Typical Summer That Turned Into Patriotic
Games beeping and bells ringing and the sounds of riders yelling while going high in the sky, as the waves crash in the background.
These are the typical sounds on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights most summer days.
There's another sound that's about to become a daily occurrence on the boardwalk: the playing of the national anthem.
How it came to be
Sparked by a Facebook discussion over the weekend, Seaside Heights officials have decided to start playing the national anthem daily at 11 a.m. on the boardwalk beginning Friday.
Lori Fitzgerald, a Seaside Park resident, made the suggestion Sunday evening after a trip to Wildwood, where she heard the anthem played and watched in awe as everyone stopped to listen.
"At 11 a.m. every day in Wildwood the National Anthem is played on the boardwalk... You can hear a pin drop. I think it would be a great idea to do the same thing on the Seaside Heights boardwalk... Let's show everyone how blessed we feel to be a part of this great country! Thoughts? Comments?" she said in a post.
Borough administrator Christopher J. Vaz replied in the thread of comments, saying the playing of the anthem would begin this week:
"FYI, a technician from the company that sold the wireless speaker system to the Borough flew in this past week to help us troubleshoot problems we've been having with the speakers," Vaz said in the comment. "In the course of the service visit he also installed equipment that will now allow us to play prerecorded music. We will be starting our own National Anthem morning ritual Friday."
The ritual is not unique to Wildwood. In Ocean City, the Ocean City Boardwalk Club plays the national anthem as it raises a flag daily, a tradition that began in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
And in Cape May, Kate Smith's voice belts out "God Bless America" at sunset each evening at Diamond Beach, at the southern tip of the state.
"Others should want to do it," Melinda Owlett McCarthy said in comments on Fitzgerald's post. "Just make it a Jersey thing!"
Your Thoughts?
What do you think about the turn of events? Was it too dramatic and should’ve this event occurred sooner? Let us know in the comments below.
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