Why Shoobie?

Why Shoobie?

Why am I using the name Shoobie??? Well, I have actually been a Shoobie for many years. (Shoobie is a derogatory term used in South Jersey to describe a tourist who visits the seashore for a day (a day tripper), primarily to use the beach during the summer months. These day trippers brought their lunch in a shoe box, thus depriving local businesses of the revenue the tourists would have spent on food…wikipedia.org)

I was not always a Shoobie. My parents owned a small house in Ocean City, NJ while I was growing up. We spent our summers there and many weekends in the fall and spring. I believe my parents scraped together about $2500 in the early 1950’s to buy the place. I guess that was a lot of money in those days, but my mom wanted a place at the shore. She was born in Atlantic City and just loved the beach. It was truly a fixer upper. The house originally sat on a property beyond 59th street, now the last street on the island. Not sure about all the details, but the house was moved to 5613 Asbury Avenue (56th street) at some point, and my parents purchased it after the move. I remember the foundation was more than crooked…when I was small, I could ride a small tricycle across the dining room and not pedal, it was downhill all the way.

I’ll probably write more about Ocean City in other Bits, but I want to mention that I first became aware that I was not a Shoobie during my high school summers. I don’t think it was a term at the time, but my Ocean City friends and I were very aware we were “Locals”. The “Shoobies” took up all the parking places next to the beach and crowded the sand space-we despised them. This was the 60’s it was a unique time. At the shore, you did not think about the Vietnam war and all the crazy things going on in the world. You listened to the Beach Boys, went to the beach, swam in the ocean and were oblivious to the world outside. I have some pretty good memories of Ocean City times.

I became a Shoobie after my mom died and my dad sold that cute little shore house. I was already married and living in Houston at the time, but I felt like my “Local” beach status was gone forever.

Here's a picture of my beach house taken in 1962. That’s my mom on the porch. The house is no longer standing. A few years back it was torn down to make way for a mega 4 family condo type building. Most of the cute cottages are gone from the island. It’s too sad to drive by the address anymore…Bigger is not always better….


August 5, 2017
NOTE: I started this blog several year ago and named it "Shoobie's Bits and Pieces" as a way to tell my story to my kids about growing up in Philly and Ocean City. I've recently changed the name to my new little photography business "ShirleyVPhotography". I could not bear to do away with my stories from the years past along with my recipes. Just wanted to make a note of why I have this article about being an Ocean City Shoobie. I'm coming North in October. Hope to be a "Shoobie" again for a couple hours. Would love to get some cool photos of my favorite place ever!