Unofficial History of the Upper Township Beach Patrol
The sources for this information come from Upper Township Archives, the Unofficial History of Strathmere website, a personal interview with John Walsh (1949 alum), and records and memories kept by current Captain William C. Handley.
The origin of the Strathmere Beach Patrol as reported by Jane McCullough Johnson
"Sometime in the mid-1920's (1925?), the Strathmere Civic Club was organized with Catharine McCullough as president. The women held card parties and dances in the school house to make money. When they had enough, they hired a lifeguard - the first in Strathmere. He was John Trainor, a Physical Education major at Temple University. The Civic Club also bought a stand and a boat, both saying 'Strathmere Beach Patrol' on them. John Trainor was the lifeguard for many years with helpers hired for the weekends."
Township records indicate that John Trainor was the first lifeguard hired in Strathmere. Several accounts confirm this. Records go back as early as 1932 showing that Trainor was hired at a rate of $70 (assume that was seasonal salary based on later pay rates) Joe McSweeney was hired that same year at a rate of $40. McSweeney may also be considered an original lifeguard, but no evidence has been gained to prove this. Trainor may have worked prior to 1932 as the only and 1st lifeguard.
Al McCullough, was going to college in the 1930s and during the summer he got a job working for the Pennsylvania Railroad electrifying the main line between Philadelphia and New York. He worked weekends as an assistant to Johnny Trainor.
Charles Schaffer was hired to paint the lifeguard boat in 1932, therefore there was a boat in 1932.
In 1940, $50 was appropriated for the purpose of maintaining guards in Strathmere (seems there was a pay cut) This was secured by Strathmere resident, Ralph Smith.
In 1941, John Trainor and Joseph Boyer were hired as lifeguards and Caroline Price was allocated $40.40 for lifeguard supplies
In 1942, Caroline Price secured $600 for lifeguards and John Trainor and Joseph Boyer were appointed.
In 1942, John Trainor was approved $12.50 for lifeguard suits
In 1945, a lifeguard committee chaired by Dr. Joseph Dillenberg presented at the Twp. Committee to request that Strathmere lifeguards be sworn in as special officers from July 2-Septemeber 10. Also on this committee was, R Wallace Troemner (replacing Geo. Magauhey) and Frank Albertson.
There is some evidence that there were no Strathmere lifeguards during the war years.
In 1949, John Walsh became a Strathmere lifeguard along with Wilson George Carmona.
Walsh did try out for SICBP, but was not hired even after finishing high in all tests. Strathmere gained from likely SIC politics. His brother, Dan, did work for SICBP
John and Wilson sat on the one stand located on Williard beach 7 days per week.
They did have one boat that they would use after beach hours for fun and training.
Walsh and Carmona would regularly teach younger kids how to swim on the bayside of Corson’s Inlet. Each would have up to 5 kids each in their swim classes.
Walsh remembers receiving a paycheck from Upper Township for approx.. $35 per week
Walsh remembers Harlan Whittcamp serving as the manager of the guards and overseeing the hiring test and doing the hiring.
The uniforms were white shorts, the color of the jackets and shirts is uncertain, but are thought to be red (Question would be- When did UTBP convert to blue?)
The stand was a box stand with a built in roof. By the early 1980s, Upper was using the tower stands and did not convert back to box stands until Handley became Captain. This was done in his second year as Captain, 1992.
Stands as of 1976 were wood tower type stands built by the township. They were re-designed several times.
The boat had Strathmere NJ No. 1 on the bow, we are not certain of the make. It would be too early for a Van Duyne, but could have been a Van Sant.
The earliest picture weI have of our boat is is from 1976. The boat was labeled “STRATHMERE BEACH GUARD”. ( This was the “Tub”)
David Hadley can recall going over with Captain DuBruille to the VanDuyne shop in Linwood to order a second lifeguard boat for Strathmere (between 1977 -1981)(Strathmere)
Strathmere guards were equipped with square rescue buoys
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Walsh remembers one save that summer when a 45 yr old male patron was caught in a rip. He reached the victim and transported him to shore. The victim was spitting up water once on shore. This would be a clear example of a victim that would have drowned if not for a lifeguard on scene.
A lifeguard ball was held in 1949 at the Deauville Inn. Walsh remembers the event as the best night of the Summer. All the residents in town attended and all profits went back to Walsh and Carmona to help with their education. Lifeguard Balls ceased to happen at some point and were not revived until 1990.
Walsh said they knew nothing of sunblock and the dangers of sun exposure, but they did tape their initials on their skin to tan their initials onto their backs.
They had no sheds, headquarters, or shelter on bad weather days, they just sat under a flipped boat.
