Didn’t Challenger Eastern move from Neptune to an industrial park just west of Asbury Park around 1968 or 9?
Randy ; I never saw any CE stickers before or after the move to the East.
Jim did bobby thomas make boards? Willy allways told me otherwise . Frank
One of my favorite threads also.... I have a personal interest in these stories, as I've noted previously.
I invite all you CE guys to take a peek at the Coil ride reports thread, Kirk and Eric and I all learned sooooo much from Jim. We'd be honored if you got the impression that the work ethic and creativity you exhibited has been passed on to us.
After the factory fire at 1109 ninth ave, Tinker moved out to a place at rt. 34 & 35 (Freehold circle )? This had the first actual recording studio designed for that reason
Jim,
Would have been Rt 33 and 34, the Collingswood circle. My memory is a little fuzzy on it, but i believe the post Neptune factory was east of the circle, actually on Rt 33 not too far from the closed drive in theater that was also just east of the circle. If any of this rings a bell, let me know. There was also a closed small airport near by: The Asbury Air Terminal.
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thnx
Hartson
I only went to the Collingswood factory once, it was just a few years after my lesson on running my mouth, the reception was more than a little chilly, but over the next 20 + years it got gradually better.
I had gone to NJ to purchase tools from Surfboards East, they had gone the way of chapter 11 and Bob Kislin’s sporting goods in Ausbury Park had them for sale.
A lot had and was changing along that part of the “shore”, Rt. 35 would take out the Challenger show room, the New Newark was being torn down, Ausbury was going up in flames, the image of being born, raised and dying in the same little town was losing the mystique, the town fathers were making their own little Miami Beaches.
Many of the long time locals were off to Nam, Jack Minka and Eddie Lister were banging dope, the Eetanam eat’em all lady had died, Rible’s shop was gone, Cold Wall was gone, Manatee was out, I had over stayed my welcome.
New England and Rhode Island would be my new stomping ground for the next 5 years, but over aggressive progress was lurking in the wings for Little Rhody too.
Yeah, Kislin’s was the Con and Greg Noll Dealer in Asbury Park. It was a big sporting goods store with a surf shop in the middle.
Once the riots started things changed a lot. I have an old tshirt that has a big peace sign on it and the words “Asbury Park, It’s a riot!” underneath.
I think the Challenger shop was in an industrial park behind where they built Seaview Square Shopping Center where Rt 66 and 35 meet.
A lot of the guys that I surfed with had Challengers. The shapes and the glasswork were great. They had a rounded pin 6-8 footer that was
a perfect shape for east coast.
Ah, Cold Wall. I remember the Tinker version of that was Cold Balls.
Funny, I bought my very first board from Bob Kislin in Asbury Park (9’ 4” Greg Noll) I bought my first oz of pot from Eddie Lister, Jack Minka stole my best O’Neil shorty and Rocky Zimmerman was the first guy I ever knew who went to Nam. I watched Rible make me a board in the Wall chicken coop factory (that I own to this day) and I watched as Lerch Wrecking tore down the New Newark. I am here to corroborate the existence of the eat’em all lady, as I watched her go from trash can to trash can up and down the beach front.
Challenger - talk about quality... the shine on this piece of art could tell of no other story... This thing is 54 years old!!! Cant say enough about what you guys did... I am more stoked then ever!
B
I think your math is off.
44, maybe?
classic case of the mind thinking one thing and the fingers typing another... usually it is my mouth that gets me in trouble!
Thanks for the correction Sammy!
B
[quote="$1"]
Rooster/Mike ; Did Bobby " Challenger ?" Thomas have a shop in MB/PB in 74' ?? My brother Willy has always told me that he never did anything with Challenger except to hype his own ego with it .
