Ananette Kroh, my Great Aunt, served as Postmaster of Brielle, NJ from 1927 to 1959. She started the first Sunday School in Brielle in the spring of 1924. In 1955, she was among a group of Brielle residents who were concerned about the lack of a church in the community of Brielle, so noted in Ripley’s Believe It or Not as " a shore community with over twelve taverns and no church." The Church in Brielle was organized in 1957.

I would like to share with you the following stories from her journal,
Remembered by A.L. Kroh

My Life Work

I remember years ago, in the town of Vineland, NJ, I was attending elementary school. Every study was a joy except common arithmetic. One night, while struggling with a particularly difficult problem, I made an emphatic statement to my father. Never, no never would I accept any kind of work wherein it would be necessary that I add two and two, divide or multiply the same. If necessary - to earn a living, I would cook, 'tend babies, garden or do anything else so long as there was no arithmetic connected with it. I remember my father's reply. "My dear, you have no idea where God will place you or what your life work will be. Everything, even our lives, are controlled by mathematics - it can not be avoided. Therefore, conquer it and regardless of what your work may be, you will be equipped for it." With his help I was able to attain an understanding of this weighty matter. My life work began in the Post Office and store in Brielle, April 1914. My father, then acting Postmaster had opened a double entry ledger for me and the store was in my name. In a short time I was being instructed in keeping the Post Office cash book and accounts. Soon I was qualified to take charge of the office when necessary for my father to be absent. My life work was launched upon a sea of figures in which I sailed happily until my retirement on September 30th 1959 after serving the people of Brielle as Postmaster for several years.

Our First Sunday School

I remember that while in charge of the Junior Department at St. Andrews Methodist Sunday School in Spring Lake, I was prompted to start a school in Brielle for Bible Study. In the spring of 1924, plans were made and with the help of the pastor and workers from the Spring Lake Sunday School, members of the Monmouth County Sunday School Association and local residents interested in our efforts, we were fully organized by June of that year. It was necessary to hold our service in the afternoon as I was in St. Andrews school during the morning hours. Soon after our school was established, Miss Irene Packer joined me in the work and we enjoyed working together for 13 years. The use of the entire school building with light, heat and the many kindnesses of Mr. James Brewer was given to us without cost, by the Board of Education. We were, and still are most grateful to the members of the Board at that time and to Mr. Brewer.

Matches Were Needed

I remember if you were going from Spring Lake, Asbury Park, New York or points in between, in the summer months of 1915, 16 or 17, you would buy your ticket from the ticket agent at the Brielle Station. When your train left Point Pleasant, he would place a large green and white flag in a socket between the tracks as a signal to the engineer to stop his train and take on one or more passengers. The ticket agent closed his window early in the evening and went home, so it was necessary for a would be traveler, after dinner, to plant the flag himself and see that it was placed inside the station before the train stopped. The after-dark traveler had a real problem. He had to take with him a tightly rolled newspaper and matches - lots of matches if the night was stormy. At the station, when he judged the train had reached the bridge over the Manasquan River, he would light one end of the paper and wave it up and down or from side to side, praying meanwhile that the engineer would see it. Happy was the traveler where the signal was acknowledged with a cheery toot-toot of the engineer's whistle. Scheduled to participate one evening in an entertainment at St. Andrew's Methodist Church in Spring Lake, I started to the station early, for the night was stormy. Reaching there, I tried every trick known to one familiar with the 'how' of getting damp paper to burn in wind and rain, but to no avail. That train fairly flew through Brielle, thundering past me standing at the station. I did get to Spring Lake, almost on time, but without help from the Pennsylvania Railroad.