Carmona returned the summer of 1950 with a new partner named Bob Muller
Guards hired from 1950-1959
Wilson Carmona- Robert Mueller ‘50
Joe Flanigan-James Flanigan ‘51
Joe Flanigan-James Flanigan ‘52
James Spence- George Athernolt ‘53
J Colton Bonsall- George Athernolt ‘54
George Athernolt-Joeseph Brener ‘55
George Athernolt- William Wood ‘56
George Athernolt-Martin Whelan- Joanne Lovette ‘57
James McIlanne-Martin Whelan-John Jarvis-Joanne Lovette ‘58
John Jarvis-David Skand-Joanne Lovette ‘59
There is a large gap of knowledge about the beach patrol in the 1950s and 1960s. There are a few names of guards from this period that include: Doug Westcott, Walt Koval, Dennis Strobal, Karl Back, Jerry Kidd, Wm Haynes, Ken Morrison, Max Schoeder, Charles Schaffer, Robert Dunn, Dennis Del Fava and Bobby Williams. Harlan Whittcamp may have still been part of the management. Max Schoeder also served as beach inspector during these years. It may be during this time that the patrol began being called the Upper Township Beach Patrol, however there were no specific officer ranks appointed. There was one boat in the Upper fleet in 1984 that had Strathmere Beach Guard on it’s bow. This boat would have been from the 70’s, so that question may need some further exploration.
In 1976, the position of Captain was created with Mike Dubrille being the first to hold this title. Early Captains would include Dave Schmidt, Eric Weeks, and Pete Griffin
Prior to at least 1981, all guard equipment was kept in a single 4 foot deep x 12 foot long x 3 foot high “equipment box”. All rescue buoys and oars were kept in this pad locked box. A locked “call box” was provided on a telephone pole for Captain DuBruille to use for emergencies or to call in staffing hours for payroll. The Atlantic Ocean was the only available bathroom facility. Toilet paper though was not provided.
Mike Dubrille is credited with establishing structure and organization to the early UTBP squad. He established try-outs with running and swimming requirements. He raised the expected standards for timeliness, discipline and guard attentiveness. He initiated the UTBP’s involvement in Jersey shore lifeguard races. Initially UTBP attended only one race per year due to the difficulty of transporting their single lifeguard boat to races. The UTBP boat, appropriately named “The Tub”, made winning races a difficult task. Nevertheless, Captain DuBruille is credited with placing 3rd in the Margate Memorials in 1979. He was tied for first during a crash as two boats both rode the same wave to the finish line. Unfortunately, UTBP’s boat veered off with the other boat crossing first. Officials then “reported” another boat (at the other end of the course) crossing the finish line ahead of UTBP. This the first time the small and relatively unheard of UTBP began to be noticed by some of the big name squads. Mike credits his success to days rowing duck boats as a teenager across Great Egg Harbor bay on cold December mornings.
With the position of Captain created, there were also two Lieutenants appointed and the number of guards and stands increased in the 1970s ranging from 12-20 guards. We also have photographic evidence that the uniform colors were blue in the 70s.
David Hadley was the first appointed Lieutenant of UTBP.
At the start of his first year organizing the patrol, Mike DuBruille drove down to visit with Captain McCann of Sea Isle City. Capt. McCann was helpful in passing on advice and wisdom to Mike in regards to where to buy equipment, how to organize the patrol and other key information in running a successful patrol. Over subsequent years, Sea Isle City provided UTBP with CPR training and certification.
There is evidence that Mary Lynn Cooper (Bond) was the first female lifeguard hired by UTBP in the modern era, she worked in the summer of 1975. Carolyn Muller and Bonnie Peele were hired in 1977. Joanne Lovettte worked for the UTBP in 1957-1959, so she may indeed be the first female lifeguard.
Dick Alliger was hired as Beach Inspector in 1977, Mike Dubrille was his first Captain. Alliger began his tenure by allocating a budget item for annual beach patrol equipment. The amount allocated was 4000-6000 annually. The assumption would be this money was used to purchase uniforms, oars, and rescue tubes for the growing patrol.
Alliger applied for recognition from the South Jersey Chiefs in March of 1980, Chiefs President, Tom McCann of SICBP, welcomed new Captain, Pete Griffin of UTBP, into the organization in June of 1980.
In 1982, Alliger resigned as beach inspector. Captain Eric Weeks applied for the job, but the job was ultimately given to Jeff Jones. Alliger returned in 1983
Under Alliger’s management, the patrol expanded and began covering standard beaches at Seacliffe, Williams, Webster, Tecumseh, and Sumner
Prior to 1981 the beaches were not named to match corresponding streets. They were named by lifeguards as (from south to north) – Hawaii, Florida, Alaska and Siberia. Siberia was the lonely and often barren north end beach - near the inlet – which was only opened on the weekends. The only advantage of guarding this beach would be to monitor and provide assistance as needed to the “French visitors” that were accustomed to sunbathing in the nude. In the mid 80’s, the names of stands still did not always reflect the street. They were North (Seacliffe), Captain’s Stand (Williams), Boat Beach (Whittier), Tecumseh and Sherman, then South (Prescott) and Way South (Morris)
In the 70’s several rock jetties were fully exposed along Strathmere beaches. At the far south end were left over street pilings that stood 8 to 10 feet out of the sand and extended from the street ends out into the ocean. Guards had to walk up to the street end to get around these. This area was appropriately coined “Jailhouse” and was a favorite surfing spot for locals.
