This sign at 43rd Street marks the "birthplace" of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol.
By Maddy Vitale
On July 11, 1919, the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol was born.
Around 10:45 a.m. that same day, two regular lifeguards and three volunteers went to work patrolling and protecting the beaches around headquarters, located at 43rd Street, just a block from where it is today at 44th Street.
Local historian and author, Tom McCann, of Sea Isle, announced this week that the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol Centennial Committee is planning a celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol.
"This year marks a milestone in the history of the development of Sea Isle City as a vacation destination," said McCann, a retired Vineland High School principal.
McCann, who was a lifeguard in Sea Isle from 1968 to 1985, has written two books about the patrol and its history.
"Having a comprehensive crew to provide a safe environment for our visitors to enjoy bathing in the ocean was a new idea in 1919,” McCann explained. “Prior to the formation of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol, individual hotel owners covered their own areas of the beach, leaving much of the beach unguarded."
McCann is the chairman of the centennial committee. The other members are John Conti, Joe LaRosa, Wayne MacMurray, John McCann, Mark Myhre and Howard Wright Jr., he said.
The Sea Isle Beach Patrol's formation was the result of a grassroots effort, historian Tom McCann says.
He explained that the formation of the city’s beach patrol was a result of grassroots community activism. The Sea Isle City Woman’s Civic Club was instrumental in its creation.
"The Sea Isle City Woman's Civic Club had great influence in encouraging the elected officials to form the beach patrol," McCann pointed out. “The influence was continuous (for) about 25 years.”
McCann said a series of events will be planned to mark the anniversary. The committee would first have to get permits and permission from the city for activities involving the celebration.
"We hope to highlight in the celebration examples of the community's efforts to support the beach patrol during the many challenges it faced over the last 100 years, including the Great Depression, World War ll, and the many storms that Sea Isle City and the beach patrol survived," he added.
McCann noted that beach patrol headquarters was destroyed in both the 1944 and 1962 storms.
“Lifeguard stands got destroyed, beach patrol houses, they had to start over. They had to reconstruct,” he said.
He hopes that the residents and vacationers will join in the festivities to recognize this monumental moment in the city’s history.
He added, “The Sea Isle City Beach Patrol is a part of a fascinating history of life on the beach in Sea Isle City.”
Sea Isle Beach Patrol headquarters at 44th Street, overlooking the Promenade.
