salt : concept issue : spring 2012

concept ISSUe

saltculture | ar t | retail | dining

c a p e m a y c o u n t y , n e w j e r s e y

saltnj.com

Wild

Bird

Cro

ssing

murasakijapanese hibatchi & sushi bar

3002

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te 9

, Sou

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609.

624.

9444

| av

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com

13 Dennisville Road, Cape May Court House | 609.465.8888

Nun’s Beach in Stone Harbor.

saltculture | ar t | retail | dining


Cape May Count y is home to a wealth of natural beaut y,

from cedar lakes to pristine beaches. But there is also

a wealth of interesting people , charming shops, gourmet

eateries , homegrown ar tists and daring souls . S ALT is

an ef for t to bring some of that f lavor to l ight . We are a

small communit y and so are used to being overlooked or

underappreciated. But with the advent of dig ital media,

and online distr ibution, there is no reason why we can’t

have a world-class publication.

~ David Todd McCar t y, Publisher

Cape May’s Best Brewerey Since 2011

9810 Third Avenue, Stone Harbor | 609.368.3355

l i g h t h e a r t e d r e s o r t w e a r a n d ac c e s s o r i e s

contentsCONCEPT ISSUE | APRIL 2012


zero to stupid in three secondsA Profile of Kur t Kelly

a little off the pathThe Wayward Gardening of Bekki R ich

Yarn ClubJulie Petrel la is Home Made

Raising A Riehl Amish barnCrow Creek Farm Gets A New Addition

Tutto GelatoSweet Stone Harbor

herbsPhotos by Michael Sperlak

Easter chicksPhotos by David Todd McCar t y

atlantic bountyby Stephen Spagnuola

©2012 David Todd McCarty. All Rights Reserved. Published by Hopping Frog Studios.401 North Delsea Drive, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210.

9712 Third Avenue | Opens at 11:00am | 609.368.2650

R unners in Bellplain. St . Patrick’s Day.

zero to stupidin three secondsreeds beach’s Kurt Kelly tells it liKe it is.

if you’ve ever been to reeds beach in cape

May county, new Jersey than you’ve

seen Kurt Kelly’s house; it’s the one that

looks like it was cobbled together from the

flotsam and jetsom that washes up from time

to time on the beaches of the delaware bay.

before i ever met Kurt, i knew of his house. peo-

ple said he nailed up whatever he found. oth-

ers said the entire place was built with stuff he’d

found. Well it turns out none of that is completely

true, although it’s not all completely untrue ei-

ther. unfortunately, for most people, they’ll never

get to see the most interesting part of the house

because that’s on the inside. not just because of

the design or the decor, but because that’s where

Kurt holds court, and if you want to understand

the house, then you have to understand the man

who built it. pull up a chair and listen to his stories.

18

salt | saltnj.com april 2012

Kurt Kelly sits in a chair on the third

floor of a home he built with his own

two hands. his view is practically

360° of uninterrupted marsh lands and sea wa-

ter. Kurt calls it his million dollar view and when

the sun is setting, causing the wetlands to looks as

if they’ve caught fire, it’s hard to argue his point.

he’s sitting on a million dollar view and because

of that, Kurt Kelly is a wealthy man.

When Kurt first bought the house, it was

nothing to speak of. “Just a cinderblock shell of a

house,” he says. “but i could see the potential.”

That’s the thing about Kurt. he sees things

that others don’t. he sees potential everywhere. in

motorcycles, cars, homes. even people.

“i’m a cancer survivor,” Kurt tells me. “and

when you’ve been through the shit i’ve been

through, you really do learn to appreciate what

you have. because in a blink of an eye, you can lose

it all. i’ve had my eyes opened, and there’s no way

i’m going to go back to living in the dark.”

Kurt is a miracle of modern science. by

most accounts, he should be dead. but he’s not.

not today, he’ll tell you, and probably not tomor-

row either.today, he’s going to live to the best of

his ability. and he’s got plans. big plans. plans for

his house. plans for the trike he’s building out of a

motorcycle and a VW van. plans for a movie and

a book about his life.

Kurt lives his life in a good deal of physi-

cal pain, the right side of his jaw is gone, eaten

away by the radiation that saves his life, and he’s

suffered some hearing loss from an infection that

he can’t get rid of. he looks older than he really

is, and because of this, he surprised you when he

moves. When he’s sitting in his chair, he looks like

an old man, but when he moves, he moves with

the agliity of a much younger man. it surprises

you. Kurt and i get together every few weeks or

months to film an ongoing series on the stories

23


of his life. his history, his philosophies, his plans

for the future. one day i ask him about his love

of motorcycles and you can actually see the twin-

kle in his eye. he begins by telling me about his

first ride on a chopped honda passport and how

he ended up tangled in a barb-wired fence, “like

steve McQueen” and how it was going to be hard

to explain to his parents since “i wasn’t supposed

to leave the fuckin’ yard.”

