Johnny Boyd

Abstract

I first met the remarkable Johnny Boyd while the two of us worked together as lifeguards at Presque Isle. J. C. “Doc” Ainsworth was in charge of the lifeguards, and he had a system of assigning us to beaches based on where we lived in the city. For example, Johnny Boyd lived on the west side of Erie and attended Strong Vincent High School; therefore he was assigned to work at Beaches One and Two. Likewise, Frank Pettinato, the head lifeguard at Beaches One and Two, and Hobie Billingsly, both westsiders, were also assigned to work those beaches along with Cas Borowy, the lone eastsider.