The Beach Mayor, by Alice R. Martin

You may have heard of the Sagaponack Village mayor, but let me tell you about the unofficial mayor of Sagg Main Beach.

Every year, from dawn until dusk, Lester Jary Elliston patrols the sands and waters of that beach. In fact, Lester stops by the ocean almost every single day of the year, and he is careful to take both a sunrise and a sunset photo of the beach. While he is there, he feeds an adopted seagull, Harvey.

Some days, the temperature dips below 30 degrees and the wind whips up in a steady breeze, making tears come to the eyes. On those days, Lester makes a perfunctory visit and then is on his way. On other days, there is a hint of spring, with 60-degree weather and a strong steady sun, and on those days, Lester lingers longer and dreams of summer.

Once May hits, the beach mayor shows up early in the morning with two matching beach chairs, an umbrella, several coolers, a supply of water, and maybe a matching beach outfit. Lester takes his job seriously and wants to look the part. He talks to anyone who enters the sand, introducing himself and finding out his or her purpose for being there for the day. He finds out names, the ports that they hail from, the names of their fluffy little dogs, and maybe their political and religious affiliations as well.

If a local issue is being voted on at a town meeting, Lester polls each individual and makes sure everyone knows how the results of the polls are stacking up. He speaks with lawyers and farmers alike. He is especially close to the lifeguards and beach attendants when they take position after the unofficial beginning of the summer, Memorial Day weekend. 

As a result of his daily rounds, Lester is frequently invited to fancy parties at oceanfront homes that only the people on the A-list expect to attend. He duly does his duty and shows up right on schedule to partake of the catered goodies. Sometimes he has to juggle three or more parties.

Back to his duties and obligations, Lester makes sure that everyone is aware of the location and treatment of the restrooms, when the ice cream truck will arrive, the strength of the surf, and the variations and dangers of the riptide currents. He makes sure that all attend the Dan’s Papers Kite Fly celebration in August and sign up for the annual caricatures. In tribute, he has an entire room devoted to these drawings of himself and his daughter, dated chronologically, with side art depicting whatever was foremost in his family’s mind in the highlighted year.

Some years there are exciting events to celebrate, such as the upcoming marriage of the daughter of a friend. Other years, there is the news of cancer or disease striking an acquaintance, or a beachgoer collapses on the beach and dies of a heart attack while the local E.M.T.s are valiantly attempting to save him.

Each of these episodes has been taken to heart by Lester, the beach mayor, as he quietly muses about the events and wonders if he could have been of more help in preventing a tragedy. He takes his job seriously and is a constant reminder that someone important is watching the fort, noticing and reporting problems, and forestalling any accidents, losses, or missteps by the many people who blithely dare to walk the sands of Sagg Main Beach.

Alice R. Martin grew up in Sagaponack and has roots there dating to the 17th century. She now lives in Riverhead.