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Arthur Verge was ready to give up his search when he came across the newspaper article on microfilm — a vivid account of how surfer George Freeth, on Dec. 16, 1908 off Venice Beach, helped rescue 12 Japanese fishermen who would have died without his quick, heroic actions.
The find further spawned the South Bay native’s curiosity about how modern-day lifeguarding came to be, and how instrumental this Hawaiian icon was to the creation of lifeguarding and the surf culture as we know it today.
“That article had a spiritual component to it, as the location of the rescue was exactly where I had worked the day before,” Verge recounted in an e-mail.
Verge will be speaking about Freeth at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Redondo Beach Main Library, a presentation based on a story he wrote called “George Freeth: King of the Surfers and California’s Forgotten Hero.”
“My talk will center on not only Freeth’s time here in Redondo Beach — he spent a very substantial time living and working here — but will talk about the impact for the last 100 years following his untimely death in 1919,” wrote Verge, 63, of El Segundo. “Thus, it is a 100-year commemoration of his legacy of not only bringing and popularizing surfing, but also establishing modern ocean lifesaving along the coastline of Santa Monica Bay “
Verge also will show what he calls the “Holy Grail,” a recently discovered 1913 short film called “The Latest In Lifesaving.”
“It is pretty incredible seeing the old Redondo Beach Pier then, and for those fascinated by the man who first brought and promoted surfing here — it is literally beyond incredible seeing George in action,” he wrote.
Verge was a part-time lifeguard for the Los Angeles County Fire Department for 42 years, and as a history major found himself drawn to finding out more about his profession. As he inquired with other lifeguards, Freeth’s name seemed to always come up.
“Surprisingly very little was known about him, other than he had performed a miraculous rescue many decades before,” he wrote.
That was the start of a four-year “research adventure,” as he called it, which included digging up Freeth’s personal writings in the downtown Los Angeles Athletic Club.
“My presentation focuses on the 100-year legacy after his passing. This includes the sport of surfing, which he first introduced to Southern California in June of 1907. He also introduced modern ocean lifesaving, which removed dories as the primary rescue tool to save drowning swimmers,” he wrote.
Freeth showed that lifeguards could swim out to someone in need and use a rescue can — reaching the person much more quickly than if in a boat. He also introduced the rescue surfboard to ocean lifesaving, Verge wrote.
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Freeth, who also was a champion swimmer and high diver, trained and developed young protegees. They included champion swimmer and Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku, also credited with introducing surfing to the mainland, and other Redondo Beach legends Dolly Mings, Ludy Langer, and Tommy and Jerry Witt.
“My main goal of this talk is to show how significant this one person was to history. Although George only lived to age 35, his impact remains alive today,” Verge wrote. “The sport of surfing has never been more popular than it is today.”
Verge wonders how far reaching Freeth’s impact was — even on land.
“Without Freeth, there wouldn’t be large coastal towns and cities that we have today — simply because too many would have drowned, ceasing any interest in buying a home by the ocean,” he wrote, noting that Freeth was hired to teach swimming and provide lifeguarding service by real estate developers Henry Huntington and Abbot Kinney.
Freeth’s influence on the area was highlighted during a “100 years of surfing” celebration in Huntington Beach, in 2014. Freeth visited Huntington Beach for a surfing exhibition in 1914, on a 40-pound wooden board, to promote the ocean as a playground to prospective buyers.
If you go
What: “George Freeth: King of the Surfers and California’s Forgotten Hero.”
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29
Where: Redondo Beach Main Library, 303 N. Pacific Coast Highway
Information: 310-318-0675, option 5
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