Arnold and Louise Manwaring have rightfully earned the title of “fixture” in their East Lyme community. The couple, who will celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary in October, lived briefly in Norfolk, Va., while Arnold was serving in the Navy, but the majority of their years have been spent on or around Old Black Point Road in Niantic.

“We stayed because we have boats and a piece of property on the (Brainard) island,” jokes Arnold.

The seasonal weather has always been a draw, adds Louise, but the reason for their local longevity has more to do with the people.

“It's a smaller community,” she explains. “You can walk into the bank, school or grocery store, and you know everyone.”

At one time, Arnold's siblings all lived on the same street, Old Black Point Road, and the couple's four children — Jane, J., Melville and Beth — are also in town, living within a few minutes of each other.

The Manwaring's best friends, John and Beverly Stadnick, own a home a few houses down. The friends have never lived more than one-quarter of a mile apart.

“It's all about real, close relationships,” says Louise. “That's what a small town does to you. You can go away for a few months in the winter, but when you come back, it's just the smell (of the water) and seeing the people.”

After leaving the Navy in 1958, Arnold began working with his father at Manwaring & Sons, a building contractor firm, while Louise raised their children. Six years later, at age 30, Arnold started his own business, Niantic Lawn & Caretaker Service.

“We cut the grass and checked the furnaces to make sure they would go on in a lot of the old homes in the Old Black Point Homeowners Association area,” says Arnold. He ran the business for the next 30 years, turning it over to his son, Melville, in 1994.

The next generation has also gotten involved. Melville's son, Christopher, works alongside his father in the family business.

At the same time the lawn company was building its clientele, Louise was stretching her own entrepreneurial wings. From 1979 to 1994, she ran Frosty Treat, a popular summertime eatery on Main Street.

“We had a lot of young people that worked for us over the years,” she says. “Some would go away to college, but whenever we needed help, they would come in and work. Plus, it was nice to have all of my children there.”

The Manwarings enjoy skiing and traveling, and along with Florida have spent time in Cancun, San Antonio, Arizona (at the Grand Canyon) and their home in Vermont. Arnold also tends to his osprey stands and bluebird nests that are spread out around his backyard and along the water.

These days the couple, Arnold, 74, and Louise, 70, spends a majority of their time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In the summer, the weekends are filled with barbecuing, sailing and socializing around their home on Brainard Island.

The latest adventure? Louise's preparations for an Easter Day egg hunt and brunch at their Old Black Point Road home ... for 34 people.

“We've got everything we want here. Someone comes to plow our driveway, if my daughter is at the store she'll call to see if we need her to pick up anything,” says Louise. “When you look at your family, you realize what you have.”

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