By Levi Fox
Stockton University in Atlantic City has recently been at the center of several major tourism and heritage events of note. Last week when I went there to participate in one event, I ended up attending a second as well. I arrived early, so I had some time to see a new marine archeology exhibit that was recently relocated from the New Jersey Maritime Museum in Beach Haven to the main lobby of the Academic Building of Stockton’s AC campus. The exhibit notes the history of the Steamship Robert J. Walker, which served the United States Coast Survey from 1848 until sinking in 1860, off the Atlantic City coast, as well as the work done over the last decade by Stockton students to digitally map the wreckage. Moreover, marine archaeologist Stephen Nagiewicz, whose students worked on the project, presented a lecture on June 18 about the history of the Robert J. Walker and several other projects that are ongoing in the area, such as Revolutionary era shipwrecks in the Mullica River from the Battle of Chestnut Neck.
I was at Stockton to participate in a panel discussion on the concept of BLEISURE, a combination of the words Business and Leisure, that focuses on those traveling for business but looking to experience the leisure offerings of an area while there. The panel was organized by the Small Business Development Center, which is currently housed in Stockton’s Rothenberg Building, and included a representative from the university’s Levinson Institute on Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism (LIGHT) as well as myself and the current owner of Tripician’s Macaroons of Galloway. Given my interest in the heritage of iconic Atlantic City Boardwalk foods, I was especially interested in learning the history of Tripician’s, which was started on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in 1910 by Nicoli Tripiciano to sell iconic treats such as salt-water taffy as well as both almond and coconut macaroons, but later moved from the island to the mainland in 1979. The wide-ranging conversation focused on the idea of tourists seeking memorable experiences, but also included interesting recent data on tourist trends in Atlantic City offered by the LIGHT representative. We also talked about what the future holds for the AC Boardwalk, such as the economic potential of the proposed rule-change to allow open-containers of alcohol, and the planned expansion of Stockton in AC.
At the end of the panel, someone mentioned that at that moment was the unveiling of the sign for the new Atlantic City Boardwalk Holocaust Memorial that is set to be built at Roosevelt Plaza in front of Stockton Atlantic City’s residential building. After sneaking into the Fannie Lou Hamer Event Room– dedicated last year to the Civil Rights pioneer who campaigned for voting rights at the 1964 DNC in AC–to get a picture of a 3-D model of the memorial, I ran to the Boardwalk to catch the dedication itself that was already in progress. I arrived in time to see several speeches by local politicians and people directly involved in the long process of bringing a Holocaust Memorial to the Boardwalk, including a failed effort to building a monument at a pavilion across from the James Candy Factory and next to the Heart Walk, as well as the formal unveiling of the signage that shows what the future now holds for the memorial. While the size of the crowd for the mid-week event was impressive, the fact that it included high-level state politicians—and brought together individuals from across partisan divides for a common cause—demonstrates just how important remembering the lessons of the past is to many in our community.
The involvement of Stockton, which is home to one of the premiere Holocaust and Genocide Studies programs in the country, also shows the university’s dedication to providing public education on important historical topics. The expansion of Stockton in Atlantic City has also allowed for a renewed focus on the local history of the community, perhaps best shown in a three-part lecture series planned for July that is being hosted by Stockton’s Continuing Studies office. Taking place over three Tuesdays at 6 PM–from July 16 to July 30—the series begins with Ralph Hunter, the founder of the African-American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, talking about “The Northside and Social Movements.” The second session features Stockton’s Special Collections Librarian Heather Perez, creator of the Atlantic City Experience website and a truly engaging lecturer, talking about “Tourism and Entertainment,” while the final session features Boardwalk Empire author Nelson Johnson talking about “Power and Politics.”
Dr. Levi Fox holds a PhD in History from Temple and teaches at
Stockton. Levi is also Secretary of the Somers Point Historical
Preservation Commission and President of Jersey Shore Tours
