By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — Several local students were honored as winners in the first essay contest held by the Church of the Seven Presidents.
Jim Foley, president of the Long Branch Historical Museum Association, awarded certificates during the May 24 City Council meeting to the nine student winners who wrote essays about the seven U.S. presidents who spent time in Long Branch.
“When you think about it, it is pretty amazing that seven presidents summered right here in our own backyard,” Foley said. “Everybody knows about Seven Presidents Park and what a great place it is to go to the beach, but we forget that there were actually seven presidents who were here.”
According to Foley, this was the church’s first essay contest, and it was open to students from all the surrounding school districts.
The seven presidents who spent time in Long Branch were Chester A. Arthur, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley and Woodrow Wilson. However, Foley said there is proof that the wives of Franklin Pierce and Andrew Johnson spent time in Long Branch, and there is currently research being done as to whether their spouses ever made it to the city.
In recent years, the church at 1260 Ocean Ave. has been restored and improved.
Foley said the process is still ongoing.
“If you drive by, you’ll see that it is starting to look a little bit better,” he said. “We most recently reinstalled the stained-glass windows on the tower of the building.”
Mayor Adam Schneider described the multi-year restoration of the historic church.
“It’s got to be about 15 years ago we rang the bell for the first time,” he said. “Part of the restoration was the tower and the bell and it hadn’t been rung for about 60 years.
“When this group started, the building was in serious danger of falling down, now the building is stable and solid, it’s being maintained.”
Schneider said the bell came in handy while celebrating another historical milestone in 2012.
“Jim and I [rang the bell] on the 100th anniversary of the Titantic,” he said. “There was a Long Branch resident on the boat, so we thought it would be an appropriate memorial.”
For more information on the Church of the Seven Presidents, visit www.churchofthepresidents.org.
