The 1960's were a unique time for Americans and American culture. The movies, music, and media of the day were fueling the public's unprecedented desire to go to the beach and go surfing. Nowhere was this fascination more evident than at the focal point of this attention, the beaches of Southern California. Millions flocked to these beaches to be part of this cultural phenomenon. It fell to the ocean lifeguards of the day to stand watch over this massive wave of novice beachgoers. Tower Tales offers a rare first hand account of what it was like to be an ocean lifeguard during this era and what the lifeguard lifestyle was like in those early years. Follow the author through testing and training to find out what it took to become an ocean lifeguard and what the lifeguards were being taught so you may better protect yourself and your family when at the beach and in the ocean. Meet the watermen who populate these tales. Go toe to toe with Luscious at "The Ringers," the annual lifeguard competition, learn how "Lips-to-Me" got his nickname at Hussongs', and follow Heck as he saves the lives of three young girls over a mile away from his tower. No other book offers such an intimate and knowledgeable insight into the little known and often misunderstood world of ocean lifeguarding.
About the Author: It was my honor and privilege to work for California State Parks for forty years. During my career with Parks, I spent seventeen years in the lifeguard series, gaining experience in every position from seasonal lifeguard to Aquatic Specialist, seventeen years in the ranger ranks, and six years as a Park Superintendent. As a seasonal lifeguard, I worked three summers as a tower guard and seven as a beach supervisor on the beaches of the San Diego Coast Area. In October of 1976 I became a permanent lifeguard for the Pendleton Coast District which included San Onofre, San Clemente, and Doheny State Beaches. During my four years at Pendleton Coast, I served as an instructor, and later the lead instructor, for State Parks' ocean and reservoir seasonal lifeguard training. In June of 1980, I left lifeguarding to work as a State Park Ranger at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, a beautiful pine and oak woodland park located in the mountains east of San Diego. I returned to lifeguarding in 1984 to serve the Captain for San Diego Coast District Lifeguard Service. After three years at San Diego Coast I promoted to become the Chief Ranger for the Russian River District in Sonoma County. The District had a long history of having the deadliest and most treacherous coastline under State Park management, and was seeking a Chief Ranger with an aquatic safety background. Prior to my arrival, the District was experiencing six to ten visitor deaths a year, most of which were as a result of drowning. In 1990, I successfully budgeted for a small lifeguard force to address this critical public safety need. This was a "bare bones" force, no headquarters, no dispatch center, no towers, and no facilities, just a handful of highly skilled lifeguards using patrol vehicles and small, rigid-hull inflatable rescue boats to patrol over twenty-seven miles of rugged coastline. These lifeguards succeeded in cutting the visitor death rate to one to two a year, and in doing so became the most highly decorated lifeguard service for its size in the United States earning multiple Governor's Medals of Valor, USLA Medals of Valor, and the prestigious Coast Guard Silver Star. In June of 2006, I retired from California State Parks and moved to a small mountain town outside of Yosemite where I am enjoying hiking, writing, and traveling.