20 years ago the only major recreational activities that Swampscott had were the youth summer activity park league and a sailing program, both of which were run by high school and college students with no real adult supervision. The recreation center at the time held some evening basketball and street hockey and other than that there was not much in Swampscott in the way of community events and activities.

But that’s where Danielle Strauss came in. 

Strauss moved to Swampscott from Long Island, New York in 1991, while she was nine months pregnant with her second child. She served as a substitute teacher in the Swampscott schools while raising her children in her new town, but one thing always bothered her: there was no sense of community.

So when the position of a part-time, year-round recreation director was created, Strauss said she leapt at the opportunity to cultivate the community she wanted to see in Swampscott. 

“At one point the town administrator came into my office and said ‘Swampscott is a community town. There’s no sense of community in this town. How would you like to change that?’” Strauss said. “I said ‘We need more community events.’”  

Now, as she’s gearing up to retire after 20 years in the job, it’s safe to say that Strauss has delivered on her promise.

The town calendar quickly became populated with car shows, farmers markets, weekly summer concerts and movie nights, as well as annual events like HarborFest, Pride, the Humphrey Street Block Party and Swamptoberfest.

During the winter, Strauss has taken middle schoolers after school skiing every Wednesday at Ski Bradford in Haverhill. There is also a holiday festival, a tree lighting on the Town Hall Lawn, First Night Swampscott, a theater production alongside arts and crafts. In the spring, Easter egg hunting takes over the Town Hall Lawn and soccer programs start back up. 

“This is going to be really hard for me to walk away from, really hard, because it has become who I am for the past 20 years,” Strauss said. “I enjoyed the events, I love the reaction from people…I love going to Park League and seeing the kids running around.” 

One of the biggest challenges Strauss said she faced during her time as recreation director was working within a budget and trying to avoid budget cuts. Strauss often had to advocate for the recreation department to retain its funding, emphasizing the importance of community events to the town.

“It’s quality of life for the community,” said Strauss. “That to me is so very important that people feel that because otherwise you’re living in a town thats like ‘great beach’, ‘great school’ but what else do I have here… I think these community events give us that.” 

She said her biggest accomplishment in this job, however, has been all of the community events that she has created and “pulled off.”

Strauss said she is also extremely proud of the collaboration that she has brought together with other community organizers to create all of the events and services that she has. 

In retirement, Strauss is excited to have more time to devote to herself. While Strauss will still be a part of Swampscott as a resident, she said she will miss interacting with people who have become her friends at Town Hall and all of the connections she has built over the years.

“I feel like this community has embraced me,” said Strauss.

Though she still plans to volunteer at the farmer’s market and stay involved in town events, stepping down from the position of recreation director will give Strauss the opportunity to enjoy summer for herself. Her past 20 summers have consist of almost around the clock work to run all of the summer events.

Now, Strauss and her soon to be retired husband will get to take some time to enjoy the town events that she has worked so hard to create over these past 20 years. 

“I can say i’m proud of be part of this community and have made those things happen,” Strauss said.