Frank McCleary
[/quote] Frank,
I didn't know who anyone was back then. I was just a goofy teenage kid who got the green light to get his first NEW board from mom and dad for Christmas. I walked into that shop and knew that was the one. Almost turquoise blue resin. Excellent glass job. I got slammed on top of the board on top of a rock at the OB Jetty in 76 surfing rock waves. A few crunches, but nothing serious. Thought I snipped off my meat head, though. Hurt like hell. Mike
Rocky has multiple myloma, says it was from all the agent orange he sprayed, he was working at Bonanno’s Sunoco station and upon closing had to hide the evenings cash.
He was told to stash it up in the overhead rack of tires, Rick Mesina was working there too, the next morning the cash is gone, they refuse to believe him, press charges and Rocky has the choice of Rahway or the US Army, on leave much later he sees Mesina and he tells Rocky he stole the cash, sort of a F’n death sentence one way or another.
Lister most likely got the bag of pot from me, Minka stole something of mine too, Rible moved me from under his house to the coops when the building/zoning busted me glassing there.
I had a very hard time keeping down my breakfast when she would consume food that would klll a dog and some of the cruel “treats” that were left out for her to eat by the local pranksters
Turtle died in Fla.
Bob Slamon went to Brazil with Johnny Rice and lives in Long Branch
Come to think of it, it may well have been Mesina that snatched the O'Neil shorty. Sorry, Minka. Bonnano was the real deal. I could never figure out why he was such a bull shit artist when for real his life was a great story. He took my sister Lynda to his uncle Joe’s funeral, so I have a first hand account of his family connections. Mike would embellish a story well beyond normal standards, and he had a way of including one of the listeners (me for example) in the exploits, thus gaining credibility (of sorts) by getting confirmation from the listener! I was just a kid so being included in a Bonnano adventure bought a lot of blind corroboration. I heard that Turtle passed. I actually ran into him years ago on a movie set, he doing his job as a movie set electrician. You may well have glassed the board I still own. I remember it was glassed in the winter, so cold that the coop was almost not warm enough for the glassing. I watched Rible himself shape my board, but i have no recollection of the glassing. When the snow melts, I will get it out and take some pictures. If you are in touch with Rocky, please tell him to call me. I am still in the regular old phone book. Thanks.
bcwinnnj,
“Kwahlllliiiiittttyyyy” (that is how Frank thinks Tinker pronounces it 
Jimmy Dalton used to say that joking about Tinker) … yep quality … there is no replacement for it.
I did about a hundred or so construction projects after my surfboard construction days. Mostly single family homes, but some commercial and some multi-family homes.
I took what I learned working with good men to make good boards, and put that habit into home building.
After many inspections the building inspectors learned to trust me enough so that when they did not show up timely for an inspection, and I went on and poured a foundation, slab, or the like before they showed, they would trust me to have done it right, and said so to my face.
When one does something with quality he or she is giving over and over again to the recipient.
The strong home you build that holds up in a wind, or stays warmer (when the others go down or cost the people too much on heating … the list goes on and on) is a gift that keeps on giving.
It gives back to the craftsman and it gives back to the customer.
Thanks for sharing that board with all of us. It pays us back for our efforts 40 years ago, and it pays whomever is using the stick back too, 40 or so years later.
Quality. There is no replacement for it.
Randy
I too build and renovate homes, and have always lived by the axiom that “Quality dosen’t cost, it pays.”
I have enjoyed reading this thread. While I was only a girl of about 12 when the shop was located on 9th ave, I do remember riding my bike over there a few times, and being given a tour of the place. Some of the names ring a slight bell. But the strongest memory is the smell of fiberglass. That smell always takes me back to summer days in Neptune. thanks for keeping the memories alive!
Shutterbugg55,
Hey, you are welcome.
Do you remember our secretary, with the long dark hair?
She lived in Asbury Park as I remember.
She once gave me a plaque with Hebrew writing on it …
later,
Randy
Naw, sorry, Randy, I do not remember her.
Like I said, I was young, I rode my bike over there. My parents would have freaked out if they had known I had visited with a bunch of "long-haired hippy, dope-smoking surfers". Of course, I thought it was great! :)