Margate Pier.
MARGATE – The fishing used to be great on the Margate Pier. Today, not so much. That’s because the dune project that widened Margate’s beach 100 feet put sand where the water used to be.
“Since the dunes project we lost quite a bit of water,” said Jeff Rutizer, president of the Anglers Club of Absecon Island, which has been offering fishers a place to cast their lines for the last 96 years.
Fishing on the “iconic” Margate Pier is still possible at high tide, he said, but when the tide is out, the pickings are slim. The club is aiming to extend the pier and increase the number of anglers who make it their “happy place.”
The club had as many as 200 members in the 1940s, but membership dropped to 50 members after a fire destroyed a portion of the pier in 1988. The club increased its membership to 157 before the dunes project, and now has about 121 members, Rutizer said.
“We got some bad press that scared people away, and we lose about three members each year due to attrition,” he said. “We’ll bring it back up again once the pier is extended.”
Anglers Club of Absecon Island President Jeff Rutizer and Vice-president Steve Rice.
According to Rutizer, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection has committed to restoring the water under the pier to pre-dune levels with a 125-foot extension, but the $850,000 cost comes with a hitch – the pier must be accessible to the public.
The club is hoping to raise an additional $250,000 by the start of construction on Oct. 1 to extend it another 175 feet and ensure it is maintained over the next 100 years, Rutizer said. It will take about six months to complete the project.
An open house is being held 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, July 27 to encourage fishers to join the club and to help raise the money needed for the additional footage. A second open house is planned for the end of August, he said.
Rutizer said the private club has been working with the city and the state to develop a public observation area, which will be located in front of the clubhouse and extend to the inner T area. The area will be accessible from the beach using stairs that will be installed on the north and south sides of the pier. The outer T will be reserved for anglers who are members of the club, he said. The clubhouse will also remain private and there will be no public access from Exeter Avenue.
The outer T of the Margate Pier.
According to city Commissioner John Amodeo, the city and club have reached a tentative agreement on public access, which the DEP is reviewing. The club must also obtain a written agreement with the DEP, he said.
“The city has nothing to do with the pier, but we will partner with the Anglers Club on minor maintenance issues through the Public Works Department, such as replacing deck boards for the public portion. However, the city will not fund any upgrades without state grants,” Amodeo said.
He also said the DEP will not require additional rest rooms or ADA compliance “because it is an existing structure.”
Amodeo said if the city is ever awarded Green Acres funds, it might install additional lighting in the public area and add some benches to make it more “park like,” he said.
At this point, the club and the DEP have a “gentleman’s agreement” but nothing is in writing, Amodeo said.
“They verbally agreed to make the pier whole again,” Amodeo said.
Downbeach.com contacted DEP spokesman Larry Hajna, who simply said, “This matter is currently under review.”
Club membership is currently $320 a year and includes fishing and amenities, such as use of the clubhouse facilities, men’s and women’s restrooms, and storage for two beach chairs. The campaign to raise funds to extend the pier beyond the 125 feet approved by the state offers naming rights to sections of the pier, rooms in the clubhouse and the clubhouse itself.
Each $1,000 donation will cover the cost of extending the pier an additional foot beyond what the state will fund. Donors will get season membership through the 2020. Larger donations include naming rights for the meeting room, kitchen, locker room and ladies’ lounge. A $25,000 contribution includes naming rights for the clubhouse or inner T, while a $50,000 donation will include naming rights for the most important part of the pier, the outer T.
Rutizer said there are several members who have already expressed interest in securing the top naming right areas, but other donations are needed in any amount.
On Wednesday, July 24, the Margate Historical Society held the first in its series of summer informational meetings, which focused on the pier’s history.
Margate Historical Society curator Gwen Mead shares the history of Margate Pier.
Curator Gwen Mead said when it was established in 1923, the Anglers Club “turned ideas and hopes into reality.”
The private non-profit was founded by H. Willard Shaner, a sports writer for the Press of Atlantic City and Philadelphia Inquirer who was most known for his dramatic rescue of a child from the ocean on June 25, 1909. He by jumped off the end of the Atlantic City Steel Pier to rescue little Samuel Somers.
Shaner, along with co-founders Dr. H. Johnson Held and Henry W. Stelwagon, raised all the money to build the pier perpendicular to the pre-existing boardwalk, Mead said.
“He created the pier with private funding,” she said, “but soon received support from the city commission to use that portion of the beach for the pier.
In those days, “gentleman fishermen” got dressed up in their finest duds to go fishing, Mead said.
Margate resident Steve Jasiecki looks over some historical documents about the Margate Pier.
The membership was very diverse in the early years and included members of different races and religions, Mead said, but women were not allowed to be members until the late 1980s.
The pier has had its share of near devastation over the years, including the Storm of 1944, which washed away sections of the pier and the adjoining boardwalk, and a fire in 1988, the cause of which is unknown. Then came Hurricane Sandy, which caused about $110,000 worth of damage, and most recently, the dune project, which resulted in the loss of 4.5 feet of water beneath the pier.
Through it all, the members forked out the money to repair and maintain the pier, Rutizer said. Now the club is turning to friends and neighbors to ensure Margate’s iconic silhouette continues to provide a backdrop for wedding and family photographs for years to come.
Future beach replenishment projects could render the pier high and dry again if it only extends 125 feet, he said.
“Our goal of raising $250,000 will extend the pier the full 300 feet we need. We must do it now because the contractors will be here and to do it at a later time would be too expensive,” Rutizer said.
The club participates in several tournaments each season and holds services on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Donations can be made on Venmo.com, or sent to The Anglers Club Centennial Fund, PO Box 3126, Margate, NJ 08402.
For more information, see margateanglersclub.com or call 609-823-9846.
Historical documents and newspaper clippings about the Anglers Club of Absecon Island were on display at Historic City Hall, July 24.
