Long Beach lifeguards celebrate 90th anniversary

The Long Beach Lifeguard Alumni Association hosted a gathering at the Long Beach Hotel on July 3 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the city’s patrol.

More than 160 people gathered to tell old stories, talk about good times and commemorate the history of the lifeguards and their impact on the community. The event kicked off with the introduction of former lieutenants, captains and chiefs that served Long Beach throughout the city’s history.

“There were people of all ages at the event,” said Paul Gillespie, the city’s chief of lifeguards. “It was great to see all the people and listen to them reminisce of the events of when they were lifeguards in Long Beach many years ago.”

Tom Daley, 73, a former member of the patrol, talked about his experiences during his 54 years as a lifeguard, describing the rescuers as “iron men in wooden ships.”

Daley, along with his wife, Rosemary, spent nearly 20 years developing the junior lifeguards program, a group that started off with 12 young children and increased to nearly 200, he said.

Daley and Rosemary started this training in order to get young children and teenagers “water safe.” The couple said they believe it’s important to get them adapted to the ocean and understand the potential waves and currents that exist when swimming in an ocean, compared to a pool.

“From when I first started, I was given a whistle, lifeguard shorts and a shirt,” Daley said. “You went out to the beach and your partner showed you the ropes, but there was no real formal training. Now it’s changed to over 50 hours of training with additional workouts and exercises.”

Along with the increased training, Daley said the current patrol’s lifeguard trucks, handheld radios, and jet skis have made the job more engaging and made response times quicker than when he first started in 1960. However, the one thing that will never change is the value of friendship, he added.

“The friends you make, they’ll be friends forever,” Daley said. “That’s a common bond, you work together and save people’s lives and it’s a great feeling of accomplishment.”

In recent years, Long Beach has become a nationally recognized beach, and was ranked in the top 10 on USA Today’s list of “beaches to start summer off right.”

Gillespie touted the creation of a surf schedule a few years ago to establish designated swimming areas, as well as the top-notch beach maintenance to keep Long Beach’s shores among the cleanest in the country. He added that the event would be held every five years in order to continue the tradition of celebrating the hard work of the lifeguards.

“The beach is beautiful right now and the city does a great job of maintaining the cleanliness of it,” Gillespie said. “It’s one of the nicest beaches on the east coast and the hard work everyone has put into it over the years has paid off big time.”