By Tim Kelly
Books and the beach go together like pizza and pepperoni.
But what if you forgot to stuff that bestseller into your beach bag? Or perhaps you remembered the book and finished reading it before you’re ready to call it a day?
Daniel Millar has you covered.
The Ocean City resident and 2019 graduate of Ocean City High School was looking for an Eagle Scout project when he received a shot of inspiration.
Daniel, who works as an Ocean City lifeguard, remembered seeing a free “give one, take one” library shelf at the entrance to the beach on 22nd Street.
“I thought that was a great idea to promote reading and provide books for people who like to read on the beach,” he said. “I thought that was something I could put together for one of the beaches where I work.”
He created an oak and cedar book case that stands at the entrance to the beach at Seaspray Road in the city’s Gardens section. It has a Plexiglas door and has been coated with polyurethane to protect it from the elements.
Daniel, the son of Mike and Rosemary Millar of the Gardens section, was a Life Scout in Ocean City’s Troop 32 at the time he designed and built the case for his Eagle Scout project.
It is mounted on a stand and has signage identifying the case as an Eagle Scout project and also has the logos of the Boy Scouts and the Ocean City Free Public Library, the beneficiary of the project.
The project was approved by the Scouts and the city, and the “Beach Library” is now part of the Ocean City landscape. And Daniel Millar is now officially an Eagle Scout.
The concept is to have a mini-library at the entrance to the beach for beachgoers to leave a book or take one.
The city installed the case and will take it down in October. It will be re-installed the following March.The library will be in charge of keeping the case stocked and to ensure the materials available there are appropriate.
In addition to his scouting activities, Daniel’s high school extracurricular activities included membership in the National Honor Society, the Latin Club and the crew team, of which his dad is the head coach.
He is headed to Rowan University in the fall for his first year of college, after which he will be transferring to Northeastern University to study computer science.
Daniel said he will miss Scouting and crew, and that he was looking forward to his third year as a veteran member of the Beach Patrol. He also completed a number of advanced placement (AP) classes.
“It’s sometimes hard to manage my time,” he said, noting that crew’s physical demands sometimes made for a long day.
“If it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t be worth doing,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to enjoying the rest of the summer.
Concerning his own reading, Daniel recently tackled Homer’s “Iliad” at the urging of his former Latin teacher, Brian King.
“He suggested I read the classics,” Daniel said.
The newly minted Eagle Scout said he wanted to offer special thanks to Library Director Karen Mahar, Carol Longo, of Ocean City’s Business Administrator office, and Wallace’s Hardware, which donated building materials for the beach book case.
“I also want to thank my parents and members of my family for their love and support,” he said.
