Weird, Wonderful New Jersey
Libby Copeland
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 30, 2004; 2:00 p.m ET
Other states have their eccentricities, but few have New Jersey's reputation. Think of New Jersey and think of girls shoving past each other in nightclubs. Think of roadside diners with Greco-Roman facades and mauve vinyl seats. Think of all those 30-year-old guys living in their mothers' basements, working out every night, cornering other guys in bars and asking them to step outside. Hence, Weird N.J. was born -- a magazine dedicated to exploring the state's oddities.
Washington Post staff writer Libby Copeland will be online Wednesday, June 30 at 2 p.m. ET, to discuss her article about the magazine and the state that makes it possible, Weird N.J., Celebrating The Odd State of Mind.
Submit your questions and comments before or during today's discussion.
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Libby Copeland: Hi there, all. This is an open invitation to all conspiracy theorists and lovers of urban legends. Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran, the creators of WeirdNJ magazine, spend their working lives chronicling the strange goings-on in their stat, recording people's ghost sitings and weird habits. I'd love to hear your stories, if you have them. That haunted house up the road? Tell me about it. I'm also curious to know if people from elsewhere think their home states are weirder than NJ.
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New York, N.Y.:
Dear Ms. Copeland:
You make no mention of the geneology of "Weird" studies, specifically Jim Brandon's 1978 cult classic "Weird America," which was an homage to Charles F. Lummis' "Some Strange Corners of Our Country" (New York, 1898). Mr. Brandon wrote under a pseudonym and was himself a mysterious character. His book is similar in spirit and tone to the work you described in your article on Weird New Jersey. For example an excerpt for Freewood Acres, "(7 mi. N of Lakewood on U.S. 9.) This small community of central New Jersey is home to a virtually unknown colony of Mongolian Kalmucks who are followers of Tibetan Buddhism. There are reports that some of the stringy-bearded elders are adepts of the legendary Bon wizardry of Tibet and can perform wondrous feats." Weird America, p.14. Did the authors of Weird New Jersey and Weird U.S. mention the work of Jim Brandon?
Regards.
Libby Copeland: Here's the most erudite reader I've yet had. No, I haven't rea tha book--it sounds fascinating. There's another book I've heard about called Roadside America, devoted to all those strange signs and motels and truck stop diners you see. I think one of the coolest things about NJ--which I wasn't able to touch on too much in the story--is the number of diners there are. Great old silver diners, great diners from the '80s, fancy diners, low-down diners, diners with signs missing.
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Linden, N.J.:
You tease the state and it gives you the finger? No! New Jerseyans are wonderful and very friendly people. Perhaps our attitude may stem because we are the most densely populated state in the nation and we are trying to discourage getting even more dense than we are. Thus New Jersey jokes but in reality it is a wonderful state with many scenic pleasures. Do come visit!
Libby Copeland: I do like New Jersey. But have you noticed how tough New Jerseyans are? And I mean that in the best possible sense. Mark Sceurman, one of the publishers of the magazine, said it best when he described NJ as one big highway--everyone from elsewhere is driving over, under and through it. It is the Garden state, of course--consider all the tomatoes you've eaten that were grown in NJ. Sceurman invoked Trenton's motto (Trenton makes, the world takes). There's a sense among some Jerseyans, I think, that NJ is not as appreciated as it should be. It has a bad rep, but Jerseyans just keep on trucking, taking the good with the bad.
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Arlington, Va.:
If people from New Jersey are so tough, why can't they pump their own gas?
Libby Copeland: Ooooh, that's low.
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Monmouth County, N.J. (originally):
Great article today. I have driven past the house on Route 40 with the milk jugs many many times on my way to the shore (never the beach -- it's THE SHORE!). I loved it when she use to use food coloring in the water in the jugs! Alas, I'm a purist, and painted jugs are not quite the same.
I have often extolled the hidden virtues of New Jersey to my boyfriend from Mississippi... alas this article has set me back a tad, but hey, we are a long way being as bad as that hellhole! (he'll be reading this)
Libby Copeland: Yes, the beloved Milk Jug Lady used to use food coloring and water in her milk jugs, but that got to heavy (each milk jug weighs a gallon filled with water) so she switched to painting them and putting in a little kitty kitter to keep them from being blown over.
