Explore Long Island

"Our family used to get up at the crack of dawn and drive to Beach 9 where we'd stoke up the grills and have big breakfasts with family and friends. Mom always brought the wood picnic basket and scotch cooler filled with goodies. What great memories!" ---Wendy Banker, Glendale, AZ

"When I was a kid back in the mid-60's, my father used to drag us out of bed (my mother and the 4 kids) at 6 in the morning of a summer's day to head to Jones Beach. We would always pick up juice at Dairy Barn in Port Washington, donuts at Dunkin Donuts in Roslyn and head down the Meadowbrook. We would get there before almost anyone, put our blankets down right by the water, and fall asleep for a few hours before it was warm enough to swim. By that time the beach was filling up, but there we were steps from the waves, in front of everyone. We'd head back to the beach house to lunch on hot-dogs and take a swim in the pool before beating the crowds out of the parking lot. My sister's and I always grumbled, but in reality we loved it." ---David Barnett, Port Washington, NY

"Among my many happy memories include riding the waves at Field 4 with my lifelong friends Ellen, Beth, and Renee, collecting shells and starfish, applying baby oil laced with iodine for a deeper bronze, using home-made three-way tin-foil sun reflectors to intensify the rays, digging my own custom "lounge chair" out of the sand, listening to WABC and WMCA for the latest hits, and otherwise having a carefree time. But one of the best memories was enjoying those delicious rootbeer floats that I regularly bought at the concession stand for 50 cents. That sweet concoction of root beer soda with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream was the best! And I wasn't watching every calorie like I do today...Those were certainly the days!" ---Rena Steuer, Plainview, NY

"When I was a teenager in the 40s, there was gasoline rationing. To get to Jones Beach was a challenge. One day my friend and I decided to take the bus from Wantagh. It didn't come, so we walked to the parkway to hitchhike. A woman, who had also been waiting for the bus, asked if she could join us. We soon got a ride from two gentlemen in a very nice car. They did not engage us in conversation, but dropped us off at the West Bathhouse. Later, the woman approached us and said, 'Do you know who that was in the car?' We did not, and she replied, "Robert Moses!" --- Clare Worthing, Wantagh, NY

"I remember Memorial Day weekend at Jones Beach. Our entire family and our best friends would go 6 a.m. from Lindenhurst to avoid traffic on the bridge. We would stay until sunset. We would barbecue, build sandcastles, play Zim Zam and just enjoy life!" --- Kim Houser, Millsboro, DE

"I remember going to Jones Beach with my family to see Guy Lombardo and the shows on the stage in the middle of the marina. There were always fireworks after each show." --- Sher Whritenour, Las Vegas, Nevada

"I remember many sunburns." --- John Zeiser, Levittown, NY

"One of the high points of growing up on L.I. was having my grandparents take me to Jones Beach. We'd pack a picniic lunch and a beach umbrella, so my grandmother could sit in the shade. I loved being able to wade out so far - for miles, it seemed. It was a great place to play and have fun. I would bury my grandfather in the sand, and then we'd eat our lunch. Even though I've moved to Fla., my memories of Jones Beach remain fresh." --- Michele Vongerichten, Port St Lucie, FL

"Labor Day family parties. My Father coming home early from work, we would go for a quick dip. Hitching to the beach and meeting up with girls! Teaching my kids to body surf and to enjoy and respect the ocean. Finishing my first Half Marathon at the Water Tower, and I still love to run along the boardwalk from field 6 to field 1 and back. Jones Beach has held great memories for a kid who grew up on the South Shore of LI, and still does today." ---- John J. Dillon, Seaford, NY

"Jones Beach has become more a part of my life since I hit my 50's over 10 years ago. The summer variety of night concerts, the long walks on the boardwalk with friends of many years, the people watching, sitting in the lounge over the food pavilion, reading, talking and just watching the surf. It makes us all feel young, restful and at the same time full of life and energy. Long Live Jones Beach and all it has to offer." --- Frances Porter, West Babylon, NY

"I grew up in Queens and I remember summers driving out to Jones Beach with the family. All the fun we had and the worst sunburns I ever had. The miles and miles of white sand beach and cold waves to swim in." --- Nancy Moran, Perth Western Australia

