A Sense of Community in ‘Shacks by the Sea’

Re “It’s a Simple Kind of Life in These Shacks by the Sea,” Sept. 1: I spent the first day of the East Coast blackout at the Silver Point Beach Club [in Atlantic Beach, N.Y.], where my parents have been members since 1975 (Cabana D-20). Silver Point is that dying breed of community where everyone knows everyone in their cabana court and stops in for a chat and some food (always food) and to talk about the weather.

As my parents’ friends left their cabanas before dark in the blackout, everyone promised to call each other to make sure that everyone got home all right. After I climbed 12 flights of stairs in pitch black with my elderly parents to their apartment, the phone kept ringing to let us know who in the court got home safely. It is that kind of bond that Silver Point has given my parents for these many years. I sort of envy that.

Dan Kagan

West Hollywood

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Thanks for the memories. Starting in 1959, my best friend and I would “schlep” to the beach in a non-air-conditioned car full of little ones. Each day, well-caked with sand and salt, we’d head back to our apartments in Queens, looking forward to another day at Silver Point.

With 3,000 miles between us now, we are still best friends and have lifelong ties with our fellow cabana owners. Who needs the Hamptons?

Helen Leven

Redondo Beach