She was quite remarkable. She's ben making these lawn displays for 35 years. My favorite to hear about was the 75-foot rainbow with Mickey and Minnie in the middle. She said soe mean teenagers ran through it with their car once.
Mississippi-there's a state you could write weird things about. What are the other weirdest states? WVa, of course....plus Arkansas? Louisiana? California? Utah? There seems to be a high correlation between weird states and poor states.
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Little Rock, Ark.:
I was always partial to the local Arkansas legend of Boggy Creek. Bigfoot type monster, nice and shaggy -- subject of (at least) two gloriously awful monster movies. What exactly IS the Jersey Devil supposed to be? I've heard various descriptions from a prehistoric tiger (presumably confused with the Tasmanian Devil) to a yeti-type thing.
Libby Copeland: Come one, come all, tell us your Jersey Devil stories. One legend says that many, many years ago, some woman, who'd alrady had 12 children, became pregnant with a 13th. She cursed it, saying, "I wish that God would make ye a Devil!" or something suitably old-fashioned like that.
And he came out, and he was. I think he's mostly a southern NJ phenom.
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San Francisco, Calif.:
I also grew up in Essex County (Cedar Grove) and also remember the Heartbeat Road story.
On a recent visit back to New Jersey, I was struck by how well the area has aged, it seems like a very warm, diverse, and refreshingly wacky place, compared to the conservative, kind of stagnant place I remember from my youth.
Also, people will start conversations with you, something that is sometimes frowned on out here in California. I miss that.
But anyway, how can one subscribe to this magazine or get back issues? Do these guys have a Web site?
washingtonpost.com:
weirdnj.com
Libby Copeland: Did you ever drive by Heartbeat road? Supposedly, the "heartbeat" sound was caused by a pumping station.
So had NJ changed, or had you?
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Alexandria, Va.:
How does New Jersey compare to some of the D.C./Baltimore region's monuments to the odd, such as the American Dime Museum, the Freak Show at Walter Reed (the Museum of Science and Medicine, or whatever it is), Vera's White Sands in Lusby, Md., and, of course, John Waters' Baltimore.
Is the difference that we create temples to the weird, whereas Jerseyans just are weird?
Libby Copeland: I know Balto less well than I'd like to. For example, I haven't been to Vera's White sands. However, if I remember correctly, I think our movie critic Stephen Hunter wrote a brilliant piece on Baltimore some years back.
For my money, the best freak show museum is the Mutter in Philly. Filled with swollen colons, skeletons with elephantiasis, babies in formaldeyde.
The cool thing about Walter Reed was that at ne point they had plasticized organs--real organs that had ben injected with a substance that allowed you to touch them. Yummy!
New Jersey is wonderfully unselfconscious about itself. Correction: it's self-aware, but it doesn't care what anyone thinks.
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Washington, D.C.:
What do you have against New Jersey? First the guidos, now the weirdos? Nothing any stranger than what crawls out of D.C.
Also, a gallon is a measure of volume, not weight. A gallon of milk, by the way, weighs a bit more than 8 pounds.
Libby Copeland: I totally disagree. NJ is gallons more weird than DC.
Re the gallon thing: Thank you. You are smarter than me.
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Pittsburgh, Pa.:
What memories this article brought back! I grew up in Newark and went to college at Rutgers (New Brunswick) and heard a lot of these stories, particularly the one about the New Jersey Devil.
While I was at Rutgers, I heard a story about a ghost of a former student who supposedly wanders the Douglass College campus. Have you heard that?
Libby Copeland: That Rutgers thing sounds familiar--I think I saw something about it on a NJ message board. There are, by the way, numerous message boards devoted to discussing Weird NJ phenoms. (Email me at copelandl@washpost.com if you want me to send 'em to you.)
What's your NJ Devil story?
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Re: Arlington's comment about pumping gas:
While you are standing outside on a cold, rainy day, pumping your own gas, New Jerseyans are warm and comfortable in their cars, listening to the radio. I don't know about tough, but obviously, we are smarter.
Libby Copeland: You tell em.
