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PRINCETON
The Newsletter of The Princeton University Rowing Association Editors: Barbara Byrne '89 Wells Drorbaugh, Jr. '43 Karen Kuhlthau '86 Charles S. Osborn '77 Lynn Rajacich Osburn '79 Stuyvesant Pell '53 Annie Touborg Zimmer '87 |
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Richard O. Prentke '67 |
One of the nagging legacies of a Princeton education is a certain level of intellectual curiosity. Duly affected, I have, over the last few years, explored the history of Princeton rowing-a history intertwined with the history of the University.
One of the things I found was an Alumni Weekly article that described the "Opening Exercises" of Princeton's original wood frame boathouse on the Delaware and Raritan canal in the spring of 1874 -- 126 years ago.
Then. as today, "temporary seats were well filled by ladies and gentlemen from New York, and the standing room was occupied by as many students as were able to obtain admission."
The article went on to relate that "W. A. Butler [1876] read a somewhat humorous address on the boating affairs of the College. His remarks, with the exception of certain misstatements regarding former attempts at boating on the part of Princeton, and certain florid passages, were exceedingly appropriate."
Fortunately, the Alumni Weekly no longer sends critics to boathouse dedications, but I hope nonetheless that you will find my remarks at least "appropriate" (if not "exceedingly" so), and not particularly "florid." as I relate to you a very brief history of the tradition that made this Boathouse Renewal possible.
From its beginnings in the 19th century, the abiding tradition of Princeton rowing has been the breadth and depth of support from its alumni and friends.
The very first Princeton crew "united their purses as well as their purposes" to purchase their first two boats from Yale. One of them promptly sank to the bottom of the canal on its first outing. which may have been the root cause of the continuing rivalry with our friends in New Haven.
This lake and hundreds of acres around it were given to the University -- for rowing -- in 1906 through the efforts of that same W. A. Butler -- now a rowing alumnus.
The Class of 1887 was inspired by rowing alumni to build this boathouse. In April 1913. when Bernard Shea was a freshman. the Alumni Weekly noted that "this healthful and interesting form of athletics has now won for itself a well recognized place. Unlike other leading sports, however, rowing cannot pay for itself, but, on the other hand, the policy of our rowing authorities requires a very modest expense in comparison with the large sums for the support of crews at other universities."
In the ensuing years, every boat and every piece of equipment in this boathouse have been provided by rowing alumni and friends.
The tradition continues.
On a Saturday morning four years ago. the PURA trustees' meeting in the Sikes Room was interrupted by a loud crash. After nearly 85 years. a large. multi-paned window had separated from its decayed hinges and smashed to the ground.
We took it as a sign from the rowing gods-that crash marked the beginning of an unprecedented effort that reaches its fruition this afternoon.
At the meeting, the trustees wisely concluded that it might make sense to look into remodeling the boathouse. My good friend and predecessor as PURA president Arthur Miller '73 had made some inquiries about renovating the boathouse some years earlier. Architect Jeff Peterson agreed to donate a little of his time to sketch out a renovation plan. I also sought the insight and support of Lon Israel '45, whose interest in and generosity toward Princeton rowing is legendary.
With rudimentary plans and a rough estimate from Jon Hlafter '61 of $3-4 million, the PURA Trustees unanimously resolved in 1996 to renovate and expand this landmark that had served us well for more than 80 years, in order to address the needs of the flourishing Princeton rowing program. While we had no specific idea where we would get the money, there was a unanimous sense of Manifest Destiny -- rowing alumni and friends would somehow once again step up to this generation's challenge.
During visits with Harold Shapiro, and then Athletic Director Gary Walters '67 and Vice President for Development Van Williams '65, I described a different kind of campaign for support -- a broad and participatory effort -- and, in a mixture of bravado and wishful thinking, I rashly predicted that we might have as many as 1000 donors.
After due consideration -- and doubtlessly some discounting of my rhetoric -- they agreed, and in April 1997, at Princeton's celebration of 125 years of rowing, 75 years of lightweight rowing, 25 years of women's rowing, and the birth of women's lightweight rowing, we announced the effort to renew our rowing facilities as a part of Princeton's anniversary campaign.
We made three commitments that evening:
I think that you will conclude today that we kept our promises.
