Guarding Goose Rocks
Visitors to Goose Rocks Beach have periodically been protected by Lifeguards and the Coast Guard throughout its history as a summer resort. Mr. Coleman Joel, a 22-year-old Harvard Law student, perished trying to rescue a little girl named Betty Fairburn from the raging surf opposite the Downing cottage (Seen at top center) on August 15, 1928. The following season and for several subsequent seasons a lifeguard and a policeman were hired to patrol the beach every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Coast Guard took over Goat Island lighthouse during WWII. Rotating crews lived at the Downing Cottage....