I personally like having my gas pumped for me, though on Sunday afternoons the lines at Molly Pitcher or whatever are always soooo long.
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Little Rock, Ark.:
Arkansas ain't weird. Just 'cause you never ate any barbecued eagle or deep fried squirrel, don't be hatin'.
Now, if you said we was ignorant, that'd be a different story.
Libby Copeland: Oh yeah? You ever eaten deep-fried squirrel?
Hah! Silence!
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Bunny Bridge:
Anyone else know about the "Bunny Bridge" in Northern Virginia? (I think Fairfax-ish) There's a stone railroad bridge of sorts on this small dead end road. Legend has it that a man dressed like the Easter bunny killed children there. There's also another variation that two men escaped from a mental institution. One man killed the other and lived off of rabbits in the woods around there. Hence "the Bunny man."
At one point someone had spray-painted "Bunny Back for Blood" inside the tunnel. Sounds silly now, but when I was in high school everyone made trips there and it scared the beejeebus out of everyone.
Apparently since my high school days they've put a surveillance camera in there and it made it to national TV as a "haunted place."
Anyone else know about this? washingtonpost.com:
Bunny Man Bridge in Clifton, Va.
Libby Copeland: Of course. It makes perfect sense for a murderer to dress like the Easter bunny. No doubt he lured them in with Peeps.
A surveillance camera trained on a bridge? Sounds like great TV.
Let's hear more! Any other Fairfaxites? I grew up in NY, on the Hudson River, and sad to say, we didn't have too many good suburban legends. There was a place where Son of Sam had satanic rituals, but that wasn't a rumor--it really happened.
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North Mount Vernon, Va.:
Did you point out that all Jerseyites are wierd in different ways? Pineys may be wierd, but the are definitely different from those of us who grew up weird outside of Philly.
My wife grew up about four miles from the mafia compound. Tom Kean lived in the area, also.
I haven't seen the paper version yet. I hope you provided a map so I can track my own way to all these wonderful cultural attractions.
Libby Copeland: Interesting. Okay, so tell me about how they're different. Pineys more rural seeming?
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Ripon, Wis.:
Cheers and hurrah for Mark and Mark and Weird N.J. -- here's from a cheesehead in Wisconsin that enjoys the publication. Other people have tried to seek out the bizarre in their own states, but those efforts fall far short of Weird N.J. Must be because of the guys' dedication or else there's more material in New Jersey than one could imagine! Thanks, Libby, for bringing attention to this well done regional publication.
Libby Copeland: See, you don't hafta be from NJ to appreciate its wonders.
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Chicago, Ill.:
Is it just me, or is New Jersey the most self-obsessed state in the union? When my roommate in college claimed that a sausage and egg breakfast sandwich was "Jersey" I knew those people can't get over themselves.
Libby Copeland: Hahaha. Theres a lot of pride there. Speaking of which, had a good pepper and egg sandwich at a place called Bowers County Palace about 40 mins from Atlantic City when I was up there. It's a country music joint. The place was completely empty, and a sign on the wall advertised psychic readings. And, as I wrote in ym story, the sole dessert item on the menu was "Jell-o shots" for $1. I mean, jello shots are a dessert item?
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Pittsburgh, Pa.:
Actually, I didn't hear much about the Jersey Devil until I went to college. Being from north Jersey, you didn't hear much about south Jersey stuff. Anyway, the story was that this woman had given birth to this child that looked like a monster, so she abandoned him in the Pine Barrens, and he would therefore spend the rest of eternity roaming the area, terrorizing people, especially younger folks. As I recall, one of the fraternities on campus (and this was back in the late 70s when I was a student) would take their pledges to the Pine Barrens in the middle of the night, after telling them the story, and then leaving them there to find their way back to campus on their own.
Libby Copeland: Darn. That's harsh.
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Alexandria, Va.:
Here is my New jersey Devil story. They won three Stanley Cups in nine years. That's not weird is just great!
Libby Copeland: !!!
