A Look Back
By Fred Miller
The first swimming pool at the Flanders Hotel opened on May 30, 1924. Jack G. Jernee, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol, was there with his lifeguards. The pool, built between the hotel’s solariums, attacted many bathers every day.
Large crowds attended the water shows put on by the Ocean City lifeguards.
The last show of the summer was held on Saturday evening, August 23, 1924. The pool was surrounded by people there to watch the lifeguard intrasquad championships.
Before the competition began Captain Jernee gave a demonstration of artificial respiration and the lifeguards showed how they rescued drowning victims.
There were five swimming races, a diving contest, a canoe tilting contest, and a water polo match.
Lifeguard Lloyd Sheppard was the top scorer winning the 40-yard freestyle and the diving contest, and he was on the winning 160-yard relay team.
The water polo match pitted the lifeguards from the northern stands against those from the southern stands. The spectators enjoyed watching the lifeguards’ efforts to win. Thanks to referee Ewing T. Corson, fights ended quickly. The game ended in a 3-3 tie.
In 1929 the Flanders opened three more pools, and the era of the OCBP’s gigantic water shows began.
