East Lyme — More than 50 years ago, it was a rule that you couldn't hold hands at Crescent Beach, or police officer Mr. Mace would blow his whistle and glare at you.

This is just one of the things a group of people living in the Crescent Beach area discovered during their quest to uncover the history of the beach.

The Crescent Beach Historical Interest Group has been collecting memorabilia about the area for a couple years now. They want to reconstruct the history of Crescent Beach through old postcards, photos and stories.

They've collected more than 300 postcards, old photographs and brochures, and memorabilia that dates back about 100 years.

"Every little bit is important; it can tell a story," Jan Pierson, a member of the interest group, said. "Every picture, every piece of paper is important."

The items gathered will be showcased at Crescent Beach Day this Saturday. The group is also asking that people bring their own memorabilia to contribute to the historical scrapbook they are creating.

"We need people to come forward and tell their family stories. How they got here is very interesting," Sue Sullivan, a member of the group said.

Pierson added: "Each piece that comes in is like a puzzle. It tells us what it was like."

The interest group formed in 2007 after Crescent Beach Day. The theme was "Remember When," and a few families displayed items that showcased the area's history. Pierson said she and a few others were curious how much other historical information was out there.

"If we didn't take action soon, most would be lost as people cleaned out their attics and downsized," Pierson said. "Also, the older generation has many remembrances of times gone by that we wanted to capture."

The group, consisting of about 10 people, meets informally a handful of times during the summer. They said anyone interested can join the group.

By looking at the historic pieces, they have discovered that during the late 1800's and early 1900's Crescent Beach was a popular summer destination. People would come by car, train, steamer or horse and carriage to spend the day, week or season.

In a brochure for rental property in the 1900s, Crescent Beach was referred to as a "bathing beach."

Over the last 100 years, the area has drastically changed, especially since the devastation wrought by the Hurricane of 1938, after which many of the homes were remodeled.

There used to be a building where the yacht club is now called Crescent Park, but it burned in a fire in 1918. In 1951, fire also destroyed the Baptist Seaside Resort, a dance hall and casino.

There are old photos of the Hillyer's public bath houses, which is now the association's concession stand. The group also has a menu dating back to 1938 from Elm's Hotel and a brochure from the early 1900s for lots available at Crescent Beach.

The group hopes to gather as many historical items as they can, as well as record personal stories on paper and audiotape. They want to categorize the list of items they have and begin documenting the history of Crescent Beach.

"Hopefully the things we're collecting will be good for generations to come," Pierson said.

They're also planning on working with the East Lyme Historical Society's archive group to digitalize their collection.

a.renczkowski@theday.com