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"There weren't a lot of people then, so the six of us could pretty much handle what was going on," said Ross, who recalled watching the beach from the two towers and a portable tower on 20th Street. The starting pay for lifeguards at the time was $2.10 per hour. He had previously worked as a lifeguard at a pool in Japan, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Ross was 19 when he became a member of the department's first team. Headed by Gardner, lifeguards Peter Critchlow, Ron Jensen, Paul Kraus, Gerry Maier and Jack Ross managed two lifeguard towers: the main tower at 17th Street and another at 25th Street.
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He taught them to watch the water and what to look for. "He had a nice group of guys that worked for him. "Gardner did the job and did it well," Maas said.
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