USCG - USLSS LIFEBOAT STATIONS

[BuoyJumper]

DEDICATION

I dedicate this thread to my Grandpop, Harold J. Wilkins and to all of the men and women who serve at Coast Guard Stations throughout the world, who daily risk life and limb to save people in peril on the seas.  Thank you for your service in the U.S. Coast Guard. I hope you will use this thread to share your own stories of serving on a Coast Guard Station and the rescues you have participated in.

USCG - USLSS LIFEBOAT STATIONS

I couldn’t help but wonder as I was writing this if any other Coasties had family history going back to the old U.S. Life Saving Service.  I am a third generation Coastie.  My grandfather Harold Wilkins served in the USLSS and then the USCG after it became part of the Coast Guard in 1915.
  
My father Floyd Wilkins grew up at Coast Guard Stations #110 Island Beach, NJ and Station #111 Cedar Creek, NJ. My other grandfather Harry Newell served in the Navy during WWI and WWII and retired as an EMC.  My Uncle Newt Mathis was a career Coastie and served at Station #109 Seaside Park during WWII and retired after 25 years as a BMCS.  My Uncle Bud, my Mom’s brother served in the CG during Korea and I served during Vietnam.  My grandfather first served at the  U.S. Lifesaving Station (CGSTA #111) at Cedar Creek  around 1912.  

The men of Cedar Creek Station (Circa 1912) left to right:  Station Keeper Henry Ware, Rube Corliss, Bill Harvey, Alva Jones, Harold Wilkins and Leroy Frye.


Cedar Creek Station #111 was located nearly five and one half miles south of Island Beach Station #110 and about five and one half miles north of Barnegat Inlet.  The station design was of the Red House type like its' sister station in Forked River, New Jersey.  According to Ralph Shanks in The United States Lifesaving Service:  Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the early Coast Guard author Pearl Buck, who wrote The Good Earth, used the building as a summer home after it closed as an active Coast Guard Station in 1939.    

Island Beach, New Jersey Coast Guard Station #110  was typical of the Jersey-pattern life saving station structure.  Practicing the Beach Apparatus Drill above right meant the Lifesavers worked as a team to bring back victims from ships that were stranded or were sinking close to the shore. The drill had to be done in five minutes or less. The crewman who was found to be delaying the Drill's execution could be fired on the spot by one of the Service's inspectors. Sumner Kimball once stated he had seen a drill done in two and a half minutes.  With the coming of radio communications and motor lifeboats, these shoreside stations known for their "sand pounders", surfman who walked the beaches every night began to diminish and distance between the stations spread farther and farther apart.  Drills like the one above right became less and less frequent as motor lifeboats from Station Barnegat Inlet to the south and Manasquan Inlet to the north lessened the need for surfboats.  

My father Floyd Wilkins grew up at my grandfather's Coast Guard stations fashioning toys from items that would wash ashore. His three favorite toys were a wood wheelbarrow and a spinning wheel that had washed ashore and a slide the children of Station #110 had fashioned from old driftwood and a ladder that had washed ashore.  Even the children helped out at the station by providing food for the dinner table by surf fishing for blues or stripers or they would wade the shores of Barnegat Bay to catch a basket of blue claw crabs.

         A:  District 5 Superintendent John S. Cole conducting annual inspection drills at Island Beach Station, circa 1919.  Surfman
             Russell Penn is in the middle observing while Surfman Harold Wilkins to the right is timing the drill with a stop watch.  
             B.  Harold Wilkins' son Floyd at around 2 years old on the station front porch.   C,D,E:  Floyd Wilkins on the station front steps
             with Keeper Henry Ware's daughter, and playing with his favorite toy a wooden wheel barrow.  F:  Harold Wilkins holds back
             brush so his son Floyd can see a nest of baby rabbits.  G:  Floyd Wilkins at the age of eight on the beach.

LIFE AT THE STATION  

Each day that a lifesaver was on duty was spent doing drills. USLSS founder Sumner Kimball believed that only training and repetition sharpened your lifesaving skills. That belief still exists today with rescue teams.  A lifesaver's week began on Monday with training in the Beach Apparatus Drill including the firing of the Lyle Gun. Tuesday was devoted to boat practice, including the righting of surfboats. The crew practiced signal flag techniques on Wednesday and repeated the Beach Apparatus Drill on Thursday. On Friday the crew could be found practicing first aid and rescue breathing techniques. On Saturday, everyone pitched in and cleaned the station and their quarters.

    1917:  The Surfman of CGSTA #110 Cale Worth, George Worth, Harold Wilkins, Edgar Sexton, Alva Jones and Russel Penn on the station steps straightening up their gear after a life saving drill.  This is my favorite photo of my Grandpop and the crew of Station #110 which is featured in the credits of The Guardian.  My Grandpop passed over the bar on 26 April 1983 at the ripe old age of 93.

