Two Centuries Of History On Long Beach Island
''Lloyd's last work is a window full of astonishing views into the region's heritage.'' --Asbury Park Press''peppered with interesting folk… fascinating stories and nearly 200 photos from all of Long Beach Island'' --Beach Haven Times''Every time people pass the shack on the Causeway, they wonder who owns it, who built it, what was it for. John Bailey Lloyd knew. Whenever people go to the north end of the Island, they wonder how Old Barney got its name. John Bailey Lloyd knew. And what was the Mansion of Health all about, and was there really a swamp where Surf City now sits, and when was beer ten cents a glass? John Bailey Lloyd knew, and in two marvelously entertaining books, told us. Six Miles at Sea: A Pictorial History of Long Beach Island and Eighteen Miles of History have been perennial best sellers here, but each time Lloyd finished one, he found out more stuff and discovered more pictures and heard more stories. He put some of these into an occasional newspaper column and was finishing work on [this] third volume when he died two years ago. And now his publisher, Down The Shore, has brought out Two Centuries of History on Long Beach Island, which expands our knowledge and appreciation and enjoyment of ''this blessed isle'' and makes us miss Lloyd all the more. Few places can boast their own historian but JBL, as he was known in almost paired initials to LBI (he once joked that if took his English version of John -- Ian -- he'd be IBL), was not a fusty, archive-bound regurgitator of dim and moldy pasts, but a live-in, live on part of this place -- knowledgeable, affable and eager to share. Because he kept learning, so did we. ... You can dip into this book anywhere and find yourself absorbed. ...Two Centuries of History -- the name sort of continues JBL's numerical run -- is not just a treasure of trivia; it's a living history. ... The book is full of photos still so vivid you almost imagine being there yourself.'' --The Beachcomber