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Boston, Mass.:
Hi Libby, I'm a huge fan of your work. I was wondering if you had shown the two Marks in this story your story about New Jersey Guidos from last year (you wrote that, right?). Have they done much exploring of the Jersey shore, and did you find any parallels in writing those two stories? Are you becoming The Post's reporter who covers the beat of off-the-beaten-path New Jersey?
Libby Copeland: I mentioned the Guido story to them. That was a piece I wrote about a bunch of guys who've made it their mission to reclaim the word "Guido" from its derogatory status, to make the term stand in for all they believed in--beautiful bodies, long nights of partying, a carefree lifestyle.
I've written other stories from Jersey--including the Miss America Pageant last year and a profile of Rabbi Neulander about 4 years ago. (He's the fellow convicted of hiring hitmen to kill his wife.)
I think after this, I'll have to lay off the Jersey stories for awhile. It's just such a rich state!
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Vienna, Va.:
According to Wierd NJ there is a Midgetville in New Jersey. I read recently that Vienna is thinking of mowing down our Midgetville and putting up what else, but large houses that won't fit in with the neighborhood. Growing up in Vienna, we used to go check out Midgetville on occasion, and it does exist, however I was always too scared to go very close and get a good look at the places. Legend has it that the people that live there don't like strangers.
Libby Copeland: Were the houses really small? Did you see any of the inhabitants?
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McLean, Va.:
I just have to mention that I think Texans are more self obsessed than people from New Jersey, although they aren't far behind.
Libby Copeland: Why's that?
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Arlington, Va.:
I used to live in Jersey and had a teacher who was a Piney. He told me there are more ghost towns and abandoned factories in the Pine Barrens than anywhere else in the country. Apparently, there used to be some sort of glass-blowing boom there around the turn of the century and other industries as well, that would use the readily available water.
Libby Copeland: Abandoned buildings are fascinating. The two Marks do a lot of stories about them--especially abandoned mental institutions, which (if you read their magazine) seem about as common in NJ as cicadas did down here a month back.
The problem, of course, is trespassing. They don't give exact addresses for private properties, and they warn people not to trespass, but of course people do.
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Washington, D.C.:
Former Monmouth County Person here, too! Libby do you secretly wish you were born in New jersey, maybe if you write nice things we will let you in our club. Go Devils!
Libby Copeland: Nothing would make me happier.
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Alexandria, Va.:
The weirdest thing about New Jersey? Having to go right to make a left-hand turn.
I married a guy from South Jersey. I make him drive when we go visit his parents; otherwise we end up in Philly.
Libby Copeland: I know! I know! What's that about? Is that not the most irritating thing ever? I always forget.
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McLean, Va.:
If New Jersey is so well off, why don't they have any good state universities? I don't mean to insult Rutgers, but it's clearly not big enough. All of our colleges and universities in Virginia are FLOODED with New Jerseyans, and I know its like that in Maryland and Pennsylvania and probably New York and a lot of other places as well. It seems with all the money they are collecting on taxes and tolls they should be able to invest in a better system of higher education.
Libby Copeland: We should be glad. We get to go to school with cool New jerseyans.
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Somerset, N.J.:
I dispute the premise... New Jersey just isn't very weird. I mean, WAVERS counting as weird? That's stretching it -- a lot. New Jersey just has too much turnover and activity to generate the kind of abandonment and memories that true weirdness requires. Some of the larger and less wealthy states are far weirder. New Jersey:
No hermits
Few inbred, isolated communities
Few fundamentalist isolationists of any religion
Few abandoned towns that haven't been turned into cute exhibits
Few abandoned industries or endeavors (e.g. no relics of a gold rush)
Few caves
The great outdoors here is welcoming rather than threatening (it's hard to get lost even at the Delaware Water Gap).
The rush of immigrants disguises or distracts from true weirdness. If you're already living in imperial Rome, it's just another ethnic group.
The weather, much as we malign it, is relatively benign in New Jersey.
You can find so much more weirdness in a state like Missouri or Kentucky or even Ohio. I have been on some very weird, long, roads to nowhere in that state!
