CREATED in the late 19th century as a Wesleyan summer campground, Bayside stopped "developing" in the early 20th century and froze in time. More than 300 Victorian cottages cluster around a series of parks facing the bay, and a number in addition stretch up lanes toward wooded bluffs. Many properties have been in families since they were tent sites. Old timers are hospitable to newcomers; gentility reigns day and night. People stop to chat. Listening is an important activity. People of all ages ply crafts and hobbies.
A hundred star-spangled banners wave on July 4th and from then on throughout the summer. Porches turn Bayside inside out and create an observed, peopled place.
Bayside's amenities include a harbor with 50 or more moorings, a wharf, large swim raft, a tiny but active yacht club, a 9-hole golf course with vintage club house, a meeting hall, and a splendid commons, the largest of its parks.
Bayside offers no opportunities for buying or selling. The nearest shopping is a mile away. There are no businesses or shops within its limits except for a real estate sales agency housed in a formal general store and run by genial "hosts," Blair and Beanie.
Morning walks along Bayside's shore or bluff roads are exhilarating; glistening water views, wildflower displays amidst lush ferns and sun dappled woods, gulls, loons, and crows symphonizing, quaint visages of gingerbread Gothic cottages, and people making repairs at first light.
Evenings on the wharf are often super sensuous, picturesque experiences. Sailboats bob at moorings, murmured conversations merge with whooshing tides, cottages glow and beckon beneath star-studded skies.
Bayside's 1200 or so summer residents know a bit of heaven on Earth.
This description was "lifted" from the "Bayside Book" authored by Ken Kahn and available from our agency and in fine book stores in Belfast.
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