WDEL'S ASSIGNMENT: DELAWARE

with Mellany Armstrong

June 30, 2005

Gordon Hesse

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A former lifeguard from Ardencroft is hoping you'll take him along to the beach this summer.

Gordon Hesse was a lifeguard back in the 60s and 70s. He tells his story and those of other lifeguards in his new book, "All Summer Long: Tales and Lore of Lifeguarding on the Atlantic."

Hesse: "There's a lot more to it than just looking out in the water and swimming out and pulling people."

The idea for the book came out of a lifeguard reunion party.

Hesse: "They were just busting each other's chops. And there was humor there, and there was a richness to it, and it occurred to me it's an oral history, and that needs to be recorded."

Hesse: "I had always thought when I was on the stand that it would be interesting to write a book about this, but my experiences would probably fill up three pages. But, talking to enough people, I found that there was quite a bit."

Hesse's book is full of lifeguard beach memories, hair-raising rescues, and pranks.

Hesse: "I probably learned all the wrong ways of lifeguarding 'cause the guys I worked with were pretty...they were the 'Animal House' of lifeguards."

Hesse says lifeguarding has its own camaraderie.

Hesse: "There were also a lot of behaviors that were a part of it. It's sort of like being on a rugby team. It's not just about rugby, it's about what happens after the game."

WDEL 1150 AM's Delaware's Stories air on Thursdays at 6:13 am, 8:13 am, and 6:13 pm.

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