"I remember the salt air, the white caps on the waves, and the promise of meeting a handsome boy when I'd go to Jones Beach way back in the 1950's with my girl friends. It was a clean beach, much, much better than Rockaway Park and Brighton Beach, it was the beach we felt was for the special people of Queens and Long Island and I was proud to be one of them." --- Judi McMahon, Tucsoh, Arizona

"When I was in high school we would go over to watch softball games, play platform tennis and eat hot dogs (and a few beers). When I take my grandchildren to the beach, I talk to them about how much fun."--- Kurt Dailey, Fort Mill, SC

"My parents would pack up the old station wagon and get six kids ready for a fun day at the beach. Seeing the tower and smelling the salty air made us all very excited. First we spent some time at Zach's Bay, learning how to swim and digging for clams. Later in the afternoon we would all walk through the tunnel to the ocean side. My sisters and I would run along the beach looking for shells to paint when we got home."--- Regina Dunn Hartman, Shirley, NY

"I remember watching Carousel at Jones Beach, and Mardi Gras and Sound of Music. And Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians playing beautiful music for hours after in the Schaeffer tent while we danced."--- Vince Iuliano, Holbrook, NY

"I have many fond memories of Jones Beach, when our uncle would load us up in the back of the Jeep in Patchogue to go swimming with my cousins who lived in Bayshore. Although I was afraid of the water at first, Uncle Herman may us feel safe. Texas beaches cannot compare. I truly miss the Long Island beaches."--- Verne LaGrega, Leesville, Texas

"Trips to Jones Beach in the late 60's and early 70's meant that I was going to get to see a large group of aunts, uncles and cousins and have a great time. Driving from Queens seemed an eternity, but once we got there, wow, it was great! The pool was the biggest I'd ever seen, we'd be sure to enjoy it all morning. After lunch, we'd all trek to the beach for the rest of the day. The best part of Jones Beach? Easy, it had to be the wringers they had for your wet bathing suit! What fun that was, and Jones Beach is the only place I have ever seen them." --- Mary Lynn Borst, Levittown, NY

"During the summers of ' 74,' 75 and ' 76, my friend Nancy ("Cole") and I were employed by Jones Beach Catering Corporation. Nancy worked in Purchasing, myself, in Accounts Payable...two friends working side-by-side to earn that much needed "spending" money for our college summers. We took turns carpooling, enjoying each other's company as we motored down Wantagh Parkway each weekday with the water, the boats and the Jones Beach "Pencil" as our backdrop. Our favorite part of the workday, however, was our lunch break. Maybe 30 minutes long at best, we raced to change into our bikinis, slap on Baby Oil and hit the sand at Central Mall to enjoy those precious minutes of Jones Beach Sunshine." ---Carol Miller, Massapequa, NY

"Listening to Murray the K and having the time of my life with dear friends. Today, still going to Jones Beach. It's just a part of my life, forever." --- Linda Carr, Little Neck, NY

"I rembember the fierce tide and high waves." --- Doris Lovell, St. Albans, NY

"Bologna & cheese sandwiches, crunchy from the sand and sleeping in the back of the station wagon with my little sisters and brother on the drive home. Oh and of course, Solarcaine...ouch." --- Susan Gallione, Powder Springs, GA

"While growing up on Long Island, my grandfather and I fished off the piers almost every day all summer long. I met many wonderful people and have memories from my youth that I will never forget." --- Janine, Cortland, NY

"We used to go to Jones Beach on friends and family outings. It was a pretty elaborate affair. The Maddens and the Mitchels and the Korbets were always the core group. My dad was transferred in 1956 and it wasn't until my uncle's death in 1986 that I went to "the beach" again. I will always have fond memories of the good times. I specifically remember one time we stayed late so we could hear the Guy Lombardo Band playing across the water as we sat on the "Bayside" beach." --- Steve Korbet, Sidney, ME

"My memories of Jones Beach include Jelly fish, big and small, and Root Beer Floats!"---Mary, Little Neck, NY

"The only way we could get to Jones Beach in those days (the mid fifties) was through our New Hyde Park summer recreation program. Once a week on Wednesday we left Hillside Grade School and would take a bus to Jones Beach. We rode the waves the entire time. I can still feel the waves carrying me to shore. Mr. Allopenna was our additional lifeguard and our counselor. I will never forget him for affording us our first adventures at Jones Beach." --- Rayna D'auria Petrella, Garden City, NY

