The NY&LB began as a railroad between Elizabethport (in Elizabeth, Union County) to Long Branch, finished in 1875. The railroad was extended through the city of Asbury Park on August 25.
However, the station at Asbury Park was built on land donated by the Ocean Grove Campmeeting Association, a part of the Methodist Church. The new station was built for the purposes of serving both Asbury Park and Ocean Grove. However, the railroad obeyed the request of the Campmeeting Association that trains could not stop within the city of Asbury Park on Sundays due to religious requirements, despite the fact that the Asbury Park–Ocean Grove station produced the most revenue of any station on the line.
And Sunday was the one day that New Yorker blue collar workers had off, and wanted to get to the Jersey seaside for r n r.
It should be noted that until today, the neighboring town of Ocean grove is DRY. This again is due to strong protestant religious feelings regarding consumption of alcohol. Should we give the W.C.T.U. a case of liquor to say "thanks"?
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sounding contrarian, may I respectfully suggest “religion” was not the reason trains could not stop at Asbury Park on Sundays; it was a matter of contract. The Wiki link with the post suggests that the railroad and the Methodist organization had a formal, voluntary agreement that stipulated trains could not stop on Sundays. You and others may find that odd or disagreeable, but nevertheless, at the time both parties understood and agreed to that condition. You certainly can’t fault either the railroad or church for honoring the terms of their agreement.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with contrary opinions... and sure, you can suggest it.
DeleteBut a church got the railroad to not stop in town on Sunday. That's religion, by religious people.
The corollary, I suppose, is that the train stopped every where that the church didn't donate to the railroad, and that, is where no religion was involved. So, religion, train schedule disruption, no religion, and the train runs on time, on schedule, to the train stations.
Whether I find it agreeable, natural, or disagreeable, unusual, or obvious, that the religion of the donor, was the only reason that the train didn't stop, is from using a logic process. Religion, does not use a logic process. They use a belief process, and when basing decisions on beliefs, and not logic, things do not turn out the same.
I don't believe I want to go to work today = you get fired.
I logically want to keep my job to pay my rent = bills are taken care of, and life carries on normally, and there is a lot less looking for a new job and being broke... aka, hippies, beatniks, "free thinkers" and "free spirits" who normally are associated with the people that do not work for a living, but instead, mooch off others, rely on welfare and charity, and have no idea where they'll sleep next week.
Yes, the origin of the info I linked to certainly states that the train followed the arrangement of not stopping at that city on Sunday, and since most people were religious in that era, and in that area, it's easy to understand that the religious power of the time when divorce was nearly ostracizing the woman involved, and a dozen other religious based traditional conservative cultural norms, that subjugated women, and the non-religious, or Jewish, or blacks, or any other group that was easy to discriminate against because they weren't white, christian or catholic, and male.
History, is full of bigotry, racists, and the religious zealots, all of whom strictly kept women and other non-european types from enjoying life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (the core American beliefs, by the founding fathers, who had no problem with slavery)
I believe in other people staying off my toes, and not being hostile to blacks, women, other weird religions, etc, and staying out of my food, my tv and movies, my choice in clothes, etc. Religions are full of weirdo shit, from "thetans" to whatever cockamamie shit the Mormons believe in, to the wacko Muslims who will kill anyone that won't convert, or who dares to paint or draw Mohammad. So, Charlie Hebdo had it right.
I'm friends with Muslims, Catholics, Christians, Mormans, and even a scientologist... and we simply don't talk about religion, or politics, and everyone is cool.
See, when religion or politics is brought up, suddenly people want to circumsize, either boys or girls, and all the other crazy shit religions tell them to. Like not eat meat, not eat bacon, etc.
Time to move on.