Dick Alliger initiated the purchase and use of handheld radios on each stand which revolutionized the method of response to beach emergencies. This occurred in 1986.
In 1987, under Alliger’s leadership, the patrol upgraded from a simple white equipment box with a telephone attached to a nearby utility pole, to a shed with phone and electricity. The need for the patrol to charge radios, communicate with the outside community and to collect and store data forced Upper Township to accommodate these needs with a shelter.
Captains in the 1980s included, Eric Weeks, Jeff Henning, Bill McKutcheon, and Paul Mattera.
William Handley was promoted to Captain in 1991.
Dick Alliger was not hired back as beach inspector in 1992. The position was eliminated.
Captain Handley brought back the box stands in 1992.
In the early 90s, the patrol converted from blue shirts to gray.
Standard beaches were established including: Seacliffe, Willams, Whittier, Tecumseh(at times Vincent), Sherman, Prescott, and Weekend stand at Trailer Park.
In 1997, Rich Palombo was elected to the Twp. Committee and was appointed to oversee beach patrol operations keeping up with a long standing tradition that the low man on committee totem pole got the Beach Patrol. Mayor Palombo broke this tradition and has continued to oversee the patrol and contribute to its success. He served as the beach patrol supervisor for 23 years.
Palombo recognized the need for a headquarters that was more protected from the elements and utilitarian for the increasing administrative demands of operating a beach patrol, The current structure at Willams Rd was planned in 2003 and opened in 2005, after a long struggle with the permitting process.
UTBP has seen great competitive success since the late 1990s. Along with many 2nd and 3rd place finishes in major races, the UTBP has won the Tri-Resorts in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2018.. UT has also won the 2010 Women’s Invitational in OC, and the 2013 Beschen-Callahan races in N. Wildwood. In 2013, Upper tied OCBP for the South Jersey Championship although came in 2nd due to the tie-breaking rule.
UTBP Surf Dash History
The surf dash race was not a big part of South Jersey Lifeguard racing until the mid-1980s. The Tri-Cities involving Sea Isle, Avalon, and Stone Harbor had this event in its race, but there were no other races that included a Surf Dash until this event was included in the Cape May County Championships. The “counties' ' began in 1984 hosted by the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol. By 1986, Upper Township had hired two lifeguards sometimes referred to as the “Twin Towers''. Rob “Boomer” Blake and Dean Ferguson were a dominant duo in the surf dash and were complemented by other speedsters including Rob Coffey, Rob Cardone, Ed Devlin, Jason Marshall, and Matt Blake. Upper was a force in the surf dash from the mid 80’s into the early 90’s with this group of dashers. We placed yearly at the counties and won several dashes in the Tri-Resorts once we got involved in this race in 1985. The surf dash team changed, but still had success in the 2000’s with the addition of Jim Dugan, Pat Curran and Ken Dunick. This team was also helped in the Tri-Resorts when they got to add Lauren Eiden as the one female competitor. Jim Dugan is aging, but still winning surf dash races, he has been named city surf dash champion 9 times in his Upper Township career.
UTBP Paddle Board History
Like the surf dash, the paddleboard race did not appear often in lifeguard competitions until the mid-1980’s. The paddleboard was also a race that began with the Cape May County Championships and was also a part of the Tri-Resort races that Upper Township began competing in 1985. Rob “Boomer” Blake and Dean Ferguson were not just tall and fast, but they were life-long surfers with an innate knowledge of the ocean and the athletic skills to move a paddleboard through the surf. Boomer was the first Upper Township paddler to score in the Cape May Counties, but he and Dean alternated scoring in this race every year while they guarded. Boomer and Dean also accumulated victories in the Tri-Resorts during these years. When Boomer and Dean retired from the beach, Upper was blessed to hire another tall, athletic, life-long surfer named Jeff Cordrey who carried on the tradition of excellence for Upper in paddling. Jeff was city champion for 5 straight years from 1999-2003 and placed at the counties in all of those years. Jeff was succeeded as paddleboard champion by Brian Riordan who won 4 city championships during the years of 2004-2008. Brian also consistently scored in the paddleboard event and contributed to Upper finishing 3rd place overall in the counties in 2004 and 2007.