"My first time at Jones Beach was on an altar boy outing from my parish in Queens. With two carloads of kids, we drove east on the Sunrise on a weekday in July of 1953. Once on the Jones Beach Causeway, as it was called then, we could smell the ocean approaching. What a smooth ride, unlike the Q11 bus, that was our usual bouncy trek to Rockaway VIA Cross Bay Blvd. We were "out on the Island, man." The toll was 25 cents on the Causeway, and I believe 25 cents for the West Bath House for the pool where they stamped your hand with "invisible ink." Most of us had never been in a real pool before, only a wading pool behind the 106th Pct. That day we ran back and forth from ocean to pool, enjoyed a brown bag lunch while Dad and Fr. Finnegan shared a few cold ones. Today I take my grandchildren to the same pool. They love the baby pool, and I think of that July day in '53, my first day at Jones Beach."---- Jack O'Connell, Hempstead, NY

"From summer 1957 to summer 1963, my parents would drive from Benson Hurst, Brooklyn to Jones Beach. I was very young and I can still remember the schlepp from the car, across the hot sand to the water. Summer 1963, we moved to Valley Stream and joined the Valley Stream Park Pool every summer since. We would cut through the beautiful Valley Stream Park to the pool. Now at 46, I must stay out of the sun because of all those glorious summers in the sun growing up here on Long Island. I luv L.I." --- E.B., Massapequa Park, NY

During the Depression, Jones Beach was our summer haven. For a family of eight living in a railroad apartment (Astoria), driving east was ecstasy envisioning the bay, the boardwalk, and sometimes the ocean. Our folks had faith that we'd reach Zach's Bay where their six children could enjoy the bay under supervised swimming, and have fun on the paddle boats. It was a production of mythical proportions for Mama who spent the night before cooking, and for Papa packing everything -- food including a whole watermelon, supplies, equipment and extra clothing -- forced to fit on the running board beneath the car's door! We were then "stuffed" in the old '26 Dodge like the grape leaves Mama made, never whining, but singing-along in Greek till we reached Jones Beach where we met our relatives and friends for a day's pleasure outdoors. ---Yasiliky Turner, Centereach, NY

Some of my earliest memories have been of Jones Beach. My mother would make pepper & egg sandwiches the night before. At dawn we would carry our stuff to the Brooklyn subway out to Venn Station then to Wantagh on the LIRR. From the bus we strained to be the first to shout "I see the pencil!" meaning that almost sacred icon, the water tower at the entrance to the mall, where we would off-load and send a scout to locate "the best spot on the beach". We would rent an umbrella and on special occasions my Dad would rent one of the distinctive "Jones Beach Reclining Beach Chairs.". We of se all got a turn trying to sit in it. The best fun for me was building sand castles near the water with what I believe must be the lest "sand castle sand" on earth. Whose glory days of the 50's, like the sand castles as the tide came in, are gone now - but those of us who were there will always remember. ---Mary Estrada Babylon,N.Y.

I have fond memories of going to Jones Beach when I was about 12 to 15 years old. My friends and I knew a girl who was 18 and had a car to drive. We would all pile into her car, about 8-10 of us and off to Jones Beach we would go. We would all hold hands in the water just as the girls in the newspaper picture. We would walk out into the water up to our necks and jump the waves. I often think about the danger of doing that because I couldn't swim and still can't. This all took place in the early fifties. ---Patricia Strack Wilson, Medford, NY

Jones Beach and I are pretty close in age. I am 72 yrs. old and have some fond memories of Jones Beach. My younger sister Joan (who thought the beach was named for her) and I recall that the only time we got to go to Jones Beach was once a year when our uncle came to visit us in Maspeth, Queens from Michigan. He always had a new car and could handle such a long trip. We had to leave early in the morning and spent the whole day there. I still recall the sandy hard boiled eggs. Since it was a once-a-year event we really looked forward to it. In the early days we went to Zach's Bay and of course, enjoyed the paddle boats. Then as we got older we went to "the ocean.". At the time I never dreamed that some day I would be living in East Meadow and only be 15 minutes from Jones Beach. We do go to the beach often even if it is just to walk on the Boardwalk and recall our annual trips with great nostalgia and affection. ---Patricia Ringkamp, East Meadow, NY

