Q&A With Buddy Jenkins On His Five Decades Of Operating OC Amusement Parks, Hotels, Thrashers Fries And Much More

OCEAN CITY — To say that Charles “Buddy” Jenkins has been one of the most influential figures in the history of Ocean City is almost an understatement when you look at the sheer number of different things that he and his company, Bayshore Development Corporation, own and operate today.

From the two Jolly Roger Amusement Parks and the beloved Thrasher’s French Fries to the iconic Ocean City Fishing Pier, multiple hotels and a slew of other businesses, Jenkins has already cemented his place in the local history books by creating a significant portion of the landscape of this seaside resort that attracts millions of people from all over the globe each year.

Yet, Jenkins is a quiet and unassuming figure who can sometimes be found standing on the porch of his office at Jolly Roger Amusement Park looking out over the masses of families from all walks of life letting go from life’s stresses and making memories together. It’s evident if you stand next to him on that porch just how important the idea of family is to him.

Talking with Jenkins for any length of time is like getting a valuable history lesson on our region, and that conversation can steer into the realms of the deeply intellectual and even somewhat philosophical. Yet, at the root of it, Jenkins says he is a do-er, and all that he has done over his long and successful career has simply been choked up to doing what his parents taught him to do.

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