UTBP Run History
The running event for lifeguards has been a tradition in the Dutch Hoffman Memorial and has been a key event in the Tri-Resorts. Upper Township became one of the best running teams in South Jersey with the addition of twin brothers Geoff and Kurt Wayton. They were complimented by Ed Devlin, another gifted runner. In the 80s and 90s, the Hoffman’s had teams of three runners representing each patrol. The Wayton’s and Devlin teamed up for several of these races and always placed. They officially took 2nd in one of these years, but actually the Wayton brothers finished 1st and 2nd overall with Devlin finishing 9th. Their score of 12 pts equaled the score of Stone Harbor who finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Unfortunately, the Cross-Country traditional tie break went Stone Harbor’s way. The Wayton’s opened up a Mainland Regional connection to runners and Upper was blessed with the talents of runners such as Greg Hughes, Spenser Popeson and Jimmy Wyner. Our success in the run attracted other elite runners to join our patrol such as Joe Lacovara-Switzer. We also have seen two elite runners develop after joining the beach patrol. Ford Palmer was a football-player/sometimes runner who dedicated himself to running once he went to college at Monmouth. Ford was able to develop into not only the fastest lifeguard in South Jersey, but arguably one of the best runners in the country. Jake Davis came to our patrol as a soccer player, but converted to cross country early in his high school career. Jake would go on to be Upper’s city champion from 2016-2020 and placed 2nd in the Dutch Hoffmans during each of those years. Ford, Jake and two other runners from Monmouth, Aaron Holibaugh and Amanda Eller combined to dominate the run event in the Tri-Resorts for the last decade. Ryan Fisher and Spenser Popeson were also on some of those teams.
UTBP Swim History
The swim event has been a tradition of lifeguard races for over 100 years. Unfortunately, Upper was not able to keep up with the competition in the 70’s and 80’s. We were able to send out legitimate swimmers in the late 80s who could beat some of the competition, but not good enough to place. Our first swimmer who could beat some of the other patrols was a female guard named Beth Gimbel. She was an early example of a female guard willing to compete in a predominately male race and beat some of the guys. Bob Schwartz and Greg Van Gilder also swam for Upper and were able to outswim some of the other patrols. Gradually our swim finishes got even stronger with swimmers such as Ken Dudnick, Matt Palombo and Kevin Wallace. In 2001, we hired Schuylar Rockey who would be our first legitimate point scoring swimmer. Schuylar would be our city champion in the swim from 2001-2006 and was a key factor in our 2004 3rd place overall finish in the Cape May Counties. Following Schuylar, we hired Tim Drake in 2007 who would help us with the 2007 3rd place overall finish in the Cape May County Championships. Tim began shifting his focus to rowing in 2008, but our swimming duties fell to another talented “Lady Osprey” named Hayley Conover. Hayley was dominant in the female races and led us to victory in the 2010 OC Women’s race, but she also was highly competitive in the open races. She was our city champion from 2008-2011. In 2013 Upper gained the services of our best swimmer yet. Kevin Gill was highly recruited by other patrols, but he chose to stay home and work in Upper. He won the Cape May Counties and placed in every race he swam in from 2013-2015. In 2013, he took 3rd place in the South Jersey’s becoming the first Upper Swimmer to ever place in that race. He was part of the team that finished tied for 1st place with Ocean City, but finished 2nd due to the tie-breaker. In 2014, Kevin followed up his 3rd place finish with a 1st place finish in the South Jerseys. Lindsay Robbins is our current swim champion joining Beth Gimbel and Hayley Convoer as a female competitor asked to compete against the best male swimmers. Lindsay has three city championships already, she is a dominant force in female races and she always beats a couple of the best swimmers from other patrols.
UTBP Rowing History
The singles and doubles row is another long-standing tradition of lifeguard racing. Upper Township began competing against other patrols in 1979, so we were late to the game, but quick to make our mark. Captain Mike Dubrille led his squad into the 1979 Margate Memorials for their 1st out of town race. Some witnesses claim that Dubrille actually won the singles race, but he was officially awarded 3rd place. One race for Upper and points scored! Dave Hadley and John Schmidt also had success as a doubles crew during these early days. In the late 80s, Wildwood Beach Patrol went through an administrative change that led several accomplished guards from this patrol to seek employment with Upper Township. Wayne MacMurray was the 1st to make this move. Wayne was a Upper Township resident who had previously worked for Sea Isle and Wildwood beaches. Wayne was a highly skilled singles rower and known as a “wizard” in the waves. Wayne was able to win some races and he also began a program of teaching others what he knew about ocean rowing. Wayne’s positive experience brought Jim Gibbons and Chris McCann from Wildwood the next year. Upper now had the paddleboard, surf dash, run, and rowing events as a strength. This was when all of South Jersey began to notice that little Upper Township was a force to be reckoned with. Wayne became the first Upper Township rower to place in the South Jerseys in the early 90s. (He was rowing the Osprey-one of our heavier boats!) Jimmy Gibbons placed in many races as a doubles rower