north-south highway along the coast at the time. I then crossed the concrete bridge that had a year engraved on it, indicating that it was built as a WPA project during the Great Depression. On the west side of the road was the Toms River Diner. It was classic in appearance and was a warm haven, where I could thaw out. Thelma, the waitress, was always friendly and one of the sexiest women I ever knew. She laughed at my silliness, knew just how much cleavage to show, and moved and turned like a fashion model. There was always “Country Music” playing, especially that of Hank Williams who was Thelma’s favorite. Hey, Good Lookin’, Your Cheatin’ Heart, and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry were all songs he had written and that she sang along with. Thelma knew that I could not keep my eyes off of her, and she enjoyed playing the part, letting me look far down the unbuttoned section of her waitress uniform, while pouring me another cup of coffee. The way she looked over her shoulder, throwing aside her hair while asking what else I wanted, would send shivers down my back and feelings into my loins that set me on fire. Just this alone was worth the five-mile round trip. During warmer weather, the walk was more pleasant, but the constant wind off the Atlantic Ocean and the river, never let up.” Captain Hank BrackerAtlantic OceanNew Jersey HistoryToms River Nj Author:Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"
“There were very few things to do in Toms River, New Jersey, however it was the closest thing resembling civilization near the school. When I wasn’t being restricted to the campus, for one infraction or another, that’s where I would go. Toms River was two and a half miles west of the school. Making the round trip was a five-mile walk, but it was worth it, just to get away. To get there I walked down Prospect Avenue, and then cut corners to Bayside Avenue. In the winter, the frozen snow and ice made the walk cold and miserable. There was always a wind blowing off the river, but I would trudge on relentlessly. The wet slush soaked through my shoes, ruining a shine I had worked on for hours. My feet became wet and frozen, but I pressed on regardless. Eventually I would reach Route 166, which was narrow and only had two lanes; still it was the only north-south highway along the coast at the time. I then crossed the concrete bridge that had a year engraved on it, indicating that it was built as a WPA project during the Great Depression. On the west side of the road was the Toms River Diner. It was classic in appearance and was a warm haven, where I could thaw out. Thelma, the waitress, was always friendly and one of the nicest women I ever knew….” Captain Hank BrackerSea StoriesNew Jersey HistoryToms River Nj Author:Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"
“Sometimes just to see what was happening, my father would drive to the airport. Newark Airport was the first major airport serving the greater New York area. It was opened for traffic on October 1, 1928, on 68 acres of reclaimed marshland next to the Passaic River. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey later took it over from the Army Air Corps in 1948 and started a major improvement program. Driving by and seeing activity from the road, we drove to where Eastern Airlines had a shiny new DC-3 on display, and as luck would have it, it was open to the public. It was an exciting moment when I boarded this aircraft and discovered that it was first constructed in 1934, the same year I was born. An example of modern technology, it was the first modern airliner and the forerunner of commercial aviation. It would still be years before I would learn to fly an airplane, but for now, things could not get much better. On our way back to Jersey City, we drove over the Pulaski Skyway, one of the first elevated highways in the country. The United States was trying to crawl out of the worst depression ever and government projects, backed by stimulus money, were everywhere. The Tennessee Valley Authority was building dams to run hydroelectric generators in the South, and big projects like Boulder Dam were being built out West along the Colorado River. The nation’s electrical grid was expanding by leaps and bounds and highway construction projects with new bridges were being built. The United States was growing once again, and I was there to see it!” Captain Hank BrackerSea StoriesAirportAirplanesNew Jersey History Author:Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"
“My parents had to work on most weekends, and thus were infrequent visitors to Admiral Farragut Academy. However, on those Sundays when they could come, my mother would bring a cake and some cookies from the bakery. Of course, the cookies and the cake were past their prime, but that was just the way I liked them. I really don’t know how happy my parents were to see me since most of the time they were there; they would talk to my teachers in conference, and then tell me all the things I had supposedly done wrong. Sadly, I would always wind up with a lecture on how bad I had been and what was expected of me. It was something I had grown to expect, but more importantly, I was grateful for the cake and pastries. I have no idea why, but they also brought me cans of condensed milk. I can only guess that they believed that the thick syrupy milk, super saturated with sweet, sweet, sugar, would give me the energy I needed to think better. After one such visit, I made the mistake of leaving my cake unattended. It didn’t take long before it grew legs and ran off. I couldn’t believe that one of my schoolmates would steal my cake, not at a Naval Honor School! Nevertheless, not being able to determine who the villains were, I hatched a plan to catch the culprits the next time around. Some months later when my parents returned to check on my progress, my mother brought me a beautiful double-layer chocolate cake. This time I was ready, having bought all the Ex-Lax the pharmacy in Toms River had on hand. Using a hot plate, I heated the Ex-Lax until it liquefied, and then poured the sticky brown substance all over the cake in a most decorative way. With that, I placed the cake on my desk and invitingly left the door open to my dorm room. I wasn’t away long before this cake also grew legs, and, lo and behold, it also disappeared. The expected happened, and somewhat later I found the culprits in the boys’ bathroom, having a miserable time of it. Laughingly, I identified them as the culprits, but didn’t turn them in. It was enough that I caught them with their pants down!” CakeThievesBakeryNew Jersey HistoryAdmiral Farragut AcademyExlax Author:Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"
“The Hoboken waterfront was still familiar to me from earlier years when I walked this way to catch the trolley or the electrified Public Service bus home from the Lackawanna Ferry Terminal. Remembering the gray-hulled Liberty Ships being fitted out for the war at these dilapidated piers, was still very much embedded in my memory. Things had not changed all that much, except that the ships that were once here were now at the bottom of the ocean, sold, or nested at one of the “National Defense Reserve Fleets.” Many of them were moved to the Reserve fleet located on the western side of the Hudson River, south of the Bear Mountain Bridge. I vividly recall seeing these nested ships when I accompanied my parents to visit my Uncle Willie and Tante Martha at their home in Towners, New York.” MmaWorld War IiNew Jersey HistoryHobokenLiberty Ships Author:Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"