Sea, Sand and Pines

James Halifkos' Current Project

NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!

1. Clammer's Odyssey*...................................................2:11

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The shellfish industry in New Jersey has been under siege for as long as I can remember. Increasing population, industry and use of the water ways has all had an adverse effect. This song is the story of a fictional clammer, who is a composite character of several people I have met.

2. From the Hook to the Cape.........................................3:17

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Now I am proud to say that I was born in South Amboy, New Jersey and was raised in and around the Raritan Valley. When I was a boy I had wonderful uncles who told me stories about the 'Jersey' shore, the farms and the Indians. Loving the bays and shore, I can boast that I have probably visited every mile of our New Jersey Coast, but it wasn't until the last few summers did I begin to learn just how rich in history this area really is. The Revolutionary war, Privateers, Pirates and SHIPWRECKS: our coast was not the wonderful summer retreat that we know to the sailing ship traveler. Seeing our coast probably evoked mixed feelings to that traveler, because he or she knew they could loose their life just as they approached their destination. Yes, our coast is riddled with shipwrecks and this song is an introduction to the topic.

3. Terrible Sunday.........................................................3:12

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Imagine a jumbo jet crashing off the beach along Surf City, New Jersey: 350 People Die! A ship carrying that many people ran aground there in the last century, however, death did not come in a sudden fiery crash, but in slow agonizing horror from the cold pounding sea. This is just one shipwreck...there were many, many more. This song and the preceding song were inspired by the book: The Lure of Long Beach Island written by Charles Edgar Nash. There are many more such books you can purchase (NJ State Park Museums . . .), or borrow from your local Public Library

4. The Wests of Catawba..............................................2:37

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If you spend a little time browsing through the books written about South Jersey history, you will come across several versions of the mystery of the West family of Catawba. There is a blue historic sign along Route 559 between Mays Landing and English Creek, proclaiming that the patch of woodland there as the former site of the Catawba Methodist church (founded by George West). While accounts vary, there seems to be little doubt that something terrible occurred there: so terrible that the town had become a ghost town, after the events outlined in my song.

5. Pineland Love*........................................................3:15

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Traveling from Green Bank north on Route 563, before you reach Chatsworth, you will cross the point where the Wading River and the Shoal Branch meet; that is Speedwell. There is at least one building remaining of the Pine Barren town where gradual decline was expedited by a forest fire. In this song I imagine past romantic moments in the pines.

6. Trains Through the Pines........................................4:34

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Now many people love trains; and there are many train songs, but this one, kind-of mixes in a hint of pine-land culture and a ghost story. I am old enough to remember steam engines and there wonderful sounds, especially in the night. When I travel throughout southern New Jersey, I notice old right-of-ways, crossings, stations and so on. Oh and there are still the operational trains running from Bayhead up toward the urban areas to the north and elsewhere to watch, but it was the past that fired my imagination. I read a dusty old book written by John Brinckmann, titled The Tuckerton Railroad; as I read I could remember those trains passing in the night, or puffing and clanking by as my grandfather held my hand.

7. Bandits in the Pines*............................................3:25

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I could write an entire book about these pineland characters and indeed there is a great deal of literature on the subject. I merely wet your appetite with this song which highlights the colorful the "bad guys" of the South Jersey pines.

8. Let's Go to Tucker's Island........................................3:02

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If one travels to the very end of Great Bay Boulevard in Little Egg Harbor Township (Near Tuckerton), New Jersey on a balmy afternoon, one may notice a peculiar gathering of small craft on what appears to be a sand bar, just south of Long Beach Island. The sand bar is actually an island that had been devoured by the Atlantic earlier this century, and is now reemerging. That island may indeed have been the first New Jersey shore resort (existing as such over two centuries ago). Now that it seems to be returning, the local folk now use it as a picnicking site. A trip to the library yielded an old article by James S. Brown published in The Asbury Park Press, Sunday October 15, 1967. From this article and some other tidbits of information found in our local School House Museum, I was inspired to write this song.

