Ed Clark’s introduction to rowing and the Dad Vail Regatta came in 1959 when as a freshman at La Salle University (then College), he was physically “persuaded” by several large oarsmen to be the coxswain of the school’s eight. Ed who had no previous rowing experience was instructed by the Coach Tom “Bear” Curran to make sure they did not hit any bridges. They didn’t, and Ed was hooked on rowing for life. In 1968 Coleman Boylan, Chief Judge for the Schuylkill Navy, asked Ed to help at the finish line for the Dad Vail Regatta. Ed agreed, and that assignment was to announce the races from a cutout dormer over the finish line grandstands. And so the 1968 Dad Vail began Ed’s return to collegiate rowing and his lifelong commitment to the Dad Vail Regatta and other rowing venues. By the 1970’s the “The Voice of the Schuylkill” moved to his new announcing perch, the Tower next to the Grandstands where he managed the critical race timing operations. Before the current electronic timing systems, race results were hand calculated by judges using stop watches, recorded on cards, and then checked against the race start time. It was Ed’s job to check the cards for time and finish place accuracy and then submit them to the finish line judge for approval before announcing the results. The turnaround pace could get intense, but for Ed, the former Army combat platoon leader and company commander, the process flowed seamlessly. In addition to his duties in the “Wizzard’s Tower,” Ed contributed his talents as a professional carpenter by helping assemble the floating docks brought in each year to accommodate the many visiting crews. His involvement with the Vail’s was a true team effort with his wife Dottie whom he recruited to sell Regatta programs and posters in front of the Grandstands. This year would have been Ed’s 57th year of service to Dad Vail rowers. Ed, we will miss your dedication, sense of humor, friendship, and love of rowing. By Tom O’Keefe Ed Clark: Dad Vail Regatta Official A FINALToast
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzA2NDY0