Sea, Sand, and Saving Lives at Jax Beach
“JAX Beach - Sea, Sand and Saving Lives”. We all love the beach in Florida. If you visit Jacksonville Beach Florida, you will see a Lifeguard station with a long history.
Before 1912 when Jacksonville Beach was known as Pablo beach, visitors and residents would have to swim at their own risk. Rip currents and inexperienced bathers precipitated the need for a trained body of volunteers who could rescue bathers in distress.
In the summer of 1912, Lyman G. Haskell, a medical doctor in Jacksonville who also worked as the Physical Director of the YMCA, and his friend Clarence H. MacDonald, the Playground Director for the City of Jacksonville, conceptualized and founded the United States Volunteer Life Saving Corps. These two men took the positions of first Medical Officer and Captain, respectively. In 1914, the seventeen charter members of the Corps became part of the American Red Cross’s national water safety program as the American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps, Coast Guard Division #1.
In the painting, you will notice a cement walkway that crossed over the beach access. The beach was once accessible by automobile. I hope as you look at this painting you can remember the smell of coconut from your Coppertone, moistening your sun-chapped lips with Lip Smacker, and enjoying the sweet frozen tang of an orange popsicle.
Details
Signed Print
16 X 20 Matted
Framed