# Postcards show 1900s New Jersey coastal life before development 2026-08-13T20:18:21+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet A collection of vintage postcards donated to the National Park Service reveals details of early 20th-century life on New Jersey's Sandy Hook peninsula. The 24 colour postcards, part of Paul Koeptchem's estate, were donated in 1975. The Times of India reports that oral histories by NPS historians accompany the collection. Retired Lieutenant Colonel John Mulhern, who lived on Sandy Hook from 1908 to 1927, recalled in the interviews how marine observers tracked ships by silhouettes before electronic systems, how the Twin Lights of Navesink operated with a manually wound lens, and how ice was cut from ponds for sale. The postcards show open fields and ponds replaced by homes and roads. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: lighthouses, National Park Service, New Jersey, postcards, radio history, Sandy Hook Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/postcards-show-1900s-new-jersey-coastal-life-before-development/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/postcards-show-1900s-new-jersey-coastal-life-before-development/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.