Manor Beach Wisdom:
According to Ralph Santoliquido

(July 21, 2002) According to Manor Beach Manager Ralph Santoliquido, "Beware of Lightning. In the past eighteen years lightning has struck the shower pipes, pavilion rail, the guard chair at the point and the mast of a boat moored in the harbor."

Ralph Santoliquido

According to Ralph, "If you intend to stay out in the sun, cut down on your alcoholic intake."

According to Ralph, twenty years ago the only food or beverage service at Manor Beach came from Mel, the Good Humor ice cream man, who dispensed ice cream through a hole in the fence. Today's beachgoers choose daily from grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, sandwiches, salads, chips and ice cream. On weekends Ralph supplies his own Italian specials, such as meatballs, chicken cacciatore or eggplant parmigiano.

According to Ralph, the Manor Beach News in which his tips appear has been published for eighteen years. Ralph's relationship with the beach goes back to 1956 with his first year as an officer in the Larchmont Police Department. In the 1960's and '70's, as a police officer, he helped control trespassing and vandalism in the park. From 1982 to the present, he's served as the beach manager which he calls "a challenge yet a labor of love."

Slated to retire this summer, Ralph stayed on when plans for a new manager fell through. He and his assistant since 1982, Bonnie Perciasepe, head a crew of about twenty-five young summer workers who guard the water, hand out keys, operate the food concession and keep the beach clean and safe. The guards all have their lifeguard, CPR, first aid, and water front safety certifications. However, according to Ralph, "Parents! Think about this!...Rescue is the lifeguard's duty. Babysitting is the parent's duty. Please watch your child."

Parents watching their small children do make up the largest group of beach goers on most days. There's a regular group of adult sunbathers, readers and socializers at the end of the concrete walkway, and shadeseekers under the trees and on the patio. On the beach, you might find head lifeguard John Keenan in his wet suit coaxing a timid youngster onto a kickboard during a private swim lesson, the only structured activity on most days.

Membership in this laid-back club is open to any resident in the 10538 zip code area, and this year there are many families with young children evident on the beach and in the bath house. The membership fees range from $221 to $700 depending on size of cabana and where the member lives. With 275 bath houses in total, there are still 30 family memberships open. According to Ralph, the Larchmont Manor Park Society that overseees the beach is currently dealing with replacing the bathhouse roof, but all the cabanas are open. (See Seth Goldstein's article on what became of the original bathhouse after the hurricane of l938. )

This year the water has been quite nice," said Assistant Manager Percisepe. The only time the beach was closed was after the big rain storm ( See June 27 article), and even then the closing was precautionary. "We haven't had a bad water test in years," she added.

Of course, as Ralph notes, "The Long Island Sound is a natural body of water blessed with all forms of sea life, some of which are unpleasant. However, one final point according to Ralph: "Over the years, I have been stung by a jelly fish, bitten by lice, left the water when the blues were feeding, swam in through and around the read and brown tide, walked through the green seaweed and swallowed a lot of Sound water in the process. I'm still here and I'll turn 72 in September. So enjoy the beach, swim in the water, bask in the sun and enjoy all the things that God has given us."

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