By Ned Steele
Millions have basked in the pleasures of Siesta Beach, but one man believes he has the most “footprints in the sand.”
Meet Kenny Kier, who has sat and walked on the sand since childhood – since 1964, in fact.
“That was the year my two sisters moved here. I came to visit and I said this was going to be my place.”
“That 1964 trip with my family – as soon as I saw the water and the palm trees when we came over the bridge, I told my dad, “This is where I want to live.”
He’s here today. That adds up to a lot of footprints. All the beach regulars and the lifeguards know him. “There’s not a day goes by that somebody doesn’t greet me.”
Kenny is so much of a beach guy that when he finally decided to marry his girlfriend Wendy, they tied the knot on the beach – on a lifeguard stand.
After many more childhood visits, grownup Kenny moved here from his childhood hometown in Indiana, making the long drive in his 1978 Cougar. He still remembers the day, May 26, 1980, his birthday. “I needed a change. I hated winters,” he said. In time he moved into a townhouse on the mainland where he still lives today.
A couple of his hometown friends eventually joined him. Even today he said, when friends from Indiana come down, “They look 10 years younger. They’re still vibrant.” Steadily, he began meeting more friends on the beach and in the community, building his friendship network.
Kenny loves to reminisce about the old days almost as much as he enjoys living the present.
“Back then there were only three lifeguard stands, and they were chairs on top of piles of sand,” he recalled. “The water line back in the ‘80s was way back. It was 20 yards from homes.”
“In summer you had years when you could come to the beach and there might not be anyone else within 20 yards. The northerners didn’t come down in October like they do now.”
Since then, the changes have been vast. He most appreciates the current gleaming pavilions and their amenities. Another change he has noticed is the presence of northern European visitors. “The water temperature today is 67 and it isn’t even cold to them.”
Why does Kenny love the beach so much? “I don’t see anyone arguing here. You look at the Gulf, and how could it be better than this?”
About that wedding: It was his wife Wendy who first popped the question during a dinner date – after 43 years of living together with him. “I didn’t know if she was joking, he recalled. “On the way home, I said okay.”
A crowd of around 20 attended the sunrise ceremony at the red lifeguard stand. “Plus, passersby,” he joked. Friends flew in for the event from Rhode Island and Kentucky. Kenny wore his finest dress shorts and a white shirt. The whole group celebrated afterwards with a backyard party.
Needless to say, Kenny is one well-tanned man. He sits on his chair and suns for hours. He also takes walks and plays bocce and other games with his circle of friends, which, in season, can grow into a dozen or more people sitting together. But mostly, he says, “We sit around and tell a bunch of lies to each other.” Some of the group call him Mayor Kenny, which may or may not be one of the lies.
All in all, he concluded, it’s a very good life: “It’s pretty much like paradise here. We’re lucky to live in it.”
Does Kenny have any regrets? “I wish I was born here,” he smiled.
