It’s In Their Blood: Guarding Sea Isle’s Beaches Runs In Their Families

Call it the Litany of Legacies.

Everything that bonds Sea Isle City lifeguards – from their shared public-safety role to possible celebrants of a racing victory – passes like a torch between generations.

For some families, one set of lifeguards is not enough. Nor is two, even three.

When the family ties add up, they span several decades, world events, presidential administrations. John F. Kennedy is more than the name of the boulevard bringing visitors into the heart of the city. Some guards remember JFK himself.

That’s a long, long time, 60 years now since the president was assassinated.

But some guards who remember him are still around.

Here’s a look at some people celebrating long legacies with the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol.

THE McCANN CLAN

This family has multiple layers within the Sea Isle patrol, bridging the mid-1960s to mid-1980s.

The first link came from someone who never joined the unit. Mary Ellen McCann, sister to Tom and John, was a lifeguard at a local pool. She encouraged her brothers, who then authored this multi-decade pattern:

Tom McCann served 16 years as a SICBP mascot, lifeguard, lieutenant, assistant captain, and then captain. The retired Vineland High School principal and an acknowledged authority on beach patrols wrote three books on Sea Isle’s and is working on another about South Jersey’s.

Brother John McCann, the head of McCann Realtors, had a 14-year run including the roles of mascot, lifeguard, lieutenant and later a captain of the Wildwood patrol. He got that job in a unique way, applying for the position just to work on his interviewing skills. Turns out he didn’t need the practice.

According to Tom, brother Joe was on the patrol from 1966-72, left to be in the National Guard, and launched a building career from which he recently retired.

Brother Chris was on the patrol for several years in the late-’60s and into the 1970s, he adds.

Family links to the beach patrol are no accident, Tom McCann says.

“I think a lot of this has to do with structure and location of the family,” he asserts. “The kids have the availability of the beaches, being outdoors and doing something athletic.

“The parents want to take advantage of that setup. They may tell one son, ‘Look at what your brother is doing. You should do that, too.’ It builds up. I know I got a sense of all that. I learned responsibility at a young age.”

And history.

McCann says he knows of at least 65 drownings that occurred in Sea Isle City, for example, before there were lifeguards in 1919.

Many victims were nuns, he adds, because they entered the water fully clothed and were weighed down when trouble found them in the ocean. The presence of lifeguards dramatically improved safety conditions along the shore.

John McCann credits his brother for inspiring a passion about safety.

“That was a big topic with us, all the time,” he says. “It had already been impressed on me that the public doesn’t think about problems in the water when they go in. They go in the water, they expect to come out of the water, safe. It’s like going to a basketball stadium for them.

“That’s why all the lifeguard rescuing techniques are taught. As a guard, you have to anticipate, all the time. There might be 100,000 people on the beach on a Saturday. If only 10 percent of them go in the water, you still must have eyes on 10,000 people at one time. That’s 10,000 potential problems with the undertow, rip currents, etc.”

So, the McCann brothers discussed safety situation, and nuance. One aspect, for example, was studying the beach at low tide, discovering the location of rocks, jetties, drop-offs, etc. When high tide occurred and water obscured these markers, the guards know where they are. They then know that a person who looks safe may encounter one of these obstacles. The guard can move the person from it or simply become ready to bolt into the water.

From left: Steve McHale, Anthony DiBabbo Judy DiBabbo, Mike McHale and John DiBabbo

HAIL TO McHALE

There is a lifeguard link of more than six decades in the McHale family lifeguard tree.

The connection begins with 77-year-old Mike McHale Sr., the former Sea Isle City Beach Patrol captain, mayor, and a member of the SICBP Alumni Hall of Fame. It extends down to his grandson John DiBabbo, a member of the junior program at the patrol.

“You get to meet great people,” McHale said of the job. “The camaraderie is exceptional. Bill Gallagher was my captain. I still have lunch with [current chief] Renny Steele about once a month.

“A lot bound us together. It was not easy to make the beach patrol. You have to be disciplined, organized. I met so many quality people doing that job, and everybody pulls for each other. I love it when you are at the lifeguard races and you hear, “Sea Isle … Sea Isle.”

The McHale connection bridges a couple of generations. His son Steve was a Sea Isle lifeguard. His daughter Judi was a beach tag checker and met her husband Anthony, a lifeguard, on the beach. Sixteen-year-old John is their son, enrolled in the beach patrol program.

There are further connections.

Michael McHale Jr., now a principal at a middle school in Delran, attributes much of his good life to the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol experience.

“We grew up on the beach, watching my dad as a captain, and we drove the lieutenants crazy,” he recalls. “There was something special about it and I wanted to become part of that when I got old enough.”

He would gain a lifetime bonus on the beach. He was a guard on 32nd Street and met his future wife Tammy on 34th Street.

Tammy McHale, the Haddonfield High School principal, recalls the joy of being on the beach with her friends at that time.

Both acknowledged the role lifeguarding had in building their discipline and laying the foundation for successful careers.

The elder McHale says the job fits well for teachers because they have the summers off. Lifeguarding and school administration both require good instincts and the need for organization.

Dusty and Dustin Laricks on the beach at 38th Street.

LARICKS - THE DUSTY TRAIL

The torch has also passed in the Laricks family.

Back in high school, future real-estate magnate Dustin Laricks competed for the SICBP in several competitions. Decades later, he recaptures the feeling of that time as his 17-year-old son, Dusty, represents the patrol in the paddleboard races out of town. Young Dusty is a second-year guard.

“When I see him compete, I am immensely proud,” his father says. “It’s cool to watch him do what I was doing back then. It brings back a ton of memories when I see him compete and when he is on the stand.”

Laricks recalls the thrill of earning the right to represent the SICBP and sharing the camaraderie both here and against out-of-town competitors.

“You get to know those people well, and that was something that made you feel good,” he indicates. “There is something unique about this and the Jersey Shore. The lifeguarding experience also was great. It teaches you a lot about taking responsibility, delegating responsibility, thinking ahead, and obviously safety.”

Laricks and his wife Debra were delighted when Dusty informed them he wanted to try out for the patrol.

Once again, the elder Laricks is part of the out-of-town circuit, driving to events and cheering on his son.

From left: Grace, Chuck and Chris Gehman

CHUCK GEHMAN - THE LONG STAY

Chuck Gehman celebrates his 30th summer on the patrol.

Their family beach affair began with his father Jerry, a guard from 1964-78.

It continues with Gehman as a lieutenant and his children – 19-year-old Grace and 17-year-old Chris – working for the Sea Isle patrol.

“What draws you to this is that it’s just a great job,” Gehman says. “What could be better than being on the beach in the summer, being in shape and helping people stay safe? Most people come out of this with friends that are with them for the rest of their life.”

Gehman grew up in West Deptford, with cross country as his big sport.

One day at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, he decided against the pre-med program that was going to tie up his future years. He got in shape and came down here to try out for the patrol.

“Renny Steele asked me how long I thought I would be here,” Gehman recalls. “I told him I thought it would be about two years.

“Well,” he says with a laugh, “it’s 30.”

Gehman became a teacher in the Middle Township school district and has been able to balance the two jobs.