By MADDY VITALE
The 100-year history of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol was celebrated Friday when a special oar with signature panels was donated to the city’s Historical Museum.
The city formed the beach patrol on July 11, 1919. It ensured that the beaches would be protected.
And a century later, the men and women who have kept countless beachgoers safe to enjoy the beaches and the ocean were honored with a dedication ceremony.
The oar and panels, which were handmade by beach patrol alumnus Howard Wright and his family, display the signatures of past and present members of the beach patrol. There are approximately 300 signatures scrolled on the panels, officials estimated.
Wright, Mayor Leonard Desiderio, Councilman Bill Kehner, Beach Patrol Chief Renny Steele, members of the Beach Patrol Centennial Committee, including its president, John McCann, Historical Museum President Abby Powell and other museum members were among the dignitaries in attendance for the dedication ceremony.
“We are here witnessing the donation of a very special display that was graciously created by Beach Patrol alumni Howard Wright, his wife Debbie, and his son, Sean, and it is personally signed by past and present members of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol,” Desiderio said while standing at the display.
Desiderio continued, “I am certain that this beautiful display will continually serve as a reminder of the dedication and perseverance of our town’s lifeguards – and the commitment to safety demonstrated by our guards throughout the past 100 years.”
Last July, the city kicked off a weeklong celebration of the beach patrol. The festivities began with a boat parade down the Promenade. A very important guest was 100-year-old Andy Sannino, Sea Isle’s oldest living former lifeguard, who served as parade grand marshal.
Howard Wright served on the beach patrol before he joined the military in the 1970s. However, he said his grandfather, Walter Wright, who died in 1939, was one of the first members of the beach patrol.
“I didn’t know him, but I do know he would be behind the scenes. He wouldn’t be out front with the display,” Wright said.
He added that he and his family enjoyed creating the oar and sign piece.
“We had a ball doing it,” Wright said.
He noted that he was elated that past and present members of the beach patrol happily signed the commemorative oar.
Wright recalled that during the centennial boat parade, he slowed his truck to a stop to let past and present lifeguards sign the panels and look at them as he traveled the Promenade.
The display is the latest piece in the museum’s collection of historical objects of the beach patrol.
For longtime Beach Patrol Chief Renny Steele, the oar is a symbol of the brotherhood forged by members of the beach patrol who become lifelong friends.
“This shows the camaraderie and the brotherhood that exists,” Steele said of the friendships among colleagues both past and present on the beach patrol.
“That doesn’t go away. It is a lifetime of friendships,” Steele said. “They are more than just employees.”
McCann said as president of the centennial committee, the dedication represented something very special.
“The beach patrol reached a milestone,” McCann said of the 100 years in existence.
He added that he liked that both past and present beach patrol members’ signatures were on the commemorative boards.
The mayor summed up the event by thanking all who have served on the beach patrol and to the members of the Historical Museum for their support of the beach patrol and for “carefully preserving Sea Isle City’s rich history.”
Desiderio added, “Here’s to the next 100 years of lifeguarding in Sea Isle City!”
