Delray Beach - 1969

The above photo is a restored photo of the original as shown below. (Enhanced with AI; original scans below)

The photos shown here of Delray Beach are a bit before my time, dating back to 1969, but they are part of my story. I’ll be adding in more current ones in the future, but for now, here’s the first small batch.

Delray Beach was one of my absolute favorite after-school places. I would have started going in the late 1970s and early 80s, and back then, you could still park right at the ocean’s edge at the parking meters just like you see in these pictures.

Going to Delray Beach after an afternoon rain shower to look at the rainbow was one of my Grandmother’s favorite things to do and it was a natural incorporation into our after school routine.

Since she was usually the one who picked me up after school, she would let me choose between the beach or a park to play for an hour or so. When we chose the beach, she’d park at the meters and let me go play at the water’s edge. The parking was close enough that she could see me perfectly from the car. Sounds shocking perhaps, but it was the 70s and 80s, so kids were given a lot more free reign. I would sit at the ocean's edge, building myself a small little pool that would fill up when the waves washed in.

As I got older and Delray Beach grew, sea grapes and other shrubs were added in, along with open showers for rinsing off after swimming.

One thing that was common to see during the 1970s and 80s was to have milk jugs or gas cans chained or tied to the shower posts. Sounds crazy, but the tar on the beach was bad back then, and it was likely you would end up with some on your skin.

The best way to fix that problem was to quite literally pour gas on it to remove the tar so you wouldn’t get it all over your clothes and car seats.

L. Tinsley - 04/03/26

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As I mentioned, I’ll be adding in more photos as I go through my family history, transcribing the cursive handwriting, and digitally archiving the photos and documents for safekeeping.

Although I do use AI for some help with photo enhancements, research, and the occasional writer's block, my goal is to keep these photos and stories as authentic as possible.

I want to make sure we don’t lose the real, rough-edged history that belongs in the books for our future reference, rather than a filtered version. When possible, I’ll make sure to note what photos are original scans vs AI enhanced.

If you see something that isn’t right or I’m misremembering, let me know. I’m all about accuracy.