History

L. Grant McCubbin

American Red Cross life-saving instructor · active 1937

The instructor who trained and certified the Ocean City Beach Patrol in 1937, as part of the American Red Cross's nation-wide water safety campaign. He ran classes at Public Landing from 9.30 to 11.30 in the morning and at Ocean City from 2.30 to 4.30 in the afternoon; the Berlin group took buttons and the Ocean City patrol took medals for passing the final test.

In the record (1)

  1. 1937 · 1937-06-24

    The Ocean City Beach Patrol went to nine men in 1937 under Captain Harry Kelley, and ten of them took medals in September

    'To Increase Ocean City Beach Patrol To Nine Members', the Messenger reported on 24 June 1937: three new men were being added to 'the unit of lifeguards' the Mayor and Council had established 'nine years ago', with operations to begin 1 July. 'Captain of the 1937 beach patrol is Harry Kelley, of Ocean City. Other members engaged to date are as follows: Collins Elliott, Milton Connor, [Ja]mes Parker, Franklin Savage, Edward Lee Carey, of Ocean City; Robert Craig, Wilmington, and Gary Todd, of Baltimore.' At the end of the season, on 2 September, 'Ten members of the Ocean City Beach Patrol, all of whom passed final life saving tests, were awarded medals as follows: Franklin Savage, Gary Todd, Thomas Dukehart, Collins Elliott, Samuel Moore, William Purnell, James Parker, Robert Craig, Toby Fields and Capt. Harry Kelly.' Twelve names for a nine-man patrol: Dukehart, Moore, Purnell and Fields joined during the season, Connor and Carey are not in the September list. The council's own minute of 7 June — 'Motion was made & carried that life Guard be increased by 2 men' — is the same decision seen from the inside, and it says two rather than three. The county paper adds who taught them and under whose flag: 'The entire Beach Patrol at Ocean City received instructions in life saving. These were, Franklin Savage, Gary Todd, Thomas Dukehart, Collins Elliott, Samuel Moore, William Purnell, James Parker, Robert Craig, Harry Kelley, Toby Fields ... The Berlin group received buttons and the Ocean City Beach Patrol received medals for passing the final test. These classes were given under the direction of Mr. L. Grant McCubbin, and were part of the nation-wide water safety campaign carried out by the American Red Cross. Instruction was given at Public Landing from 9:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. and at Ocean City from 2:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.' Ocean City's lifeguards in 1937 were therefore certified not by the town that paid them but by a national voluntary body, in an afternoon class on their own beach.

    Ocean City Beach PatrolHarry W. Kelley

    Source · checked 2026-08-11