Jennifer Kopp
Photographer and award-winning journalist Jennifer Kopp has seen and covered Cape May from every angle. Her objective and curious approach to reporting has brought to light Cape May’s successes, its heroes, and its dark side. As one of the most recognizable and well-known residents of Cape May, her enthusiasm and approachability has been one of our island’s greatest assets. Recently she agreed to an interview, giving us a glimpse of her life and the moments she has cherished.
Not long ago I came across a Victorian Week photo of you from about 1984 when you were in The Victorian Fashion Show at the Physick Estate.
I was just at a party the other night and was talking to Chris Clemens about those days. Sandy Miller and Charlotte Todd used to ask us to model the fashions. Back then we modeled authentic Victorian-era clothing; they weren’t reproductions. What was I wearing in the photo?
It was a cream-colored gown which I am sure had been a brilliant white in the 1800s.
I think that was the year they asked me to model an old bridal gown. I was in their fashion shows for so many years during Victorian Week. My daughter, Devon, used to be in the shows too.
Victorian Week was bookended by two weekends. It was almost two weeks long. What do you think was the demise of that?
Right! It was a huge event! Now it’s just one weekend and it’s over. I’m not sure why it ever died.
You were born and raised in Cape May, right?
No, everyone thinks I grew up here. I was born in Manhattan. My parents were both artists. My mother was a phenomenal dancer who danced on Broadway. During my childhood I met so many famous artists through my parents.
Like who?
Well, my father was involved with a lot of art galleries and knew many well-known artists. One day when I was about five, my father and I were walking down the street and my father stopped to talk to this gentleman he knew. I looked up and thought the guy was scary as hell. He was dressed so flamboyantly. They didn’t speak for too long; it was very adult-like business talk. When we walked away my father said, “That was Salvador Dali.”
Wow! Any other big names?
I also saw the Beatles! I was a small child when they first came to New York. They drove down 5th Avenue heading to the Ed Sullivan Show. I was on the corner with my mother and a policeman said to her “You might want to take her home or not have her here.” That was because of the mob of people waiting to see the Beatles, which I thought would be big bugs! So the first thing I did was run through people’s legs to see them, and there they were!
Tell me some more about your childhood.
I was an only child. My parents were wanderers at heart. We took day trips to New Hope [PA] and my mother fell in love with it. One particular house she just had to be in, she loved it. The next time we went to New Hope it had a for sale sign on it. So, we moved to New Hope. That house was magical and haunted as hell. It was a barn in the 1700s and then a school for girls. We moved to New Hope and my father was still commuting to New York for work. My father had started something like a comic strip with small story panels; it was called Wanderlust. One morning, my mother was reading TheNew York Times, and there was a picture of the Cape May lighthouse. My mother told him that we should all go to Cape May and that he should do the lighthouse for his illustrations. We just fell in love with Cape May.
You just said the house in New Hope was haunted. What about all the ghost nonsense in Cape May? Do you really buy into it?
Quite honestly, Cape May is haunted. I can attest to that. But when they started with the ghost tours, every place became haunted. And that’s all I’m going to say on that subject.
Did your family move to Cape May after visiting?
No, we moved to Montreal and then to North Carolina. We traveled to many places. Even though we lived in other places, we always came back to visit Cape May. When I was in college, I came to Cape May during the summers and in 1980 became a resident when I married a local boy.
What was the first thing about Cape May that you fell in love with?
We used to stay at the Windsor, and there was a certain smell of the salt air and the mustiness of the carpeting. I was allowed to go on my own when we came to Cape May. I’d go to the Liberty Theater and the dances and Convention Hall. I loved those days.
Tell me about your years in journalism.
I got a job at the Star and Wave almost immediately. I studied art and photography in college. I had taken five years off to spend with my daughter. When she went to kindergarten, I started back.
What is the one thing you are most proud of during your years with Star and Wave?
I did an investigative piece on the former SPCA. It was a two-part expose of what was going on. Because of that piece, Animal Outreach started.
Refresh my memory of what was going on.
It all started because my own dog had run away from home. I checked with the SPCA to see if they had found him. I walked in there, and it was terrible. The guy who ran it was scary. They would incinerate dogs and bury them on the grounds. When the grounds were eventually dug up, it was horrible. If they got a pure-bred dog in the kennel, they would tell you it wasn’t there so they could breed them. For that piece I won the State of New Jersey Press Association’s Community Home Run Award.
Did the guy who ran it ever come after you for exposing the horrible things they were doing?
The guy lived down the street from me and I was worried about my safety. He once told me, “You don’t want to stay around here.” He wrote a letter to the editor and called my piece yellow journalism.
Was that the only award you’ve won?
No, I have nine awards that I have won over the years, and I am very proud of them. I would love to start writing again.
Were there ever times in this tiny town when you had nothing to write about?
Funny you ask. I’ll always remember one dreary Tuesday in April when we were all in the office making jokes about going out to create news to write about! I had been writing a food column at the time. My phone rang and a man introduced himself as part of the Culinary Professionals of America. He told me that he had been reading my food columns and then said, “I’m going to tell you something, but you cannot reveal it to anyone.” He told me that Julia Child was coming to town, and he wanted me to cover the story.
A few weeks later, after keeping it a secret, she arrived in town, and I was to meet her on the docks of the Lobster House. She had arrived on a bus. Many people from the Food Network were on the bus. It was an innocuous bus with no markings on it. Danny Cohen, who owned all the docks, gave her a tour of the docks and the fishing boats and then she made a speech inside the Lobster House. As I was walking back toward the docks, I could hear her booming and unmistakable voice in the distance. I immediately thought of Dan Aykroyd’s Saturday Night Live skit! What was so cool was that all the fishermen on all the boats were all yelling her name to get her attention so they could say hello! They were all so thrilled to see her walking the dock!
When we were inside, we were seated in a conference room while Danny gave a speech. Now, keep in mind, her meal was planned for later that day at the Virginia Hotel. There was no food to be served at the Lobster House. So, while we were seated, the Lobster House chef had taken it upon himself to send out food to her. He sent out the crab claws and the mustard sauce and the typical fried foods. The man who was Julia’s assistant who sat with her was beside himself that the food was sent. Before we left, the man apologized to her that food had been served. Julia said to him, “Well, thank you. It wasn’t very good, was it?”
Did she ever get to the Ebbitt Room at the Virginia?
Yes. The city would not allow her bus to park in front of the Virginia to let her out, so she had to walk, which was difficult for her because she was walking with a cane by that point. We got to the Ebbitt Room, and they were serving soft drinks at the beginning. They asked Julia what soft beverage she would like. She answered very loudly, “Aren’t you going to serve any wine?” The server told her the wine was for the meal. Julia said even louder, “My God, can’t we have it now?” Within a moment there was wine being poured for everyone.
It sounds like you really connected with her that day.
After Virginia, the last stop was the Physick Estate. That’s where we sat on the porch together and I did an interview with her. When she was about to leave, she asked me if she could get a copy of what I was going to write. She took my notebook and wrote her name and address in it. I still have that. A month or so later I got a letter from her on how much she liked my work.
What do you think is most important for Cape May’s future?
What we need to concentrate on more than anything, in my opinion, is maintaining our National Historic Landmark status. It needs to guide us into what lies ahead. It’s vital that we maintain our unique identity. We have such a vibrant and loving community. That’s what Cape May is all about to me. That’s why I’ve never left.
