Hi BeaconBob, and a big welcome to you.
This is by no means a dumb question. What it will probably do is open up a whole new subject to explore. To give you a general idea of where this is going, the life-saving service was the beginning of what we know today as the U. S. Coast Guard. It joined with the Revenue Cutter Service (the boats) in 1915 to form the USCG.
Lifesaving stations were situated along the shore between lighthouses just as lightships were placed out in the water where lighthouses could not be built. The surfmen at these lifesaving stations guarded the shore and rescued survivors from shipwrecks. The statistics say a lot...the service assisted 28,121 disasters and shipwrecks and preserved the lives of 174,682 persons and $288,871,237 worth of vessels and cargo between 1871, and 1915.
Here are a few sites to get you started:
In New Jersey, you can visit
Spermacetti Cove near the Highlands and
Monmouth Beach One of our members here, Stephen Wilmoth, has done a great job exploring the subject. Take a look at his site
Here He will also give you a good idea of the different styles and how to recognize them.
This site
Chicamacomico LSS contains a good overview of the service and in-depth info about the stations along the coast of North Carolina.
And this is good reading...
A Heavy Sea Running: the Formation of the U. S. Lifesaving Service, 1846-1878 You can look here
HL Lifesaving Stations to see the LE's that Harbour Lights has produced.
Let us know what you think, and please join us here in this forum.
And you are halfway to WACKO...dom! You'll be there before you know it.
Judy
edit...
BB, the Harbour Lights link I provided apparently only works sometimes, but HL did both Chicamacomico and Point Allerton.