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Summer 1914. "Penn 2nd varsity crew team in Poughkeepsie." Rowers at the boathouse. Bain News Service glass negative. View full size.
Some of the fondest memories of my life were rowing a single scull on the Willamette River in the late 1970s. I would give anything to go back there for a day.
They were likely there for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association's 1914 Poughkeepsie Regatta. This spot is very near the location of today's Vassar College Rowing Complex, used by both the men's and women's teams.
I recently read The Boys in the Boat, about the 9-member University of Washington rowing team that won the gold medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Now I have a clearer understanding of the significance of the Regatta at Poughkeepsie, which was the Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship every year from 1895-1949.
Easily identified, even from here.
When the city decided against spending the money to redo the pitiful Varsity Crew quarters and boat- houses the famous race just moved out to a place that treated them as the huge tourist attraction they were. So, Poughkeepsie lost out big time because they wouldn't spend a few bucks. Poughkeepsie is known very well for terrible decisions. I lived there, and know of what I speak.
Alright, which one of you guys stole my flashlight.
Those shorts strike me as a tad daring for the period. Assuming the fair sex was not excluded from watching the events, I'm guessing there were more than a few ladies who would have blushed at the sight.
The First World War, precursor to the Second as well as the post colonial troubles of the Middle East that plague us today, had been declared just a few weeks before this photo was taken. Nothing would ever be the same.
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