with partners such as Chris McCann, Jon Oneil, Joe Oneil, and Ken Dudnick. Jimmy and Wayne ushered in a new generation of rowers when youngsters such as Greg Van Gilder, Mike Manning, and the O'neill brothers watched them, learned from them, and strived to beat them. By the early 2000s, this was happening. Greg and Mike were a highly successful doubles team and Greg was a potential point scorer in the singles race. Greg has placed top 3 at Cape May County and has placed in the South Jerseys. Mike placed in many races with many different partners including Greg, Jon Oneil, Pat Curran, and Rich Kelly. The O'neill brothers have had individual victories as singles rowers and a lot of success together as a doubles crew. Jon Oneil placed in the South Jerseys in 2013 with Dan Palombo, and both Oneil’s placed in the South Jerseys in 2015 together. Through the summers of 2007-2009, Pat Curran was a dominant singles rower with placing 1st or 2nd in most of his races during that period. Dan Palombo came on Upper in 2012 and developed rowing doubles with Pat Curran and got mentorship from Mike Manning. In 2013, this work paid off when Dan became the 1st South Jersey Champion in Upper Township history. Dan was able to get a little space between himself and Dylan Kosten of OCBP and grabbed the wave to victory in the surf of Ventnor Beach. As these rowing giants of our history were winning races, they were also working with our junior guard program loaded with young crew rowers from Ocean City High School. In this group were two young kids named Ryan Fisher and Kyle Rumaker. Before they were old enough to be lifeguards, we arranged for them to row the Hammer Row with veteran rowers Andrew Tobiason and Jon Oneil. During their second year on the patrol, the O'neill brothers decided to not row together, but rather row with one of the kids. By 2017, the kids were ready to go out on their own. Ryan and Kyle would gather more wins and accolades than any other UTBP doubles crew in our history. They won the Cape May Counties 3 times, they were victorious at the AC Classic and the Beschen-Callahan race (Twice). They also won the prestigious Bay Race Title in 2019 and finished top 3 in that race on two other occasions. During the 1990s, lifeguard races began creating a mixed doubles category. Mary Jean McCann and Mike Manning scored a second place at the Dutch Hoffman’s in mixed doubles. Greg Van Gilder and Liz Millar teamed up for a Bay Race victory and won the Tri-Resorts. Rod Tice and Cara Thomas also secured a mixed doubles Bay Race Victory. Brooke Handley won the mixed doubles race at the Hammer Row with Jon O'neill and Ryan Fisher.
UTBP Female Competition History
Amy Massey joined the Upper Township Beach Patrol in 1986. She was not our first female guard, but she was our first female competitor. Amy competed as our swimmer in several races in 1986-1987. Beth Gimbell took over those responsibilities in 1988. There were no races in South Jersey dedicated to female lifeguards. We discovered a race held in Rockaway, New York for female lifeguards and took Beth and another female guard named Caroline Shimp to compete. It was a great experience and we followed this up by taking more of our female guards the following year. South Jersey patrols began to catch on to the need to create races to showcase the increasing number of female lifeguards. Longport, Ocean City and Ventnor initiated a female race at their respective beaches, and the three Tri-Resort patrols agreed to modify the rules to include females in most of the events. This allowed our females to race regularly and stay closer to home. Victoria Schriver and Adrienne Huffman were the first female doubles crew to row the MS Bay Race. Mary Jean McCann and her cousin, Eva Marie Guerreri were an early successful doubles crew for Upper Township. Upper also had early success in the surf dash with the team of Jen Harrison, Jessica Newcomb, Amanda Ferguson, and Lauren Eiden. Lauren was the anchor and we decided to enter her in a Kerr’s surf dash team to see how she stacked up to the boys. She beat half of the 1st dashers from all the other patrols. Upper was always blessed with local surfers who knew how to paddleboard and we found success in this event from Jen Harrision and Jen Callahan. Our female team really came together in 2010. Sr. Guard Kate Kenny coined this team the “Lady Ospreys” and the name has stuck ever since. We had the swimming and paddle talents of Hayley and Emily Conover, the rowing skills of Liz Millar and Cara Thomas, and the swimming skills of Carly Cox. Abby Frietag would join with Thomas and the Conover’s to make a solid surf dash team. This team won the 2010 OC Women's Race defeating all other South Jersey Patrols. After Liz and Cara retired from guarding, we were blessed with several solid rowers who kept us scoring points at races including, Mary Ellen Curran, Beth Desmond, and Sr. Guard Kelly McHale. In 2013, we hired a female runner from Monmouth College named Amanda Eller. Amanda has teamed up with 2 of our male runners to win the Tri-Resorts 3 x 1 Mile relay every year she has competed in the race. Lindsay Robbins is currently the swim and paddleboard champ amongst the females (overall for swim). She has placed in these events for all three years she has worked for the patrol. Eve Chiarello and Brooke Handley have placed as a doubles crew in Longport and Ventnor, and the became the first UTBP female crew to win the Bay Race in 2021. The 2021 surf dash team took 2nd place at Ventnor. The team consisted of Grace Steele, Eve Chiarello, Mackenzie Blake, and Casey McClees. McClees will go down in history as our first female competitor to participate in the Superathalon held in Cape May.
