Frieda Schweky
Like so many others, I have wonderful memories of leaving Brooklyn to come to Deal for the summertime. My childhood memories revolve around those few golden months, moving into my grandparents’ two-story house on Surry Lane, and bunking up with cousins on the weekends when they came in from Brooklyn every Friday. We had an indoor pool, a huge deck where we’d host massive BBQs with friends and extended family, and a large side lawn. That house has been sold and knocked down, but the memories will never fade. My entire extended family gets nostalgic whenever “Surry Lane” comes up. We all remember the time my uncle Jack jumped off the extremely bouncy diving board (they don’t make them like that anymore, and for good reason) and broke his nose at the bottom of the pool, the whole episode caught on video. We remember climbing the trees in the front of the house and flying down the slip-and-slide. Surry Lane was so secluded from the rest of the community that it felt like our own private island.
I attended Camp Ora with my siblings, and I know hundreds of community members carry their own fond memories of that camp – the soda machines, screaming Birkat Hamazon at the conclusion of lunchtime to earn free canteen or soda, and the mystery trip that was almost always to Hershey Park.
I know most community members also have special summer memories, because migrating to the suburbs of Jersey and bunking up with family members for the summer is an age-old tradition here. So, let’s hear some stories from the good old days. First up is my husband’s grandmother, Renee Esses.
Renee Esses
Renee rented in Deal for two summers before moving permanently there in 1980. The early years were lonely at times, since her kids were not yet with her. One moved down a few years later, the other not for another thirty years. Renee had spent winters in Midwood Manor in Brooklyn, but her husband could not justify keeping two houses, and since so many of her friends had already made the move to Jersey that it made sense to follow. Back then it was not crowded at all. Renee remembers renting on Poplar Avenue near Norwood and hearing that the house down the block sold for $125,000 and thinking, that’s ridiculous! Eventually, Renee settled on Shadow Lawn, which was a new development, with a mix of Syrian and Ashkenaz families. Renee’s daughter (my mother-in-law) used to move in every summer with all her kids, and although it was chaotic, Renee loved it. The house was always busy, always full. There was room for everyone! The finished basement was so massive that the kids used to roller skate through it when it rained and they couldn’t play outdoors. They had company constantly. One of Renee’s best friends lived right around the corner. It was a real home away from home. Renee recalled those years fondly, lamenting that they were some of the best years.
Miriam Sabzehroo
Miriam was still a teenager when her family started coming down for the summer. There was so much open land back then, and so many trees – nothing like the density of houses today. Once Miriam had kids, they headed to Six Flags Great Adventure every year. She would even get a season pass for her housekeeper so she could come along and help with the kids. There were also many trips to Seaside Water Park.
Miriam fondly remembers the times her mother took the grandkids (Miriam’s children) down to Allenhurst Lake to feed the ducks while she tanned in the backyard with baby oil, iodine, and a silver reflector.
Miriam’s father never let her buy a house of her own – he wanted the family close, under his roof. She still laughs remembering the summer her brother set off fireworks on the Fourth of July and accidentally lit a tree on fire. The family threw massive BBQs twice every summer. Not long ago Miriam’s daughter found the old VHS tapes allowing them to relive those times all over again. They gathered around the computer at a family gathering to watch the show, with everyone spotting themselves and old friends, reminiscing about the good old days.
Eve Shweky
Eve says Deal is simply not what it used to be. Camp Ora was the best of the best, where such beautiful memories were made. These days, Eve says, there are too many people for it to feel quite the same. The town has grown right alongside the community – every couple back then had four or five kids, and those kids became adults with families of their own, expanding things further still. It’s a reminder of how much this community has multiplied over the generations, from a small cluster of summer regulars into the sprawling, vibrant crowd we know today.
Sophia Cohen
For Sophia, the shift from Brooklyn to Deal each June felt like stepping into another life entirely. Her mother would pick the kids up on the last day of school, and the second they got on the highway, something in her would light up. It was the most exhilarating feeling of the year. The whole rhythm of life changed the moment they crossed into Jersey. There was nothing like biking around Deal as a kid, back when it was so much smaller – the Deal Pharmacy, the 7-Eleven, shuffling around sandy beaches barefoot. Sophia still remembers the haunted house in Long Branch from years back, and the fire at the pier. There was nothing like coming to Deal and feeling so free every summer.
Renee H.
No retelling of Deal summers would be complete without mentioning the Deal Pharmacy and its slush puppies on Norwood – right around where the Wishing Well Apartments stand today. And of course, Camp Ora holds its own permanent place in memory: Billy Madison playing on the coach bus wherever the overnight trip took everyone that year, and those smiley-face “camper of the week” shirts everyone fought to earn.
Shirley Zebede
Before DSN, there were the JCC days. Shirley says nothing compares to those times when your parents dropped you off in the morning and didn’t see you again until dinner. You could spend the entire day at the JCC, whether at the pool, the basketball court, or the J Cafe on the second floor. After that, kids headed upstairs to the teen lounge and dance studio on the third floor, with its couch, a couple of old-school racing games, and a foosball table. Shirley would give anything to go back.
Having always lived in Deal year-round, Shirley remembers the striking contrast between the summer and the rest of the year. Deal was almost a ghost town for ten months of the year, and then, almost overnight, it would fill with a swarm of people. You couldn’t drive because of the bicycles everywhere, rows and rows of them lined up on Norwood Avenue outside J2 Pizza. And then, just as suddenly, the day after Labor Day, you could drive down Norwood and not see a single car – it was suddenly deserted.
Looking Ahead
These collective memories make one thing clear: this community has always known how to make a summer feel like magic. Honestly, we’re luckier for it now than ever. We have a host of beautiful community organizations behind us today, and many incredible new restaurants. We’re growing, too – spreading into new townships as more families find their place here. The Deal of the 60s, 70s, and 80s may be a different Deal than the one we know now, but the spirit has not changed. We have good vibes, good times, and are blessed to be a community that keeps finding new ways to come together, summer after summer.
Frieda Schweky is a community photographer, videographer, and writer. For photography & video inquiries or article topic suggestions, email her at friedaschweky@gmail.com or follow her on Instagram @friedaschwekyphoto.