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Bette Blum
Born in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Clark, Bette Blum discovered the treasures of Bradley Beach at an early age. Before she could even walk, she could be found enjoyin...view moreBorn in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Clark, Bette Blum discovered the treasures of Bradley Beach at an early age. Before she could even walk, she could be found enjoying the soft sands near her family's bungalow on Madison Avenue. Bette not only "grew up" in Bradley Beach, but grew to love this charming seaside town along the Jersey Shore. After graduating from the University of Bridgeport, she embarked on a career in advertising with NW Ayer, one of New York's most prestigious firms. Even then, Bradley Beach provided welcome relief from her crazy and hectic days working in the city. She eventually moved to south Florida, where she continued her advertising career with several top agencies and corporations, and in 1999 she was awarded Media Week's National All-Star Award for Newspapers. Despite Florida's abundance of sun, sea and sand, Bette would return to Bradley Beach each summer to reconnect with family and friends. In 2004, Bette organized a reunion of sixty Bradley Beach friends who all spent time together as teenagers in the early 1970s. The event received national attention in USA TODAY, and Bette wrote a story about those "glory days" that was published in both the New York Times and the Asbury Park Press. The reunion helped recall wonderful memories of carefree days and great friends, and spawned the idea for this book, Bradley Beach Treasures. In many ways, the reunion has not ended, as Bette has been busy collecting stories, poems, anecdotes and memories from her friends, neighbors and their families for inclusion in this book. Today, Bette lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida, five miles from the ocean, but her heart has never been closer to Bradley Beach.view less