Greetings From Freehold - Full Text

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Greetings 1 Greetings from Freehold: How Bruce Springsteen’s Hometown Shaped His Life and Work David Wilson Chairman, Communication Council Monmouth University Glory Days: A Bruce Springsteen Symposium Presented Sept. 26, 2009 Greetings 2 ABSTRACT Bruce Springsteen came back to Freehold, New Jersey, the town where he was raised, to attend the Monmouth County Fair in July 1982. He played with Sonny Kenn and the Wild Ideas, a band whose leader was already a Jersey Shore-area legend. About a year later, he recorded the song "County Fair" with the E Street Band. As this anecdote shows, Freehold never really left Bruce even after he made a name for himself in Asbury Park and went on to worldwide stardom. His experiences there were reflected not only in "County Fair" but also in "My Hometown," the unreleased "In Freehold" and several other songs. He visited a number of times in the decades after his family left for California. Freehold’s relative isolation enabled Bruce to develop his own musical style, derived largely from what he heard on the radio and on records. More generally, the town’s location, history, demographics and economy shaped his life and work. “County Fair,” the first of three sections of this paper, will recount the July 1982 episode and its aftermath. “Growin’ Up,” the second, will review Bruce’s years in Freehold and examine the ways in which the town influenced him. “Goin’ Home,” the third, will highlight instances when he returned in person, in spirit and in song. Greetings 3 COUNTY FAIR Bruce Springsteen couldn’t be sitting there. Could he? The question came to me in the summer of 1982, as my then-fiancée and I sat in a field at the Monmouth County Fairgrounds in Freehold, New Jersey. We were waiting for Sonny Kenn and the Wild Ideas, a local band that she followed around the Jersey Shore, to start playing. Sonny was already a guitar hero by the time Bruce debuted with Freehold’s Castiles in 1966. His band at the time, Sonny and the Starfires, had even been the opening act for rocker Jerry Lee Lewis.1 Since then, their fortunes had diverged. Bruce had released five albums for Columbia Records and was getting ready to put out his sixth, “Nebraska.” He had scored four top-40 singles -- “Born to Run,” “Prove It All Night,” “Hungry Heart” and “Fade Away” -- and played to millions of fans with the E Street Band.2 Sonny worked at a musical-instrument store in Red Bank by day and played in Shorearea bars and clubs at night. With the Wild Ideas, he released an independent single with two original songs, “All American Angel” and “Turn It Up.” It went nowhere. There was no reason to expect Bruce to be anywhere near the fairgrounds, let alone sitting next to me and my fiancée. Yet when I looked to my left, I saw someone who looked mighty familiar. He wore blue jeans, a flannel shirt and a yellow cap that said CAT -- short for Caterpillar, the farm-equipment maker. He was chatting up a woman I didn’t recognize. Nobody was bothering him, and I didn’t either. A few minutes later, as dusk set in, the concert started. Sonny and the band made their way onto a trailer-like stage at one end of the field. When the lights came up, there they were. And there was Bruce, jamming with them. They played Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen,” Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” Greetings 4 Berry’s “Carol,” Sam Cooke’s “Shake” and an early hit for Wilson Pickett, “Land of a Thousand Dances.”3 Sonny and his band didn’t usually play songs like those. Their sets featured originals and covers like “Jack the Ripper,” by Link Wray. But that night was different. Bruce was there. Based on what happened that evening -- July 23, 1982 -- it wasn’t a complete surprise to learn that Bruce wrote and recorded a song called “County Fair” the following year.4 These lines, included in the third verse, rang true to my experience: “At the north end of the field they set up a stand / And they got a little rock and roll band / People dancin’ out in the open air.”5 While there isn’t any record of Bruce playing at the Monmouth County Fair again, he easily could have attended the event when he wasn’t on tour. He owns a house in Rumson that’s about half an hour’s drive from the fairgrounds, now known as East Freehold Park. He also has a house, recording studio and horse farm in Colts Neck, just 12 minutes away by car.6 Assuming that Bruce made the trip at least once wouldn’t be unreasonable. He has returned again and again to Freehold, where he lived, attended school and found his musical calling in the 1950s and 1960s. He has revisited his hometown just as regularly in his lyrics. “Springsteen is not just from Freehold, but is of and in it,” Kevin Coyne, the town’s historian, once wrote. He drew a parallel between Bruce and William Faulkner, a Nobel Prizewinning writer whose works were often set in his native Mississippi -- “the ‘postage stamp of native soil,’ as Faulkner called it, in which he found the whole world.”7 Greetings 5 GROWIN’ UP Bruce Frederick Springsteen arrived in Freehold, the seat of Monmouth County, New Jersey, shortly after he was born on Sept. 23, 1949, in Long Branch. His parents, Douglas and Adele, brought him to the home of his paternal grandparents at 87 Randolph St., where they lived at the time. His sister Virginia, known as Ginny, was born the next year.1 St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, which his family attended, was next door to the house. Bruce was baptized and confirmed there, which might explain why he has another middle name, Joseph, that isn’t listed on his birth certificate.2 He also served as an altar boy.3 Many of his relatives lived nearby. “There was my cousin’s house, my aunt’s house, my great-grandmother’s house, my aunt’s house on my mother’s side with my other grandmother in it,” he later said. “We were all on one street, with the church in the middle.”4 Bruce and his family moved out of the house in 1954, shortly after his fifth birthday.5 About three years later, St. Rose of Lima acquired the property and tore down the building as part of an expansion of its parking lot.6 The family settled into a duplex at 39 ½ Institute St., about three blocks east of Randolph Street.7 Forman and Willetta Smith owned the house until 1959, when they sold it to a neighbor, Samuel J. Venti.8 He worked at the A. & M. Karagheusian Co. rug mill and was president of the plant’s union local when production was shut down in 1961.9 The duplex was across the railroad tracks from Karaghuesian and Texas, a residential area to the east of the mill.10 Douglas and Adele moved the family again after their daughter Pamela, known as Pam, was born in January 1962. They rented half of a duplex at 68 South St., four blocks from their Institute Street home, that November.11 Greetings 6 Ducky Slattery’s Sinclair gas station, the topic of stories that Bruce would later tell during concerts, was next door.12 John W. Duckett Jr., a Sinclair distributor, was the family’s landlord. He bought the house on the assumption that his company would want the property to expand the station.13 It didn’t, and Slattery’s was eventually closed. A convenience store now operates on the site. Bruce’s education began at the St. Rose of Lima School, an elementary school that his father had attended. In the classroom and in church, he gained an awareness of religious images that would later resurface in his lyrics. “Nuns run bald through Vatican halls, pregnant, pleadin’ immaculate conception,” he wrote in “Lost in the Flood,” released on his debut album.14 Music first attracted him as a 7-year-old, when he watched Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. After seeing the show, he asked his parents for a guitar. They bought him a small, semi-toy acoustic.15 Before long, he set his sights on baseball instead. “I wanted it pretty bad at the time,” he said later. “Every day from when I was eight until 13 I’d be outside pitching that ball.”16 In 1960, he played in the Colonial League. He moved up to Little League the following year as a member of the Indians, the first team in league history to go unbeaten in the regular season.17 They were the “Indians in the summer” cited in "Blinded by the Light," also from his first album.18 Bruce returned to music at 13, when he bought his first guitar with money earned from doing odd jobs. The second-hand acoustic cost $18 at a Western Auto store in Freehold. Frank Bruno, his cousin, taught him some basic chords. His mother borrowed $60 to buy a Japanesemade Kent electric guitar and an amplifier for him as a Christmas gift.19 She made the purchase at Caiazzo’s Music Store, at the corner of Center and Jackson streets, when he was 16.20 Greetings 7 Bruce made his performance debut with the Rogues, a band that threw him out because “my guitar was too cheap.” George Theiss, a guitarist who was dating Ginny, then recruited him for the Castiles.21 Bruce passed an audition with the group’s manager, Gordon “Tex” Vinyard, in June 1965. Tex and his wife, Marion, lived in a duplex just across the street from Caiazzo’s. The band practiced at the house, frequented by children from the neighborhood.22 The duplex and the building where Caiazzo’s was located were eventually torn down. The Castiles played about two dozen shows in Freehold with Bruce. The last five were monthly appearances at the local Hullabaloo club, starting in March 1968, when it opened. The group broke up that August, and Bruce performed at Hullaballoo in October with Earth, a band he had formed. After that, he didn’t have a show in his hometown for 28 years.23 Two songs co-written by Bruce and George, “That’s What You Get” and “Baby I,” were recorded in May 1966. The band made the recordings at Mr. Music, a studio in Brick Township, Ocean County. They weren’t released as a single, though acetate copies survive.24 Bruce’s singular focus was evident at Freehold High School, then called Freehold Regional, which he attended after graduating from St. Rose of Lima.25 “He always carried his guitar around in the halls, and every once in a while he’d sit down in a corner and play for hours,” his music teacher, William Starsinic, later recalled.26 The school was located on Robertsville Road, about three-quarters of a mile from his South Street home.27 “You had your plaid bookbaggers and your greasers, and Bruce was one of the greasers,” said Bob Hoenig, a classmate at Freehold Regional. After school ended on Fridays, Bruce hung out at Federici’s Pizza on Main Street with a group of leather-jacketed friends. 