"Up in the tower the solemn old clock Has stood for many a year; Soon as erected, it said 'Tick, tock,' "Tick, tock, tick, tock,' says the solemn old clock. ""Tis the old clock's mission, to say, tick, tock, And to give the time of day; The same each year, like the moveless rock, It stands at its work-tick, tock, tick, tock, Or when the sunlight fades away, Be true to every trust and say, 'Tick, tock.'" THE POSTMASTERS The new Post Office provided in the new Association Building where now located, opened for business August 1, 1881. The first letter delivered was addressed to the Rev. E. H. Stokes, president of the Association, and was from the postmaster. (See Appendix.) H. B. Beegle was appointed a salaried postmaster by President Arthur July 1, 1882, with an additional allowance for clerk hire. Up to that time. the postmaster had received only a commission, which did not provide a sufficient income for him to live, so that it was necessary to engage in other business. Furthermore, the Association, although it had supplied the quarters and furnished them rent free, received no remuneration whatsoever. In 1883 the allowance of $500 for clerk hire was withdrawn by the government, but by persistent effort the sum of $350 was restored. Although receiving free rent, which included the use of the post office fixtures, the government, "as if this were not enough," charged the Association postal box rent "for boxes which belong to us, and use a room worth $800 rent for which they pay us nothing." The justice of this was not apparent. After fourteen years of service as postmaster, H. B. Beegle resigned in 1885 and the President appointed a new postmaster in the person of George W. Evans, Esq., the secretary of the Association. Three hundred thousand pieces of mail were handled in 1886, and this number grew to 500,000 in 1887 with "no formal complaints to the department during the year against the administration of the office." The term of George W. Evans having expired in 1890, the Rev. A. E. Ballard was appointed postmaster by President Harrison. With the change of national administration in 1893, Dr. Ballard resigned as postmaster. President Cleveland nominated and the Senate confirmed Mr. Evans. During the summer of 1894 over 1,000,000,000 pieces of mail matter were handled. An effort was then made to consolidate the Ocean Grove and the Asbury Park Post Offices, the consolidated office to be located in Asbury Park. This effort was supported by the partisan press; but the effort was successfully "resisted by every true friend of Ocean Grove." It is recorded that, "not long after this a further attempt was made in the same quarter, on the sanctity of our Christian Sabbath, by having the United States mails. delivered at our depot on this holy day. For a quarter of a century we had been exempt from such annoyance, and, unresisted, could not submit to it now. The railroad officials stood solidly by us; again national interference was sought, and as before, the national assurance given that no changes would be made.” The postmaster, encouraged, provided a free delivery service, which was greatly appreciated by the permanent residents and summer visitors. To further facilitate the service the "postmaster expended from his own salary during the past three years $2,000." W. H. Hamilton, "who has so grown up in the office that it is impossible to separate the two in the minds of the people," became postmaster in 1897. The present efficient postmaster is Walter F. Clayton. The business of the Ocean Grove Post Office continues to show steady increase in volume. A substation has been maintained at the North End for a number of years for the benefit of the public. TELEGRAPH SERVICE The telegraph office, opened in 1872, was located in a part of the same building used by the Post Office and the Association. In 1873 1,121 messages were dispatched. The telegraph office occupied the same quarters until the erection of the new Association Building, in which it was assigned quarters. The first telegram sent from the newly reopened office was to the President of the United States inviting him to Ocean Grove's anniversary on July 31. (See Appendix.) TELEPHONES These were first introduced into Ocean Grove in 1881, and for the privilege of entering and conducting business upon the grounds, the Telephone Company granted the use of three of their instruments: one at the Main office, one at the Auditorium, and one at the Tent House. Excellent service resulted and a vast amount of time was saved by their use. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES To facilitate travel to the grounds, a subscription of $500 was made. by the Association to the capital stock of the "Deal and Squan River Turnpike Company," which was to build a turnpike from the Squan River bridge to Deal, where it would connect with the road from Long Branch. It must be remembered that Ocean Grove was somewhat over six miles from the nearest railroad station at Long Branch, and that the only means of conveyance was by stage. The wisdom of this action was shortly justified, for in 1873 a close estimate indicated that about 25,000 people had come to Ocean Grove by way of Long Branch or Squan, using the turnpike for this purpose. Among the deeply felt embarrassments of the situation was a lack of railroad connections. While the road from Long Branch to Ocean Grove was fine for some distance along the seashore and in pleasant surroundings, the difficulties of conveying several thousand persons with baggage by means of stages were great. The question was constantly asked, "When will there be a railroad?" In 1871 a meeting was held in Ocean Grove at which the railroad authorities were present; the officials pledged themselves to have a railroad in operation by the middle of May, 1872, "providing sufficient financial encouragement could be had.” While the Association preferred to devote the proceeds of the sales of its leaseholds to direct improvements on the grounds, it was constrained to believe that railroad facilities were an imperative requirement. Guided by the result of the subscription to the turnpike enterprise some two years. before, the Association subscribed to $10,000 of the stock of the proposed railroad. Additional subscriptions