An unprecedented outpouring of support exceeded all goals and raised more than $8 million that were needed to "do it right."
Our endeavor, in many ways analogous to the efforts of the Princeton crews over many generations on this lake and in this boathouse, thus literally began with a bang and will figuratively end in the same way today as we celebrate the renewal of Princeton's rowing facilities.
The epicenter of our celebration is the second floor of the tower which contains the names of more than 1200 former and current rowers, parents, spouses and other friends. Representing the broad diversity of the Princeton rowing family, most of those people took it upon themselves to do the best they individually could for the team. That is why the list is alphabetical. I have had the wonderful experience and privilege of speaking with a number of these people. In one memorable week, I met with a heavyweight from the 40's on one side of the country and a woman from the '70's on the other. Later, I had a unforgettable time with the 1949 Henley crews at their 50th reunion. I verified that there is a tie that binds all of us-an appreciation for the rowing experience-and the life experience-we shared in this place.
Rowing is replete with contradictions and paradoxes. The beauty and apparent ease that a spectator sees from the shore -- the timing and precision -- belie the brute force and self-inflicted pain in the boat.
Rowing is a sport that, on one hand, imposes intense mental discipline, while on the other provides profound, primal physical challenges.
What many describe as the ultimate team sport actually involves individual striving and effort to push oneself through most of the year.
Not unlike the boathouse renewal effort.
There is mutual support but a certain solitude. The true team dimension manifests itself only in the last weeks of the year -- the racing season for which everyone has expended a year of effort. Having invested perhaps 1000 hours of practice for a total of 36 minutes of racing, Princeton crew members learn here that preparation begets success.
Not unlike the boathouse renewal effort.
After spending time in this boathouse and on this lake, and after facing the personal decision made at every stroke in every race -- how hard are you going to be able to pull on the next stroke and still finish the race -- you learn about yourself and your codependence with your teammates. You trust your coxswain, and you trust the exertion of your teammates, because you are not going to achieve what you set out to achieve without them.
Not unlike the boathouse renewal effort.
Most rowers become addicted to an elusive experience -- what we called "swing," a phenomenon that occurs infrequently and unpredictably. No one has to explain the word "synergy" to a rower. Synergy is a fancy word for swing -- when the whole exceeds the sum of the parts. It is an incredibly satisfying experience when the people in a boat meld into, and row, as one. Nietzsche observed: "When one rows it is not the rowing which moves the ship: rowing is only a magical ceremony by means of which one compels a demon to move the ship." This boathouse renewal had swing.
The extraordinary experience here creates an uncommon loyalty among rowers as well as affection for coaches. "The fellowship of rowing, the comradeship of the oar," the time, focus, intensity. dedication, perseverance and determination yield a tight bond.
In a sport with no individual distinctions -- no rower's face will ever appear on a Wheaties box -- a sense of community develops here.
This boathouse -- this provider of opportunity, this facilitator of insight, this builder of character, this incubator of enduring friendships -- serves as the physical focus of that loyalty. It's the first part of Princeton you see when you arrive, and the last thing you see when your leave.
Affirming the significance of their pursuit of excellence on this lake and in this boathouse, the 1200 rowing alumni and friends listed on the tower walls, and led by Mrs. Shea, followed the best tradition of their predecessors. Just as they worked together here as undergraduates, they have banded together to fund the renovation of the Class of 1887 Boathouse and its expansion into the Shea Rowing Center to provide those who follow them the opportunity to share this powerful experience.
It struck me that both Bernard Shea '16 and Gordon Sikes '16 were undergraduates likely in the audience more than 85 years ago, and were perhaps inspired, when the Class of 1887 boathouse was dedicated. And -- this is the critical point for the undergraduates here today -- this overwhelming support for you comes with a price -- the expectation of 1200 people that their successors will in turn become stewards of this great tradition.
That is why the plaque in the second floor tower of this beautiful new, and old, boathouse, which lists donors representing classes from 1916 to 2003, ends with a phrase from an old Princeton song -- a phrase that I will end with today. I was reminded of it as I heard a singing group in an arch late one evening during our campaign. It concisely summarizes this magnificent effort:
Old and young,
We stand as one.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this achievement.
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