Numerous lives have been saved by the sentinels of the beach and an exhibit celebrating a century of lifeguarding will be on display at the Beaches Museum & History Park beginning Tuesday.

As the summer draws to a close, the new exhibit will feature 100 Years of the American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps in Jacksonville Beach. Historical photographs, artifacts and gear used to save lives at the shoreline will be on display.

These are a bunch of very dedicated young people who put in a lot of their own time to make sure that visitors to Jacksonville Beach are protected, said Andrew Morrow, operations manager of the Beaches Museum.

The exhibit is in chronological order showing how the corps has changed through the years, the influence its had on lifesaving and the impact its had on beaches culture.

One of the items is the early model of the torpedo buoy that was developed by the Jacksonville Beach Corps and now is standard gear for lifeguards around the world. The buoys are about 2-feet long and attach to a lifeguards torso with a line.

George Hapsis, corps archivist and historian, is the co-curator of the exhibit. He joined the corps in 1950 and is still associated with the service as a retired member.

Hapsis retrieved most of the items in the exhibit by rummaging through storage areas and corners of the lifeguard station building with its iconic white tower and red cross at the foot of the Beach Boulevard public access.

Some of the stuff was left lying around. Some of the stuff was in the attic deteriorating, he said. We had leaks over the years and some of the stuff was destroyed because of that.

Even something as simple as uniform changes demonstrate aesthetic evolution, Hapsis said. Some of the early lifeguard uniform swim suits were wool and stretched down to the knees. Now they are synthetic shorts and tank tops.

Many of the photos, Hapsis said, also demonstrate the evolution of the diversity of staff for the corps.

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Beaches Museum exhibit to mark 100 years of lifeguard service