![\"Wax](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-22-at-12.07.34-PM.webp\")
\u201cI appreciate whoever installed it,\u201d says local surfer and Poles regular Michael Fitzgerald. \u201cIt\u2019s added some character to our favorite spot.\u201d | Matt Shaw, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\nLate last year, a small, roughly 16-by-16-inch box was hung on a tree abutting a well-trafficked boardwalk leading to the beach at Mayport\u2019s Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. Scrawled across the box\u2019s top and middle shelves was a directive:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Take wax. Leave wax.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A subtle, charming addition to the amenities offered at Access 1, known colloquially as the Poles, the wax box has upended the notion of surfers as wave-starved hedonists, or those whose sole concerns are limited to, to quote Fast Times at Ridgemont High\u2019s slacker-surf-poet Jeff Spicoli, \u201ctasty waves and a cool buzz.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like mutual aid for the local surf set, or one of those little library boxes that dot the lawns of residential communities, the wax box stands as a charitable gesture, an expression of communal goodwill. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just cut up some pieces of wood together, put them together and wrote that message, just to see what would happen,\u201d says the surfer who built and installed the wax box, who asks to remain anonymous. \u201cI saw it as a way for the community to show that they care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate whoever installed it,\u201d says local surfer and Poles regular Michael Fitzgerald. \u201cIt\u2019s added some character to our favorite spot.\u201d | Matt Shaw, Jacksonville Today<\/p>\n
Wax, of course, is important for surfing. It\u2019s used for traction, keeping surfer and surfboard connected. And the Poles is one of the most popular surf spots in Northeast Florida, deriving its nickname from the cone-capped pilings that separate the city park from the adjacent Naval Station Mayport. Those poles also allow sand to pile up in shallow banks, which trip up incoming swell to create waves at a relatively consistent clip. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m often ill-prepared when I get to the poles, usually missing one or two things I need,\u201d says Michael Fitzgerald, a local contractor who visits the park most mornings to surf. He\u2019s made use of the wax box, taking and leaving pieces or entire bars for others. \u201cI appreciate whoever installed it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s added some character to our favorite spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the moment it appeared last fall, the wax box\u2019s persistence has been a matter of intrigue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing I thought when I saw it was, \u2018Well, this probably won\u2019t last long,\u2019\u201d says longtime Poles regular Eddie Pitts, who, for more than two decades has run the website 911 Surf Report<\/a>, providing twice-daily photographic updates on surf conditions at the park and other area beaches. Pitts points to more recent, unsanctioned surfer-led installations; specifically, a sign memorializing a park regular who died last year. \u201cIt was just a small piece of wood,\u201d he says of the marker. \u201cAnd [the park] took it down.\u201d<\/p>\n The wax box has in fact disappeared a few times since it was installed. <\/p>\n \u201cOne time it was gone and then just reappeared, mysteriously,\u201d says the anonymous wax-box benefactor. <\/p>\n Hanna Park employees told me that the box is not technically allowed to be there, though none would go on record, as they were not unauthorized to speak on behalf of the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe actually love that it\u2019s there,\u201d says Victoria Albright, former manager of Hanna Park and current Oceanfront Parks Manager for the city of Jacksonville. But \u201canything that\u2019s installed in a city park needs to be reviewed and approved,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a process for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Albright says many city-run parks work with local volunteers on site-specific enhancements through Jax Park\u2019s Adopt a Park Program<\/a>. She encourages anyone who\u2019d like to be involved in the wax box\u2019s upkeep to reach out to her at valbright@coj.net<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Daryl Joseph, director of the city\u2019s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, says the review and approval process could ensure that the box remains secure and stocked with appropriate items. <\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re involved and engaged with the setup, we can monitor it so its intended use continues to be the intended use,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n Similar to how those aforementioned ad-hoc libraries often need curatorial intervention (lest the shelves are stocked with nothing but paperback copies of The Da Vinci Code and editions from the Chicken Soup for the Soul series), the inventory of the Hanna Park wax box has, occasionally, been more empty tubes of sunscreen than chunks of wax. There\u2019s been trash. A pair of goggles. Even a bunch of nearly ripe bananas.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are currently no plans to take the wax box down, Joseph says. In lieu of the proper permits, though, he can\u2019t guarantee it\u2019ll remain in perpetuity. For now, he says, \u201cWe\u2019re leaving it up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Late last year, a small, roughly 16-by-16-inch box was hung on a tree abutting a well-trafficked boardwalk leading…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-350181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Wave](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Poles-1024x683.webp\")
The cone-capped pilings that separate Hanna Park from the adjacent Naval Station Mayport also help create one of the best surf breaks in Northeast Florida | Eddie Pitts<\/p>\n