The American Red Cross began its water safety program in 1914 under the leadership of Commodore Wilbert E. Longfellow. Lovingly known as "the amiable whale," Longfellow developed the Learn-to-Swim Program and created the National Red Cross Life Saving Corps. These early water safety activities developed into a progression of training "bathers to be swimmers and swimmers to be lifesavers." This article by Commodore Longfellow appeared in the May 1921 edition of the Junior Red Cross News.

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