A LOOK BACK -- JERRY PERSON
There are incidents when people’s less than intelligent actions from
the past extend far into the future.
This week, we’ll take a look at one of those incidents. It all began
on a hot, summer Sunday at the Huntington Beach Pier on Sept. 10, 1950.
Like any other summer day, beachgoers could be seen lying about under
large umbrellas on the sand and out swimming in the surf.
Lifeguard Frank Ciarelli had warned the local youths several times not
to jump off the pier. Low tides and a sand bar made it a very dangerous
undertaking. During those days, it was legal to dive off the pier if you
received permission from the chief lifeguard.
That Sunday, Chief Lifeguard Elmer Combs issued a “No Jumping” order.
One 17-year-old boy from Rosemead, Richard Ferris, didn’t feel he needed
to obey those warnings. He dove headfirst off the pier into four feet of
water, hitting the edge of the sand bar and knocking himself unconscious.
At first people thought Ferris was putting on his swim fins because of
the way he was floating. Seconds later, Ciarelli jumped in after Ferris.
Lifeguards and medics worked on Ferris for nearly an hour, but Ferris
remained unconscious.
He was taken to Long Beach Community Hospital, where X-rays showed he
suffered a broken neck and a severed spine.
In 1951, Ferris’ mother Madeline Ferris Madson sued the city for
$400,000 plus medical and hospital costs. On Dec. 19, 1951, a Santa Ana
jury awarded Ferris $333,000 for his injuries. Ferris’ mother was awarded
$25,000 for expenses to care for her son until he reached 21.
The jury awarded the money even though Ferris was warned several times
that day not to jump off the pier. Judge Franklin G. West issued the
award against the city. Within hours of the award, rumors flew throughout
the city that the pier would be closed down forever. Officials at the
city refused to close down the pier, and instead filed an appeal.
All the while Ferris remained paralyzed. The jury’s verdict led
several big insurance companies to refuse to issue liability coverage to
many cities.
In early 1953, Ferris died from causes not related to his pier
injuries. West heard the city’s appeal and awarded Ferris’ mother only
$30,000 of the original $400,000, because only about $7,000 was spent on
hospital and medical attention.
Today, 50 years later, you cannot jump off the Huntington Beach Pier
with or without the chief lifeguard’s permission. All because of one
stupid act by a 17-year-old youth who wouldn’t obey the orders of the
lifeguard.
* JERRY PERSON is a local historian and longtime Huntington Beach
resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box
7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.
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