aggregating $1,500 were made by the lot-holders and friends. The perplexities attending stage travel undoubtedly led to this action. There was a demand for a stage line to run throughout the year. For six months the business would not pay, and in the absence of the regular line of stages a visitor was charged from $2 to $5 per trip, with possibly a single hour or less at the Grove. Pending the opening of the railroad a contract was made with Tilton & Stiles to run a line of stages between Long Branch and Ocean Grove for one year from February 1, 1872; the fare during the nonpaying months was to be 75 cents, passage; during the season proper to be 60 cents. There was no trouble with outside stages while the business did not pay, but when travel increased, troubles multiplied "until the outside opposition, encouraged in many instances by inside parties, became an unmitigated. nuisance." As the Association's arrangement for transporting the public became better known, the inside sympathy abated and the opposition died, "a somewhat stubborn, natural death." Unhappily, the railroad investment did not prove to be so successful as that of the turnpike. After the Association had paid for $5,500 of the bonds in the Farmingdale & New Egypt Railroad, which bonds were. indorsed by the New Jersey Southern Railroad, the first named failed to meet its obligation and the latter claimed exemption from theirs. It was the 28th of August, 1875, when the first train arrived at Ocean Grove from New York, and two trains came that afternoon. Shortly after this the track was completed to Squan, where connections were made to Philadelphia. Since then regular service has been maintained. Notwithstanding the difficulties of travel preceding the opening of the railroad, the people had been coming in increasing thousands year by year. During the fifth year at least 40,000 came, and during the sixth year (1875) not less than 50,000. The natural expectations that with the advent of the railroad and the centennial year the attendance in 1876 would vastly exceed those of previous years were fully realized. The location of the passenger depot where it now stands was thought only to be a temporary arrangement, the expectation being that the Ocean Grove depot would ultimately be established opposite Ocean Grove upon the land purchased in 1875. From September 1, 1875, to September 1, 1876, which represented the first year of its existence, the receipts at the station were over $47,000. The railroad traffic steadily increased until in 1879 a close estimate indicated that not less than 50,000 pieces of baggage and express packages had been received; that at least 300,000 persons had come to Ocean Grove by rail, while 72 excursions had also arrived, and on one day these special trains had brought 8,000 persons. The coming of great numbers of excursionists added to the anxiety of the trustees. The excursionists accompanied by bands of music, as was then the custom, frequently arrived at hours of public worship, greatly disturbing the services; then, besides, they frequently made a picnic ground of the Auditorium, scattering the remnants of their picnic lunches over the seats and in the straw. The coming of mere pleasure-seekers, therefore, impelled only by curiosity, and who did not remain long enough to be impressed by their surroundings, was not encouraged. SUNDAY TRAINS The question of Sunday travel had exercised the minds of the founders of Ocean Grove from the beginning. The sanctity of the Sabbath was one of the fundamental principles upon which the place was founded. Numerous efforts from the outside had been made from time to time to change this, but the founders stood steadfastly against it. In 1879 this matter became a subject of correspondence between the railroad and the Association. (See Appendix.) The increasing railroad traffic, which in 1881 aggregated about 500,000 persons arriving at the depot during the months of June, July, August, and September, together with the increasing number of excursionists, brought forth favorable recommendation of the application by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for a grant of ground for a depot at or near the head of Fletcher Lake. The president admonished the Association, in whatever action was taken, to "never fail to guard with the utmost solicitude and rigidity the sacredness and sanctity of the holy Sabbath, or make any grant that will compromise the question." Sunday trains were first run in 1883. The trains did not stop at Ocean Grove, an exemption which it was expected the railroad company would continue "with all the sacredness of the highest moral obligation that can be imposed upon honorable men." Nevertheless, it was a source of profound regret to have the Sunday trains run through the Grove. In 1910-11 there was a new agitation for the stopping of Sunday trains at Ocean Grove station. The Association resisted "by all possible means the efforts to annul the existing contract by which railway trains were not permitted to stop at the main station in Asbury Park-Ocean Grove on the Sabbath day." In course of time a petition was sent from the Asbury Park Council to the Public Utilities Commission, recently created by the State. Legislature, which decided that "public interest demanded the stopping of all trains," and issued the order for them to do so beginning with November 1, 1911. An appeal was taken from this decision by the Ocean Grove Association, but this was decided adversely by the courts. In justice to the railway company it must be said, that while running Sunday trains elsewhere it stood by its agreement with the Association until obliged to do otherwise. POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION POLICE DEPARTMENT At the beginning the police force consisted mainly of men selected from the workmen, those who were found most intelligent and best adapted to the duties required of them. They were and always have been walking encyclopædias and general directories for the benefit of the visitors, and guardians for the children. With the advent of the railroad in 1876 and with additional travelers, it was thought well to employ during the winter a night policeman"a protection we have not hitherto taken❞—thus insuring careful protec |