[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 71 (Thursday, June 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  HONORING THE SANDUSKY CLUB ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. PAUL E. GILLMOR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 9, 1994

  Mr. GILLMOR. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today 
and pay tribute to The Sandusky Club in Sandusky, OH. The yacht club is 
one of the oldest and finest boating clubs on the Great Lakes and is 
celebrating its 100th anniversary.
  Exactly when the Sandusky Yacht Club had its first beginning is lost 
in history, but newspaper clippings prove that there were pleasure 
craft races on Sandusky Bay in 1857, and probably earlier. We do know 
that the club has been in existence continuously under its present name 
since April 13, 1894, and in that summer it was a charter member of the 
Inter-Lake Yachting Association. In 1898, the Sandusky Yacht Club Band 
played for the Put-In-Bay Regatta and the club received its corporate 
existence on February 21, 1899.
  This first clubhouse was completely demolished in the tornado of 
1924, and not one piece of the structure was ever found. For 6 years 
following the tornado the members were homeless, but they kept their 
organization alive. Then, in 1930, a determined effort was made to 
breathe new life into the club. Money being scarce in those depression 
days, the members built the quarters with their own hands and such 
materials as they could scrounge. Enthusiasm ran high and the club 
seemed well on its way to a new lease on life, when a fire struck the 
club and gutted it beyond repair.
  Not to be daunted, the club immediately established itself on the 
second floor of a former marine garage on Speers Island and it 
continued its vigorous comeback. After scouring the entire waterfront 
for a suitable site, it was finally able to lease the land on East 
Water Street on which the existing clubhouse is situated. The center 
core of its present building was constructed in 1937 and 1938. The 
clubhouse was completed in January 1939, and the formal dedication 
celebration party was held on May 31, 1939.
  From then on, nothing could stop the club's progress. In March 1942, 
it purchased its leased land; in the spring of 1948, it sheetpiled its 
dock; in the 1970's it acquired the Frohman property immediately to the 
west of the club; and in 1985, it acquired the land to the west of the 
original land and built the new addition on the north side of the club.
  Mr. Speaker, the Sandusky Club has been a source of civic pride for a 
century now. A monument such as this does not survive on structure 
alone, however. The building is a testament to the dedication of the 
people of the yacht club in preserving links to our heritage. As the 
yacht club marks its 100th year of service, we commemorate the past and 
celebrate the future. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring this 
special organization.

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