In last week’s Commentary, Reilly Platten Sharp asked, “What does it mean to belong to Long Beach Island? Do you have to have been born here? If you just summer in a cottage you own, can you consider yourself officially a part of the community? Is there a certain number of years to accrue before you can be an ‘official’ Islander?”

Here are some of the responses we got when the column was posted on The SandPaper’s Facebook page.

Jane Martin: I identify as an Islander because my family has been spending summers there since the 1920s and I now have a home of my own there. But the Island belongs to everyone, day trippers included. I don’t like exclusivity when it comes to natural resources which everyone can and should enjoy. It smacks of elitism, which I honestly think is a real problem on the Island.

Jo-Ann Miller Caruso: I’m a local because I had to wait at the bus stop at 6:45 a.m. because Southern (Regional High School) was 45 minutes away. The wind was horrible and I’ve never been so cold in my life in Beach Haven. That’s a local; they went to school here.

Edward Zorn: The local rule is: Grew up here year ’round and went to school here. If you moved here and lived here year ’round for five-plus years you are considered a local.

Just owning a home here and coming for the summer or renting excludes you from obtaining local status, until you obtain the year-round, five-plus rule. There are no exceptions to this whatsoever.

John Ansbro: I self-identify as an Islander by the following – 45 years, my family – three generations, I worked at Beall’s, still have an Acme mug card, remember the time before Long Beach Township beach badges.

Jean Ragl: You are an Islander if you are physically, mentally, emotionally and financially invested in it – not just the land but the community as well. You want the best for the Island and the people – not just your own interests.

My family has owned property on LBI for over 100 years, but that doesn’t make me any more entitled than others.

Janine Seeley: My great-grandfather came here in the early 1900s and opened Wida’s. My grandfather, father and brother were Long Beach Township cops. My grandfather was also a builder on LBI. 

I myself worked at the LBT Beach Patrol, Fantasy Island amongst a few other spots known on LBI growing up. Our home was across from St. Francis and built by my grandfather in 1947 prior to being sold after Sandy. 

I consider myself a true native/local as I could tell you where the bump was every school kid wanted the bus to hit on the Causeway. 

E.J. School/LBI School – I remember getting off at St. Francis and walking around the church to avoid going to Holgate and back because you had one north bus and one south bus back then. St. Francis was the “hang spot” whether it was mandatory CCD classes, basketball, CYO or just free gym time. 

Bonfires weren’t banned on the beach yet. You rode the blue/yellow rafts in the ocean you bought from Ron Jon’s or Byerley’s back in the day. Skimboards were an ER trip to Southern Ocean County Hospital, which had four beds in the ’70s. Dave Ash brought Santa in his helicopter and landed it on the Boulevard during the Christmas parade. 

So ya, I’m from LBI, a local, and always will be.

Kathy Boyd Callison: You are an Islander if your presence and actions make it a better place. Do you improve it? Do you make it worse? Do you pick up trash? Are you a good customer at the local shops? Are your kids out of control? Are you rude and self-important? Are you a hazard when you are driving/jogging/biking? Are you careful and respectful of the environment?

It doesn’t matter what you own or how long you have been here, if you are not a good steward of the Island you don’t belong here.

Dawn Linda Borys Markoski: I think some people get intense if someone owns property but does not consider the home their primary residence and does not vote here, yet is vocal in the politics of the Island or moves here and decides everything needs to change. That ruffles feathers, especially if you have no clue about surviving storms, the harsh winters or the local economy, which is different than mainland economies, especially when it comes to Mother Nature or human disrespectful pollution to the Island.

Judee Sebastian: We moved over to LBI with our little family in 1988 from Forked River.

Jackee started at E.J. School, her brother at LBI school. Her son went to E.J. also, to grade 3. Both were graduates of Southern Regional High School. Jackee worked the Wawa near the Eisenbergs’ Terrace Tavern up until Sandy.

We all came out to Colorado when finding a year-round rental (on LBI) became difficult in 2015.

Now, take it back to 1957-1968. We came down from Irvington. I was a renter, a “benny baby.” Every summer my parents and aunts rented in Ocean Beach & Yacht Club ll in Lavallette the last week of July and the first week of August: No AC. No TV. Two-bedroom bungalow teeming with cousins. Grown-ups got the bedrooms. Great times.

My parents bought bayfront year ’round there in ’68 for $16,500. They sold in 1980 and moved to Forked River.

I served LBI as a home health aide, keeping folks in the homes that they loved for two decades. Trained as a domestic violence response team member alongside the Harvey Cedars former mayor’s wife and our grandsons’ E.J. school counselor.

I enjoyed so many side jobs over the years, too, from writing for the Beach Haven Times, parking lot attendant at lot 99 in Loveladies to nightwatch at the Harvey Cedars Bible Conference. Hmm, am I still a benny?

Our kids are locals.

Oh yeah, I was born in Miami Beach in 1955. I also lived on St. Croix and St. John, 1976-1978. Well, that clinches it. I am an Islander … landlocked now in sunny Colorado.

Go figure.

Lettes Go: Years ago I called into The Hawk and spoke to “Dr. Phil,” the DJ. I said I’ve owned for 10 years, can I call myself a “local” now? He emphatically replied, “Nope!”

Melisa Missy Fillman: (You are an official Islander) when you see your neighbor rowing a boat down your street and yep, I guess school’s canceled today.