28 Frank “Spat” Federici Jr., whose family owned the restaurant, was a childhood friend of his father.29 Greetings 8 His musical ambitions were a source of conflict with his dad, who worked at a series of blue-collar jobs. So was his hair, which fell past his shoulders. He sometimes spent hours in a phone booth so he wouldn’t have to go home.30 Their relationship found its way into his songs, especially "Independence Day,” where he wrote: "There was just no way this house could hold the two of us / I guess that we were just too much of the same kind."31 Another prominent theme in his lyrics, cars and driving, also can be traced back to his father. "He liked to get in the car and just drive," he once said. "He got everybody else in the car too, and he made us drive. He made us all drive."32 Bruce took his fans for a drive on "Racing in the Street," from 1978, which began by describing "a '69 Chevy with a 396, fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor."33 He came out with the song “Used Cars” four years later.34 Bruce graduated from Freehold Regional in June 1967, although he skipped the ceremony. He then enrolled at Ocean County College, where he spent three semesters.35 The January 1969 edition of the community college's literary magazine, Seascape, published a paragraph entitled "My Lady" and an untitled poem that he wrote.36 Bruce was drafted at 19, amid the Vietnam War. He was classified 4-F, making him ineligible for military service, because of injuries from a motorcycle accident two years earlier. He also filled out forms incoherently and failed to take all the required tests.37 Later, he drew on the experiences of those who served for "Born in the U.S.A.," the title song of his 1984 album.38 In the fall of 1969, his family moved to California.39 At first, he stayed at 68 South St., which his mother arranged for him to rent from Duckett. He was asked to leave after kicking out the glass in a bedroom window that wouldn’t open.40 He moved out and headed to Asbury Park, where his ascent to rock and roll stardom began in earnest. Greetings 9 Location Look at a map of New Jersey, and it would be easy to conclude that Freehold is the state's geographic center. The town is about halfway between the Atlantic Ocean, which defines the eastern boundary, and the Delaware River in the west. It's also roughly equidistant from the northern tip, bordering New York state, and Cape May at the southern end. New Jersey’s actual center is about five miles southeast of Trenton, the state's capital city.1 Yet the location of Bruce’s home town worked to his advantage, at least in some respects, during his initial rise to stardom and beyond. Just consider some of the places that were within reasonable driving distance. Asbury Park, where he made a name for himself in clubs such as the Student Prince and formed the E Street Band, is only 24 minutes from Freehold by car.2 Bruce moved there after his family left town and went to California. New York is about an hour away.3 Bruce first played there in November 1966, when the Castiles appeared at the Café Wha nightclub. The band performed about 30 shows there through February 1968, six months before its breakup.4 Philadelphia, one of the first cities where Bruce established a fan base outside New Jersey, takes about 75 minutes to reach.5 The first arena concert that he and the E Street Band ever played took place there in 1976, when they performed at the Spectrum.6 Atlantic City, the Jersey Shore town that inspired the song of the same name, is about 90 minutes away.7 In 1982, “Atlantic City” appeared on the “Nebraska” album. Twenty-one years later, he performed there for the first time at Boardwalk Hall.8 Greetings 10 Three state highways run through Freehold, linking the town to these cities and many others. Route 9, cited in “Born to Run” and other Bruce songs, carries travelers north and south. Route 79 starts in town and heads northeast to Matawan, where the Castiles played in November 1966 at the Matawan-Keyport Roller Drome, a roller-skating rink.9 Route 33 crisscrosses New Jersey from Trenton to Neptune, near the entrance to Asbury Park, and ran straight through Freehold before a bypass was built to the south. Freehold also was tied to New York through the reach of the city's television and radio stations. When Bruce saw Elvis Presley’s January 1957 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and the Beatles’ performances seven years later, he surely was watching WCBS-TV Channel 2 in New York. The Rolling Stones’ debut on the “Hollywood Palace” program, which he saw in June 1964, would have aired on WABC-TV Channel 7.10 He and his friends were New York Yankees fans and would listen to radio broadcasts of the team’s games.11 Having this kind of access suggests Freehold was everywhere. But it was also nowhere at the same time. “It’s real ‘away,’ you know? It’s like an hour from New York, but it might as well have been 10 million miles,” Bruce once said. “It was all very, very local. That’s the way those towns and stuff are, you just never get out.”12 Freehold’s isolation worsened as Bruce grew up. The town got caught in between two newly built state highways. The first was the New Jersey Turnpike, which opened in 1951.13 The Garden State Parkway, constructed between 1952 and 1957, followed.14 Once they were up and running, travelers passing through New Jersey had no reason to go through town any more. At the same time, public transportation became harder to come by for the town’s residents. The Central Railroad of New Jersey’s Freehold Branch, which offered connecting service to New York via Matawan, stopped carrying passengers in 1953.15 The Pennsylvania Greetings 11 Railroad followed nine years later with the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad, which had a New York connection through the Jersey Shore town of Sea Girt.16 The shutdowns ended passenger-rail service in Freehold after more than a century. Only freight trains still ran.17 Bus service became the only alternative to driving for people like Bruce, who took buses to New York when he ran away from home as a teenager. He would try to spend the night at the Port Authority bus station, where the terminal’s police would find him and call his parents. His mother always went to pick him up.18 Music provided Bruce with a sense of escape even before he was old enough to travel. Being in Freehold, miles from the major cities and the big-name performers of his era, gave him the latitude he needed to develop his own style. He soaked up what he heard on records and the radio, and also what he saw on television. Presley, Roy Orbison, the Beatles, the Stones, British Invasion bands, surf rock, rhythm and blues -- Bruce’s songs and performances reflected these early influences and went beyond them.19 Freehold's location also helps explain some basic facts about him, including: -- Why he wasn't born there. The town didn't have its own hospital until 1971, when Freehold Area Hospital opened.20 Before then, the closest facility was the Raleigh Fitkin-Paul Morgan Memorial Hospital in Neptune, about 20 minutes away.21 Riverview Hospital in Red Bank was about half an hour’s drive.22 So was Monmouth Memorial Hospital in Long Branch, where the birth took place.23 -- Why his Catholic education ended after the eighth grade. St. Rose of Lima was an elementary school, and still is. Freehold didn't have a Catholic high school, and still doesn’t. The closest one that operated at the time, Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, was more than 20 minutes away from town.24 Greetings 12 Freehold Regional was the only high school in town, and Bruce’s parents had a history there. His mother graduated in 1943 and was picked as the best dancer in her class.25 His father went there after graduating from St. Rose of Lima, as Bruce did.26 -- Why he attended community college in Ocean County. Monmouth County didn’t have a public institution of higher learning until 1969, when Brookdale Community College taught its first classes.27 Monmouth College, the only college or university in the county before then, was a private school. It’s now known as Monmouth University, and it remains private. Bruce chose to attend Ocean County College, which held its first classes a year before he graduated from high school.28 After dropping out, he stayed away from the classroom until 2000, when he audited a session of an American Studies seminar at Princeton University.29 Greetings 13 History Freehold wasn’t just some place to live for Bruce and his family. The town’s roots were planted in the 17th century, long before