Messages from the Sea is a collection of letters and notes found washed ashore on beaches and bobbing in water, in corked bottles and wax-sealed boxes, carved onto wreckage and in the bellies of sharks. They tell of foundering ships, missing ocean liners and shipwrecked sailors, and contain moving farewells, romantic declarations and intriguing confessions. Some solve the mysteries of lost vessels and crews, while others create new mysteries yet to be solved. Dating from a lost era of seafaring, they demonstrate the brave, lonely and fragile nature of life on the ocean waves. Included among these 100 messages are: a clue to the fate of the missing White Star liner Naronic; a murder confession found in a bottle off the White Cliffs of Dover; an update from John Franklin’s lost Arctic expedition; a poem about a newborn baby found inside an 11ft shark; an unlikely apology from fleeing fraudster Violet Charlesworth; evidence for the unnecessary loss of the steamship London with 220 souls; the truth behind the mysterious grave robbery of the Earl of Crawford; and a message from the deck of the sinking Titanic.

Have You Ever Lost Someone Close To Your Heart? Jane Harper never understood why her husband was taken from her at such an early age. But is anyone ever really ready for death? Jane was not ready to say goodbye that evening in the hospital, knowing that the life she once knew would be gone forever. Day after day, thoughts of Jimmy lingered in her mind. Two years after his passing, Jane finds herself somewhere between hurting and healing. Still living in a house that was once filled with so much love was now empty and cold. All that was left were the memories that hung on the walls and their unfinished to-do list. Jimmy was her best friend and learning how to live without him was the most difficult experience of her life. Being on a family vacation in Sea Isle City, NJ helps Jane realize that you can't live in the past, but sometimes the past helps you to remember how to live again. Jane reminisces with her family and friends about all of those memorable days and nights. Those endless summer nights are what led her to Jimmy: the best souvenir one could ask for. Jane is torn between holding on to a life that she once knew and searching for a sense of hope within herself. Jane cherishes those memories made with her girlfriends and longs to find the girl that she once was. Making new memories, with new friends along the way, will she find a second chance at happiness?

Take a fascinating journey through the history of Sea Isle City, New Jersey with more than 200 vintage photographs and anecdotes from the locals who experienced it. The founder of Sea Isle City, Charles K. Landis, was a man of action. He had a dream of what the ideal seashore resort should be. In the 1870s, his dream began to take shape. It has been said, Each age is a dream that is dying or a dream that is coming to life. This is the fascinating story of how Sea Isle City, located along the New Jersey coast in Cape May County, evolved. Sea Isle City is a pictorial tour of the founding and early history of this resort by the sea. Almost overnight the island town became accessible by railroad and by turnpike. Hotels and cottages appeared throughout the island. The Braca, Busch, Cronecker, Dever, Kehner, Pfieffer, and Rey families played a vital role in the growth of the town. Another family, the Hafferts, formed the Garden State Publishing Company, which contributed significantly to employment and economic stability. Commercial fishing became an important industry in the development of the town with the coming of the Hatmen at the beginning of the twentieth century. The influential people who shaped the community and countless other families, schoolchildren, and local legends are finally brought together in Sea Isle City. Author Michael F. Stafford, president of the Sea Isle City Historical Society, has lived his life in and around Sea Isle City. He is active in community affairs throughout Cape May County and has contributed numerous articles to South Jersey magazines.

The island eventually known as Sea Isle was first purchased by Joseph Ludlam in 1692 for use as a grazing pasture. The island changed almost overnight when Charles K. Landis purchased it in 1880, intent on creating a seaside resort. After adding a railroad and hotels, tourists soon followed. The boardwalk hosted beach parties; clam bakes; and bicycle, sack, and even motorcycle races. Wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the back bays, commercial fishing companies shared the waters with casual anglers. Recreational sailing, yacht racing, and sport fishing have long been popular with Sea Isles year-round residents and visitors alike. Sea Isle City Revisited showcases the rich maritime and recreational history of this New Jersey coastal town.

Since the early 1900s, when the first moving images flickered on the screens of storefront nickelodeons, going to the movies has been an integral part of life across America. By the 1950s, there were over 230 theaters in southern New Jersey, ranging from lavish palaces like the 2,000-seat Stanley in Camden to modest venues like the 350-seat Little in Haddonfield. Today, sadly, less than a dozen remain standing, and most of those are now used for other commercial purposes. Only the Broadway in Pitman continues to operate as the last of the original motion-picture palaces. South Jersey Movie Houses is a pictorial tour of the theaters that once raised their curtains to audiences across the southern part of the state. It offers a nostalgic look at their neon marquees and silver screens, bringing back memories of Saturday matinees, 3-D glasses, and movie date nights.