Kurt’s stories have no segue. They blend

seemlessly from one to another, often jumping

back and forth in time. he ends with telling me

about his first real bike, “a 650 triumph. hard

trail. zero to stupid in three seconds. no baf-

fles. illegal as hell. you name it, it was wrong,

but it was love at first bike.” the glint is back in

his eye but he’s not looking at me anymore.

Kurt loves the speed. he loves the open

road. because it makes him feel alive, and today

that’s all he’s looking for. w

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1761 n Route 9, Swainton, nJbehomemade.com

Wayward Gardener

9712 3rd Ave, Stone Harborwaywardgardener.com


the pathB E k k i R i C h

i s T

hE

wA

Yw

AR

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R

It’s not the easiest place to find, but not much worth finding is. Hidden in a little alley in the middle of Stone Harbor (behind Coffee Talk if you’re

looking) is the Wayward Gardener. I don’t know if owner Bekki Rich would claim that she brought the alley to life, but there are people in the neighborhood that have said that’s exactly what she did. Being off the beaten path suits both Bekki and the Wayward Gardener. It’s an eclectic mix of garden-oriented gifts, knick knacks and clothing. And that’s just the store, because just outside is an oasis of greenery; A secluded patio of flowers, vegetables and herbs. It was early in the sea-son when we visited, so Bek-ki only had a few early items out, be she assured us that in the next few weeks, the place would be overflowing with color and life. Before she opened in the Spring of 2010, the building had been a lawyer’s of-fice, but by the time she stumbled upon it, it had been converted into a string of small shops. “I had always dreamed of having a small garden store in my home town of

Stone Harbor,” she says. “I knew it was something the town could use.” As a long time gardener—finding new ways to create different gardens, from containers to vegetables—she says she is always thinking of new ways to express her love of nature and helping people create gardens that are just right for them. “I search for different, eclectic ob-jects, trying to find new and interesting ac-cessories for my cute little store and plants

that are sometimes hard to find or not even expected. Some pretty interesting art-work from several artists can also be found here,” she says. In fact, the tagline for the Wayward Gardener is “Thinking outside the pot” and that’s what she seems to do best. In addition to the store, Bekki works with her hus-band, landscaper Andrew

Cheatham of Andrew’s Landscaping, cre-ating container gardens and elaborately designed potted gardens. It’s a good bet you’ve already seen her work in both public and private spaces around the island. “It’s what I love to do,” she explains. “Get your hands dirty and help things grow. It’s a simple life, but a rewarding one.” w

30


The First Rule Of Yarn Club. Talk About Yarn Club.

the first thing that caught my eye was the sign. home Made. it had an artsy feel, and yet a very modern edge. it looked

professionally designed, but spoke to something that is usually not. When we think of something being home made, we assume it will be made with love and care, but maybe a little rough around the

yarn club

edges. We expect the cookie to taste great, but maybe not be as good looking as something you buy that was made professionally. that’s because we don’t normally think of something that is home made to also be professional. We expect the opposite. home Made is owned and operated by Julie petrella, a young artist with a passion for yarn and thread. Walking into her 18th century home—which doubles as her studio, work-shop and store—you experience that same mix of personal artistic flair with a professional de-sign sense. there is a crafty feel about the place, but not in an amateur way that can sometimes ac-company it. the space is full of natural light, with large chalkboard walls throughout, pro-moting upcoming classes, and current projects. sample projects are scattered around and are in many cases, for sale. it’s as if someone let their hobby take over an entire section of their home, and then they invited strangers in to share in their passion. and that’s what Julie’s done. she bought an old farmhouse, renovated it with the help of family and friends, and then opened her doors to others who want to step outside of Facebook and twitter, and make things with their own hands. w

37

314 96th Street, Stone Harborfredstavernstoneharbor.com

Seashore AceOu TD O OR fuR nITuR e •H A R DWA R e • HOMe

Fred’s Tavern

260 96th Street, Stone Harborseashoreace.com


support new jersey

buy local

1028 S Route 9, Cape May ch • 609.465.5161 • capeshoregardens.com

Specializing in Vegetable and Herb Varietals for the Jersey shorev e g e t a b l e s | h e r b s | a n n u a l s | p e r e n n i a l s

