By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The slightly faded photo shows a little girl with long blonde hair wearing a gray sweatshirt with the name of a Jersey Shore town written on it – Sea Isle City.
The girl and her family vacationed in Sea Isle years ago, long before she would grow up to become a superstar singer-songwriter.
Now, Sea Isle officials are ecstatic that Taylor Swift has resurrected that old photo of herself to include it in the video for her song “Seven,” about childhood memories, from her new album “Folklore.”
“I think people were really shocked and excited when they saw the new album Folklore,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said. “There is a buzz and a lot of people are talking about it.”
The hope around town is that there may be some spin-off effect from the video – which is available on the music streaming service Spotify – that could elevate Sea Isle’s profile and possibly give a boost to its tourism market.
“It’s very exciting to see an international superstar wearing a Sea Isle City shirt – even if the photo was taken when she was a child. It makes me wonder who around the world might get a glimpse of her shirt and say, ‘Where is Sea Isle?’ and then look us up on the internet,” said Katherine Custer, the city’s public information officer.
Desiderio was so happy that Taylor Swift showed the Sea Isle shirt in her video that he singled her out in a statement Friday for one of his official city “Shout Outs,” which are normally reserved for local people who do good things for the community.
“Many of us remember when Taylor and her family vacationed in Sea Isle City years ago, and we thank her for including a photo of herself in her latest video, which showed Taylor wearing a Sea Isle City sweatshirt as a young girl. We wish Taylor continued success in her career, and we look forward to her return to Sea Isle City in the future,” Desiderio said in the statement.
In an interview Sunday, Desiderio recalled seeing a pint-sized Taylor vacationing with her parents in Sea Isle years ago. He was casually acquainted with the family back then.
At that time, the Swifts were friendly in Sea Isle with the now-deceased actor James MacArthur, who was best known for playing the character Danny “Danno” Williams in the long-running TV series “Hawaii Five-O,” Desiderio said. MacArthur had owned property in Sea Isle.
Taylor Swift grew up in Wyomissing, Pa., and spent her childhood vacationing at the Jersey Shore, including Sea Isle and Stone Harbor. From time to time purported Taylor Swift sightings in Cape May County appear on the internet.
Social media swirled with rumors several years ago that she was building a vacation home in Sea Isle. Those rumors proved untrue.
However, Sea Isle does have at least one celebrity homeowner. Actress Maria Bello, of “NCIS” fame, has a beachfront vacation home in Sea Isle.
Desiderio, who glowingly serves as Sea Isle’s biggest promoter and cheerleader, in addition to being its mayor, remains confident that Taylor Swift will make her way back to town at some point.
“I’m anxiously awaiting her next visit to Sea Isle,” he said.
