On Christmas Day, Seattle will see itself on the large display screen when “The Boys within the Boat” opens in theaters. It’s the movie adaptation of Daniel James Brown’s bestseller concerning the collective effort that led 9 boys and the Seattle neighborhood to attain its golden dream on the 1936 Summer time Olympics.
George Clooney’s film concerning the College of Washington crew group gives not only a proud story about our previous, however an vital message for our future. It’s a message concerning the function of neighborhood that we must always heed as we glance towards 2024.
The 9 boys who discovered their swing on the frigid waters of Lake Washington have been all sons of the Nice Melancholy. Most have been poor and neglected. All have been inexperienced. However they shared a hidden power and tenacity that earned them a coveted spot on the Husky crew group.
Seattle on the time was an formidable work in progress interrupted by hardship and battle. As you watch the film, take note of the scene with the Smith Tower, on the time the tallest constructing on the West Coast, seen within the distance from Hooverville, a shantytown on the tidal flats close to our waterfront.
And spot how, regardless of adversity, our neighborhood got here collectively.
When the crew first dropped their oars into Lake Washington, nobody anticipated a victory on the U.S. Olympic Trials. Their overcome extra skilled and higher financed East Coast crews didn’t assure a visit to Berlin for the 1936 Summer time Olympics. The group confronted a major monetary hurdle: They wanted to boost $5,000 (equal to $110,000 immediately) to pay their method. An inconceivable quantity, particularly in an financial downturn, with simply days to tug it collectively.
That’s when The Seattle Occasions sounded the alarm and our neighborhood rallied. College youngsters contributed nickels and dimes. Native companies stepped up. Volunteers knocked on doorways and requested for donations. And very quickly, the group had what it took to symbolize the nation.
With out this extraordinary neighborhood effort, there would have been no e book to jot down or film to make.
The era of Seattleites that despatched our group to Olympic glory continued to construct on this spirit. Boeing and its workers designed and constructed the planes that helped win World Warfare II. Native enterprise leaders designed a Area Needle that turned the centerpiece of the 1962 World’s Honest and a long-lasting icon for Seattle’s function on this planet. And two floating bridges throughout Lake Washington made it doable for a automotive to maneuver throughout a deep stretch of water quicker than an Olympic crew group.
Ambition met creativeness, and other people got here collectively to construct a greater future.
The neighborhood of our personal time has adopted in these footsteps. Over the last decade, we changed the world’s longest floating bridge, tore down a harmful viaduct on Alaskan Manner and burrowed a colossal tunnel to make method for a 20-acre public park. Every undertaking has been each grand and troublesome, however just like the light-rail system that in the end will cross Lake Washington, they’re including to the crown jewels of our area.
As we watch the inspiring successes in “The Boys within the Boat,” let’s once more name on this neighborhood spirit.
Our era can construct new civic treasures. A park that may redefine our waterfront. Excessive-speed rail that may assist unfold progress and join us with Vancouver and Portland. And airport capability that may assist velocity our journey past.
And to this listing, we’ll add the shell home on the Montlake Minimize that was the unique house for the 1936 crew group. Microsoft and Problem Seattle have joined others as main donors to renovate the construction and create a brand new centerpiece on the College of Washington.
A spot the place college students, residents and vacationers can be taught from the lasting story concerning the boys and their boat. A spot the place teams in our neighborhood can meet, discover inspiration and chart their very own formidable future.
The 12 months forward presents many alternatives to search out our stride. As a area, we’ve spent the previous two years climbing out of a pandemic, and its lingering results have taken a toll. Now could be the time for extra work to reinvigorate and reinvest in downtown Seattle, deal with homelessness and public security collectively, and proceed our pursuit of reasonably priced housing and expanded training.
The spirit of the 1936 crew group is a legacy of a group’s success. It gives inspiration for what people and a neighborhood can accomplish when it pulls collectively.
It’s our boat now. Let’s profit from it.
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