That said, the weirdness in New Jersey is more a drugged-up commercialism. Remember the old Route 1 flea market with its disembodied voices coming over the speaker system? But it's gone. The weirdest place in the state? The Amboy Multiplex cut off by the Driscoll/Victory bridges. The garish lit up bridges and ceaseless roar of traffic way up above, the feeling of being on the edge of the world (as you look into the really dark waving rushes stretching endlessly in the other direction), the lines of people snaking in all directions, the horrible sound system blaring incomprehensible music. It's like a Bosch painting of hell. I avoid it.
Libby Copeland: Wow. You should've written this story. I love your description of the multiplex. I haven't been there.
Okay, your vote for weirdest state, Somerset?
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Former Jersey Girl:
I don't think I would qualify this as "weird", but the state has two separate "regions": "North Jersey" -- get their TV and radio from New York, etc and South Jersey" -- get their TV and radio from Philly. I remember (as a north girl) referring to folks from (the south) as "hicks." Silly! As a matter of fact, I think years and years ago there was an informal movement to create two separate New Jerseys, with the state line being somewhere in Middlesex County.
Libby Copeland: Yeah. There are places in Jersey that feel like the south.
Has anyone ever bene to Sea Breeze, "the most desolate place in New Jersey?" It sounds amazing. 10-12 crumbling houses on stilts, not one living person, only dogs who attack your car.
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Re: Midgetville in Virginia:
Row of very small houses off a dirt road in the middle of Vienna. Never saw any inhabitants (or got close enough too), just small houses.
Libby Copeland: Neato.
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washingtonpost.com:
Libby's article on Guido culture: Strutting Season, (Post, July 6, 2003)
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Pittsburgh, Pa.:
Since it seems like a lot of folks on the chat USED to live in New Jersey, here's an interesting question: If you could move back, would you?
My answer: No.
Libby Copeland: Whyzzat?
Pittsburgh is superior?
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Arlington, Va.:
Jug-handle turns (going right to turn left) may be confusing for the uninitiated, but it really makes a lot of sense. You never get cars waiting to make left turns backing up the turn lane and into the regular lane to stop traffic. It makes the actual turning easier, because you're not worrying about as much oncoming traffic (since the roads you turn onto are smaller than the roads you are turning off of). I miss jug-handle turns!
Libby Copeland: It seems to take longer to make a left--or is that just my perception?
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Alexandria, Va. -- Former N.J. Resident:
I grew up in central New Jersey for the first 18 years of my life. I am proud of my home state, I am not a Guido, I did not drive a Camaro or Trans-Am, I do not have an accent. I grew up at the Jersey Shore and truly resent my beautiful state always being portrayed by The Washington Post as a "weird" or badly sterotyped dump, filled with Guidos who, by the way, are mostly from New York. I ask have you ever been to the horse farms in Colts Neck, or Island Beach State Park? See the true Garden State and report on the real people who live there and who love the state. With the popularity of "The Sopranos" and the major media outlets headquarted outside New Jersey, no wonder the east coast media never bash their own home states. You media folks make New Jersey your stomping ground because you don't fear a backlash, you are not headquarted there. Give me a break, your report could have been about any state in the union. New Jersey has some unique features, yes, and the citizans of the great state are proud of them, but why spin it in such a negative way as you did in your article as a con against New Jersey? The Washington Post needs to stop bashing New Jersey.
Libby Copeland: Hafta post this.
Point(s) taken.
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Washington, D.C.:
Since I am orginally from New Jersey and a fan of Weird N.J. I was thrilled to see your article today. I've e-mailed back, proudly, to my brothers who live in New Jersey telling them the magazine we all love made it in The Washington Post. I also own the book and have given it to others orginally from the state as a gift! Thanks for sharing this great New Jersey story with everyone.
Libby Copeland: It is a hilarious magazine. You have to weed through some to find the good stuff.
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Fairfax, Va. (and N.J. for college!):
I just had to join in when I saw the Bunny Bridge comment! I've never written in before (although I read these all the time). I've heard both legends and yes, people used to visit in high school. I always refused to go. But I also heard that if while there you say Bunnyman three times, he'll show up. I'm not surprised about the surveillance -- my friends said whenever they showed up, police were there pretty soon after.
Libby Copeland: I'm trying it now. Do you have to stand on the bridge while you say it? If you say it inside a cubicle at 15th and L NW, will the Bunnyman show up?
