Searching For The Elusive Gun Club

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
I would have to guess and say no. I could be wrong. I have to admit that the 1931 aerial maps show disturbance at the exact location of the building. Those photo’s are taken way to high up to really get a clear view to see if a building is there.

Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
All,

With the help of 46er I have finally been informed of the name of the gun clubs talked about in this thread. He promised to ask someone who would know the answer and he did just that. 46er I want to personally thank you for all your help.

On to the info. I received an email from a man named Carl that 46er had contacted. I am not sure if he wants his name posted here so at this time at least I will leave that out. In his first sentence to me he confirmed what I have been saying all along about a piano being in the building.


The building pictured on the Pine Barrens website known as the "mystery club" on Oswego Road was the Ocean City Hunting Club. There was indeed a piano in that building.


This further solidifies to me that I have the right place. He further writes that the other club that Boyd photographed, and I visited recently that showed the outhouse was called the The Ocean City Sportsman Club. He gave a description of it’s location and was dead on. He goes on to talk about the second club with the outhouse.

they sold to The Pulaski Gun Club of Tuckerton in 1964 and later foreclosed on, repossessing the land. The State acquired the parcel not too many years ago.
The Ocean City Sportsmans Club still exists and their club is now situated on Maple Avenue in New Gretna.


So more of the mystery is coming to light, and I want to again than 46er and Carl for their excellent information. More may be coming from them and from me, so keep checking back in the weeks to come.

Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
It appears the person who wrote me was not the person 46er was going to contact, so it was someone other than that person who wrote me. In any event, I appreciate all the help everyone has given me on the matter.

Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
All,

I have some corrections to the previous info I posted about the mystery gun club depicted in my photo. It was not officially named the Ocean City Hunting Club; however, it appears the people who know about it call it that. According to a December 16, 1940 Ocean City Sentinel newspaper article, it was named The Plains Hunting Club. Some very well know personalities from the Ocean City area were members of this club. Rather than me explain it here is the info I have received.

Councilman Edward Bowker later became Mayor and served in that capacity for several years. Harry Shourds who lived in Ocean City was the son of Harry V. Shourds of Tuckerton. Both were famous decoy carvers and that tradition is carried on today by Harry V. Shourds III of Seaville, Cape May County. I do not think there are any living members of the Plains Hunting Club. The building must have been abandoned in the late 50's because my friend remembers Mayor Bowker hunting with the One Buck Club after the Korean War.

The One Buck Club mentioned above is the club that Boyd, Jim, and I photographed the outhouse. It later was called the Ocean City Sportsman’s Association. Again, to better explain some of this, here is the 1940 newspaper article. You may have to download it to view it clearly.



Image1-9.jpg



Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
Excellent Guy! That place must have seemed like the end of the earth in 1940.

The 1930 aerial's are impressive. As the one map on Ben's site says..."An endless sea of pines."

Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
All,

I have been holding off posting photo's because I did not have permission to do so; however, I now do.

The One Buck Club as I mentioned in a previous post in this thread is the club that Boyd, Jim, and I photographed the outhouse shown in an above post. That club was founded in 1928 and the member hunted from their property using tents as shelter for a few years until they were able to have their building erected. The below photo's shows rare views of the members using those tents, along with a few views of the early years of their building.

Sometime right after 1928.

Image1.jpg


Check out the vehicles! Imagine riding the pines in those.

Image2.jpg


This view appears to have been taken right by the road.

Image3.jpg



I am not sure if the person who supplied these photo's to me reads this site on a regular basis, but if they do I want to publicly thank them for their contribution. I will return one day with them and try to envision life as they knew it.

Guy
 

MartGBC

Scout
Sep 10, 2008
79
0
Glendora
Great pictures. Hunters today do not know what roughing is like. Those pics look like ones from when my club hunted in tents in the late 30s and 40's up around Martha.
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
Great pictures. Hunters today do not know what roughing is like. Those pics look like ones from when my club hunted in tents in the late 30s and 40's up around Martha.

Does your club hunt out of mobile homes today? Ben and I stumbled onto a place near Martha where a club or group of people were doing just that. They were somewhat situated in a circle loaded with TV antennas. All the comforts of home deep in the woods near Martha :)

Guy
 

Teegate

Administrator
Site Administrator
Sep 17, 2002
25,955
8,701
That was a long time ago!!

It was, but I would speculate they owned that property and return every year to hunt. So it is possible this still occurs and it was/is his club.

Guy
 
Top