Marching into the ocean has become a tradition
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — A pirate, a mermaid, a crab, a bear and Mr. Mature America joined a marching band, a soccer team, a historian, four princesses, hundreds of spectators and dozens of business persons as Ocean City officials kicked off another summer in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
The Unlocking of the Ocean and Business Persons Plunge, held May 28 at Ninth Street beach just south of the Ocean City Music Pier, was the 18th since its humble beginnings as a way to celebrate the start of the season — for the public and the many merchants who make it possible for their vacations at the shore.
It was created by real estate agent John Walton of Keller Williams Jersey Shore and legendary city publicist Mark Soifer, the brains behind many of Ocean City’s family-friendly events, including saltwater taffy sculpting and the Freckle Contest, to name a few.
Michael Allegretto, aide to Mayor Jay Gillian, said turning a key in the sand to signal the start of summer is a long-standing tradition started by the Ocean City Beach Patrol Alumni Association and that the plunge was created to complement the event.
“It’s really a great way to kick off Ocean City’s Memorial Day weekend and say: ‘We’re open for business. Summer is here,’” Allegretto said, adding the event traditionally draws a large crowd.
“Everyone is excited to be part of the plunge and we get families coming down to watch the event,” he said.
Allegretto said the event is part of Soifer’s long legacy of creating fun family events.
“Unlocking the Ocean and the plunge is a total Mark Soifer event,” Allegretto said. “I’m sure if he were here he’d be proud of us carrying it on.”
He said Walton has “taken the baton and kept it going, and he tries to build it and make it better every year. He recruits everybody. He shows the enthusiasm for it, so he’s a big part of the event.”
Walton, sharing some beach space with Paul Chiolo, operating principal and owner of Keller Williams Jersey Shore, said the event began in 2004 as part of the city’s 125th anniversary, during which a committee planned and held 125 events.
“It was sort of a Monty Python two-hour event that had pretty humble beginnings, but I knew this would catch on,” Walton said. “We decided a zany, fun, paparazzi-filled event was going to grow, and here it is 18 years later.”
Walton still carries the same briefcase he started with in 2004 — “I think there’s some contracts in there because I can’t, it’s rusted shut,” he said — but has replaced his shoes and suit.
“The shoes are 15 years old and the suit is from Boyds, a fine Italian suit. This is the ninth year for this suit and it’s getting a little tight,” Walton said.
As the mayor and City Council members joined city staff and the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, Allegretto addressed the crowd, which had begun to swell 30 minutes earlier.
Beside the podium, the city’s royal representatives consisted of Miss Ocean City Mary Grace Jamison, Junior Miss Ocean City Natalie Argento, Little Miss Ocean City Antonella DiAntonio, Miss New Jersey Teen Isabella Freund and Mr. Mature America Jack Merritt. Mascots Wonder Bear and Martin Z. Mollusk also took part.
Ocean City Beach Patrol historian Fred Miller provided the key and officials joined in turning it in the sand as the business persons prepared for their marine march. The ceremony has been held for more than a century in Ocean City.
Fully clothed and many carrying brief cases, signs and other tools of their trade, the merchants proceeded to take the first dip of the summer, traversing the strand to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance” by the Ocean City High School Band.
The event was big news, with both print and broadcast journalists from southern New Jersey and Philadelphia gathering to witness the annual rite of passage into summer.
Amid all of the merry-making, one moment stood out in stark contrast.
Teenager Joelle McElroy had a captive audience and a large media contingent for her explanation of the Occupant with Autism program she is promoting.
The 17-year-old high school junior from Riverside, Burlington County, partnered with the nonprofit Louie’s Voice Inc. for her National Honor Society project. McElroy, whose family spends summers in the city, said Louie’s Voice creates decals that inform first-responders that an autistic person is in the home or vehicle.
“Lou Berman teamed up with me to offer them to families that are vacationing in Ocean City to put them on windows, on cars, so when first-responders come to their house that they are vacationing at, they know that there’s an autistic kid in there,” she said.
McElroy said autistic children create a place where they feel safe and can have an adverse reaction when removed from it.
“If a fire happens, they don’t know what to do,” she said, noting the idea stemmed from an incident in Philadelphia in which a nonverbal autistic child was home alone when a fire started in his home.
“He went to his bedroom, which was his safe place. When the fire company came in, they screamed and didn’t hear anything and left, and he ended up perishing in his bedroom,” she said. “So that’s why they created these decals and I’m here to present them.”
The Ocean City Nor’Easters soccer team was there to get their feet wet. Coach Alan McCann said the team joined the event to thank the community for its support.
“The city has been brilliant to the club for many years and since these boys were welcomed into the community three weeks ago, they’ve opened their arms and they’ve taken them in. So for us being here, it’s almost a thank you from our side,” McCann said. “We are lucky to be involved in it, and whatever is going on in the community we hope to be a staple in there and help boost the profile and help in any way we can.”
Merritt called it part of the “kitschy little family-oriented events that are part of the draw and the allure of Ocean City. I think it just makes people smile, and any time you can do that it’s a good thing.”