9. Massacre on LBI.......................................................2:58

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Four years after the Affair at Egg Harbor, another event occurred costing twenty five patriot lives: The slaughter of Captain Steelman and his crew of the galley Alligator, by Captain Bacon and his band of Tories. These brave privateers from Cape May are commemorated by monuments at Chestnut Neck and Barnegat Light, New Jersey. The later the site of the tragedy. The song tells the story, and the response of the people of New Jersey to the event. Yes, the drama involved people from many familiar state locations: Burlington, Cape May, Manahawkin, Cedar Bridge, Tuckerton and Barnegat Light. . . The story also sheds light on just how uneasy life in our State could be in those days: Patriot and Tory enclaves created a dangerous landscape for the people, especially travelers, of the time.

10. Molly Pitcher..........................................................2:40

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Some accounts claim that Molly Pitcher actually lived and did what the stories tell, while others state the name is a symbolic representation of a group of women. Indeed my readings reveal that a number of "Molly Pitchers" could, and probably did, exist. But, I do believe there was one particularly heroic Molly Pitcher, and this song is her story.

11. Affair at Egg Harbor................................................4:04

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Not more than a mile from my home is a monument erected by the first War Veterans group in the U.S.: The Society of the Cincinnati. There in Little Egg Harbor Township (the area once known as, or part of, Egg Harbor) is the site where forty men of Brigadier General Casmire Pulaski's army lost their lives fighting for our freedom. The British operation in the area lasted ten days, during which time, Chestnut Neck, homesteads along the Mullica and Bass Rivers, and various other targets were attached by British Regulars and Tories. It would have been much worse had not General Pulaski and his forces arrived to defend the area around Tuckerton. George L. Czurlanis of Little Egg Harbor Township, has founded the Affair at Egg Harbor Historical Society; this small organization has kept the site from oblivion. The site has been spared development mainly through George's efforts and his personal resources. He has managed to preserve this hallowed ground for posterity for now. If you care to help, write me at the address listed with this album and I will help you get more information.

12. Pirates or Privateers...............................................2:18

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Many of us, young or old, have at one time or another been fascinated by pirate stories. New Jersey fits prominently in the history of these maritime characters. There are numerous references and books written on the subject just waiting for you to read; this song is a light hearted tale about those colorful adventurers, during the time of our war for independence. If you were English in those days, why they were traitors, bandits, rebels . . . Pirates! If you were a Patriot, they were heroes, comrades . . . Privateers! Perhaps when the war was over the majority of them continued their ways and were plain ol' Pirates, perhaps not.

13. Made a Livin' Workin' on the Bay............................5:00

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While growing-up in the towns in and around the Raritan Valley in the central part of the State, my family, (especially my uncles) told me stories of how wonderful the Raritan Bay fisheries once were. In my time I have only witnessed the fading of that past and the insidious process creeping ever southward. This song is a poetic reflection of the changes caused by population growth and industrialization, that have had a negative impact on New Jersey's waters. Yes there has been some success in stopping the destruction, and even some reversing of the demise, yet it seems apparent that less people are earning their living from our waters. So here's a song for my friend Jeff Pharo a Clammer (a native of Tuckerton), and to the other Baymen, Fisherman, Lobsterman and the like of New Jersey. You can discover more about the people and their way of life along our shore and backwaters, through your local library, or by exploring places like the Baymen's Museum in Tuckerton, New Jersey.

14. In Albert Hall......................................................2:27

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For over twenty-five years folks have been gathering on Saturday nights in Waretown, N. J. area to sing and pick. The tradition started and continued, first out at the Alberts' place, then the auction hall on Route 9 that burned down in 1992, then the A. Priff Elementary School, until finally in January 1997 a new music hall. The new music hall was designed and built specifically for the purpose: the song tells the rest.