anyone could be born in the U.S.A., and the largest land battle of the Revolutionary War was fought there. Bruce’s ancestors had lived in Freehold and the surrounding area since the mid-18th century, putting the weight of family history on him. Lenni Lenape Indians were the first inhabitants. The native Americans referred to the area as Topanemus, a name still used today for a lake in the north end of town. Scottish settlers started arriving in 1683.1 English and Dutch immigrants joined them. The newcomers put up a village along the Burlington Path, a trade route that ran from the Jersey Shore to the Delaware River. County Route 537 was later built along the path, also known as King’s Highway.2 Freehold was one of three townships created when Monmouth County was subdivided in 1693. Shrewsbury and Middletown were the others. The name was changed to Monmouth Court House in 1715, after a courthouse and jail were built and the county government moved there from Shrewsbury. It was shortened to Monmouth in 1795, when a post office was established, and changed to Freehold six years later.3 Between 1844 and 1848, Freehold was subdivided. Sections of the town were split off into townships now known as Colts Neck, Jackson, Manalapan, Marlboro and Millstone. The remaining area was divided into Freehold Borough, commonly known as just Freehold, and Freehold Township in 1919.4 Along the way, Freehold left its mark on the American Revolution as the site of the Battle of Monmouth. The fighting took place on June 28, 1778. General George Washington’s Continental Army attacked British forces that were marching to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, from Greetings 14 Philadelphia. To help Washington’s troops cope with the summer heat, Mary Hays, a soldier’s wife, brought them pitchers of water on the battlefield. She became known as Molly Pitcher .5 Reminders of that era were all around Bruce. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, located on Throckmorton Street, was built in 1771 and identified as a hospital for soldiers from both sides of the Battle of Monmouth.6 The church ran a teen club, the Left Foot, from September 1967 to April 1968 and hosted two shows by the Castiles.7 Covenhoven House, a 17th-century building on Main Street, served as the headquarters for Sir Henry Clinton, who led the British troops.8 The Monmouth Battle Memorial, standing at the intersection of Court and Monument Streets, commemorated the fighting. They weren’t the only pieces of Freehold’s past that were still around when he was growing up. The American Hotel, on Main Street, dated back to 1827.9 The Freehold Public Library, also on Main Street, was built in 1903 and partially financed by a donation from steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Boxwood Hall, a six-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion located on Schanck Street, and many other houses around town were built during the 1800s.10 St. Rose of Lima’s cornerstone was laid in 1881.11 Bruce’s sense of history was also a product of his Dutch ancestry. Amateur genealogists have traced his family tree back through six generations of Springsteens who lived in and around Freehold.12 The earliest, John Springsteen, was born on June 3, 1759 in Middlesex County, New Jersey, to the north of Monmouth County. He died on Oct. 10, 1844, in Red Bank. John’s first son, William, was the first of Bruce’s ancestors known to have been in Freehold. He was born there on June 13, 1793. His date and place of death are unknown. William’s son Alexander, who fought in the Civil War, was born just south of Freehold in Howell Township. He lived from Jan. 3, 1822, until June 16, 1888, and worked as a laborer. Greetings 15 Howell was also home to Alexander’s second son, Anthony, who was born there on May 5, 1871, and lived beyond 1930. Anthony’s wife, the former Martha Ann O’Hagen, gave birth to Frederick in about 1901. Frederick and his wife, born Alice McNicholl, lived with his parents in 1930.13 They later moved to 87 Randolph St., which had belonged to her family for a couple of generations.14 He passed down his first name as a middle name to Douglas, who later did the same with Bruce. Douglas, whose nickname Dutch captured his paternal heritage, was born in 1924.15 He got married after serving in World War II.16 He died at 73 in Belmont, California, on April 26, 1998, shortly after his and Adele’s 50th wedding anniversary.17 He was buried at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery in Freehold Township.18 Adele was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, where her parents settled after emigrating from Italy. The family came to town between 1930 and 1943, when she graduated from Freehold High School.19 She returned to New Jersey after her husband’s death and lives in Little Silver, close to Bruce’s home in Rumson. Two of his aunts -- Dora Kirby and Eda Urbelis, known as Edie -- reside in Freehold.20 Bruce ended up Italian, Irish and Dutch, in that order.21 His mother’s status as a firstgeneration American instilled him with the immigrant’s desire to make something of himself. His ancestral ties to some of the Freehold area’s earliest settlers gave him a connection to his hometown that wouldn’t have existed in California, or anywhere else. Greetings 16 Demographics Freehold is a small town, made smaller -- if only in relative terms -- by a boom in the surrounding area after World War II. Its racial and ethnic makeup has been a source of conflict throughout its history. Bruce put it this way in the lyrics to "In Freehold," from 1996: “Well if you were different, black or brown/It was a pretty redneck town/Back in Freehold.”1 There were 7,550 people living there in 1950, the year after Bruce was born, and the population increased 40 percent in the next two decades.2 The growth spurt was the second of the 20th century. During the 1920s and 1930s, the number of residents more than doubled as people moved into town to take jobs, especially at the Karagheusian rug mill.3 Even so, the town's growth failed to keep pace with the likes of Freehold Township, where farmland gave way to housing developments. The number of township residents soared almost fourfold in the 1950s and 1960s, and by 1970 its population surpassed Freehold's.4 Last year, the township had three times as many people, according to a Census Bureau estimate.5 Bruce was different by Freehold’s standards because of his long hair. Drivers tried to push him into ditches as he hitchhiked along Route 9.6 Yet his ethnic makeup was perfectly in keeping with the town’s Western European heritage. The Dutch were among the town’s early settlers. Irish immigrants followed in the mid-1800s, when their home country was struck by famine.7 The Irish became Freehold’s largest white ethnic group, followed by the Italians. Together, they were 28% of the population in the 2000 census.8 African-Americans arrived as slaves during the 1700s, and historically were Freehold’s largest minority group. In 1790, they accounted for one out of every six residents. The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the town’s oldest black congregation, started in 1848.9 Greetings 17 Slavery didn’t end in town until the Emancipation Proclamation was ratified in 1865, though New Jersey adopted an emancipation law six decades earlier.10 Segregation remained an obstacle for the African-American population after that. Freehold introduced all-black schools in the 1840s. The Court Street School, opened in 1915, was built for specifically for black children. Even though the school moved to another building four years later and expanded in 1926, there were never more than four classrooms available to teach kindergarten through eighth grade.11 Court Street was desegregated in 1947, when New Jersey adopted a constitution that banned segregation in schools.12 Freehold’s high school, which was integrated, added its first African-American football players four years later. The team featured an all-black offensive backfield in 1953, when it went undefeated and won state and conference championships.13 Despite these milestones, race relations worsened in the 1960s as the local economy slumped. The town’s government sought to address the issue through an Inter-Racial Human Relations Committee. The panel was composed of 10 members and two representatives of the Borough Council, the governing body, in 1968.14 Simmering tensions triggered a riot on the evening of Monday, May 19, 1969. The outbreak followed three days of name calling between black and white youths and began within hours after the cancellation of a black protest parade, set for Memorial Day. Thirty-four windows were smashed at 25 businesses on Mechanic, South and West Main streets.15 During the unrest, a car full of white youths stopped next to a car of black youths. One of the whites fired a shotgun into the back seat of the other car. Two of the blacks were wounded, and one of them was permanently blinded in one eye.16 This incident inspired Bruce’s reference to a shooting in “My Hometown,” though he changed the timing to a Saturday night in 1965.17 Greetings 18 Bruce avoided being caught in the racial undertow with the help of music, which gave him a common ground with his African-American peers. Rhythm-and-blues performers such as Sam and Dave and Eddie Floyd were among his favorites.18 “Raise Your Hand,” a hit single for Floyd, later became a staple of his concerts. One of those peers, Richard Blackwell, appeared on his second album, “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle.”19 He played congas and percussion alongside the