East Lyme — The Crescent Beach Historical Interest Group has been reconstructing the history of Crescent Beach through old postcards, photos, and stories from people like Matt Barrett.

Barrett, 70, grew up at Crescent Beach and met his wife Kathy one summer when they were teenagers. They used to hang out at Crescent Spa, a place that had music and

dancing.

He said his first impression wasn't the best one, where he played "king of the raft" and tossed Kathy from a raft into the water. Luckily, after that they started talking, and he said they kept in touch during high school and college. They eventually married and raised six children in the area.

"Crescent Beach holds a special place in my heart," Barrett said. "This was always a constant, coming back to the beach."

Stories like the Barretts' have been collected along with memorabilia from the area so that the group can put together a historical scrapbook. They've collected more than 300 postcards, old photographs, and brochures, as well as other items that date back about 100 years.

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

The items were showcased at Crescent Beach Day on Aug. 1.

The group is asking anyone who collects memorabilia to consider contributing to the historical scrapbook.

"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."

In 2007, the interest group formed after Crescent Beach Day when the theme that year was "Remember When," and a few families displayed items that showcased the area's history. Pierson said she and a few others were curious about 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.

Barrett said he thinks it's important that the history of Crescent Beach is recorded for subsequent generations.

"They hear tales from one time or another, but when you have it recorded it becomes much more meaningful to them," Barrett said.

By looking at the historic pieces, the group has discovered that during the late 1800s and early 1900s 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."

And over the last 100 years, the area has drastically changed, especially since the devastation of the hurricane of 1938. Many of the homes were remodeled shortly after.

There used to be a building called Crescent Park where the yacht club is now, but it burned in a fire in 1918. A fire also destroyed the Baptist church, which used to be a dance hall and

casino in 1951.

There are old photos of 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 possible and to 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. They're also planning on working with the East Lyme Historical Society's archive group to digitalize their collection.

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

For more information about the Crescent Beach Historical Interest Group or to contribute to their scrapbook, call Sue Sullivan at 739-7923 or Jan Pierson at 739-9613.