[JGSH]

My uncle and late father were Harvard rowers in the late 1940s. I was recently corresponding with my uncle (now 94 years old!) about old family stories and he offered the following. I googled the event and found this string. If anyone can comment on or add to my Uncle Ted's account, I would be delighted to hear from you:

One memorable story ties back to 1852 and the Harvard - Yale crew race that year, which was the first intercollegiate rowing race in America. It was held on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, and Harvard won. No subsequent H - Y race had been rowed in NH. Leap ahead to 1952, the Centennial. Insofar as I know, the athletic departments of Harvard and Yale had failed to take any notice of that historic date. It was going to disappear without any celebration.

But hold on! Out of the blue an enterprising real estate broker and civic booster on the town council in Center Harbor, between Lakes Winnipesaukee and Squam, stumbled on the historic account of that date and started promoting the idea of a re-row as a tourist attraction for the region.

Enter your father and mother. Harpo [Hanson, my dad] was on duty that early summer as a “Baby Dean” to show the flag for Harvard on anything that might arise while senior administrators were summering out of town. His phone rang and he was asked whether Harvard was sending a crew to NH to race in the Centennial Celebration. Acting mostly on his own, he contacted his opposite number at Yale and found they were faced with the same bewildering question. They agreed to give it a try. Harpo enlisted me and the requisite number of bodies who at least knew bow from stern from a group of summer idlers and ne’er-do-wells who were headed to various resorts. I don’t know where he got a shell. We all showed up for a bus ride to NH, including Harpo and Thee [my mother Dorothea].

On our arrival at Center Harbor we were greeted by the Chamber of Congress and a bevy of local belles who were recruited as guides and hostesses to make our visit more enjoyable. Yale was similarly welcomed. Suddenly Thee became the de facto chaperone for what could have gotten rapidly out of hand. She was given a place of honor at every occasion, but no other support. She dispensed her duties as chaperone with a light but effective hand, good friends with all.

To conclude: There was a race, never reported outside Center Harbor, Harvard won. There were several good parties, and everyone dispersed to their interrupted summer idylls, no harm done so far as I know.