UTBP Mascot History
Lifeguards and mascots have been an informal aspect of beach patrols for many years. Guards would get to know the patrons of their beaches including the young kids who would swim at their stands and many times mentor the kids while asking the kids to help get messages to the next stand or to nearby patrons. Upper Township began formalizing this program in the late 1980s with a regular Friday camp and a weekly movie night at the Firehouse. The program was run by Sr. Guard Shawn Connely, who was an environmental science major in college. Shawn would take the kids on beach walks and identify hazards, as well as marine life and give them insight to what the lifeguards do every day. There was always a big sand castle contest that was highly competitive as well. 2 guards would volunteer to open up the firehouse in Strathmere with a movie rented and snacks provided for all the mascots in town. The population dynamics in Strathmere changed in the 1990s and there were less kids living in town. This impacted not just the mascot program, but the makeup of our patrol. We began having to seek guards from a larger radius than the town of Strathmere. Mayor Palombo stressed the desire that we try to hire guards who live in Upper Township. We began reaching out to the school system to recruit kids from the mainland of Upper Township to join the mascots and junior guards. The program exploded with popularity. We went from 15-20 mascots to 60-80. The number outgrew the idea of having movie nights, but we were able to adapt the structure to accommodate as many mascots as we could. There were 4 age groups created with two mascot counselors and a mascot supervisor who oversaw the operations of each of these four groups on Friday. The mascots have been run by Sr. Guard Kate Kenny, Sr. Guard Kelly McHale, Lt Mike Manning, Lt. Amanda Eller and Lt. Jim Dugan through the years. We have developed the system of giving out color coded T-shirts for easy accountability and tiered programs based on age for what we would expect each mascot to learn. Most importantly, they learn how to have fun and be safe at the beach, but they also learn what a lifeguard needs to do. In any given year, approximately 50% of our current staff has come from the mascot program.
UTBP Junior Guard History
When the beach patrol expanded the mascot program in the 1990s, we also introduced the junior guard program. The first directors of this program were Tom McCann, Kelly McHale and Joe Oneil. The concept was to find athletic 12-15 year old residents of Upper Township and mold them into being lifeguard ready by the time they were 16 years old. The junior guards would be trained using all the lifeguard equipment in addition to providing them with the conditioning to pass the run and swim requirements of our tryout test. The junior guards would meet every Friday after the Mascot program. Lt. Joe Oneil made an arrangement with the Sea Isle Beach Patrol to create a junior guard race that also involved OCBP and Longport Beach Patrols for some years. We began to recognize that one day per week may not be enough to prepare the junior guards for these races and started a two day option for junior guards who wanted to come Wednesdays and Fridays. We have a long list of successful lifeguards who came out of the Junior Guard program including the Steele triplets (Ian, Meredith, Grace), Casey McClees, Eve Chiarello, Ryan Fisher, Kyle Rumaker, Lorna Connel and Brooke and Reghan Handley. Meredith Steele has gone full circle from being a mascot, junior guard, to now being our current Junior Guard Director.
UTBP Tri-Resorts History
In 1985, the tradition of the Tri-cities race between Sea Isle, Avalon, and Stone Harbor was ended by a mutual break up of these patrols. The Stone Harbor Beach patrol approached Upper Township’s Captain, Bill McKutcheon to see if Upper would like to race them. McKutcheon suggested inviting Cape May Point so that the race would allow the three smallest patrols numerically to race against each other in a more level playing field. In 1986, the Tri-Resorts (none of us were cities) took place in Cape May Point. This was the line-up until 1994 when Cape May Point was replaced by North Wildwood. Stone Harbor and Upper Township were not aware that North Wildwood was on the verge of forming a dynasty in all areas of lifeguard racing. They had strong rowers and a swimmer that were annually in the hunt for the South Jersey title, but they were also deep and talented in the paddleboard and surf dash. Upper Township was able to give North Wildwood a run for the money in each of these years with our rowers, paddlers and dashers, but most of all in the run. THe North Wildwood team of Rich Bostwick, Steve Mazur, and Pete Fixler were known for holding hands to finish 1,2 & 3 at the Dutch Hoffmans. It was at the Tri-resorts where this team finally had to break their handshake and watch Kurt and Geoff Wayton win. The top finishers went back and forth during these years, but was one of the great rivalries of lifeguard racing. In 1995, Sea Isle was invited to rejoin the Tri-Resorts and did so with a return to Cape May Point to the race. Cape May Point dropped out again and was replaced in 2003 by the Wildwood Beach Patrol. Upper Township won its first Tri-resort championship in 2000 on the beaches of Strathmere. Upper has won the Tri-resorts since then 5 other times in 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013, and in 2018. It is worthy to note that Sea Isle has three times the amount of lifeguards as Upper, and Wildwood has twice the amount. This does not prevent us from being a legitimate contender every year we compete.
