Staff Writer

Summer days on Kennebunk Beach are filled with children making sand castles and splashing in the water, thanks in part to an organization that has been a part of the beach for the last 100 years.

Since its founding in 1910, the Kennebunk Beach Improvement Association has evolved from a small beach community project to preserve the beach for future use, to a home away from home for hundreds of children who spend their summers sailing, swimming, woodworking and reading in and around the association’s clubhouse on Beach Avenue in Kennebunk.

“Everyone here looks forward to these eight weeks – they’re the best eight weeks of the whole year,” said Shannon Belanger, a board member from Newton, Mass.

Belanger’s involvement with the association began when she was 7. Now her children are taking swimming and sailing lessons in the cove behind Lord’s Point, which has been the center of KBIA activities since its inception. She said the first time she saw one of her children sail to Strawberry Island, something she had done many times, “was an emotional experience.”

Belanger met her husband one summer in the 1980s when she was a councilor-in-training working the front office and her father was president of the association.

The Belangers are like many generations at KBIA. Members who came as youngsters brought their children to learn to sail or swim and now bring their grandchildren.

Members often mark the generations by changes that greet them when summer arrives.

KBIA began when residents, hotel owners and summer visitors formed the society to preserve the beach. They wanted a way to protect the water, limit commercial building and keep the beaches clean and accessible. The group functioned as guardians of the beach until 1960.

In the 1960s KBIA members began to see changes when the association purchased the old Dipsy Baths building for $60,000. The baths were built at the turn of the century to allow people to take showers and change into their wool bathing suits with three-quarter length sleeves. The building was later demolished and a new building used for classrooms now stands in its place.

Also during the 1960s, Margaret Strong donated one of her guesthouses to the association, which it uses as headquarters.

Changes came in programming during the same time. KBIA hired Charlie Bennett  as the first executive director in 1960, and with him came a new focus on children. He built the foundation of KBIA’s summer programs, which flourish today.

Belanger said KBIA has long taught children how to swim, but the site for those lessons has changed over the years.

 “There was a division between people who swam in the cove and those who didn’t,” Belanger said.

Children originally were taught to swim in cold waters of the cove. In 1974 the association bought an above-ground pool with help from donations and membership funds. In a recent book published by KBIA to celebrate its centennial, one camper remembered the pool being colder than the cove. Pictures of the pool show children huddled together with their hands clasped to their chest to keep warm.

Two years later KBIA built an in-ground pool at the Beach Avenue complex, and it is still used for swimming and diving lessons.

The cove is used for sailing lessons that are scheduled around low tide.

The association will serve more than 600 children this summer through a variety of programs.

On one recent day, pre-teens were headed out on Laser and 420 boats. All nine campers spent previous summers in sailboats, but this was the first year they were allowed in the advanced boats, which are easier to tip. For children of a certain age, this, apparently, is an asset.

“Yesterday we tipped our boat 10 times. It was a record. The last one was on purpose, I wanted an even number,” said Haaris Bjotvedt, 11, from Arizona.

The sailing classes are divided by age and experience level. Beginners use small boats called Chickadees and advance to Optis sailboats and graduate after mastering Lasers and 420s.

Bjotvedt’s sister, Nalah, broke her nose in one of the advanced boats last year, but she’s back in class to spend time with her “best summer” friend,” Taylor Mullen from Boston.

“I texted her during the year, and she said ‘who was this?’” Bjotvedt said.

The two have been friends for more than three summers and plan to continue the tradition for a few more years.

“Summer friends” is a common term at KBIA. Executive Director Martin Lodish said children enjoy coming back year after year for the many programs, which also include arts and crafts such as leather-making and wood-working, and nature programs such as marine biology, sports and reading programs.

All the activity gives children a chance to make new friends and see ones from summers past. Lodish said parents are happy with the program because they know their children will be watched and given safe instruction. Most program instructors work in schools during the rest of the year.

“We’re doing a lot this year to go back to our roots,” Lodish said.

Among the public anniversary activities is a beach cleanup today, a tradition that dates to the association’s founding principles to keep the beach clean and inviting to tourists.

On Saturday families are invited to participate in a day of water sports. A small carnival for children will be held in the morning, followed by a sold-out lobster bake dinner and live auction.

The beach cleanup will begin at 6 tonight on Kennebunk Beach with a bonfire afterward for volunteers. The Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk will hold an exhibit until Sept. 14 that is dedicated to KBIA’s 100^th anniversary.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.