In 1974, nudes made news at Venice Beach...
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0815-then-20100815,0,2887874.story
Extract from L.A. Times story,
"Retired lifeguard Nick Steers still remembers the day he helped rescue an injured swimmer at Venice Beach while onlookers gathered around him.
"I'm on my hands and knees and I look around and all I see are crotches" and other private parts, he said. "Everyone was nude."
As he recalls, the injured swimmer was also devoid of a bathing suit..."
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Comments from the lifeguard gallery since this article and blog posting:
1. From Jeff McConnel:
Aloha Will,
I remember the spring of "74", I was fortunate enough to work Brooks or Thornton towers alot. I was interviewed by a midwest radio station while guarding at Brooks Tower one day and asked how I felt about all the nude sunbathing at Venice Beach. I told him that I didn't believe I could make an "official" comment, however I stated I didn't believe in it. I said, "if God wanted us to go nude we would have been born that way", with a very straight face! He thanked me and was shaking his head as he walked away somewhat perplexed.
As I recall, the whole nudity thing started when someone was arrested while bathing nude, and charged with lewd and lascivious conduct. When it was taken to court the judge ruled, "nude is not necessarily lewd" which rendered the law useless for mere nudity. It took till mid summer for the wheels of bureaucracy to churn out a new law....I enjoyed the time both officially and unofficially.
There was actually a rumor that I was seen on a day off with a lifeguard patch taped on my thigh while hanging out near Brooks Ave. with some of my friends. It couldn't have been me...I can hardly remember those times!!!!!
aloha jeff
2. From Don "Rosie" Rosenthal:
Will:
Guess who was the Lieutenant during the "nude beach" year. I have stories to tell.
Rosie
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Editor's note: The undersigned editor of this prestigious... blog, was coincidentally a rookie that summer of 1974 with the City of Santa Monica and later with the merger with L.A. County in July of that same summer of '74 and recalls walking down along the soft sand to Venice beach one day to see "the spectacle" at Brooks, Rose and the like... My recollection is, with a few exceptions, the nude bathers were mostly individuals who should have been dressed rather than in their birthday suits. Truthfully, it was a bit strange and a bit scary to walk through that territory as a bright eyed, naive rookie lifeguard raised on the mean streets of Pacific Palisades...
Until next time.....
Will Maguire, Editor
"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com
Service • Training • Commitment
*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***
DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.
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1 comment:
When i went to work as a permanent for the State, i was assigned to the upper end of Malibu. The Supervising Ranger took me on an introductory patrol (7 hours) of the entire 33 miles (as well as up and down the canyons). At the end of the day, we stopped at his house near Staircases where he showed me the official "clothing optional" beach. In my three years there we had a lot of problems with people falling off the cliff trying to look at the nudes. We also had to take "complaints" from old ladies (many of whom were mad at their husbands for staring), forcing us to drive down to the beach and ask people to put their clothes on to remedy the complaint.
I then moved up to the Tahoe region, where we also had numerous clothing optional beaches (and creek/river sides). Same problems there are well with lookyloos falling or their wives complaining. Fortunately up there we couldn't get down to the beaches so easily (had to use a boat) so following up on complaints was a lost cause.
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