THE GREAT AUDITORIUM easily dominates the social, religious and cultural life of Ocean Grove, New Jersey.  It plays an important role in 190 MOUNT TABOR WAY, too.

Popular hymn writers visit Ocean Grove each summer, including the historic figures mentioned in Chapter 3. During the Centennial year of the Great Auditorium, an evening service celebrated their hymns. But Senior Artist in Residence and Music Director, Peter deMeer, is fictional, as is his title. Since 1974, the resident organist for the Great Auditorium has been Dr. Gordon Turk, a prominent American concert organist.

The Auditorium Organ is one of the world’s great organs. Since 1974 it has been expanded to 186 ranks and 11,550 pipes. The work was initiated and guided by Dr. Gordon Turk and Organ Curator, John R. Shaw. Dr. Turk presented the Organ Centennial Concert to mark the organ’s dedicatory recital held on July 3, 1908. The project of restoring and expanding the organ is a story in itself.

Dr. Turk offers organ recitals on most Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons during July and August. Attending a recital in the Great Auditorium with the sea air blowing through the open doors on three sides is a memorable experience.

Jay Ward Thomas III, speaker for Camp Meeting, is also a fictional character as is his great uncle, Jay Ward Thomas.  In the book, the senior Thomas is remembered as a famous inspirational writer and speaker who was a frequent visitor to Ocean Grove and spoke at the Great Auditorium.  The Camp Meeting Association has been host to many such guests, but not these two!

The list of famous people who have performed at the Great Auditorium, included in chapter 3, is not fictional. It only begins to capture the range of personalities who have been there.  Family entertainment and cultural events in the Auditorium and at the Grove are scheduled every summer and may be found on the Ocean Grove website http://www.oceangrove.org.

As an aside: I recall when Peter, Paul and Mary were regulars at the Great Auditorium. Their songs of hope and call to action inspired me from the time I was a college student. When they performed at my university in the late 1960s, I couldn’t afford tickets. I’ll never forget the review of their performance that appeared in the university’s student paper. The headline read something like: Mary! And those other guys. Mary! Peter Yarrow, Noel (Paul) Stookey and Mary Travers reminded us that folk music can be a force for social action. Their website carries a loving tribute to Mary, who died in 2009.

Further Reading: Troy Messenger looks at the history of Ocean Grove through performance in Holy Leisure: Recreation and Religion in God’s Square Mile (University of Minnesota Press, 1999; Temple University Press, 2001).  Wayne T. Bell, Cindy L. Bell and Darrell A. Dufresne’s book The Great Auditorium, Ocean Grove’s Architectural Treasure documents the history and significance of the structure itself.