[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE HERITAGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 25, 2003

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the United States Life-
Saving Service Heritage Act, legislation to celebrate one of the most 
inspiring periods in America's maritime history. This legislation would 
establish a comprehensive program to inventory, evaluate, document, and 
assist efforts to restore and preserve surviving historic lifesaving 
stations. I am pleased that my Jersey Shore colleague Representative 
Frank LoBiondo has joined me in this effort.
  The history of lifesaving in the United States dates back to 1785, 
when the Massachusetts Humane Society began building huts along the 
Massachusetts coast to aid shipwreck victims. These huts were later 
fitted with surfboats, beach-carts, and other lifesaving equipment. 
Beginning in 1847, the Federal government recognized the importance and 
necessity of lifesaving efforts when Congress provided a series of 
appropriations to establish lifesaving stations equipped to render 
assistance to shipwrecked mariners and their passengers. These stations 
were first established along the Atlantic coast with the assistance of 
Representative William Newell, who during the 31st and 39th Congresses 
represented some of the same areas of New Jersey that I represent 
today. Representative Newell's efforts contributed to the establishment 
of a network of lifesaving stations along the Jersey Shore from Sandy 
Hook to Cape May. In 1871, Congress approved the first appropriation 
for the Federal government to employ crews of lifesavers. On June 18, 
1878, the ``Act to Organize the Life-Saving Service'' was enacted. In 
1915 the Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to 
form the Coast Guard. At that time, there were over 275 lifesaving 
stations to aid shipwreck victims on the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf, and 
Great Lakes coasts.
  The volunteer and professional lifesaving personnel who staffed these 
stations risked their lives to prevent shipwreck casualties. Winslow 
Homer immortalized these great heroes of the American coast in his 
painting The Life Line. Walt Whitman celebrated their inspiring actions 
in the following excerpt of his poem Patrolling Barnegat:

     Through cutting swirl and spray watchful and firm advancing,
     (That in the distance! Is that a wreck? Is the red signal 
           flaring?)
     Slush and sand of the beach tireless till daylight wending,
     Steadily, slowly, through hoarse roar never remitting,
     Along the midnight edge by those milk-white combs careering,
     A group of dim, weird forms, struggling, the night 
           confronting,
     That savage trinity warily watching.

  An outstanding example of this period survives today in my district. 
The historic Monmouth Beach lifesaving station, established in 1895, is 
a Duluth style station designed by the architect George Tolman. On one 
occasion, every member of the station's crew was awarded a gold 
lifesaving medal for rescuing victims of two shipwrecks on the same 
evening. This historic structure had been slated for demolition to make 
way for a new parking lot for beachgoers. Fortunately, the entire 
community came together to save this important structure but work still 
needs to be done to preserve the station's history and the inspiring 
stories of those who served there.
  It is not certain exactly how many stations like the one in Monmouth 
Beach remain. Many surviving historic lifesaving stations are of rare 
architectural significance, but harsh coastal environments threaten 
them, rapid economic development in the coastal zone, neglect, and lack 
of resources for their preservation. The heroic actions of America's 
lifesavers deserve greater recognition, and their contributions to 
America's maritime and architectural history should be celebrated.
  That is why I have proposed the United States Life-Saving Service 
Heritage Act. This legislation would provide the resources necessary to 
inventory, document, and evaluate surviving lifesaving stations. It 
would also provide grant funding to assist efforts to protect and 
preserve these maritime treasures.
  The United States Life-Saving Service Heritage Act would authorize 
the National Park Service, through its National Maritime Initiative, to 
inventory, document, and evaluate surviving historic lifesaving 
stations. These activities would be conducted in cooperation with the 
U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association, a Massachusetts based 
nonprofit educational organization that works to protect and preserve 
America's lifesaving heritage. This inventory, documentation, and 
evaluation would be similar in nature to a study completed by the Park 
Service in 1994, on historic lighthouses. Under this legislation, the 
Park Service would serve as a clearinghouse of information on 
lifesaving station preservation efforts, which would greatly assist 
public and private efforts to protect these historic structures and the 
maritime heritage that they embody.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to 
celebrate one of the most heroic and inspiring periods in America's 
maritime history.

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