[BuoyJumper]

                                   The crew of CGSTA #109 during World War II.  The men had scheduled beach patrols and
                                            had a lookout from the ocean beach tower 24/7.  A German submarine was sighted from
                                            the watchtower during a night watch causing quite a stir in the small resort community. 
                                            My Uncle Newt, BMC Newt Mathis (inset) was stationed there during WWII until he was
                                            transferred in 1950 as the OIC at the new CGSTA Santa Barbara, California. 

[rustybayonet]

Sure didn't have the Coast Guard family background you had Ron.  Both my grandfathers were WWI Army, my dad was WWII Army.  His brothers and brothers- in-law were either Army or Navy during WWII.  Moms brother was WWII Navy, and his sons were both Vietnam - one Army and one Navy so I'm the only Coastie.
Good friend I had while I was in, his father was retired USCG Lt. from WWII and his brother just retired Warrant about 10 years ago from the CG.

[BuoyJumper]

The Grounding of the Barque Artensis, 8 July 1916

The 1,700 ton Norwegian Barque Artensis came ashore on the Seaside Park Beach on the southern New Jersey coast on July 8th,
1916 in thick fog. Her crew had painted a red white and blue flag on her hull to show marauding German subs and surface raiders
that she was a neutral vessel.

The men of CGSTA 110 sprung into action and assisted the crew in abandoning ship as residents of Seaside Park looked on. The
steel-hulled bark sustained little damage and was towed off the bar 10 days later and returned to the sea. An interesting note
to the story is that the crew was too superstitious to return on board, so a substitute crew was hired from New York to take her
back out. Note the off-shore salvage vessel bottom left of the Artensis's bow.

[BuoyJumper]

A COAST GUARD CHANNEL PRODUCTION

Chicamacomico -- A Heroic Story

[Crazy Horse]

Here's something on the Core Banks Lifeboat Stations. Core Banks, cape Lookout and Portsmouth Village

http://www.nps.gov/calo/planyourvisit/upload/lifesavers.pdf

[Crazy Horse]

Here is another account of the storm of 1899

http://www.graveyardoftheatlantic.com/ExploTranspoCommerce/SanCiriaco/Priscilla/Priscilladetail.html

[MastersMate]

Great photos.

The first one, with the District Superintendant just answered a nagging question. When the LSS superintendants were given CG commissions, what was the rank?? Third Lieutenant 

For the trivia file if of any interest. 1 July 1964 the title, Coast Guard Lifeboat Station was changed to Coast Guard Station.

The WW2 photo is interesting because it shows some of the crew wearing the "shore establishment" uniform and some the square rig uniform.  That "shore establishment" single breasted uniform is the model for the present day service dress (Bender Blues).

Oh well, off to the coffee pot for the rest of the A.M.

[BuoyJumper]

Glad my family photos were able to answer a question for you Dana. 

I had no idea what the District Superintendent's rank was, so thanks to you for answering my nagging question ...   

Also, thanks for your commentary on the WWII uniforms.  Again I didn't have any idea why all but one of the uniforms were single breasted and why one Chief had on a double breasted uniform.  You're very observant.  Good to have somebody around that knows these things.

[pachesma]

SPECTACULAR day South Of Boston Today. Down Hull "Gut" today with the wife, the dog, and the camera. Took a couple.

1st is the Old boathouse for the old USCGSTA Point Allerton. Now userd as the base for the maritime program run by this place:

http://www.lifesavingmuseum.org/

Which is right down the road and an AWESOME place for Coasties of any era to visit.

Second is the current USCGSTA Point Allerton, 47, 41, couple 25 RHI's, kinda weird though all tied up ona beautiful sat. late morning. Was hoping to cath at least one of 'em hauling a$$ thru the Gut, 47 looks way cool blowing thru there!!!

Last is the obligatory Boston Light W/ The Graves in the background-JRC

[BuoyJumper]

Ocean City lifesaving station gets a breather

By Jacqueline L. Urgo
Inquirer Staff Writer

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Ocean City's historic lifesaving station has been spared - at least through the summer.
After a court-imposed May 20 deadline for finding a buyer came and went, Superior Court Judge William Todd issued a stay of demolition for the vacant 1885 structure.

Todd said Friday that the building could not be torn down until a court appeal over its fair-market value was resolved. The appeal could stretch into the fall, a lawyer for the property owners said.


(L)  The Ocean City Lifesaving Station, pictured around 1890, was converted into a home in the 1930s and sold in 1999 to buyers who intended
to raze it. Others have gone to court to try to save it.  (R)  The station's market value is disputed. Owners say $1.4 million or more, preserva-
tionists say about $850,000, and a judge seta $1.1 million price. A May 20 deadline passed with no buyer.

