By James Prosser It’s Beach Bum Time! It’s the most wonderful time of the year (if you happen to be on Tybee May 19th)! What came to be known as The Beach Bum Parade is celebrating its 31st Anniversary. A long and honestly quite humorous history led to what is the highlight of the year for tourists and locals alike. This noble tradition started out like any as a drunken (that part has not changed) march from 16th St (now Tybrisa) to the former Desoto Hotel as a “homecoming pep rally” water fight for our lackluster softball team - the Beach Bums, a scraggly group of Tybee and Savannah locals who sought an extracurricular activity to bond over. With Jack Boylston’s imagination and Jiggs Watson’s go-getter attitude, a new era in Tybee history was born. With these two taking the lead, and knowing they were not the best of athletes, the Beach Bums focused their energy on having fun and making memories. While no one remembers the exact scores of the softball games (all games were lost except one, and rumor has it the Beach Bums got the other team drunk to give themselves the upper hand), a bond was formed and from that this wonderful tradition arose to an annual water fight parade. 8 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | MAY 2017 In the beginning there was an appointed King, Queen and Grand Marshall, and later the Big Kahuna. These now coveted positions are honored awards that many locals hope to have bestowed upon themselves. While the roles are not really defined, the people who carry these titles are Tybee through and through. Many wonderful people who have helped to shape Tybee into what it has become have served on this court. A plaque commemorating those who held the titles in the past is displayed proudly at the Tybee Island City Hall. So without further ado, let’s meet this year’s Beach Bums!
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