The Good News Bears Of Sunset Boulevard
Be on the lookout! Bears are loose along Sunset Boulevard. Decked out in seasonal outfits 365 days of the year, the hard-to-miss stuffies are among Cape May’s most popular roadside animal attractions.
When longtime Lower Township resident Mary McMenamin, 93, put the first plush bear in her front yard about 20 years ago, she never imagined that one bear would transform into an extended furry family.
It all started when Mary bought a swing at a yard sale and hung it from a tree branch out near the road. She quickly decided an empty swing seat might be too tempting for kids (gotta watch out for those lawsuits), so at another yard sale a week later she found a large teddy bear to occupy it. Total cost for swing and bear: $1.50.
The original bear, named Sunset, enjoyed his own personal space for a while, until fellow stuffed bears began appearing unexpectedly. Enthusiastic fans of the roadside critter had begun dropping off playmates for unscheduled, permanent playdates.
“A lot of people win those big bears at the boardwalk and then they don’t really wanna take them home,” says Mary, whose daughters Deirdre Bloomfield and Maureen Volk now help manage the display of bears on the property that’s been in the family since the early 1950s. “They were trying to get rid of them because they wouldn’t fit in the car. So that’s how I ended up with all the bears.”
Suddenly, the McMenamins’ shed was stuffed with cuddly bears. One day, Maureen decided to release all the bears from captivity into the wilds of their front yard and ever since it’s been one big teddy bears’ picnic. Bears (no longer given personalized names) swing, others relax at a picnic table or frolic around a tree, while a few others occupy the boat Mary, the first female member of the Sunset Beach Sportsmen’s Club, used to launch at Sunset Beach to go fishing.
These photogenic bears don’t hibernate and regularly welcome visitors of all ages taking photos, getting up-close looks, or even giving hugs and kisses — two kids left quarters in front of a Valentine’s bear holding a “Kisses 25¢” sign.
“One morning, my dad [who passed away in 2020] came out and saw this man laying on his back in front of the bear on the swing,” says Deirdre. “He went over and was gonna call 911. Then he realized the man was holding a camera, laying on his back, and just taking a picture.”
The made-for-indoors bears are secured with fishing line and enjoy an occasional fur-fluffing via leaf blower, but otherwise don’t receive any additional weatherproofing — they just have to grin and bear the outdoor conditions. Their outside shelf life is generally one or two years, at most, so the gifted replacement bears left in the yard help keep the tradition alive.
Donna Dougherty and her daughter, Elizabeth, added a big white bear to the collection during Easter break this year. Elizabeth had turned 18 and was cleaning out her room before going off to college. “I said, ‘Hey! How about your bear moves to Cape May?’” recalls Donna, a Poconos resident and frequent Cape May visitor. “She said, ‘Okay!’ We love those bears. We drive by to see them all the time.”
One man donated not only a bear but also money to use for accessories and decorations. “Thank you for putting the charm in Cape May,” he told Deirdre.
Presenting Our Other Roadside Attractions
In the late 1800s, visitors could climb South Cape May’s 58-feet tin-and-wooden elephant called Light of Asia (sibling Lucy the Elephant still stands in Margate). Built in 1884 as a real estate stunt, the elephant’s stint as a roadside, or more accurately a trolley-trackside, curiosity, was brief. As the nineteenth century neared its end, so did Light of Asia. The elephant’s structure fell into disrepair, was deemed unsafe, and finally demolished in 1900.
A fiberglass shark that appears to be smashing through Jim’s Bait and Tackle shop on Route 109 near the bottom of the Cape May Canal bridge has survived way longer than that doomed giant elephant. Owner Bobby Duckenfield says thousands of people have stopped by for photos and questions about the popular shark landmark. Former shop owner Jim Wallace attached the shark to the business more than 30 years ago and Duckenfield inherited it when he took over the business 16 years ago.
Although the folks at Jim’s enjoy convincing kids the rest of the shark’s body is located upstairs on the other side of the wall, there’s no more to the predator than what’s visible outside. One man, however, insisted the fiberglass reproduction was a totally real, once-living shark.
“One time, I had a guy tell me that it’s his, that his dad caught it. And that he wanted it back,” says Bobby. “I said, if you can get the pictures to prove it, you can have it. I never saw him again.”
In January, Bobby is removing the shark for the first time since he’s been owner and hauling it to a Florida taxidermist for a fresh paint job and to fix any lingering ailments. The shark should be back home scaring and delighting passersby when the shop reopens in mid-March 2027.
To see more of Cape May’s creature features, take a drive past recently refurbished Franklin the Giant Bass on New York Avenue (between Madison and Philadelphia) and fashionista Hugh Manatee, who lives on Stimpson Lane, where West Cape May meets Lower Township. Jan and Shawn Towne purchased Hugh in the Florida Keys 25 years ago. For a bit of amusement, Jan decided in 2023 to dress the manatee as a snorkeling hula dancer.
“I didn’t know he’d become this celebrity,” says Jan, a master naturalist who specializes in fireflies. “I was just having fun.” Hugh wears as many as 15 creative costumes a year, including for holidays, summer occasions like West Cape May’s Lima Bean, Strawberry, and Tomato festivals, plus monarch migration. Photos of Hugh as a marshmallow peep and BLT sandwich have been social media favorites and people regularly stop for pics or a chat if Jan’s outside swapping Hugh’s attire. One local potter even gave Jan a handmade ceramic manatee.
“Hugh makes people smile,” says Jan. “He makes me smile. Every time I look out the window and see him, I smile. That’s really why I do it. Just to make people laugh. We need to laugh and smile more.”
