I see the same people every year,” says Paul O’Leary, a gatekeeper to East Beach on Chappaquiddick for The Trustees of Reservations. “We know almost every other person who comes here.”

In July, the magazine gave Paul a disposable camera and asked him to spend one day shooting patrons who came over Dike Bridge to fish and swim in the ocean, kayak in Cape Pogue Pond, or sun on the beach in between. “Carol Carter has been one of my best customers,” says Paul of the photo above. “She comes over with her daughter Katherine, who seems to enjoy it as much as her mom. She always gets the chartreuse kayak for luck.

“Tom Black [below] always comes to attention when he comes by. His dog’s name is Brady, after Tom Brady of the Patriots.”

The Trustees, chartered by the state and owner and steward of the beach since 1958, is the oldest conservation group in the world.

When asked how he likes his job as gatehouse sentinel at East Beach, Paul – who works forty hours a week – breaks into a wide smile, eyes twinkling. “This is like I died and went to heaven,” he says. “This is perfect. Beats retirement!”