Raising a Riehl

amishbaRnit’s not every day that a group of amish

men show up and build a barn using de-cidedly unmodern techniques. in fact, you

would assume that outside of lancaster maybe, it would be pretty rare. and for the most part, you’d be right. but here in Goshen, this is not even the first barn they’ve built here. in fact, riehl construction, the amish builders from leola, pa, have already built two others here, making this is their third barn. but the fact that a third barn here practi-cally makes it a trend, doesn’t make it any less special. in today’s world of quick and easy con-

struction, craftsmen of this level, using these types of old world techniques, are a rarity. stan sperlak, the artist in residence at crow creek Farm, and the owner of reihl’s lat-est creation, wanted a timber frame barn, built using post and beam construction. after doing his research, he chose one company to help him design and build his barn. he recieved no other bids. “i knew these were the guys i wanted to work with,” he explains. “so i didn’t want to be distracted by a bidding process. i trusted them to give me a fair price for what i wanted them to

42


do. and i knew they would deliver.” When asked if he’s happy with his decision, his face breaks into a huge smile and he looks over at the progress the men are making on his barn. “i’m over the moon,” he says. “i was a little worried, because i basically designed the en-tire barn, with help of course, but they were my ideas and i guess i started second-guessing myself. did i make it too small? Was the pitch on the roof correct? Was i going to be disap-pointed with anything?” Well? “it’s actually better than i’d dreamed. in every way. i barely slept the past two nights in anticipation of this day. it’s like a lifetime of christmas mornings for me.” stan first acquired crow creek Farm in May of 1997. “i was looking for some wilder-ness. no neighbors, a little freedom. it’s 33 plus acres, but most of it is wet marsh; not appealing to developers at all. in fact, when it first went up for sale—this was May and the bugs can be pretty bad here in May—well they chased ev-eryone else away. the bugs were waiting for the right person to come. and that person was me. sometimes, i believe the land wants you. and it finds a way to behave. the day i looked at the property, no bugs.” initially, stan’s intention for the property was to have a nursery to grow native plants. but

in 1998 he began studying painting with pat Witt [patricia Vanaman Witt] and spent a lot of time in port elizabeth. “i didn’t know i was a painter then,” he ex-plains, “but the land began to speak to me and i recognized the similarities between what i was painting and the land i owned. this began my appreciation for the west side of the county.” originally, his intention was to build a big house and a little studio, but as he began to toy around with different designs, his right-hand man cory brant, began pushing him towards simplicity. “i don’t know what i thought i was design-ing. a castle maybe. but cory kept pushing me to simplify, simplify. i finally realized that at my home in court house, i spent all my time in the studio and only used my house to sleep. i was thinking completely backwards. i needed a big barn and a little house, not the other way around. so, that’s what i built.” “My dad used to say that there was a time when ships were made of wood and men were made of steel. For centuries, ships were built with mortise and tenon construction. heavy timber frames. a barn is basically an upside down ship.” once he knew what he wanted, stan went to see Jamie hand, another Goshen artist known for doing a lot of timber frame restora-tion in area. he asked Jamie if he would help

46


april 2012 salt | saltnj.com

him build it, but Jamie had a better idea. Jamie introduced him to an amish builder out of lancaster who it just so happens, had re-cently built Jamie’s barn. their name was riehl construction. according to stan, it didn’t take long to de-cide he had the right builder. “if you can explain what you want to some-one and they get it right away,” he explains. “you look in their eyes—you see they get it. and you know they can do it because you’ve seen what else they’ve done. you trust them all the way. i wanted a barn. they build barns. their aim is simple: build good buildings. and nothing i asked for was ever a problem. there was always a way to figure it out. in most cases, if i was thinking about something, they were already in the middle of doing it.” When asked about what it was like to deal with an amish company, again stan smiles. “i called them. and they said, can you fax us your ideas? i’m thinking, ‘Fax you? i’m sur-prised i’m even talking to you on the phone.’ but they’re realistic. they live how they live because of what they believe in, but they rec-ognize that they still need to do business with the outside world to survive. actually, if you think about it, a fax machine is like the stone ages. they don’t have email. they don’t have a website. they needed me to fax it to them. it’s kind of brilliant if you think about it.”

“i went up and spent a day with them going over options. elmer riehl [the lead designer] and i looked at different barns they’d built and we designed it together, taking pieces from this one and ideas from that one. then i challenged them. i wanted to start in four weeks. elmer said, ‘if you give us a check on March 1st, we can start on april 1st.’ that’s unheard of in con-struction. not only were they there when they said, but they did everything they needed to do in seven days. you just never see that. “i would recommend this to anyone who appreciates a simple life like organic farming, or natural living. i’m in construciton and i see people stress out about the most mundane things like light switch placement, tile patterns or paint colors. this is so much more fun. it’s all wood. it’s just wood!” stan was also impressed by the simplicity of working with riehl. “you know for some reason, there was this instinctive trust. they use a one page, hand-written contract. and when you look at their neighborhoods; see where they live and work. it’s all stripped down. Just the essentials. “during the first day of construction, it was all wood. raw timbers and nothing else. i took a small cedar tree and had one of the amish guys put it up on the gable. it was to honor the idea that it was all from trees. i wanted to honor the fact that it was real. nothing artificial.” w

