In 1962, New Jersey took a family's property; they challenged the price and were awarded $350,000

Photos courtesy NPS/Gateway NRA A collection of vintage postcards donated to the National Park Service has given historians a detailed look at life along the New Jersey coast in the early 20th century.In a series of oral history interviews conducted by National Park Service historians Tom Hoffman and Elaine Harmon, retired Lieutenant Colonel John Joseph Patrick Mulhern examined items from the Paul Koeptchem postcard collection. He shared memories of living and working on the Sandy Hook peninsula between 1908 and 1927.The collection contains 24 colour postcards, catalogued as series number 272 at the Sandy Hook museum. It entered the National Park Service archives in November 1975 after Emily Tepia, the executor of Koeptchem’s estate, donated it. Koeptchem lived in Highland Beach from 1907 until 1962.The interview transcript, published by the National Park Service as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area’s historical records, shows how coastal communities and maritime stations operated before modern navigation technology and large-scale development.Early ship tracking and radio experimentsWhile looking at a postcard showing the Twin Lights of Navesink, Mulhern explained how s...