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Lexington, Ky.:
I can't wait to see the TV show of "Weird NJ" (assuming it ever happens). A fun travel show (produced by the PBS station in Kansas City) is Rare Visions & Roadside Revelations -- I don't know if they ever made it as far as New Jersey.
I'm a big fan of roadside attractions -- the best thing about living in Kentucky is being less than two hours away from the fabulous Wigwam Village. It's a series of 14 cement white-painted "wigwam" motel rooms all in a circle. Too fun.
Libby Copeland: They have shot a pilot for the History Channel called Weird US....as yet, no show just on NJ.
Mmmm, cement hotel rooms. Sounds classy.
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Amboy Multiplex!:
OMG! That use to be a drive-in theater and they use to run X-rated movies. You could see the screen from the Parkway and Rt 35. The traffic would bottleneck for miles as people passed by. My parents made us put our heads down when we came up to the theater! HAHA!
Libby Copeland: A drive in porn theater? Will wonders never cease?
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Monmouth County (originally):
Would I move back? Heck no. The taxes and car insurance are too high. And also NJ has been overrun with New Yorkers. Ick!
Libby Copeland: Hahahah.
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Washington, D.C.:
I've just move to D.C. from Cherry Hill, N.J., and I am already missing the oddities that make my home-state not just famous but infamous. Of course I often thought that I was the only person who could possibly get excited when a car with Jersey plates speeds past me on the Beltway in order to cut me off, but I suppose maybe I'm not. What is your history with the great state of Jersey and what brought your attention to Weird NJ?
Be advised I refrained from sharing my Jersey Devil story (everyone has one).
Libby Copeland: I can't claim to be from NJ, sadly, but I just think it's the coolest place. It's such a varied state, with so many different types of terrain and lifestyle, and accent, and attitude. Also, it has a lot of strip malls and I love strip malls. I'm not making fun; I really do like them.
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Pittsburgh, Pa.:
My wife and I have been subscribing to Weird N.J. for awhile. I just wanted to ask, what is the weirdest thing these guys have ever seen or heard of in New Jersey? Do they think New Jersey is the weirdest state?
Libby Copeland: You know, I never even got to ask that question because we were sitting in the car and Mark Moran goes, "Are you going to ask us what's the weirdest thing we've ever seen?" And I was like, "What? Uh, no, of course not."
Apparently they get that question all the time, and I guess it's tough to quantify--they see so much. I loved the Milk Jug lady. Also, the insulator house was beyoootiful. Can you imagine thousands of blue glass insulators mounted around the yard? The sun comes through them and lights them up.
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Glassboro, N.J.:
I take offense to remarks about New Jersey's universities. I am from New Jersey (having moved to the D.C. area only two weeks ago) and earned not only an associate degree, but a BS, MA and a second MA --all in New Jersey!
Be advised that my quality New Jersey education makes me an ideal candidate to teach at AMERICAN UNIVERSITY! I will be teaching college writing this fall, and maybe a lesson in the qualities of New Jersey.
Libby Copeland: Congratulations. Extend your Jersey wisdom to the poor souls down here.
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Diner Food in New Jersey:
You know, all youse people who scorn are Jersey dinahs, just don't know what youse are tawking about. Der is nowhere in da U.S. dat compares to are greasy spoon dinahs.
You can wake up hungry in da middle of da night. Trow on some spandex shawts, a t-shirt, an some old flipflops, and tie yaw hayah in a scrunchie. Pile into da Trans Am wit Springsteen's "Born to Run" cranking on da cassette playah. An befaw you know it yaw at the dinah eatin a greasy burgah and fries served up by a girl named Tina DiCaprio who you went to high school wit and who cuts hayah wit yaw sistah.
And you think we have no culture in New Jersey?
Libby Copeland: I could go for a toasted corn muffin with buttera nd a cup of coffee right now.
I don't agree. Diners ARE culture, as surely as panini joints in Italy, or bistros in Paris.
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Washington, D.C.:
How much fun was this article to write? You've done the impossible: actually made me want to spend time in New Jersey.
Libby Copeland:
Enjoy yourself.
That's it, folks. Happy week!
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