E Street Band’s two black members at the time, pianist David Sancious and saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Sancious went solo after that album, while Clemons is still in the band. Bruce talked about racism at a 2002 show in Cincinnati, where the deaths of two black men in police custody sparked a boycott of the downtown area. “As a young man, I saw it up close in my hometown,” he said. “While there have been many improvements since then, the core fact of racism continues to this day at all levels of society.”20 Two years earlier, he wrote “American Skin (41 Shots)” after New York City police killed an unarmed African immigrant. There were relatively few Hispanics in Freehold when Bruce lived there. Even so, one of them was the first girl he ever kissed, Maria Espinosa. “In Freehold” referred to that milestone, which happened at a YMCA dance when she was 15. Blackwell, who was in Espinosa’s class, once described her as its only Puerto Rican.21 Hispanics later become the town’s largest demographic group, accounting for 28.1% of the population in 2000. African-Americans were 15.8%, in line with their proportion in 1790.22 The influx of Latinos, coupled with efforts to combat illegal immigration, led to complaints of discrimination. In 2003, five immigrant-related groups filed a lawsuit alleging that day laborers were denied the right to look for work in public places and singled out by police and housing code officials. The case was settled three years later.23 Greetings 19 Bruce responded to the demographic shift by helping St. Rose of Lima raise money for a community center, designed to serve the Hispanic population. He played a benefit concert in the school’s gymnasium, where he unveiled “In Freehold,” in 1996. The proceeds went toward the center, which opened the next year.24 Freehold also has a Jewish community that began in the late 1800s, when V. Henry Rothschild brought in Jews to work at the shirt factory he built there.25 Merchants and farm workers from Russia and Poland joined them in the early 1900s, when they immigrated to the U.S. to escape religious persecution at home.26 The Freehold Hebrew Association formed in 1909. The group became Congregation Agudath Achim Anshal Freehold two years later and then built its first synagogue at First and Center streets. A larger temple opened in 1950 at Broad and Stokes streets, where the Traditional congregation still meets. Its name changed to the Freehold Jewish Center in the 1960s.27 Jews were aware of the threats surrounding them, especially in the 1940s, when the Ku Klux Klan operated just south of Freehold in Howell Township. Members of the congregation patrolled the synagogue with shotguns to safeguard the property.28 It’s possible that Bruce had their period in mind when he wrote “The Klansman,” an unreleased song from 1983 about a boy whose father and brother were Klan members.29 He clearly didn’t share the group’s hostility toward Jews. The E Street Band has included two Jewish musicians, pianist Roy Bittan and drummer Max Weinberg, since 1975. Greetings 20 Economics Freehold “seems to embody America’s growth from farm to factory,” according to a guide to New Jersey that the Works Progress Administration produced in 1939.1 Decades later, the town became emblematic of another trend: the loss of manufacturing jobs in the northeast to locations elsewhere in the U.S. and around the world. The shift began when Bruce was growing up, and “My Hometown” told the story of how the town suffered as a result. The farm economy began with the Lenni Lenapes, who grew beans, corn, sweet potatoes and tobacco. After the settlers arrived, potatoes became the town’s primary crop.2 Its importance was celebrated with an annual Potato Queen beauty contest, held until the 1960s.3 Local farmers also turned to raising horses and livestock and manufacturing dairy products.4 Freehold’s Dutch settlers expanded the economy by going into trading. They took advantage of the town’s location on the Burlington Path trade route, which was ideal for their business. To ease the movement of goods as well as people, roads made with wooden planks were built from the early 1800s.5 Railroads followed, starting with the Freehold & Jamesburg, which became Monmouth County’s first rail line in 1853.6 Factories arrived in the second half of the 19th century. The Freehold Iron Foundry operated from 1856 until 1890. Brakeley’s Canning Factory canned local produce from 1882 until 1928, when the company moved to Delaware. Stokes Brothers Manufacturing Co. made files, horse rasps and machinery from 1888 through the early 1900s. Arthur A. Zimmerman, a champion bicycle racer from Freehold, had his own bike-making factory from 1895 to 1901.7 Geyer & Ray Rug Manufacturing Co., opened in 1900, also lasted about six years.8 Greetings 21 V. Henry Rothschild, a shirtmaker based in New York, set up shop in Freehold during this era. His company’s plant began operating in 1886, and he added three stories to the building eight years later.9 By 1895, more than 1,500 people worked there.10 He developed the area that became known as Texas to provide rental housing for employees and their families,.11 Rothschild’s factory was closed by 1904, when it was sold to Arshag and Miran Karagheusian, the only children of an Armenian textile importer from Turkey. The brothers had moved to the U.S. after inheriting their father’s business and starting an import-export company in England.12 The plant was turned into a rug-making factory, and A. & M. Karagheusian Rug Co. began production the next year.13 Karagheusian, unlike Geyer & Ray, was successful. The company made floor coverings for Radio City Music Hall and the U.S. Supreme Court building.14 Carpet is still produced today under its Gulistan brand name, first used in 1924 for a line of Oriental-style rugs.15 The Freehold plant expanded through the 1940s, and the company purchased the former Brakeley Canning factory for use as a warehouse. The number of employees peaked at 1,700 in World War II, when the company made waterproof canvas known as duck for the U.S. military. About two-thirds of the town’s population depended on the mill for their livelihood.16 An industrywide shift toward tufted, or machine-sewn, carpet from the woven products made in Freehold marked the beginning of the end. Karagheusian first used the tufting process at a factory in Albany, Georgia, bought in 1952. Five years later, the company added a tufting plant in Aberdeen, North Carolina.17 Karaghuesian began scaling back its Freehold operations in 1958, when the warehouse was shut down. Production of broadloom Wilton carpet, woven from wool, ended in 1960 and 150 workers lost their jobs. The factory closed the next year, and another 400 employees were Greetings 22 fired. Only research and design departments and a custom tufting division, employing about 75 people in all, were left behind. Those units were shut by 1965, the year after the company was sold to J.P. Stevens & Co. for about $20 million.18 Karagheusian ended up as “the textile mill across the railroad tracks” that Bruce sang about in “My Hometown.”19 The closing was just one of the economic setbacks that paved the way for racial unrest in the 1960s. Monmouth Shopping Center, an open-air plaza in nearby Eatontown, opened in 1960 and drew customers away from local merchants. The center was later enclosed and renamed Monmouth Mall.20 Fires damaged stores on Main Street in April 1962 and February 1964.21 Bruce’s father worked at the rug mill as well as M&Q Plastics Inc., part of a wave of manufacturers that set up shop after World War II. Nestle SA opened a coffee-processing plant along Jerseyville Avenue, near the Texas section, in 1948. Brockway Glass Co. started operating on Route 33 in Freehold Township eight years later. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., or 3M, came to the township in 1957 and produced Scotch-brand audio and video tape there.22 M&Q, a maker of plastic films and bags, opened on Freehold’s Bannard Street in 1956. Bruce’s father spent about three years working there shortly before the family left for California. The company relocated in 1986 to Howell Township and again in 1993 to Pennsylvania.23 3M closed its factory the same year that M&Q left town. The shutdown took place despite opposition from Bruce and others. Brockway’s plant halted production in 1991.24 Only Nestle remained. The company still processes instant coffee and tea in Freehold, and the aroma of its products still permeates Bruce’s old neighborhood on Institute Street.25 As companies came and went, there were several constants for the local economy. Monmouth County’s administrative offices, Hall of Records, courthouse and jail were among them. Douglas was a guard at the jail, now in Freehold Township.26 Companies that did business Greetings 23 with the county were also numerous, including Lawyers Title Co., a title-search company where Adele was a secretary. She worked at a Main Street office that the company later vacated.27 Freehold Raceway, the oldest pari-mutuel track for harness racing in the U.S , was another fixture. The racetrack and original grandstand were built in 1877 on a site later split between Freehold and Freehold Township. Betting on races started in 1941.28 Bruce’s birth records show his father worked at the track. His occupation was listed as “laborer.”29 Douglas also was a bus and cab driver, the kinds of service jobs that became more critical to the local economy as manufacturers came and went. Freehold Area Hospital, now CentraState Medical Center, became one of Freehold’s biggest employers