By Karen Bruno
March 13th
1880 – The Mays Landing Record reported that Prof J.W. Ashborn would soon begin frescoing Al Smith’s new hotel on Peck’s Beach and predicted that he would soon have a lot of work after others saw his work. Ocean City was established on Peck’s Beach the previous fall and would soon be open for its first summer.
March 14th
2010 – The sixth annual Cape May County Transportation Infrastructure Conference took place that week and once again, the Beesley’s Point Bridge was a hot topic. The owners of the bridge were given $900,000 in 1997 by the state to keep the bridge open for 20 years. After the bridge closed in 2004 because of safety concerns, the county sued the state hoping to get the bridge open again. As a compromise, the state sold the bridge to the county for $1 in 2009. Though plans to repair the bridge in 2010 were discussed, the bridge was dismantled between 2013 and 2016.
March 15th
2000 – Workers dismantled the Wild Wonder Roller Coaster on Wonderland Pier. Governor Christine Whitman christened the new roller coaster that spring, but after a malfunction of one of the cars caused the death of a mother and daughter that summer, the Gillian family promised that the ride would be taken down. The fatalities were the first ever to occur on an amusement ride in the resort.