Oral history

The people who lived the archive.

Recording is the most time-critical work we do — the pre-1962 generation is small, and shrinking. The first five interviews are below. Every session ships with a full transcript.

Placeholder portrait — silhouette on cream, sea-glass accent

Born 1934

A. Meloro

Retired commercial clammer, three generations in Highlands. On the pre-1962 bay, the working waterfront, the trade the Navesink taught, and what has been lost.

Placeholder portrait — silhouette on cream, deep-blue accent

Born 1938

SFC (Ret.) L. Fischetti

Highlands Army Air Defense Site radar operator, 1961–1965. On the Cold War posture at the Hook, the daily rotation, and the moment veterans learned decades later that some of the missiles they helped point were nuclear-armed.

Placeholder portrait — silhouette on cream, gold-brown accent

Born 1958

J. Revey-Bailey

Sand Hill Indian descendant and public historian, on the Navesink presence before contact, the seasonal trail down from the Delaware, and the shape of a living community today.

Placeholder portrait — silhouette on cream, rust accent

Born 1947

Susan Sandlass Gardiner

Granddaughter of William Sandlass Jr. On the family's memory of Highland Beach, the 1938 relocation of the house, the 1962 taking, and the standing case for Building 600.

Placeholder portrait — silhouette on cream, red-brick accent

Born 1972

Capt. R. DiRienzo, Highlands Fire Co. No. 1

On the night of October 29, 2012 — the surge into Bay Avenue, the boat rescues on Snug Harbor, and the mornings after. First responder, third generation in Highlands.