after the family moved west.30 Even if Bruce had wanted to stay in town, he might well have struggled like his father to keep a steady job amid all the upheaval. His interest in music made it clear that Freehold wasn’t the place for him. There was too little work to be found there, as the Castiles’ history showed. Freehold didn’t have a performance space from the time Bruce joined the Castiles until March 1968, when a local branch of the Hullabaloo chain of teen clubs opened. The band’s first show took place at the Woodhaven Swim Club. Subsequent concerts were staged at the St. Rose of Lima School, Elks lodge, Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, high school, American Hotel and the Left Foot, along with a Shop Rite supermarket’s grand opening.31 The Café Wha in New York hosted more of the Castiles’ concerts than all these local venues combined. The band passed an audition at the club in November 1966 and then played about two shows a month for the next 15 months.32 By the time these performances were over, Bruce had to know his hometown couldn’t satisfy his musical ambitions. “When I was about 17, I remember thinking I couldn’t wait until I got out and traveled,” he recalled at a 1985 concert in London. “So I got away.”33 Greetings 24 GOIN’ HOME “We gotta get out while we’re young,” Bruce sang in “Born to Run,” and he lived up to those words.1 By his early 20s, he had followed the example of his parents and left Freehold. He gravitated to the Jersey Shore area, especially Asbury Park, where he became part of a musical community and laid the foundation for his future success. But what happens after you leave? Do you keep running and wear yourself out? Do you return in desperation because you can’t run another step? Or do you go back on your own terms after a successful race? Bruce ultimately chose the latter course. On the Born in the U.S.A. tour, he introduced “My Hometown” by telling audiences about how he would come off the road, get in his car and drive to Freehold. “I got to realizing that the place that you’re born and raised in always stays in your blood, that no matter what you become or where you go, it never, ever leaves you. And that you belong someplace,” he said at a July 4, 1985, concert in London.2 Starting a family provided an incentive to strengthen his ties. “There’s something about holding your kid’s hand on a street where you held your father’s hand that’s very resonant,” he told Ed Bradley during a 1996 interview for CBS Television’s “60 Minutes” newsmagazine. He said he wanted his children “to know where they came from -- what and who came before them, what they went through -- a sense of some sort of history of who they are.”3 Bruce made his presence felt through his music as well. “It is the particularity of his songs, the portrait they offer of the real life of a real place, that makes people in New Jersey -more especially at the Shore in general, and most especially of all in Freehold -- so proprietary about him,” Coyne, the local historian, wrote in comparing him to Faulkner.4 Greetings 25 In Person & In Spirit Bruce’s appearance with Sonny Kenn and the Wild Ideas at the Monmouth County Fair was one instance in which Freehold drew him back over the years. Here are 10 more noteworthy examples of his relationship with his hometown. 3M plant closing (1985-86): Bruce put pressure on 3M to reverse a decision to close its Freehold Township recording-tape plant. He and country singer Willie Nelson signed magazine advertisements in December 1985 that protested the move.1 The following month, he helped to raise funds for the factory’s workers by performing at a benefit concert at Asbury Park’s Stone Pony.2 3M nevertheless proceeded with the closing, completed in May 1986. “Born to Run” fire truck dedication (October 1991): Freehold officials sought to redevelop part of the Karagheusian rug mill for use as municipal offices and a library, and Bruce donated $100,000 for the work. The project was halted after the proposed site burned down. The money instead went to purchase a booster truck for Good Will Hook & Ladder Co., one of four companies in the Freehold Fire Department. The truck has “Born to Run” painted on both doors in his honor and is housed at the department’s West Main Street headquarters.3 St. Rose of Lima benefit concert (November 1996): During a solo tour to promote the album “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” Bruce performed in his hometown for the first time since 1968. Only Freehold residents could purchase tickets to the show, which raised funds for a new parish center to serve the borough’s growing Hispanic population. “In Freehold,” written for the event, was played for the first time that night.4 Freehold High School 30-year reunion (November 1997): Bruce went to a gathering of his graduating class for the first time. The event was held at the Holiday Inn in Tinton Falls, Greetings 26 east of Freehold. His wife, Patti Scialfa, accompanied him. He appeared in the class picture and granted people’s requests for individual photos and autographs “with good humor,” according to the Asbury Park Press.5 Bruce spent time with his classmates again a decade later, when he and Patti attended his 40-year reunion.6 E Street Band reunion catalyst (October 1998): Two Middletown residents, Shaun Koslosky and Michael Pfeifer, introduced themselves to Bruce one day while he was sitting by himself outside the Court Jester, a restaurant on Freehold’s Main Street. Pfeifer asked whether Bruce would tour with the E Street Band, which young people like him and his friend had never seen because they were too young for their earlier shows. The discussion led him to consider the reunion tour that followed, Bruce told the VH-1 cable-television network in 2001.7 Kruise Night (Summer 2000): Classic cars ride the streets of downtown Freehold on the last Thursday of May, June, July, August and September. When former resident Mark Hyman wrote about Bruce and his home town in October 2000, he noted that the rocker had recently gone to one of these events with his family. The story said he had also been seen at Federici’s Pizza and the local library.8 Vinyard Park dedication (May 2002): Freehold built a park on the site where the Vinyards’ house once stood, and Bruce attended the dedication ceremony. “They gave us a chance to hone our craft,” he said in a speech that day. “I don’t think I can quantify how much they meant to my musical development and to my life in general.”9 Columbia Triumphant statue unveiling (June 2003): Bruce’s name appeared on a brick in front of the statue, displayed at a newly built park on Main Street.10 The statue, also known as Liberty Triumphant, honored soldiers who died at the Battle of Monmouth. It was first unveiled in 1884, replaced after being damaged by lightning a decade later, and found buried in mud by a Greetings 27 Freehold junk dealer in the late 1940s. Monmouth County bought the statue from the dealer in 2003. The county helped pay for the restoration and the new park as well.11 Lunch with Habitat for Humanity volunteers (July 2004): On a Saturday, a group of Bruce fans spent time working on one of six homes that the Western Monmouth County Habitat for Humanity was building off Institute Street. The group went to lunch at Federici’s Pizza, and Bruce stopped by the restaurant to thank them for their efforts.12 The houses were dedicated in September 2005, and the street along which they stand was named E Street in Bruce’s honor.13 Freehold High School Hall of Fame induction (April 2006): Bruce was honored in the hall’s first induction ceremony. While he didn’t attend, he prepared a speech read by his mother, who accepted the award on his behalf. “My advice to teachers today is to keep your eyes on the ones who don’t fit in,” he wrote. “Those are the ones that can think out of the box. You’ll never know where they’ll be going.”14 Greetings 28 In Song “County Fair,” officially released on The Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation 20 years after it was recorded, wasn’t the first Bruce song that drew from his time in Freehold. It was far from the last, either. The following list highlights 10 others, including the previously mentioned “My Hometown” and “In Freehold.”1 Family Song (1972): The Springsteen family’s relocation to California was the catalyst for this song, also called “California” and “California, You’re a Woman.” Bruce recorded two solo demo versions. The first appeared on “The Unsurpassed Springsteen, Vol. 1: The Early Years,” a bootleg album. The second was on the semi-official “Before the Fame” and three similar albums, “The Early Years,” “Prodigal Son” and “Unearthed.”2 Randolph Street (Master of Electricity) (1972): The title of this song, also released on “Before the Fame” and other gray-market albums, refers to the street where he first lived. The master of electricity may have been his grandfather, an electrician.3 Brucebase, a Springsteen database, says this song as “about as autobiographical as anything Bruce has ever written.”4 Spirit in the Night (1973): The inspiration for Greasy Lake, the setting for this song on his debut album “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” is open to debate. Bruce and members of his band frequented a lake near Exit 88 on the Garden State Parkway and another off Route 88, according to Vini Lopez, his first drummer. Both were in the Ocean County town of Lakewood. Lake Topanemus, about a mile north of downtown Freehold, is another possibility.5 The lake was the scene of nighttime parties, according to the Daily Register, a now-defunct local