By Natasha Degen and Chris Munzing
Island Park Beach on Waterford Rd. in Island Park recently held a reunion on Saturday, August 17 for beach goers from the 1930's through the 1960's who called the beach home during the summer. People of all ages relived their memories with friends and family on what was once called Casino Beach.
The beach received its name because of the large casino, which sat on what is now the backyards of some homes. But before the area was converted to housing, it was what summer is all about.
"A lot of people fell in love here, as young people do," said Jeanne Scully. She should know. It was at the beach that she met and fell in love with one of the lifeguards and her future husband, Bobby Scully. He recalls the relationship between the casino and the beach as nothing short of perfect, "the Casino nightclub used to blast the music onto the beach, you never had to bring your radio," he said.
Jeanne Scully explained that before the Casino was torn down in the
late 60s, Casino Beach also offered entertainment, including a jukebox,
occasionally live music and a "teen night" every Thursday. Scully also added that the community was very close. "All the kids hung out at Casino Beach. In my class at Oceanside High School, there were thirteen girls from Island
Park and we were all friends," Scully said.
"This was summer," said Veronica Reilly. "You spent the day on the beach. That was your life."
The vacationers also reunited last year and coordinators, Jeanne and
Bobby Scully, Eileen McDonogh, Tom and Marilyn Brennan, Frank Bua and
Eleanor Sicari Laukaitis, hope that the event will be an annual occurrence. Last year, over 250 people attended the reunion, which also attracted several local notable faces, including former Senator Al D'Amato, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and Kansas City Royals' pitcher Dennis Leonard. Coordinators of the event contacted vacationers from the 50s and 60s, some who now live elsewhere, but many who remain Island Park residents. "Although many families continue to come to the bay during the summer, the beach community has changed. In the past there were no pools so everyone would come to the beach," Marilyn Brennan said.
Therefore, organizing the event was not difficult because most vacationers had kept in touch even if they had moved from the area. Scully said that those who no longer reside in Island Park occasionally visit or were reunited with their childhood friends at high school reunions.
Despite the changes and evolution of the community, Marilyn Brennan
said that Island Park was a unique and special place to grow up and to raise a family. "Island Park was a small town and we all went to the beach in the summer and socialized. Our parents were friends and talked and when we got older, our children did the same thing," she said. Bua said that Island Park was an ideal community because "it's so close to the city and the bay...it really grows on you."