47

tutto Gelato Authentic. Handmade. Italian Gelato. As good as Italy? Better? In Stone Harbor?

not everyone thinks of a job at Wawa as the ideal work experience to be-come an entrepenuer in the gour-

met food business, but for andy dorley, owner of tutto Gelato in stone harbor, he thinks it prepared him rather well. after years of work-ing in bars and restaurants, and a stint with Wawa at a corporate level, andy decided it was time to finally go off on his own. philadelphia born and raised, he’d spent his fair share of time “down at the shore.” so when it came time to open his own shop, he started looking in cape May county. “i knew i wanted to open a place near the beach; to be part of that culture. and there was this italian family i met that makes the most incredible gelato i’ve had outside of italy, and they agreed to supply me.” then he started looking for the right place. he understood from his time with Wawa how important location was, but he also recog-nized that he wanted a particular aeshetic. “i didn’t want to be just another ice cream shop,” he says. “i felt like if i had a place with good bones, i could keep it simple, and yet make it stand out.” the little cottage he found in stone har-bor was perfect. and no other gelato places in town. Just what he was looking for. painted in pastel shades, the main focal point, other than the gelato of course, is the

52

large blackboard on the one wall. in addition to the various flavors offered that day, are notes, reviews, and comments from customers. andy says he wipes the board every few weeks, and within a few days it’s filled again. he keeps a jar of colored chalk on the counter for those who want to leave their mark. on the day we were there, it was a steady stream of people, one after another. one family came in and a young boy, maybe eleven, piped up, “this is better than the stuff we had in ital-ty.” “you hear that,” andy says looking at me. “i told you it’s good.” What we know of as Gelato in the unit-ed states, basically the same ingredients as ice cream (milk, cream, and sugar), has a much lower butterfat content—around 4-8% versus 14%. Gelato is also traditionally made in small batches through a process that freezes the in-gredients quickly compared to commercial ice cream which is frozen over time on a produc-tion line. all this has contributed to gelato’s reputation as a relatively healthy dessert alter-native. but don’t tell that to the kids. they just think it’s the best stuff on earth and serious-ly, who else are you going to listen to when it comes to dessert? because at least one eleven year old in stone harbor thinks tutto Gelato is, “better than the stuff in italy.” w

55

salt | saltnj.com

9712 3rd Avenue, Stone Harbor

WeTSuIT WORLD

tutto gelato

9716 3rd Avenue Stone Harbor,wetsuitworld.com

herbs

Photography – Michael Sperlak

english lavendar


basil

dill

oregano

parsely57

“The air was fragrant with a thousand trodden aromatic herbs, with fields of lavender, and with the brightest roses blushing in tufts all over the meadows. . . .”

William Cullen Bryant

curly parsely english thyme


“The air was fragrant with a thousand trodden aromatic herbs, with fields of lavender, and with the brightest roses blushing in tufts all over the meadows. . . .”

William Cullen Bryant

english thyme pineapple sage

59

easter chicks

In This Case, The eggs Definitely Came first

60

600 South Railroad Avenue Rio Grande | 609.846.7347 | hawkhavenwinery.com

Tasting Room | Open daily from 12pm-5pm.

support new jersey

buy local

vineyard and winery

Locally caught Sea Bass and Porgy are a staple fish in the

Mid- Atlantic and Northeast. In recent years many well known

chefs have featured both fish on thier menus making them

once again in vogue. Steel ships called “Draggers,” ply the

ocean towing a net. The net, once hauled back aboard

the boat, is empted and the fish are sorted by size. Both Sea

bass and Porgies are not only well-managed, sustainable

species but are considered by many to be second to

none when it comes to table fare. Cape May is currently

the second largest port in terms of fleet size, due to it’s

geographical location on the eastern seaboard. It is the

commercial lifeblood for many as it creates thousands of

jobs both on land and sea. Support your local fishermen.

67

atlantic bounty


words and images | Stephen Spagnuola

opposite Deck load of sea bass & porgies

68


and those who fish for fish.”

“There are two types of fisherman

those who fish for sport

this page Crew splits the bag • opposite Full bag

71


Captain ross Dickenson in the wheelhouse on the F/V Golden Nugget

opposite Knee Deep in porgies

coming june/july | issue number one

opening day

72

opening day

609.602.5228 | hopping frogstudios.com

HOPPING FROG

STUDIOSphotography • cinematography • directing

salt : concept issue : spring 2012

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