On Wednesday, July 3, a surprise was at my door – a small American flag had been placed in front of my house. When I looked up and down the road, I saw flags everywhere. I soon learned that American flags were placed in front of every home and walkway throughout Ocean Bay Park! The ninja patriots who did this raised my spirits and reminded me how much people love our country and how fortunate we are to live on Fire Island. This patriotic gesture was the best way to start a July 4th holiday weekend packed with events. Later that evening, Movie Night on the Beach returned with a repeat showing of last year’s film: “Jaws.” Thirty hearty moviegoers braved the kitsch and the chilly beach!
Beachcombing is looking for and finding sea glass, shells, bits of driftwood and other occasional oddities washed up by the ocean. Holden “the King” Bascom has taken it to a new level. No, he didn’t find Jaws’ bones; he found a shell casing from a 1943 WW II-era bullet. Doing some online investigation, Holden discovered that the shell casing with the markings KS 43 identified it as being manufactured in 1943 at the Kelly Springfield, Allegheny Ordnance Plant in Cumberland, Maryland. These 12.7x99mm bullets were used in the Browning M2 machine gun. His discovery reminded me of the many stories that the late James Lindsey would tell me about growing up in Ocean Bay Park during WW II. It was always fascinating to hear what life on Fire Island was like during the war. There are not too many of his generation left who remember when the US Coast Guard patrolled the beach, and the periscopes of German submarines were spotted off the coast. In those years, he told me, the dunes were high enough for a young boy to hide behind and watch.
Director and filmmaker Sean Claffey once owned one of the Stanley Selengut houses on the beach. That house is no longer there due to the government’s buyback project to rebuild the dunes. However, Sean has not cut his ties with Fire Island and remains an Ocean Bay Park Fire Department member. He recently returned to the Park for a weekend reunion with friends Jim Williams and the Cahills, Robin and Bobby. Claffey’s 2023 documentary, “Americonned,” which explores income inequality in the United States, has won global acclaim, and soon, he is off to Paris to film a documentary about the 2024 Paris Olympics.
That fun-loving and dynamic duo Loretta Sayegh and Mary “B” McCullough are back with more activities and opportunities to meet new people and hone or learn new skills. They have started a book club, a card group with once-a-week bridge and poker games that will include lessons and a garden club to share tips and ideas and swap plants and seeds. Please get in touch with obpcommunityfun@gmail.com if you are interested in joining any of these clubs.
