By Sunayana Prabhu
HIGHLANDS – A heartwarming story of grief and resilience has unfolded in the seaside borough of Highlands. At its July 17 meeting, the council honored resident Mike Roth with a proclamation recognizing his creative tribute to his late wife, an artistic effort that unified a neighborhood still recovering from Super Storm Sandy.
After 52 years of marriage, Roth lost his beloved wife Mary Anne to cancer Dec. 17, 2023. A gifted carpenter, Roth channeled his grief to honor Mary Anne’s last wish by sculpting unique, nautical-themed house number plaques from repurposed pallets for everyone on his block at no cost.
Over a dozen houses on Washington Avenue are now connected by the pieces carved by Roth – a turtle, a mermaid, some crabs, an octopus, a seahorse and more. But it all started with one big red lobster.
“I made the big lobster for her (Mary Anne) and hung it by the front door, and she got the biggest smile on her face, even in her later stages,” Roth said. It was Mary Anne’s idea to spread the joy across the neighborhood, telling her husband it would be nice if he made one for every house on the block. That simple idea later rescued him from the all-consuming grief that the loss of a loved one can often bring.
Mayor Carolyn Broullon was deeply moved by Roth’s kindness and the positive impact of his wooden sculptures on the community. The proclamation reads, in part: “…the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Highlands do hereby recognize Michael Roth of Washington Avenue for his sense of community, resilient use of materials, and artistic memorialization of his wife.”
Broullon later reflected on the reason the council decided to acknowledge Roth’s artwork and generosity.
“There’s always so much room for all of the badness, we need to keep the goodness as well,” Broullon said, “and be reminded that every day people can still do great things.”
Roth and his wife relocated to Highlands in 2008. They “fell in love” with a “tired” house on a quiet street facing the Captain’s Cove Marina at 31 Washington Ave., and rebuilt it to become the strongest one on the street. Six years later, when Sandy struck, the house built in compliance with FEMA standards became the only one that weathered the 9-foot storm surge. It served as a model for rebuilding after the hurricane.
Roth’s trajectory following Mary Anne’s death embodies a similar resilience.
“I was so angry at everybody because they took her away from me,” he said. “I was mad at God. I was mad at everybody I could be mad (at).”
“I got past that,” he said recalling the deep sense of loss that birthed his new normal.
It happened as Roth looked at the red lobster on his house, chipping and fading from exposure to the elements. He decided to make a new one, and this marked the beginning of his mission to honor Mary Anne’s wish for the community.
“I made a lobster again because that was her favorite. I put our house number 31 in the middle of it, and I said, ‘Wow, this is what I can do to satisfy her wishes I can make one of these for everybody on the block.’ ” In early May, still with a heavy heart but a determined spirit, Roth wrote a letter to his neighbors offering to make unique hand-crafted house numbers for them with a nautical theme of their choice. He hung one on everybody’s doorknob. “Everybody was excited about it,” Roth said.
The following month, Roth handcrafted 13 one-of-a-kind plaques, channeling his grief into sawing, sanding and repurposing pallet wood mostly sourced from discarded piles at lumber stores. “I like the fact that it’s not going into a landfill,” he said.
Roth worked on the project from his garage and often from a small drafting desk on his dining room table.
In June, as Roth completed the last sign, the once-quiet block came alive with a newfound sense of community. Neighbors who had previously kept to themselves started interacting and bonding over his thoughtful creations. “Everybody on the block just seemed to pull together again and got so much more friendly with each other. It was amazing. I’m just really happy it happened,” he said. Now that the plaques are complete, Roth is keeping busy with several other projects, from custom-designed cabinetry and fireplaces to birdhouses. People far beyond his block have been requesting his pieces.
An auto mechanic for almost 45 years Roth owned a repair shop in New Brunswick on the Rutgers campus. After selling his business, he pursued his passion for woodworking as a hobby.
Roth continues to find joy in the house he shared with Mary Anne, enveloped in the memories of her in every corner – paintings they picked up at a weekend farmer’s market, a quirky sign that warns “Locals Only” and, on a wall right above the window, eight little wooden flags in a row. “The nautical alphabet,” Roth explains, pointing at each flag the size of a brick as he names the letter it represents: “B, Y, T, H, E, S, E, A.” By The Sea is what the Roths named their home.
“I feel calm,” he said. “I feel like I’ve accomplished what she wished for. There’s a peaceful remembrance that’s going to stay with me forever and she’s going to be remembered forever in Highlands.”
The article originally appeared in the August 15 – 21, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
