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.