The West Jersey Cottages
- page 2
A side view of the West Jersey Cottage when it was on Winthrop, with our house next to it. Postmarked 1921.
The front mentions the Famous Corson's Inlet Fishing Grounds.
A view of Winthrop and the West Jersey Railroad train station. The station use to be where the car bridge is now. Post marked 1930s
Whitkamp's Wharf, Corson's Inlet NJ. Post marked 1908. This is a view of the beach on the bay in front of where the West Jersey Cottage
and the West Jersey Railroad station was located. That's the railway bridge in the background. The name should actually be Wittkamp.
A post card of fisherman at the West Jersey Cottage, sent to us by Glen Kranefeld
'A Day's catch by New York Fishermen at the West Jersey Cottage' - postcard from 1909
Carrie Wittkamp died in 1930, and
Gus died in 1935. They left the Hotel to their children Bertha
& Harlan. Harlan took over as manager of the hotel until
1944. To the left is an old brochure for the hotel from the late
1930's when it was managed by Harlan.
In 1944 a
terrible hurricane blew through the Jersey coast. The damage that
was done to the hotel was more than what the Wittkamps could
afford to repair. They sold what could be salvaged from the main
hotel building, and it was moved down the road to the main
intersection. That part of the hotel was rebuilt by new owners at
it's new location. It has seen many transformations since then,
from Ernie's Gas & Food to a deli, to it's current use as an
Italian Restaraunt.
The annex of the West Jersey Cottages has remained
intact and Bertha lived in the annex with her half-sister
Estelle, who was a widow, and I believe she was ill or disabled
too. The annex had been converted into 2 apartments. They lived
on one floor, and continued to rent out the other floor. After
Estelle died, Bertha moved into the tiny boathouse behind the
annex. It had been turned into an efficiency cottage. Bertha was
a Red Cross nurse (see her Red Cross buttons on the right) 
She
never married and she happily lived her entire life on the
island. Harlan married and moved just up the road. He worked as a
toll taker on the bridge and his wife was the postmaster for the
town. In 1982, Bertha decided to sell the annex of the West
Jersey Cottage, that's where we come into the story. We met 81
years old Bertha over breakfast at the Deauville Inn, on a Sunday
morning in March, 1982.
She didn't want to leave
her home, so she requested that she be allowed to continue to
live in the tiny cottage. The deal was made! Bertha lived the
rest of her life, on the island that she loved, with townspeople
who adored her. She was featured in the annual Strathmere 4th of
July Parade as the first baby born in Strathmere. The photo on
the left is a parade photo from the 1980's. And lucky us, we got
a great house! The house will be 100 years old this year.
It was a rainy day in
March 1982, when our friend Lynda, from the Deauville Inn, took
us through the house. Below on the left, is a photo taken on that
day when we saw the house for the first time.On the right is a
photo take in May, after we bought the house. We rebuilt the
'Widow's Peak' on the roof. It had long been gone, and the top
opening had been sealed up.
Attic
Treasures -
After buying our house, we found some old long-lost treasures
under the floorboards in the attic. On the left, is an old
matchbook cover with advertising for the West Jersey Cottages.
On the
right, is an old business card. Most of the face of the card has
been nibbled away by mice and by time. But part of the name and a
little of the photo still show.
To the left
- is an old tag and label from old suitcases or steamer trunks.
Both have the West Jersey logo on them.
On the right - Not
actually a found item, this was a bought item. It is a give-away
promotional puzzle for West Jersey Cottages, featuring the image
of a young Joan Crawford.
The view
of the bay and the flag on top of the hotel, from the roof of the
West Jersey Annex in the early 1900's. The picture on the right
is the view today. The railroad bridge has been replaced with a
toll bridge. Two other homes now stand where the hotel once was.<
Click
the links below to visit the rest of the site -
