Spring ERA Show to Be Held in Atlantic City In order to extend the summer season of a popular beach resort in 1921, King Nepture crowned a beauty queen as a publicity stunt. The place was Atlantic City. The winner was 15-year-old Margaret Gorman, the first Miss America. The Miss America Pageant became as synonymous with Atlantic City as its sandy beaches, famed Boardwalk and fresh sea air. Yet, Atlantic City’s salty history is much more than a parade of Miss Americas passing through. Now celebrating 150 years of hospitality and hype, this vibrant town’s unique past includes a high diving horse and a confection created by a storm, as well as some of the most innovative artwork and craftsmanship you can find. The weekend of May 20 to 22, 2005, will also find the annual Electrical Rebuilder’s Association Trade Show by the sea in Atlantic City. “We are thrilled to be able to offer such great entertainment and _ natural beauty at reasonable prices for show attendees,’ said show promoter and ERA National Vice-President Polly Shea. “Atlantic City really has a great convention package. Besides the state- of-the-art convention center, there’s U.S. and maritime history, golfing, shopping, antiques, and even the ocean. The beaches are clean, wide, sunny and free. There’s so much more to this resort community than just casinos.” Shea said that the last E+ Show (pre- cursor to the ERA Trade Show) held in the Northeast had a tremendous turnout. With one-third of the U.S. within a day’s drive of Atlantic City, she’s optimistic that northeastern rebuilders will once again show their support for the industry. An added bonus for attendees will be a regional SEMA show held concurrently in the same convention center. Fairfield Inn Atlantic City North, headquarter hotel, is just seven miles from the new Atlantic City airport, and 75 miles from the Philadelphia airport. The room rate of $89 per night includes complimentary onsite parking and con- tinental breakfast at this three-star hotel. A variety of restaurants and pubs are located nearby. A shuttle will run from the hotel to the convention center regu- larly during show hours. Early History The early 1800s saw Atlantic City as a desolate island known then only as Absegami, the Native American word for “Little Sea Water.” It was nothing but sand, marshes and wilderness. The earliest settlers were two “less than neighborly” hermits: Jeremiah Leeds, grandfather to the famed Jersey Devil, and an early entrepreneur from Philadelphia, civil engineer Dr. Jonathan Pitney. Pitney saw the potential of the area and started talking it up as an ideal spot to recuperate from the woes of the city, by taking in the healthful salt air. The route of a proposed railway from Camden to the yet unnamed resort in the 1850s fascinated investors, who stepped right up with their money in hand. In 1853 the final plans for the railroad included the decision for the city’s official name. “Atlantic City” met with unanimous approval against early favorites such as Bath, Seabeach, and Surfing. In 1854 Atlantic City’s first municipal charter was approved and July of that year saw the first two and a half- hour train ride steaming out of Camden, with much celebration and hoopla. The rest is history. Grand hotels grew from small cottages, a walkway of boards to keep the sand out of the hotels became a world-famous Boardwalk, giant entertainment piers gave birth to publicity stunts and the city kept evolv- ing into one of the world’s best-known seaside resorts. Step into any historical museum throughout Atlantic and Cape May Counties and be instantly transported back to the times of “ocean madness,” thrilling mechanical marvels on the bustling Boardwalk, the evolution of Miss America, early life and myths of the Pine Barrens, gala dances in seaside hotel ballrooms and Victorian life on the Cape. No visit to Atlantic City is complete without a trip to the Atlantic City Historical Museum on Garden Pier at New Jersey Avenue, where 150 years of seaside mania are showcased, and faces of the past come to life. Mr. Peanut, the unmistakable character who greeted vis- itors outside the Planters Peanut store on the Boardwalk for many years, wel- comes you. The entertaining historical video called “Boardwalk Ballyhoo” gives a glimpse of famous Atlantic City memories, such as the high diving horse plunging from his platform and splash- ing into the ocean to the thrill of the crowd. Visitors can view a rotating exhi- bition of Atlantic City photographs and see Atlantic City memorabilia including Miss America items and Heinz pickle pins, which are still given out at the museum more than a century after their first appearance on the Boardwalk. Monuments and Memorials Southern New Jersey is home to some of the most unique memorials dedicated to the continuing struggles of mankind. These jewels include a one- of-a-kind tribute honoring the long jour- ney of African Americans toward civil rights and an eternal flame dedicated