SUN SETS ON HUMAROCK CROWD
Quiet end to rowdy party scene
SCITUATE — Fear of fights, arrests and drunken mayhem at the traditionally rowdy July 3 celebration were some of the reasons why the public beach at Humarock was closed early yesterday, but when it was time to clear the thin stretch of shoreline, there was little pushback from any would-be partiers.
“We didn’t have to tell one person to get off the beach — they all left on their own,” said Scituate police Chief Mike Stewart. “People knew that we were closing it early, and they moved along without us having to say anything.”
Scituate authorities shut down the public portion of the strand at 4:30 p.m. Two police officers stood by and made sure no one set up shop on the football-field-size plot of sand and rocks, while crowds kept their distance on private stretches of sand that bookend the area.
“There were like a couple of cops who were moving people along, but there wasn’t really much of anything,” said a man named Tony, from Milton, who declined to give his last name as he sat with friends on a private beach. “It was pretty tame,” he said. Humarock was once the scene of exuberant celebration with bonfires and illegal fireworks on July 3, but bonfires were banned in 2012. Stewart, who has been helping clear the beach for three decades, said the town had finally had enough of booze-soaked parties that often led to arrests. He held up his smartphone and showed images from a past celebrations where the small public beach was blanketed by a sunburned crowd.
“Every year I have officers hurt from this — every single year,” he said. “Back years ago, we had full-fledged riots down here. Now things are better, and this was one of the last pieces we had to take care of.”
The late-afternoon beachclearing barely fazed people who were taking in the sun.
“It didn’t even seem like anything happened,” said one woman, who declined to give her name. “I didn’t even turn around in my chair to watch.”
One man, who gave his name only as Rick, looked out at the empty stretch of beach.
“At least it won’t get stupid this year,” he said.
Stewart said the closed-beach controversy was overblown.
“Next year or the year after, I want to replace that whole empty beach with families,” he said. “Grandparents, parents, little kids — go ahead and set up there.
“You couldn’t do that before, but I think we’ll be able to,” Stewart said.