"In the 1930s and 1940s, local surfers had trouble staying in the ocean for more than a half-hour, due to the frigid Alaskan Current turning their skin blue and rubbery," writes columnist Ross Eric Gibson. "They resorted to second-hand sweaters, sometimes treated with oil (a nerdy look for surfers), but they preferred 1890s wool bathing suits, which were 15¢ each at Goodwill. Then in 1959, Jack O'Neill opened his Cowell Beach surf shop where Dream Inn now stands."
Older Boardwalk visitors may notice the blue ceiling girders inside Neptune’s Kingdom and fondly recall swimming in the Plunge. My own memories start in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I remember ducking into the Plunge through the colonnade entrance (where Laffing Sal is now), walking past the attendant and climbing the stairs to the spectators’ […]