Student Sells Beach Towels Showing History of O.C. Beach Tags

Justin Juliano said he conceived the idea this summer after an Ocean City beach tag inspector asked him to show his tag.

Because beach tags have become such a part of the fabric of summer in Ocean City, Juliano decided to make a beach towel with beach tag designs as part of the fabric.

The 17-year-old Haverford High School student started a business, Tag-R-Up Designs, and is selling his beach-tag towels ($26) at tagrup.weebly.com.

Juliano researched the history of beach tags in Ocean City, and his towel includes a complete collection of designs from 2011 back to 1976, when the tags were first required in Ocean City. Seasonal tags cost $5 in 1976 ($3 if purchased before May 31). Today, the cost is $25 ($20 if purchased in the pre-season).

Juliano's family has a home on 28th Street in Ocean City, and he spends his summers working at Acme on 34th Street and selling papers outside Our Lady of Good Counsel at 40th Street.

He lives in Havertown, PA, and is a senior class officer at Havertown High. He hopes to attend nearby Cabrini College as a math major next fall -- hopefully with a little cash in his pocket from a budding beach towel business.

Juliano said he will be at the sponsored by the Ocean City Arts Center on Nov. 12 at the .