UTBP Bay Race History
During the summer of 1991, the Upper Township Beach Patrol ran a fundraiser of selling T-shirts and gathering donations for a round the island row conducted by four of our lifeguards. Lt. Steve Eill and John Skoglund and Lt Jon Storz and Bill Carey rowed the 17 miles around Ludlam's Island and earned funds to benefit our patrol. That winter, three guards hatched a plan to build upon the concept of a distance row that raised money for a charity. While touring Australia on a sailboat off the Whitsunday Islands. Newly appointed Captain Handley, Lt. Steve Eill and Amy Massey developed a plan for a shorter race, unique from the North Wildwood Island row that could be tied into the Deauville Inn’s MS Ugly Bartender Campaign. Upon their return, they worked with Lt. Jon Storz to get the Deauville on board and the South Jersey Chiefs. Linda Brown of the Deauville approved hosting the race. Lt. Storz met with Chief Tony Cavalier (North Wildwood) who was president of the SJCLA and in charge of the only other patrol hosting a distance rowing race. Cavalier welcomed the idea and arranged for Storz to meet with their race director Captain Lou Cirelli. Maps were drawn up, distances measured, and support crews were found to serve as official boats. The original measurement of 6 miles has been disproven by GPS calculations, but the name has stuck. There were 15 boats in the Inaugural MS Bay Race. This was the first and only time the boats started from the Deauville and headed north to Ocean City. The thought was the bridge would serve as natural gates to spread the boats out at the start. Several collisions later we re-thought this process. The 1st race was won by Mox Bilkens and Bick Murphy of Wildwood Crest. We added a paddleboard component to this race in order to generate more involvement and help raise more money towards the fight against MS. We average 30-40 rowing crews and the same amount of paddlers every year and to date have raised well over $100,000 for the MS Society.
UTBP Kayak Race History
In the early 2000s, Lt. Bill Stull and Jim O'Connor hatched a plan for a fundraiser to help the patrol with obtaining equipment and funds to hold the events and programs we offered. The idea was a kayak race. The first concept was to set 6 flags and hold heats of kayak races with various classifications. Stull convinced Captain Handley it would take off and that he and O’Connor could manage the whole affair. The first race took place in the summer of 2002. The race was a success, but another veteran guard, Jack O’Hara saw more potential. Jack advocated calling the race a Kayak Festival and incorporated an auction and kayak demonstrations. The patrol started a partnership with the local retailer, Harbor Outfitters, and had races, kayaks onsite for viewing and demonstrations along with items obtained from local businesses for auction. O’Hara was a master marketing director for the race and brought a lot of media attention including several on the spot broadcasts from the Action News team. O’Hara would work the microphone on the day of the festival promoting the auction and demonstrations, while Stull continued to run the race. When the race became bigger, the Six Flags name had to be dropped and was replaced by the Strathmere Ocean Kayak Festival. We paired the Kayak Festival with a Trader Al 5K in 2012 which was conducted in the morning of the Kayak Festival. In 2013, the turn out for both races were low and even though it could have been a one year hiccup, the decision was made to end this race, however we had many fun and successful years.
History of UTBP Boat Names
Frank Kruk- The Kruk was purchased in 1984 and named after the recently deceased Mayor, Frank Kruk. The Kruk was our race boat from 1984-1989. It was a true upgrade from the Strathmere Boat and the older boat that was titled Strathmere Beach Guard. The Strathmere Beach Guard Boat was better known as the “Tub”. It was heavy, but Captain Dubrille managed to score a third place finish in the “Tub”. The Kruk met an untimely end in rough surf when Lt Greg Van Gilder and Tim Drake were on a huge wave and pitch poled the boat cracking out all of the seats and deeming the Kruk unrepairable. The insurance claim brought about the boat named the “Legends”
David Farrell- In 1989, the UTBP purchased a new boat from funds raised from our annual Chicken Barbeque. This Barbeque was a fun event the UTBP sponsored each year on the beach where we would sell tickets and set up a large Barbeque on the beach. Guards would take turns serving food to the whole town. It was run from the mid-80s to the early 90’s until someone figured out it was not all that safe to have burning coals on the beach. The purchase of this boat came at the same time as the untimely death of the Upper Township Public Works foreman, David Farrell. The Farrell was used as the race boat from 1989 to 1998.
Osprey- In 1998, the Osprey came into the UTBP fleet. We had started a tradition of naming boats after important Upper Township figures who had recently died. There were a couple candidates, but no one could agree on which one to name the boat after. The school mascot of Upper Township iis the Osprey, so the thought was that our beach patrol could take on the same identity. This concept and this boat led to the naming of our female team, the “Lady Ospreys''. We did not know at the time of the purchase, but soon found out, “The Osprey '' was heavy for a Van Duyne race boat. It was used for two seasons as our competition boat, including the South Jersey’s that Wayne MacMurray took the historic 5th place.