newspaper.6 Born to Run (1975): The characters in his signature song were “sprung from cages out on Highway 9,” Bruce’s first reference to Freehold’s main north-south route on his albums. In Greetings 29 “Zero and Blind Terry,” a 1973 song that was officially released 25 years later on the “Tracks” compilation boxed set, rival gangs met there.7 The Promise (1977): Route 9 made another appearance, as the narrator drove his Dodge Challenger down the highway “through the dead ends and all the bad scenes.” Three versions of the song were done with the E Street Band. Bruce re-recorded the song in a solo piano version for the “18 Tracks” compilation in 1999.8 Mansion on the Hill (1982): “This is a song that was set right here in town,” Bruce said at the St. Rose of Lima benefit.9 While concertgoers may have guessed that from his mention of a house that “rose above the factories and the fields,” the lyrics didn’t spell out his inspiration. The last verse of this song from the “Nebraska” album cited Linden, a town in North Jersey. My Hometown (1984): Running to the bus depot, driving around town with his father, living with racial tension, seeing Main Street’s decline, facing the rug mill’s closing -- these are the images Bruce used to tell Freehold’s story. This song, from the “Born in the U.S.A.” album, rose to No. 6 on the Billboard magazine singles chart in 1985.10 The Wish (1987): “This one’s for you, ma, let me come right out and say it,” Bruce wrote. He recalled her buying his first electric guitar at Caiazzo’s; getting ready to go to work at Lawyers Title, where the office ladies “were all lipstick, perfume and rustling skirts”; and having him do the twist for his uncles and aunts. The song also was officially released on “Tracks.” Local Hero (1992): In the first verse of this song, released on the “Lucky Town” album, the narrator takes a drive through his hometown and sees a black velvet painting of himself in a store window. That happened to Bruce one day as he passed the J.J. Newberry department store on Main Street, where a CVS pharmacy is now located. He parked the car, entered the store and asked the clerk who the person in the painting was. She replied: “Oh, just a local hero.”11 Greetings 30 In Freehold (1996): Each verse of this song, released only on bootlegs, told a different story about Bruce’s years in his hometown. He named his sister Ginny, the Vinyards and Maria Espinosa along with George Theiss, his Castiles bandmate, and Mayor Michael Wilson, a friend and fellow high-school musician. After introducing the song at the St. Rose of Lima benefit, he played it on the Ghost of Tom Joad tour and the E Street Band reunion tour. For the latter, he added a verse praising Freehold’s officials for rejecting a proposed statue of him.12 Greetings 31 NOTES County Fair 1 Anders Martensson and Jorgen Johansson, Local Heroes: The Asbury Park Music Scene. New Brunswick, NJ (Rutgers/Rivergate, 2008), 28. 2 Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th ed. (New York: Billboard Books, 2004), 593. “Born to Run” peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by “Prove It All Night” at No. 33, “Hungry Heart” at No. 5 and “Fade Away” at No. 20. 3 Brucebase, 21 Aug 2009 . Brucebase: On the Tracks, 22 Aug 2009 . 4 The version used on The Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation’s bonus disc was recorded, along with an alternate version, at his Los Angeles home studio between mid-January and midFebruary 1983. Another version with the E Street Band was recorded in April or May 1983. 5 Springsteen, “County Fair,” The Essential Bruce Springsteen, Columbia, 2003. Aug. 22, 2009 . 6 Addresses obtained from Bob Goldsborough, "Which celebrity's house is this?" Big Time Listings, 28 Aug. 2008, 21 Aug. 2009 . Travel time calculated on MapQuest . 7 Kevin Coyne, "The Faulkner of Freehold." Asbury Park Press, 14 March 1999. 21 Aug. 2009 . Greetings 32 Growin’ Up 1 Brucebase. Lorrie Carr and Michael Meggison, “The Ancestors of Bruce Springsteen,” 16 Sept. 2 2002. 21 Aug. 2009 . 3 Brucebase. Karen Schoemer, "Heart of Darkness," Newsweek, 1 April 1996, 21 Aug. 2009 4 . 5 Brucebase. Donna Chong, St. Rose of Lima parish administrative assistant, “Re: 87 Randoph 6 Street,” e-mail to author, 20 Aug. 2009. 7 Brucebase. Pat Berg, Freehold Borough (NJ) Tax Assessor’s Office, telephone conversation with 8 author, 18 Aug. 2009. 9 Monmouth County Library, Remembering the 20th Century: An Oral History of Monmouth County, 14 July 2000, 21 Aug. 2009 . 10 Jeanette Blair, Freehold Township: The First 300 Years, Freehold Township, NJ (Township Committee: 1993), 25. 11 Brucebase. Dave Marsh, Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, the Definitive Biography, 1972-2003, 12 New York (Routledge, 2003), 22. 13 John W. Duckett Jr., interview with author, 18 Aug. 2009. Duckett and his wife, Carolyn, owned the house from 1961 to 1975, according to Berg. Greetings 33 14 Springsteen, “Lost in the Flood,” Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Columbia, 1973. < http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/LostInTheFlood.html> 15 Brucebase. Fred Schruers, “Bruce Springsteen and the Secret of the World,” Rolling Stone, 5 Feb. 16 1981. 22 Aug. 2009 . 17 “Announcing Tonight’s Line-Up,” Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection Newsletter, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2009. 18 Springsteen, "Blinded by the Light," VH-1 Storytellers, Sony Music, 2005, DVD. Brucebase. Marsh and others say the guitar was bought in a pawn shop. Stan Goldstein and Jean Mikle, Rock & Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore, 3rd ed., Ocean 19 20 Grove, NJ (NJRockMap, 2008), 136. Brucebase says the purchase was made a year earlier. 21 Jim Henke, “Exclusive Bruce Springsteen Interview Clip (1 of 8),” What’s New at the Rock Hall, 21 Aug. 2009 (Cleveland: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum). 24 Aug. 2009 . 22 Goldstein and Mikle, Rock & Roll Tour, 136. Brucebase. Brucebase. Brucebase. “Attention Class,” Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection Newsletter, Vol. 23 24 25 26 3, No. 2, 2007. Attributed to Asbury Park Press, October 1975 27 Distance calculated on MapQuest. Bob Hoenig, author interview, 27 Aug. 2007. Hoenig graduated with Bruce. 28 Greetings 34 29 Sheri Tabachnik, Joseph Sapia and Kelly Jane Cotter, “Father of Bruce Springsteen Dies at 73,” Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader, ed. June Skinner Sawyers (New York: Penguin, 2004). 292-293. From the Asbury Park Press, 2 May 1998. 30 Springsteen & the E Street Band, “The River,” Live 1975-85, 1986. CD Box. Springsteen, "Independence Day," The River, 1980. 26 Aug. 2009 31 . 32 Jay Cocks, "The Backstreet Phantom of Rock," Time, 27 Oct. 1975. 33 Springsteen, "Racing in the Street," Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978. 26 Aug. 2009 . 34 Springsteen, “Used Cars,” Nebraska, 1982. 2 Sept. 2009 35 Brucebase. “Two rare magazines donated to the Springsteen Special Collection,” Bruce 36 Springsteen Special Collection. 31 Aug. 2009. 37 Kurt Loder, “The Rolling Stone Interview: Bruce Springteen,” Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 1984. 27 Aug. 2009 . 38 Springsteen, “Born in the U.S.A.,” Born in the U.S.A., 1984. 2 Sept. 2009 . 39 Brucebase. Duckett interview. 40 Greetings 35 Location 1 50States.com. “New Jersey.” 23 Aug. 2009 . MapQuest used to calculate travel time. MapQuest. Brucebase. MapQuest. Jean Mikle, “Springsteen at the Spectrum,” The Rhythm Room, 27 April 2009. 21 Aug. 2 3 4 5 6 2009 . 7 MapQuest. Boardwalk Hall, “Past Events.” 23 Aug. 2009 . 9 Brucebase. Brucebase. Mike Vaccaro, “Visit from the Boss - no, not George - has Yankees Rockin’,” The 10 11 Star-Ledger, 13 Aug.1998. 22 Aug. 2009 < http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum/ viewtopic.php?t=5106&sid=f1de9474b70fcbe8470dbc34473e2f3e> 12 Dave DiMartino, "The Stranger," Creem, January 1981. 21 Aug. 2009 . 13 New Jersey Historical Society, What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike. 23 Aug. 2009 . 14 Cultural Resource Consulting Group, Garden State Parkway: A Historic Journey. 23 Aug. 2009 . Greetings 36 15 Tom Gullo and William B. Longo, Railroads of Monmouth County, Charleston, SC (Arcadia, 2007), 113. 16 Gullo and Longo, 87. Barbara Pepe, Freehold: A Hometown History, Charleston, SC (Arcadia, 2003) , 92. Eric Alterman, It Ain't No Sin to Be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce 17 18 Springsteen, Boston (Little Brown, 1998), 12. 19 Brucebase. Paul Godino, “Hospital marks 30 years of service to the community,” News Transcript 20 (Freehold, NJ), 3 Oct. 2001. 21 Aug. 2009 . 21 K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, “Our History.” 23 Aug. 2009 . The hospital was founded in 1904 and is now known as Jersey Shore University Medical Center, a unit of Meridian Health. MapQuest used for travel time. 22 Ride for Riverview, “About Riverview Medical Center.” 23 Aug. 2009 . The hospital was founded in 1928 and is now Riverview Medical Center, a unit of Meridian Health. MapQuest used for travel time. 23 Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey, Vol. 13, August 1916. 21 Aug. 2009 . The hospital was founded in 1889 and is now Monmouth Medical Center, a unit of the St. Barnabas Health Care System. MapQuest used for travel time. 24 Catholiclinks.org, “Catholic Schools: New Jersey.” 23 Aug. 2009 . Christian Brothers Academy, “History.” 6 Sept. 2009 . MapQuest used for travel time. Greetings 37 25 Adele Springsteen, Freehold High School Hall of Fame inaugural induction ceremony, 6 April 2006. 