Greetings from Asbury Park, By Kristin DiStefano, advisor, NEHS Collier High School

According to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Music is the universal language of mankind.”  Like literature, music can convey our deepest emotions and can serve to heal us in even our toughest times.  Bruce Springsteen, a native New Jerseyan, once said, “The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.”  Springsteen, in his career as a musician and songwriter, has done just this, leaving quite an impact on the American music scene.  Our National English Honor Society students at Collier High School in Wickatunk, New Jersey, had the opportunity to explore this impact and the humble roots from which Springsteen grew to fame.

As a child in the 1950s and 1960s, Bruce Springsteen was raised in the town of Freehold, New Jersey, a mere eight miles from our school.  In his song, My Hometown, Springsteen describes his early life in Freehold: “I was eight years old, and running with a dime in my hand, to the bus stop to pick up a paper for my old man.” Students began their exploration of Springsteen on the same streets that he talked about in the lyrics of the song.  We drove past the high school he attended, the main street he often walked down, the houses he lived in, and sat in the pews of the church, St. Rose of Lima, that he attended as a child.

Our second stop was the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University, Long Branch, New Jersey.  Located on the university campus, the archive contains about 48,000 items from 47 countries, including oral histories, articles, concert memorabilia, promotional materials, and personal effects belonging to both Springsteen and other icons of American music.  Students listened to a lecture about the life and history of Springsteen as well as the mission of the archives, which is, according to curator Melissa Ziobro, to promote “200 years of history through the prism of music.” Junior member, Isaac Cavaciuti, was fascinated by seeing the archives and said, “It is illuminating to see all the work that goes into maintaining an archive, especially on such a large scale.”

Ziobro not only described the importance of music to our history as human beings, but she also talked about how many times the messages of musical pieces can be misinterpreted.  For example, most people think Springsteen’s hit Born in the USA is about American pride, but, in fact, it is about the plight of Vietnam veterans upon returning home from war.  Ziobro stated, in referring to how music is akin to literature, “We can read song lyrics like any other text…History is full of the wildest stories you cannot make up.”

For the final leg of the trip, students headed to Asbury Park, the Jersey Shore boardwalk town Springsteen made famous, and the feature of his first album, Greetings from Asbury Park.  According to Tyler Piccotti of Biography.com, “By the late 1960s, Springsteen was spending most of his time in Asbury Park on the New Jersey shore, playing in several different bands while he forged his unique sound and introduced audiences to the gravelly baritone voice that later became famous.”  This is where he formed his famous E Street Band and played in the renowned Stone Pony music venue.  The students visited the Stone Pony, the Asbury Park Convention Center, played pinball at the Silverball Retro Arcade, and had lunch on the Asbury Park Boardwalk before returning to school. 

Upon reflection, the students shared positive comments about their experiences.  Sophomore member, Giovanna D’Agostino said, “I liked seeing the houses he [Springsteen] used to live in.  It is interesting to see how vintage and old the houses were and how they have changed over time.”  She also enjoyed the church, “It was cool to sit in a place where someone famous went to.”

Kristin DiStefano - NEHS Bio:

Kristin DiStefano is a National English Honor Society advisor at Collier High School, where she has been teaching for twenty-four years.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from The College of New Jersey and a Master's in Criminal Justice from Kaplan University.  She is a mom of three busy daughters who enjoys spending time with her dog, reading, fitness, theater, music, and listening to true-crime podcasts.  She loves to inspire her students to appreciate all types of literature and to connect to the historical and contemporary contexts in which they are set.