Helen Chantal-Pike Collection on Asbury Park, New Jersey

The Helen-Chantal Pike Collection on Asbury Park, New Jersey consists of materials about or created in Asbury Park, New Jersey and surrounding Monmouth County towns including Ocean Grove and Eatontown. The collection has been arranged based on Pike’s own organization of the materials, which span from 1832 to the early 2020s.

The collection is arranged into eight series: Postcards, Photographs and Slides, Scrapbooks and Miscellaneous, Print Materials, Research Materials, Subject Files, and Artifacts and Audiovisual Materials. The postcard series is arranged into four boxes by broad subject area: Hotels; Society; Beach, and Miscellaneous. The Miscellaneous section includes postcards from around New Jersey, as well as other states and cities. The Photographs and Slides series is arranged into twelve folders by subject. While some subjects, like “shops” and “people” are broad, other more specific subjects including “Morro Castle” and “Springwood Avenue Riots” document specific events in Asbury Park history. The Scrapbooks series contains two scrapbooks. One documents the year 1934 in the life of the Banker family. The other, also created by Banker family members, includes primarily newspaper clippings from 1970 to 1972. This scrapbook provides information on the 1970 riots from the perspective of Asbury Park business owner Ann Banker Barr.

Added in November 2025: Additional accruals were donated in 2021 and 2024 from Helen Chantal-Pike. These materials were arranged into four additional series: Print Materials, Research Materials, Subject Files, and Irregular Items and Materials according to Pike's own organization, presentation, and condition when they entered the collection. File and folder headings were described according to the labels given by Pike and all loose or unsorted material was placed in folders marked "unsorted," assorted," and "blank."

The Print Materials series is arranged into eight boxes by subject matter and includes physically printed material, published "print" material collected by Pike, newspaper clippings and articles, material written by, about, or involving Pike, photographs, and oversize items. This includes maps, large print photographs, publications, and newspapers, both scanned copies and originals.

The Research Materials series is arranged into eleven boxes by subject matter and order within the original accrual. Important items within the series include contents originally collected and in binders, select research material, as well as chapters and copies of Pike's publications and personal notebooks. The binders contained photographs, slides, film, pamphlets, printed materials, and similar small or letter sized items sorted into sleeves. These sleeves were replaced and the binder contents are organized in the folder according to how they were situated within the binder. Folders are labled according Pike's own labeling system whenever possible, with any punctuation, capitalization, or other detail reflecting the original written note.

The Subject Files series is arranged into seventeen boxes, primarily in the original order of the accrual and/or the consistency of subject matter present. These boxes include information relating to African American communities from Asbury Park, Pike's "Time Capsule Memories" series of interviews, transcriptions, and notes with individuals from Asbury Park and surrounding towns, and assorted individual files on specific stories, events, and individuals from varying years or eras. Additional materials include archival materials processed prior to 2025 but were included in the most recent accruals as well as two scrapbooks. Folders are labled according Pike's own labeling system whenever possible, with any punctuation, capitalization, or other detail reflecting the original written note.

The Artifacts and Audiovisual Materials series is arranged into five boxes with two oversize items sitting on their own. This includes audio-visual cds, casette tapes, DVDs, VHS tapes, post cards, catalog cards, one printed cloth, one flag, New Jersey historic town postcards, a metal "Palace" coat hook, and a coffee container with glass bottles, a novelty clock, and a brick. Folders are labled according Pike's own labeling system whenever possible, with any punctuation, capitalization, or other detail reflecting the original written note - Kelan Amme.