What a wonderful autumn season we are having here in Sea Isle City! For the most part the weather has been beautiful, plus we have had terrific festivals and other seasonal gatherings that have delighted countless people.
Case in point, the City’s Recreation Office hosted a very successful Trunk-or-Treat event on Halloween Night that was attended by over 15 local families and organizations, who distributed candy from their vehicles to nearly 150 trick-or-treaters. It was a great night to be in Sea Isle City.
A “behind the scenes” event that occurs each autumn in our community is the excavation of the diamondback terrapin turtle nesting sites that were created several years ago behind the Sea Isle City Library at 48th Street and the Bay.
Led by Steve and Sue Ahern, of Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue, this year’s excavation of the “Turtle Gardens” involved a small army of volunteers who carefully and meticulously dug through the sand in each nesting site and unearthed dozens of live hatchling turtles.
The volunteers also discovered hundreds of empty egg shells that indicated that many other baby terrapins had hatched earlier in the year and made their way to the bay. My thanks go to the Aherns, the members of the Sea Isle City Environmental Commission and all of the people who strive to keep our local turtle population strong.
Monday is Veterans Day (the eleventh day of the eleventh month), and, as is our annual tradition, we will host Sea Isle City’s 2019 Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday morning in Veterans Park.
During the ceremony, we will honor the men and women of this great nation who proudly served in uniform and preserved the many liberties we hold so dear.
In addition to veterans from VFW Post 1963 and other dignitaries, we will also be joined be members of South Jersey Quilts of Valor, who will present several local vets with handmade quilts.
If you can’t join us during Monday’s Veterans Day Ceremony, please be sure to take a moment to acknowledge this important holiday one way or another – even if you just say “thank you” when you see a veteran.
Now that November has arrived, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here in a blink. As a reminder, there are numerous holiday events listed on our City calendar, so plan on spending time in Sea Isle City as the temperatures continue to cool down and the festive spirit of the season fills the air.
Smile … You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
