Devotion to the Ocean

Devotion to the Ocean

I love visiting the ocean.  Who doesn't?   Beach combing, playing in the sand, jumping in the water if it's not too cold.

When I was 5 we lived near the ocean in Long Branch, New Jersey.  My sister was 7 and we loved going to the beach on weekends with our parents.  Below is a 1950's photo of the beach showing the Long Branch Pier.  The pier was destroyed in a fire in 1987.  Note the seven rocky breakwaters extending out into the sea.  They are supposed to stop beach sand erosion.  They were scary to walk on.

The Beach and pier at Long Branch, New Jersey, 1950's
Photo Source: Link

My dad took this photo near the beach in 1953 from a hotel at Asbury Park, NJ. It's just north of Long Branch.  We had just arrived from Vienna on a U.S. Navy ship.

"Blick vom Hotel zum Meer, Asbury Park, NJ 1953"

Here is another photo of the Long Branch beach and pier circa 1950.

Long Branch beach and pier circa 1950.

My dad took this photo of me and my sister Johanna, standing on one of the breakwater piers.

My sister Johanna and me on the breakwater.
Long Branch Beach, 1954

Here is my mom Erna at age 32 in New Jersey.

Erna Kordesch, 1954

We lived at Prospect Terrace Apartments at the corner of North Bath Avenue and Prospect Street.

Every day I played in the sandbox with my best friend "Wolfi."  I'm pretty sure that's him with his parents on the left.

Center: Erna, Right: Johanna and Albert.
Long Branch, 1954

Our rented apartment was one mile from the Atlantic.  It was a long walk.  We usually went by car.


Below is a photo of our apartment, the white building on the right.  My mom wrote on the back: "Bath Avenue leads directly to the Atlantic Ocean."  This is in spring of 1954.  The trees are full of  blossoms!


Here it is today.



I started Kindergarten while my sister Jo was in second grade.  We spoke no English!  Our school was the Catholic Star of the Sea school at 179 Chelsea Avenue.  Mom walked us to and from school every day.

Star of the Sea School (Lyceum) circa 1950.

The school building was built in 1900 and has been empty since 1989.   It was auctioned off in 2015 for $770,000 to a developer.  It's four blocks from the ocean.
Here it is today.

Star of the Sea School, Long Branch, New Jersey 2017
[Google Maps]

For Christmas my sister and I got bicycles!

Christmas tree with "Lebcuchen" cookies in Long Branch, New Jersey 1954

We were immigrants in the middle of American post-war boom.  Karl was proud to own a Motorola television (black and white) and a Chevrolet, but we did not have a telephone.  I remember he had a Rolleiflex camera like this one.  It had a leather cover with a shoulder strap.  My dad processed his own film and developed prints in the kitchen.

Rolleiflex T Tessar 3.5 twin lens reflex camera rollei TLR, 1950

Here is another photo of our Austrian style Christmas tree hung with cookies shaped like rings.

Our Christmas tree hung with cookies
Long Branch New Jersey 1954

The American middle class was doing very well.  About 50% of households already had a telephone.



Here we are riding our new bikes the next day after Christmas.  I had training wheels, but not for long!

Albert and Johanna riding bikes at our apartment complex, 1954

Here's another one.  Look at our rolled-up jeans!

Johanna and Albert riding bikes in our apartment complex, 1954

My dad bought a car.  It was a 1949 Chevrolet, the same age as me.

That's My sister Johanna (6), our mom Erna (32), me (4) and our 1949 Chevrolet. 

Long Branch, New Jersey, 1953.

Here we are on an outing, early spring, 1954.  Johanna made a bouquet of thistles.

Albert, Erna, and Johanna, 1954.

My younger sister Kitty was born in New Jersey in 1954.  Here she is!  Nobody looks happy about it.

Johanna, Erna holding Kitty, and Albert 1954.

I went back to visit New Jersey in August, 2015 with my wife and daughter.  Here is the beach at Sandy Hook, about 10 miles north of Long Branch.  The water was perfect for swimming.

Kristina and Sharon at Sandy Hook Beach, NJ
This is about 45 miles south of Manhattan.

I remember we used to find horseshoe crabs on the beach.  They are very creepy-looking crabs.  They are actually more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than to crabs.

Atlantic Horseshoe Crab at Sandy Hook, NJ

If you want to see horseshoe crabs mating and laying eggs, there is a very interesting 3-minute video by National Geographic.    https://youtu.be/-55qGCHx1lE

Here is another one, a baby!

Baby Atlantic Horseshoe Crab at Sandy Hook, NJ

Like many Austrians, I guess I fell in love with the ocean as a kid.

The ocean is absolutely fascinating.   I go to the beach every chance I get.  I love to photograph all the sea creatures and since 2017 I have been collecting my observations on the "iNaturalist" website. (free!)  https://www.inaturalist.org/people/al_kordesch


Love of the ocean is a good thing to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

If they love it, they will understand it and take good care of it.