Old lifeguard logbook donated to Rehoboth Beach Patrol

Rehoboth Beach Patrol recently celebrated one of the biggest days in its century-old history – the opening of its new headquarters on Baltimore Avenue.

Now, a local historian has donated a daily logbook that paints the picture of what life was like for two lifeguards who spent the summer on the beach at Hickman Street in 1949.

Sarah Dougherty has ties to the Dewey Beach area that date back to the early 1900s. She’s also the town’s historian. Prior to that, her mom, Barbara Quillen Dougherty, held the title of town historian.

Dougherty came across the logbook as part of an online auction that was hosted by a company that clears out estates, takes consignments and then holds auctions. She said the book was part of a larger lot, and it stood out to her because she could see Hickman Street Beach and the names of Ralph Davis and Ed Carney on it.

Her interest was piqued because the only beach with a Hickman Street she knew of was in Rehoboth. So she bought it.

The logbook covers daily weather, and the condition of the ocean and beach, said Dougherty. It covers how crowded the beach was, first-aid calls and runs, she said.

“Their personalities come out in their writing, as well as in the additional comments they write,” she said.

In addition to the daily entries, the book includes old photos and a newspaper clipping from the time.

After seeing what she had found, Dougherty then decided to donate the book to the beach patrol in recognition of opening the new facility. Making the donation was easy enough – Dougherty has known Rehoboth Beach Patrol Capt. Jeff Giles and his brother Jason, a former Rehoboth lifeguard, since they were kids. Their dads worked for Patterson Schwartz real estate going back to the late 1960s, and they were close friends both in Wilmington and at the beach.

The book was dropped off to headquarters June 6. It’s great, said Jeff. It’s pretty interesting to see what these guys were doing almost 80 years ago, he said.

Giles allowed the Cape Gazette to look over the logbook.

Each day has a weather and surf report. Many days are hot, with little wind and a calm surf, but that wasn’t always the case.

“The sea was rough and had a strong current running north, which made for dangerous bathing,” said a July entry.

There were comments on water quality.

A mid-June entry says, “The sea was calm but very dirty. Filled with driftwood and tar.” Similar comments on water quality appeared until early July, when it was noted, “Beach crowded and fairly clean for a change.”

There are moments of levity. A mid-July entry talks about how they treated a cut arm from an umbrella blowing into a man, and a skinned elbow.

“Drs. Carney and Davis once again exercised their medical wizardry,” reads the entry, referencing the two lifeguards who were definitely not doctors.

Another example of not taking the job too seriously includes a “casualty” – “Susan Whorekel’s doll lost an arm.”

There are opinions of the visitors whom they were charged with protecting.

On the second-to-last day of July, the logbook noted, “Today, we lost most of the July people. I guess that tomorrow will bring an entire new group of suckers.”

The book also talks about life outside lifeguarding.

Near the end of July, there’s a sentence included for one day that reads, “Ralph took his day off and sweated it out on the golf course and was snowed under by a mint julep later in the afternoon.”

The very next day, presumably Ralph filled out the logbook because someone wrote, “Sure did hate like hell to come back to work after a day off. Not much wind blowing but there was a lot of hot air batted around.”

The day the book was dropped off, Giles was still in the process of finalizing the details of the new headquarters. He said he isn’t sure what he’ll do with the book, but he’s planning to work with the alumni association to do something special.