21 Aug. 2009 . 26 Kevin Coyne, e-mail to author, 13 Sept. 2009. American Council of Education, “General Institutional Overview: Brookdale 27 Community College.” 21 Aug. 2009 . 28 Ocean County College, “2008-2009 College Catalog: Introduction.” 23 Aug. 2009 . 29 Molly Bloom, “Rock star Springsteen sits in on Princeton class,” The Daily Princetonian, 15 Dec. 2000. 21 Aug. 2009 . History 1 “Freehold Borough History Timeline,” Welcome to Freehold. 21 Aug. 2009 . 2 Pepe, Freehold, 13-20. Pepe, 22-25. 59. Pepe, 68-69, 135-137. Pepe, 53-56. Jerry Cheslow, “If You’re Thinking of Living in: Freehold Borough,” The New York 26 Jan. 1992. 21 Aug. 2009 . 7 Brucebase. Cheslow, “If You’re Thinking.” 8 Greetings 38 9 Clare Marie Celano, “Damage proves too much to save landmark,” News Transcript, 9 Jan. 2008. 23 Aug. 2009 . 10 Cheslow, “If You’re Thinking.” “Parish Story,” St. Rose of Lima. 24 Aug. 2009 . 12 Carr and Meggison, “Ancestors,” and William Addams Reitwiesner, “Ancestry of Bruce Springsteen.” 21 Aug. 2009 . 13 Carr and Meggison; Reitwiesner; Brucebase. Marsh, Two Hearts, 324. St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, author visit, 7 Sept. 2009. His tombstone doesn’t provide 14 15 the date of birth. 16 Hank Bordowitz, The Bruce Springsteen Scrapbook. New York (Citadel, 2004), 7. Tabachnik, Sapia and Cotter, “Father of Bruce Springsteen Dies.” Also Mike Tierney, 17 “Springsteen’s New Jersey: Freehold protects famed native son,” AtlantaJournal-Constitution, May 28, 2000. Aug. 12. 2009 < http://nl.newsbank.com/sites/ajc>. 18 Cemetery, 7 Sept. 2009. Carr and Meggison; Reitwiesner; Adele Springsteen, Hall of Fame induction. Idearc Media, Superpages. 6 Sept. 2009 and 19 20 Kevin Coyne, “Re: Where does Springsteen’s Aunt Edie live,” e-mail to author, 4 Sept. 2009. 21 Brucebase. Bruce was 50% Italian, 37.5% Irish and 12.5% Dutch, based on his grandparents’ heritage. Greetings 39 Demographics 1 Springsteen, “Freehold,” Lebanese Tribute. 23 Aug. 2009 . 2 Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. "New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930-1990," State of New Jersey, Department of Labor and Workforce Development. 21 Aug. 2009 . 6 Nicholas Dawidoff, “The Pop Populist,” New York Times Magazine, 26 Jan 1997. 27 Aug. 2009 < http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/26/magazine/the-pop-populist.html>. 7 Maxine Lurie and Marc Mappen, Encyclopedia of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ (Rutgers, 2004). 8 Census, “Fact Sheet,” American FactFinder. 21 Aug. 2009 . 8 Pepe, 50, 107. Pepe, 50. Pepe, 107. 9 10 Greetings 40 11 Pepe, 107-110. Kathleen O’Brien, “Black History Month: Integrating Jersey’s Schools,” The Star- 12 Ledger, 10 Feb. 2008. 12 Sept. 2009 . 13 Rodney Point-Du-Jour, "Team Tackled the Color Line," Asbury Park Press, Feb. 1, 2002. 22 Aug. 2009 . 14 The Borough of Freehold Historical Book, Freehold, NJ (Freehold Borough, 1968). Fred Kerr, “Police Quell Disorders in Downtown Freehold: 2 Youths Shot; Curfew 15 Imposed,” Asbury Park Press, 20 May 1969. 16 "Freehold's Riot: How It Happened," Asbury Park Press, 22 May 1969. 21 Aug. 2009 . 17 Springsteen, “My Hometown,” Born in the U.S.A. , 1984. 23 Aug. 2009 . 18 Kirkpatrick, Words and Music, 2. Martensson and Johansson, Local Heroes, 47-51. Rick Bird, "Springsteen urges city to heal its racial rift," Cincinnati Post, 13 Nov. 2002. 19 20 21 Aug. 2009 . 21 J. Steven Svoboda, “An Encounter with Richie Blackmore,” Luckytown Digest, 21 Sept. 1999, 21 Aug. 2009 . The author misstates Blackwell's last name throughout the posting. Ritchie Blackmore is a guitarist and a founding member of the bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. Greetings 41 22 Census, “Fact Sheet,” American FactFinder. "Immigrants come up winners in settlement," News Transcript, 15 Nov. 2006. 21 Aug. 23 2009 . 24 “Parish History,” St. Rose of Lima. Dean Herrin, "The Makers of Gulistan: A&M Karagheusian's Rug Mill in Freehold, 25 New Jersey, 1904-1965," Freehold, NJ (Monmouth County Historical Association, 1987), 36. 26 Jill Huber, "Freehold 'Center' celebrates 95 years," New Jersey Jewish News, 15 June 2006. 21 Aug. 2009 . 27 Huber, “Freehold ‘Center’.” Huber, “Freehold ‘Center’.” Springsteen, “The Klansman,” Lebanese Tribute to Bruce Springsteen. 23 Aug. 2009 28 29 . Economics 1 Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, New Jersey: A Guide to Its Present and Past," New York (Viking, 1939), 250. 26 Aug. 2009 . 2 Pepe, Freehold, 13, 19. Harry R. Carter, “Trust: The Ghost Who Crept Away,” Firehouse.com, 21 May 2009. 3 24 Aug. 2009 . For a picture of the 1947 Potato Queen, see Lee Ellen Griffith, Freehold. Dover, NH: (Arcadia, 1996), 52. 4 Pepe, 19. Pepe, 93-94. 5 Greetings 42 6 Gullo and Longo, Railroads of Monmouth County, 7. Pepe, 123-129. Herrin, Makers of Gulistan, 7. Herrin, 2. Henry Hall, ed., “V. Henry Rothschild,” America's Successful Men of Affairs: An 7 8 9 10 Encyclopedia of Contemporaneous Biography, Vol. 1, New York (New York Printing, 1895), 557. 21 Aug. 2009 . 11 Herrin, 36. Gulistan Carpet, “About Gulistan.” 11 Aug. 2009 . 13 Herrin, 10. Herrin, 26. Gulistan, “About Gulistan.” Herrin, 16, 50, 72. Herrin, 71-72. Herrin, 72-75. Springsteen, “My Hometown.” David P. Willis and Keith Brown, “Down an anchor, Monmouth Mall hits tough 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 times,” Asbury Park Press, 22 Nov. 2008. 27 Aug. 2009 . 21 Pepe, 140. Pepe, 140-142. 22 Greetings 43 23 Jack Conway, interview with author, 14 Aug.2009. Conway has worked for M&Q since 1959. Bruce’s father started there in 1965 or 1966 and left in 1968 or 1969, he said. 24 Pepe, 140-142. Author visits, 30 Aug. 2009 and 7 Sept. 2009. Marsh, Two Hearts, 324. Goldstein and Mikle, Rock & Roll Tour, 135. Freehold Raceway, “Capsule History.” 21 Aug. 2009 . 29 “Springsteen medical records for sale,” The Smoking Gun, 20, 24 May 2004. 21 Aug. 2009 . 30 Pepe, 141-142. Brucebase. Brucebase. Springsteen, “My Hometown,” Independence Night, Bootleg CD, 4 July 1985 (EU: 31 32 33 Crystal Cat, 1985). Goin’ Home 1 Springsteen, “Born to Run,” Born to Run, Columbia, 1975. 23 Aug. 2009 . 2 Springsteen, Independence Night. Steve Kroft, "Springsteen Gets Personal," 60 Minutes, CBS News, New York, 21 Jan. 3 1996. 21 Aug. 2009 . 4 Coyne, “Faulkner of Freehold.” Greetings 44 In Person & In Spirit 1 Henry Weinstein, “Rock Star Takes Out Ads to Help His Hometown Plant,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 4, 1985. 23 Aug. 2009 < http://articles.latimes.com/1985-12-04/business/fi636_1_rock-star>. 2 Matthew Karas and Patricia M. Martin, “Boss goes to the aid of workers,” Asbury Park Press, 20 Jan. 1986. 3 Good Will Hook & Ladder Web site. 15 Aug. 2009 . Mark Hyman, "The Boss Grew Up Here, But Mum's the Word," BusinessWeek, 2 Oct. 4 2000. 21 Aug. 2009 . 5 “Rock star joins his class for 30th school reunion.” Asbury Park Press. 1 Dec. 1997, 2. Hoenig, author interview. Goldstein and Mikle, Rock & Roll Tour, 138. Hyman, "The Boss Grew Up Here.” Springsteen, Vinyard Park dedication speech, 18 May 2002. 21 Aug. 2009. 6 7 8 9 . 10 Goldstein and Mikle, 140. Dick Metzgar, “Columbia Triumphant marks return to boro,” News Transcript, 25 June 11 2003. 23 Aug. 2009 . 12 Clare Marie Celano, "Bruce fans help build E Street home," News Transcript, 11 Aug. 2004. 21 Aug. 2009 . 13 Celano, "Habitat families welcomed to new homes on E Street," News Transcript, 5 Oct. 2005. 21 Aug. 2009 . Greetings 45 14 Adele Springsteen, High School Hall of Fame induction. In Song 1 Lyrics come from Bruce’s official Web site or Lebanese Tribute , 23 Aug. 2009, 2 Brucebase: On the Tracks. Bruce Springsteen, “Randolph Street,” Lebanese Tribute. 23 Aug. 2009 3 . 4 Brucebase: On the Tracks. Bob Crane, A Place to Stand: A Guide to Bruce Springsteen’s Sense of Place, Silver 5 Spring, MD (Palace Books, 2002). 2-4. 6 “Freehold aims to quite lake’s ‘spirits in the night’,” The Daily Register (Shrewsbury, NJ), April 7, 1981. Aug. 22, 2009 . 7 Brucebase: On the Tracks. Brucebase: On the Tracks. Coyne, “Faulkner of Freehold.” Whitburn, Top 40 Hits. Celano, “European fans sample slice of Bruce’s hometown,” News Transcript, 30 July 8 9 10 11 2003. 23 Aug. 2009 . 12 “Freehold,” Lebanese Tribute. Greetings 46 WORKS CITED Books & Manuscripts Alterman, Eric. It Ain't No Sin to Be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen. Boston: Little Brown, 1998. Blair, Jeanette. Freehold Township: The First 300 Years. Freehold Township, NJ: Township Committee, 1993. Bordowitz, Hank. The Bruce Springsteen Scrapbook. New York: Citadel, 2004. Crane, Bob. 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Freehold, NJ: Monmouth County Historical Association, 1987. Hilburn, Robert. Springsteen. New York: Rolling Stone, 1985. Kirkpatrick, Rob. The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection. Lurie, Maxine and Marc Mappen. Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers, 2004. Marsh, Dave. Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts, the Definitive Biography, 1972-2003. New York: Routledge, 2003. Martensson, Anders and Jorgen Johansson. Local Heroes: The Asbury Park Music Scene. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Press/Rivergate, 2008. Pepe, Barbara. Freehold: A Hometown History. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2003. Sandiford, Christopher. Point Blank. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 1999. Skinner Sawyers, June, ed. Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader. New York: Penguin, 2004. Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th ed. New York: Billboard Books, 2004. Publications History of the Tufted Carpet Industry. Dalton, GA: Carpet and Rug Institute: 2004. 