Even if it is resolved earlier, the structure cannot be razed until after Labor Day because of Ocean City's moratorium on demolitions during the summer tourist season.

After nearly a decade of legal wrangling over the landmark, at Fourth Street and Atlantic Avenue, another Superior Court judge last fall set the May deadline and a price of $1.1 million.

If a preservation-minded buyer wasn't found, owners Roger Parkin and Pansini Custom Design could demolish the station, Judge Joseph C. Visalli ordered.

Parkin and developer Raffaele Pansini bought the property in 1999 for $730,000 with the intention of tearing down the station, which was converted into a four-bedroom home in the 1930s, and building three condominium duplexes on the 100-by-200-foot lot, which is less than a quarter-mile from the ocean.

But preservation groups battled to save the building, contending it should become a community center or a museum.

The station has a storied past. The U.S. Lifesaving Service, forerunner of the Coast Guard, built the cupola-topped structure on what was once beachfront. When the Sindia, a 329-foot, four-masted commercial vessel en route from Japan, ran aground off Ocean City in 1901, rescuers used draft horses to pull surfboats and buoys from the rough-hewn building.

Eventually its location became an issue. By 1915, natural accretion had so fattened the barrier island that the station was too far from the sea.

The building remained an office for lifesaving crews until it was decommissioned and sold to a family, which made architectural alterations and lived there until the late 1990s.

As a neighborhood of early-20th-century summer cottages and, eventually, modern duplexes and condos were built around it, the painted red house became a curiosity.

Preservation groups mounted efforts to restore the station when it went on the market in 1999, but location again was a problem.

The building's protectors could not agree on whether to move the station or preserve it where it stood. The protracted tug-of-war prevented Ocean City from using millions of dollars in federal and state grants that had been obtained for its restoration.

The nonprofit Save Our Station coalition, which wants to keep the station where it is, launched the latest salvo when it appealed Visalli's November ruling.

SOS president Charlie London said the $1.1 million fair-market value was too high and virtually guaranteed that no buyer would be found.

In its appeal, SOS contended that Visalli had no legal basis for setting the price. SOS said it had the building, which has fallen into disrepair, appraised at about $850,000.

SOS also said the owners had failed to market the building to attract a buyer.

"This lifesaving station is a unique gem," London said.

A new owner could renovate the structure but must adhere to strict historic-preservation codes, city officials said.

Pansini, who previously offered to pay more than $500,000 to move the building to a boardwalk location the city offered as the site for a new museum, said his appraisers indicated that the station was worth at least $1.4 million. City tax officials have set the value at $900,000.

How the appeal will play out is anyone's guess, said Steven Scherzer, an Atlantic City lawyer who represents the property owners.

"My client is very anxious to see a resolution to this," he said.

Original Article

[Bill]

Dana

Thanks for the triva on Lifeboat Stations. I got out in 2/64 and I served at Lifeboat Stations.

[ronone]

Great photos.

The first one, with the District Superintendant just answered a nagging question. When the LSS superintendants were given CG commissions, what was the rank?? Third Lieutenant 

The photo appears to be during WWI.  Were the "olive uniforms" allowed after the war?  As far as I know, during the war the superintendents remained in civilian positions as did the former LSS personnel.  They may have been given uniforms but the ranks did not correspond with the Coast Guard very well. This is one reason the navy wanted nothing to do with the stations.   Technically, the stations during the war came under the naval district they served but practically the superintendents continued doing what they did before the war.   

The beach pounders were not real happy when they were given time clocks to carry.  During the war they were not happy about being given weapons and some protested gasoline engine powered boats.   Technological advances during the war also helped close many stations.   First some beach pounders had to carry a telegraphers key to speed reports.  Wire and poles were strung and places were made so they could "plug-in" and send reports.  Next came the telephone.   Some thought the helicopter would close most of the stations in a later era.

The WW2 photo is interesting because it shows some of the crew wearing the "shore establishment" uniform and some the square rig uniform.  That "shore establishment" single breasted uniform is the model for the present day service dress (Bender Blues).

Steward's wore the same style uniform before the LSS.   Interesting about the LSS uniform.  A belt could be worn with the pants as long as it was not on the outside.   Yep, it the loops were on the inside of the waist band.

[Bill]

Anyone remember Beach Carts. We actually used one in an attempted rescue in 61. The Chief told us that they were going to be done away with until we used ours at Michigan City LBSTA in an attempted rescue from a grounded barge with a crew aboard.

[Acaciavet]

Guard those photos with your life they are worth so much to you and I really appreciated seeing them.Your Grandad reminds me of yours.Did he write on the backs with everybodys name? And did he have little things to say about the photo? I have some of my Grandads photos and he did that. God bless and thanks for sharing