A friend recently showed me some 1960s-era postcards he bought from a boardwalk vendor just a few years ago.
Excited to see reminders of his childhood Wildwood Days, Jack bought up all eight of the old chrome postcards the seller had.
The picture postcards reminded him of many sweet memories from family vacations spent at the Wildwoods.
There was the Pirate Ship and the pier with all the other great rides he remembered – like the Hell Hole.
Once inside the barrel-like room, it spun around with enough centrifugal force to pin you in place against its wall.
- Wildwoods – Sportland Pier
Jack confessed to upchucking as he left the Hell Hole ride when he was about 8 or 9.
Good times.
The images didn’t quite fit the stereotypical view of the “vintage” postcards we usually display here, but then I did the math.
A postcard from 1963 or 1964 is already fifty years old. That qualifies as an antique in automobile circles.
I guess we’ll just have to adjust our view of what is vintage.
Whatever your age, see the rest of Jack’s 1960s-era postcards plus many more from earlier times on our CAPE MAY & WILDWOOD IMAGES page.
We owe thanks to Jack Blank, Harlan Radford, Deb Whitcraft, and Jim Cutshall for providing scans of their Cape May and Wildwood postcards seen here. Many other collectors have contributed to the thousands of images in this virtual postcard collection. If you have any South Jersey/Philly postcards or real photos that you would like to give to the Society or lend for scanning, please contact us. – John McCormick
Great memories, as usual, John! I lived in North Wildwood for two years during the late 1960s and the Hell Hole was my absolute favorite amusement ride! As I recall, once the barrel was spinning fast enough, the operator would drop the floor and it would swing out of the way, leaving the riders looking down at the beach sand (or water, at high tide) about 20-30 feet below. Management only allowed the average rider to remain pinned against the wall, but the staff could do tricks, including planting their feet on the spinning barrel and extending full-height in a perfectly horizontal plane. We were amazed at some of the antics that occurred inside the Hell Hole!
Thanks, John—you’re the best!
Regards,
Paul Schopp