Ah, yes, I remember it well ... the tunnel where you could scream to hear your echo (and everyone else's), glorious water shows with diving clowns, skating shows, children's Indian village, adult playground, dancing ... as a young girl, my vision was that I was actually on a cruise as I drank water from one of the "ship's wheels," catching a glimpse of a young "sailor" (who, in actuality, was a beach attendant) and hearing my heart go patter-patter ... but the two most memorable things for me are walking along the boardwalk holding onto the wide wooden railing which was warmed by the sun -- this was ecstasy ... and then, at the end of the day, the grand finale!! The Mello-Roll!!!! Glorious!!!! Almost every child, while unwrapping the ice cream, would drop the beautiful glistening delight -- but who could end the day without a Mello-Roll!!!! Thanks, Mom and Dad. ---Grace Hark Murphy, Holtsville, NY

I read your recent article and request for experiences at Jones Beach. At first I wasn't going to reply and then I thought why not. Forty three years ago my mother and father loaded my sister and I and tons of food into the jeep we had and we drove to the Island. This is my recollection. Seven o'clock in the morning as we drove up the main Island highway (with the monument in the middle) the crisp summer sun began to bake everything around us. I recall one of the stations playing the Every Brothers hit "Wake up Little Suzie." The Island had the intoxicating aroma of its thunderous surf and its massive beach plant life cropping up along every inch of the massive dunes. I remember that the sun is different than at any other beach anywhere. The sun is imminently bold, strong, and, to the uninitiated, even dangerous -- I baked. I recall the foamy froth that would advance with each crashing wave. The off shore sand bars that would occasionally form near shore were a haven for hours of laying out in the breeze. If we were lucky enough to discover one, we knew that the pool of water between it and the shore itself was amazingly warm. It was as though we were submerged in a tropical paradise all our own. Every long walk would provide enchanted discovery -- the driftwood, the large shells indigenous to that area of the Island, and bits and pieces of ships that had one wonder about the fate of the vessel and its crew. This was all so many years ago and yet a lot of it seems like it happened only last week. What do I remember most about Jones Bach and the Island? Inarguably it was the sunsets. The pallet of colors that melted into the sky were the most brilliant collage of hues and shades mixed carefully with the whisper of summer clouds. I've never seen anything like it since and I probably never will again. You asked for a short word or two about a Jones Beach experience. That is mine. I know this may sound corny (kind of like `he doesn't get out much) but I don't think that I could go anywhere else in the world and experience quite the same summer high that I had out there. I haven't gone since but I will always remember how it made me feel inside. It's simply the closest to God that I'll ever get in this world. ---Mike Vosburgh Brooklyn

Recalling my many trips to Jones Beach was not the actual day at the beach but the walk through the tunnels to the beach. When we arrived my Father would grab my hand and I would walk up the side cement ramp which lead into the tunnel. When I reached the very top I would look down at my father and he would instruct me to jump into his arms. Now the real fun began -- he had this crazy hyena/belly laughter that he would start the minute we entered the tunnel. This laughter would echo through the tunnel with crowds of people staring at my crazy father or with them joining in. Then came the day that I was too cool for him to behave that way and I pleaded for him to stop.

We call our town beaches home now, but every once in a while we will head to Jones Beach and treat our children to a walk through memory tunnel. Somehow I can still hear his laughter echoing through them and wish he was still with us to join in on our laughter. ---Patty Berntsen-Pike Deer Park, NY

Jones Beach holds a very special place in our hearts. My fiance and I drove there one afternoon after his return from WWII. (Our courtship was mainly through letters and how exciting it was to be together again -- but something didn't seem just right.) When we parked in the lot right on the beach, enjoying the peaceful scene, we sat and talked about what was important to us. We saw into each others soul and became loving partners forever. We have taken our children there also when disappointments arose. Walking on the boardwalk, collecting shells, playing on the swings all seemed to put everything back in perspective. Happy Birthday, Jones Beach, our treasured friend! Thank you for getting us through some of the difficult times in our life. ---Virginia M. Backus, Melville, N.Y.<br>

One fond memory that stands out is when my husband would take my daughter every year for her birthday to the Jones Beach Marine theater. She would wait anxiously outside for her dad to come home from work. First they would have dinner at the Sea Breeze in Freeport and head out to the Theatre. She enjoyed musicals such as The King and 1, Carousel, Etc.. We still have the playbills of that special time, circuit 1975 and 1978. The highlight of the evening was dancing under the Guy Lombardo Tent. ---Mrs. Rosary Rick, Levittown, NY

Wendy Banker's family (Photo by Wendy Banker)

Memory photos of Jones Beach

Hamptons party photos