Original Header photo run yesterday (click for full) We ran this photo as a main graphic yesterday. I was strolling on the beach and noticed the pod of yellow capped girls bobbing in the waves. Having witnessed the scene many times over years, I was curious. So I perched on the beach, took a few photos and met the woman in charge — Jill Brzezynski. She shared the interesting back story; that the lemon heads, as she referred to them, refers to the funky yellow caps worn by girls from the Girls Friendly Society (GFS). The lemon head girls are on a week long visit to GFS — an historic Cape May institution — and I was happy to learn that my photo captured a piece of enduring Cape May history.

To prepeat, lemon heads is their (the GFS adults in charge) term not mine. Since these yellow caps are a regular fixture in the surf, beach goers are often curious about them, if not a little derisive at times. According to the folks at GFS the question of “Why the funny yellow caps?” has been answered in numerous ways including a quick “We’re training for the Olympics" which I am told stops the snickering, or at least gets people wondering what's going on.


GFS Lemon Heads dry (click) GFS is located on Hughes, Cape May’s oldest residential street, right in the heart of the Victorian District. Coincidentally, this civil war era building is next to The Longfellow House, my family house. But in all the years, we (family and friends) never knew the story behind those blue GFS doors. We had theories yes, but we never knew for sure. It just shows how we step right by many of the details of our lives.


GFS Lemon Heads wet, full photo (click) I learned from Jill and Deborah Buck, both current leaders for this week’s group, that GFS is a world wide Episcopal based organization for girls only. It was established early last century, when young females arrived from Europe to work in the factories, but had no family or support. GFS provided a home and a start, and judging from the happy faces and the nightly sing alongs that carry down Hughes, it sounds like that good work has continued to pay big dividends to communities that participate. Not to mention, the great experiences that contribute to the well being of today's female youth. This unique story has endured simply because helping people grow up better people works.

Back to the Lemon Heads. They’ve worn those distinctive yellow caps now for 75 years, as a way to identify the group in the water. It’s a safety thing. And it makes sense. The lifeguards are in on it too, making sure the group is safe while having fun. They’ve had up to 36 floating yellow bobbins in the water at one time, and according to Jill, they've never lost a lemon. So the next time you see a bunch of lemon heads bobbing in the Cape May surf, now you know their story. postscript: I wonder how old those old fashioned lemon head candies (fleer candies) are?