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WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COM PAGE 14 THE COAST STAR THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015 BELMAR TOWN OF SPRING LAKE Thursday, April 23rd ~ 4pm - 8pm JOIN US FOR A FUN NIGHT OF SHOPPING! Discounts and Incentives at each participating store PRE-REGISTER ONLINE To be entered to win Grand Prize gift baskets! RAIN OR SHINE Visit www.VisitSpringLake.com for Event details and online Registration! ShearInnovations Hair & Day Spa 1103 R ICHMOND A VENUE | P OINT P LEASANT B EACH 732.892.5254 Salon Hours: Tuesday 9-3 Wednesday & Thursday 9-8 Friday 9-5 • Saturday 9-5 REMINDER: BOOK AHEAD FOR *PROMS & WEDDINGS Services include: • Color/Highlights • Facials • Nails • Spa Pedicures • Keratin Smoothing Treatment • Hair Xtentions Opportunities Now available for hairstylists and assistant *Ask about our prom special BY PAIGE TAYLOR THE COAST STAR BELMAR — On Tuesday, April 7, a Monmouth Univer- sity graduate student attend- ed the Belmar Council meet- ing to invite community members to share their expe- riences from Hurricane Sandy at her event, Oral His- tory Day. The guest was Danielle Kuchar, a Manalapan resi- dent whose heart has always been ingrained in the Belmar shores. Ms. Kuchar, a Monmouth University graduate student studying applied anthropolo- gy, decided to host an event for Belmar community mem- bers to share their Sandy sto- ries as part of her thesis re- search. “I am striving to acknowl- edge vulnerability and create resiliency due to the after- math of Hurricane Sandy,” she said of her research. The event, entitled Oral History Day, was held on April 11 at the Belmar Public Library in the Tarzian Media & Learning Center. Ms. Kuchar, her family and classmates from Monmouth University set up stations to interview Sandy victims and record their experiences as part of oral history. Oral history, she said, is another version of an inter- view. “The only difference is that it’s a more personal con- nection and it’s a way for people, immediately after an event, to store the facts, so that leaves out bias,” she said. “Typically an oral history will be done within a month or two of an event actually occurring. Now that it’s two years later [after Hurricane Sandy], these will be more of after-the-event types of oral history.” Ms. Kuchar said she learned of oral history dur- ing her studies at Monmouth University. “We were certified to be oral historians,” she said. Each individual story recorded for her research will comprise the final ele- ment of the last-year gradu- ate student’s research and will be stored in the history base at Monmouth Universi- ty. Ms. Kuchar said the re- search will be stored and saved in an oral history data- base created by her teacher, Edward Gonzalez-Tennant. She said her professor hopes to transcribe the oral histo- ries and possibly create a book out of them later on. “It’s important to get these stories on file, especially for future storms and future dis- asters,” she said, adding that they could be useful as a tool for the town. Patty Faugno, a Surf Av- enue resident, shared her story at the oral history event. “I saw it once and never want to see it ever again,” she said of storms like Hurricane Sandy. Ms. Faugno said she had seven feet of water in her basement, lost her furnace and hot water heater, and had her garage shift off of its foundation. She said the oral history event is important “because people need to be reminded that they need to evacuate.” “No property is worth hu- man life,” she said. Not only were guests invit- ed to share their history with the storm, but they were pro- vided with an educational component at the event. Ms. Kuchar created and dis- played a PowerPoint slideshow presentation that also included evacuation and preparation plans for the fu- ture. “I had GIS [geographical information system] files that were put into the slideshow,” she said, adding that GIS is a program that creates maps. “Every year the state of New Jersey uploads these files that have flood zone maps, evacuation maps and different shape files,” she said, adding that the maps are able to be laid on top of one other creating a three-di- mensional model. “Throughout my thesis and master’s, during differ- ent classes, I’ve had to make different maps, and every- thing I’ve done was focused on Belmar because I knew I was going to do this for my thesis,” she said. “I made dif- ferent maps that are easy for the public to understand.” Ms. Kuchar said on the maps, which were included in her presentation, were Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency [FEMA] files, which show the different flood zones in Belmar and the county, and town evacua- tion files, which she layered to show what space is left in the flood zones. At the event, Ms. Kuchar provided raffle baskets do- nated by Centra State Fitness and Wellness Center that in- cluded one-month gym memberships and discount- ed lifeguard certification classes. Ms. Kuchar also had a raffle basket with items from Monmouth University that were donated by the his- tory department and pur- chased with her own money. The proceeds from the raffle basket were collected for dona- tion to the Home By Summer campaign, which is a campaign to help two Belmar families who are still displaced from their homes after Hurricane Sandy. Ms. Kuchar’s interest in Hur- ricane Sandy began immedi- ately after the superstorm hit in 2012. Jamie Grogan, a friend of Ms. Kuchar, said she is a true humanitarian and mentioned that she went with her to Bel- mar after the storm hit to help those in need. “This is definitely her call- ing,” she said. “She’s a very good person.” Ms. Kuchar’s mother, Diana Kuchar, said she is proud of her daughter now, as she was in the storm’s immediate aftermath. “Whereas other people were more concerned with them- selves, she was more con- cerned about the people here, feeling they were worse off,” she said. Her mother also said Ms. Kuchar made wristbands to raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims, and added that her name is on the boardwalk at 15th Avenue for her efforts in the town. Ms. Kuchar thanked the town of Belmar, the people at the library, the mayor and the historical society for their sup- port. She will graduate on May 20 from Monmouth University and three copies of her work will be provided to the Belmar Public Library, Belmar Histori- cal Society Museum and bor- ough hall. Paige Taylor is a reporter for Star News Group. She can be reached at ptay- [email protected] or 732-899- 7606 Ext 14. PAIGE TAYLOR THE COAST STAR Friends and family — including Christian Jimenez [from left], Holly Baldwin, Kiersten Fuchs and Michael and Diana Kuchar — attended Oral History Day at the Belmar Public Library to support Danielle Kuchar [third from right] in her Hurricane Sandy research. Local graduate student hosts oral history event Hurricane Sandy victims were invited to share their stories PRAYER TO ST. JUDE Most holy apostle. St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use im- plore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost de- spaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and suffer- ings, particularly — (Here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise. O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage de- votion to you. Amen. M.H.
