BY JEN A MILLER/NEW JERSEY LIFE

Brothers Jack and Will Morey continue the family tradition of preserving and restoring our iconic boardwalk culture.  Buckle up, and enjoy the best view surfside.

Wearing an Elmer Fudd hat, Morey Organization owner Jack Morey bounded across a makeshift platform set up inside the shell of what had been the Golden Nugget, a classic”dark coaster ride” that had seen better days.  Even though the ride hadn't operated since 1998, the company's demolition announcement in December was not well received.  Wildwood is a nostalgic place, and the Golden Nugget had thrilled 1.7 million people inside its abandoned mine shaft since it opened in 1960.  Brothers Jack, 48 and Will, 51, the organization's president, bought Hunt's Pier with the intent of resurrecting the ride, but with the renovation's $3 million to $5 million price tag and a nagging asbestos problem, the partners decided they had no choice but to bid it farewell.

And what better way to give the screamer a send-off than with a “ride-party”?  Held last January,, the party attracted about 1,000 fans who braved the 20-degree temperatures to have their pictures taken in one of the few remaining cars and to take home a piece of the ride.

Jack and Will Morey aren't the original Morey brothers.  That would be their father and uncle, Bill and Will, respectively, who bought their first ride in 1969: a fiberglass slide they dubbed Wipeout.  Jack and Will learned the business alongside their father and uncle and took over the company in the 1990s. The brothers play the foil to each other in business matters: Jack generates ideas, and Will assesses their feasibility.  “His job is to say no to nine out of ten ideas,” Jack says.

This year the Morey Organization turns 40, and its name in entrenched in the Shore's lexicon.  The company expanded by acquiring dying amusement piers---it currently owns more than 1 million square feet of boardwalk space----and establishing their properties as places where visitors could find clean, safe summer fun.  The brothers' next big project is a wooden roller coaster, which is expected to span Hunt's Pier and Surfside Pier---their first ride that would extend far across the beach.

The Moreys' influence spreads beyond the boardwalk.  In 1997, they played a key role in creating the Doo Wop Preservation League, a group that advocates to conserve and restore Wildwood's midcentury architecture.  “Doo Wop” in Wildwood doesn't always mean music; it's a name given to the resort's kitschy architectural style.  They and other area business owners came together to salvage what they could as developers demolished the wacky hotels and motels that gave the Wildwoods their distinctive character.  “Cities go out of style if not reinvented every 30 years,” Jack explains.  “We tried to convince the local population that it's good to be different because, prior to Doo Wop, Wildwood wanted to be Cape May or Ocean City---which would have been a disaster.”

The plan worked:  When you drive into Wildwood, you're met with neon signs---even the Wawa and Acme are done in Doo Wop style.  The new Wildwoods Convention Center hosts a variety of events, such as dog shows and Disney concerts, and even though the boardwalk is still home to tacky T-shirt and cigarette shops, those operations have been pushed to the fringes.

It isn't always easy for the brothers to strike the right balance between preservation and innovation, though---hence demolishing the Golden Nugget.  “The older I get, the less blinded I am by nostalgia just for nostalgia's sake,” Jack says.  “These things are about kids and families.  It's not a museum we're building, but we have certain museum qualities that I think are really cool.”