The Meaning of Labor Day: For Summer Kids of All Ages, It’s When You Start Counting Down to Next Summer
Labor Day Weekend 1967 – Pam Brown in middle surrounded by summer friends.
There was a time not so very long ago on the Seven Mile Beach when “summer kids” made up one of the largest portions of the summer population. These were kids who lived for the last day of school in June. That’s when their parents already had the car packed and they immediately headed “down” to Avalon or Stone Harbor for the summer. That meant that they were on the island, barring a special circumstance, until Labor Day – or better yet, the day after Labor Day.
In most cases, they already had lined up a summer job before they left the previous Labor Day. They had to, because the only place you’d find a help-wanted sign back then was on the sign rack of the hardware aisles at Seashore Ace, Hoy’s, or Sullivan’s. Summer jobs were important because they contributed to your independence as well as your social life. That’s because often the people you worked with became your friends. Many lifelong friends.
And speaking of friends, they also ended up with a whole set of “summer friends” – these were usually a combination of kids who, like you, were summer kids mixed in with some of the luckiest people on the planet – the kids who lived on the island year-round. Yes, people do really live here!
Two of those summer kids in the 1960s were Pam Brown and Barbara Colombo (their married names), friends from middle school in Pennsauken. Pam’s parents bought a house in Avalon in the 1950s. Barbara’s family, on the other hand, spent much of their summers in Wildwood Crest. But Barbara often accepted an invitation to spend time with her best friend up the coast in Avalon.
“It was just an amazing existence,” Brown recalls from her home in Pennsylvania. “My shoes came off following the last day of school – and Avalon, oh, it was just a very special place to us as kids.”
It’s hard to explain in today’s world, but at the time a summer at the Shore represented a freedom and sense of independence that you didn’t have at your winter home.
You had your bicycle at home, but in Avalon or Stone Harbor your bike was your key to exploring new places. You rode your bike everywhere. And no, bike locks weren’t something that you needed on the Seven Mile Beach. Locks at home, but not the Shore.
“The Shore was the great equalizer,” Brown says. “It didn’t matter where you came from, or what your parents did for a living. Avalon and Stone Harbor put everyone on an equal playing field. We all got along. It was just the best experience.”
Brown and Colombo both have very vivid memories of their lazy days in Avalon.
“During the day, when we weren’t on the beach or surfing, we’d jump off the 25th and 21st Street bridges,” Colombo remembers. “It would all depend on the tide – we’d jump off one bridge and float down to the other bridge.”
Brown has one added memory to bridge jumping: “On Labor Day, we’d cannonball off the 21st Street Bridge and try to splash everyone on their way out of town,” she adds with a laugh, reminding us that at the time 21st Street was the route in and out of town, and that the older wooden bridges were a bit closer to the water level and most cars had their windows open.
“Of course, we had jobs,” Brown says. “I delivered movie flyers for the Avalon Theatre, pumped gas at Carey’s Sunoco, and even worked at the bank on
20th Street.” Summer jobs were part of a summer at the Shore.
In the evenings, everyone would flock to the teen dances. “All of our friends would be there, plus it was an opportunity to meet lots of other people,” they both explain.
Colombo also remembers the Browns taking her along out to dinner. “My parents enjoyed the Tuckahoe Inn,” Brown says. Colombo remembers them taking her to the Black Eagle, “or the Dirty Bird, as they called it.”
When there wasn’t a dance, they might end up at the Avalon Theatre or at the arcade across from the Avalon Pier on 29th Street. “We had a great group of friends,” they agree. “We were always having fun together.”
Although separated from their summers in Avalon by nearly 60 years, Brown and Colombo remain close. Brown lives on a farm in Pennsylvania while Colombo lives a bit closer in Ocean City. Both still find time to drive through and reminisce about their carefree summer days as teens in Avalon.
For Brown, the family home on 29th Street was moved, then replaced. “Now, it’s a bit depressing because I have trouble remembering where exactly it was located,” she says. “Depressing, because there were so many good times that happened there.”
Brown also points out that she’s still in touch with many of the friends she made during her summers in Avalon: “It’s amazing, we’ve all remained close for so many years.”
Colombo operates an ephemera business from her home. Her collection includes some amazing historical postcard views of the Seven Mile Beach. She, too, occasionally finds herself taking a spin down Ocean Drive to get a feel for the days of her youth in Avalon.
Although Brown’s family would still come back for fall weekends, Labor Day signaled the end of summer for her and most “summer kids.”
You might have noticed it already – people who spent the summer in Avalon or Stone Harbor, either in a rental or their own homes, will begin to pack up their cars.
You can be sure that when Labor Day rolls around, Pam Brown and Barbara Colombo will pause at least for a minute and remember that Labor Day signaled the end of their very special summers.
“It’s hard to explain,” adds Brown. “It was just the best.”
How long is it until Memorial Day?