Saving Swimmers, Well Into Senior Years
From his wooden perch overlooking the shoreline, Gerry Lambert stood up and eyed three teenagers caught in a rough ocean’s sudden riptide. “We got a little situation,” Mr. Lambert said calmly to his fellow lifeguards resting behind the stand.

From his wooden perch overlooking the shoreline, Gerry Lambert stood up and eyed three teenagers caught in a rough ocean’s sudden riptide.

“We got a little situation,” Mr. Lambert said calmly to his fellow lifeguards resting behind the stand.

At 73, Mr. Lambert is the oldest lifeguard at Tobay Beach, an oceanfront expanse on the South Shore of Long Island just east of Jones Beach, where he has been working since the late 1950s.

He blew his whistle at the teenagers and took off his hat and sunglasses, but relaxed after seeing the swimmers safely regain their footing.