Fire/Rescue- In 2000, UTBP was approved for the purchase of another boat. Once again, there was no agreement for an individual to name the boat after. The country was still reeling in the aftermath of 9/11 and Mayor Palombo suggested we name the boat in honor of all Fireman and 1st Responders who sacrificed their lives in this tragedy. The Fire/Rescue was our race boat from 2000 to 2008, but was sometimes favored over the Legends even after the purchase of that boat. This boat was rowed in most of the Tri-Resort championships won by the UTBP.
Legends of Upper Township- When the Kruk was damaged beyond repair in 2009, Upper was able to obtain a new boat through the insurance claim for the 2010 season. Once again, there were many choices available for boat names. The decision was made to name the boat Legends and to attach the names of several Upper Township legendary individuals. Two UTBP alumni were included in this list. Lt Jerry Bonsall and Amy Massey were two very important contributors to the beach patrol in the mid 80s and early 90s. Both were taken at an early age by cancer which was devastating to the guards who had worked with them. Elizabeth Bergus was a lifelong resident of Strathmere who served on many community committees and was a volunteer EMT for Sea Isle Ambulance who served Strathmere. Doug Knobb was a volunteer for Upper Township Rescue who also died at a young age after serving his community. The Legends is a very good boat that was used interchangeably with the Fire/Rescue as the competition boat until 2018.
Adam Miels Foote-In 2005, following the tragic death of Adam Miels Foote, his family and friends asked the Township to accept a donated boat to be named after Adam. Adam was killed in a traffic accident, but had been a committed organ donor prior to his untimely death. His parents, Steve and Jennifer Foote were frequent visitors to his boat and we all looked forward to Mrs Foote giving the bow of the boat her loving kiss. The Foote’s promoted organ donation to the patrol and the public to honor Adam’s memory and his contributions to those who benefitted from his donation. This movement inspired Captain Handley and Rod Tice to make organ donation one of their three causes for a long distance row from Strathmere to the Statue of Liberty in the Fall of 2007. Their other two causes were Ovarian Cancer and the Ocean Foundation, hence the O Liberty Row. Tice and Handley rowed the Foote from Strathmere to the Statue of Liberty in 6 days in September of 2007.
Harlan Whitcamp-In 2006 the Harlan Whitcamp was purchased. Local resident Ted Kingston promoted the idea of naming this boat after Harlan Whitcamp. Whitcamp was an early resident of Strathmere who had served as a community leader in many capacities in Strathmere, but most importantly, as the 1st of several beach inspectors who oversaw the beach patrol. The Whitcamp, like the Foote is a solid boat that was used on the beach and in several races. Both the Foote and Whitcamp were never as light as the Fire/Rescue, so they were never the top race boat. Because of their solid construction, they have served as every day beach boats usually at Whittier or Prescott beaches.
Mayor Richard Palombo-In 2018 the patrol had recognized that the Farrell was getting beyond serviceable use. It was time for a new boat and the patrol and Township committee thought it was time to honor a man who had supervised the patrol for over 20 years. Mayor Rich Palombo was elected in 1997 and began supervising the beach patrol in the summer of 1998. When he was elected as Mayor, Palombo broke tradition and asked that he maintain his position of supervising the patrol. During his 20 plus years of being the committee person in charge of the patrol, most of the success and upgrades to the program took place. Mayor Palombo worked through all the impediments to building the headquarters at Williams, worked on obtaining better equipment and uniforms, and even recruited some of our greatest competitors through friends and family. The Palombo immediately was chosen as the new race boat. It still is the lightest boat in our fleet and our rowers were very pleased with how she cut through the surf. The Palombo was our top boat in the 2018 Tri-Resorts that Upper won and was rowed by Fisher and Rumaker in their victories at the Cape May Counties, AC Classics, and the 2018 Bay Race.
Rexford-Keller-Buckland- In 2019, George Buckland approached the beach patrol to inquire about purchasing a boat that could be dedicated to his family who were long time residents of Strathmere. The “Buckalnd” was dedicated in the beginning of the 2020 season. It is a great boat, but just a little heavier than the Palombo. It was determined to place the Buckland in our southern boat beach in the area where the Buckland family lives so they could see their boat when at the beach. The three names honor all of the families, but the Buckland name sticks as our shortened reference to the boat, particularly since Sean Buckland is an alumni and past city swim champion. The stern is adorned with the year 1958 to recognize the year these families came to Strathmere.
List of UTBP Captains
Mike Dubrille- 1976-1979
Pete Griffin- 1980
Dave Schmidt- 1981
Eric Weeks- 1982
Jeff Henning- 1983-1984
Bill McKutcheon- 1985-1986
Paul Mattera- 1987-1990
Bill Handley 1991-Current
UTBP South Jersey Champions
2013- Dan Palombo- Singles
2014- Kevin Gill- SwimType your paragraph here.