21 Aug. 2009 . Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey, Vol. 13, August 1916. 21 Aug. 2009 Monmouth County Music Heritage Map & Guide, Volume 1: Musical Snapshot, 1970-2003. Red Bank, NJ: Monmouth County Arts Council, 2003. The Borough of Freehold Historical Book. Freehold, NJ: Freehold Borough, 1968. Greetings 48 Magazine articles Cocks, Jay. "The Backstreet Phantom of Rock." Time, 27 Oct. 1975. Coyne, Kevin. “His Hometown.” New Jersey Monthly. January 2003. 21 Aug. 2009 . Dawidoff, Nicholas. “The Pop Populist.” New York Times Magazine, 26 Jan 1997. 27 Aug. 2009 < http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/26/magazine/the-pop-populist.html>. DiMartino, Dave. "The Stranger." Creem, January 1981. 21 Aug. 2009 . Goldstein, Stan. "Bruce Springsteen Rocked Here." Inside Jersey, 15 May 2009. 21 Aug. 2009 . Hyman, Mark. "The Boss Grew Up Here, But Mum's the Word." BusinessWeek, 2 Oct. 2000. 21 Aug. 2009 . Loder, Kurt. “The Rolling Stone Interview: Bruce Springteen.” Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 1984. 27 Aug. 2009 . Schoemer, Karen. "Heart of Darkness." Newsweek, 1 April 1996. 21 Aug. 2009 . Schruers, Fred. “Bruce Springsteen and the Secret of the World.” Rolling Stone, 5 Feb. 1981. 22 Aug. 2009 . Greetings 49 Newspaper articles Bird, Rick. "Springsteen urges city to heal its racial rift." Cincinnati Post, 13 Nov. 2002. 21 Aug. 2009 . Bloom, Molly. “Rock star Springsteen sits in on Princeton class.” The Daily Princetonian, 15 Dec. 2000. 21 Aug. 2009 . Celano, Clare Marie. "Bruce fans help build E Street home." News Transcript (Freehold, NJ), 11 Aug. 2004. 21 Aug. 2009 . ------------------------. “Damage proves too much to save landmark.” News Transcript, 9 Jan. 2008. 23 Aug. 2009 . ------------------------. “European fans sample slice of Bruce’s hometown.” News Transcript, 30 July 2003. 23 Aug. 2009 . ------------------------. "Freehold H.S. honors first hall of fame inductees.” News Transcript, 19 April 2006. 21 Aug. 2009 . ------------------------. "Habitat families welcomed to new homes on E Street." News Transcript, 5 Oct. 2005. 21 Aug. 2009 . Greetings 50 ------------------------. “Springsteen, Theiss help honor couple who cared." News Transcript, 22 May 2002. 21 Aug. 2009 . Cheslow, Jerry. “If You’re Thinking of Living in: Freehold Borough.” The New York Times, 26 Jan. 1992. 21 Aug. 2009 . Coyne, Kevin. "The Faulkner of Freehold." Asbury Park Press, 14 March 1999. 21 Aug. 2009 . Ducey, Lynn. "Everybody has a Springsteen tale." Asbury Park Press, 16 Dec. 1999. 21 Aug. 2009 . Feeney, Tom. "Hometown has seen ups and downs since those troubled times first came." The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), 11 Aug. 2002. 12 Aug. 2009 . Godino, Paul. “Hospital marks 30 years of service to the community.” News Transcript, 3 Oct. 2001. 21 Aug. 2009 . Huber, Jill. "Freehold 'Center' celebrates 95 years." New Jersey Jewish News, 15 June 2006. 21 Aug. 2009 . Karas, Matthew and Patricia M. Martin. “Boss goes to the aid of workers.” Asbury Park Press, 20 Jan. 1986. Greetings 51 Kerr, Fred. “Police Quell Disorders in Downtown Freehold: 2 Youths Shot; Curfew Imposed.” Asbury Park Press, 20 May 1969. Lustig, Jay. "Springsteen a Cautious Man on '60 Minutes'." The Star-Ledger, 21 Jan. 1996. 12 Aug. 2009. . Metzgar, Dick. “Columbia Triumphant marks return to boro.” News Transcript, 25 June 2003. 23 Aug. 2009 . O’Brien, Kathleen “Black History Month: Integrating Jersey’s Schools.” The Star-Ledger, 10 Feb. 2008. 12 Sept. 2009 . Point-Du-Jour, Rodney. "Team Tackled the Color Line." Asbury Park Press, 1 Feb. 2002. 22 Aug. 2009 . Predham, Kim. "An unofficial 'mayor' passes into history." Asbury Park Press, 14 Jan. 2008. 21 Aug. 2009 . Sapia, Joseph. “A Day in the Life of Freehold Borough.” Asbury Park Press, 16 Dec. 1999. 21 Aug. 2009 . Tabachnik, Sheri, Joseph Sapia and Kelly Jane Cotter. “Father of Bruce Springsteen Dies at 73.” Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader, ed. June Skinner Sawyers (New York: Penguin, 2004). From the Asbury Park Press, 2 May 1998. Tierney, Mike. “Springsteen’s New Jersey: Freehold protects famed native son.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 28 May 2000. Aug. 12. 2009 < http://nl.newsbank.com/sites/ajc>. Greetings 52 Turner, Steve. "Bruce Springsteen's New Jersey: Greetings from the Boss's back yard." The Daily Mail, 29 June 2009. 21 Aug. 2009 . Vaccaro, Mike. “Visit from the Boss - no, not George - Has Yankees Rockin’.” The Star-Ledger, 13 Aug. 1998. Aug. 22, 2009 < http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum/viewtopic. php?t=5106&sid=f1de9474b70fcbe8470dbc34473e2f3e> Weinstein, Henry. “Rock Star Takes Out Ads to Help His Hometown Plant.” Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 1985. 23 Aug. 2009 http://articles.latimes.com/1985-12-04/business/fi636_1_rock-star>. Willis, David P. and Keith Brown. “Down an anchor, Monmouth Mall hits tough times.” Asbury Park Press, 22 Nov. 2008. 27 Aug. 2009 . “Freehold aims to quite lake’s ‘spirits in the night’.” The Daily Register (Shrewsbury, NJ), 7 April 1981. 22 Aug. 2009 . "Freehold's Riot: How It Happened." Asbury Park Press. 22 May 1969. 21 Aug. 2009 . "Immigrants come up winners in settlement." News Transcript. 15 Nov. 2006. 21 Aug. 2009 . “Rock star joins his class for 30th school reunion.” Asbury Park Press. 1 Dec. 1997. Newsletter articles “Announcing Tonight’s Line-Up,” Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection Newsletter, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2009. Greetings 53 “Attention Class,” Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2007. Web pages American Council of Education, “General Institutional Overview: Brookdale Community College.” . Boardwalk Hall, “History of Events.” . Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, “Previous Donor News Stories.” Carr, Lorrie and Michael Meggison. “The Ancestors of Bruce Springsteen.” 16 Sept. 2002. . Carter, Harry R. “Trust: The Ghost Who Crept Away.” Firehouse.com, 21 May 2009. . Catholiclinks.org. “Catholic Schools: New Jersey.” . 50States.com. “New Jersey.” . Freehold Raceway. “Capsule History.” . Freehold Township. “History of Religions in Freehold Township.” . Goldsborough, Bob. "Which celebrity's house is this?" Big Time Listings, 28 Aug. 2008. . Gulistan Carpet. “About Gulistan.” . Hall, Henry, ed. “V. Henry Rothschild.” America's Successful Men of Affairs: An Encyclopedia of Contemporaneous Biography, Vol. 1. New York: New York Printing, 1895. 21 Aug. 2009 . K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital. “Our History.” . Mikle, Jean. “Springsteen at the Spectrum.” The Rhythm Room, 27 April 2009. . Ocean County College, “2008-2009 College Catalog: Introduction.” . Reitwiesner, William Addams. “Ancestry of Bruce Springsteen.” . Ride for Riverview. “About Riverview Medical Center.” . Smoking Gun, The. “Springsteen medical records for sale.” 20, 24 May 2004. . Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey, “Monmouth County,” Historic Roadsides of New Jersey. Plainfield, NJ: 1928. . Svoboda, J. Steven, "An Encounter with Richie Blackmore," Luckytown Digest. 21 Sept. 1999. . Greetings 55 U.S. Census Bureau. American FactFinder. . Welcome to Freehold. “Freehold Borough History Timeline.” . Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. "New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930-1990." State of New Jersey, Department of Labor and Workforce Development. . Backstreets . Bruce Springsteen database . Bruce Springsteen official site . Bruce Springsteen Special Collection . Brucebase . Cultural Resource Consulting Group, Garden State Parkway: A Historic Journey . Freehold Borough . Freehold Voice . Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection . Good Will Hook & Ladder Co. . Greasy Lake, the Ultimate Bruce Springsteen Tribute Page . Lebanese Tribute to Bruce Springsteen . Mapquest . Greetings 56 Monmouth County Library, Remembering the 20th Century: An Oral History of Monmouth County . New Jersey Historical Society, What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike . News Transcript (Freehold, NJ) . NJ.com Springsteen home page . Rhythm Room . St. Rose of Lima . Superpages Welcome to Freehold . Audio & Video Goldstein, Stan and Jean Mikle. Rock and Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore. DVD. Ocean Grove, NJ: NJRockMap, 2003. Henke, Jim. “Exclusive Bruce Springsteen Interview Clip (1 of 8),” What’s New at the Rock Hall, 21 Aug. 2009. Cleveland: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. 24 Aug. 2009 . Kroft, Steve. "Springsteen Gets Personal," 60 Minutes, 21 Jan. 1996. New York: CBS News. 21 Aug. 2009 . Springsteen, Adele. Freehold High School Hall of Fame inaugural induction ceremony, 6 April 2006. 21 Aug. 2009 . Springsteen, Bruce. “Blinded by the Light.” VH-1 Storytellers, DVD. Sony, 2005. ------------------------. “Mansion on the Hill.” In Freehold. Bootleg CD, 8 Nov. 1996. Midnight Beat, 1996. Greetings 57 ------------------------. “My Hometown.” Independence Night. Bootleg CD, 4 July 1985. Crystal Cat, 1985. ------------------------. Vinyard Park dedication speech. 18 May 2002. 21 Aug. 2009. . Springsteen, Bruce & the E Street Band, “The River,” Live 1975-85, 1986. CD Box. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank Carl Beams, Kevin Coyne, Bob Crane and Stan Goldstein for reading this paper in draft form. Their feedback was incorporated into the final version. Also, thanks to Bob Hoenig and Phil Kuntz for their supportive comments.